saá¹…kÄ«rtana-yajñe tÄá¹…re kare ÄrÄdhana
sei ta' sumedhÄ, Ära — kali-hata-jana
saá¹…kÄ«rtana-yajñe - in the performance of congregational chanting; tÄá¹…re - unto ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; kare - does; ÄrÄdhana - worship; sei ta' - such a person; su-medhÄ - sharply intelligent; Ära - others; kali-hata-jana - victims of this Age of Kali.
“Anyone who worships Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu by congregational chanting should be understood to be very intelligent. One who does not do so must be considered a victim of this age and bereft of all intelligence.
Rascals propose that anyone can invent his own religious process, and this proposition is condemned herein. If one actually wants to become religious, he must take up the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra. The real meaning of religion is stated in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (6.3.19-22):
dharmaá¹ tu sÄká¹£Äd-bhagavat-praṇītaá¹
na vai vidur ṛṣayo nÄpi devÄḥ
na siddha-mukhyÄ asurÄ manuá¹£yÄh
kutaÅ› ca vidyÄdhara-cÄraṇÄdayaḥ
svayambhÅ«r nÄradaḥ Å›ambhuḥ kumÄraḥ kapilo manuḥ
prahlÄdo janako bhÄ«á¹£mo balir vaiyÄsakir vayam
dvÄdaÅ›aite vijÄnÄ«mo dharmaá¹ bhÄgavataá¹ bhaá¹Äḥ
guhyaá¹ viÅ›uddhaá¹ durbodhaá¹ yaá¹ jñÄtvÄmá¹›tam aÅ›nute
etÄvÄn eva loke ’smin puá¹sÄá¹ dharmaḥ paraḥ smá¹›taḥ
bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nÄma-grahaṇÄdibhiḥ
The purport of these verses is that dharma, or religion, cannot be manufactured by a human being. Religion is the law or code of the Lord. Consequently religion cannot be manufactured even by great saintly persons, demigods or siddha-mukhyas, and what to speak of asuras, human beings, VidyÄdharas, CÄraṇas, and so on. The principles of dharma, religion, come down in the paramparÄ system beginning with twelve personalities — namely, Lord BrahmÄ; the great saint NÄrada; Lord Åšiva; the four KumÄras; Kapila, the son of DevahÅ«ti; SvÄyambhuva Manu; PrahlÄda MahÄrÄja; King Janaka; grandfather BhÄ«á¹£ma; Bali MahÄrÄja; Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«; and YamarÄja. The principles of religion are known to these twelve personalities. Dharma refers to the religious principles by which one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Dharma is very confidential, uncontaminated by any material influence, and very difficult for ordinary men to understand. However, if one actually understands dharma, he immediately becomes liberated and is transferred to the kingdom of God. BhÄgavata-dharma, or the principle of religion enunciated by the paramparÄ system, is the supreme principle of religion. In other words, dharma refers to the science of bhakti-yoga, which begins by the novice’s chanting the holy name of the Lord (tan-nÄma-grahaṇÄdibhiḥ).
Therefore in this Age of Kali, as recommended here in the Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta (text 98), kali-kÄle dharma — kṛṣṇa-nÄma- saá¹…kÄ«rtana: the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is the method of religion approved by all Vedic scriptures. In the next text of the Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta, quoted from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (11.5.32), this principle is further stressed.
