ká¹›te yad dhyÄyato viṣṇuá¹
tretÄyÄá¹ yajato makhaiḥ
dvÄpare paricaryÄyÄá¹
kalau tad dhari-kÄ«rtanÄt
ká¹›te - in Satya-yuga; yat - which; dhyÄyataḥ - from meditation; viṣṇum - on Lord Viṣṇu; tretÄyÄm - in TretÄ-yuga; yajataḥ - from worshiping; makhaiḥ - by performing sacrifices; dvÄpare - in the Age of DvÄpara; paricaryÄyÄm - by worshiping the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa; kalau - in the Age of Kali; tat - that same result (can be achieved); hari-kÄ«rtanÄt - simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra.
“ ‘Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in TretÄ-yuga by performing sacrifices and in DvÄpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can also be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra.’
This verse is quoted from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam (12.3.52). At the present moment in Kali-yuga there are many false meditators who concoct some imaginary form and try to meditate upon it. It has become fashionable to meditate, but people know nothing about the object of meditation. That is explained here. Yad dhyÄyato viṣṇum. One has to meditate upon Lord Viṣṇu or Lord Kṛṣṇa. Without referring to the Å›Ästras, so-called meditators aim at impersonal objects. Lord Kṛṣṇa has condemned them in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (12.5):
kleÅ›o ’dhikataras teá¹£Äm avyaktÄsakta-cetasÄm
avyaktÄ hi gatir duḥkhaá¹ dehavadbhir avÄpyate
“For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.†Not knowing how to meditate, foolish people simply suffer, and there is no benefit derived from their spiritual activities.
The same idea expressed in this verse from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam can be found in the following verse from the Viṣṇu PurÄṇa (6.2.17), Padma PurÄṇa (Uttara-khaṇá¸a 72.25) and Bá¹›han-nÄradÄ«ya PurÄṇa (38.97).
