kalim Ägatam ÄjñÄya
kṣetre 'smin vaiṣṇave vayam
ÄsÄ«nÄ dÄ«rgha-satreṇa
kathÄyÄá¹ saká¹£aá¹‡Ä hareḥ
kalim - the age of Kali (iron age of quarrel); Ägatam - having arrived; ÄjñÄya - knowing this; ká¹£etre - in this tract of land; asmin - in this; vaiṣṇave - specially meant for the devotee of the Lord; vayam - we; ÄsÄ«nÄḥ - seated; dÄ«rgha - prolonged; satreṇa - for performance of sacrifices; kathÄyÄm - in the words of; sa-ká¹£aṇÄḥ - with time at our disposal; hareḥ - of the Personality of Godhead.
This Age of Kali is not at all suitable for self-realization as was Satya-yuga, the golden age, or TretÄ- or DvÄpara-yugas, the silver and copper ages. For self-realization, the people in Satya-yuga, living a lifetime of a hundred thousand years, were able to perform prolonged meditation. And in TretÄ-yuga, when the duration of life was ten thousand years, self-realization was attained by performance of great sacrifice. And in the DvÄpara-yuga, when the duration of life was one thousand years, self-realization was attained by worship of the Lord. But in the Kali-yuga, the maximum duration of life being one hundred years only and that combined with various difficulties, the recommended process of self-realization is that of hearing and chanting of the holy name, fame, and pastimes of the Lord. The sages of Naimiá¹£Äraṇya began this process in a place meant specifically for the devotees of the Lord. They prepared themselves to hear the pastimes of the Lord over a period of one thousand years. By the example of these sages one should learn that regular hearing and recitation of the BhÄgavatam is the only way for self-realization. Other attempts are simply a waste of time, for they do not give any tangible results. Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu preached this system of BhÄgavata-dharma, and He recommended that all those who were born in India should take the responsibility of broadcasting the messages of Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, primarily the message of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ. And when one is well established in the teachings of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, he can take up the study of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam for further enlightenment in self-realization.