कलिमागतमाज्ञाय क्षेत्रेऽस्मिन् वैष्णवे वयम् । आसीना दीर्घसत्रेण कथायां सक्षणा हरे: ॥ २१ ॥

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.


Text

Knowing well that the Age of Kali has already begun, we are assembled here in this holy place to hear at great length the transcendental message of Godhead and in this way perform sacrifice.

Purport

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.