Na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum [SB 7.5.31]. Svartha. Svartha or artha. Svartha means own interest, and artha means general interest. The general interest is, for the human being, dharma artha kama moksa [SB 4.8.41, Cc. Adi 1.90]. Because human life is not dog's life, cat's life, so there must be dharma, religion. And religion means no dog. That is first interest. This is first interest. Otherwise how shall I distinguish my life with the cats and dogs life? They are also eating, sleeping, mating and dying. And if I also, like the cats and dogs, eat, sleep and have sex life and die, then where is the difference? The difference is religion. The dog society, cat society, there cannot be any religion, but in the human society, there is necessity of religion. Otherwise it is cats' and dogs' society. So they do not understand it. They are avoiding religion. Nowadays the so-called advanced civilization, they are avoiding religion. That means they are coming to the platform of cats and dogs. And actually, they have come. Especially in this age, Kali-yuga...

Yesterday we were discussing about this Kali-yuga. The most fallen age. People are most degraded. So there is, by calculation, that seventy-five percent irreligion and twenty-five percent religion in comparison to other ages. But this twenty-five percent religious life also will reduce. Before explaining this verse, I shall give you reference to some of the symptoms of this age. This is also explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Twelfth Canto, Third Chapter. (aside:) Where is that? Give me that book. We have not yet published, so I am reading reference. Anyonyato rajabhis ca ksayam yasyanti piditah. It is described in the Second Chapter, Twelfth Canto, Srimad-Bhagavatam. So,

So about the Kali-yuga, discussing, the Sukadeva Gosvami is describing the chief symptoms of this age. The first symptom he says, tatas ca anu-dinam. With the process of this age, Kali-yuga, dharma, religious principles; satyam, truthfulness; saucam, cleanliness; ksama, forgiveness; daya, mercifulness; ayuh, duration of life; balam, bodily strength; smrtih, memory... Just count how many. Dharmah, satyam, saucam, ksama, daya, ayuh, balam, smrti-eight. These things will gradually reduce to nil, almost nil. Now as I told you, the Kali-yuga... In other yugas... Just like Satya-yuga, the duration of Satya-yuga was eighteen hundred thousands of years. And the human being was living in that age for one hundred thousands of years. One hundred thousands of years. The next age, the duration of that age, twelve hundred thousands of years, and the people used to live for one thousand years, not over ten thousand years. Ten times reduced. The next age, Dvapara-yuga, again ten times reduced. Still, they used to live for one thousand years, and the duration of the age was eight hundred thousands of years. Now, the next age, this Kali-yuga, the limit is one hundred years. We can live utmost up to one hundred years. We are not living one hundred years, but still, the limit is one hundred years. So just see. Now, from one hundred years... Now in India the average age is about thirty-five years. In your country they say seventy years? So it is reducing. And it will so reduce that if a man lives for twenty to thirty years, he will be considered grand old man, in this age, Kali-yuga. So ayuh, duration of life, will reduce.

Memory, smrti, that will also reduce. We see nowadays, people are not very..., of sharp memory. They forget. Daily work they forget. Doing something daily; still, he is forgetting. The loss of memory. Similarly, ayuh, bodily strength. Everyone can understand. Your forefathers, your father or grandfather, as they were bodily strong, you are not so, I am not so. So bodily strength will reduce. Memory will reduce. Duration of life will reduce. Then dharma... There is no question. It is almost reduced. Nobody is interested in religion. The churches, temples are being closed, locked up. This was a church. Where we are sitting, this was a church, and it was sold, because nobody was coming. Similarly, we are purchasing in Australia a very big church. They are selling. In London I have seen many hundred of churches. Nobody is going there. Not only churches. In India also, except a few important temples, ordinary, small temples they are being closed. They have become habitation of the dogs. So dharma, religiosity, is reduced. And truthfulness. And ksama, forgiveness. That is also reduced. We are very sorry that one thing has happened. He was excused, but again he was shot dead. Just see. No forgiveness. Vengeance. Formerly, if somebody has done something wrong, the other party... Just like Arjuna, you see. Even in the battlefield, he was so much tortured by the other party. Still, he was, "Krsna let them go. I don't want to kill them." Forgiveness. So even for a small interest, they will kill. This is going on. So satyam, saucam, ksama, daya, mercifulness. Even if you see in your front somebody is being killed, you will not take interest. No mercifulness. It is happening already.

So satyam, saucam, ksama, daya, ayuh, duration of life, bodily strength and memory. These eight kinds of things will reduce, reduce, reduce. When you will see these symptoms, you will find, "Now the age of Kali is making his progress very nicely." This is progress. Then another symptom is vittam eva kalau nrnam janmacara-gunodayah. Formerly, according to spiritual understanding, one man's position was calculated. Just like brahmana. Brahmana was honored because he knew Brahman. He was aware of the supreme spirit. So now in Kali-yuga, actually there is no brahmana. That will be also described, how a brahmana is. So janma acara, birthright. Birthright was there, but according to the behavior. If a man is born in a brahmana family or ksatriya family or vai..., he must behave like that. That was the king's duty, to see that "This man is not falsely representing himself." Just like in England there is lord family. So to maintain their aristocracy, the family had to deposit some money with the government so that they may not deteriorate in their aristocratic behavior. Still, it is going on. But now things are finished.

So aristocracy and respectability, these things were according to culture, according to education. But nowadays, what is that? Vittam eva kalau nrnam. If you get money somehow or other, then everything is there. You may be a third-class, fourth-class, tenth-class man, but if you get money some way or other, then you are very respectable. There is no question of your culture or aristocracy or education or knowledge. There is no, nothing. This is Kali-yuga. And then, dharma-nyaya-vyavasthayam karanam balam eva hi. And if you have got some influence, strength, then in your favor everything will be decided. You are the most irreligious person, but if you can bribe the priestly order, he will certify, "Yes, you are religious." So money, not actual qualification.

So if you discuss these things... Long affairs, shortly. Then again it says, dampatye abhirucir hetur mayaiva vyavaharike. Dampatye. Dampatye, husband and wife relation, will depend on abhirucih. Abhirucih means liking. A girl likes boy, and a boy likes girl. "That's all right. Now let the marriage take place." They do not see what will be future of this girl and the boy. Never. Therefore everyone is unhappy. Six months after marriage, divorce. Because the marriage took place on superficial liking, no deep understanding... So things are taking place like that. Formerly marriage, at least in India, at least up to our time, the marriage was taking place not on the liking of the boy and the girl. No. It was decided by the parents. So... Just like I was also married man. I was married when I was a student, and I did not know what will be the... But the parents arranged. What to speak of me, I will give you another very brilliant example, that you have heard the name of Dr. Rajendra Prasad. He was the first president of Indian... He has written his biography. He was married at the age of eight years. Formerly, in India the marriage was taking place like that. I know. My father-in-law was married when he was eleven years. And my mother-in-law was seven years. You see? So actually, the point is that the marriage was taking by the calculation, "Whether this couple will be happy in their life?" In this way marriage was taking place. Not that a grown-up girl, grown-up boy, mixes together, and he likes, she likes. Then again he leaves or she... This kind of marriage was not sanctioned.

But in this Kali-yuga it is said that dampatye abhirucih. That's all. Abhirucih. Boys and girls are intermingling freely, and if she likes, that's all right. But no future calculation. This is Kali-yuga. No future calculation, whether in future marriage is sanctified life, the man and the woman live peacefully, make spiritual culture, each one will help the other so that they will live very happily and become advancement in spiritual life and then go back to... That is the system. But nowadays, in Kali-yuga, it will be simply liking. Liking means next moment disliking. That is a fact. You see. Liking has no value. As soon as you based on liking, then you expect next moment disliking. That's all.

And stritve pumstve ca hi ratir vipratve sutram eva hi. You know, the brahmanas, they are offered sacred thread. So people will consider, "Now I have got sacred thread. I have become brahmana. I may act like the candala. It doesn't matter." That is going on. We introduced this brahminical culture, but things are deteriorated. I am very sorry, that taking brahminical initiation, he is acting as a candala, angry candala. You see? So this is Kali-yuga. He does not understand that as brahmana he has got so responsibility. But because he has got the two-cent-worth sacred thread, he thinks now he has become brahmana. Vipratve. And stritve pumstve ca hi ratir eva hi. And husband and wife, they will remain together because it was liking. And as soon as there will be sex difficulty, there will be disliking immediately.

Lingam eva asrama-khyatau. Lingam eva. A dress simply. Taking white dress, a grhastha, he may do like anything. He is grhastha. No. There are so many duties. Taking a saffron cloth, he is sannyasi. These are the... If we explain, it will take more, but these are the symptoms. Avrttya nyaya-daurbalyam panditye capalam vacah. If you have no money, then you will never get justice in the court. This is Kali-yuga. Nowadays the high-court judges, they are taking bribe, to give you a favorable judgment. You can purchase judgment. So if you have no money, then don't go to court. To push good money after bad money. No. No. Avrttya nyaya-daurbalyam panditye capalam vacah. If a man talks expertly, it doesn't matter what he talks. Nobody requires to understand him. Then he is pandita. He is (speaks gibberish:) "Haperkulasvena bagavad dagvendikali gundulas, by the lacticism of wife...," like, if you go on speaking, nobody will understand. (laughter) Nobody will understand, and people, "Oh, see how learned he is." (laughter) Actually it is happening. There are so many rascals. They are writing book, and "Oh, such and such, oh..." "What you have understand?" "Oh, it is inexplicable. Inexplicable." That is going on.

Anadhyataivasadhutve sadhutve dambha eva tu, svikara eva codvahe snanam eva prasadhanam [SB 12.2.5]. Anadhyata. If you are poor man, then you are dishonest. People will understand that "This man is actually not honest because he does not know how to earn money by hook or crook." Svikara eva codvahe. "And marriage will take place by agreement." And that is very much experienced in your country. In our country also. Now government has appointed marriage magistrate. So any boy and girl like, simply go to him. Maybe there is some fee: "Yes, we agree to marry," and certifies, "They are married." No. Not like that. Formerly as the father and mother used to select and see the future. Svikara eva codvahe. Svikara. Svikara means agreement.

Snanam eva prasadhanam. Snanam eva prasadhanam. Cosmetic. Simply if one can take little shower bath, then everything is finished. Actually, snana means sandhya. You have to take bath nicely. Then you have to put tilaka and candana. Then perform your gayatri-mantra. This is called snana. Tri-sandhya-snana. Now they are simply taking somehow or other bath, and finished. No more. But Kali-yuga, this will be snanam eva. And then dure vary-ayanam tirtham lavanyam kesa-dharanam. Just see how future tell. At the present moment, Kali-yuga, a man will think himself, he has become very beautiful by keeping long hair. You have got very good experience in your country, long hairs. Just see how future. Who knew that people would be interested for keeping long hair? But that is stated in the Bhagavata. Kesa-dharanam. Kesa means hair, and dharanam means keeping. Dure vary-ayanam tirtham. And pilgrimage, it must be far away. Just like in Calcutta there is Ganges. So nobody cares for Calcutta Ganges. But they go to Hardwar. The same Ganges. The Ganges is coming from Hardwar down to the Bay of Bengal, but people will like to go to Hardwar, taking so much hardship, to take bath there, because that becomes tirtha. In every religion they have got tirtha. The Muslims, they have got mosque. What is that? Mecca, Medina. The Christians, they have got, where? Jerusalem. Similarly, the Hindus. Then they must travel very long. That will be tirtha. But actually tirtha means tirthi-kurvanti tirthani. Where there is saintly person, that is tirtha. Not to go ten thousand miles and simply take a dip in the water and come back.

Then udaram-bharata svarthah satyatve dharstyam eva hi, daksyam kutumba-bharanam yaso 'rthe dharma-sevanam. Udaram-bharata. The interest. I was speaking of interest. Now, in Kali-yuga, the interest will be if you can eat some day very sumptuously, then your all interest is fulfilled. That's all. Means people will be so hungry, so nothing to eat; therefore if they can eat some day very sumptuously, that will be fulfillment of all interests. And satyatve dharstyam eva hi. And one who will simply play jugglery of words, he will be considered as very truthful. Another, daksyam kutumba-bharanam. One shall be considered very expert if he can maintain his family-wife and children. That means this will be difficult. It has already become difficult. To maintain wife and a few children, that is also a great burden at the present moment. Therefore nobody wants to marry. Evam prajabhir dustabhir akirne ksiti-mandale. In this way, when all the people will be infected by the poison of Kali-yuga, brahma-vit-ksatra-sudranam yo bali bhavita nrpah.

So it doesn't matter whether he is a brahmana or a ksatriya or vaisya or sudra or candala. One who is powerful in getting votes, he will occupy the presidential post or the royal post. Just see. Formerly the system was that not the brahmana, er, vaisya, or sudra can occupy the royal throne. Only the ksatriyas. Now, in the Kali-yuga, there is no such thing, who is a ksatriya, who is a brahmana, who is a... Anyone, hook and crook you get your votes, democracy, and occupy... And whatever you may be... You may be rascal number one, but you will be posted on the supreme exalted presidential post. Then

So in this way there are so many symptoms. It will take long time to describe. This is Kali-yuga. But there is remedy. There is remedy. Kaler dosa-nidhe rajan. The faults of this age, just like ocean. Just like in the ocean, you cannot... Pacific Ocean... If you are put into the Pacific Ocean, you do not know how your life will be saved. It is very difficult. Even if you are very expert swimmer, so it is not possible that you can cross the Pacific Ocean. That is not possible. Similarly, the Kali-yuga, as it is stated in the Bhagavata, that infected with so many anomalies that there is no way out. But there is one medicine only: kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet [SB 12.3.51]. That is also described, that "If you chant Hare Krsna mantra," kirtanad eva krsnasya, "especially the name krsnasya, mukta-sangah, you will be relieved from the infection of this Kali yuga."

The five Pandavas, te sadhu, they have been described as sadhu, very honest, saintly, sadhu. Krta-sarvarthah. They have executed all their duties. The human being has got duty. There are so many duties. Devarsi-bhutapta-nrnam pitrnam [SB 11.5.41]. Devarsi. We have got duties. We are rni. Rni means indebted. Whom we are indebted? As soon as you take your birth on this planet, you are indebted to so many persons. What are they? Now, first, deva. Deva means the demigods or God. Actually God. God has got many assistant demigods. So you are indebted. Just like you are getting the sunshine. Just like we are getting this electricity. Now, the bill will be presented. If you don't pay, then next day your electricity will be cut off. So by nature's or God's arrangement, there is sunshine. Therefore you have to perform yajna. If you don't perform yajna, then there will be no sunshine. Therefore, in the Western countries, there is very difficult to get sunshine. This is the natural sequence.

So we are indebted to the sun god. We are indebted to the Indra, who is supplying water. Just like you have got electricity department, water department, this department, so many departments, similarly, so big kingdom of God is going on. There are also different departments. But rascals, they do not know, "Why I am getting?" Just like a child does not know how this electricity is coming. He thinks it is coming automatically. Why automatically? Is it coming automatically? You have to pay for it. There is powerhouse. There is connection. So many things. But he does not know. Similarly, all the rascals, they will say, "Oh, sunshine is by nature, automatically. Moonshine, automatically. This is automatically." What do you mean by "automatically"? What thing happens automatically unless there is arrangement? And because there is so nice, good arrangement, it is to be understood there is good government. And as soon as you accept this, you must have to accept necessity of God, without which, arrangement cannot be done.

So we are debted to God. So just like, if you don't pay taxes to the government, the government does not become poor, but your supply will be stopped. You will suffer. Similarly, if you don't accept there is supreme government, the supreme governor... The governor is quite sufficient. God is completely munificent or rich. He will not suffer, but you will suffer. Therefore it is said, te sadhu krta-sarvarthah. Just like if you remain cleansed, paying all your taxes, then you are very honest citizen. Similarly, if you become obedient to God and His government, then you are sadhu. Otherwise you are dishonest. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Sadhur eva sa mantavyah [Bg. 9.30]. Api cet su-duracaro bhajate mam ananya-bhak. One who is very much obedient to the laws of God, he is sadhu. Not that by changing dress one become sadhu.

So te sadhu krta-sarvarthah. They have executed all duties. Krta-sarvarthah. Jnatva atyantikam atmanah. We are hankering after happiness, temporary, but we do not know what is ultimate happiness. So they knew what is the ultimate happiness. Atyantikam. Sukham atyantikam yat tad atindriya-grahyam [Bg. 6.21]. Bhagavad-gita. Atyantikam. The ultimate happiness is not perceived by these gross material senses. The ultimate happiness is appreciated, understood, by transcendental senses. The same senses... Means now the senses are covered by material infection. So when you purify this material infection, then your senses become pure. And in that pure senses, you can enjoy real happiness. Therefore here it is said, atyantikam atmanah manasa dharayam asuh. So they knew what is the atyantikam dhar..., Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha-caranambujam. Vaikuntha. Vaikuntha means vigata-kuntha. Kuntha means anxiety. And God's another name is Vaikuntha. If you take shelter of the lotus feet of God, Krsna, then you become without anxieties. This is the only. Everyone is full of anxiety. Even a bird, even a beast, even a small ant, what to speak of our position. The material world is such, we must be full of anxieties. That is explained also. Asad-grahat. Because we have accepted something flickering as shelter. If you accept something which is not permanent, which is tiltering... In a boat suppose which is tiltering, at any moment you will be drowned.

So you cannot be free from anxiety. But if you accept a strong, very big ship, you are assured that "I will not be drowned." Similarly, we are accepting this shelter, that shelter, that shelter, that shelter, avoiding the shelter of God. Therefore we are full of anxiety. If you want to become free from anxiety, then here is the prescription, vaikuntha-caranambujam, take shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna.

Thank you very much. (end)