| God is not understood through mere words. It | | | | age changes, the quality of life also |
| takes time: lifetimes and millenniums of | | | | changes. The people become increasingly |
| practice. Some may get discouraged but only | | | | degraded. For instance, none of the above |
| the sincere practitioners go to God. By | | | | mentioned ways of worship is fit for the |
| sincere we mean no duplicity and no | | | | people of kali yuga. Lord Chaitanya came to |
| crookedness, always pure hearted and | | | | give us the holy name of Krishna, the Hare |
| straightforward in dealings. The scriptures | | | | Krishna Mahamantra. Through this simple |
| of the Buddhists talk about good character | | | | process of chanting one can go back to |
| because unless one develops good qualities it | | | | Godhead. The process is simple but the |
| is impossible for one to stop sinning. By | | | | practice is not that simple. The more one |
| being free from sins one an easily progress | | | | chants the holy name seriously the more one |
| along the spiritual path. | | | | gets purified. |
| | | | |
| Since the dawn of creation, at the beginning | | | | One should chant the holy name with utmost |
| of Satya Yuga, there have been different | | | | seriousness and concentration. This process |
| types of worship to attain the supreme Lord. | | | | of chanting cleanses the heart. Once the |
| In Satya Yuga people were free of vice and | | | | heart is clean, love of God appears. But |
| they were following all the directions of | | | | there are obstacles on this path. Such |
| religion. In that particular age people were | | | | obstacles can be offenses to the holy name, |
| going back to the spiritual world by doing | | | | to devotees and other types of offenses. |
| meditation. People lived for thousands of | | | | Offenses to the holy name get destroyed as |
| years and thus were able to perfect | | | | one improves one's chanting. But offenses to |
| themselves. | | | | devotees are very dangerous. It is called the |
| | | | "mad elephant offense" because a mad elephant |
| In the next age, Treta Yuga, the means for | | | | destroys everything on its way. Such offenses |
| going back was through the performance of | | | | can be nullified if one begs forgiveness from |
| fire sacrifices. The performance of such a | | | | those devotees who get offended. The more |
| task required vast amounts of various | | | | serious the offense is the worse the effect |
| ingredients and much wealth. Most of the | | | | will be. So practitioners have to be very |
| ingredients are not available now. In Dvapara | | | | careful. Although it is the easiest way to go |
| Yuga the method was deity worship. The rules | | | | back to Godhead, it can also be the hardest |
| and regulations for worship were very strict | | | | if we don't pay attention while chanting and |
| as given in Pancaratric scriptures. As the | | | | while dealing with others. |