254
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 10, Ch. 3]
austerity,  tapasya . Although it may not be possible to undergo  tapasya  like that of Pṛśni and Sutapā, the  śāstra  has given an opportunity for a method of  tapasya  very easy to perform—the  saṅkīrtana  movement. One cannot expect to undergo  tapasya  to get Kṛṣṇa as one's child, yet simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mahā-mantra  ( kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya ), one can become so pure that one becomes free from all the contamination of this material world ( mukta-saṅgaḥ ) and goes back home, back to Godhead ( paraṁ vrajet ). The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, therefore, is teaching people not to adopt artificial means of happiness, but to take the real path of happiness as prescribed in the  śāstra —the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra —and become perfect in every aspect of material existence.
TEXT 36
एवं वां तप्यतोस्तीव्रं तपः परमदुष्करम् । दिव्यवर्षसहस्राणि द्वादशेयुर्मदात्मनोः ॥३६॥
evaṁ vāṁ tapyatos tīvraṁ tapaḥ parama-duṣkaram divya-varṣa-sahasrāṇi dvādaśeyur mad-ātmanoḥ
evaṁ —in this way;  vāṁ —for both of you;  tapyatoḥ —executing austerities;  tīvraṁ —very severe;  tapaḥ —austerity;  parama-duṣkaram —extremely difficult to execute;  divya-varṣa —celestial years, or years counted according to the higher planetary system;  sahasrāṇi —thousand;  dvādaśa —twelve;  īyuḥ —passed;  mat-ātmanoḥ —simply engaged in consciousness of Me.
TRANSLATION
Thus you spent twelve thousand celestial years performing difficult activities of  tapasya  in consciousness of Me [Kṛṣṇa consciousness].
TEXTS 37–38
तदा वां परितुष्टोऽहममुना वपुषानधे । तपसा श्रद्धया नित्यं भक्त्या च हृदि भावितः ॥३७॥