38 THE PATH OF PERFECTION Learning How to See God 39

should be situated in a sacred place. The yogishould then sit on it ‘In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of
very firmly and should practice yoga by controlling the mind and deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no
the senses, purifying the heart, and fixing the mind on one point.” other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.”’

(Bg. 6.11-12) In these verses it is emphasized how and where one This is the solution, the grand gift of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In
should sit. In the United States and other Western countries, this age, other yoga practices are not feasible, but this practice is so
there are many so-called yoga societies, but they do not practice simple and universal that even a child can take to it.

yoga according to these prescriptions. ‘‘A sacred place”’ refers toa
place of pilgrimage. In India, the yogis, the transcendentalists, or
devotees, all leave home and reside in sacred places such as
Praydga, Mathura, Vrndavana, Hrsikesa, and Hardwar and in
solitude practice yoga where the sacred rivers like the Yamuna and
the Ganges flow. So how is this possible in this age? How many
people are prepared to find such a sacred place? In order to earn
one’s livelihood, one has to live in a congested city. There is no
question of finding a sacred place, but for the practice of yoga, that
is the first prerequisite.

Therefore in this bhakti-yoga system, the temple is considered
the sacred place. The temple is nirguna—transcendental. Accord-
ing to the Vedas, a city is in the mode of passion, and a forest is in
the mode of goodness. The temple, however, is transcendental. If
you live in a city or town, you live in a place where passion is pre-
dominant, and if you want to escape this, you may go to a forest, a
place of goodness. God’s temple, however, is above passion and
goodness; therefore the temple of Krsna is the only secluded place
for this age. In this age, it is not possible to retreat to a forest; nor
is it useful to make a show of practicing yoga in so-called yoga
societies and at the same time engage in nonsense.

Therefore, in the Brhan-ndradiya Purana it is said that in Kali-
yuga, when people are generally short-lived slow in spiritual
realization, and always disturbed by various anxieties, the best
means of spiritual realization is chanting the holy names of the
Lord.

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam

kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

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