Text 11] Questions by the Sages 67
matter of self-realization. The human life is especially meant for self-
realization. That is to say, man should come to know what he is, what the
world is, and what the supreme truth is. Human life is a means by which
the living entity can end all miseries of material existence which arise in the
hard struggle for existence and by which he can return to Godhead, his
eternal home. But, due to a bad system of education, men have no desire
for self-realization. Even if they come to know about it, they unfortunately
become victims of misguided teachers.

In this age, men are not only victims of different political creeds and
parties, but also of many different types of sense-gratificatory diversions,
namely cinemas, sports, gambling, clubs, mundane libraries, bad associa-
tions, smoking, drinking, cheating, pilfering, bickerings, and so on. Their
minds are always disturbed and full of anxieties due to so many different
engagements. In this age, many unscrupulous men manufacture their own
religious faiths which are not based on any revealed scriptures, and very
often people who are addicted to sense gratification are attracted by such
institutions. Consequently, in the name of religion so many sinful acts
are being carried on, and the people in general have neither peace of mind
nor health of body. The student (brahmacari) communities are no longer
being maintained, and householders do not observe the rules and regula-
tions of the grhastha-asrama. Consequently, the so-called vénaprastha and
sannyasi who come out of such grhastha-dsramas are easily deviated from
the rigid path. In the Kali-yuga the whole atmosphere is surcharged with
faithlessness. Men are no longer interested in spiritual values. Material
sense gratification is now the standard of civilization. For the main-
tenance of such material civilizations, man has formed complex nations
and communities, and there is a constant strain of hot and cold wars
between these different groups. It has become very difficult, therefore, to
raise the spiritual standard due to the present distorted values of human
society. The sages of Naimisaranya are anxious to disentangle all fallen
souls, and here they are seeking the remedy from Srila Sita Gosvami.

TEXT 11
wetter apfeenatftr onaearts frara: |
HA: ATMS TAL AYTTAT ANT |
HE AKOTA A TATA Greta Aa 112 2
bhirini bhiri-karmani
Srotavyani vibhdgasah
