1490 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 30

TRANSLATION

At the end of ten thousand years of severe austerities performed by the
Pracetas, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to reward their austerities,
appeared before them in His very pleasing form. This appealed to the
Pracetas and satisfied the labor of their austerities.

PURPORT

Performing ten thousand years of severe austerities does not seem a
happy endeavor. Yet the devotees, the serious students of spiritual life,
undergo such austerities to attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. At that time, when the duration of life was very long, people
could undergo severe austerities for thousands of years. It is said that
Valmiki, the author of Ramayana, underwent meditational austerities for
60,000 years. The Supreme Personality of Godhead appreciated the
austerities undergone by the Pracetas, and He finally appeared before them
in a pleasing form. Thus they all became satisfied and forgot the austerities
they underwent. In the material world, if one is successful after hard labor,
he is very pleased. Similarly, the devotee forgets all his labors and austeri-
ties as soon as he contacts the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although
Dhruva Maharaja was only a five-year-old boy, he underwent severe
austerities by eating simply dry foliage, drinking only water and taking
no food. In this way, after six months, he was able to see the Supreme
Personality of Godhead face to face. When he saw the Lord, he forgot all
his austerities and said, svd@min krtartho ’smi: ‘‘My dear Lord, I am very
pleased.”

Of course, these austerities were performed in the Satya-yuga, Dvapara-
yuga and Treta-yuga, but not in this age of Kali. In this Kali-yuga, one can
attain the same results simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra,
Because the people of this age are fallen, the Lord is kind enough to give
them the easiest method. Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, one
can attain the same results. However, as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu points
out, we are so unfortunate that we are not even attracted to chanting the
mahd-mantra—Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama,
Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

TEXT 5

TMT  aerEfeaac: |
qraarat atnita: sag fatatra ea: tn |
