258 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 8, Ch. 16
ceremonies. O gentle lady, it is the essence of all austerities, and it
is the process of giving charity and pleasing the supreme con-
troller.
PURPORT

Aradhananarn sarvesam visnor Gradhanam param. This is a state-
ment made by Lord Siva to Parvati. Worshiping Lord Visnu is the
supreme process of worship. And how Lord Visnu is worshiped in this
payo-vrata ceremony has now been fully described. The ultimate goal of
life is to please Lord Visnu by varndsrama-dharma. The Vedic principles
of four varnas and four Gsramas are meant for worship of Visnu (visnur
Gradhyate pumsam nanyat tat-tosa-kéranam). The Krsna consciousness
movement is also visnu-drddhanam, or worship of Lord Visnu, accord-
ing to the age. The payo-vrata method of visnu-drddhanam was enunci-
ated long, long ago by Kasyapa Muni to his wife, Aditi, in the heavenly
planets, and the same process is bona fide on earth even now. Especially
for this age of Kali, the process accepted by the Krsna consciousness
movement is to open hundreds and thousands of Visnu temples (temples
of Radha-Krsna, Jagannatha, Balarama, Sita-Rama, Gaura-Nitai and so
on). Performing prescribed worship in such temples of Visnu and thus
worshiping the Lord is as good as performing the payo-vrata ceremony
recommended here. The payo-vrata ceremony is performed from the
first to the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight of the moon, but in our
Krsna consciousness movement Lord Visnu is worshiped in every temple
according to a schedule of twenty-four hours of engagement in perform-
ing kirtana, chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, offering palatable
food to Lord Visnu and distributing this food to Vaisnavas and others.
These are authorized activities, and if the members of the Krsna con-
sciousness movement stick to these principles, they will achieve the same
result one gains by observing the payo-vrata ceremony. Thus the essence
of all auspicious activities, such as performing yajfa, giving in charity,
observing vratas, and undergoing austerities, is included in the Krsna
consciousness movement. The members of this movement should im-
mediately and sincerely follow the processes already recommended. Of
course, sacrifice is meant to please Lord Visnu. Yajfaih sankirtana-
prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah: in Kali-yuga, those who are intelligent
perform the sarikirtana-yajna. One should follow this process conscien-
tiously.
