Text 17] The Demigods Regain the Heavenly Planets 211

ceremonies or sacrifices perfectly. Hardly anyone can chant the Vedic
mantras with perfect pronunciation or accumulate the paraphernalia for
Vedic performances. Therefore the sacrifice recommended in this age is
sankirtana, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord. Yajnaih
sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah (Bhag. 11.5.29). Instead of
wasting time performing Vedic sacrifices, those who are intelligent, those
who possess good brain substance, should take to the chanting of the
Lord’s holy name and thus perform sacrifice perfectly. I have seen that
many religious leaders are addicted to performing yajfas and spending
hundreds and thousands of rupees for imperfect sacrificial perfor-
mances. This is a lesson for those who unnecessarily execute such imper-
fect sacrifices. We should take the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
(yajfaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah). Although
Sukracarya was a strict brdhmana addicted to ritualistic activities, he also
admitted, nischidram anusankirtanam tava: “My Lord, constant chant-
ing of the holy name of Your Lordship makes everything perfect.” In
Kali-yuga the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies cannot be performed as per-
fectly as before. Therefore Srila Jiva Gosvami has recommended that al-
though one should take care to follow all the principles in every kind of
spiritual activity, especially in worship of the Deity, there is still a chance
of discrepancies, and one should compensate for this by chanting the
holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In our Krsna con-
sciousness movement we therefore give special stress to the chanting of
the Hare Krsna mantra in all activities.

TEXT 17

qany seat Way BRITT |
OTeea: T Gat Aq AUP gaNSAy 112911
tathapi vadato bhiiman
karisyamy anusdsanam
etac chreyah param purmsam
yat tavajidnupdlanam

tathapi—although there was no fault on the part of Bali Maharaja;
vadatah—because of Your order; bhiman—O Supreme; karisyami—I
