162 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 8, Ch. 5
instructing Maharaja Pariksit, stressed this chanting of the Hare Krsna
mantra.
kaler dosa-nidhe rdjann
asti hy eko mahan gunah
kirtanad eva krsnasya
mukta-sarigah pararn vrajet - \

““My dear King, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one
good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Krsna
mahda-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be pro-
moted to the transcendental kingdom.” (Bhag. 12.3.51) Those who have
accepted the task of spreading the Hare Krsna mahd-mantra in full
Krsna consciousness should take this opportunity to deliver people very
easily from the clutches of material existence. Our duty, therefore, is to
follow the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and preach the Krsna
consciousness movement all over the world very sincerely. This is the
best welfare activity for the peace and prosperity of human society.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement consists of spreading krsna-
sankirtana. Param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam: “All glories to the
Sri Krsna sarkirtana!’ Why is it so glorious? This has also been ex-
plained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Ceto-darpana-mdranam: by the
chanting of the Hare Krsna mahd-mantra, one’s heart is cleansed. The
whole difficulty is that in this age of Kali there is no sattva-guna and no
clearance of the heart, and therefore people are making the mistake of
identifying with their bodies. Even the big philosophers and scientists
with whom we deal are practically all under the impression that they are
their bodies. The other day we were discussing a prominent philosopher,
Thomas Huxley, who was proud of being an Englishman. This means
that he was in the bodily conception of life. Everywhere we find this
same misunderstanding. As soon as one is in the bodily conception of
life, one is nothing but an animal like a cat or a dog (sa eva go-kharah).
Thus the most dangerous of the dirty things within our hearts is this
misidentification of the body as the self. Under the influence of this mis-
understanding, one thinks, “I am this body. I am an Englishman. I am an
Indian. I am an American. I am Hindu. I am Muslim.” This misconcep-
tion is the strongest impediment, and it must be removed. That is the in-
struction of Bhagavad-gitd and of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Indeed,
Bhagavad-gita begins with this instruction:
