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Meditation and the present age

The Bhagavad-Gita is an authoritative statement given to Arjuna by Lord Krishna. It must be borne in the mind that the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken on a battlefield. Before the battle, Arjuna declined to fight with his own kinsmen. After the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken, he changed his mind and fought. There was not much time for this discussion -- one hour at the most -- for the opposing armies were already lined up, and eager to begin the combat. After hearing about the yoga of meditation, which requires going to a secluded place and sitting perfectly still with the eyes focused on the tip of the nose, Arjuna said, "Dear Krishna, I think this system is too difficult for me, on account of my agitated mind." In the material world our minds are agitated. The nature of the material world is such that we cannot be free from anxieties. God has many names, according to His different activities. Arjuna here addresses Krishna as "Killer of Demons," because Arjuna sees his own mind as a demon. The sum and substance of any yoga system is to control the mind. Arjuna said that his mind was so agitated, that it was impossible for him to practise meditation. Now, Arjuna, a great warrior, was a personal friend of Lord Krishna, and he was able to understand the Gita in less than an hour whereas today people can't understand it in an entire lifetime. If Arjuna, who was so intelligent and spiritually receptive that he could understand the Gita in an hour, said that meditation was too difficult for him, what about us? We are not even in the same category as Arjuna, who was Krishna's friend, and who was so intelligent. If it was impossible for Arjuna, can it be possible for us? It is impossible to still a hurricane, and it is equally impossible to still the mind by force. We can control the mind, however, by always thinking of Krishna. Krishna Consciousness is the perfect form of yoga. Meditation was good in a former age, when people lived millions of years. In the age after that the best method was sacrifice. After that, it was temple worship. Today, the best method is to chant the Name of the Lord, especially "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." In the Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.3.52 it is said: krte yad dhyayato visnum tretayam yajato makhaih dvapare paricaryayam kalau tad dhari-kirtanat Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Vishnu, in Treta-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvapara-yuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Today, we don't live long. We are unfortunate, disturbed and unintelligent. The whole world is fighting. In times such as these, how can we perform anything as difficult as meditative yoga? Bhakti yoga -- Krishna Consciousness, and "Hare Krishna" -- is recommended for the present age. Ref: From the Lectures of Srila Prabhupada (Founder-Acharya of ISKCON)
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