kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (ŚB 12.3.51)
My dear King, this age is a veritable ocean of faults. Still, it has one most exalted attribute: one who simply performs kīrtana of Śrī Kṛṣṇa´s names, form, qualities and pastimes, especially by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, can certainly become liberated from material bondage and receive entrance to the highest destination—the transcendental realm of Vraja.
This is why Śrīla Parīkṣit Mahārāja didn’t want to kill Kali. For other people—those who are not sincere in adopting the above-mentioned medicine—anyway they are going to die; what to do for them? Anyway, they are going to be affected by Māyā and run the risk of going to hell. But at least those who are sincere, they can attain the highest goal of life. That is why Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī wanted to clarify this point in front of the Sanakādi Ṛṣis, that mahā-bhāgavata Śrīla Parīkṣit Mahārāja was sāra-grahī (one who can take only the essence), like honeybees, sārāṅga eva sāra-bhuk.
Śrīla Parīkṣit Mahārāja wanted to collect the cream from Kali-yuga. Just as in a flower surely honey is there, but poison is also there, the duty of honey bees is to collect honey from the flower, whereas another insect, which is called luṭhākīt, is always busy collecting poison from the flower. Similarly, in Kali-yuga there is also poison—all fighting and dirty politics, etc., going on—but at the same time one excellent good quality is there. What is that? In Kali-yuga we can get the highest success of our life only by the help of nāma-saṅkīrtana of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
If we like to get one drop of honey, and if we are given the facility to grind and paste all flowers, will it be possible for us to get one drop of honey? All our paramahaṁsa-guruvarga, they are all like honey bees, because they can collect the essence from different scriptural analyses for us, which is surely not possible for us. From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam we know—
kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ
tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ
dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ
kalau tad hari-kīrtanāt (ŚB 12.3.52)
Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
So in the same way, if we try to churn ourselves the ocean of śāstra, then we will never be able to come to a conclusion. That’s why our Śrīnivāsa Ācārya wrote in Ṣaḍ-Gosvāmy-aṣṭakam the following śloka—
nānā-śāstra-vicāraṇaika-nipuṇau sad-dharma-saṁsthāpakau
lokānāṁ hita-kāriṇau tri-bhuvane mānyau śaraṇyākarau
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāravinda-bhajanānandena mattālikau
vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvāmīs, namely Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, and Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, who are very expert in scrutinizingly studying all the revealed scriptures with the aim of establishing eternal religious principles for the benefit of all human beings. Thus they are honored all over the three worlds and they are worth taking shelter of because they are absorbed in the mood of the gopīs and are engaged in the transcendental loving service of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
We have no power to churn the whole ocean of śāstra to get the cream. It is only possible for Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, etc. They all can stir the whole ocean of śāstra to get cream for us weak people. Similarly, we can ask those scientists, equipped with advanced technology, if they can produce just one drop of honey. They cannot, because this is the duty specified only to the honey bees by the Supreme Lord.
Parīkṣit Mahārāja was also like a honey bee, because he was successful in collecting the cream of the advantage of getting success even in this Kali-yuga which is full of faults—only by the help of harināma-saṅkīrtana. He could have very easily killed Kali, but he didn’t think it necessary to kill Kali because of this reason—
kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet (ŚB 12.3.51)
My dear King, this age is a veritable ocean of faults. Still, it has one most exalted attribute: one who simply performs kīrtana of Śrī Kṛṣṇa´s names, form, qualities and pastimes, especially by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, can certainly become liberated from material bondage and receive entrance to the highest destination—the transcendental realm of Vraja.
Gaura Hari! Hari bol!