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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.22
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 22
- tvaṁ naḥ sandarśito dhātrā
- dustaraṁ nistitīrṣatām
- kaliṁ sattva-haraṁ puṁsāṁ
- karṇa-dhāra ivārṇavam
tvamYour Goodness — Your Goodness; naḥunto us — unto us; sandarśitaḥmeeting — meeting; dhātrāby providence — by providence; dustaraminsurmountable — insurmountable; nistitīrṣatāmfor those desiring to cross over — for those desiring to cross over; kalimthe age of Kali — the age of Kali; sattvathat which deteriorates the good qualities-haramthat which deteriorates the good qualities — that which deteriorates the good qualities; puṁsāmof a man — of a man; karṇacaptain-dhāraḥcaptain — captain; ivaas — as; arṇavamthe ocean — the ocean.
We think that we have met Your Goodness by the will of providence, just so that we may accept you as captain of the ship for those who desire to cross the difficult ocean of Kali, which deteriorates all the good qualities of a human being.
The age of Kali is very dangerous for the human being. Human life is simply meant for self-realization, but due to this dangerous age, men have completely forgotten the aim of life. In this age, the life span will gradually decrease. People will gradually lose their memory, finer sentiments, strength, and better qualities. A list of the anomalies for this age is given in the Twelfth Canto of this work. And so this age is very difficult for those who want to utilize this life for self-realization. The people are so busy with sense gratification that they completely forget about self-realization. Out of madness they frankly say that there is no need for self-realization because they do not realize that this brief life is but a moment on our great journey towards self-realization. The whole system of education is geared to sense gratification, and if a learned man thinks it over, he sees that the children of this age are being intentionally sent to the slaughterhouses of so-called education. Learned men, therefore, must be cautious of this age, and if they at all want to cross over the dangerous ocean of Kali, they must follow the footsteps of the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya and accept Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī or his bona fide representative as the captain of the ship. The ship is the message of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the shape of Bhagavad-gītā or the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.