Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Narada Bhakti Sutra 58

anyasmat saulabhyam bhaktau

SYNONYMS

anyasmat -- than anything else; saulabhyam -- ease of attainment; bhaktau -- in devotional service.

TRANSLATION

Success is easier to attain by devotional service than by any other process.

PURPORT

Narada assures us that everyone can speedily advance by practicing bhakti-yoga -- because it is the easiest way. This is an extremely important qualification, especially for us in the present age, the Age of Kali. As stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.10),

prayenalpayusah sabhya kalav asmin yuge janah

mandah su-manda-matayo manda-bhagya hy upadrutah

"O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky, and, above all, always disturbed."

The characteristics of the people of this age are all disqualifications for spiritual life. In previous millennia the human condition was much more favorable for spiritual advancement. In the Satya-yuga almost all people were in the mode of goodness, and society was peaceful and religious. At that time the recommended form of religion was meditation. The sage Valmiki is said to have meditated sixty thousand years before writing the Ramayana, and Kardama Muni meditated ten thousand years. As the millennia proceeded from Treta to Dvapara, human society degraded more and more. Five thousand years ago, when Lord Krsna recommended astanga-yoga to Arjuna, Arjuna rejected it, saying it was impractical and impossible for him. We should not maintain grandiose conceptions of what we are able to perform nowadays but should face the facts of our near-bankrupt condition of spirituality. "Here is the easiest path," says Narada, and we should grab at his offer as a drowning man grabs for a life raft.

Even in former ages, when more difficult processes were recommended, the goal was always bhakti, or devotion to the Supreme Lord. In this age the most accessible form of bhakti is sankirtana, or congregational chanting of the holy names of God. It is recommended as the yuga-dharma, or religion of the age. As stated in the Brhan-naradiya Purana, "In the Age of Kali no effective means of God realization is possible except the chanting of the holy names." The same thing is recommended in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, where the nine sages known as the Yogendras declare that in Kali-yuga intelligent persons will take to the process of sankirtana. And Sukadeva Gosvami tells Maharaja Pariksit that the chanting of the holy names is the saving grace of this age:

kaler dosa-nidhe rajan asti hy eko mahan gunah

kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet

"My dear king, although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom" (Bhag. 12.3.51).

In ignorance and defiance of the recommended yuga-dharma, unauthorized teachers make a business of teaching yoga and meditation. But since almost no one is qualified to practice the severe austerities of meditation, streamlined versions are taught, which are mostly a form of cheating. Even if a person seriously takes up the path of karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, or astanga-yoga, he will meet with many difficulties. For example, the jnani may become very attached to accumulating knowledge for its own sake, up to the point where he tries to merge with the Absolute Truth. The karma-yogi, or man of action, too often forgets to dedicate his activities to God and instead becomes attached to the fruits of his work or to fame. The astanga-yogis, if they are able to progress at all in the eightfold system, are liable to get sidetracked by the siddhis, or powers, that come to them. But bhakti, by its very nature, purifies one's senses, actions, and motives. Moreover, one doesn't have to go painfully and slowly through every single step on the yoga ladder from karma to jnana to bhakti. At any moment, whenever one decides to surrender, and wherever one gets the association of pure devotees, one can take the express elevator of bhakti-yoga. As Lord Krsna recommends,

daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya

mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it" (Bg. 7.14).

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari