Best yajna for Kali Yuga
Date: 2014-05-20 Author: Shyamsundar das
Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.
Being in the Krishna Consciousness movement, we always get the question ourselves or from others on, "Should I perform various yajnas, that the family traditionally follows?" Srila Prabhupada answers this question in Bhagavad Gita verse 3.10,
saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā purovāca prajāpatiḥ anena prasaviṣyadhvam eṣa vo ’stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk
In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Vishnu, and blessed them by saying,Be ' thou happy by this yajna [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation'.
In the purports Srila Prabhupada quoted that Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned soul to learn as how to perform yajna (sacrifices) for the satisfaction of Vishnu so that after finishing material body they can enter to the kingdom of God. In brief, the very object of yajna is to go back home – back to Godhead. He also quoted that yajna means Lord Vishnu, or sacrificial performances. All sacrificial performances also are meant for the satisfaction of Lord Vishnu. In Vedas, there are different kind of yajna prescribes for different demigods, but all are ultimately offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Ultimately all yajna are meant for gradual promotion to the transcendental position. Lord Caitanya, however, inaugurated the easiest performance of yajna, namely the sankirtana-yajna, which can be performed by anyone in the world who accepts the principles of Krishna consciousness, for the spiritual deliverance of everyone in this age.
Just like any yajna requires fire sacrifice and few other items, chanting and sankirtan requires austerity, to be able to spread the message of Godhead effectively. During a conversation on September 11, 1969, Srila Prabhupada said, " So every nice thing presented in the world requires austerity very devout, painstaking. Then it becomes successful. That is called yajna, or tapasya [austerity]."
The Vedic scriptures declare that in Kali yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra one can achieve whatever result was obtained in Satya yuga by meditating on Vishnu, in Treta yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvapara-yuga by Deity worship. Not only is sankirtana yajna equivalent to the traditional Vedic yajnas in many aspects; it is also unique and unparalleled. Anyone can take part in this type of yajna by performing the very natural acts of singing and dancing. They only have to redirect these natural propensities toward the Lord. By doing so, they get the benefits available in former ages through other processes. Since the people of Kali yuga are prone to be lazy, dull, misguided, unfortunate, and always disturbed, there is one special benediction available to offset these disadvantages.
SB 12.3.51 kaler doṣa-nidhe rājan asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ 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 Krishna maha mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. It is mentioned in Padmapurana Uttara-khanda entitled Srimad Bhagavata Mahatmayam, the glories of Srimad Bhagavatam. The process of hearing Srimad Bhagavatam in seven days is called saptaha yajna, which is the means for attaining the love of godhead. May all of us adopt such transcendental sankirtana yajna in our life to please Lord Krishna, who is the ultimate enjoyer of all sacrifices.
Thank you very much. Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev, Shyamsundar das Vrindavan.