Prabhupāda: But the directions should be taken from scriptures. But there are many scriptures. So ācārya means, just like Gosvāmīs, they would read all the scriptures and take the essence of it and give it to his disciple that, "You act like this." Because he knows what to give, how to manipulate, so that his ekāntataḥ śreyas will be achieved. Ultimate goal. Therefore the ācārya knows how to adjust things, at the same time keep pace with the spiritual injunction. That is ācārya. It is not that the same thing to be applied everywhere. He is eager to engage actually the people in the real benefit of life, but the means may be different.
Just like my Guru Mahārāja. He is the first time that he allowed the sannyāsīs to drive in a motorcar. A sannyāsī never drives in a motorcar, you see? But not for sense gratification. Suppose we are going by aeroplane. The sannyāsī should walk. The Jain sannyāsīs, they never ride on a car, you know that. You know that. They will never ride on a car. But now they are also riding. But suppose we are preaching now. I came from India. If I would say: "I am sannyāsī. I will not ride in a car or aeroplane; I must walk," then what kind of preaching would have been? You see? So therefore it depends on the ācārya how to adjust things. So my Guru Mahārāja said: "All right, go on preaching on a motorcar. It doesn't matter."
These Gosvāmīs, they went to Vṛndāvana, severest type of austerity. They used to live underneath a tree. Now if in this age I advise you that you also live underneath a tree, then it will be difficult to preach. You see? Nobody is accustomed in that way, such severe type of austerity. They must be given, as far as possible, comfortable accommodation; otherwise they will not come. They will not take. Now this . . . this is the adjustment. The ācārya knows how to adjust things. The real purpose is how one will take to spiritual consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Keeping one's aim to that point, some concession may be given. As far as possible, keeping pace with the time, circumstances.
Then? "The sages, therefore, inquired . . ." Huh?
Pradyumna: ". . . inquired of the absolute good, which is the ultimate good for the people. The condemned state of affairs of the people of this age is described as follows."
Prabhupāda: The condemned state at the present moment, how the whole world, whole atmosphere, is condemned is described in the next verse:
- prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ sabhya
- kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ
- mandāḥ sumanda-matayo
- manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ
- (SB 1.1.10)
This is the condition. Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ. The first qualification is short span of life. Short span of life. As I have repeatedly said, now our . . . in India the average age, span of life, is thirty years. The vitality is so reduced. In this country also the vitality is being reduced, strength is being reduced. The more the Kali-yuga will advance, the vitality will be reduced, the strength of the . . . Therefore the span of life will be reduced, so much so that at the end, almost end, people will live not more than thirty years.
Now we are seeing they are living up to seventy years, eighty years, or even sometimes ninety years, but gradually it will reduce . . . to such an extent that if a man lives for twenty to thirty years, he will be considered as a very old man. You see? Prāyeṇālpāyuṣaḥ kalāv asmin yuge janāḥ. Asmin kalau. Their first qualification is that their life is very short, short span of life. Then again, mandāḥ, lazy. They do not know; ill-educated. They do not know what is the aim of life. Mandāḥ, or slow. Sumanda-matayo: and if there . . . one is really . . . not really, but superficially so-called spiritually, they will capture some bābā, some god, some yogī, some bluffer, and they will follow them. Sumanda-matayo.
So many religious sect have come out, but original religion is this Vedic religion. But after that, so many religions they have come. So they have got history. Either this Christian religion or this Muhammadan religion, Buddhist religion, Jain religion, this religion, that religion, this "ism," that "ism," they have got history. History. It is limited, within the limited time. But this Vedic religion has no beginning or end. Therefore, sumanda-matayo, they will theorize, "In our religion it is said this." Oh, whatever your religion may be, that real purpose of religion is to understand God. How far you have understood God? That is practically nil. But these formula and the dogmas and this and that, they're full of . . . sumanda-matayo.
Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā (SB 1.1.10). And almost everyone is unfortunate. They haven't got even means to accommodate the bare necessities of life—eating, sleeping, mating. They're also deficient. Mandāḥ sumanda-matayo manda-bhāgyā hy upadrutāḥ. And above all these there is always disturbance: sometimes war, sometimes famine, sometimes earthquake, sometimes this, overflood. Just like recently in New York there was overflood, you know? So in this way we are so much complicated, this is the position. Now in this condition of life, how you can take up very serious type of self-realization, it is not possible.