In His Own Words

This is my companion article to “Moving Forward” below. One of the important things to understand is not only Prabhupada’s vision for his Hare Krishna Movement, but also the overarching direction of the Movement for the past 150 years and longer, As explained in CC Adi 7:38 Text: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in order to deliver all the fallen souls. Therefore He devised many methods to liberate them from the clutches of māyā.

Living In The Kali-Yuga

Living In The Kali-Yuga by Andy Fraenkel

(Copyright 2022 Andy Fraenkel)

(This article is included in upcoming book – Good News Bad News Who Can Tell? Growing from the pandemic and other life changing experiences edited by Dr. Don Worth)

People seem to relish dystopian books and movies, but find it unsettling to live in a dystopian world for very long.  At the beginning of Covid,  it was the eerily empty  streets and wild life in places they’re not suppose to be. And there was the President’s proclamation that it would be over soon. Later came the fatigue from the constant divisiveness, the lies, and a floundering economy. People have learned to  live in  fear that someone or some event will take away our jobs, our savings, our health, our guns, and our freedoms. We are afraid that our government will become too powerful, or too weak, or not do the right thing by us and give someone an undue advantage. We are certainly alarmed  by the continued attacks on the innocent: at schools, churches, on our streets, and at malls and concerts.  

The beginnings of the Kali-yuga, the age of Kali, are described in the first canto of the ancient text, Bhagavat Purana. King Yudhisthira  was concerned about his citizens. He went incognito amongst his people. He wanted to understand their mood.  He wandered through the streets and market places, and what he discovered alarmed him. In the market places, the King noticed odd behavior.  The merchants sought to cheat their customers.  The King saw that his citizens’ anger was easily aroused over the slightest things. Ill words, even foul words, were exchanged. He saw that even friends and  family members could no longer agree with one another.  

Once, Yudhisthira inquired from a sage, “You know past, present, and future. Pray tell, what will the world look like in the end days?”  

See Kali-Yuga page to continue reading full article.