Formerly, great, great sages, they went to forest and Himalaya to meditate, just like Dhruva Mahārāja went. When five-years-old boy, in order to find out God, he went to the forest and meditated. Of course, he was successful, but at the present moment it is not possible to accept such kind of austerity. But therefore the śāstra gives us very short-cut austerity—chant Hare Kṛṣṇa:
- kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā
- harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
- (CC Adi 17.21)
Little austerity. Little austerity. We are asking our students to chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa, sixteen rounds at least—this much austerity. But Kali-yuga is so strong that even this sixteen rounds is also very difficult. So we are so much fallen, but still, although we are fallen, if we chant this mantra Hare Kṛṣṇa, as recommended by the śāstras: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam . . . just like a small child: he tries to walk, sometimes falls down, again he tries to stand up. But we must try to come to the perfectional point by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
So the Sūta Gosvāmī is replying after hearing the question: munayaḥ—this is plural number, "all the sages," sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ, "Oh, your question is very, very nice," sādhu, most, I mean to say, worshipable. Sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁ. munayaḥ sādhu pṛṣṭo 'haṁbhavadbhir loka-maṅgalam (SB 1.2.5). "Your question about Kṛṣṇa, that after departure of Kṛṣṇa, where is now jñāna and dharma?" Dharma, jñāna. Now see, simply because it is related with Kṛṣṇa, Sūta Gosvāmī became so engladdened, that "Your question is very, very nice," sādhu pṛṣṭo. Why it is nice? Because loka-maṅgalam.
This Kṛṣṇa discussion is so nice that as soon as we begin it, and so long we discuss about Kṛṣṇa, it is loka-maṅgalam—the whole period is auspicious. At that time Yamarāja cannot touch you. The death, the time, the influence of time cannot touch you. If you go on in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then the influence of time cannot touch you.
How influence of time has touched us? We are eternal, but we have been under the clutches of birth and death. This is the influence of time. Not that time is changing, but the influence of time is changing. I am getting this body, another body, another body . . . this is influence of time. So if you are constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, twenty-four hours, this influence of time cannot touch us. This is the secret.