more fruitive work. In its place the seed of sraddha, or pure faith, is sown within his heart.

"On the strength of his piety, the jnani obtains the association of pure devotees of the Lord and invokes their inherent compassion towards himself. This helps him easily develop firm faith in the process of pure devotional service. The association of a pure devotee is a secondary devotional path for the jnani. You often say, O Lord, 'My servant, the jiva, succumbs to the treachery of My illusory potency. I always know what is beneficial for him and thus I inspire him to develop an aversion to sense enjoyment and liberation, and in its place I grant him attraction to devotional service unto Me. I lead the jiva in the pursuit of fulfilling his material desires and very subtly deflect his yearnings toward a secondary devotional path, and in this way strengthen his faith and love.'

"O Lord! You are most merciful and all this is a reflection of Your causeless mercy. Without Your loving intervention, how could the jiva ever become purified?

It is natural for us to want to be happy, satisfied, and free. But due to ignorance of our true identity, our natural longing becomes misdirected and leads to further bondage and unhappiness.
Jagad Guru Speaks

Religion has deteriorated in Kali-yuga

"In Satya-yuga, sages who took up the process of meditation were purified by the Lord and given the treasure of devotional service. In Treta-yuga, the same spiritual success crowned those who flawlessly performed opulent sacrifices to satisfy the Lord, and in Dvapara-yuga You granted devotion to those who adhered perfectly to the path of Deity worship. With the advent of Kaliyuga, O Lord, You saw the dreadful condition of the jiva and relinquished all hope in the processes of yoga, meditation, fruitive activities, sacrifices etc.

"People in Kali-yuga are short-lived, always harassed by disease, and are born with a weak physique and psyche. They are handicapped from the outset. The cultivation of varnasrama- dharma, sankhya philosophy, yoga and empiricism will not yield the strength needed to redeem the jivas in Kali-yuga. And the secondary sub-devotional paths of jnana and karma are extremely narrow and hazardous. The two secondary paths that lead to