Shloka 5
Kṛṣṇa’s Impending Departure; Uddhava’s Surrender; King Yadu and the Avadhūta’s Twenty-Four Gurus
Beginnings
न वस्तव्यं त्वयैवेह मया त्यक्ते महीतले । जनोऽभद्ररुचिर्भद्र भविष्यति कलौ युगे ॥ ५ ॥
na vastavyaṁ tvayaiveha mayā tyakte mahī-tale jano ’bhadra-rucir bhadra bhaviṣyati kalau yuge
Mein lieber Uddhava, nachdem Ich diese Erde verlassen habe, sollst du nicht hier bleiben. O schuldloser Geweihter, im Kali‑yuga werden die Menschen allen Arten sündiger Handlungen verfallen; darum verweile nicht.
In this Age of Kali, human beings are totally unaware that the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes personally to the earth to manifest His transcendental pastimes as they are enacted in the spiritual world. Heedless of the authority of the Personality of Godhead, the fallen souls of Kali-yuga become engulfed in bitter quarrel and cruelly harass one another. Because people in Kali-yuga are addicted to polluted, sinful activities, they are always angry, lusty and frustrated. In Kali-yuga the devotees of the Personality of Godhead, who are engaged in the ever-increasing loving service of the Lord, should never be attracted to living on the earth, the population of which is covered in the darkness of ignorance and devoid of any loving relationship with the Lord. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa advised Uddhava not to remain on the earth in Kali-yuga. In fact, in Bhagavad-gītā the Lord advises all living entities that they should never remain anywhere within the material universe — during any age. Therefore every living being should take advantage of the pressures of Kali-yuga to understand the overall useless nature of the material world and surrender himself at the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Following in the footsteps of Śrī Uddhava, one should surrender to Kṛṣṇa and go back home, back to Godhead.
FAQs
This verse states that in Kali-yuga people develop a taste for inauspicious, degrading things (abhadra-ruci), indicating moral and spiritual decline.
Krishna warns that after His departure, the atmosphere of Kali-yuga will become spiritually unfavorable, so a pure-hearted saint should avoid remaining amidst people attracted to impurity.
Guard your attention and habits: avoid degrading influences, seek sādhus and scripture, and cultivate bhakti practices that keep the mind fixed on what is auspicious.