Transcendental Vision
…The
unmanifested forces of time are so powerful that they reduce all matter
to oblivion in due course. In Kali-yuga, the last millennium of a round
of four millenniums, the power of all material objects deteriorates by
the influence of time. In this age the duration of the material body of
the people in general is much reduced, and so is the memory.
The
great sage Vyāsadeva could see this by his transcendental vision. As an
astrologer can see the future fate of a man, or an astronomer can
foretell the solar and lunar eclipses, those liberated souls who can see
through the scriptures can foretell the future of all mankind. They can
see this due to their sharp vision of spiritual attainment.
(from purport to SB 1.4.17-18)
Full Verse and Purport follows
Srimad Bhagavatam By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Canto One, Chapter 4, Text 17-18
bhautikānāṁ ca bhāvānāṁ
śakti-hrāsaṁ ca tat-kṛtam
aśraddadhānān niḥsattvān
durmedhān hrasitāyuṣaḥ
durbhagāṁś ca janān vīkṣya
munir divyena cakṣuṣā
sarva-varṇāśramāṇāṁ yad
dadhyau hitam amogha-dṛk
bhautikānām
ca—also of everything that is made of matter; bhāvānām—actions;
śakti-hrāsam ca—and deterioration of natural power; tat-kṛtam—rendered
by that; aśraddadhānān—of the faithless; niḥsattvān—impatient due to
want of the mode of goodness; durmedhān—dull-witted; hrasita—reduced;
āyuṣaḥ—of duration of life; durbhagān ca—also the unlucky; janān—people
in general; vīkṣya—by seeing; muniḥ—the muni; divyena—by transcendental;
cakṣuṣā—vision; sarva—all; varṇa-āśramāṇām—of all the statuses and
orders of life; yat—what; dadhyau—contemplated; hitam—welfare;
amogha-dṛk—one who is fully equipped in knowledge.
The great sage, who was fully equipped in knowledge, could see,
through his transcendental vision, the deterioration of everything
material, due to the influence of the age. He could also see that the
faithless people in general would be reduced in duration of life and
would be impatient due to lack of goodness. Thus he contemplated for the
welfare of men in all statuses and orders of life.
Purport
The
unmanifested forces of time are so powerful that they reduce all matter
to oblivion in due course. In Kali-yuga, the last millennium of a round
of four millenniums, the power of all material objects deteriorates by
the influence of time. In this age the duration of the material body of
the people in general is much reduced, and so is the memory. The action
of matter has also not so much incentive. The land does not produce food
grains in the same proportions as it did in other ages. The cow does
not give as much milk as it used to give formerly. The production of
vegetables and fruits is less than before. As such, all living beings,
both men and animals, do not have sumptuous, nourishing food. Due to
want of so many necessities of life, naturally the duration of life is
reduced, the memory is short, intelligence is meager, mutual dealings
are full of hypocrisy and so on.
The great sage Vyāsadeva could
see this by his transcendental vision. As an astrologer can see the
future fate of a man, or an astronomer can foretell the solar and lunar
eclipses, those liberated souls who can see through the scriptures can
foretell the future of all mankind. They can see this due to their sharp
vision of spiritual attainment.
And all such transcendentalists, who are naturally devotees of the Lord,
are always eager to render welfare service to the people in general.
They are the real friends of the people in general, not the so-called
public leaders who are unable to see what is going to happen five
minutes ahead. In this age the people in general as well as their
so-called leaders are all unlucky fellows, faithless in spiritual
knowledge and influenced by the age of Kali. They are always disturbed
by various diseases. For example, in the present age there are so many
TB patients and TB hospitals, but formerly this was not so because the
time was not so unfavorable. The unfortunate men of this age are always
reluctant to give a reception to the transcendentalists who are
representatives of Śrīla Vyāsadeva and selfless workers always busy in
planning something which may help everyone in all statuses and orders of
life. The greatest philanthropists are those transcendentalists who
represent the mission of Vyāsa, Nārada, Madhva, Caitanya, Rūpa,
Sarasvatī, etc. They are all one and the same. The personalities may be
different, but the aim of the mission is one and the same, namely, to
deliver the fallen souls back home, back to Godhead.