This Kali-yuga is so strong that it attacks even the so-called devotees also. Kali-yuga is very strong.

Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu has recommended that if you want to save yourself, if you at all desire to take the position of amrta, if you are interested… Nobody is interested. Krsna says sa amrtatvaya kalpate. That is the aim of life: How I shall become immortal. How I shall not become subjected to the four principles of distressed condition — birth, death, disease and old age. Nobody is serious. They are so dull.

Therefore they have been described, manda. Manda means so bad, so rascal that they have no ambition of life. They do not know what is the goal of life. Manda. Manda means “bad.” And sumanda-matayah. And if some of them, just to become little recognized as very religious, he will accept some rascal as guru, magician, and eat everything, do everything, and become spiritualist, and his rascal guru will say, “Yes, you can eat anything. You can do anything. Religion has nothing to do with eating.”

It is going on. The Christian people, it is explicitly, clearly said, “Thou shall not kill.” But they are killing. Still, they are very much proud, “I am Christian.” And what kind of Christian you are? You are  egularly disobeying the order of Christ, and still you are Christian?

So everything is going on. Either Christian, Mohammedan or Hindu, so-called. All of them have become rascal. That’s all. This is Kali-yuga. Mandah sumanda-matayah. They have created their own imaginary religious principle, and therefore they are condemned. They do not know.

Adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram punah punas carvita-carvananam [SB 7.5.30]. The life, the aim of  life is to realize God. This is human life. But they are so much embarrassed with this uncontrollable senses that they are going to the darkest region of material existence. Adanta-gobhih. Adanta means uncontrolled. They cannot control the senses. They have become so unfortunate that simple thing, little effort, little austerity, to control the senses.

They’re missing the aim of life. Mandah sumanda-matayah. Why? Manda-bhagyah. They are unfortunate. So you take it for granted. We are trying, even our Krsna consciousness mission, we are trying to awaken. Still they are so unfortunate they cannot give up sense gratification. So unfortunate. Condemned, unfortunate. Repeatedly we are spending our gallons of blood — “Don’t do this” — still they are doing. Cannot give up even sleeping. So condemned. Kali-yuga. Mandah sumanda-matayah.

So it is very difficult with these rascals. Very, very difficult.

My Guru Maharaja preached. He was so kind. And he asked us also to do the same thing. But it is very, very difficult job. People are so rascal, so condemned, so sinful. It is very, very difficult to raise them. Very difficult. Mandah sumanda-matayo manda-bhagya hy upadrutah [SB 1.1.10]. So only those who are very fortunate, they will understand that “I am eternal,” avinasi, “I am imperishable. I am put into this condition of perishable condition due to this my material body.” So how to get out of it?

[Others] have no ambition. Just like dogs and cats. Simply sense gratification.

From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.17 — London, August 23, 1973