Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.7.6
—
Vṛndāvana, September 5, 1976
That was the... Yajna is required. In this age, Kali-yuga, it is very difficult to perform the Vedic ritualistic yajnas. It requires tons of ghee and food grains. And people have nothing to eat even. But śāstra has made it very easy. Yajnaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ [SB 11.5.32]. If you perform the saṅkīrtana-yajna, then it is as good any other yajna. Yajna means to satisfy the yajna-puruṣa, Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu. So in the Kali-yuga, simply by performing yajnas you can satisfy the Supreme Lord. Yajnaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ. We have seen in many places by performing yajna, the saṅkīrtana-yajna, where it was very dry, rain has fallen. This is practical. So things are very easy. But instead of producing food grains, we are producing Goodyear tires. So how we can eat? Now when there is scarcity of foodstuff you cannot eat the Goodyear tires. But people's attention has been diverted in the industrial activities.
They are given allurement, "Come here. I shall give you twenty rupees per day. You give up your agricultural activities. You come in the factory. Produce tire tube, iron stool," and so on so on. So we are violating the orders of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says that produce foodgrain. But we are producing unnecessary things. And therefore you are suffering. Kṛṣṇa is giving very good advice: annād bhavanti bhūtāni. You produce sufficient foodgrain, all over, not only here. Another anartha is this nationalism. Nationalism: "This is America," "This is India," "This is Africa," "This is Australia." Why? Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam [Īśo mantra 1]. Simple thing. Everything belongs to God. Īśāvāsya. There will be no scarcity. I have studied very thoroughly that there are sufficient land still without any cultivation. In Africa I have seen sufficient land. But they are utilizing it for producing coffee and tea. No food grains. So these are the anarthas. Anartha. Unnecessary. People will not die without coffee and tea. But they have made the whole world self-dependent on coffee and tea, mercantile policy. There is anartha.