Vedic scriptures (CC and other books)

Expressions researched:
"Vedic Scripture" |"Vedic Scriptures"

CC Preface and Introduction

CC Introduction:

In material consciousness we are trying to love that which is not at all lovable. We give our love to cats and dogs, running the risk that at the time of death we may think of them and consequently take birth in a family of cats or dogs. Our consciousness at the time of death determines our next life. That is one reason why the Vedic scriptures stress the chastity of women: If a woman is very much attached to her husband, at the time of death she will think of him, and in the next life she will be promoted to a man's body. Generally a man's life is better than a woman's because a man usually has better facilities for understanding the spiritual science.

CC Introduction:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu informs us that in every country and in every scripture there is some hint of love of Godhead. But no one knows what love of Godhead actually is. The Vedic scriptures, however, are different in that they can direct the individual in the proper way to love God.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 3.79, Purport:

The Vedic scriptures say:

go-koṭi-dānaṁ grahaṇe khagasya

prayāga-gaṅgodaka-kalpa-vāsaḥ

yajñāyutaṁ meru-suvarṇa-dānaṁ

govinda-kīrter na samaṁ śatāṁśaiḥ

"Even if one distributes ten million cows in charity during an eclipse of the sun, lives at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā for millions of years, or gives a mountain of gold in sacrifice to the brāhmaṇas, he does not earn one hundredth part of the merit derived from chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa."

CC Adi 3.111, Purport:

Knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood from the descriptions of the Vedic scriptures.

CC Adi 3.111, Purport:

Māyāvādīs think that the devotees have imagined the form of Kṛṣṇa, but the authentic Vedic scriptures have actually described Kṛṣṇa and His various transcendental forms.

CC Adi 3.111, Purport:

The word śruta in śrutekṣita-pathaḥ refers to the Vedas, and īkṣita indicates that the way to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead is by proper study of the Vedic scriptures.

CC Adi 4.60, Purport:

The Vedic scriptures inform us that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, is self-sufficient, and that māyā, nescience, can never influence Him at all.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

The Mokṣa-dharma Vedic scripture indicates that Pradyumna is the Deity of the total mind, whereas Aniruddha is the Deity of the total ego, but previous statements regarding the quadruple forms are confirmed in the Pañcarātra tantras in all respects.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

The scriptures known as the Pañcarātra-śāstras are recognized Vedic scriptures that have been accepted by the great ācāryas.

CC Adi 5.41, Purport:

(1) In commenting on Vedānta-sūtra 2.2.42, Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya has claimed that Saṅkarṣaṇa is a jīva, an ordinary living entity, but there is no evidence in any Vedic scripture that devotees of the Lord have ever said that Saṅkarṣaṇa is an ordinary living entity.

CC Adi 5.104, Purport:

Because Lord Viṣṇu expands the quality of goodness, He has the name Sattvatanu. The multifarious incarnations of Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu are known as Sattvatanu. Therefore in all Vedic scriptures Viṣṇu has been described as being free from all material qualities.

CC Adi 6.14-15, Purport:

“If matter were accepted as the original cause of creation, all the authorized scriptures in the world would be useless, for in every scripture, especially the Vedic scriptures like the Manu-smṛti, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is said to be the ultimate creator.

CC Adi 7.48, Purport:

In the paramparā system, the instructions taken from the bona fide spiritual master must also be based on revealed Vedic scriptures.

CC Adi 7.108, Purport:

Scholars take pride in explaining everything in their own way, and they declare that one can understand the Vedic scriptures in any way he likes.

CC Adi 7.120, Translation and Purport:

“The Māyāvāda philosophy is so degraded that it has taken the insignificant living entities to be the Lord, the Supreme Truth, thus covering the glory and supremacy of the Absolute Truth with monism.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura comments in this connection that in all Vedic scriptures the jīva-tattva, the truth of the living entities, is mentioned to be one of the energies of the Lord.

CC Adi 13.5, Purport:

All the stars are like the moon. Western astronomers consider the stars to be suns, but Vedic astronomers, following the Vedic scriptures, consider them moons.

CC Adi 13.92, Purport:

It is customary in India that all the followers of the Vedic scriptures bathe in the Ganges or the sea as soon as there is a lunar or solar eclipse.

CC Adi 13.106, Purport:

As there are professional singers, dancers and reciters of prayers in the heavenly planets, so in India still there are professional dancers, blessers and singers, all of whom assemble together during householder ceremonies, especially marriages and birth ceremonies. These professional men earn their livelihood by taking charity on such occasions from the homes of the Hindus. Eunuchs also take advantage of such ceremonies to receive charity. That is their means of livelihood. Such men never become servants or engage themselves in agriculture or business occupations; they simply take charity from neighborhood friends to maintain themselves peacefully. The bhāṭas are a class of brāhmaṇas who go to such ceremonies to offer blessings by composing poems with references to the Vedic scriptures.

CC Adi 17.155, Purport:

According to the Vedic scripture, if one can support his position by quoting from the Vedas, his argument is perfect.

CC Adi 17.157, Purport:

Our Vedic scriptures are not ordinary lawbooks of human common sense; they are the statements of factually liberated persons unaffected by the imperfectness of the senses.

CC Adi 17.157, Purport:

In the Vedic scriptures, the cow is described as a mother.

CC Adi 17.158, Translation:

As a learned scholar, the Kazi challenged Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "In Your Vedic scriptures there is an injunction for killing a cow. On the strength of this injunction, great sages performed sacrifices involving cow-killing."

CC Adi 17.159, Purport:

In the Vedic scriptures there are concessions for meat-eaters.

CC Adi 17.159, Purport:

In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.44) there is a clear injunction that cows should be protected: kṛṣi-gorakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam. "The duty of vaiśyas is to produce agricultural products, trade and give protection to cows." Therefore it is a false statement that the Vedic scriptures contain injunctions permitting cow-killing.

CC Adi 17.169, Purport:

According to the Vedic scriptures, within the body is the owner of the body, the soul.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 4.87, Purport:

Paṭhana means that a brāhmaṇa must be conversant with the Vedic scriptures.

CC Madhya 4.93, Purport:

People are often frustrated with national food policies, but from the Vedic scriptures we find that if there are sufficient cows and grains, the entire food problem is solved.

CC Madhya 10.116, Purport:

Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī was very expert in music as well as the Vedic scriptures.

CC Madhya 11.99, Purport:

Bhāgavata-dharma, or the principle of religion enunciated by the paramparā system, is the supreme principle of religion. In other words, dharma refers to the science of bhakti-yoga, which begins by the novice's chanting the holy name of the Lord (tan-nāma-grahaṇādibhiḥ). Therefore in this Age of Kali, as recommended here in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (text 98), kali-kāle dharma—kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana: the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is the method of religion approved by all Vedic scriptures.

CC Madhya 19.146, Purport:

However, in this Age of Kali, although men profess to belong to so many different kinds of religions, most of them commit sinful activities against the orders of the Vedic scriptures.

CC Madhya 20.173, Translation:

“"In different Vedic scriptures, there are prescribed rules and regulative principles for worshiping different types of forms. When one is purified by these rules and regulations, he worships You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although manifested in many forms, You are one."

CC Madhya 22.18, Purport:

In the Vedic scriptures, stress is sometimes given to fruitive activity, speculative knowledge and the mystic yoga system.

CC Madhya 23.116, Purport:

In the Vedic scripture Hari-vaṁśa (Viṣṇu-parva, Chapter Nineteen), there is the following description of Goloka Vṛndāvana:

manuṣya-lokād ūrdhvaṁ tu khagānāṁ gatir ucyate

ākāśasyopari ravir dvāraṁ svargasya bhānumān

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 3.222, Purport:

"A brāhmaṇa qualified to offer sacrifices is better than an ordinary brāhmaṇa, and better than such a brāhmaṇa is one who has studied all the Vedic scriptures. Among many such brāhmaṇas, one who is a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu is the best, and among many such Vaiṣṇavas, one who fully engages in the service of the Lord is the best."

CC Antya 4.221, Purport:

What is recorded in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa strictly follows the Vedic scriptures and is certainly pure, but the attitude of the karmīs is always one of giving up the conclusion of pure Vaiṣṇava understanding.

CC Antya 5.44, Translation:

“But I can make a guess in terms of directions from the śāstra. The Vedic scripture Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the direct evidence in this matter.

CC Antya 11.105, Purport:

Anyone who has learned the essence of all the Vedic scriptures is to be known as a first-class educated person, with full knowledge of all śāstra.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Intoduction:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu informs us that in every country and in every scripture there is some hint of love of Godhead. Unfortunately no one knows what love of Godhead actually is. The Vedic scriptures, however, are different in that they can direct the individual in the proper way to love God.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 4:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu has given further instructions by explaining that when a conditioned soul is accepted by the mercy of the spiritual master and is guided by the Supersoul and the various Vedic scriptures, he becomes enlightened and makes progress in spiritual realization.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 4:

Concerning man's search for the ultimate goal of life, Caitanya Mahāprabhu relates a story from the commentary of Madhva which occurs in the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Madhva-bhāṣya) Sarvajña to a poor man who came to him to have his future told. When Sarvajña saw the horoscope of the man, he was at once astonished that the man was so poor, and he said to him, "Why are you so unhappy? From your horoscope I can see that you have a hidden treasure left to you by your father. However, the horoscope indicates that your father could not disclose this to you because he died in a foreign place, but now you can search out this treasure and be happy." This story is cited because the living entity is suffering due to his ignorance of the hidden treasure of his Supreme Father, Kṛṣṇa. That treasure is love of Godhead, and in every Vedic scripture the conditioned soul is advised to find it.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 21:

The approved method for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the path of devotional service, and this is confirmed in every Vedic scripture.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 21:

No Vedic scripture should be used for indirect speculation.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 21:

According to the Mahābhārata, there is no point in arguing about the Absolute Truth because there are so many different Vedic scriptures and philosophical understandings that no one philosopher can agree with another.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 22:

"Whatever You have said concerning discrepancies in the Māyāvādī philosophy is also known by us," Prakāśānanda said. "Indeed, we know that all the commentaries on Vedic scriptures by Māyāvādī philosophers are erroneous, especially those of Śaṅkarācārya.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 24:

There are four kinds of understanding, called: (1) direct understanding (pratyakṣa), (2) hypothetical understanding (anumāna), (3) historical understanding (aitihya) and (4) understanding through sound (śabda). Of these four, understanding from the Vedic scriptures (which are the sound representations of the Absolute Truth) is the best method. The traditional Vedic students accept understanding through sound to be the best.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 24:

That the impersonal Brahman is dependent on the Supreme Personality is stated in the Hayaśīrṣa-pañcarātra and in every other Upaniṣad or Vedic scripture.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 24:

The word Brahman is found everywhere throughout the Upaniṣads. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are all taken together as the Absolute Truth. Brahman and Paramātmā realization are considered stages toward the ultimate realization, which is realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the real conclusion of all Vedic literatures. Thus according to the evidences afforded by various Vedic scriptures, the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the ultimate goal of Brahman realization.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 29:

In Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.101) Rūpa Gosvāmī has stated that devotional service that makes no reference to Vedic scriptures or Vedic literatures and that does not follow the principles set forth therein can never be approved.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 31:

A person born in a brāhmaṇa family may be conversant with all of the rituals of the Vedic scriptures but if he is not a pure devotee, he cannot be a spiritual master.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 32:

Kṛṣṇa has multiple activities, and they are described in many Vedic scriptures.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion Preface:

Śrīla Śrīnivāsa Ācārya describes in his prayers to the six Gosvāmīs that they were all highly learned scholars, not only in Sanskrit but also in foreign languages such as Persian and Arabic. They very scrutinizingly studied all the Vedic scriptures in order to establish the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu on the authorized principles of Vedic knowledge.

Nectar of Devotion 5:

From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other authentic Vedic scriptures we learn further that if a person simply acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and discharges devotional service, he is considered to be far, far better situated than all of those persons engaged in philanthropic, ethical, moral, altruistic and social welfare activities.

Nectar of Devotion 7:

Atheism means defying the authority of the Vedas and decrying the great ācāryas who teach Vedic scriptures for the benefit of the people in general.

Nectar of Devotion 8:

(5) One should not enter the temple in a contaminated state. (According to Vedic scripture, if someone dies in the family the whole family becomes contaminated for some time, according to its status.

Nectar of Devotion 19:

Although many different processes for developing love of Godhead have been explained so far, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī now gives us a general description of how one can best achieve such a high position. The beginning of ecstatic love of Godhead is basically faith. There are many societies and associations of pure devotees, and if someone with just a little faith begins to associate with such societies, his advancement to pure devotional service is rapid. The influence of a pure devotee is such that if someone comes to associate with him with a little faith, one gets the chance of hearing about the Lord from authoritative scriptures like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Thus, by the mercy of the Lord, who is situated in everyone's heart, one gradually develops his faith in the descriptions of such authoritative scriptures. This is the first stage of association with pure devotees. In the second stage, after one becomes a little advanced and mature, he automatically offers to follow the principles of devotional service under the guidance of the pure devotee and accepts him as the spiritual master. In the next stage, under the guidance of the spiritual master, the devotee executes regulative devotional service, and as a result of such activities, he becomes freed from all unwanted occupations. When he is freed from unwanted occupations, his faith becomes steadily fixed, and he develops a transcendental taste for devotional service, then attachment, then ecstasies, and in the last stage there is pure love of Godhead. These are the different stages of the development of pure love.

Only the most fortunate persons can achieve such success in life. Those who are simply academic students of the Vedic scriptures cannot appreciate how such a development takes place.

Nectar of Devotion 35:

According to the conclusion of all authoritative Vedic scriptures, when a person comes to the stage of appreciating Viṣṇu, he is at the beginning of devotional service.

Easy Journey to Other Planets

Easy Journey to Other Planets 2:

There are innumerable material planets, and beyond these planets there is the spiritual world. Yogīs have this information from Vedic scriptures. For example, before I came to the United States I read descriptions of it from books. Similarly, a description of the higher planets and the spiritual world can be found in the Vedic scriptures.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 1:

It is understood from various Vedic scriptures that just as there is the ocean of salt water on this planet, there are various kinds of oceans on other planets.

Krsna Book 14:

“The best process for understanding You is to submissively give up the speculative process and try to hear about You, either from Yourself as You have given statements in the Bhagavad-gītā and many similar Vedic scriptures, or from a realized devotee who has taken shelter at Your lotus feet.

Krsna Book 14:

If one understands You, therefore, through Your personal teachings, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, or through Your pure devotees, as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and all other Vedic scriptures—if one realizes that You are the ultimate goal of understanding—he need no longer fear this material existence.

Krsna Book 22:

It is recommended in the Vedic scriptures that a deity may be made from different kinds of material elements: it can be painted, made of metal, made of jewels, made of wood, earth or stone or can be conceived within the heart of the worshiper. The Māyāvādī philosopher takes all these forms of the deity to be imaginary, but actually they are accepted in the Vedic scriptures to be identical with either the Supreme Lord or a respective demigod.

Krsna Book 34:

In the Vedic scriptures, therefore, one is recommended to give charity to the brāhmaṇas, and by so doing one pleases Lord Viṣṇu and all the demigods.

Krsna Book 50:

Actually Kṛṣṇa is known in all Vedic scriptures as Puruṣottama, the highest among men.

Krsna Book 51:

The verdict of the Vedic scriptures is that no one becomes a brāhmaṇa or a mleccha simply by birth; by birth everyone is accepted as a śūdra.

Krsna Book 70:

The sun-god and other demigods mentioned in the Vedic scriptures are described as different limbs of the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and it is the duty of the householder to offer respects to the demigods and great sages, as well as the forefathers.

Krsna Book 82:

The Vedic scriptures are nothing but the injunctions of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Krsna Book 87:

In answering King Parīkṣit's question, Śukadeva Gosvāmī used the word ātmane, which indicates the stage of brahminical qualification in which one is allowed to study the Vedic scriptures known as the Upaniṣads.

Krsna Book 87:

People in general have a natural inclination to read narrations in which ordinary jīvas are glorified, but when they become attracted by the Vedic scriptures which delineate Your eternal pastimes, they actually dip into the ocean of transcendental bliss.

Krsna Book 87:

Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi informed Nārada Muni that the essence of all the Vedas and Vedic scriptures (namely, the four Vedas, the Upaniṣads, the Purāṇas and the Vedānta-sūtra) is to render transcendental loving service to the Lord. In this connection Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi has used one particular word—rasa. In devotional service this rasa is the via medium or the basic principle for the exchange of dealings between the Lord and the living entity. Rasa is also described in the Vedas: raso vai saḥ. "The Supreme Lord is the reservoir of all pleasure."

Krsna Book 87:

All the Vedic scriptures, including the Purāṇas, the Vedas, the Upaniṣads and the Vedānta-sūtra, teach the living entities how to attain the stage of rasa.

Krsna Book 89:

In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, it is said that hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is extremely conducive to liberation. The same fact is now confirmed by Sūta Gosvāmī: if anyone who is traveling aimlessly within this material world cares to hear the nectarean words spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, certainly he will come to the right conclusion, which is that simply by discharging devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead one will be able to stop the fatigue of perpetually migrating from one material body to another. In other words, one who becomes fixed in loving devotional service to Viṣṇu will certainly be able to get relief from this journey of material life, and the process is very simple: one has to give aural reception to the sweet words spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī in the form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Another conclusion is that we should never consider the demigods, even Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā, to be on an equal level with Lord Viṣṇu. If we do this, then according to the Padma Purāṇa we are immediately categorized as atheists. Also, in the Vedic scripture known as Hari-vaṁśa it is stated that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is to be worshiped and that the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, or any such viṣṇu-mantra, is always to be chanted.

Krsna Book 89:

In the Mṛtyuñjaya-tantra, a Vedic scripture, there is a vivid description of this Kāraṇa Ocean, or Virajā.

Krsna Book 90:

The Supreme Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead is never impersonal. All the Vedic scriptures glorify the transcendental performance of His various personal activities and pastimes.

Krsna Book 90:

Among Kṛṣṇa's greatly powerful sons, eighteen sons were mahā-rathas. The mahā-rathas could fight alone against many thousands of foot soldiers, charioteers, cavalry and elephants. The reputations of these eighteen sons are very widespread and are described in almost all the Vedic scriptures.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.2:

The Upaniṣads and other Vedic scriptures clearly state that Brahman is the Absolute Truth and the possessor and source of multifarious energies.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.7:

Those who have researched the Vedic scriptures in depth can calculate the lifetime of Brahmā.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.13:

The impersonalists suffer excruciating pains trying to establish the oneness of matter and spirit through speculative theories. Thinking that Brahman is impotent, through sophistry they try to equate the Lord's inferior, material energy with His superior, spiritual energy, thus reaping ridicule from truly learned circles. In attempting to prove that the Absolute Truth cannot be the Supreme Personality of Godhead with unlimited energies, they argue that this would mean immutable Brahman is actually mutable. Thus their logic loses all cohesion and they become a laughingstock. In trying to refute the established theory of pariṇāma-vāda, or the "transformation of energy," they accuse Śrīla Vyāsadeva of being mistaken when he says that the material universe and the living entities are all transformations of the Lord's energy and are therefore real, not false. Thus in their philosophical discussions the monists reject the main purport and essence of all Vedic scriptures and their corollaries and hang on to nonessential injunctions, such as tat tvam asi, "You are that."

Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.5:

Nowhere do the Vedic scriptures say that one has to annihilate desire in order to comprehend the Upaniṣadic statement sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.5:

The Bhagavad-gītā, which is the essence of all the Vedic scriptures, was compiled for the deliverance of the conditioned souls.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

The vision of a pure devotee is described by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.19-20):

yo mām evam asammūḍho

jānāti puruṣottamam

sa sarva-vid bhajati māṁ

sarva-bhāvena bhārata

iti guhyatamaṁ śāstram

idam uktaṁ mayānagha

etad buddhvā buddhimān syāt

kṛta-kṛtyaś ca bhārata

Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is the knower of everything. He therefore engages himself in full devotional service to Me, O son of Bharata. This is the most confidential part of the Vedic scriptures, O sinless one, and it is disclosed now by Me. Whoever understands this will become wise, and his endeavors will know perfection.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

Only by the Lord's mercy can one fathom the Supreme Godhead. That same Supreme Personality benignly reveals the truth about Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā. This text is the essence of all the Vedic scriptures and is the synthesis of all conflicting "isms."

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 3, Purport:

The Vedic scriptures and the ācāryas, or saintly teachers, are compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are compared to favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its desired destination.

Sri Isopanisad 11, Purport:

The process by which one goes back to Godhead is a different branch of knowledge, and it has to be learned from revealed Vedic scriptures such as the Upaniṣads, Vedānta-sūtra, Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Sri Isopanisad 12, Purport:

With their advanced consciousness, human beings are naturally inclined to travel in outer space and to reach other planets, either by spaceships, mystic powers or demigod worship. In the Vedic scriptures it is said that one can reach other planets by any one of these three ways, but the most common way is by worshiping the demigod presiding over a particular planet.