We see generally, "Oh, I have read Bhagavad-gita hundred times." But you ask him what is Krsna, he cannot say. Because he has not approached the acarya. This is the difficulty

Expressions researched:
"we see generally, "Oh, I have read Bhagavad-gītā hundred times." But you ask him what is Kṛṣṇa, he cannot say. Because he has not approached the ācārya. This is the difficulty"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

It is not that, "If I like, I can go to a guru; if I don't like, I can learn the books at home and learn everything." No, that is not possible. Practically . . . just like if you purchase some medical book and study at home, and if you begin to practice, you will be called a quack. You will not be recognized by the government. You will not get the practitioner's registration. You will not. Unless you have passed through the medical college, your medical examination, you will not be accepted, even if you say that, "I have read all the books." Similarly, if you simply think that, "I have read . . ." As we see generally, "Oh, I have read Bhagavad-gītā hundred times." But you ask him what is Kṛṣṇa, he cannot say. Because he has not approached the ācārya.

731005 - Lecture BG 13.08-12 - Bombay

Knowledge means not this material knowledge. Actual knowledge is to advance in spiritual knowledge. Just in this Bhagavad-gītā the beginning of knowledge was instructed by Kṛṣṇa that, "I am not this body." Dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā (BG 2.13). "I am encaged in this body. I am not this body." Unfortunately, at the present moment, this is accepted knowledge, bodily concept, "I am . . ." "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am kṣatriya." This is going on. Actually the knowledge begins when one understands, "I am not American," "I am not Indian," "I am not brāhmaṇa," "I am not kṣatriya." Then what you are? Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānu-dāsa (CC Madhya 13.80): "I am the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa, the provider of the gopīs," gopī-bhartuḥ. That is my real identification. Not this body.So to understand this knowledge one has to approach ācārya. Ācārya means one who knows the purpose of Vedic literature, śāstra, āśṛṇoti yaḥ śāstram, and practices and teaches his disciple. He knows. Ācārya means knows. One who knows the purpose of Vedic literature, he practices in his life, and he teaches his disciple, he is called ācārya. So ācārya upāsanam. Before worshiping the Lord . . . just like here Kṛṣṇa said in the beginning ācāryopāsanam, and in the middle he says, mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī. So before engaging yourself in devotional service to the Lord, you must first of all worship ācārya, ācāryopāsanam.One cannot become a devotee personally. Just like some rascals say: "What is the use of accepting guru?" Of course, they have got very bad experience. But who is ācārya? Ācārya means one who has received the Vedic knowledge through the paramparā system. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). He is ācārya. Ācārya cannot be manufactured, self-made. No. He must come down from the disciplic succession. He is ācārya. You have to approach such ācārya who is coming in disciplic succession. Ācāryavan puruṣo veda. One who is under the shelter of ācārya, he knows things. So Kṛṣṇa recommends also here that if you actually want to become in knowledge, if you want to have real knowledge, then you must worship ācārya. Ācāryopāsanam. This is Vedic system. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12).It is not that, "If I like, I can go to a guru; if I don't like, I can learn the books at home and learn everything." No, that is not possible. Practically . . . just like if you purchase some medical book and study at home, and if you begin to practice, you will be called a quack. You will not be recognized by the government. You will not get the practitioner's registration. You will not. Unless you have passed through the medical college, your medical examination, you will not be accepted, even if you say that, "I have read all the books." Similarly, if you simply think that, "I have read . . ." As we see generally, "Oh, I have read Bhagavad-gītā hundred times." But you ask him what is Kṛṣṇa, he cannot say. Because he has not approached the ācārya. This is the difficulty. He may . . . he might have read Bhagavad-gītā a thousand times, but he will not understand a single word, because he has not approached.Therefore Vedic literature says, tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). Abhigacchet. This word is used when the sense is "You must." This is vidhi-lin form of verb, gacchet, abhigacchet. You must. There is no excuse. You cannot learn. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). If you want to know uttamam subject matter . . . ut, ut means udgatam, transcending. Tamam means this material world. This material world is tama, darkness. But if you are interested in the matter which is transcendental to this material world, that means spiritual world, then tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta, you must surrender to a guru. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. Not ordinary jijñāsuḥ. Just like we go to the market, "What is the rate of this share?" "What is the rate of rice?" "What is the rate of ḍāl?" Not that kind of jij . . . brahma jijñāsuḥ. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. This human life is meant for inquiring about Brahman, not this rice, ḍāl, share market. No.So jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam, what is the highest perfection of life, he requires to approach a guru. It is not a fashion. It is not a fashion that, "I have made my guru, such-and-such svāmī." But what you have learned? You cannot learn, because you are not at all jijñāsuḥ. You do not know how to inquire, neither a guru you have met, he does know how to reply. Such kind of guru and disciple will not help. The disciple must be also serious to understand about the spiritual subject matter. That is knowledge, brahma-jijñāsā. One who is inquisitive to know about the Absolute Truth, he requires to approach a guru. That is jñāna.Jnana means brahma-jñāna. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi. This is jñāna. And if "I am American," that is not jñāna. That is ajñāna. "I am Indian," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am this," "I am that," "I am black," "I am white," "I am fat," "I am thin," these are all ajñāna, ignorance. You are neither fat nor thin nor black nor white nor American, but you are spirit soul. You have to know that. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am spirit soul. I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa." That is knowledge. And for this knowledge you must approach, ācāryopāsanam.Śaucam, cleanliness. That is very essential. This morning I was talking with Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī about. Cleanliness is . . . as soon as you give up cleanliness, you become mleccha and yavana. Mleccha, yavana, these two names have come into Vedic śāstras, "One who is unclean." Why there was always misunderstanding between the Hindus and the Muslim? I am talking of practical life. Because the Muslims were very unclean, and the Hindus are supposed . . . now Hindus are less than Muslim, less than Muslim, and still they are claiming śaucam. They are most unclean at the present moment, so deteriorated. Publicly it is being advertised, "Here is beef shop. Come on." Equality. Equality by eating beef, drinking wine. Now this is coming. Śaucam. Śaucam, cleanliness. "Cleanliness is next to godliness." You must take twice bath at least. It is required. And in tropical countries like India, there is no difficulty taking bath three times. Of course, if your body does not permit . . . but that is śaucam, to clean. Śaucam. Śaucaṁ bāhyābhyantaram.apavitraḥ pavitro vāsarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vāyaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁsa bāhyābhyantaraṁ śuciḥ(Garuḍa Purāṇa)The brāhmaṇa is called therefore śuci. He is always clean, taking three times bath, cloth washed, mouth, hands, legs, all clean, with tilaka. That is brāhmaṇa. Śaucam. This is externally. And internally you have to become also śaucam. Bāhyābhyantaram. Bahya mean externally you have to cleanse yourself with water, soap or earth. And internally you have to be cleansed by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Ceto-darpana-marjanam (CC Antya 20.12). Because if you remain unclean within the heart, simply by washing your external body and cleansing your cloth, that is not complete cleanliness. That may be called hygienic, but real cleanliness is internally and externally. Yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bāhyābhyantaraṁ śuciḥ.So you have to cleansed yourself externally and internally. By remembering, yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam, the lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa, if you always think, that is śuci. And in Bengali there is a word, poetry, muci haya śuci haya yadi kṛṣṇa bhaje. If one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, even if he is born in a cobbler's family, muci . . . in India there are two things, muci and śuci. Śuci means perfect brāhmaṇa, and muci means cobbler, the shoemaker. So muci haya śuci haya yadi kṛṣṇa bhaje. If one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, even if he is born in the family of a muci, camāra, he can become a brāhmaṇa. And śuci haya muci haya yadi kṛṣṇa tyaje: and if he gives up Kṛṣṇa, even if he's born in a brāhmaṇa family, he becomes a muci.