Authoritative knowledge

Expressions researched:
"authoritative knowledge" |"authoritative Vedic knowledge"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

We request simply people that you accept this authoritative knowledge and try to assimilate it by your intelligence.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- Pittsburgh, September 8, 1972: So we request simply people that you accept this authoritative knowledge and try to assimilate it by your intelligence. It is not that you stop your argument and intelligence, simply blindly accept something. No. We are human beings, we have got intelligence. We are not animals that we shall be forced to accept something. No. Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā [Bg. 4.34]. In this Bhagavad-gītā you'll find. You try to understand, tad viddhi. Viddhi means try to understand. Praṇipāta. Praṇipātena means surrendering, not by challenge. A student should be very submissive to the spiritual master. Otherwise, he will be, I mean to say, bewildered. Submissive reception.

Āstikyam means to have faith in the authoritative Vedic knowledge. That is called āstikyam.

Lecture on BG 1322 -- Hyderabad, August 17, 1976: This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a humble attempt to awaken the whole human society to this spiritual knowledge and act according to the instruction of spiritual life and be happy and be prepared for the next life. The perfection of next life is to become free from the laws of material nature. That is the highest perfection. Saṁsiddhiṁ paramaṁ gataḥ. That can be possible when you go back home back to Godhead. That is not very difficult at the same time. Janma karma ca divyaṁ me jānāti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti [Bg. 4.9]. Very simple thing. You simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Why Kṛṣṇa comes. Yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata [Bg. 4.7]. What is dharmasya glāniḥ? What is dharma? Why does He come? Paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām [Bg. 4.8]. Who is sādhu, who is duṣkṛta? These things are to be studied. If you neglect, if you remain like animal without studying all these what is the value of your life? So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to awaken people. "Wake up!" Uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata. You have got this opportunity. Try to understand yourself. Why you should go on like animals and imperceptibly change your body from one to another, one to another. This is bhava-roga. This is not very good position. we shall request you to take advantage of this movement, join it, study, and inquire, and be actually in knowledge. Jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam [Bg. 18.42]. This is the business of brāhmaṇa. One who knows Brahman. Jñānaṁ vijñānam āstikyam. Āstikyam means to have faith in the authoritative Vedic knowledge. That is called āstikyam.

The conclusion should be to take authoritative knowledge from authorities—one who is beyond the four defects of common man; one who does not make any mistake. One who is not illusioned, one who does not cheat, and one whose senses are perfect.

Lecture on SB 1.2.9 -- New Vrindaban, September 7, 1972: So I have talked with so many big professors in Russia, and their theory is that "After finishing this body, everything is finished." But (if) everything is finished, then why you are working so hard, if everything will be finished? They... Their, their theory is different. That is asuric theory, asuric theory. They do not believe in the self, they do not believe in God, they do not believe in the next birth, although these are facts. Simply a sober brain with cool head, one can understand. But these are facts. They're taking risk only. Now, by ordinary common sense knowledge, if I say, "There is no next birth," that is not authoritative. Because authoritative knowledge is... Suppose from Bhagavad-gītā, next life is accepted. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati [Bg. 2.13]. The beginning of Bhagavad-gītā is to teach that soul is eternal, it is migrating from one body to another, so there is next life. That is also authoritative knowledge. But if somebody says that "There is no birth," that is not authoritative. That is a layman's statement. So a layman can put up his own theory in so many ways. Then what shall be the conclusion? The conclusion should be to take authoritative knowledge from authorities—one who is beyond the four defects of common man; one who does not make any mistake. One who is not illusioned, one who does not cheat, and one whose senses are perfect. We are devoid of all these qualifications. We commit mistakes; we are illusioned; we cheat; and at the same time, our senses are imperfect. So how we can give by speculation perfect knowledge? That is not possible. Therefore, our principle, Vedic principle, is to receive knowledge from the perfect. So-called scientists, so-called philosophers... Because basically they're imperfect, how they can give you perfect? They can speak something, "Perhaps it it like that," "Maybe like that," "Perhaps it was like that." All their theories are like that. But actual fact is different. Actual fact we get from the Supreme Person, Kṛṣṇa, that dehāntara-prāptiḥ, tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati [Bg. 2.13].

Actually we are understanding about the sun not by our direct eyes but through the authoritative knowledge, through the śāstra, through the books.

Lecture on SB 2.9.4-8 -- Tokyo, April 23, 1972: But we have to know actually from authentic śāstra what is the actual thing. Śāstra-cakṣusā. You don't see with your, these blunt eyes, rascal eyes We see through the śāstras. That should be. That is real knowledge. What is our capacity of these eyes, these senses? They are all imperfect. So whatever knowledge you gather, the so-called scientists, they are all imperfect. Real perfect knowledge is here, Veda. Vedaiś ca sarvaiḥ. Therefore you should see through the Vedic version what is actually the fact. So the living entities, sarva-ga. Sarva-ga means a living entity can enter anywhere, and the material function is there. Just like we say "The point has no length, no breadth." Why? But I can see point. Why length and...? "I have no instrument to measure it." That you say. You cannot say there is no length and breadth. You have no instrument to measure what is the length and breadth of the point. You say...

Similarly you cannot understand what is the form of God. You say, "Oh, God is false." But from the śāstra we can understand. Here it is said that rūpaṁ sa ādi-devo jagatāṁ paro guruḥ. Brahmaṇe darśayan rūpam. So if God has no form, how He showed His form to Brahmā? He has form. Brahmā has attained the perfection to see the form of God, and the rascals who have no such perfection, they say "No form." That is the position. They, with their imperfect senses, all rascal theories, they are thinking that they have become perfect. But they are not perfect. First thing is that the senses with which you are studying, they are imperfect. What is the value of our eyes? Unless there is sunlight, you cannot see. So how can you say that "Our seeing is absolute"? It is relative. So whatever knowledge we are getting, they're all relative knowledge. Relative means according to my power I am studying, "This is this. This is this." But they are all wrong. You do not know what is actually the position. Therefore the conclusion is that we have to take knowledge from the perfect. Śāstra-cakṣusā. Your eyes should be... Actually we are doing that. Now, directly we are seeing the sun. We see just like the disk. But when you go through scientific books, geographic and other authorit..., astronomy, they, "No, the sun is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet." So actually we are understanding about the sun not by our direct eyes but through the authoritative knowledge, through the śāstra, through the books.