Rūpa Gosvāmī says:
- śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi-
- pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā
- aikāntikī harer bhaktir
- utpātāyaiva kalpate
- (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.101)
He says that "A show of devotion, a show of spiritual," I mean to say, spirituality, "a show of devotion, a show of spirituality, without reference to the Vedic knowledge, śruti, smṛti, and corollaries to the Vedas," pañcarātra-vidhim, "and the definition of bhakti-sūtras like Nārada-bhakti-sūtra and such authoritative books," aikāntikī harer bhaktiḥ, "if a man is showing himself that he is very great devotee and a man in knowledge, without any reference of the authoritative śāstra, books—oh, that is simply disturbance," utpāta. Utpāta means disturbance.
A man showing that he is a great devotee, he's great man of knowledge, but he has no reference with the books of knowledge, or the authoritative books, oh, that is simply creating disturbance. That is not religiosity, neither devotion, nothing else.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a science. You have to take it scientifically, as they are described in the authoritative books, and test it by your reason and argument and knowledge, and follow it. It is science. It is not sentiment. Whatever we are doing here, the dancing, singing and everything, that is all scientific.
Simply you have to understand it. Therefore jñānī, only a person who is in knowledge, who is in knowledge of the science of Kṛṣṇa, he can make an rapid advancement, and he is very dear to Kṛṣṇa. Because slow but sure, he is making sure progress. It is no sentiment. So jñānī.
Priyo hi jñāninaḥ atyartham. Atyartham means very . . . aham. Kṛṣṇa is very dear to the person in knowledge, and that man is also very dear to Kṛṣṇa. Reciprocal. If you love Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will love more than you. You can . . . what capacity you have got to love Kṛṣṇa? But Kṛṣṇa will love. He has got immense capacity. So that is a science. And what is the next? Now, Kṛṣṇa says:
- udārāḥ sarva evaite
- jñānī tv ātmaiva me matam
- āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā
- mām evānuttamāṁ gatim
- (BG 7.18)
Now, those persons, those who are distressed and those who are poverty-stricken, they go to God. They pray to God. Now, Kṛṣṇa is accepting their endeavor. Udārāḥ sarva evaite: "They are, all of them, these four classes of men, either he is . . . he is coming to Me in distress, or being poverty-stricken, or as inquisitive, or as real man of knowledge, they are welcome. They are welcome." Udārāḥ: "They are very good." Sarva evaite, "But, out of them," jñānī tu ātmaiva me matam, "still, that person who is in knowledge is very dear to Me, still." He is confirming it.