- śrī-bhagavān uvāca
- mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha
- yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ
- asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ
- yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu
- (BG 7.1)
We are speaking from Bhagavad-gītā. I think most of you know this book, Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is sometimes translated in foreign languages, "The Song of God." In other words, God Himself speaking. So far we are concerned, we cannot understand God by mental speculation. Even in this material world, we cannot understand what is there in the planetary system.
So our knowledge is very, very limited. Besides that, we have got four deficiencies. The one deficiency is that we commit mistake. Anyone, any big man of this material world, he commits mistake. Besides that, he is illusioned. Illusioned means to accept something what is not fact. Just like . . . (coughs) (aside) Water. We accept this body as self. This is called illusion. According to Vedic understanding, anyone who thinks of this body as the self, he's animal. Just like a dog, he thinks that he is the body, similarly, if a man thinks that he is this body—he is American or Indian or Frenchman or German or Hindu or Muslim, with this bodily concept of life—so, according to Vedic understanding, this conception is animal conception. So this is called illusion.
Then next item is cheating. Cheating means with imperfect knowledge one takes the place of a teacher. And the last deficiency is that our senses are imperfect. It is not independent, still, we are very much proud of our senses. For example, atheist class of men, they say that, "Can you show me God?" He does not think whether he has got any power to see. So far our eyes are concerned, we can see so long when the conditions are fulfilled. Just like here we are speaking. As soon as the light will be off, we cannot see one another. So what is the value of these eyes? You simply see under certain condition. You simply smell under certain condition. You can hear under certain condition. So therefore your materialistic life is conditional life.
So with these imperfect senses, we cannot understand what is God. The only sense is very, I mean to . . . usable, just is this ear. Just like man is sleeping, and some enemy has come to attack him or to kill him. So still he's nicely sleeping. But if some friend cries, "Mr. Such-and-such, wake up, wake up! Here is enemy. He'll kill you, kill you!" he can rise up. So when all other senses are useless, the ear can work. Therefore, to understand God, we have to use this ear. And we have to receive the sound vibration and it will act.