Expressions researched:
"The original source of knowledge is the Vedas"
|"knowledge of the vedas"
|"knowledge of vedas"
|"knowledge of vedic"
There is complete facility for the small complete units, namely the living entities, to realize the complete, and all sorts of incompleteness are experienced due to incomplete knowledge of the complete. So Bhagavad-gītā contains the complete knowledge of Vedic wisdom.
All Vedic knowledge is infallible, and Hindus accept Vedic knowledge to be complete and infallible.
As it is stated in the Upaniñads, there are two birds sitting in one tree; one is acting and enjoying or suffering the fruits of the branches, and the other is witnessing. But one who is demoniac has no knowledge of Vedic scripture, nor has he any faith; therefore he feels free to do anything for sense enjoyment, regardless of the consequences.
The original source of knowledge is the Vedas. There are no branches of knowledge, either mundane or transcendental, which do not belong to the original text of the Vedas. They have simply been developed into different branches, They were originally rendered by great, respectable and learned professors. In other words, the Vedic knowledge, broken into different branches by different disciplic successions, has been distributed all over the world. No one, therefore, can claim independent knowledge beyond the Vedas.
Please, therefore, describe the Almighty Lord's activities which you have learned by your vast knowledge of the Vedas, for that will satisfy the hankerings of great learned men and at the same time mitigate the miseries of the masses of common people who are always suffering from material pangs. Indeed, there is no other way to get out of such miseries."
Even one hundred years ago in India, all dramatic performances were centered around the superhuman activities of the Supreme Lord. The common people would be verily entertained by the performances of dramas, and yātrā parties played wonderfully on the superhuman activities of the Lord, and thus even the illiterate agriculturist would be a participant in the knowledge of Vedic literature, despite a considerable lack of academic qualifications. Therefore, expert players in drama, dancers, singers, speakers, etc., are required for the spiritual enlightenment of the common man. The genealogists would give account completely of the descendants of a particular family. Even at the present moment the guides in the pilgrimage sites of India submit a complete account of genealogical tables before a newcomer. This wonderful act sometimes attracts more customers to receive such important information.
The Vedas are the storehouse of knowledge, both material and spiritual. But such knowledge aims at perfection of self-realization. In other words, the Vedas are the guides for the civilized man in every respect. Since human life is the opportunity to get free from all material miseries, it is properly guided by the knowledge of the Vedas, in the matters of both material needs and spiritual salvation. The specific intelligent class of men who were devoted particularly to the knowledge of the Vedas were called the vipras, or the graduates of the Vedic knowledge. There are different branches of knowledge in the Vedas, of which astrology and pathology are two important branches necessary for the common man. So the intelligent men, generally known as the brāhmaṇas, took up all the different branches of Vedic knowledge to guide society. Even the department of military education (Dhanur-veda) was also taken up by such intelligent men, and the vipras were also teachers of this section of knowledge, as were Droṇācārya, Kṛpācārya, etc.
A real brāhmaṇa is the natural teacher or spiritual master. Unless one has Vedic knowledge, one cannot become a spiritual master. The perfect knowledge of the Vedas is to know the Lord, the Personality of Godhead, and that is the end of Vedic knowledge, or Vedānta. One who is situated in the impersonal Brahman and has no information of the Supreme Personality of Godhead may become a brāhmaṇa, but he cannot become a spiritual master.
As the brāhmaṇas are recognized by their particular qualification of inclination towards the transcendental knowledge of Vedic wisdom, so also the kṣatriyas are recognized by the power to protect society from the disturbing elements of thieves and miscreants. The word anuvrataḥ is significant. A person who follows the kṣatriya principles by protecting society from thieves and miscreants is called a kṣatriya, not the one who is simply born a kṣatriya. The conception of the caste system is always based on quality and not on the qualification of birth. Birth is an extraneous consideration; it is not the main feature of the orders and divisions. In Bhagavad-gītā (18.41-44) the qualifications of the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras are specifically mentioned, and it is understood that all such qualifications are needed before one can be designated as belonging to a particular group.
The Vedas are the original scientific knowledge for all departments of understanding, and this knowledge of the Vedas was first impregnated into the heart of Brahmā by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore Brahmā is the original source of all scientific knowledge. He is born directly from the transcendental body of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who is never seen by any creature of this material universe and therefore always remains unmanifested. Brahmā is stated here to be born of the unmanifested. He is the incarnation of the mode of passion in material nature, which is the separated, external energy of the Supreme Lord.
The purpose of the Vedas is to propagate the transcendental knowledge of the Absolute Truth. The brāhmaṇas were created from the mouth of the Supreme Person, and therefore they are meant to spread the knowledge of the Vedas in order to spread the glories of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā also Lord Kṛṣṇa says that all the Vedas are meant for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is especially mentioned here (yoga-yuktān alampaṭān) that brāhmaṇas are full of mystic power and are completely averse to sense gratification.
As long as one is in the contamination of material existence, one changes bodies from the aquatics up to the position of Brahmā, but the human form of life is the highest perfectional life in the material world. The Vedas give directions by which to elevate oneself in the next life. The Vedas are the mother for such instructions, and the brāhmaṇas, or persons who are in knowledge of the Vedas, are the father. Thus if one blasphemes the Vedas and brāhmaṇas, naturally one goes down to the status of atheism. The exact word used in Sanskrit is nāstika, which refers to one who does not believe in the Vedas but manufactures some concocted system of religion. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said that the followers of the Buddhist system of religion are nāstikas. In order to establish his doctrine of nonviolence, Lord Buddha flatly refused to believe in the Vedas, and thus, later on, Śaṅkarācārya stopped this system of religion in India and forced it to go outside India.
In order to regulate the activities of the living entities, God has given us codes, just as a king gives codes of law in a state, and whoever breaks the law is punished. Similarly, the Lord has given the infallible knowledge of the Vedas, which are not contaminated by the four defects of human life—namely the tendency to commit mistakes, to be illusioned, to cheat and to have imperfect senses. If we do not take direction from the Vedas but act whimsically according to our own choice, we are sure to be punished by the laws of the Lord, who offers different types of bodies in the 8,400,000 species of forms. Material existence, or the sense gratification process, is conducted according to the type of body we are given by prakṛti, or material nature.
When Lord Caitanya talked to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, the Lord honored him as the incarnation of Bṛhaspati. Bṛhaspati is the chief priest of the heavenly kingdom, and he is a follower of the philosophy known as brahma-vada, or Māyāvāda. Bṛhaspati is also a great logician. It appears from this statement that Mahārāja Pṛthu, although a great devotee constantly engaged in the loving service of the Lord, could defeat all kinds of impersonalists and Māyāvādīs by his profound knowledge of Vedic scriptures. We should learn from Mahārāja Pṛthu that a Vaiṣṇava, or devotee, must not only be fixed in the service of the Lord, but, if required, must be prepared to argue with the impersonalist Māyāvādīs with all logic and philosophy and defeat their contention that the Absolute Truth is impersonal.
Here it is clearly mentioned that the karmī, jñānī or yogī—in fact, everyone—worships Lord Viṣṇu if he is actually expert in knowledge of the Vedas and Tantras. The word kovidāḥ is very significant, for it indicates the devotees of the Lord. Only the devotees know perfectly that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is all-pervading. Within the material energy, He is represented by the five material elements as well as the mind, intelligence and ego.
Everyone is therefore advised to act in terms of the Vedic injunctions and not irresponsibly. When a person within a state acts according to the laws and licenses of the government, he does not become involved in criminal activities. Man-made laws, however, are always defective because they are made by men who are prone to committing mistakes, being illusioned, cheating and having imperfect senses. The Vedic instructions are different because they do not have these four defects. Vedic instructions are not subject to mistakes. The knowledge of the Vedas is knowledge received directly from God, and there is consequently no question of illusion, cheating, mistakes or imperfect senses. All Vedic knowledge is perfect because it is received directly from God by the paramparā, disciplic succession.
In other words, the greatness of the living entity can be perceived when he is in the spiritual world, engaged in spiritual activities. Many householders, although well-educated in the knowledge of the Vedas, become attached to family life. They are compared herein to crocodiles out of water, for they are devoid of all spiritual strength. Their greatness is like that of a young husband and wife who, though uneducated, praise one another and become attracted to their own temporary beauty. This kind of greatness is appreciated only by low-class men with no qualifications.
"Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed." The Vedas enjoin, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) one must approach a spiritual master who has full knowledge of the Vedas and be faithfully directed by him in order to become a devotee of the Lord. Then the knowledge of the Vedas will be revealed. When the Vedic knowledge is revealed, one need no longer remain in the darkness of material nature.
Among the great personalities who came to worship the lotus feet of the Lord were those who had attained perfection in self-control and regulative principles, as well as experts in logic, history, general education and the Vedic literature known as kalpe (dealing with old historical incidents). Others were experts in the Vedic corollaries like Brahma-saṁhitā, all the other knowledge of the Vedas (Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg and Atharva), and also the supplementary Vedic knowledge (Āyur-veda, Dhanur-veda, etc.). Others were those who had been freed of the reactions to fruitive activities by transcendental knowledge awakened by practice of yoga. And still others were those who had attained residence in Brahmaloka not by ordinary karma but by advanced Vedic knowledge. After devotedly worshiping the upraised lotus feet of the Supreme Lord with oblations of water, Lord Brahmā, who was born of the lotus emanating from Lord Viṣṇu's navel, offered prayers to the Lord.
In the evening twilight during the rainy season, the darkness allowed the glowworms but not the stars to shine forth, just as in the age of Kali the predominance of sinful activities allows atheistic doctrines to overshadow the true knowledge of the Vedas.
Being fully endowed with conclusive knowledge of the Vedas and having realized the ultimate purpose of such knowledge in practice, you will be able to perceive the pure self, and thus your mind will be satisfied. At that time you will become dear to all living beings, headed by the demigods, and you will never be hampered by any disturbance in life.
Persons with perverted intelligence do not understand this actual purpose of Vedic knowledge and instead propagate as the highest Vedic truth the flowery statements of the Vedas that promise material rewards. Those in actual knowledge of the Vedas never speak in that way.
Even with no academic career, if one has full faith in the spiritual master and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he develops in spiritual life and real knowledge of the Vedas. The example of Mahārāja Khaṭvāṅga confirms this. One who surrenders is understood to have learned the subject matter of the Vedas very nicely. One who adopts this Vedic process of surrender learns devotional service and is certainly successful. One who is very proud, however, is unable to surrender either to the spiritual master or to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
"A brāhmaṇa must be perfectly religious. He must be truthful, and he must be able to control his senses. He must execute severe austerities, and he must be detached, humble and tolerant. He must not envy anyone, and he must be expert in performing sacrifices and giving whatever he has in charity. He must be fixed in devotional service and expert in the knowledge of the Vedas. These are the twelve qualifications for a brāhmaṇa."
“In that same verse it is stated that the Lord is the creator, maintainer and annihilator of the cosmic manifestation and that He enabled Lord Brahmā to create the universe by infusing him with the knowledge of the Vedas. It is also stated that the Lord has full knowledge, directly and indirectly, that He knows past, present and future, and that His personal energy is separate from māyā, the illusory energy.
One who has taken birth in the land of Bhārata-bhūmi, India, should take full advantage of his birth. He should become completely well versed in the knowledge of the Vedas and spiritual culture and should distribute the experience of Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. People all over the world are madly engaging in sense gratification and in this way spoiling their human lives, with the risk that in the next life they may become animals or less. Human society should be saved from such a risky civilization and the danger of animalism by awakening to God consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has been started for this purpose. Therefore unbiased men of the highest echelon should study the principles of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and fully cooperate with this movement to save human society.
Although Lord Buddha is accepted as an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, the followers of such incarnations are not very advanced in their knowledge of the Vedas. To study the Vedas means to come to the conclusion of the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore any religious principle which denies the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead is not accepted and is called atheism. 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.
Similarly, Mahārāja Bali once told his priest, Śukrācārya, "My dear sage, you are fully expert in knowledge of the Vedas, and as such you worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, by Vedic rituals. As far as this brāhmaṇa dwarf (the incarnation Vāmanadeva) is concerned, if He is Lord Viṣṇu, a simple brāhmaṇa or even my enemy, I have decided to give to Him in charity all the land He has asked for." Mahārāja Bali was so fortunate that the Lord extended before him His hand, which was reddish from touching the breast of the goddess of fortune, who is always smeared with red kuṁkum powder. In other words, although the Personality of Godhead is so great that the goddess of fortune is always under His command for enjoyment, He still extended His hands to take charity from Mahārāja Bali.
The Vedic knowledge is received first by Brahmā from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, through the medium of the heart. As stated in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye: (SB 1.1.1) the transcendental knowledge of the Vedas was transmitted to Lord Brahmā through the heart. Here also, in the same way, only Brahmā could understand the message transmitted by Lord Viṣṇu, and he broadcast it to the demigods for their immediate action.
The gopīs and the men began to converse amongst themselves about how wonderful it was that child Kṛṣṇa had been attacked in so many ways and so many times by so many demons, and yet the demons themselves had been killed and Kṛṣṇa had remained uninjured. They continued to converse amongst themselves about how so many great demons in such fierce bodies had attacked Kṛṣṇa to kill Him but, by the grace of Hari, had not been able to cause even a slight injury. Rather, they had died like small flies in a fire. Thus they remembered the words of Garga Muni, who had foretold, by dint of his vast knowledge of the Vedas and astrology, that this boy would be attacked by many demons. Now they were actually seeing that this was coming true, word for word.
Another young gopī told her mother, "My dear mother, the birds, who are all looking at Kṛṣṇa playing on His flute, are sitting very attentively on the branches and twigs of different trees. From their features it appears that they have forgotten everything and are engaged only in hearing Kṛṣṇa's flute. This proves that they are not ordinary birds; they are great sages and devotees, and just to hear Kṛṣṇa's flute they have appeared in Vṛndāvana forest as birds." Great sages and scholars are interested in Vedic knowledge, but the essence of Vedic knowledge is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). Through the knowledge of the Vedas, Kṛṣṇa has to be understood. From the behavior of these birds, it appeared that they were great scholars in Vedic knowledge and that they took to Kṛṣṇa's transcendental vibration and rejected all branches of Vedic knowledge.
Although they heard all the arguments on behalf of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, they did not care for them, and they refused to speak to the boys. Despite being highly elevated in the knowledge of Vedic sacrificial rites, all such nondevotee brāhmaṇas, although they think of themselves as very highly elevated, are ignorant, foolish persons. All their activities are childish because they do not know the purpose of the Vedas, as it is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: to understand Kṛṣṇa. In spite of their advancement in Vedic knowledge and rituals, they do not understand Kṛṣṇa; therefore their knowledge of the Vedas is useless. Lord Caitanya, therefore, gave His valuable opinion that although a person may not be born in a brāhmaṇa family, if he knows Kṛṣṇa or the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness he is more than a brāhmaṇa, and he is quite fit to become a spiritual master.
As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, only fools and rascals consider You an ordinary man. To consider Your Lordship one of us, conditioned by the material nature, is a mistake due to our imperfect knowledge. When people deviate from the original knowledge of the Vedas, they try to identify the ordinary living entities with Your Lordship, who have appeared on this earth in Your original form to reestablish the real knowledge that the living entities are neither one with nor equal to the Supreme God. My dear Lord, You are always situated in uncontaminated goodness (śuddha-sattva). Your appearance is necessary to reestablish actual Vedic knowledge, as opposed to the atheistic philosophy which tries to establish that God and the living entities are one and the same.
To refute this impersonal conception of the Absolute, the previously quoted verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam unequivocally states that the Absolute Truth is a person. This transcendental personality is so powerful that He could impart the knowledge of the Vedas even to Lord Brahmā, who then went on to create the material universe. Lord Brahmā did not receive this extraordinary Vedic knowledge after creation but before he began the work of creation. The knowledge that existed before the mundane nature came into being is transcendental and is known as saṁvit.
One must approach a bona fide spiritual master in order to understand the transcendental message of the Vedas. That is the direction of the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12). These veda-vāda-rata people, however, have their own ācāryas, who are not in the chain of transcendental succession. Thus they progress into the darkest region of ignorance by misinterpreting the Vedic literature. They fall even further into ignorance than those who have no knowledge of the Vedas at all.
The ignorant pseudo religionists and the manufacturers of so-called incarnations who directly violate the Vedic injunctions are liable to enter into the darkest region of the universe because they mislead those who follow them. These impersonalists generally pose themselves as incarnations of God to foolish persons who have no knowledge of Vedic wisdom. If such foolish men have any knowledge at all, it is more dangerous in their hands than ignorance itself. Such impersonalists do not even worship the demigods according to the scriptural recommendations.
All living entities can be divided into two divisions: those that can move and those that are stationary, such as trees. But there are also many further divisions. Some species fly in the air, some live in the water, and some live on the ground. Among the living entities who live on the ground, only 400,000 are human species, and out of these 400,000 human species, many are uncivilized or unclean; they are not up to the standard of proper civilization. From the historical point of view, the Āryans are the most civilized section of human beings, and among the Āryans, the Indians are especially highly cultured. And among the Indians, the brāhmaṇas are the most expert in knowledge of the Vedas.
One has to learn by surrendering, praṇipāta. So first of all there must be a strong impulse to inquire about the transcendental subject matter. Then one requires a guru. Not that, to follow a fashion, that one has guru. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Unless one becomes under the control of ācārya, he has no perfect knowledge. Therefore the Vedas says, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) "For understanding that transcendental science, one must approach a guru." And what is the symptom of guru? Samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham: Guru means one who has complete knowledge of Vedic version, and not only that, he is a staunch or fixed-up devotee of the Supreme Lord. These are the qualification. The guru strictly follows the Vedic injunction and teaches the same thing to his disciple. That is guru.
Vedas means... Veda means knowledge, and anta means ultimate. That is called Vedānta. So ultimate knowledge is to know God. You may not accept Kṛṣṇa. Although all the ācāryas... I have already mentioned. Even Śaṅkarācārya, he also accept Kṛṣṇa: sa bhagavān svayaṁ kṛṣṇa. So the Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, they have all accepted Kṛṣṇa: the ultimate knowledge of Vedic understanding. Many ācāryas, they have written notes on Vedānta, targeting Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we have to follow the footprints of the great stalwart ācāryas.
So therefore our attempt to understand the Absolute Truth by our faulty senses and experience is futile. We must hear. Śravaṇam. That is the Vedic process. The student used to go to the master and gurukula. It was known as gurukula. Every brāhmaṇa, every self-realized soul, every vipra, or expert in the knowledge of Vedic literature, he would be provided with some brahmacārīs, group of brahmacārīs. They will follow the rules and regulation of brahmacārī life and live with the spiritual master, and the spiritual master will teach them, from Vedic literature, real knowledge.
The subject matter of Vedas is to know Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). If you are a student of Vedas, then you must have clear conception of God. That is real knowledge, no vague idea, but clear conception. That is knowledge, Vedic knowledge, ultimate... Therefore the Vedānta philosophy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means the ultimate. Everything has got ultimate. So Vedānta means the ultimate knowledge of Vedas. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. You will find in the fifteenth chapter.
Therefore Vedic knowledge is called apauruṣeya. It is not manufactured or concocted by some mental speculator. It is coming from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it was imparted first of all to Lord Brahmā, not by personal presentation, but through the heart. Brahmā is the original person to understand Vedic knowledge. So after his birth he meditated for hundreds of years, and by meditation, through his heart the knowledge of Vedas, śruti, became revealed. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye. Ādi-kavi means Brahmā. And Brahman means Vedic knowledge. So we have to accept in that way. There is no physical science which can ascertain all this, how the things are taking place.
It is the essence of all Vedic literature. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says... What is the purpose of Vedas? You may be very learned scholar in Vedas, then what you have learned, Vedānta? Vedānta means the last knowledge of Vedas.
Just sprinkle, not individual, sprinkle. Minimize time. Don't waste time. So the point is here that Ajāmila was so qualified just as a brāhmaṇa, perfect brāhmaṇa, born of a brāhmaṇa father and educated, qualified, and acquired the qualities. All the qualities are mentioned, that śruta-sampannaḥ. Śruta-sampannaḥ means well studied in Vedas. That is a brāhmaṇa's qualification. Veda-pāṭhād bhaved vipraḥ. Vipra, brāhmaṇa, without any knowledge of the Vedas, (laughs) that is not a brāhmaṇa. So he was actually brāhmaṇa, śruta-sampannaḥ. And after... Simply reading of Vedas as a scholar is useless. Just like foreign Western scholar... (aside:) Now stop. One must practically apply the knowledge, not like armchair politician or armchair Vedantist, smoking cigarette and reading Vedānta. This kind of study of Vedas is useless.
So the speeches of the Yamadūta, assistants of Yamarāja, was thus finished, arguments. The argument was that "This man, Ajāmila, born of a brāhmaṇa father, although acquired all qualification... He was qualified brāhmaṇa, not simply born of a brāhmaṇa father, but qualified brāhmaṇa, with full knowledge of Vedic instruction, nice character, very gentle and silent and offering respects to elderly persons, spiritual master, father. In this way he was perfect brāhmaṇa. But due to his contact with a prostitute he lost his all good qualification.
The human life is meant for that. Why you are neglecting? Our attempt is, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is how to spread this knowledge of the Vedas and the Purāṇas so that the human being can take advantage of it and make his life successful. Otherwise, if he simply labors hard, day and night, like the hog... The hog is day and night working very hard to find out "Where is stool? Where is stool?" And after eating stool, as soon as they get little fat... The pigs are fatty therefore because stool contains all the essence of food. According to medical science, the stool is full of hydrophosphates. So hydrophosphate is good tonic. So one may try if they like. (laughter) But actually this is the fact. The pig becomes very fatty because it is stool.
So simply by understanding what is Kṛṣṇa, one becomes liberated. Vedas, knowledge of Vedas, means to become liberated. The knowledge of Vedas is set in such a way that they are directing that "You have come here to enjoy this material world, so you try to enjoy in this systematic way." Just like government gives you facility. You want to do some business; the government gives you all facility, but under certain rules and regulations, not that whatever you like, you can do. No. You have to get license to do any sort of business. Even if you do any nonsense, still, you have to follow the rules and regulation of the government.
Now people may argue that in the creation we find Brahmā the first-born living creature, and he has given us the Vedic knowledge. So this, in the creation, because he's the first living creature, then he is svarāṭ. He is also independent. Why God is independent? This living creature, he's first-born. He's independent. Otherwise, how could he give the knowledge of Vedas? So the reply is tene brahma hṛdā. No. He's also dependent. He got the knowledge from the Supreme Lord.
So we have been discussing, yesterday, Brahmā visiting Kṛṣṇa as four-headed Brahmā. He was little proud that "I am the original, first creature of the universe. I have got four heads, four hands." The material nature, the influence of material nature, is like that. Even Brahmā, who is supposed to be in full knowledge of Vedic literature... He is the father of Vedic literatures. He handed over the Vedas to Nārada.
So, this ignorance is dissipated by the knowledge of the Vedas. Lord Caitanya therefore, has said, that Kṛṣṇa he will say, that because we are so foolish we have forgotten how to become happy, therefore Kṛṣṇa has made so many Vedic literatures. Ataeva kṛṣṇa veda purāṇa korila. So you should take advantage of these Vedas. Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore says—we have already talked now—He says, sādhu-śāstra-kṛpāya yadi kṛṣṇonmukha haya. This is Bengali—I think you will understand—I will explain in English also.
Prabhupāda: "One must approach a guru." Then the same question comes, "Who is guru?" That is also stated, śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. "He's well-versed in Vedas, knowledge of Vedas, and fully Kṛṣṇa conscious." He is guru. Just like how do you know that here is a medical practitioner? Before going for treatment, you find out. How do you find out?
Śyāmasundara: Some friend, perhaps.
Prabhupāda: Anyway, you have to take information. Similarly, guru, according to śāstra, who is guru, he must be confirmed by sādhu, saintly person, by śāstra. Then he's guru. Sadhu-śāstra, guru-vākya, tinete kariyā aikya.
Harikeśa: Some of the astronauts became very religious after they supposedly went.
Prabhupāda: Yes, they are intelligent, that "This is all nonsense. Real thing is God." That is... They come to their senses. They are intelligent. (break) (In car:) ...real business is to enhance your Kṛṣṇa consciousness. These people, they are wasting time simply to know something else. There is no limit. Kliśyanti ye kevala-bodha-labdhaye. What is moon planet? What business you have got to know the...? Whatever is stated in the śāstra, accept it, that's all. What is the use of experiment and going there and then again say, "Oh, it is all failure." Simply waste of time. The arrangement is there by God. That's all. Spending so much money, hard-earned money, unnecessarily and then say, "Oh, it is failure."
Paramahaṁsa: If they were a little bit intelligent and had some knowledge of the Vedas, they would learn that they could go there...
Prabhupāda: The knowledge is already there. Just like I am speaking. I am not a scientist. On the knowledge of Vedas, that's all.
Prabhupāda: Śāstra? Śāstra means it is authorized. Just like Bhagavad-gītā is śāstra because it is spoken by Kṛṣṇa, the supreme authority. Therefore all the ācāryas, they accept it. Still the ācārya-sampradāyas are there. Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇu Svāmī, Śaṅkara, they accept all this. And at the time of...
Guest (2): Do you accept the supremacy of the Vedas, veda-pramāṇam.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). And if you do not understand Kṛṣṇa, then you do not know what is Veda. Your knowledge of Vedas will be accepted when you understand Kṛṣṇa. So if you do not know what Kṛṣṇa, then what is the use of taking so much trouble to study Vedas? You do not know anything.
Prabhupāda: The Supersoul is observing the activities of the individual soul. As it is stated in Vedic literature, the Upaniṣads, there are two birds sitting in one tree. One is acting and enjoying or suffering the fruits of the branches, and the other is witnessing. But one who is demoniac has no knowledge of Vedic scripture, nor has he any faith. Therefore he feels free to do anything for sense enjoyment, regardless of the consequence."
So I would again request you to take up the preaching work of this great movement. It does not matter whether you accept Sannyas order of life or not. You can preach this Krishna Consciousness movement even along with your good wife, and why not this procedure? My disciples are only children. If they can preach this Krishna Consciousness movement husband and wife together, without having any background of Vedic culture, why not an experienced gentleman like you with full knowledge of Vedic culture preach this movement? If you take up this work in right earnest, I am sure you will feel transcendental bliss.
So I would suggest that you now retire from family life and accept at least vanaprastha order of life keeping your wife with you as assistant and fully engaged in translating the Vedic literature as far as possible. It appears that in the Western countries there is a great demand for real knowledge of Vedic literature. So you are a learned scholar both in English and Hindi, and you can do this completely devoted to the service of Lord Ramacandra.
| Page Title: | Knowledge of the Vedas |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Sahadeva, Gopinath |
| Created: | 06 of Dec, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=19, CC=4, OB=11, Lec=13, Con=4, Let=2 |
| No. of Quotes: | 55 |