Vyāsadeva, before writing . . . he was not an ordinary fiction writer. Anyone can write any nonsense. No. Formerly, no book will be accepted unless it is written by liberated soul. That was the system. No other man will dare to write any book, neither his book will be accepted in society—only Vedic literature and literature produced out of Vedic knowledge. That is book. Otherwise, what are these books? These fictions and novels and . . . they are not books, they are rubbish. Actually they are rubbish. Don't you see?
The newspaper, it is published after spending so much money. You know. Every day, the newspaper proprietors, they are paying to the news collector, to the photographers, to the staff, to the establishment huge amount of money and producing newspaper, say, fifty pages or twenty-five pages, and throwing in the street.
Nobody cares for it. Because everyone knows what is the value of this news. Nobody is taking care, "Oh, here is a newspaper behind which there is so much expenditure. Oh, here is one. Let me take it." Everyone kicks it. You see? You see practically.
Huge bundles of newspapers, nobody cares for it. That means actually this literature has no value. No value. Simply they are wasting their time producing such nonsense literature. Even if it has got any value, the newspaper boys throws early in the morning, at ten o'clock it has no more value. That's all. Finished all value. Whatever value was there, that finished by ten o'clock.
So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā is not a literature like that. Can you give any evidence, any book written five thousand years ago is still being read with still greater veneration, with greater respect, with greater attention? Is there any book in the world? Find out. Not a single book you'll find. You cannot trace out of any book written, say, thousand years or two thousand years ago. But here is a book which was spoken five thousand years ago; still, all over the world . . .
It is not that Bhagavad-gītā is supposed to be Hindu literature, Vedic literature, it is read simply by the Hindus. Now the number of Hindus has minimized. Practically, in some portion of that India there are few Hindus only, actually speaking. So what is the number of Hindus? That is the, what is called, minority in the whole world. If you take calculation of other religion . . .
I have seen the other day in the World Almanac the Hindus, the Hindus are the lowest. So how many Hindus are reading? In India not that . . . ninety percent people are illiterate. So what they will read? And who is reading Bhagavad-gītā? It is all over the world. Still, you'll find in Germany Bhagavad-gītā is being read. In England you'll find. Even in Muhammadan countries you'll find, and what to speak of your country. There are so many editions of Bhagavad-gītā, I mean to say, that see the importance of real literature.
- tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo
- yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api
- nāmāny anantasya yaśo 'ṅkitāni yat
- gṛṇanti gāyanti śṛṇvanti sādhavaḥ
- (SB 1.5.11)
That rubbish literature is compared with the enjoyable things of the crows, and spiritual literature, they are enjoyed by the white swans.
(break) There is difference between the white swans. You have seen natural. They are also birds; crows are also birds. But you'll see white swans, they take pleasure in clear water where there are lilies, and they take nice pleasure there.
And crows, they will go where you throw all rubbish things. They'll go there. You see nature. People say everyone is equal. How you can say equal? Even in the bird society there is no equality, in the animal society there is no equality. Then how you can make equality? On the material platform it is not possible. You have to come to the spiritual platform; then equality is possible.
So Vyāsadeva, he was liberated soul. So in clean heart, clean mind, he experienced, he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and māyā, tad-apāśrayam, and māyā standing behind Him. Māyā is darkness. Māyā cannot stand before Kṛṣṇa, just like darkness cannot stand in front of the light.
Now here is light. There is no darkness. In the back side you'll find some darkness. Is it not? Not in the front. So māyā cannot stand before Kṛṣṇa. Māyā stands behind Kṛṣṇa. So if you put always Kṛṣṇa, or if you are always Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then māyā cannot touch you.
- kṛṣṇa—sūrya-sama māyā haya andhakāra
- yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra
- (CC Madhya 22.31)
So Vyāsadeva, in clear consciousness, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he saw Kṛṣṇa and this māyā. And what is this māyā? That is said, yayā sammohito jīva: that māyā which has enchanted all these conditioned souls. Yayā sammohito jīva ātmānam anarthaṁ manute (SB 1.7.5), Considering himself that "I am material product." I am coming to this point.
Those who are thinking that, "I am a material product," they're completely in darkness of māyā. Yayā, manute anarthaṁ tat-kṛtaṁ ca abhipadyate. And identifying himself with this body, they are acting in bodily consciousness and increasing their problems of life and conditional life in material existence. Horrible condition. Therefore Vyāsadeva says, anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje (SB 1.7.6). Anartha, this anartha, this misconception of life, if you want to discard this misconception of life, that "I am this body," and you act according to that consciousness and suffer . . . this is your disease.
Now if you want to get out of this disease, then sākṣād bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje: you just try to be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sākṣāt. Lokasyājānata. The rascal people, they do not know it. Therefore, vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām. Therefore vidvān. Vidvān means this learned scholar, Vyāsadeva, he prepared the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.