If there is any doubt in understanding the Vedic literature, then you try to understand from the person who knows it, tattva-darśī, who has seen actually the truth. Upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ. One who has actually seen the truth. And how to approach him? Tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena: by surrendering, by giving service, and questioning. Question must be preceded and followed by . . . preceded by surrender, and followed by service. In the middle, there may be question. Therefore, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ, we have to please the spiritual master by service and surrender, and then it will be very nice position. If the spiritual master sees that the disciple is a surrendered soul, and he's rendering service to his best capacity, then the answer will be very liberal and convincing, and he will be very glad to answer the question, if it is supported by these two things: surrender, and paripraśnena, and sevayā. Tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). The first beginning is praṇipāta. And what is this, that I give up the company of my spiritual master and I invent my own ways of life and own interpretation? That will not help. That will not . . .
Devotee (3): The war on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, that lasted for a period of eighteen days?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Devotee (3): And that happened five thousand years ago when Kṛṣṇa was on earth. Is that happening now in some other material universe, the same battle?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Devotee (3): Can we enter into that, or see that?
Prabhupāda: Yes, if you go there.
Devotee (3): We have to . . . we leave the universe. But then we are associating directly with Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna?
Prabhupāda: Yes. You can associate with Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna every twenty-four hours, by reading Bhagavad-gītā. Why you require to go there? It is already here. You see. You read the Bhagavad-gītā, and you are immediately in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra. He is instructing. That was the instruction. Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted. You know that story? Illiterate brāhmaṇa was reading Bhagavad-gītā? So he did not know; he was not literate even. But because his spiritual master . . . he had so staunch faith in the spiritual master . . . just see. His spiritual master said that, "You read, daily, eighteen chapters of Bhagavad-gītā." Spiritual master knew that he was illiterate, but still he asked him, "You read eighteen chapters daily." So what can he do? The spiritual master has ordered. So he was simply making a show of reading, "Uh-uh-uḥ," like this. So this other friends were criticizing, "Oh, Mr. Such-and-such, how you are reading Bhagavad-gītā?" He knows that this man . . . his friend is criticizing him, so he did not answer. But when Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked him, "My dear brāhmaṇa, what you are reading?" he knew that this gentleman, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, was really inquisitive, so he explained the whole thing that, "I am trying to read Bhagavad-gītā, but I am illiterate. My Guru Mahārāja ordered me to read; therefore I am reading. But actually I cannot read. So frankly I admit." This is staunch faith in spiritual master. He knew, his spiritual master knew that he is illiterate, and he knew also that, "I cannot read Bhagavad-gītā." But still he was trying to read because his spiritual master has said. This is called staunch. Yasya prasādāt. "He has said. I have to satisfy him. I am incompetent—I cannot read—but he has said, therefore I must do it." This is called yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ.