We accept Rāmacandra as God. He brought big, big stones and floated over the ocean. Does a stone float over the ocean? Yes, it floats under the order of God. He can . . . He can do it. The law of gravitation will not act there. He can change. You can see. Million tons heavy, this earth, so many hills, and Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean—it is floating in the air just like a swab of cotton. You are explaining "weightlessness," but that's all right. But you float such thing. You can say so many things.
Therefore we should accept knowledge from such person who is beyond these four defects of conditional life. What is that? Illusion, mistake, cheating and imperfectness. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is that proof. As I told you, that 2,500 years ago, or 5,000 years ago Vyāsadeva wrote about Lord Buddha's appearance. Still, there is appearance of Kalki from this time, henceforward, after 400,000's of years Kalki will appear. And his name, his father's name, the place where he will appear, that is mentioned in the Bhāgavata.
That means tri-kāla-jña. Mahā-muni, he is liberated. He is incarnation of God. He knows past, present, future and everything. That knowledge is perfect. One who knows past, present and future perfectly, we should take knowledge from him. That is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that we don't accept any knowledge from a person who is defective in so many ways. And what is the value of such knowledge?
He is defective. "Physician heal thyself." A physician suffering from fever, and if I go there, "Sir, I am also feverish. Treat," what is the use of such treatment? His brain is already puzzled. What he can treat? The doctors also, when he become sick, he does not treat himself. He calls another doctor friend to treat him. That is the fashion.
So similarly, one who is imperfect, one who is subjected to so many defects of life, we cannot accept knowledge from them. This is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We don't accept. We accept knowledge from the Vedas, which is perfect. As I have several times explained, that Veda says that stool of animal is impure.
Again, Veda says that the stool of cow is pure. Now, you will say, "Oh, this is contradictory. Sometimes it is said pure, and sometimes . . . this cow is also animal. First of all you said that the stool of any animal is impure, and again you say the cow dung, the stool of another animal, is pure." It is fact—it is pure. So if we accept the standard perfect knowledge from the Vedas, or one who knows the Vedas, then our knowledge is perfect.
Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says:
- tad viddhi praṇipātena
- paripraśnena sevayā
- upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
- jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
- (BG 4.34)
One who has seen the Absolute Truth, or one who has known the Absolute Truth, go there and take knowledge by surrendering. Praṇipātena. Praṇipāta means surrendering. Paripraśnena. Don't make question, waste his time. After you surrender, after you render service, then make question. Otherwise, there is no need of question. Don't waste your time, don't waste his time.
An outsider has no right to put any questions, because he is not surrendered. And a spiritual master is not obliged to answer anyone except to his disciple. This is the Vedic way. Don't waste time for unnecessary questions and answers. But we have to do something sometimes. But that is not the way—unless one surrenders fully, praṇipātena, and renders service. Service means whatever the spiritual master wants, "You do this," you must do it, just like a menial servant. Nīcavat. Nīcavat.
Of course here, in your country, there is no . . . in India there is a śūdra class. They are . . . generally they are servant, servant class. That is called nīcavat. So servant class . . . a brahmacārī living at the care of spiritual master, he is advised that "You shall carry out the orders of your spiritual master nīcavat, just like the śūdra class." Because a person coming to spiritual master, they are coming from brahmin family or kṣatriya family or high caste family. But he may say: "Oh, I am coming from a brahmin family, and my spiritual master is ordering to brush his shoes? Oh, how can I do?"
Therefore it is advised nīcavat. When you are serving spiritual master, you should always think that, "I am lowest of the animals." Nīcavat. In that condition you can simply inquire. Otherwise, you have no capacity. There is no need of wasting time, because he will not understand. He will unnecessarily . . . praṇipāta. Praṇipāta means surrender. So nobody wants to surrender, especially in this material world. Everyone thinks, "Oh, I am the lord. I am the monarch of all I survey. Why shall I surrender?" Independent. Especially in the Western countries. They are refusing to surrender to the social laws, to the king's law, everything.
But here is the process: surrender. Surrender means everyone is puffed up with some so-called knowledge, and he thinks that "I am perfectly all right. My knowledge is perfect. Why shall I surrender?" But if you want to receive knowledge actually from the person who has actually knowledge, then you must surrender there. This is the process.