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The summary of all Vedic literature

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Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Preface and Introduction

All Vedic literature is summarized in the Vedānta-sūtra, and for future guidance Vyāsa gave a natural commentation on the Vedānta-sūtra, called Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
BG Introduction:

The forgetful living entities or conditioned souls have forgotten their relationship with the Supreme Lord, and they are engrossed in thinking of material activities. Just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual sky, Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa has given a great number of Vedic literatures. First he divided the Vedas into four, then he explained them in the Purāṇas, and for less capable people he wrote the Mahābhārata. In the Mahābhārata there is given the Bhagavad-gītā. Then all Vedic literature is summarized in the Vedānta-sūtra, and for future guidance he gave a natural commentation on the Vedānta-sūtra, called Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We must always engage our minds in reading these Vedic literatures. Just as materialists engage their minds in reading newspapers, magazines and so many materialistic literatures, we must transfer our reading to these literatures which are given to us by Vyāsadeva; in that way it will be possible for us to remember the Supreme Lord at the time of death. That is the only way suggested by the Lord, and He guarantees the result: "There is no doubt."

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Vyāsa summarized the whole Vedic literature in the Vedānta-sūtra.
Lecture on BG Introduction -- New York, February 19-20, 1966:
That these forgetful living entities, conditioned souls, they have forgotten the relationship with the Supreme Lord, and they are engrossed in thinking of the material activities. And just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual capacity, the Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, he has made so many Vedic literatures. Vedic literatures means first he divided the Vedas into four. Then he explained them by the Purāṇas. Then for the incapable persons, just like strī, śūdra, vaiśya, he made the Mahābhārata. And in the Mahābhārata he introduced this Bhagavad-gītā. Then again he summarized the whole Vedic literature in the Vedānta-sūtra. And the Vedānta-sūtra for future guidance, he made a natural commentation by himself which is called Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is called bhāṣyo 'yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇām. It is the natural commentation of Vedānta-sūtra. So all these literatures, if we transfer our thought, tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ, sadā. Sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ (BG 8.6). One who is engaged always...
Bhagavad-gītā is the summary of all Vedic literature.
Lecture on BG 18.41 -- Stockholm, September 7, 1973:

Just like in this body, the head, the arms, the belly and the legs, they are cooperating for the proper upkeep of the bodily health. Similarly, if we actually want the human society should be organized, then the intelligent class of men, the administrative class of men, the mercantile class of men, and the worker class of men, they should cooperate for understanding Kṛṣṇa, or God. Then there will be harmony in the human society. Without God consciousness, everyone will think "I am very important, others are not important. I should be given only protection, not others." No. As soon as you become Kṛṣṇa conscious, as soon as you become brahma-bhūtaḥ, then you'll see samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. Samaḥ, samaḥ means equality to all kinds of living entities. Not only human being. How many human beings are there out of 8,400,000 species of life? A few only. Only 400,000 species. This information we get from the śāstras, Vedic literature. Bhagavad-gītā is the summary of all Vedic literature. Therefore, it is advised here that how the first-class of men should be trained up. How the second-class men should be trained up, how the third-class men should be trained up and how the fourth-class men should be trained up. Not that everyone should become first-class. Even everyone is not first-class, because there is cooperation, there is no distinction between first-class and third-class or fourth-class, the same example.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Vyāsadeva summarized all the Vedic literature in the Vedānta-sūtra.
Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- New Vrindaban, September 4, 1972:

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the last contribution of Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva is the original compiler of all Vedic literature. So he wrote so many books—all the Vedas, four Vedas, 108 Upaniṣads, eighteen Purāṇas, Mahābhārata. Rāmāyaṇa was compiled before, by Vālmīki. And in Mahābhārata there are 100,000 verses. Similarly, all these books, hundreds and thousands of verses. And the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam contains eighteen thousand verses. So in this way, Vyāsadeva compiled all these books for benefit of the people in this age of Kali. Unfortunately, people are not interested in these literatures. What to speak of other people, even our Indians are not interested. They are making research work, but what is already there by mature research work of Vyāsadeva, they are not interested. That is the misfortune of India. So Vyāsadeva summarized all the Vedic literature in the Vedānta-sūtra. Veda means knowledge; anta means end. There is... Everything, there is some summit or the ultimate goal. So about education, knowledge, the ultimate goal is Vedānta. Veda means knowledge; anta means ultimate. If you know Vedānta, then you have known everything.

All the Vedic literature is summarized in this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Lecture on SB 2.1.5 -- Paris, June 13, 1974:
You learn from the Vedic literature. Every information is there. And all the Vedic literature is summarized in this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalam idam (SB 1.1.3). Nigama. Nigama, the Vedic literature... Vedic literature, it is compared with desire tree. Every word used in the Vedic literature is peculiar to the ordinary man. But desire tree, they have no experience. But there is a tree which is called desire tree, kalpa-taru. What is the business of the desire tree? Now, desire tree means whatever you desire, you get from that tree. There is tree. That desire tree is there in Kṛṣṇa's loka. Cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa (Bs. 5.29). There is also, in the spiritual world, there are trees, but each tree is a desire tree. And we have no experience what is desire tree. You can get anything from that tree. That is called desire. So these Vedas is considered as the desire tree, means any kind of knowledge you want, it is complete there perfectly, any kind, either spiritual or material, any department of knowledge. And that is called desire tree. All kinds of knowledge, you can achieve from the Vedic language. There is Dhanur-veda, Āyur-veda, Jyotir-veda and all kinds. Veda means knowledge. So for military art, if you want to consult Vedic literature, you will get complete information, perfect. Similarly, Jyotir-veda. Jyoti means the luminaries in the sky, the stars. You can get. We are trying to go to the moon planet and wasting our time and energy, but if you consult Vedas, you get full information of the moon planet, sun planet or any other planet. There are millions and millions of trillions of planets. You can get all, Brahmaloka, up to the topmost planet. Jyotir-veda. That is called Jyotir-veda. And the Dhanur-veda. Āyur-veda. Āyuḥ means duration of life. And nobody wants to be diseased. So that means medical science. That is also fully there.

Initiation Lectures

The Bhagavad-gītā is the summary of all Vedic knowledge.
Initiation Lecture -- Toronto, June 17, 1976:
The Bhagavad-gītā is the summary of all Vedic knowledge. So if we pass through this process of divya-jñāna, dīkṣā, then we rightly understand what is Bhagavad-gītā or we become interested that what is the lesson of Bhagavad-gītā. Veda pathād bhaved vipra. After reading... Bhagavad-gītā is the summary of Vedic literature. You cannot read all the Vedas at the present moment, neither you have time, nor you have got the capacity. In this Kali-yuga, mandāḥ sumanda-matayo (SB 1.1.10), everyone is fallen. Manda-bhāgyā. So this human life should be utilized for understanding the Vedic knowledge, divya-jñāna; then he'll be purified, tapo divyaṁ yena śuddhyed sattvam (SB 5.5.1). My existential identity will be purified. At the present moment it is not purified. Because it is not purified, therefore we are repeatedly dying. But there is no knowledge how to stop death. They think death is natural. It is not natural. It is unnatural. They do not know it. But in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll get the information, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācin: "The soul is never born, never dies." Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. "I see he's died, he is dead." No, he's not dying, his body is being annihi...Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). By seeing the body is destroyed don't think he's destroyed. He'll get another body. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na muhyati (BG 2.13). So this is our position. We have accepted one body, and we live in that body for some days, and then again we give up this body, tathā dehāntara-prāptir. So this is disease. So in order to get out of this disease there is necessity of tapasya, how to stop this disease.

General Lectures

The summary of all Vedic literature is Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Lecture at International Student Society -- Boston, May 3, 1969:

In the modern educational system, universities, there is no such information, we see. It is very lamentable, but these knowledges are there in the Vedic literature. The summary of all Vedic literature is Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There are many other literatures-Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, eighteen Purāṇas. They are meant for human society, not for these cats and dogs. So our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is just to awake people to their rightful position, which is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to understand how he is related with Kṛṣṇa. When we speak of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa means God. The word Kṛṣṇa, Sanskrit word, means all-attractive. So without God, nobody can be all-attractive, all-powerful, all-opulent. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is directed to awake people to the rightful position of his spiritual existence, the, I mean to say, process.

Philosophy Discussions

Every man should be educated as they are instructed in the Vedic literature and a summary of Vedic literature is Bhagavad-gītā.
Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Hayagrīva: Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura writes, "The truth is that there is hardly a single point of excellence belonging to human character which is not decidedly repugnant to the untutored feelings of human nature." So he felt that virtues are not instinctive in man, virtues like courage, cleanliness, self-control, these virtues have to be cultivated. They're not...

Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore in the human society there is educational system. Man has to be made a right rational animal. Although he is animal, he has to be educated in nice way. That depends on education, system of education, but in that connection studying the whole world's education system, the Vedic education is perfect. Therefore every man should be educated as they are instructed in the Vedic literature and a summary of Vedic literature is Bhagavad-gītā. So every man should read it as it is without any unnecessary interpretation. That will make the man perfect educated.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

This book, this book. We are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is. This is the summary of all Vedic literature.
Conversation with Clergymen -- June 15, 1976, Detroit:

Kern: The origin of the group, where...? Who was the original founder, Your Excellency? The original founder of the group?

Prabhupāda: Which group?

Kern: This group, your group, Kṛṣṇa movement.

Prabhupāda: I am the founder, I am the founder.

Kern: You founded it.

Prabhupāda: In 1966.

Scheverman: 1966. And you utilized the traditions of oriental, especially Indian origin.

Prabhupāda: This book, this book. We are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is.

Scheverman: So this is a collection of the ancient writings as well as modern writings that reflect the way of life.

Prabhupāda: This is the summary of all Vedic literature.

Kern: Of what kind of literature?

Prabhupāda: Vedic.

Gītā is the summary of all Vedic literature, and it is spoken by the Personality of Godhead.
Evening Darsana -- July 8, 1976, Washington, D.C.:

Prabhupāda: The Tulasī dāsa's Rāmāyaṇa means Rāma-carita. It is not Rāmāyaṇa. Rāma-carita Manas. He was devotee of Lord Rāmacandra. So as he was thinking of Lord Rāmacandra, he has written. So he was a learned scholar, brāhmaṇa, he must have read Bhagavad-gītā, Bhāgavatam. So all his translation is there on the basis of the śāstra, especially Bhāgavata and Bhagavad-gītā. You'll find many parallel passages. But Gītā is the summary of all Vedic literature, and it is spoken by the Personality of Godhead. So if we fix up our attention on the Bhagavad-gītā, then you can get advantage of all other śāstras.

Page Title:The summary of all Vedic literature
Compiler:Matea, Massimo
Created:10 of Aug, 2009
Totals by Section:BG=1, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=7, Con=2, Let=0
No. of Quotes:10