Vedic knowledge and study FAQ


DOUBTS ABOUT VEDIC KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE

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VEDIC SCRIPTURE






DOUBTS ABOUT VEDIC KNOWLEDGE


I have many many doubts about some of the statements in the Vedas and the Teachings on this site. How do I overcome these?

You have to clear your doubts; you cannot proceed by blind faith alone. This is part of the process of understanding explained in Search for the Absolute Truth.

When studying the Esoteric Teaching and we come across an idea that is outside of our experience or range of empirical verification, we should treat it as a postulate or hypothesis.

In scientific method, a hypothesis is an assertion that may or may not be true. In other words, it is neither true nor false. In Aristotelian two-valued logic, any assertion is either true or false. However, there are many assertions whose truth value is unknown and can only be proved true or false at a later time. This is a third truth value of indeterminate, or to be determined in the future. Three-valued scientific logic is covered in this essay.

All Vedic knowledge is scientific or subject to empirical verification, but the appropriate experimental or experiential process may not be available to us in our present state of consciousness. Therefore we must be willing to provisionally accept a Vedic truth as a hypothesis of indeterminate truth, until it can be proven either true or false. This will prevent cognitive dissonance (which is mentioned below).

But even three-valued logic is inadequate for understanding the deep truths of transcendental knowledge, because spiritual things have different properties and follow different laws than material things. Therefore we must understand spiritual or transcendental logic as described in the podcast series linked above.

There is also the matter of misunderstood or misdefined terms, which we cover in our essay How to Learn. Somatic symptoms like dizziness, sleepiness, head hurting and also doubt, negative emotions etc. can be caused by misdefined terms. Especially if the material is in a language other than your native tongue, you must look up each word and identify the precise definition used in the material, otherwise there is a good chance that you will take it in the wrong way. Of course, this leads very quickly to confusion and one loses the ability to apply the knowledge. So taking responsibility for identifying the exact definitions of the terms used in the material is extremely important. That is why our learning process puts so much stress on looking up definitions.

Here are some comments from other students on how they overcame similar difficulties during their studies:




Here are some responses from other students:

One seeing your post about finding it hard to accept the narrations and descriptions of the Vedic scriptures as they are, I was reminded of a lecture by Prabhupada. I think the following excerpt may help put things in proper perspective, after which the way we approach this transcendental knowledge will change:

Devotee (2): Śrīla Prabhupāda, when it is cited in the scriptures that Lord Brahmā rides on a swan, a haṁsa, is this, are we to take this to mean it is a real swan, or is it something symbolic?

Prabhupāda: Not symbolic, it is fact. Why do you say symbolic?

Devotee (2): It's rather unusual.

Prabhupāda: Unusual? What experience you have got? You have no experience. Have you got any experience of other planetary system, what is there? Then? Your experience is very teeny. So you should not calculate Brahma's life and other things by your teeny experience.

Now, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the duration of life of Brahma, sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ... [Bg. 8.17]. Now, Brahma's life, it is stated in the śāstras. We have already explained that we accept the authoritative statement of śāstra. Now, Brahma's life is stated there. Arhat means his one day is equal to our four yugas. Four yugas means 4,300,000 years, and multiply it by one thousand, sahasra-yuga-paryantam. Sahasra means one thousand. And yuga, yuga means the 4,300,000 years makes a yuga. And multiply it by one thousand: that period is Brahma's one day. Similarly, he has got one night. Similarly, he has got one month. Similarly, he has got one year. And such hundred years he will live. So how you can calculate? How it is within your experience? You will think something mysterious. No. Your experience is nothing. Therefore you have to take experience from the perfect person, Kṛṣṇa. Then your knowledge is perfect. That I have already said. Don't try to understand with your teeny experience everything. Then you will be failure. [Lecture, Melbourne, May 22 1975]

I found that a striking lesson for me, and so thought I'd share it.

Some related quotes from Prabhupada:

Prabhupāda: It is explained there. He does not reveal Himself. Why He shall reveal Himself to an unqualified person? That is Kṛṣṇa's prerogative. If He likes He will reveal. If He does not like He will not reveal. You cannot by force see Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, first of all be qualified, then try to see Kṛṣṇa. He is not exposed. Even a big man, if you want to see him, he may refuse: "No, I will not see." What can you do? If you think that "This man is third-class man, why shall I see him?" Even in ordinary human society that is going on. So why people are eager to see Kṛṣṇa without being qualified? Why these rascals say, "Can you show me God?" First of all you become fit to see God. They'll not become fit. They'll do all nonsense, and want to see God. Kṛṣṇa is addressed, pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān. He is the supreme pure, and we are impure, and you want to see the supreme pure. You see? What audacity! I am not fire. I want to enter into the fire. You see? What will be the result? You'll be burned into ashes. First of all be fire. Increase your temperature to the same temperature, then it will automatically. He is paraṁ brahma, so you realize yourself as brahma. You are realizing yourself as American, Indian, this, that, and you want to see paraṁ brahma? The foolish people will do. And one has to become purified, sarvopādhi vinirmuktaṁ [Cc. Madhya 19.170]. One has to be free from all designations. Everyone, we give more prominence to the designations: "I am this, I am this." So how can you see God like that? First of all you become designationless. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, that "I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya"—everything He denied. So purify yourself and you'll see God. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to become purified.                             

-750506ed.per

To a gross materialist this kingdom of God, Vaikuṇṭha, is certainly a mystery. But to an ignorant man everything is a mystery for want of sufficient knowledge. The kingdom of God is not a myth. Even the material planets, which float over our heads in the millions and billions, are still a mystery to the ignorant. Material scientists are now attempting to penetrate this mystery, and a day may come when the people of this earth will be able to travel in outer space and see the variegatedness of these millions of planets with their own eyes. In every planet there is as much material variegatedness as we find in our own planet.

This planet earth is but an insignificant spot in the cosmic structure. Yet foolish men, puffed up by a false sense of scientific advancement, have concentrated their energy in a pursuit of so-called economic development on this planet, not knowing of the variegated economic facilities available on other planets. According to modern astronomy, the gravity of the moon is different from that of earth. Therefore one who goes to the moon will be able to pick up large weights and jump vast distances. In the Rāmāyaṇa, Hanumān is described as being able to lift huge weights as heavy as hills and jump over the ocean. Modern astronomy has confirmed that this is indeed possible.

The disease of the modern civilized man is his disbelief of everything in the revealed scriptures. Faithless nonbelievers cannot make progress in spiritual realization, for they cannot understand the spiritual potency. The small fruit of a banyan contains hundreds of seeds, and in each seed is the potency to produce another banyan tree with the potency to produce millions more of such fruits. This law of nature is visible before us, although how it works is beyond our understanding. This is but an insignificant example of the potency of Godhead; there are many similar phenomena that no scientist can explain.

Everything, in fact, is inconceivable, for the truth is revealed only to the proper persons. Although there are varieties of personalities, from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant, all of whom are living beings, their development of knowledge is different. Therefore we have to gather knowledge from the right source. Indeed, in reality we can get knowledge only from the Vedic sources. The four Vedas, with their supplementary Purāṇas, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa and their corollaries, which are known as smṛtis, are all authorized sources of knowledge. If we are at all to gather knowledge, we must gather it from these sources without hesitation.

How can I really know what is true? I have had some spiritual experiences through Paramahansa Yogananda's teachings (and his organization later turned out to cheat), but I also have a strong scientific background which makes me doubt spirituality.

Thank you for this really excellent question. Just the title: "How do we know..." is very profound; one could write books about it (and many people have). The science of knowing is called epistemology, and basically it boils down to two approaches: one is the ascending process called aroha-panthā in Sanskrit, and the other is the descending process of avaroha-panthā.

By the ascending process, one attempts to understand everything by his own efforts—by philosophizing, analyzing, meditating, experimenting or speculating. According to the descending process, one acquires knowledge simply by hearing from an authority: the Vedic scriptures and the bona fide spiritual master. Western science has accepted the ascending process of inductive knowledge, and Vedic culture accepts the deductive descending method. That is the main difference between the two cultures and epistemological approaches.

Now the problem with the inductive or experimental process is that it ultimately depends on our senses. Empiricism by definition excludes any evidence that cannot be independently experimentally verified by a third party. Look at the controversy over cold fusion, for example. But our senses and their technological extensions are limited and imperfect. For example, scientists like to theorize about the Big Bang, but this theory can never be verified because it is not possible to travel in time back to the creation of the universe and verify the theory by direct observation, or even by some kind of instrumented probe. All the proofs of this and many, many other theories are only indirect; therefore even by the scientists' own standards, there is always some doubt and uncertainty about the correctness of the theory.

By the descending process, the Vedas exist eternally in the spiritual world along with God, who emanates the total material energy at the time of creation of the material universe. Lord Brahma, the first created being born directly from the transcendental body of the Lord, receives this knowledge directly from Lord Visnu and passes it down to his sons and disciples. The Vedic knowledge contains checksums and other error-correction protocols that keep it from being corrupted over time. Also, periodically when necessary the Lord Himself descends to the material world to renew the Vedic knowledge. This Vedic knowledge has been coming down from the original authorities who were personally present at the time of creation. It is not theoretical, it is eyewitness observational testimony by persons of the highest intelligence and integrity.

So paradoxically, the Vedic wisdom fulfills the criteria of empiricism better than the scientists' own theories! Also paradoxically, if one wants to become a scientist, one must receive knowledge from other scientists, study for a long time and be approved by them before trying to present any original theories. Hmmm, sounds like the descending process to me. If they were really serious about empiricism, each scientist would have to independently rediscover the entire range of scientific knowledge, and have his work verified by objective independent researchers. So actually the scientists do not follow their own process very strictly; they simply make big words, but at the core they are shameless hypocrites and cheaters, because their process actually is just as dependent on authority and belief as religion.

I have paid my dues in the world of science. In High School I got perfect scores in the English, math, chemistry and physics college boards. I was offered a scholarship to MIT in nuclear physics, which I turned down to go to music school. I taught myself electronics and put myself through conservatory by doing tech work in the nascent computer field. Later after studying Vedic wisdom in India, I established myself as a technical and science writer, and made my living at that craft for many years. I personally know people like Eric Drexler and the late Richard Smalley. I interviewed both of them during the nanotech funding wars a few years back. So I am quite familiar with the world of science as well as spirituality.

Scientists have been claiming that they will create life 'real soon now' ever since the days of the medieval Alchemists. Software researchers have been predicting strong AI 'in five years' for the last fifty years. In the 1930s, scientists predicted that technological advances would soon make it possible for people to work only 10 hours a week. Instead people are working harder than ever. Because of limited human intelligence and unlimited human greed, every so-called technological advance has unforeseen negative consequences, like DDT causing cancer and petrochemicals causing pollution and global warming. The possible downside of nanotech is even more alarming, and I am not some naive Vedic neo-Luddite raving about 'grey goo.' The weaponization of biotech is a much greater threat to the well-being of the world than even nuclear weapons, considering that any extremist geek with a trust fund and an undergraduate degree in biology can, even now, develop synthetic viruses using widely available automated recombinant DNA tools. History shows that every material scientific discovery that has the promise of doing good to Humankind becomes corrupted by the selfish interests of power-seeking governments, corporations and extremists.

But I digress.

On my Transcendental Ontology website, I point out that there is no really scientific reason to exclude subjective evidence from scientific inquiry. The materialistic bias of so-called objectivity really just makes serious research into transcendental entities impossible. For example, trying to research consciousness without considering subjective evidence is like trying to research computer software without reading the screen, and over a century of modern consciousness research has yielded about the same result: zilch, zip, nada. Spiritual entities like the soul and God are fundamentally, ineluctably subjective. So the scientists are barking up the wrong tree when it comes to consciousness research. Consciousness is the spiritual symptom of a spiritual entity, the soul, so ipso facto there is no objective material evidence for their existence. What is needed is a better scientific ontology that can accommodate subjective observations. The Vedas provide that transcendental ontology.

You write that you have some transcendental experiences. Yes, Paramahansa Yogananda was an authentic self-realized transcendentalist, and his methods are certainly effective and bona fide. He, along with people like Vivekananda and my own guru Srila Prabhupada, was part of a centuries-long plan to introduce the Esoteric Teaching to the West. So it not surprising that by following his teachings you would have some profound spiritual experiences. There is no other theory of consciousness that can compare with Vedanta.

However, the ethical and spiritual corruption of Western materialistic society quickly infested Yogananda's teaching organization, with the result that nasty politics soon split it into several warring factions. Donald Walters, who founded the Ananda community, was exposed as a fraud soliciting sexual favors from a succession of his (young, female) secretaries. Similar scandals happened in the organization of my spiritual master, so it is to be expected that religious organizations always become corrupt. That is why the Vedic Esoteric Teaching is always passed down within the intimate personal relationship between a bona fide spiritual master and his bona fide disciple. The Esoteric Teaching requires an esoteric school, outside of any organized religion. It can be no other way. The external organizations exist only to promote the exoteric aspects of the teaching for the benefit of people at large.

So you are doubting your own direct experience of Transcendence because of the hypocritical negation of subjectivity by modern materialistic science, and also because of the hypocritical leaders who, like jackals around a corpse, infest the organization of the spiritual master in his apparent absence, exploiting the students who are sincerely trying to understand the teaching.

You should reject these doubts. Your own personal experience means far more than any hypocritical materialistic theory, and your sincere desire to know the truth is far more true than the phony leaders who pose as yogis just to enjoy name and fame. Look in your own heart and see what is true. The proof of God's existence externally is in the wonderful cosmic manifestation that He designed and created, and internally in His ability to reveal Himself to anyone who sincerely wants to know Him.

Once I saw a wonderful cartoon. There was a big construction site, with the usual cranes and trucks and guys with hard hats standing around. In the middle was a big pile of materials: girders, bricks, siding, wire, roofing etc. A wire ran from the pile of materials to a worker with an explosives detonator. In the front was a big sign reading, "BIG BANG CONSTRUCTION COMPANY."

No one seriously expects that a big construction like an office building could be made by blowing up a pile of materials. Any construction or engineering project requires the cooperation of many intelligent people. So how is it possible that an extraordinarily huge, complex creation like the material universe could happen by some random combination of elements after a massive explosion? We do not see this in ordinary life, even on a small scale. How could it be true on a universal scale?

Similarly, we do not see plants give birth to animals, or animals give birth to people. In fact, there is no direct evidence anywhere that one species evolved from another, more primitive species. Yes, of course we see adaptation and adjustment in response to environmental pressures. So what? There is no direct evidence for evolution, either. All the evidence is exceedingly indirect and sparse. Even the scientists are getting tired of the deficiencies of Darwin's theory.

I could go on about dark matter, and so many other nonsense theories that can never and will never be proven by direct evidence. If people accept these theories, then why not accept the explanations in the Vedas that are direct accounts of people who were present at the time of creation?

One more thing. If we actually perform the experiment of changing our consciousness according to the authentic procedures given in the Vedas, we find that they work exactly as described. I am not talking here about the watered-down teachings of modern so-called yoga schools, which IMHO are worse than useless because they have no transcendental content and wind up focusing the practitioners' attention on the material body and mind again. I am talking about the authentic Vedic yoga teachings as described in Bhagavad-gita and elsewhere in the Vedic literature, and taught by self-realized souls like Yogananda and Srila Prabhupada.

Now how's this for empirical verification: If I do the process and get the result, and then another person performs the same experiment and gets the same or similar result, isn't that empirical proof? So what if the evidence is subjective? The process works, the information is true, and so it is very likely that the rest of the information in the Vedas is true, even if we can't verify it due to the limitations of our consciousness, senses and intelligence.

So I encourage you to go on with the Vedic process. Don't let the materialists and rascal bogus yogis get you down. Study our presentation of the timeless Esoteric Teaching, and continue to follow the practices given by your guru Yogananda. He is bona fide, therefore you will certainly get the result.

This subject will be discussed more extensively in our "Science, Logic and Ontology FAQ."









KNOWLEDGE


So the ascending process should be rejected in favour of the descending process when receiving knowledge?

Yes, the ascending process takes too long, because it never arrives at any substantial conclusion. The only certain way to realize the Absolute Truth is the descending process; that is why we recommend that you become familiar with Bhagavad-gita.

If we speculate then our reasoning and analogy are ungrounded; they're not based on anything concrete or specific, like this:


If we just give our own imperfect opinions, or speculate based on our limited intelligence, we can never come to firm conclusions; there will always be some doubt, and we will have to change our opinion many times. To avoid this uncertainty, we have to receive perfect knowledge from the Lord through the disciplic succession; that is the only sure way to arrive at perfect, eternal Absolute Truth.

If one bases the reasoning process, metaphor or analogy on the perfect knowledge revealed in the scriptures, then the conclusions reached thereby will also be perfect and absolute. For example, an analogy solidly based on the above slokas from the Gita is the mango-picking metaphor: when picking ripe mangoes someone has to climb high up in the tree. He picks the mangoes and carefully passes them down to someone just below him in the tree, and so forth until the man on the ground receives them. That way the juicy, tender tree-ripened mangoes are received without bruising.

Similarly, the process of receiving Absolute Truth involves someone with direct association with the Lord receiving knowledge directly from Him, then passing it down to his disciples, who carefully record it and pass it on without changing anything, and so forth until it reaches us today. That is the system of disciplic succession, and this forum is a chance to participate in this process, if you can but recognize it.

Because most people are not in touch with a bona fide disciplic succession, they have to speculate because they really have no other choice. But when one comes into contact with a real esoteric school, one has the chance to receive this perfect knowledge. Unfortunately, most people miss the chance because they don't know how to switch gears from arrogant speculation to submissive reception.

We get a lot of visitors on this site, but very few actually understand what is going on here and pick up on it. To use a musical analogy, it's like a lot of folks want to sit in with the band, but most of them can't hack the changes. Consequently they get lost, and everybody can hear it but them. Asking you to read Bhagavad-gita is like asking you to take a look at the chart before you get up and blow a solo.




I read that the path of knowledge (jnana) is lower than devotional service. If the mantra is so powerful then what is the point in study? How much knowledge does one need to have in order to benefit from bhakti?

There are four paths given in the Vedas: karma, jnana, yoga and bhakti. Sometimes these are known as the karma-kanda, jnana-kanda, yoga-kanda and upasana-kanda respectively.


Each path has its own methods, Deities, temples, acaryas, scriptures and association, and each is meant for a particular type of person and provides a different destination. If they are successful, the karmis go to the heavenly planets; the jnanis merge with impersonal Brahman; the yogis go to the planets of the sages; and bhaktas, the devotees, go to the spiritual world to associate eternally with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan. All these paths and their results are described in Bhagavad-gita, but the conclusion of Bhagavad-gita is that the supreme path is bhakti:



The type and quality of knowledge used in the jnana path is fundamentally different from the knowledge of the bhakti path.




That is the difference between the knowledge of the yogīs and jñānīs, and the knowledge of the devotees. The yogīs and jñānīs are speculating, following the āroha-panthā, trying to assemble the view of the Complete Whole from their limited knowledge of the pieces. Whereas the devotees simply accept the view of the Complete Whole given by Krsna and His representatives in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, and passed down through the avaroha-panthā system of disciplic succession.

Thus the knowledge of the yogīs and jñānīs is inductive, and the knowledge of the devotees is deductive. Because human intelligence is limited and imperfect, our reasoning will always give erroneous results, particularly when we are trying to understand the Supreme Absolute Truth:


In other words, the yogīs and jñānīs get it wrong because their speculative approach ultimately concludes that God is impersonal. Thus they cannot realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead because they are actually atheistic. That is the principal defect of the ascending process. Therefore we accept only Vedic knowledge that is revealed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and carefully passed down through the descending system of disciplic succession. This is also why we do not accept authors like Tulasi das and Sankaracarya, because their writings even on devotional subjects are tinged with the speculative conclusions of the āroha-panthā. That kind of faulty epistemology will not help us to approach the supreme goal, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Now to address your question, the role of knowledge revealed through the avaroha-panthā system in the devotional path is very important.


Let me explain each of these applications of knowledge in devotional service.

We can view knowledge as a kind of association with the person who originates the knowledge. For example, I am writing you an online message, and as I write I think of you, your demeanor, attitudes and state of spiritual advancement, and how I can help you. Similarly when you read this message, you will think of me, your visit in Washington, our spiritual conversations, etc [NOTE: The original devotee who asked this question met Babajj in Washington]. So by writing and reading we are actually associating. Now faith is developed by hearing; if you hear from me or anyone, you will gradually develop faith in them. So since our faith is shaped and developed by who we hear from, the choice of who we will hear from is crucial to developing our faith in the right way.

From this follows the conclusion that it is best that we should hear uncritically and with faith only from the highest authorities. Therefore our principal source of knowledge is Sri Krsna, who is accepted by all Vedic authorities as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We accept only teachers in the lineage from Sri Krsna, and who propagate the same philosophical principles as He does, without their own speculative additions or subtractions. In other words, we accept only those who pass on Krsna's Absolute Truth exactly as it is.

Knowledge and especially intelligence imply developed discrimination. The symptom of spiritual knowledge or intelligence is to be able to discriminate between perfect knowledge and imperfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth. If we accept Sri Krsna as the gold standard of Absolute Truth, we can easily discern who is an authorized representative of the Vedic devotional lineage simply by comparing their teachings to His. Otherwise it is very difficult, and we may be cheated.

Out of the four types of people who are attracted to devotional service, Krsna prefers the one who is in knowledge:


Why? Because the other three approach Krsna for some material benefit, and when they achieve it, they go away. Of course, it is better to approach Krsna, even for material benefits, but only one who understands clearly that devotional service to Krsna is the eternal constitutional position of the soul will remain steady. Thus Krsna summarizes the science of devotional service in a very systematic way in Bhagavad-gita, beginning with the ontological position of the soul, all the way up to complete surrender on the transcendental platform.

The knowledge in Bhagavad-gita is a very high-level condensation, therefore it may not be sufficient for practical application, but it does provide an overview and a reference for further explanation and exegesis. Srimad-Bhagavatam takes up where Bhagavad-gita leaves off, and provides a more detailed study of the same subjects. The Bhagavatam is much longer than the Gita, so it give far more intricate explanations. Besides, the Bhagavatam is spoken not by the Lord but by His great devotee Sukadeva Gosvami to the great devotee Maharaja Pariksit, and we find therein many historical narratives of the successful attainment of complete self-realization.

So the Bhagavatam gives us the actual tools and methods of attaining spiritual perfection, and also explains the pitfalls on the path. For this reason it is very valuable in protecting our faith from the various philosophical errors and other deviations from the path of pure bhakti. All the great Vaisnava spiritual masters have written commentaries on Srimad-Bhagavatam, because it gives the highest explanation of pure bhakti, culminating in the actual pastimes of Lord Krsna on this planet 5000 years ago.

These pastimes reveal the highest aspirations of the pure devotee: to follow in the footsteps of the great devotees who are eternal associates of the Lord in the spiritual world, and who appear with Him when He incarnates in the material world to demonstrate the methods of pure devotional service. The Bhagavatam illustrates their devotional moods and activities with many examples. Thus it gives many insights into the ways of the highest devotees. These advanced methods of devotional service are analyzed in derivative works like Rupa Gosvami's Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the Nectar of Devotion. Every devotee must read these important works to accurately understand the progressive path of devotional service.

Finally, if we intend to help others in spiritual life, we must be conversant with a wide range of subjects, including but not limited to the entire canon of devotional literature. I instruct all of my students to study all of Srila Prabhupada's books and the other literature contained in the Vedabase [400 MB ZIP file], plus to remain current in the ordinary news of the world so that they can explain these elevated subjects to people in terms that they can easily understand. I want all of my students and disciples to become powerful spiritual masters who can deliver many people from the clutches of material existence. Thus they must be knowledgeable about and experienced in so many things.

I myself have been blessed with an uncommonly rich experience of life. Basically, if I wanted to experience anything, I did it—from being a professional musician, to flying a multi-engine jet, to living on a South Pacific island. So some people think that I am not a very good devotee, because I did not lock myself up in a temple or live in a religious organization my whole life. But the whole time I was studying the Vedic scriptures and contemplating their contents. I think it is better to have lived fully, with passion, courage and creativity, and experienced everything than to just remain in a sheltered environment where one will not experience the full range of life. My broad background helps me communicate with all kinds of people, and explain the conclusions of the scriptures with clear practical examples that they can understand.

So knowledge is very, very important in the path of devotion. It is not that we remain dumb and barefoot, and simply have faith that the Holy Name will give us everything. Without knowledge of the intricacies of the Holy Name and the meaning of devotional service, we will certainly be cheated by unscrupulous spiritual teachers and cunning religious leaders. We will fall prey to the numerous weaknesses of our own minds and be led astray through speculation and the seductions of fantasy. We will not know of the stages of devotional service, and the methods and characteristics of each. Consequently we will misjudge our actual position in spiritual advancement, and that of others. Then we will not be able to recognize the highest devotees, and miss their association. Finally, we may have some faith in the path of devotional service, but we will be unable to enlighten and convince others, and so be unable to help them advance in spiritual life.

We should choose knowledge over ignorance at every opportunity. Do not be lazy; the knowledge of spiritual life is far, far more important than material knowledge, for it will benefit you eternally, whereas the fruits of material knowledge are limited, imperfect and temporary. If you set aside a certain time for study and read regularly every day, methodically going through the scriptures in the order I have suggested—Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, then Caitanya-caritamrta and the works of the Six Gosvamis—you will find that you make steady progress in transcendental knowledge, and your spiritual life will be so much richer as a result.

Finally, here is a nice response from another student to the same question:



I can remember having that kind of serious doubt very early in my devotional life. But one overcomes such poisonous doubts by complete engagement in the devotional service of the Lord. The sweet medicine of devotional love can counteract even the poison of doubt.

The material mind is naturally full of doubts, since there have been so many times we were cheated or came to totally wrong conclusions about something. We do not trust even our own minds, what to speak of teachings coming from others. Thus people are deeply skeptical about everything, even when the knowledge comes from impeccable sources such as Sri Krsna.

But if we are sincere, the Lord will guide us to a bona fide source of spiritual knowledge. Actually that is the only way, because if choose a teacher ourselves, our rascal mind will lead us to make a mistake. So the best way is to pray to the Lord for guidance, and He will reveal the authentic spiritual Master Teacher.


The service of a bona fide spiritual Master teacher is bestowed by the mercy of the Lord. There is no other possible explanation, since only the Lord knows who is actually sincere. As Krsna explains in the Second Chapter of Bhagavad-gita, it is impossible to know who is self-realized by external considerations and observations. So the Lord gives confidential indications from within the heart. Once we find such a spiritual Master Teacher, we should approach him and serve him completely without duplicity:


The unalloyed service mood displayed by Srila Īśvara Purī is real spiritual knowledge, not false intellectual posturing or competitive doctrinal wrangling. The highest realization of spiritual knowledge is in our sweet relationship with the spiritual Master Teacher, the devotees and the Lord. This is technically known as rasa-tattva, the nectarean mood of loving devotion to the Supreme Lord, manifesting in five different flavors as neutrality, servitude, friendship, parenthood and conjugal love.

These concentrated flavors of devotional service are so enjoyable that Krsna Himself is attracted to the advanced devotee. It is not that we have to see Krsna by our knowledge; that is not devotional service, but arrogant speculation. Actually, devotional service is so powerfully attractive that Krsna Himself comes to see the devotee. The influence of surrender and service is so powerful that even God wants to see the devotee engaged in pure devotional service. This pure consciousness is the real spiritual knowledge, and the scriptural principles that help us to attain it and guard us against falling down are simply ancillary to the real attainment of devotional service, which is beyond ordinary discursive knowledge because it is beyond the mind. It can only be realized by a heart purified by lifelong performance of devotional service in love and surrender.




Is it possible that an aspiring seeker can confuse acquisiton of scriptural knowledge as advancement?

Yes, the Vedas distinguish between indirect, theoretical intellectual jnana and direct knowledge, or realized Krsna consciousness. Book learning is always knowledge 'about' something, and realization is direct perception of the thing itself. One can read about flying a plane, and even play with a flight simulator. But that cannot compare with getting behind the controls of a real plane and taking off.

Remember Lord Caitanya's pastime with the illiterate South Indian brahmana who was ordered by his guru to read Bhagavad-gita every day? The pages were mostly blank because of being washed by his tears of love. When Sri Caitanya asked him about this,

The brāhmaṇa replied, "I am illiterate and therefore do not know the meaning of the words. Sometimes I read the Bhagavad-gītā correctly and sometimes incorrectly, but in any case I am doing this in compliance with the orders of my spiritual master." The brāhmaṇa continued, "Actually I only see Lord Kṛṣṇa sitting on a chariot as Arjuna's charioteer. Taking the reins in His hands, He appears very beautiful and blackish. While seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa sitting in a chariot and instructing Arjuna, I am filled with ecstatic happiness. As long as I read the Bhagavad-gītā, I simply see the Lord's beautiful features. It is for this reason that I am reading the Bhagavad-gītā, and my mind cannot be distracted from this."

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told the brāhmaṇa, "Indeed, you are an authority in the reading of the Bhagavad-gītā. Whatever you know constitutes the real purport of the Bhagavad-gītā." [Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 9.97-102]

The stage of vaidhi-bhakti is external cultivation of knowledge about the Supreme Lord, His qualities, abodes, devotees and pastimes. Raganuga-bhakti is the stage of realization, when all these begin to actually awaken in the devotee's consciousness. A self-realized spiritual master can take the disciple through all the stages mentioned in the famous adau sraddha verse:


The bona fide spiritual master has himself realized all these stages, so he can guide the aspiring disciple through them by his own personal experience. If one wants to learn carpentry, for example, there is a great difference between studying with a novice who has only read about advanced subjects like dadoes and filigree, and a journeyman cabinetmaker who does such fine work in his personal shop every day. He can teach the methods appropriate to each stage of the construction by his own experience.

Similarly, there is a world of difference in studying the path of bhakti from a neophyte or even a madhyama-adhikari, and learning it from a fully self-realized soul who is seeing the Lord face-to-face at every moment. We can at most be sadhana-siddhas, but great souls like Srila Prabhupada and Srila Sridhar Maharaja are nitya-siddhas, eternal associates of the Lord who were sent by Lord Caitanya to this forlorn planet to rescue us.





Do you recommend studying other spiritual websites and literatures to reach the truth?

Actually none of the theories and information generated by human minds can be accepted as truth. All these different websites and videos are more or less disinformation calculated to mislead people and cover the real truth. This is because human beings suffer from four defects:


Limited human intelligence cannot produce Absolute Truth. For this reason, searching for truth among the detritus of human thought is simply a waste of time.

Our school accepts knowledge only from Vedic sources, which are beyond the human deficiencies because Vedic knowledge comes directly from God. Lord Krsna, the speaker of Bhagavad-gita, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Vyasadeva, the compiler of the Vedas, is His empowered incarnation. Therefore the Vedic wisdom is the richest source of Absolute Truth available on this planet.

So there is no need to search beyond the Vedic literature for information leading to enlightenment. We do not endorse any other source of knowledge beyond the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas, because we have found over more than 40 years of direct experience with these teachings that they are perfect and infallible. Why go on searching when we have already found the perfect source?

Therefore we welcome questions and discussion of Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic texts on these forums. You would be better off investing your valuable time and energy in a deep study of Sri Isopanisad, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya-caritamrta. Any other subject matter is, quite frankly, a waste of our valuable time.




You have said our realization depends on faith. So if you believe in Jesus, you will see Jesus, if you believe in Krsna you´ll see Krsna, if your impersonalist you´ll conceive the impersonalist form of God, etc. This means that your brain is the unit responsible for God realization, and the brain is temporal, so is God realization temporal?

No. Your problem is due to your rascal mind. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur once said that "One should beat his mind in the morning with a stick, and in the evening with a shoe." You need to discipline your mind, and think clearly instead of speculating. You can tell you're speculating if you get confused, or reach conclusions different from the Vedas.

If I don't make references to the Vedic literature, then my teaching would not be bona fide. All of our work and discussion is based on the Vedic literature, otherwise it would simply be meaningless speculation. Krsna says,


Your problem is that you are trying to reason independently before you have accurately duplicated the Vedic knowledge, so you are confusing right and wrong knowledge, Vedic and material thinking without making a clear distinction between them. So instead of getting clear insight from your thinking, you are simply agitating your mind and confusing yourself.

For example, you say, "if you believe in Jesus, you will see Jesus, if you believe in Krsna you´ll see Krsna, if your impersonalist you´ll conceive the impersonalist form of God, etc. This means that your brain is the unit responsible for God realization, and the brain is temporal, so is God realization temporal?"

This statement is so confused I barely know where to begin to untangle it. It shows that you are confusing consciousness and rational thought, which are symptoms of the soul, with the brain, which is simply a material bodily organ that acts as an interface between the soul and the bodily senses. It is true that our faith determines our realization; but as I have explained many times, our faith is simply an extension of our ontology, or the background knowledge that we bring to interpret our experience. So if we accept the Vedas and absorb the Vedic ontology as expressed in Srimad-Bhagavatam, then we will automatically be guided to the highest standard of self-realization. But we have to make a clear distinction between Vedic knowledge of Absolute Truth, and various half-baked pseudo-scientific theories of the brain and mind that are not based on actually scientific understanding of consciousness as a symptom of the soul.

The natural stages of progress are duplication, understanding, contemplation and finally, realization. If you have not perfectly duplicated the Esoteric Teaching in your own mind, it is dangerous to try to understand it by thinking through it independently. You should get up early and chant more, be careful to avoid the association of mental speculators, and try to develop discrimination between temporary relative material knowledge and eternal Vedic Absolute Truth. That will help you discipline your mind so that it becomes your friend instead of your enemy.




I feel I am mostly developing jñāna. How do I reach sādhana-bhakti?

Because we preach on the Internet, in the beginning there is bound to be a bias toward jñāna; it is due to the nature of the medium. That is why we do so much video and stress the personal nature of the Absolute Truth. Still, knowledge is important; after all, how can we approach Śrī Kṛṣṇa unless we first know about Him?


So first get the knowledge, and then the realization that He is our best Friend will follow through practice of that knowledge. That is sādhana-bhakti. Then when you realize how much Kṛṣṇa loves you, then you will become independent of the so-called love of this material world, because you will be completely emotionally satisfied. This is prema-bhakti.



STUDY


I am ready to study the Vedic texts, what do I need to know?


How to study properly is a big subject that is covered deeply in our Bhakta degree program. There is an essay discussing these techniques here. Basically, you must be clear on the definition of each and every word, or you will have subtle misunderstandings without realizing it. What happens when you go past a word that you do not have defined, is that you make up a definition for it. You may be right, but usually not. This leads to all kinds of complications.
 
For example, here is a simple sentence:

    Fill my glass up with water.

Now, what is the definition of the word 'up'? I'll leave some blank space here so you can think about it without seeing the answer immediately.
 
 
 

 
 






 
 
The correct definition is "in or into a condition, state or position of fullness or completion." That is definition #11 out of over 40 possible meanings for the word up.
 
Now here is a sentence from Srila Prabhupada's Introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is:


What is the meaning of the word 'down' in that sentence?
 
It is "From earlier times or people." That is #12 of about 30 possible meanings.
 
Do you think that you would have guessed that correctly? Of course not. Most of the small relationship words have many definitions, and are not always clear just from the context.
 
Especially look up the small words that specify relationships, such as up, that, such, which, through, with, all conjunctions and prepositions. I recommend the Oxford Collegiate Desk Edition. Srila Prabhupada used that dictionary as a standard, and so do I. You will be amazed and surprised what you will learn, and the insight you will gain ino the Esoteric Teaching.
 
If you cannot state the definition of every word used in a sentence, and use each word in that exact meaning in a sentence of your own composition, then you have not duplicated the meaning of that sentence. More importantly, you will not be able to apply the understanding in your own thinking. So this is why you need to study with a dictionary by your side at all times.
 
My goal is to empower each of my students to think for themselves with the intelligence of the complete Esoteric Teaching. That way the Teaching can never be lost or misinterpreted, because you will not only have duplicated the content of the Teaching, but will understand clearly how it works and why it is structured the way it is.




I find I have many misunderstood terms. Could you expand on this subject?

What you said about yourself is true for most of our students; unfortunately they don't apply the information in How to Learn to themselves. Maybe they think it applies to someone else, but actually misunderstood terms affect everyone. Everything on the page, even graphics, letters and punctuation marks, is a symbol and has a meaning. And the most commonly misunderstood terms are not big words, like antidisestablishmentarianism, that everyone knows they do not understand; misunderstood terms are usually the little relationship words like for, such, that, which—even words like and and up. What is the definition of up in the sentence: "Blow this balloon up"? (answer below) If you can't say, then up is a misunderstood word for you.

Each of these little words has lots of definitions, and you must know which sense applies in each particular case, or you will lose the thread of meaning. When that happens, the information you read will just disappear from your mind. You will not even be able to recall it, what to speak of applying it. And you will also suffer from the emotional and affective components of misunderstood word phenomenon: you'll become tired, start to yawn, feel dizzy, need to go to the bathroom, distract yourself, or just get tired and disgusted with the whole thing.

In my book Search for the Absolute Truth, I talk about four stages in the process of self-realization: duplication, understanding, contemplation and realization. How can you duplicate the information in the scriptures if you don't know the definitions of the words? Therefore when I study the scriptures or write, I always keep a dictionary handy to look up the definitions of words I don't know. The very best English dictionary is the Oxford Collegiate; it is the same dictionary Srila Prabhupada used to write his books. The recommended Sanskrit dictionary is the one by Sir Monier Monier-Williams, which is based on the Nirukti.

Our intelligence is limited but you will find that looking up words paradoxically speeds up learning, because you do not have to go over and over the material. You read it once, look up your misunderstood words, and then everything is clear. This makes it much easier to apply the information in practical use. It is no exaggeration to say that knowing this one fact is what made it possible for me to become a professional science and technology writer, which is how I made my living for over 20 years.

Of course, the most misunderstood word is—guess what—Krsna. If you can understand the real definition of Krsna, then Krsna will be there standing before you. Therefore the whole Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam are nothing but the definitions of Krsna, Krsna's devotee, and their relationships.

PS: The correct definition of up in that sentence is "in or into a condition, state or position of fullness or completion."




Whats so important in understand the dictionary meanings when studying scripture?

It is important to realize that just because we have read a book once, that does not mean that we understand it. I had to read Śrīla Prabhupāda's books many times before their real meaning became clear; even so, this was more because of increasing experience in devotional service and self-realization than because of any intellectual qualification. This is why I emphasize looking up the definitions of words in the dictionary.

Our lineage does not speculate on the meaning of words, but defaults to or prefers the direct dictionary meaning:


So unless we understand the precise dictionary meaning of every word in Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, we cannot say that we understand them properly, even in a grammatical sense; what to speak of having the direct personal experience required to understand them practically. Anyway it is best to get into the habit of answering your questions by researching the Vedic literature, because I will not always be here to supply the answers from my experience.



I have been studying and have felt a little sleepy. Why?

Now, as stated in the How to Learn section, you must be very careful not to go past a misunderstood or misdefined term or symbol. If you are feeling yawny, tired, or sleepy, of if the material is not making sense, then you have gone past a term or symbol that was misunderstood or misdefined.
 
To remedy this, go back to where you were doing fine, take a good dictionary and start looking up the terms that you may have misdefined or misunderstood. If you cannot give a definition for a word, you should consider it misdefined.
 
In other words, each word has a specific definition. If you cannot explain the definition to yourself, you have not understood the word. It is therefore a misdefined word. You must get the proper definition by looking the word up in a dictionary and identifying the specific definition that applies in that particular usage of the word. Then make up several sentences of your own using that definition. Then go back and review the material again.
 
The precise process for learning is clearing up misunderstandings of all types. You will find that all problems in material and spiritual life involve misunderstood terms in communication.
 
Especially small words that specify relationships (such as the, a, such, that, for, up, which, etc.) have many, many different definitions. If you use the wrong one, you will not be able to duplicate the meaning, and you will become confused, leading to the symtoms you mentioned.
 
You will find that if you clear up your misunderstood terms, your comprehension will increase dramatically. Concepts that were vague and blurry will become sharp and clear. Clearing misunderstood terms is like eyeglasses for the mind.




Are there any other reasons to clear misunderstood terms apart from for studying scripture?

Yes, behind every neurosis, behind every offensive act, behind every trauma you will find misunderstood words and symbols. Clearing our misunderstood terms is scary only because of the emotional charge attached to the process. We have suffered so much, and caused so much suffering in others, because of our misunderstood terms.

Try to understand this deeply. I don't want to get obsessed or hung up on this subject, but I do want all of our students to accept it and make clearing misunderstood terms a normal part of their study routine. A couple of years ago we had a deep discussion of semantics and ontology on the site, and this misunderstood term technique is based on the conclusions of Transontology. "Imperfect senses" means that our model of reality is defective, and that includes our concepts of the meanings of the words and symbols we use for communication.

When a person experiences a trauma, the therapist takes them back through the trauma with understanding. This is therapeutic because the person is not alone, and re-experiences the traumatic experience against the background of knowledge. A traumatic experience is one containing pain and/or unconsciousness; therefore the unconsciousness experienced because of misunderstood terms is also traumatic. Only mildly, but in school we build up thousands of these mild traumas, and the result is a crippled intelligence and a permanent antipathy to learning.

To recover our zest for learning, all we need to do is clear up our misunderstood terms. This may be painful at first, because of the emotional charge accumulated around certain misunderstood terms, especially relating to grammar and syntax. Most people never understood these terms in school, and now after many years of hearing language that they really do not understand, looking up the actual meanings of adverbs and subjunctive clauses is the last thing they want to do. But we have to look them up and clear them, otherwise we do not even really understand our own language.




Is language really a big deal in spiritual texts?

Yes. For example, we should be a little careful about how we express the relationship between the soul and the self. If we say "My soul," then what is the 'I' that possesses the soul? It must be something different from the soul. This implies that the soul is different from the self, when in fact the soul is the real self.
 
It may seem that I am being very picky about language, but this is exactly how misunderstandings get started and propagated. Spirituality is a science, therefore we should be as careful and scientific in the use of language describing spirituality as we are in adding up our checkbooks. Otherwise we risk inadvertantly embedding misunderstandings in our communication.




Should I just spend all my time studying?

Study is important, but not the whole process; it is necessary, but not sufficient for complete self-realization. Once you understand the Esoteric Teaching properly through study, you have to put that understanding into practice until you attain the requisite change in consciousness.

The jñānīs think that one can know the Absolute Truth simply by study, but that is simply dry scholarship; Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu deride this misconception again and again. Even Prahlāda Mahārāja said:


So we have all had too much association with the demoniac materialistic scientists, and have to be very careful to purge our intelligence of those viewpoints. Study of Śrī Vedānta-sūtra is very useful in this regard, because it completely refutes all the arguments of the demons in scrupulous detail.




So I just study these scriptures and I can be self-realized?

The Esoteric Teaching is not understandable in terms of intellectual content. It may begin from knowledge, but that is just to jump-start your practice. The Esoteric Teaching is an experience.
 
You cannot understand the Esoteric Teaching through an academic or intellectual approach, without actually practising it. It is not for armchair speculators, glib wiseguys or bored spectators looking for entertainment. It is a community and a lifestyle. You study the Esoteric Teaching by living it. That means following the instructions of the Teacher.
 
Western so-called education removes us from experience by years of abstraction and symbolism. The Vedic educational system is a practical apprenticeship program. You learn the Esoteric Teaching by becoming a Teacher of the Esoteric Teaching, by becoming an apprentice to a Master Teacher, living the life of a Teacher and helping your Master Teacher with his work.
 
You attain success in the Teaching by turning your life over to a Master Teacher, who shapes you by experience. There really is no other way. This is the Absolute Truth, and if you are sincere you know that I am right. Jesus did not teach his disciples abstractions; he took them on the road with him, and when stuff happened, he explained the how and why. Exactly as I am doing now.
 
Practising the Esoteric Teaching means performing service. The fact that we benefit tremendously from offering that service is incidental; its real purpose is to serve God's purpose on Earth. Just like when a person is engaged in high-level service to the government, incidentally they also get rank, wealth and all its privileges. Similarly, when a person is engaged in high-level service to God, all kinds of rare and valuable facility comes to him as a consequence, and as a means to accomplish his assignment.
 
I have an astrological configuration in my chart that usually means that a person becomes fabulously wealthy. Externally, I live very simply as a monk in a rural farm community. But I have deep spiritual wisdom, which is far more valuable than any material wealth. Instead of investing in fallible material things, going to MIT etc., I invested in spiritual wealth that yields eternal returns.
 
Most of you would have to study and practice for many years to even begin to understand the inner life of a self-realized person. That's OK; everyone has to start from where they are, and move forward on the path of spiritual advancement. But one cannot move forward as long as one is carrying the baggage of impersonalism, or of wanting to be entertained rather than get involved with actual spiritual service.
 
Therefore, if you really want to be a Student of the Esoteric Teaching, you need to focus on putting what you study into practice.




I am reading Srimad Bhagavatam but am having difficulty understanding much of it.

Bhagavad-gītā is the introduction to the science of devotional service, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the graduate level of the same subject. If you're having difficulty understanding anything, then you should join our community and post your specific questions there one by one, and we can discuss them.





Is high intelligence required to understand our eternal nature and attain liberation?

We can actually realize our eternal spiritual nature only through surrender to guru and Kṛṣṇa. Keep steady on this path and by practicing the spiritual principles, especially chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, you will not only realize all this for yourself but also be able to help many others.

There are many people with high intelligence who misuse it for material gain, or for speculating on the impersonal aspect of spiritual life in pursuit of liberation.


Intelligence may be high or low, but if it is pure intelligence, then we can attain the supreme destination, the spiritual world.


So even if one's intelligence is not very advanced, anyone who wholeheartedly surrenders to Kṛṣṇa can also attain liberation.





While studying the Bhagavad-gita should we try to read the original sanskrit text and give our best shot at the correct pronunciation?

Good question. There are several sites that have nice readings of Bhagavad-gita including the Sanskrit verses. Unfortunately my old favorites seem to be unavailable. Uddhava told me that the reading at Krishna.com is from the original version. Be careful, because there are many bogus versions, even the current approved ISKCON edition has many changes from the original by Srila Prabhupada.

Hearing is very important. The Sanskrit language has a special spiritual potency, that when you hear it, the truth expressed in the slokas is manifested in your heart. This works even if you don't understand the meaning. Of course, it's much more powerful when you study it carefully and also hear.

When you're ready for some really powerful spiritual sound vibration, we have the entire collection of Srila Prabhupada's class transcriptions and recordings available online. Once you get used to his accent, the enlightenment just pours through his words. He is a very powerful guru who brought the message of Bhagavad-gita to the whole world. Please take advantage of this transcendental sound vibration to perfect your understanding and realization.









VEDIC SCRIPTURE


Is the Vedic scripture logical?

The Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas is very logical, but its logic is not material. Spiritual logic is transcendental, and we need to learn a whole new approach because all authentic spiritual teaching is based on the existence of the soul an consciousness. That's why we talk so much about ontology; if you really want to understand spiritual life, you have to adopt the spiritual ontology that is given in the Vedas, especially Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.




In a previous Satsang you mentioned that sometimes the scriptures contain very tightly packed information in a few verses and this information has to be 'decompressed' and explained properly. How do we distinguish between:

(a) a correct decompression & explanation of the intended meaning

(b) speculation about the meaning,

without ourselves having the background and realization to decompress the information correctly?


Very good question. There is the Hermetic Principle, expressed "As above, so below," or "the universe is reflected in a grain of sand." If one knows the whole picture, then he can see it reflected in any part, exactly as the whole design of a fractal is reflected in any small part of it. Similarly if one knows Kṛṣṇa, one can see Him reflected in His creation.

Thus everything is dependent on self-realization. One who is self-realized can understand everything, and the connection of the parts with the whole, by means of his realization of the Complete Whole.


The design of the Complete Whole, Kṛṣṇa, is mirrored in His emanations, the individual souls and other creations. Once we know Kṛṣṇa, then we also know the design of His emanations. Then we are never lost in any part of His vast created worlds, no matter how remote from the center, because we know how His form is mirrored in the plan of His entire creation.

So the meaning of exegesis rather than speculation is that exegesis uses deductive logic to understand the relation of the pieces from the understanding of the whole, but speculation uses inductive logic to try to understand the whole from the amalgamation of the pieces. Self-realization is not simply a not matter of knowledge, but direct perception of the Supreme based upon His Self-revelation within the mind of the yogī.


So it is direct knowledge of God, in the sense of consciousness, not indirect knowledge about God by mental or philosophical speculation. That is complete self-realization, because everything is included: the Lord, His abode, His energies and even our own eternal identity. There is simply no substitute for the direct Self-revelation of the Supreme in the Vedas, and in the mind and heart of the self-realized soul.

A student also adds:






This means, that if we want to get self realized before leaving this body completely, we have to understand all these topics, because we are in Kali Yuga most people can't even try to do.

Prabhupada says many times, that for pure devotee there is no interest for all these things, but i am currently understanding, that, to become pure devotee while still in this body, we have to learn them, otherwise we won't have the tools to do it. Is this correct ?

How else can we explain the scriptures unless we have direct personal experience of all the things mentioned in them? The fact is, chanting the Holy Name offenselessly gives us all this knowledge automatically. That has to be done.



I get confused about the different wording and numbering of certain things such as the offences to the Holy Name. It seems some of them overlap. How am I to understand this?

It gets worse: Harinama Cintamani contains a detailed discussion of all these offenses, but numbers and describes them differently as well. Fortunately, we are talking about a relationship with a person, the Holy Name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and not the federal tax code.

We should try to avoid a legalistic approach to the emotional art of devotional service, rasa-tattva. Transcendental logic is fundamentally different from Aristotelian material logic and therefore, intellectual wrangling over chapter and verse is useless.

Krsna is a transcendental, absolute person and His Holy Names are nondifferent from Him. Anyone who chants these Holy Names offenselessly can experience this directly.

There is no need for extensive didactic discussion of the offenses. If we simply treat the Holy Names with love—the way we would treat our most dear friend—then we will avoid all offenses automatically. If there is any confusion about this, it is simply due to residual impersonalism.




Can you give us an idea of what is known about lost Vedic scriptures? Can you also comment on what the loss of scripture means in our tradition in terms of missing information about the Absolute Truth?

It's hard to know if something is lost unless mentioned elsewhere. One loss we do know of is a treasure trove of transcendental literatures written by Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis. These books were about the pastimes of Radha and Krsna in Vrndavana, and were so high that a later Gaudiya acarya decided they were too intimate for this contaminated world. So he threw the only existing copies into a well.

I don't think we need to be too concerned about losing information. After all, the majority of the surviving works of Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis have not even been translated into English yet. And most importantly, we do have enough information to realize all those pastimes for ourselves.

From my perspective, I would rather meditate on those pastimes directly than simply read about them, although reading about them is also nice. I mean, would you rather be personally present at a lecture of Srila Prabhupada, or simply watch it on TV?

So the most important Vedic spiritual information is that which helps us attain self-realization. Everything else is just 'sales talk' that motivates us to complete the process. It's important to be motivated, but even more important to purify ourselves by transcendental knowledge, devotional service and the Holy Name.



Should I read the Varaha Purana?

You are suggesting Varaha Purana, but does Śrīla Prabhupāda recommend reading it? Is Varaha Purana one of the six sattvik Puranas?

And if it is, then who has translated or edited it? Are they pure devotees of Kṛṣṇa? You have to use discrimination when selecting spiritual literature, or you can easily be misled.

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