Rascal Scholars

The following is an article written by His Grace Dhananjaya Dasa for the Matchless Gift magazine.

Dhananjaya Prabhu and his dear friend Avishek

Some time ago, there was this guy I met on book distribution, and he made a remark that “Bhaktivedanta Swami didn’t do the Sanskrit properly.” People sometimes say that. Firstly, to all the so called Sanskrit scholars and those holding them in high regard: you’re all rascals! I don’t say it, Krishna says it. (Bg. 7.15) na mam dunkrtino mudhah… 

You study the Vedas but you do not understand the purpose of your study, Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita (15.15 )

vedais cha sarvair aham eva vedyo

vedanta-krd veda-vid eva chaham  

By all the Vedas, He is to be known, and that he is the knower of the Veda and the compiler of the Vedanta. Naturally then, the question arise in the mind of any sincere student “who is Krishna?” Krishna is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by all the great acharyas or teachers in the Indian tradition including Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, Vishnu Swami, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and even the founder of the impersonalist school of thought, Shankaracharya, who declares, narayanah paro ‘vyaktat: Narayana or Krishna is beyond this material manifestation. The Rig Veda (1.22.20) similarly declares that “the demigods are always looking to that supreme abode of Vishnu." See, there is no difference between Vishnu and Krishna, for the first is a plenary expansion of the latter (SB - 1.3.28 - krishnas tu bhagavan svayam). Even Lord Shiva declares in the Padma Purana that out of all worship, the worship of Vishnu is the highest⎯aradhananam sarvenam vinnor aradhanam param.

Similarly, Lord Brahma declares that Krishna is the supreme controller (BS 5.1 - Isvarah paramah krishnah) and that he is the cause of all cause (sarva- karana-karanam). both Brahma and Shiva are considered as two of the great 8 Mahajans or authorities on the Vedic knowledge. Furthermore, Krishna proclaims that there is no higher truth above him, and thus Krishna is established very clearly as the only purpose of the Vedic study and the last word in transcendence (brahmeti paramatmeti sabdyate). Now, this might seem very sectarian and conservative, for it does not support the idea of the Vedas being a “spiritual buffet” in which one can select any mode of worship mentioned in the Vedic scriptures and attain the same destination. What people fail to grasp is that Krishna is a person and that to understand Him (as He is the purpose of the Vedic studies) one won’t be able to simply avoid His opinion, which is very clearly expressed in the Bhagavad-Gita, where Krishna declares (BG 18.66) sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja - “abandon all of varieties of religion and just surrender unto me.” If we want to know Krishna, then naturally there is no better way than to approach Krishna directly. Just like you are the best source of information about yourself, be it your personality, pastimes, qualities, desires, and so on, the same holds true for the supreme person, Shri Krishna. This information is most confidential; it’s reserved only for Krishna and to those whom Krishna deems worthy of entrusting the knowledge to. Krishna makes it clear by saying the only way to know him is through devotional service. (BG 18.55)⎯bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yas chasmi tattvatah this process is not some kind of perverted desire of God to lord it over his subjects, but is a standard process of loving exchanges, which⎯ follow the three preliminary stages; namely, pranipatena⎯aproaching a person pariprasnena⎯inquiring submisevely and sevaya⎯serving the person.

Every relationship is built upon these three principles. At first, a boy and girl approach each other, then they inquire from each other about their desires, and then they render some service to each other. This process gradually strengthens the bond between the two lovers, and as long as there is no interruption, the relationship flourishes nicely. The most important aspect is service, for to love means to serve. Love is not simply a word but an exchange of service between two persons. The relationship between Krishna and the Jiva (minute soul) is conducted in the same way. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita, ye yatha mam prapadyante: as they surrender unto Me, I award them accordingly. This surrendering process is what constitutes the system of Bhakti-yoga or linking up to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Shri Krishna in devotional service. The more unconditional one becomes in his service, the more Krishna reveals himself. Krishna decides to do so through the agency of the guru. For that reason, He advises Arjuna to approach a spiritual master. The guru reveals Krishna when he feels the disciple is qualified. This is easy to understand, because even when one wants to approach a very important personality in this world, he has to go through his bonafide representative. The same process is also recommended in the Mundaka Upaninad (1.2.12 ) where it is said: 

tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet

samit-panih shrotriyam brahma-nistam 

Here the word abhigacchet is used, which signifies that something is obligatory. The choice of a guru must thus never be a question of fashion or personal preference. The qualification of such a spiritual master is delineated in the following verse where Krishna declares to Arjuna (BG 4.3) 

sa evayam maya te ’dya

yogah proktah puratanah

bhakto ’si me sakha cheti

rahasyam hy etad uttamam 

Because he is his confidential friend and devotee, Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, and Arjuna was able to understand it. This gives very clear guidance that anyone who wants to be like Arjuna must also follow the footsteps of Arjuna and be situated in one of the five rasas or mellows of devotional service (neutrality, servitorship, friendship, paternity, and conjugal love). The exalted nature of devotional service is furthermore emphasised by Lord Brahma, the first living entity to receive the Vedic knowledge directly from Krishna (SB 1.1.1. tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye). He says that Krishna is inaccessible to the Vedas (BS 5.33 vedenu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau) but that he is obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion of the soul. This might seem like an apparent contradiction, for Krishna delineates that he is the goal of Vedic study, and yet Brahma says he cannot be known by the Vedic study. However, the Veda says (Bg 4.34)⎯surrender to the guru, for he will initiate the disciple with the knowledge of one’s relationship with Krishna. The development of this relationship is what actually constitutes the process of Bhakti-yoga. In a similar context, Svetasvatara Upanishad (6.23.) declares:

yasya deve para bhaktir


yatha deve tatha gurau

tasyaite katita hy artah

prakasante mahatmanah

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.”

No guru⎯no Krishna, know guru⎯know Krishna. Unfortunately, disgusted by the futility of service in the mundane world and in a vain attempt to avoid rendering service to the pure devotee spiritual master, the impersonalist scholars bring so many concoctions. This is exemplified by Dr. Radhakrishnan, the late president of India, who interpreted the previously mentioned verse when Krishna says sarva dharman parityajya: “Just surrender unto me”. The rascal said, “It is not to Krishna, but to the unborn within Krishna that we should surrender”.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the latest appearance of Krishna, proclaimed such indirect interpretations by these Mayavadi scholars to a cloud covering the Sun. Interpretation is necessary only when the matter is not clear, but Krishna says very clearly⎯simply surrender unto Me, the person, Krishna⎯the same Krishna that spoke the Bhagavad-Gita 5000 years at Kurukshetra in modern-day India. These Mayavadis try to divide Krishna from His form claiming that His form is Maya (illusory) and that Krishna is but another manifestation of the ultimately impersonal Brahman. Krishna rejects this theory by proclaiming that “fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be”. (BG 9.11)  Krishna has a transcendental form full of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. To further reject the Mayavadi conclusion that God is impersonal, Krishna also declares brahmano hi pratistaham⎯I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman (BG. 14. 27). Unfortunately, the Mayavadis reject the process in their vain attempt to understand the unlimited reality which lies beyond the purview of the blunt material senses with their limited pea like brain. Accepting the ascending process of acquiring knowledge in which one relies upon one’s limited mental capacity and gross material senses to understand Krishna, who is known as adhokshaja⎯ beyond the purview of material senses. They consequentially never attain perfect knowledge of the absolute truth.

On the other hand, the devotees accept the process favoured by Krishna personally, which is to attract God by one’s loving devotional attitude. That attitude is shown in the writings of the great Vaishnava acharyas (spiritual masters) that are simply meant to glorify the Lord. The Lord is absolute, which means that there is no difference between Krishna and descriptions about Krishna. By the culture of regular hearing about Krishna, the living entity becomes more and more purified, and this process gradually purifies one from all impurities in the heart, which are the product of many lifetime’s of materialistic desires. Being free from such hankering and lamentation, one proceeds with  uninterrupted devotional service to the Supreme Lord which serves as the source of higher and higher ecstasy for such a purified soul. This is very nicely exemplified by the Shrila Prabhupada’s movement. Prabhupada explains in the preface of his Bhagavad-Gita As It Is that although there were more than 600 versions of the Bhagavad-Gita, none of them produced any devotees of Krishna. Phalena pariciyate⎯judge a tree by its fruits. That means that none of them touched the spirit of the Bhagava-Gita, which is the this acceptance of devotional service. That is why the serious students of the Veda should reject such unauthorised translations, commentaries, and opinions of the so called scholars, and in this way save time thaat they can then spend in propagating this Krishna consciousness movement. Krishna declares such endeavour as the most pleasing to Him. Krishna, the supersoul of all living beings, will thus award such a soul with transcendental realisation, by which one can establish himself firmly in his relationship with Krishna. This is called vigyana or transcendental realisation. That is the difference between a devotee and nondevotee⎯even though the nondevotee scholar may utter the words “aham “brahmasmi (I am spirit) and brahma satyam jagat mithya⎯the material world is illusion⎯he will still lack practical realisation.

So many unscrupulous individuals who speak big words are attached to all kinds of sense gratificatory activities such as smoking cigarettes, ganja, and womanising in their private life… such a materialistic person can never write authoritatively on the Vedic knowledge, for all his knowledge is stolen by illusion (mayayapahrta-gyana). The Vedas are known as aparaushya, meaning they are without any human defect, and to preserve this pure quality of the sabda brahman (transcendental sound) Krishna says: evam parampara praptam (Bg 4.2)⎯that the Vedic knowledge must be spoken in the chain of disciplic succession. The importance of receiving sabda brahman through a bona fide channel is of upmost importance, for this is the entire reason Krishna had to speak the Bhagavad-Gita ⎯ the disciplic succession was broken. So, it is not so simple for anyone to voice his nonsense opinion and immediately be recognised as an authority. Milk is a very nutritious beverage, but when touched by the lips of a snake, it becomes poison. Lord Chaitanya warned us not to hear from nondevotees, for we will be bewildered in our attempts to understand  Bhagavan Shri Krishna in truth. To add the last log to the fire, Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-Gita about 5000 years ago, and from the Vedic scriptures we can understand that the commonly spoken language at that time was Sanskrit, thus naturally everyone would have the ability to understand the language perfectly, yet Krishna, in the same Bhagavad-Gita, still says that the whole world knows Him not (Bg 7.13) Krishna says that in the present tense, which makes it clear that mere knowledge of Sanskrit is never enough to understand Krishna.

So, what are the odds of one grasping the Vedanta by mere scholarship? Absolutely zero. You might be a big scholar, a big man of knowledge, but unless you surrender to Krishna, you won’t reach the desired result; you will be simply licking the outside of the bottle of honey. For this reason, the members of the Bhaktivedanta Lives in Sound Society accept a bona fide spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and understand the Veda under his careful translations and Bhaktivedanta purports, which actually helping one to realise Krishna’s transcendental nature. Knowing that nature, one doesn’t have to take birth again in this miserable material world. Don’t gamble with your spiritual life, hear from the proper source.

Hare Krishna!

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