CC Madhya 9.102
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 102
prabhu kahe,—gītā-pāṭhe tomārā-i adhikāra
tumi se jānaha ei gītāra artha-sāra
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe—the Lord replied; gītā-pāṭhe—in reading the Bhagavad-gītā; tomārāi adhikāra—you have the proper authority; tumi—you; se—that; jānaha—know; ei—this; gītāra—of the Bhagavad-gītā; artha-sāra—the real purport.
TRANSLATION
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.”
PURPORT
According to the śāstras: bhaktyā bhāgavataṁ grāhyaṁ na buddhyā na ca ṭīkayā. One should understand the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by hearing them from a real devotee. One cannot understand them simply by erudite scholarship or sharp intelligence. It is also said:
- gītādhītā ca yenāpi bhakti-bhāvena cetasā
- veda-śāstra-purāṇāni tenādhītāni sarvaśaḥ
To one who reads the Bhagavad-gītā with faith and devotion, the essence of Vedic knowledge is revealed. And according to the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23):
- yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau
- tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
[ŚU 6.23]
“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.” All Vedic literatures are to be understood with faith and devotion, not by mundane scholarship. We have therefore presented Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. There are many so-called scholars and philosophers who read the Bhagavad-gītā in a scholarly way. They simply waste their time and mislead those who read their commentaries.