Grammar (Books)

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BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 11.53, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa first appeared before His parents Devakī and Vāsudeva in a four-handed form, and then He transformed Himself into the two-handed form. This mystery is very difficult to understand for those who are atheists or who are devoid of devotional service. For scholars who have simply studied Vedic literature by way of grammatical knowledge or mere academic qualifications, Kṛṣṇa is not possible to understand. Nor is He to be understood by persons who officially go to the temple to offer worship. They make their visit, but they cannot understand Kṛṣṇa as He is. Kṛṣṇa can be understood only through the path of devotional service, as explained by Kṛṣṇa Himself in the next verse.

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

When He was just sixteen years old He started His own catuṣpāṭhī (village school conducted by a learned brāhmaṇa). In this school He would simply explain Kṛṣṇa, even in readings of grammar. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in order to please the Lord, later composed a grammar in Sanskrit, in which all the rules of grammar were explained with examples that used the holy names of the Lord. This grammar is still current. It is known as Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa and is prescribed in the syllabus of schools in Bengal.

SB Introduction:

Nimāi Paṇḍita at once memorized all the ślokas without an error. He quoted the sixty-fourth śloka and pointed out certain rhetorical and literary irregularities. He particularly questioned the paṇḍita's use of the word bhavānī-bhartuḥ. He pointed out that the use of this word was redundant. Bhavānī means the wife of Śiva, and who else can be her bhartā, or husband? He also pointed out several other discrepancies, and the Kashmir paṇḍita was struck with wonder. He was astonished that a mere student of grammar could point out the literary mistakes of an erudite scholar. Although this matter was ended prior to any public meeting, the news spread like wildfire all over Navadvīpa. But finally Keśava Kāśmīrī was ordered in a dream by Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning, to submit to the Lord, and thus the Kashmir paṇḍita became a follower of the Lord.

SB Introduction:

The Bhaṭṭācārya tried to defend himself and his Māyāvāda school by jugglery of logic and grammar, but the Lord defeated him by His forceful arguments. He affirmed that we are all related with the Personality of Godhead eternally and that devotional service is our eternal function in exchanging the dealings of our relations. The result of such exchanges is to attain premā, or love of Godhead. When love of Godhead is attained, love for all other beings automatically follows because the Lord is the sum total of all living beings.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.3.42, Purport:

rīpāda Śaṅkarācārya, who preached Māyāvāda philosophy and stressed the impersonal feature of the Absolute, also recommended that one must take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, for there is no hope of gain from debating. Indirectly Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya admitted that what he had preached in the flowery grammatical interpretations of the Vedānta-sūtra cannot help one at the time of death. At the critical hour of death one must recite the name of Govinda. This is the recommendation of all great transcendentalists. Śukadeva Gosvāmī had long ago stated the same truth, that at the end one must remember Nārāyaṇa. That is the essence of all spiritual activities. In pursuance of this eternal truth, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was heard by Emperor Parīkṣit, and it was recited by the able Śukadeva Gosvāmī. And both the speaker and the receiver of the messages of Bhāgavatam were duly delivered by the same medium.

SB 1.7.10, Purport:

By His personal features and transcendental attributes, the Lord attracts all psychological activities of a pure devotee. Such is the attractive power of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The attraction is so powerful that a pure devotee never hankers for any one of the four principles of religion. These are the attractive features of the transcendental attributes of the Lord. And adding to this the words api and ca, one can increase the imports unlimitedly. According to Sanskrit grammar there are seven synonyms for the word api.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.9.37, Purport:

As in the Bhagavad-gītā, Tenth Chapter, the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, has summarized the whole text in four verses, namely, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ (BG 10.8), etc., so the complete Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has also been summarized in four verses, as aham evāsam evāgre, etc. Thus the secret purpose of the most important Bhāgavatite conclusion has been explained by the original speaker of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, who was also the original speaker of the Bhagavad-gītā, the Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There are many grammarians and nondevotee material wranglers who have tried to present false interpretations of these four verses of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam but the Lord Himself advised Brahmājī not to be deviated from the fixed conclusion the Lord had taught him. The Lord was the teacher of the nucleus of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in four verses, and Brahmā was the receiver of the knowledge. Misinterpretation of the word aham by the word jugglery of the impersonalist should not disturb the mind of the strict followers of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

SB 2.9.37, Purport:

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the text of the Personality of Godhead and His unalloyed devotees, who are also known as the bhāgavatas, and any outsider should have no access to this confidential literature of devotional service. But unfortunately the impersonalist, who has no relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sometimes tries to interpret Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by his poor fund of knowledge in grammar and dry speculation. Therefore, the Lord warns Brahmā (and, through Brahmā, all future devotees of the Lord in the disciplic succession of Brahmā) that one should never be misled by the conclusion of the so-called grammarians or by other men with a poor fund of knowledge, but must always fix the mind properly, via the paramparā system.

SB 2.9.37, Purport:

The brahma-bhūta stage of life is also known as the ātmārāma stage, in which one is fully self-satisfied and does not hanker for the world of sense enjoyment. This stage of full satisfaction is the proper situation for understanding the transcendental knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.20) affirms this:

evaṁ prasanna-manaso

bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ

bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ

mukta-saṅgasya jāyate

Thus in the completely satisfied stage of life, exhibited by full detachment from the world of sense enjoyment as a result of performing devotional service, one can understand the science of God in the liberated stage.

In this stage of full satisfaction and detachment from the sensory world, one can know the mystery of the science of God with all its confidential intricacies, and not by grammar or academic speculation. Because Brahmā qualified himself for such reception, the Lord was pleased to disclose the purpose of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

SB 2.9.43, Purport:

Receiving transcendental knowledge is not like exchanging dollars; such knowledge has to be received by service to the spiritual master. As Brahmājī received the knowledge directly from the Lord by satisfying Him fully, similarly one has to receive the transcendental knowledge from the spiritual master by satisfying him. The spiritual master's satisfaction is the means of assimilating transcendental knowledge. One cannot understand transcendental knowledge simply by becoming a grammarian.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.4.28, Purport:

According to Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, nidhanam means the transcendental abode of the Lord. Ni means the highest, and dhanam means opulence. And because the abode of the Lord is the highest manifestation of transcendental opulence, His abode can therefore be called nidhanam. Apart from the grammatical elucidation, the real purpose of the word nidhanam is to indicate that all the members of the Vṛṣṇi and Bhoja dynasties were direct associates of the Lord, and after the end of His pastimes, all the associates were dispatched to their respective positions in the transcendental abode.

SB 3.4.28, Purport:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura elucidates the meaning of ākṛtim as pastimes. A means complete, and kṛtim means transcendental pastimes. Since the Lord is identical with His transcendental body, there is no question of His changing or quitting His body. To act in accordance with the rules and customs of the material world, the Lord seems to take His birth or leave His body, but the pure devotees of the Lord know well the actual fact. It is necessary, therefore, for the serious students of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to follow the notes and comments of the great ācāryas like Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī. To others, who are not devotees of the Lord, the comments and explanations of such ācāryas may appear to he grammatical jugglery, but to the students who are in the line of disciplic succession, the explanations of the great ācāryas are quite fit.

SB 3.4.29, Purport:

The name and form of the Lord cannot be perceived by the material senses, but when He appears within the vision of the mundane people He assumes the form of the virāṭ-rūpa. This is an additional material exhibition of form and is supported by the logic of a subject and its adjectives. In grammar, when an adjective is taken away from the subject, the subject it modifies does not change. Similarly, when the Lord quits His virāṭ-rūpa, His eternal form does not change, although there is no material difference between Himself and any one of His innumerable forms. In the Fifth Canto it will be seen how the Lord is worshiped in different planets in His different forms, even now, and how He is worshiped in different temples of this earth also.

SB 3.15.49, Purport:

The transcendental loving service of the Lord is performed in three ways—with the body, with the mind and with words. Here the sages pray that their words may always be engaged in glorifying the Supreme Lord. One may speak very nicely with ornamental language or one may be expert at controlled grammatical presentation, but if one's words are not engaged in the service of the Lord, they have no flavor and no actual use. The example is given here of tulasī leaves. The tulasī leaf is very useful even from the medicinal or antiseptic point of view. It is considered sacred and is offered to the lotus feet of the Lord.

SB 3.15.49, Purport:

The tulasī leaf has numerous good qualities, but if it were not offered to the lotus feet of the Lord, tulasī could not be of much value or importance. Similarly, one may speak very nicely from the rhetorical or grammatical point of view, which may be very much appreciated by a materialistic audience, but if one's words are not offered to the service of the Lord, they are useless.

SB 3.32.34-36, Purport:

The words bhakti-yogena caiva hi mean that whatever is to be performed, as described in verse 34, whether yoga or sacrifice or fruitive activity or study of Vedic literature or philosophical research or acceptance of the renounced order of life, is to be executed in bhakti-yoga. The words caiva hi, according to Sanskrit grammar, indicate that one must perform all these activities mixed with devotional service, otherwise such activities will not produce any fruit. Any prescribed activity must be performed for the sake of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.27), yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi: "Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you sacrifice, whatever austerities you undergo and whatever charities you give, the result should be given to the Supreme Lord." The word eva is added, indicating that one must execute activities in such a way. Unless one adds devotional service to all activities, he cannot achieve the desired result, but when bhakti-yoga is prominent in every activity, then the ultimate goal is sure.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.24.18, Purport:

Even though Lord Śiva appeared to preach Māyāvāda philosophy, at the end of his pastime in the form of Śaṅkarācārya, he preached the Vaiṣṇava philosophy: bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate. He stressed worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa, or Govinda, three times in this verse and especially warned his followers that they could not possibly achieve deliverance, or mukti, simply by word jugglery and grammatical puzzles. If one is actually serious to attain mukti, he must worship Lord Kṛṣṇa. That is Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya's last instruction.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.4.15, Translation and Purport:

Therefore, after getting up from bed in the morning, those who desire their own welfare—especially the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and in particular the brāhmaṇa Vaiṣṇavas—should chant this narration as it is, without deviation, to counteract the troubles of bad dreams.

Every verse in the Vedic literature, especially in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā, is a Vedic mantra. Here the words yathānukīrtayanti are used to recommend that this literature be presented as it is. Unscrupulous persons, however, deviate from the actual narration and interpret the text in their own way with grammatical jugglery. Such deviations are to be avoided. This is a Vedic injunction supported by Śukadeva Gosvāmī, one of the mahājanas, or authorities. He says, yathānukīrtayanti: one should recite the mantra as it is, without deviation, for then one will be eligible to rise to the platform of all good fortune. Śukadeva Gosvāmī especially recommends that those who are brāhmaṇas (śucayaḥ) recite all these mantras after rising from bed in the morning.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1.53, Purport:

Aham means "I"; therefore the speaker who is saying aham, "I," must have His own personality. The Māyāvādī philosophers interpret this word aham as referring to the impersonal Brahman. The Māyāvādīs are very proud of their grammatical knowledge, but any person who has actual knowledge of grammar can understand that aham means "I" and that "I" refers to a personality. Therefore the Personality of Godhead, speaking to Brahmā, uses aham while describing His own transcendental form. Aham has a specific meaning; it is not a vague term that can be whimsically interpreted. Aham, when spoken by Kṛṣṇa, refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and nothing else.

CC Adi 7.64, Purport:

Māyāvādī sannyāsīs are always very puffed up because of their knowledge of Sanskrit and because they belong to the Śaṅkara-sampradāya. They are always under the impression that unless one is a brāhmaṇa and a very good Sanskrit scholar, especially in grammar, one cannot accept the renounced order of life or become a preacher. Māyāvādī sannyāsīs always misinterpret all the śāstras with their word jugglery and grammatical compositions, yet Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya himself condemned such jugglery of words in the verse prāpte sannihite kāle na hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛñ karaṇe. Ḍukṛñ refers to suffixes and prefixes in Sanskrit grammar. Śaṅkarācārya warned his disciples that if they concerned themselves only with the principles of grammar, not worshiping Govinda, they were fools who would never be saved. Yet in spite of Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya's instructions, foolish Māyāvādī sannyāsīs are always busy juggling words on the basis of strict Sanskrit grammar.

CC Adi 7.73, Purport:

If one adheres to the regulative principles under the order of the spiritual master, he very easily achieves the ultimate goal of his life. A person who is addicted to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra very easily gets the opportunity to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. There is no need for such a person to understand the grammatical jugglery in which Māyāvādī sannyāsīs generally indulge. Śrī Śaṅkarācārya also stressed this point: na hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛñ karaṇe. "Simply by juggling grammatical suffixes and prefixes one cannot save himself from the clutches of death." The grammatical word jugglers cannot bewilder a devotee who engages in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Simply addressing the energy of the Supreme Lord as Hare and the Lord Himself as Kṛṣṇa very soon situates the Lord within the heart of the devotee. By thus addressing Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, one directly engages in His Lordship's service. The essence of all revealed scriptures and all knowledge is present when one addresses the Lord and His energy by the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, for this transcendental vibration can completely liberate a conditioned soul and directly engage him in the service of the Lord.

CC Adi 7.114, Purport:

Māyāvādī philosophers are very proud of exhibiting their Vedānta knowledge through grammatical jugglery, but in the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa certifies that they are māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, bereft of real knowledge due to māyā. Māyā has two potencies with which to execute her two functions—the prakṣepātmikā-śakti, the power to throw the living entity into the ocean of material existence, and āvaraṇātmikā-śakti, the power to cover the knowledge of the living entity.

CC Adi 10.72, Translation:

The thirty-third and thirty-fourth branches were the two students of Caitanya Mahāprabhu named Puruṣottama and Sañjaya, who were stalwart students in grammar. They were very great personalities.

CC Adi 13.29, Translation:

When teaching a course in grammar (vyākaraṇa) and explaining it with notes, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught His disciples about the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa. All explanations culminated in Kṛṣṇa, and His disciples would understand them very easily. Thus His influence was wonderful.

CC Adi 13.29, Purport:

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī compiled a grammar in two parts, named Laghu-hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa and Bṛhad-dhari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa. If someone studies these two texts in vyākaraṇa, or grammar, he learns the grammatical rules of the Sanskrit language and simultaneously learns how to become a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 13.29, Purport:

In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, First Chapter, there is a statement about the method by which Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught grammar. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained the aphorisms of grammar to be eternal, like the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.

CC Adi 15 Summary:

The Lord took lessons in grammar from Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita and became very expert in commenting upon grammar. He forbade His mother to take grains on the Ekādaśī day. He narrated a story that Viśvarūpa, after accepting the sannyāsa order, invited Him in a dream to accept sannyāsa also, but the Lord refused and was therefore sent back home. When Jagannātha Miśra passed away, the Lord married the daughter of Vallabhācārya, whose name was Lakṣmī.

CC Adi 15.5, Translation:

When the Lord was studying grammar at the place of Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, He would immediately learn grammatical rules and definitions by heart simply by hearing them once.

CC Adi 15.5, Purport:

īla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that the Lord was given lessons by a teacher named Viṣṇu and another teacher named Sudarśana. Later on, when He was a little grown up, He was under the care of Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, who taught Him grammar of a higher standard. Anyone serious about studying the Sanskrit language should first learn grammar. It is said that simply to finish studying Sanskrit grammar takes at least twelve years, but once one learns the grammatical rules and regulations very nicely, all other scriptures or subject matters in Sanskrit are extremely easy to understand, for Sanskrit grammar is the gateway to education.

CC Adi 15.6, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says there was a commentary on grammar named Pañjī-ṭīkā that was later explained very lucidly by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Adi 16.31, Translation:

"I understand that You are a teacher of grammar," he said, “and that Your name is Nimāi Paṇḍita. People speak very highly of Your teaching of beginners' grammar.

CC Adi 16.31, Purport:

Formerly Sanskrit schools first taught grammar very thoroughly, and this system continues even now. A student was supposed to study grammar carefully for twelve years in the beginning of his life, because if one is expert in the grammar of the Sanskrit language, all the śāstras are open to him. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was famous for teaching grammar to students, and therefore Keśava Kāśmīrī first referred to His position as a teacher of grammar. Keśava Kāśmīrī was very proud of his literary career; he was far above the first lessons of grammar, and so he thought the position of Nimāi Paṇḍita not at all comparable to his own.

CC Adi 16.32, Translation:

"I understand that You teach Kalāpa-vyākaraṇa. I have heard that Your students are very expert in the word jugglery of this grammar."

CC Adi 16.32, Purport:

There are many schools of grammar in the Sanskrit language, the most famous of which are the systems of Pāṇini and the Kalāpa and Kaumudī grammars. There were different branches of grammatical knowledge, and a student of grammar was supposed to study them all in twelve years. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who was famous as Nimāi Paṇḍita, taught grammar to His students, who became expert in dealing with the word jugglery of complicated grammar. Almost anyone expert in studying grammar interprets the śāstras in many ways by changing the root meanings of their words. A student of grammar can sometimes completely change the meaning of a sentence by juggling grammatical rules.

CC Adi 16.32, Purport:

Keśava Kāśmīrī indirectly taunted Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu by implying that although He was a great teacher of grammar, such grammatical jugglery of root meanings did not require great expertise. This was a challenge to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because it was prearranged that Keśava Kāśmīrī would have to discuss the śāstras with Nimāi Paṇḍita, from the very beginning he wanted to bluff the Lord.

CC Adi 16.33, Translation:

The Lord said, “Yes, I am known as a teacher of grammar, but factually I cannot impress My students with grammatical knowledge, nor can they understand Me very well.

CC Adi 16.50, Translation:

"You are an ordinary student of grammar. What do You know about literary embellishments? You cannot review this poetry because You do not know anything about it."

CC Adi 16.50, Purport:

Keśava Kāśmīrī first wanted to bluff Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by saying that since He was not an advanced student in literary style, He could not review a verse full of metaphors and literary ornaments. This argument has some basis in fact. Unless one is a medical man he cannot criticize a medical man, and unless one is a lawyer he cannot criticize a lawyer. Therefore Keśava Kāśmīrī first depreciated the Lord's position. Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to the champion a student of grammar, how could He dare criticize a great poet like him? Lord Caitanya, therefore, criticized the poet in a different way. He said that although He was certainly not advanced in a literary career, He had heard from others how to criticize such poetry, and as a śruti-dhara, possessing a complete memory, He could understand the process for such a review.

CC Adi 16.54, Purport:

Vimṛṣṭa means "clean," and vidheyāṁśa means "predicate." It is a general rule of composition to establish a subject first and then give its predicate. For example, according to Sanskrit grammar if one says, "This man is learned," his composition is in order. But if one says, "Learned is this man," the composition is not in order. Such a flaw is called avimṛṣṭa-vidheyāṁśa-doṣa, or the fault of unclean composition. The subject matter to be known of the verse is the glorification of the Ganges, and therefore the word idam ("this"), or what is known, should have been placed before instead of after the glorification. The subject matter already known should be placed before the unknown so that its meaning will not be misconstrued.

CC Adi 17.7, Purport:

On the plea of disturbance of the bodily air and metabolism, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu acted as if crazy. Thus in His school He began to explain the grammar of verbs through Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Explaining everything in grammar in relationship to Kṛṣṇa, the Lord induced His students to refrain from worldly education, for it is better to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and in this way attain the highest perfectional platform of education. On these grounds, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī later compiled the grammar entitled Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa. People in general consider such explanations crazy. Therefore the Lord's purpose in His attitude of craziness was to explain that there is nothing within our experience but Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for everything may be dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 6.132, Purport:

In every verse of Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly stated that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In every verse Vyāsadeva says, śrī-bhagavān uvāca, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead said," or "the Blessed Lord said." It is clearly stated that the Blessed Lord is the Supreme Person, but Māyāvādī atheists still try to prove that the Absolute Truth is impersonal. In order to present their false, imaginary meanings, they must adopt so much word jugglery and grammatical interpretation that they finally become ludicrous. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu remarked that no one should hear the Māyāvādī commentaries or purports to any Vedic literature.

CC Madhya 22.131, Purport:

One should not associate with professional Bhāgavatam reciters. A professional Bhāgavatam reciter is one who is not in the disciplic succession or one who has no taste for bhakti-yoga. Simply on the strength of grammatical knowledge and word jugglery, professional reciters maintain their bodies and their desires for sense gratification by reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One should also avoid those who are averse to Lord Viṣṇu and His devotees, those who are Māyāvādīs, those who offend the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, those who simply dress as Vaiṣṇavas or so-called gosvāmīs, and those who make a business by selling Vedic mantras and reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to maintain their families.

CC Madhya 24.25, Purport:

In Sanskrit the verb "to do" has two forms, technically called parasmai-pada and ātmane-pada. When things are done for one's personal satisfaction, the form is called ātmane-pada. In that case, the word "do" in English is kurvate in Sanskrit. When things are done for others, the verb form changes to kurvanti. Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu informed Sanātana Gosvāmī that in the ātmārāma verse the verb kurvanti means that things should be done only for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. This is supported by the grammarian Pāṇini. The verb is formed as ātmane-pada when the work is to be done for one's own benefit, and when it is done for others, it is called parasmai-pada. Thus the verb is formed according to whether something is done for one's self-satisfaction or for another's satisfaction.

CC Madhya 24.313, Purport:

Devotional service includes nine processes, beginning with hearing, chanting and remembering the activities of Lord Viṣṇu. Only one who has taken to devotional service can understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the spotless Purāṇa for a transcendentalist (paramahaṁsa). So-called commentaries are useless for this purpose. According to the Vedic injunction, yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau (ŚU 6.23). All Vedic literatures maintain that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has to be learned from the person bhāgavata, and to understand it one has to engage in pure devotional service. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam cannot be understood by so-called erudite scholars or grammarians. One who has developed pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness and has served the pure devotee, the spiritual master, can understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Others cannot.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 3.60, Translation:

“If a devotee once utters the holy name of the Lord, or if it penetrates his mind or enters his ear, which is the channel of aural reception, that holy name will certainly deliver him from material bondage, whether vibrated properly or improperly, with correct or incorrect grammar, or properly joined or vibrated in separate parts. O brāhmaṇa, the potency of the holy name is therefore certainly great. However, if one uses the vibration of the holy name for the benefit of the material body, for material wealth and followers, or under the influence of greed or atheism—in other words, if one utters the name with offenses—such chanting will not produce the desired result very soon. Therefore one should diligently avoid offenses in chanting the holy name of the Lord.’”

CC Antya 5.104-105, Translation:

“A poet who does not know the grammatical regulative principles, who is unfamiliar with metaphorical ornaments, especially those employed in drama, and who does not know how to present the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa is condemned. Moreover, the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are especially difficult to understand.

CC Antya 5.131, Purport:

In the Bhāgavatam (7.5.30), it is said, matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho ‘bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām: the gṛha-vratas, those who are determined to continue following the materialistic way of life, will never awaken their dormant love of Kṛṣṇa, for they hear the Bhāgavatam only to solidify their position in household life and to be happy in family affairs and sex. Condemning this process of hearing the Bhāgavatam from professionals, Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī says, yāha, bhāgavata paḍa vaiṣṇavera sthāne: "To understand the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, you must approach a self-realized Vaiṣṇava." One should rigidly avoid hearing the Bhāgavatam from a Māyāvādī or other nondevotee who simply performs a grammatical jugglery of words to twist some meaning from the text, collect money from the innocent public, and thus keep people in darkness.

CC Antya 13.113, Purport:

"No one should hear or take lessons from a person who is not a Vaiṣṇava. Even if he speaks about Kṛṣṇa, such a lesson should not be accepted, for it is like milk touched by the lips of a serpent." Nowadays it is fashionable to observe Bhāgavata-saptāha and hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from persons who are anything but advanced devotees or self-realized souls. There are even many Māyāvādīs who read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to throngs of people. Many Māyāvādīs have recently begun reciting Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Vṛndāvana, and because they can present the Bhāgavatam with word jugglery, twisting the meaning by grammatical tricks, materialistic persons who go to Vṛndāvana as a matter of spiritual fashion like to hear them. All this is clearly forbidden by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We should note carefully that since these Māyāvādīs cannot personally know the meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they can never deliver others by reciting it. On the other hand, an advanced devotee of the Lord is free from material bondage. He personifies Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in life and action. Therefore we advise that anyone who wants to learn Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam must approach such a realized soul.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

In his eighth year, he was admitted into the tola of Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita in Gaṅgānagara close by the village of Māyāpur. In two years he became well read in Sanskrit grammar and rhetoric. His readings after that were of the nature of self-study in his own house, where he had found all-important books belonging to his father, who was a paṇḍita himself. It appears that he read the smṛti in his own study, and the nyāya also, in competition with his friends, who were then studying under the celebrated Paṇḍita Raghunātha Śiromaṇi.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Prologue:

Now, after the tenth year of his age, Caitanya became a passable scholar in grammar, rhetoric, the smṛti and the nyāya. It was after this that his elder brother Viśvarūpa left his house and accepted the āśrama (status) of a sannyāsī (ascetic). Caitanya, though a very young boy, consoled his parents, saying that he would serve them with a view to please God. Just after that, his father left this world. His mother was exceedingly sorry, and Mahāprabhu, with his usual contented appearance, consoled his widowed mother.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16:

The transcendentalists can be categorized into six basic types: the neophyte transcendentalist, the absorbed transcendentalist, one who is actually situated in transcendence, one who actually desires liberation, one who is actually liberated, and one who is actually engaged in activities in his constitutional position. All of these are called ātmārāma. When a person becomes ātmārāma, or a great thinker in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he fully engages in devotional service. According to the grammatical rules, there are many ātmārāmas, but one sense of the word is sufficient to represent the others. In the collective sense, all the ātmārāmas are inclined to worship the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 18:

A person properly initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare gradually becomes freed from the conception of "I" and "mine" and becomes attached to the Lord's transcendental loving service in one of the five transcendental relationships. Such transcendental service is not a subject matter for gross and subtle bodies. Only when one can understand that there is no difference between the Supreme and His name can one be situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. At such a time one no longer needs to make grammatical adjustments. Rather, one becomes more interested in petitioning the Lord: "Hare Kṛṣṇa—O my Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in Your service!"

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 26:

Bhaṭṭācārya then asked Lord Caitanya to explain the famous Ātmārāma verse, for he desired to hear it from the Lord Himself. Lord Caitanya replied that first of all Bhaṭṭācārya should explain the verse according to his own understanding, and then Lord Caitanya would explain it. Bhaṭṭācārya then began to explain the Ātmārāma śloka, using his methods of logic and grammar. Thus he explained the Ātmārāma śloka in nine different ways. The Lord appreciated his erudite scholarship in explaining the verse and said: "My dear Bhaṭṭācārya, I know that you are a representative of the learned scholar Bṛhaspati and can explain any portion of the śāstras nicely. Yet your explanation is more or less based on academic education only. Aside from this academic scholarly approach, there is another explanation."

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 26:

Lord Caitanya pacified Bhaṭṭācārya and asked him to go home. Bhaṭṭācārya again began to praise the Lord and said, "You have descended Yourself to deliver all the fallen souls of this material world. Such an undertaking is not very difficult for You, but You have turned a stonehearted man like me into a devotee, and that is very wonderful indeed. Although I was very expert at logical arguments and grammatical explanations of the Vedas, I was as hard as a lump of iron. But Your influence and temperature were so great that You could melt away a piece of iron like me."

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 21:

The Siddhas, the inhabitants of Siddhaloka (where all are born with fully developed mystic powers), and the Cāraṇas, the inhabitants of a similar planet, pray to Kṛṣṇa as follows: "My Lord Govinda, the goddess of learning is decorated with fourteen kinds of educational ornaments, her intelligence is all-pervading within the four departments of the Vedas, her attention is always on the lawbooks given by great sages like Manu, and she is appareled in six kinds of expert knowledge—namely Vedic evidence, grammar, astrology, rhetoric, vocabulary and logic. Her constant friends are the supplements of the Vedas, the Purāṇas, and she is decorated with the final conclusion of all education. And now she has acquired an opportunity to sit with You as a class friend in school, and she is now engaged in Your service."

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 87:

In Sanskrit grammar, the word mayaṭ is used in the sense of "transformation," and also in the sense of "sufficiency." The Māyāvādī philosophers interpret that the word yan-maya, or cin-maya, indicates that the living entity is always equal to the Supreme. But one has to consider whether this affix, mayaṭ, is used for "sufficiency" or for "transformation." The living entity never possesses anything exactly in the same proportion as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.