I must thank you for your kindly coming here during this Vyāsa-pūjā ceremony. Vyāsa-pūjā . . . This āsana where they have seated me, it is called vyāsāsana. The guru is the representative of Vyāsadeva. Every one of you have heard the name of Vyāsadeva, Veda-vyāsa. So anyone who represents the great ācārya, Vyāsadeva, he is allowed to sit on the vyāsāsana. So Vyāsa-pūjā . . . Guru is representative of Vyāsadeva, therefore his birthday anniversary is accepted as Vyāsa-pūjā.
Now I must explain my position, because in these days, a person being worshiped as most exalted personality is something revolutionary. Because they like democracy: by vote somebody should be elevated, however rascal he may be. But our system, this guru-paramparā system, is different. Our system: if you do not accept the Vedic knowledge through guru-paramparā system, it is useless. You cannot manufacture an interpretation of the Vedic language. Just like cow dung. Cow dung is the stool of an animal. Vedic injunction is that if you touch cow dung . . . any stool of an animal, you have to take immediately bath and purify yourself. But the Vedic injunction is also that cow dung can purify any impure place. Especially we Hindus, we accept it. Now by reason it is contradictory. The stool of an animal is impure, and the Vedic injunction is cow dung is pure. Actually we accept cow dung as pure to purify any place. Out of panca-gavya the cow dung is there, cow urine is there.
So it appears contradictory, the Vedic injunction. But still we accept, because it is Vedic order. That is . . . That is the acceptance of Vedas.