Bhagavān is the ultimate Absolute Truth. Therefore Kṛṣṇa confirms it, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat. You go, make progress. You understand the impersonal Brahman feature. You understand Paramātmā feature by yogic practise. By yogic . . . the yogīs, they try to understand the Paramātmā. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 18.61). The Paramātmā is sitting in everyone's heart. The yogīs try to understand the Paramātmā. And the jñānīs, impersonalists, they try to understand the all-pervading feature of the Supreme Lord. But one who understands Kṛṣṇa, then he understands both the features, the Paramātmā feature and Brahman feature. Therefore in the Vedas it is said, yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3). If you simply understand Kṛṣṇa, then the Brahman feature and Paramātmā feature will be automatically understood. You haven't got to understand Brahman and Paramātmā separately. Simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa, you will understand both.
Another example is: just like if you see a mountain. Just like surrounding your this place, Tirupati, there are so many hills. From the distant place, your vision is not clear. You simply see something like cloudy, the same mountain. But if you make little further progress, you see the same mountain or hill greenish. And if you actually go in the same hill, you will find there are so many animals, so many men and so many houses. So object is the same, but from different angle of vision it appears differently. Similarly, unless one can understand Kṛṣṇa perfectly, he realizes the Absolute Truth as impersonal, nirākāra Brahman. Unless one understands Kṛṣṇa perfectly well, he cannot understand what is Paramātmā, which is realized by yogic principles. But when you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you understand Paramātmā and Brahman. This is the verdict of the śāstra. Just like if you have got one lakh of rupees, your possession of few thousands of rupees or few hundreds of rupees are already there.
Similarly, Kṛṣṇa says, janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9). The same thing, tattvataḥ. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam. Kṛṣṇa says that, "My appearance," ajo 'pi sann avyayātmā, "how I appear, how I disappear, if anyone understands in truth . . ." Because we do not understand Kṛṣṇa in truth, therefore we consider Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (BG 9.11). Mūḍhāḥ means asses, or rascals. They consider Kṛṣṇa as something of this material world. But He is not that. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that janma karma me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ. If anyone understands Kṛṣṇa as Absolute Truth, then immediately his mission of life is complete. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya (BG 4.9). Therefore this is tattva-jñāna. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam. This is tattva-jñāna. Try to understand Kṛṣṇa, what He is.
But that understanding, how it can be achieved, that is explained in the next verse:
- tac chraddadhānā munayo
- jñāna-vairāgya-yuktayā
- paśyanty ātmani ca atmānaṁ
- bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā
- (SB 1.2.12)
Bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā. You have to hear of Kṛṣṇa in devotion, bhaktyā, not as nondevotee. A nondevotee cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. He has no scope. If nondevotee interprets on the Bhagavad-gītā, he is simply wasting time of himself and others. Here it is clearly stated, bhaktyā śruta-gṛhītayā. One has to become devotee and hear from the authorities. Just like Arjuna. Arjuna was a bhakta. Bhakto 'si priyo 'si sakhā ceti (BG 4.3). And he heard from the Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he understood Bhagavad-gītā. So one who has not heard Bhagavad-gītā or about Kṛṣṇa and who is not a devotee, his speaking on Bhagavad-gītā is simply useless waste of time. Yes. (break)
So as it is stated here in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, paśyanty ātmani ca ātmānam, this is paramātma-darśana, ātmani. Or there is another verse in the Brahma-saṁhitā, premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena.