Vedic philosophy

Expressions researched:
"vedic philosophy" |"vedic philosophers" |"philosophy of vedas" |" philosophy of the vedas"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 13 - 18

BG 15.15, Purport: By performance of Vedic rituals, discussion of the Vedic philosophy and worship of the Lord in devotional service, He is attained. Therefore the purpose of the Vedas is to understand Kṛṣṇa. The Vedas give us direction by which to understand Kṛṣṇa and the process of realizing Him.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

SB 1.3.24, Purport: Technically Lord Buddha's philosophy is called atheistic because there is no acceptance of the Supreme Lord and because that system of philosophy denied the authority of the Vedas. But that is an act of camouflage by the Lord. Lord Buddha is the incarnation of Godhead. As such, he is the original propounder of Vedic knowledge. He therefore cannot reject Vedic philosophy.

SB 1.4.25, Purport: The less intelligent are more interested in stories than in philosophy, and therefore the philosophy of the Vedas in the form of the Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.5.44, Purport: The whole Vedic philosophy of life is that one should get rid of the material encagement of gross and subtle bodies, which only cause one to continue in a condemned life of miseries.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi 1.46, Purport: The real Vedic philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, which establishes everything to be simultaneously one with and different from the Personality of Godhead.

CC Adi 7.110, Purport: To defeat this kevalādvaita-vāda, Śrī Rāmānujācārya presented his philosophy as viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda, and Śrī Madhvācārya presented his philosophy of tattva-vāda, both of which are stumbling blocks to the Māyāvādīs because they defeat their philosophy in scrupulous detail. Students of Vedic philosophy know very well how strongly Śrī Rāmānujācārya’s viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda and Śrī Madhvācārya’s tattva-vāda contest the impersonal Māyāvāda philosophy.

Other Books by Śrīla Prabhupada

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom, 5.1: The sun is not visible at night because of the rotation of the earth, yet the sun is very much present in the sky, and the entire solar system is working under its influence. Similarly, the light of India's knowledge, contained in the sublime philosophy of the Vedas, the Upaniṣads, the Vedānta-sūtra, the Purāṇas, the Gītā, and their corollaries, is certainly available, but by divine will it is temporarily beyond our view due to the influence of ignorance and passion. Of course, by the Lord's will and by the mercy of His pure devotee, this knowledge will again spread everywhere.

Correspondence

1969 Correspondence

Letter to Dr. Chaudhuri -- Los Angeles 6 February, 1969: You will be surprised to know that I have sent there for preaching work 6 boys and girls, married couples, and they are neither elderly nor very much conversant with Vedic philosophy. But still, by their character, behavior, and devotion, they are attracting many people in London, including the High Commissioner of India and others.

1970 Correspondence

Letter to Hayagriva -- Los Angeles 19 March, 1970: Kirtanananda Maharaja has already introduced to one college, similarly Brahmananda has also introduced in some college, and in each place they have sold more than 40 copies of TLC. So the potency is there because these books are not ordinary literature, being based on Vedic philosophy they are in a way a new line of thoughts to the Western world. And those who are really interested in spiritual understanding surely will appreciate.

1975 Correspondence

Letter to Trista Hubbarth -- Bombay 3 May, 1975: You have very thoughtfully asked me what do I think of the Self Realization yoga and meditation. We are not concerned with other religions or yogas in terms of competition or sectarian spirit. Actual spiritual knowledge is to take the authoritative statements from the scriptures and from the great acaryas, spiritual masters in disciplic succession. Other's opinions are not important. For example, in the Bhagavad gita, Lord Krsna gives His opinion, but He is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by all the great sages of the Vedic philosophy including Vyasadeva the compiler of all the scriptures, as well as Narada, Brahma, Siva and in the modern time, Ramanuja, Sankaracarya, Lord Caitanya, etc. They all confirm that Krsna is the supreme truth, the Personality of Godhead. Although this is plainly described throughout the Vedas, you will not find it in the teachings of the so called swamis and yogis who are teaching nowadays. Therefore you have intelligently discovered that in my Bhagavad-gita the approach is very different from what you have found elsewhere. That is because I am not trying to avoid Krsna or give some misinterpretation, but I have accepted the actual Bhagavad-gita, wherein Krsna says, Mattah parataram nanyat [Bg. 7.7], there is no higher than Me. Nowadays so called gurus are promising us that we ourselves can become equal to God or that God is impersonal, or that everyone is God, but nowhere is this stated in the Bhagavad-gita or any other Vedic literature, nor is it taught by any of the great spiritual masters above mentioned.

Letter to Yadunandana -- Honolulu 2 February, 1975: Regarding your child, the vedic philosophy is that the miseries of the material body must be tolerated. When material body is there, we must expect so many problems. Considering these things, it is up to you to decide what to do.