Amongst the impersonalist school, there are many great logicians and high class scholars. But according to Vedic principles, God realization does not depend on material intelligence or scholarship

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"amongst the impersonalist school, there are many great logicians and high class scholars. But according to Vedic principles, God realization does not depend on material intelligence or scholarship"

Lectures

General Lectures

So amongst the impersonalist school, there are many great logicians and high class scholars. But according to Vedic principles, God realization does not depend on material intelligence or scholarship. It is stated in the Vedas, nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyaḥ: "You cannot realize the self simply by arguments or very scholarly speeches." No. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na bahunā śrutena: "Neither by studying many, many different types of Vedic literatures." Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na bahunā śrutena na medhayā: "Neither by sharp brain or memory."

680202 - Lecture - Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda:

vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga-

śikṣārtham ekaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ

-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-śarīra-dhārī

yas tam ahaṁ prapadye

(CC Madhya 6.254)

This verse was composed by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. You know Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya? You have not heard?

Devotees: Yes.

Prabhupāda: Who was he? Who was Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya?

Nandarāṇī: He was a great impersonalist who was converted by Lord Caitanya to Vaiṣṇavism.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And Nandarāṇī knows better than you. (laughter) (chuckles) So girls are intelligent (chuckles). Yes. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was a great impersonalist and a great logician. The impersonalist school, amongst them, there are very, very learned scholars. Śaṅkarācārya himself, he was unique scholar. At the age of eight years only, he studied all the Vedas. And not only he studied; he became a critical student, Śaṅkarācārya. He was incarnation of Lord Śiva. Therefore nobody can be compared with him.

So amongst the impersonalist school, there are many great logicians and high class scholars. But according to Vedic principles, God realization does not depend on material intelligence or scholarship. It is stated in the Vedas, nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyaḥ: "You cannot realize the self simply by arguments or very scholarly speeches." No. Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na bahunā śrutena: "Neither by studying many, many different types of Vedic literatures."

Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na bahunā śrutena na medhayā: "Neither by sharp brain or memory." These are good qualifications—to be scholarly, to be a very good speaker and to have very good memorizing power. These are materially very good qualifications. But they are not qualification for realizing God.

Then what is the qualification of realizing God? Yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyaḥ (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23). "God can be realized only to whom He reveals." You cannot oblige God to become manifest before you because you are very good scholar or you are a very rich man or you are very good looking or you have got very good memorizing power. No. Yam evaiṣa vṛṇute. When He is pleased, then He reveals unto the devotee.

Therefore our business should be, for God realization, to please Him. And that pleasing process is this devotional service. Let us engage in His service, and when He becomes pleased, "Yes. He's very sincerely . . ." Just like the gopīs. They were village girls, not even born of very high family.

Cowherds, ordinary agriculturists, cowherds men. So their daughters. So how much education you can . . .? There was no education practically. In the village even men . . . in India, still, they are ninety-percent illiterate. And what to speak of the girls; the men are not even literate.

Because according to Vedic civilization it was not necessary that everyone should go to school. There was no necessity. Because things were being learned by śruti, by aural reception. Knowledge from the perfect man, one would hear, and he would become learned. There was no necessity of, I mean to say, learning A-B-C-D. No.

Even in Vedic age, everything was memorized. There was nothing in writing. People were so sharp in brain that once heard from the spiritual master, they will never forget. The brahmacārī system made their brain so powerful that whatever they will hear from the spiritual master, they will keep in the brain and never forget. They will repeat verbatim. Smṛti. This is called retaining power.