View source for Are we not, potentially, not to understand Bhagavad-gita, then (at least you do not understand. That's all)?

<div id="compilation">
<div id="facts">
{{terms|"Are we not, potentially, not to understand Bhagavad-gita, then"}}
{{notes|}}
{{compiler|SunitaS|MadhuGopaldas|Rishab}}
{{complete|ALL}}
{{first|17Aug11}}
{{last|14May12}}
{{totals_by_section|BG=0|SB=0|CC=0|OB=0|Lec=0|Con=1|Let=0}}
{{total|1}}
{{toc right}}
[[Category:Questions asked to Srila Prabhupada]]
[[Category:Questions asked to SP... 1977]]
[[Category:Questions On... Bhagavad-gita]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Room Conversations, 1966 - 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Room Conversations, 1977]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - in India, Bombay]]
[[Category:Prabhupada Speaks - Answering Questions, 1977]]
</div>
<div id="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="section" sec_index="5" parent="compilation" text="Conversations and Morning Walks"><h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
</div>
<div id="1977_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" class="sub_section" sec_index="10" parent="Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" text="1977 Conversations and Morning Walks"><h3>1977 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
</div>
<div id="ConversationwithdisciplesofChinmayanandaandShivanandaAshramApril221977Bombay_0" class="quote" parent="1977_Conversations_and_Morning_Walks" book="Con" index="148" link="Conversation with disciples of Chinmayananda and Shivananda Ashram -- April 22, 1977, Bombay" link_text="Conversation with disciples of Chinmayananda and Shivananda Ashram -- April 22, 1977, Bombay">
<div class="heading">Everyone. What is the difficulty? But you understand in a different way. It is simple thing. Everyone understands. This is expected. But you understand in different way. That is difficulty. You create your own meaning.
</div>
<mp3player>https://s3.amazonaws.com/vanipedia/clip/770422R2-BOM_clip2.mp3</mp3player>
<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Conversation with disciples of Chinmayananda and Shivananda Ashram -- April 22, 1977, Bombay|Conversation with disciples of Chinmayananda and Shivananda Ashram -- April 22, 1977, Bombay]]: </span><div class="text"><p style="display: inline;">
Indian man (3): What is the means by which we know what Gītā says to us, Swamiji?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Do you don't know what Gītā says? Then why do you read Gītā? Don't read.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): But there must be some means that you can adopt...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, no, you do know what Gītā says. Do you know it? What Gītā says, do you know it? You do not know?</p>
<p>Indian man (3): Swamiji, nobody knows Bhagavad-gītā.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Nobody knows! You do not know. We know. Why do you say, "Nobody knows"? You do not know. It is open secret. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam... ([[Vanisource:BG 18.66 (1972)|BG 18.66]]). You do not know. But don't say that "Nobody knows." That is wrong impression. We know. You are blind. You do not like to know it. Everyone should know. What is the difficulty?</p>
<p>Indian man (3): No, Swamiji, I mean...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, I do not know what you mean. But you say, "Nobody knows." That is a wrong impression. Everyone knows. You do not know. That is my...</p>
<p>Indian man (2): Swamiji, we have been taught like this and, in fact, now we are convinced on that point. We are convinced.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, everyone knows, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru ([[Vanisource:BG 18.65 (1972)|BG 18.65]]), sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam ([[Vanisource:BG 18.66 (1972)|BG 18.66]]). These are open secret. What is the difficulty?</p>
<p>Indian man (3): Differences in meaning...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: You can take different meaning, but we do not take like that. We take Bhagavad-gītā as it is.</p>
<p>Indian man (4): Swamiji, how do we know that that the meaning is distorted?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Eh?</p>
<p>Indian man (4): How do we know that the meaning is distorted?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Because you do not worship Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>Indian man (4): Swami?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Because you do not worship Kṛṣṇa. It is plain fact. But we worship Kṛṣṇa. In every temple, all over the world, 102 temples, we worship Kṛṣṇa. But you don't worship Kṛṣṇa.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): No, we worship all gods, Swamiji, irrespective of...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Ah, that means avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam ([[Vanisource:BG 9.11 (1972)|BG 9.11]]), kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñānāḥ yajante anya-devatāḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 7.20 (1972)|BG 7.20]]). Hṛta-jñānāḥ, naṣṭa-buddhayaḥ.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): Swamiji, we are interested in...</p>
<p>Indian man (2): I think...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Eh?</p>
<p>Indian man (3): Excuse me, Swamiji. We are interested in that one meaning which is the essence of the Indian culture. If we are wrong, we are ready to correct ourselves.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No... You'll never correct yourself because you do not understand what is Bhagavad-gītā. That is the difficulty. You say that "Nobody understands." You say.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): No, Swamiji...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: At least you do not understand.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): Please forgive me if I have given a wrong...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: At least you do not understand. That's all.</p>
<p>Indian man (2): Are we not, potentially, not to understand Bhagavad-gītā, then?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Everyone. What is the difficulty? But you understand in a different way. It is simple thing. Everyone understands. This is expected. But you understand in different way. That is difficulty. You create your own meaning.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): I request, Swamiji, on what basis we can say that it is a different meaning or distorted meaning and not the meaning which the Gītā says...?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Because you say that nobody knows. You say. And whatever meaning, that is in your mind, but you said nobody knows.</p>
<p>Indian man (5): No, that is quite mistaken talk.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That mistake... Then what can I talk? It is mistake.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): I said nobody knows until he knows.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So if one does not want to know, how he'll know?</p>
<p>Indian man (5): Whatever Swamiji says, that...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yeah. And Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam ([[Vanisource:BG 18.66 (1972)|BG 18.66]]). Why don't you do that? Who has got the...?</p>
<p>Indian man (5): We want to be student. Sarva-dharmān is word.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That... That means you become student; hear me and you'll learn it. It is not the one minute's business.</p>
<p>Indian man (5): Somehow you can give some that, advice from you. But whatever...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Advice... Well, you come here. Stay here. We shall teach you. Not that you have come here for five minutes—I have to teach you sarva-dharmān...</p>
<p>Indian man (5): No, you don't have time.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, I have got time. So that's all right. You have to... You have to learn it.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): Swamiji, you bless ourselves in such a way that we will not...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: You have come. You are welcome here and take the blessings. But you won't come. When I say, "Come here and take the blessings," you won't come. What can I do? If one has fallen in the blind well—"Please get me up! Get me up!"—so I give him a rope: "Yes, catch it. I'll get you..." "No, no, I shall not catch." Without catching, there is no... So if you want to learn, come here. Stay. We shall teach you. That you won't do. Then how can I teach you? You learn from them. Just see these European and Americans, how they are... You have to learn from them by their behavior. These are American boys. Just see how they have tilaka, how they...</p>
<p>Indian man (3): No, Swamiji, we know Swamiji's tremendous work going on around the world.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: So if I can teach them, who did not know what is Kṛṣṇa, I cannot teach you? I can teach you. But you won't take the teaching. That is the difficulty. Stubborn. That is difficulty.</p>
<p>Indian man (1): Swamiji, we have thrown ourself on his lap, Swamiji. There is... (indistinct) We have thrown ourselves, performed everything. We have left our home, everything.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: But what for?</p>
<p>Indian man (1): And he's our bread, and he's our... He'll look after us. That's all.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: What for? Śrama eva hi kevalam.</p>
<p>Indian man (1): Everything...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: It is śrama eva hi kevalam.</p>
:dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
:viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ
:notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
:śrama eva hi kevalam
:([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.8|SB 1.2.8]])
<p>After leaving your home and everything, if you do not understand Kṛṣṇa, śrama eva hi kevalam—it is simple waste of time. If you want to waste your time, that's all...</p>
<p>Indian man (3): If Swamiji forgives me, I don't see... I have read Swamiji's...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That is your blindness. You do not see the...</p>
<p>Indian man (3): I don't find any difference between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the concept of our Brahman.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, then you do not know what is Brahman, what is Kṛṣṇa. That means you are not fully in knowledge.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): Ācchā... It is not a name, sir.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: It is clearly stated, brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate.</p>
<p>Indian man (6): Are we not catching only names and forms?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: You can do anything nonsense. Who cares for you? The śāstra is there.</p>
<p>Indian man (6): Hari means knowledge(?). Vāsudeva means...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes. Yaḥ śāstra-vidhim... Yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ ([[Vanisource:BG 16.23 (1972)|BG 16.23]]). This is in Gītā. You do not know it. Na sa siddhim avāpnoti. He'll never get success. Na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim. That is there. Here is śāstra.</p>
:vadanti tat tattva-vidas
:tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
:brahmeti paramātmeti
:bhagavān iti śab...
:([[Vanisource:SB 1.2.11|SB 1.2.11]])
<p>You do not know.</p>
<p>Indian man (1): Swamiji, can't...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: No, don't waste my time.</p>
<p>Indian man (5): Swamiji, we have not come to waste. We have come here to take only your blessings.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: That's all. I cannot... I cannot waste my time in this way. We have got our śāstras. We are following them. That's all. If you want, you learn here. Otherwise do your whatever you like. Let us alone. We have no difficulty. We are triumphant all over the world. That's all. Phalena paricīyate. We have to see by the result, not by talking. So thank you very much for your coming. Give them su...</p>
<p>Indian man (5): So please bless us.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. But if you are interested, you are welcome.</p>
<p>Indian man (3): Yes, Swamiji.</p>
<p>Indian man (6): When door is kept open, it is...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes.</p>
<p>Indian man (6): ...very natural to come to you, Swamiji.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Jaya.</p>
<p>Indian man (1): Really, Swamiji, bless...</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Jaya. Jaya. Aiye. (Hindi) (guests leave)</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Next time maybe we should deal with them?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Hm?</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Is it all right that they are brought in, or should we talk to them?</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Yes, it is all right.</p>
<p>Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Not necessary to bring these people.</p>
<p>Prabhupāda: Distorting meaning.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>