Veda was spoken by Lord Himself to Brahmā. So seeing . . . foreseeing the condition of the present age, Vyāsadeva divided four Vedas, one Veda into four. The original Veda is Yajur Veda. Then he divided into Sāma, Yajur, Ṛk, Atharva. Then again the Vedic literatures were explained in Purāṇas, eighteen Purāṇas. Then Mahābhārata. Then again he summarized all the Vedic knowledge into Vedānta-sūtra, Vedānta-sūtra, summarized. Then again the Vedānta-sūtra is explained by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. These are the all Vedic literature. When you read this book, in the preliminary, those who have got books, you will find all this description.
So Kṛṣṇa, for understanding of the common people, the highest truth of Vedic literature, the highest truth of Vedic literature is Kṛṣṇa, and nothing else. You will find in the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15): "The whole purpose of Veda is to understand Me." That's all. If one has understood Kṛṣṇa, then he has understood all Vedic literature. He has nothing to understand anymore. He has passed all examination.
Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham. And the Lord says that "I am the writer of Vedānta," because Vyāsadeva is an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa for writing this literature. His name is Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa. Therefore, as incarnation of Vyāsa, Kṛṣṇa wrote all this Vedic literature. So vedānta-kṛt and veda-vid eva cāham: "And if anyone understands Veda, then it is I only who understands Veda."
Therefore if we understand Kṛṣṇa, then we understand everything. We understand Veda. Yasmin vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3).
If anyone understands one . . . just like in arithmetic, if you understand one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, then you understand everything, because in arithmetic or mathematics there is nothing than these nine figures. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven—you make it a multiplication or subtraction or division, or whatever process you may . . . there is nothing but one, two, three, four, five, six, (seven), eight, nine. That's all. Similarly, if you understand Kṛṣṇa, then you understand the whole Vedas.
And for understanding Kṛṣṇa, here is the nutshell spoken by Kṛṣṇa Himself about Himself. If I . . . what I am . . . you can go on thinking that Swāmījī is . . . like the other day Paul was speaking that somebody has informed that I have got fifteen children. Now, I do not know how one can understand that I have got fifteen children. I never told in this meeting, but he told me that somebody told him I have got fifteen children. This is misunderstanding. If I say . . . he asked me, "Swāmījī, how many children you have got?" I told him I have got at home three boys and two girls. And he told me that "I understood that you have got fifteen children."
So that means, anyway, if you want to know about me, then you must know from me. That is authentic. That is authentic. Or from a confidential person who is in confidence of me. Similarly, if you want to know Kṛṣṇa, then here is Bhagavad-gītā, spoken by Kṛṣṇa Himself. You just try to understand and you learn Kṛṣṇa. Or you learn confirmation. Suppose if you cannot understand Kṛṣṇa by reading Bhagavad-gītā, but ,hearing Bhagavad-gītā, then you know that Bhagavad-gītā was spoken to Arjuna, and Arjuna has admitted about his understanding in the Tenth Chapter. So just try to understand Arjuna, how he understands. Either you understand Kṛṣṇa directly, or you understand through the authority who was spoken directly by the Lord.
So there is no difficulty to understand Kṛṣṇa. And if you understand Kṛṣṇa, your life is perfectly, I mean to say, all right. Then you get your life, complete perfection of your life. That is the whole literature. So here the Lord says, yas tu ātma-ratir eva syāt. Ātma-rati, one whose focus of life is simply for self-understanding. Ātma-ratiḥ, syād ātma-tṛptaś ca mānavaḥ. He is simply satisfied with his self-understanding that, "I am pure consciousness. My relation with Kṛṣṇa is such and such. My relation with this world is temporary. My real relation with Kṛṣṇa, because Kṛṣṇa is permanent and I am permanent. I am His part and parcel," these simple things.
So one who has understood these things nicely and he is satisfied in himself . . . just like Śukadeva Gosvāmī. He didn't care for anything, who is naked dancing or naked bathing. No. He has no care. He is going on in the street. Yas tu ātma-ratir eva syād ātma-tṛptaś ca mānavaḥ ātmany eva ca santuṣṭaḥ. He is satisfied in himself and with Kṛṣṇa. Tasya kāryaṁ na vidyate: "He has nothing to do." Bās. He is free.