Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


One who speaks on behalf of Krsna, he is guru. That is guru. This is the test: whether he is aware of Krsna. Then he is guru. Otherwise he's not guru

Expressions researched:
"one who speaks on behalf of Kṛṣṇa, he is guru. That is guru. This is the test: whether he is aware of Kṛṣṇa. Then he is guru. Otherwise he's not guru"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Kṛṣṇa is the original guru. And one who speaks on behalf of Kṛṣṇa, he is guru. That is guru. This is the test: whether he is aware of Kṛṣṇa. Then he is guru. Otherwise he's not guru. First of all you understand that.

Anyone who is acting on the bodily concept of life, sa eva go-kharaḥ, they are no better than the cats and dogs. So that is going on all over the world. "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am African," "I am this"—bodily, all bodily. "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am Christian," "I am black," "I am white," "I am fat," "I am thin." That's all.

So that jñānam, theoretical, and vijñānam, sa-vijñānaṁ vakṣyāmi, Kṛṣṇa will teach, "Take this jñānam." The most perfect personality. So this is our business. But do we . . .? We don't care for Kṛṣṇa. We do not know Kṛṣṇa, and what to speak of taking knowledge from Him. The knowledge is there, but we are so fool that we do not take knowledge from Bhagavad-gītā. We manufacture our own knowledge. This is called māyā. Māyā is so strong that she'll not allow to take real knowledge from the real person, but we shall read volumes of books who are defective with their four kinds of imperfectness, namely they commit mistake, they are illusioned, they are cheater and their senses are imperfect.

So this is the first business, that "Where we shall take knowledge?" Tad-vijñānārtham. Vedic lesson is that tad-vijñānārthaṁ gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12): "You should go to guru." Just like Arjuna has accepted Kṛṣṇa as guru. When Arjuna was puzzled, he surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam (BG 2.7): "I am kṣatriya. It is my duty to fight, but I am declining. Although You are requesting me to fight, still I am declining. So I am puzzled. Anyway, I can understand You can drive away my . . . this puzzling position. Therefore I am becoming Your śiṣya." Śiṣyas te 'ham. "I become Your disciple. I am not going to argue with You on equal footing." Śiṣya means he is always subordinate. Whatever the guru will say, he will accept. That is the guru and śiṣya. So Kṛṣṇa became guru and Arjuna became a śiṣya, disciple, not friend. Of course, he knew what is Kṛṣṇa, that śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam. So similarly, we have to find out guru for perfect instruction. That is the only way. Otherwise we shall keep ourself in ignorance, in mistake, in illusion, in imperfectness and so many other things.

So this is the injunction of the Vedas, that "If you want real knowledge, you must go to guru." "Now, there are so many gurus. So whom shall I . . .? Where shall I go?" No. You shall go to a guru—samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham (MU 1.2.12). You shall go to a guru who is brahma-niṣṭham, a great devotee. He is guru, not a so-called guru, gold-making guru. (laughter) Then another cheater. You see? So the Vedic injunction is brahma-niṣṭham. That is guru: one who has full knowledge in Brahman. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. So here also in the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find who is guru. Tattva-darśinaḥ. Tad-vijñāna . . . Tattva-darśinaḥ, one who has seen the truth. Never says this magic player. No. Tattva-darśinaḥ. This is the greatest magic, brahma-niṣṭham. That is the greatest magic, how to become fixed up in Brahman. That is called brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. As soon as you become brahma-niṣṭham, fixed up in Brahman, then all your miserable condition finished. Prasannātmā. That is the sign. Everyone is trying to be very happy. So that you can be by brahma-niṣṭham, by understanding that you are Brahman.

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
na śocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
(BG 18.54)

These are the preliminary stages to enter into the kingdom of devotional . . . Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām. After being . . . After going through this process—brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā na śocati na kāṅkṣati samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu—then you come to the transcendental platform, and that is the business of brahma-bhūtaḥ stage.

So jñānam means to understand oneself and practically, samānaṁ vijñānam, sa-vijñānam, with vijñāna, practical application. Idaṁ vakṣyāmi, and Kṛṣṇa is saying. He is not ordinary human being. As soon as we think of Kṛṣṇa as ordinary human being we become more rascal. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam (BG 9.11): "Because I am speaking this Bhagavad-gītā, the ultimate knowledge, these rascals sometimes think of Me as I am ordinary human being." And therefore they interpret in their own way, "What Kṛṣṇa has said, the meaning is like this," as if Kṛṣṇa left the whole book to be interpreted by another rascal. No. You cannot interpret. Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is, without any interpretation. So if we take Bhagavad-gītā as it is, and everything is there clear—don't interpret like fools and rascals—then you'll get real knowledge. Jñānam. Jñānaṁ te 'haṁ sa-vijñānam (BG 7.2). Practical. Vakṣyāmy aśeṣataḥ. So we must have understood that . . . This is another meaning, that tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12).

So Kṛṣṇa is showing practically by accepting His friend, very dear friend, as His disciple. That means He is showing who is guru. Guru is Kṛṣṇa, and one who understands Kṛṣṇa, that is guru. Don't accept these rascals and fools as guru, who denies Kṛṣṇa. He is not guru; he is cheater. Kṛṣṇa is showing, and Arjuna is accepting, śiṣyas te 'ham (BG 2.7): "I become Your śiṣya." That means Kṛṣṇa is the original guru. And one who speaks on behalf of Kṛṣṇa, he is guru. That is guru. This is the test: whether he is aware of Kṛṣṇa. Then he is guru. Otherwise he's not guru. First of all you understand that. So that is mahātmā. Kṛṣṇa has said, sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. That is mahātmā.

Page Title:One who speaks on behalf of Krsna, he is guru. That is guru. This is the test: whether he is aware of Krsna. Then he is guru. Otherwise he's not guru
Compiler:SharmisthaK
Created:2022-12-14, 15:46:09
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1