Mrs. Sahani: Those who don't understand Kṛṣṇa, it's difficult for them.
Prabhupāda: How he will understand? He creates difficulty to understand Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says: "I am the supreme authority," and the person who heard from Kṛṣṇa, He says paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramam (BG 10.12), he accepts Kṛṣṇa as the supreme authority, Arjuna. And why we deviate? The speaker says that He is the supreme authority, and the listener, Arjuna, accepts Him. Now why we interpret? Boliye Sharma. What right you have got interpretation?
Mrs. Sahani: We interpret it according to our own design.
Prabhupāda: Eh? You cannot. If you have own design, don't touch Bhagavad-gītā. You make your own design and preach otherwise. Why you take advantage of the Bhagavad-gītā? This is criminal. If you have got a different philosophy, you preach. Everyone has got the right. But why you misinterpret Bhagavad-gītā? When you take advantage of the popularity of Bhagavad-gītā and you speak nonsense, that is not good. That has murdered the whole thing. And practically we see that. Bhagavad-gītā as it is, you try to understand, you get the benefit and your life is successful. Besides that, interpretation when it is required. When things are understood directly, there is no question of interpretation. The law of interpretation is like this: when the things are not distinct, then you can interpret in your own way, I can interpret in my own way. But when the things are distinct, there is no question of interpretation.
Mrs. Sahani: If that's so, then we don't understand because we don't want to understand.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is the folly. You don't want to understand.
Mrs. Sahani: Because we have so many desires, we don't want to surrender.
Prabhupāda: We want to become bigger than Kṛṣṇa, than Arjuna. This is our folly. But the process is, as recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). You have to understand from the higher authorities.
- imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
- proktavān aham avyayam
- vivasvān manave prāha
- manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt
- (BG 4.1)
- evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
- imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
- sa kāleneha
- yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa
- (BG 4.2)
As soon as you give up this line of understanding, then it is lost. Yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa. Then you are dealing in not Bhagavad-gītā, something else, something rubbish. Yogo naṣṭaḥ. It is naṣṭaḥ, it is spoiled. As soon as you interpret, it is spoiled. First of all, why you should interpret? If the meaning is clear, there is no chance of interpreting. If the meaning is not clear, then you can interpret. Dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre (BG 1.1) is clear. Why should you interpret? Boliye Sharmajī. If dharma-kṣetra kuru-kṣetra is clear, why should you interpret? When things are clear, interpretation means you are playing joke. So our this movement presenting Bhagavad-gītā as it is, so they are being accepted all over the world, and we are getting good devotees, sincere devotees. All parts of the world.