Unable to understand (BG and SB)
Expressions researched:
"never be able to understand"
|"not able to be understood"
|"not able to understand"
|"unable to understand"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 7 - 12
Yāmunācārya, a great devotee of the Lord in the disciplic succession of Rāmānujācārya, has written two very appropriate verses in this connection. He says,
- tvāṁ śīla-rūpa-caritaiḥ parama-prakṛṣṭaiḥ
- sattvena sāttvikatayā prabalaiś ca śāstraiḥ
- prakhyāta-daiva-paramārtha-vidāṁ mataiś ca
- naivāsura-prakṛtayaḥ prabhavanti boddhum
"My dear Lord, devotees like Vyāsadeva and Nārada know You to be the Personality of Godhead. By understanding different Vedic literatures, one can come to know Your characteristics, Your form and Your activities, and one can thus understand that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance, the demons, the nondevotees, cannot understand You. They are unable to understand You. However expert such nondevotees may be in discussing Vedānta and the Upaniṣads and other Vedic literatures, it is not possible for them to understand the Personality of Godhead." (Stotra-ratna 12)
One should know, then, that scholarship is not the qualification necessary to understand Kṛṣṇa. Even the demigods and the great sages have tried to understand Kṛṣṇa by their mental speculation, and they have failed to do so. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also it is clearly said that even the great demigods are not able to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They can speculate to the limits of their imperfect senses and can reach the opposite conclusion of impersonalism, of something not manifested by the three qualities of material nature, or they can imagine something by mental speculation, but it is not possible to understand Kṛṣṇa by such foolish speculation.
BG Chapters 13 - 18
The Lord has described in summary the body, knowledge and the knowable. This knowledge is of three things: the knower, the knowable and the process of knowing. Combined, these are called vijñāna, or the science of knowledge. Perfect knowledge can be understood by the unalloyed devotees of the Lord directly. Others are unable to understand. The monists say that at the ultimate stage these three items become one, but the devotees do not accept this. Knowledge and development of knowledge mean understanding oneself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are being led by material consciousness, but as soon as we transfer all consciousness to Kṛṣṇa's activities and realize that Kṛṣṇa is everything, then we attain real knowledge. In other words, knowledge is nothing but the preliminary stage of understanding devotional service perfectly.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
The Vedas are subjects which had to be explained even to Brahmājī by the Supreme Lord. Therefore the subject matter is understood by persons with exceptional qualities of goodness. Persons who are in the modes of passion and ignorance are unable to understand the subject matter of the Vedas. The ultimate goal of Vedic knowledge is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. This Personality is very rarely understood by those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance. In the Satya-yuga everyone was situated in the mode of goodness. Gradually the mode of goodness declined during the Tretā and Dvāpara-yugas, and the general mass of people became corrupt. In the present age the mode of goodness is almost nil, and so for the general mass of people, the kindhearted, powerful sage Śrīla Vyāsadeva divided the Vedas in various ways so that they may be practically followed by less intelligent persons in the modes of passion and ignorance.
SB Canto 2
It is due to their misguided way of living, complicated by sins and virtues. Some of them who are virtuous by deeds begin to reestablish the lost relation with the Lord, but they are unable to understand the personal feature of the Lord. The real purpose of life is to make contact with the Lord and be engaged in His service. That is the natural position of living entities. But those who are impersonalists and are unable to render any loving service to the Lord have been advised to meditate upon His impersonal feature, the virāṭ-rūpa, or universal form. Some way or other, one must try to reestablish one's forgotten relation with the Lord if one at all desires to gain real happiness in life, and to reclaim his natural unfettered condition.
The impersonalist thus cannot conceive of the Lord's eternal spiritual form of eternal knowledge, bliss and existence. The reason is that the Lord reserves the right of not exposing Himself to the nondevotee who, even after a thorough study of literature like the Bhagavad-gītā, remains an impersonalist simply by obstinacy. This obstinacy is due to the action of yogamāyā, a personal energy of the Lord that acts like an aide-de-camp by covering the vision of the obstinate impersonalist. Such a bewildered human being is described as mūḍha, or grossly ignorant, because he is unable to understand the transcendental form of the Lord as being unborn and unchangeable. If the Lord takes a form or material shape from His original impersonal feature, then it means that He is born and changeable from impersonal to personal. But He is not changeable. Nor does He ever take a new birth like a conditioned soul.
The illusion of water on the hot desert may be illusion for the ignorant animal searching for water in the desert, but the desert and water are actual facts. Therefore the material creation of the Lord may be an illusion to the nondevotee, but to a devotee even the material creation of the Lord is a fact, as the manifestation of His external energy. But this energy of the Lord is not all. The Lord has His internal energy also, which has another creation known to be the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, where there is no ignorance, no passion, no illusion and no past and present. With a poor fund of knowledge one may be unable to understand the existence of such things as the Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere, but that does not nullify its existence. That spacecraft cannot reach these planets does not mean that there are no such planets, for they are described in the revealed scriptures.
In the Fourth Chapter, Arjuna, the jīva soul, is represented as forgetful of his many, many previous births, but the Lord, the Supersoul, is not forgetful. The Lord even remembers when He taught the Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god some billions of years before. The Lord can remember such millions and billions of years, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.26) as follows:
- vedāhaṁ samatītāni
- vartamānāni cārjuna
- bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni
- māṁ tu veda na kaścana
The Lord in His eternal blissful body of knowledge is fully aware of all that happened in the past, that which is going on at the present and also what will happen in the future. But in spite of His being the shelter of both the Paramātmā and Brahman, persons with a poor fund of knowledge are unable to understand Him as He is.
SB Canto 3
The Lord wanted Uddhava to fulfill His mission and disseminate knowledge which He had not spoken even in Bhagavad-gītā. Persons who are attached to the words of the Vedas may also know from this verse that the Lord is the source of all Vedic knowledge. One who is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by going through the pages of the Vedas may take shelter of one of the Lord's devotees, such as Uddhava, in order to advance further in knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Brahma-saṁhitā says that it is very difficult to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the Vedas, but He is easily understood from a pure devotee like Uddhava.
The Māyāvādī philosophers say that simply by cultivation of knowledge by mental speculation, one can be liberated from the condition of material bondage. But here it is said one is liberated not by knowledge but by the mercy of the Supreme Lord. The knowledge the conditioned soul gains by mental speculation, however powerful it may be, is always too imperfect to approach the Absolute Truth. It is said that without the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead one cannot understand Him or His actual form, quality and name. Those who are not in devotional service go on speculating for many, many thousands of years, but they are still unable to understand the nature of the Absolute Truth.
After coming out of the abdomen, the child is given to the care of persons who are unable to understand what he wants, and thus he is nursed by such persons. Unable to refuse whatever is given to him, he falls into undesirable circumstances.
There are varieties of material existence for the living entity according to the work he performs in ignorance or forgetfulness of his real identity. My dear mother, if anyone enters into that forgetfulness, he is unable to understand where his movements will end.
Generally, materialistic persons are after some name, fame and material gain, so if someone takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness for these reasons, he will never be able to understand this philosophy. Such persons take to religious principles as a social decoration. They admit themselves into some cultural institution for the sake of name only, especially in this age. Such persons also cannot understand the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even if one is not greedy for material possessions but is too attached to family life, he also cannot understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
SB Canto 4
Śrī Bhṛgu said: My dear Lord, all living entities, beginning from the highest, namely Lord Brahmā, down to the ordinary ant, are under the influence of the insurmountable spell of illusory energy, and thus they are ignorant of their constitutional position. Everyone believes in the concept of the body, and all are thus submerged in the darkness of illusion. They are actually unable to understand how You live in every living entity as the Supersoul, nor can they understand Your absolute position. But You are the eternal friend and protector of all surrendered souls. Therefore, please be kind toward us and forgive all our offenses.
The governors of the various planets are certainly materially opulent and very puffed up. Such persons are unable to understand the transcendental, eternal form of the Lord. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that only persons who have anointed their eyes with love of Godhead can see the Personality of Godhead in every step of their activities. Also, in the prayers of Kuntī (SB 1.8.26) it is stated that only those who are akiñcana-gocaram, who are not materially puffed up, can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead; others are bewildered and cannot even think of the Absolute Truth.
Aside from common men, even men who are elevated in terms of spiritual understanding are at the utmost engaged in the service of the virāṭ-rūpa, or, unable to understand the ultimate form of the Lord, they worship voidism by meditation. Dhruva Mahārāja, however, had been blessed by the Supreme Lord. When the Lord touched His conchshell to Dhruva's forehead, real knowledge was revealed from within, and Dhruva could understand the Lord's transcendental form. Dhruva Mahārāja here admits that not only was he ignorant, but by years he was only a child. It would not have been possible for an ignorant child to appreciate the supreme form of the Lord had he not been blessed by the Lord, who had touched His conchshell to Dhruva's forehead.
Those who are not devotees cannot understand the different forms of Viṣṇu and their positions in regard to the creation. Sometimes the atheists argue, "How can a flower stem sprout from the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu?" They consider all the statements of the śāstras to be stories. As a result of their inexperience in the Absolute Truth and their reluctance to accept authority, they become more and more atheistic; they cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But a devotee like Dhruva Mahārāja, by the grace of the Lord, knows all the manifestations of the Lord and their different positions. It is said that anyone who has even a little of the Lord's grace can understand His glories; others may go on speculating on the Absolute Truth, but they will always be unable to understand the Lord. In other words, unless one comes in contact with a devotee it is not possible to understand the transcendental form or the spiritual world and its transcendental activities.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura describes that this impersonal feature, or Brahman manifestation, of the Supreme Lord is meant for persons who are essentially very advanced but still not able to understand the personal features or variegatedness of the spiritual world. Such devotees are known as jñāna-miśra-bhaktas, or devotees whose devotional service is mixed with empiric knowledge. Because the impersonal Brahman realization is a partial understanding of the Absolute Truth, Dhruva Mahārāja offers his respectful obeisances.
The whole universe is born out of the lotus stem which sprouted from the navel of the Lord. Lord Brahmā sat on the top of this lotus stem to create the whole universe. The navel of the Lord is so deep and coiling that it appears that the whole universe again wants to withdraw into the navel, being attracted by the Lord's beauty. The Lord's navel and the ripples on His belly always increase the beauty of His bodily features. The details of the bodily features of the Lord especially indicate the Personality of Godhead. Impersonalists cannot appreciate the beautiful body of the Lord, which is described in these prayers by Lord Śiva. Although the impersonalists are always engaged in the worship of Lord Śiva, they are unable to understand the prayers offered by Lord Śiva to the bodily features of Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu is known as śiva-viriñci-nutam (SB 11.5.33), for He is always worshiped by Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva.
"Deluded by the three modes (goodness, passion and ignorance), the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible." Generally people are enchanted by the three modes of material nature and therefore practically unable to understand that behind all materialistic activities in the cosmic manifestation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Generally when people are engaged in sinful or pious activities, they are not perfect in knowledge of devotional service. The allegorical story narrated by Nārada Muni to King Barhiṣmān is especially meant to engage conditioned souls in devotional service. The entire story, narrated allegorically, is easily understood by a person in devotional service, but those who are engaged not in devotional service but in sense gratification cannot perfectly understand it. That is admitted by King Barhiṣmān.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood not by advanced knowledge, but by pure devotional service, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55). Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ: unless one takes to pure, transcendental devotional service, he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in truth. Everyone has some imperfect ideas about the Lord. So-called scientists and philosophical speculators are unable to understand the Supreme Lord by virtue of their knowledge. Knowledge is not perfect unless one comes to the platform of devotional service.
SB Canto 6
The transcendental position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is explained herewith. He is not perceivable by the conditioned souls, who are accustomed to material vision and cannot understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists in His abode, which is beyond that vision. Even if a materialistic person could count all the atoms in the universe, he would still be unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
O Supreme Personality of Godhead, all contradictions can be reconciled in You. O Lord, since You are the Supreme Person, the reservoir of unlimited spiritual qualities, the supreme controller, Your unlimited glories are inconceivable to the conditioned souls. Many modern theologians argue about right and wrong without knowing what is actually right. Their arguments are always false and their judgments inconclusive because they have no authorized evidence with which to gain knowledge of You. Because their minds are agitated by scriptures containing false conclusions, they are unable to understand the truth concerning You. Furthermore, because of polluted eagerness to arrive at the right conclusion, their theories are incapable of revealing You, who are transcendental to their material conceptions.
Lord Śiva places himself as one of the nondevotees, who cannot understand the identity of the Supreme Lord. The Lord, being ananta, has an unlimited number of forms. Therefore, how is it possible for an ordinary, common man to understand Him? Lord Śiva, of course, is above the ordinary human beings, yet be is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Śiva is not among the ordinary living entities, nor is he in the category of Lord Viṣṇu. He is between Lord Viṣṇu and the common living entity.
SB Canto 7
In this verse the word bhūyāt may be understood to mean "let there be." Prahlāda Mahārāja offers his blessings to his class friends, saying, "Also become faithful like me. Become bona fide Vaiṣṇavas." A devotee of the Lord desires for everyone to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unfortunately, however, people sometimes do not have staunch faith in the words of the spiritual master who comes by the disciplic succession, and therefore they are unable to understand transcendental knowledge. The spiritual master must be in the line of authorized disciplic succession, like Prahlāda Mahārāja, who received the knowledge from Nārada. If the class friends of Prahlāda Mahārāja, the sons of demons, were to accept the truth through Prahlāda, they would certainly also become fully aware of transcendental knowledge.
The Vedas provide the knowledge by which we can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15)). The devotees of the Lord are always ready to spread knowledge by which one may understand the Lord through Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but the demons, being unable to understand the Supreme Lord, are full of ignorance and passion. Thus the Lord, whose form is transcendental, is always ready to kill the demons. By culturing the mode of goodness, one can understand the position of the transcendental Lord and how the Lord is always prepared to remove all obstacles on the path of understanding Him.
The inhabitants of that particular place on the bank of the Kāverī in the valley of the mountain known as Sahya were unable to understand whether that saint was the same man they had known. It is therefore said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā mudrā vijñe nā bhujhaya. A highly advanced Vaiṣṇava lives in such a way that no one can understand what he is or what he was. Nor should attempts be made to understand the past of a Vaiṣṇava. Without asking the saintly person about his previous life, Prahlāda Mahārāja immediately offered him respectful obeisances.
SB Canto 8
There are many, many yogīs trying to find Him. Dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yoginaḥ (SB 12.13.1). Nonetheless, even great yogīs, demigods, saints and sages have been unable to understand the bodily features of that great artist, nor could they understand the meaning of His movements. What then is to be said of ordinary speculators like the so-called philosophers of this material world? For them He is impossible to understand. Therefore we must accept the statements given by the Supreme when He kindly incarnates to instruct us. We must simply accept the word of Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and follow in Their footsteps. Then it may be possible for us to know the purpose of Their incarnations.
This illusion (māyā) is very difficult to surmount. Māyā covers the living entity because of his willingness to forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead and make his own plan to enjoy this material world. As long as this contamination continues, the conditioned soul will be unable to understand his real identity and will perpetually continue under illusion, life after life. Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaṁ mameti (SB 5.5.8). As long as the living entity is not enlightened so that he may understand his real position, he will be attracted to materialistic life, to house, country or field, to society, sons, family, community, bank balance and so on. Covered by all this, he will continue to think, "I am this body, and everything related to this body is mine." This materialistic conception of life is extremely difficult to surmount, but one who surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as did Gajendra, the King of the elephants, comes to enlightenment on the Brahman platform.
Although the great activities and transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's various incarnations are wonderfully described, sometimes we are unable to understand them. Yet everything is possible for Lord Viṣṇu. If one could count the atoms of the universe, then he could count the qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But no one can count the atoms of the universe, nor can anyone count the transcendental qualities of the Lord.
The demigods were harassed by the demons, who were infested with tamo-guṇa. However, as Lord Brahmā has previously described, since the time of sattva-guṇa had now arrived, the demigods could naturally expect to fulfill their desires. The demigods are supposedly well advanced in knowledge, yet they could not understand the knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord is addressed here as anantāya. Although Lord Brahmā knows past, present and future, he is unable to understand the unlimited knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Devotees endure hindrances, accepting them to be caused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and regarding them as benedictions. Demons, however, being unable to understand the supreme controller, regard such hindrances as accidental. Here, of course, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was present personally. It was by His will that there were hindrances, and by His will those hindrances were removed. The Lord appeared as a tortoise to support the great mountain. Kṣitir iha vipulatare tava tiṣṭhati pṛṣṭhe. The Lord held the great mountain on His back. Keśava dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. Dangers can be created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they can also be removed by Him. This is known to devotees, but demons cannot understand it.
What to speak of human beings, even the demigods, demons, Siddhas, Gandharvas, Cāraṇas and the various directors of the universe, the Prajāpatis, have never touched You before. It is not that we are unable to understand Your identity.
SB Canto 9
When Durvāsā Muni was chased by the Sudarśana cakra, he wanted to take shelter of Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, and he was even able to go to the spiritual world, meet the Personality of Godhead and talk with Him face to face, yet he was unable to be rescued from the attack of the Sudarśana cakra. Thus he could understand the influence of a Vaiṣṇava by personal experience. Durvāsā Muni was certainly a great yogī and a very learned brāhmaṇa, but despite his being a real yogī he was unable to understand the influence of a Vaiṣṇava. Therefore it is said, vaiṣṇavera kriyā mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya: even the most learned person cannot understand the value of a Vaiṣṇava.
Aṁśumān said: My Lord, even Lord Brahmā is to this very day unable to understand Your position, which is far beyond himself, either by meditation or by mental speculation. So what to speak of others like us, who have been created by Brahmā in various forms as demigods, animals, human beings, birds and beasts? We are completely in ignorance. Therefore, how can we know You, who are the Transcendence?
Unless one is situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, one is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is situated in everyone's heart. However, because the conditioned souls are influenced by material nature, they can see only the actions and reactions of material nature, but not the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One therefore must purify himself internally and externally:
- apavitraḥ pavitro vā
- sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā
- yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ
- sa bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ
To keep ourselves externally clean we should bathe three times daily, and for internal cleanliness we must cleanse the heart by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. The members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must always follow this principle (bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ). Then it will one day be possible to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face.
As soon as one is freed from the influence of the three modes of material nature, he is situated on the Brahman platform. Vivid examples of personalities thus situated are the four Kumāras and Nārada. Such authorities can by nature understand the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but a conditioned soul not freed from the influence of material nature is unable to realize the Supreme. In Bhagavad-gītā (2.45), therefore, Kṛṣṇa advises Arjuna, traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna: one must rise above the influence of the three modes of material nature. One who stays within the influence of the three material modes is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
O Madhusūdana, because of Your appearance, I am becoming more and more anxious in fear of Kaṁsa. Therefore, please arrange for that sinful Kaṁsa to be unable to understand that You have taken birth from my womb.
Exhausted by the labor of childbirth, Yaśodā was overwhelmed with sleep and unable to understand what kind of child had been born to her.
Nanda Mahārāja and Vasudeva were intimate friends, and so were their wives, Yaśodā and Devakī. Although their names were different, they were practically nondifferent personalities. The only difference is that Devakī was able to understand that the Supreme Personality of Godhead had been born to her and had now changed into Kṛṣṇa, whereas Yaśodā was not able to understand what kind of child had been born to her. Yaśodā was such an advanced devotee that she never regarded Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but simply loved Him as her own child.
Although Pūtanā was an outsider and although she personified fierce death because the determination within her heart was to kill the child, when she directly came and placed the child on her lap to offer the child her breast to suck, the mothers were so captivated by her beauty that they did not prohibit her. Sometimes a beautiful woman is dangerous because everyone, being captivated by external beauty (māyā-mohita), is unable to understand what is in her mind. Those who are captivated by the beauty of the external energy are called māyā-mohita.
Mother Yaśodā did not understand that Kṛṣṇa is the heaviest of all heavy things and that Kṛṣṇa rests within everything (mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni). As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4), mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā: Kṛṣṇa is everywhere in His impersonal form, and everything rests upon Him. Nonetheless, na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ: Kṛṣṇa is not everywhere. Mother Yaśodā was unable to understand this philosophy because she was dealing with Kṛṣṇa as His real mother by the arrangement of yogamāyā. Not understanding the importance of Kṛṣṇa, she could only seek shelter of Nārāyaṇa for Kṛṣṇa's safety and call the brāhmaṇas to counteract the situation.
Because of an increase of affection, the cows had constant attachment even to those calves that were grown up and had stopped sucking milk from their mothers. When Baladeva saw this attachment, He was unable to understand the reason for it, and thus He began to consider as follows.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The cowherd men were astonished when they saw Kṛṣṇa's activities, such as lifting Govardhana Hill. Unable to understand His transcendental potency, they approached Nanda Mahārāja and spoke as follows.
O my Lord, Acyuta, the same living entity is sometimes described as eternally conditioned and at other times as eternally liberated. I am not able to understand, therefore, the actual situation of the living entity. You, my Lord, are the best of those who are expert in answering philosophical questions. Please explain to me the symptoms by which one can tell the difference between a living entity who is eternally liberated and one who is eternally conditioned. In what various ways would they remain situated, enjoy life, eat, evacuate, lie down, sit or move about?
| Page Title: | Unable to understand (BG and SB) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Serene |
| Created: | 29 of Nov, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=3, SB=42, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 45 |