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Vedanta, what is the meaning of Vedanta?" It is very nice; it is very easy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means ultimate. So Vedanta means ultimate knowledge

Expressions researched:
"Vedānta, what is the meaning of Vedānta?" |"It is very nice; it is very easy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means ultimate. So Vedānta means ultimate knowledge"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Those who are actually seer of the Absolute Truth, athāto brahma jijñāsā, as it is said in the Vedāntasūtra . . . just yesterday, one boy was asking me: "What is the Vedānta? Vedānta, what is the meaning of Vedānta?" It is very nice; it is very easy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means ultimate. So Vedānta means ultimate knowledge.

Harim āśrayeta. The real business is harim āśrayeta. Vanaṁ gataḥ. Vanaṁ gataḥ means go to the forest. Formerly, after gṛhastha life, vānaprastha life, sannyāsa life, they used to live in the forest. But going to the forest is not the main purpose of life. Because in the forest there are many animals. Does it mean they are advancing in spiritual life? That is called markaṭa-vairāgya. Markaṭa-vairāgya means "monkey renunciation." Monkey is naked. Nāga-bābā. Naked. And eats fruit, monkey, and lives underneath a tree or on the tree. But he has got at least three dozen wives.

So this markaṭa-vairāgya, this kind of renunciation, has no value. Real renunciation. Real renunciation means you have to give up the andha-kūpa life and take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, harim āśrayeta. If you take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, then you can give up this, all this "ism" life. Otherwise, it is not possible; you'll be entrapped by this "ism" life.

So hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta (SB 7.5.5). Not to give up . . . if you give up something, you must take up something. Otherwise, you will be disturbed. Take up. That is recommendation: paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59). You can give up your family life, social life, political life, this life, that life when you take Kṛṣṇa conscious life. Otherwise, it is not possible. Otherwise, you must have to take some of this life. There is no question of your freedom. There is no question of freedom from anxieties. This is the way.

So here the same thing, that tattva-darśibhiḥ, those who are actually seer of the Absolute Truth, athāto brahma jijñāsā, as it is said in the Vedāntasūtra . . . just yesterday, one boy was asking me: "What is the Vedānta? Vedānta, what is the meaning of Vedānta?" It is very nice; it is very easy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means ultimate. So Vedānta means ultimate knowledge.

So ultimate knowledge is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo Vedānta-kṛd veda-vid ca aham. He is the maker of Vedānta and He is the knower of Vedānta. Unless He is knower of Vedānta, how He can write Vedānta? Actually, Vedānta philosophy is written by Vyāsadeva, incarnation of Kṛṣṇa. So He's Vedānta-kṛt. And He's Vedānta-vit also. So the question was whether Vedānta means advaita-vāda or dvaita-vāda.

Page Title:Vedanta, what is the meaning of Vedanta?" It is very nice; it is very easy. Veda means knowledge, and anta means ultimate. So Vedanta means ultimate knowledge
Compiler:Navakishora Mukunda
Created:2025-01-30, 12:47:18.000
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1