Madhya 9.102

TEXT 102

TEXT

প্রভু কহে, - গীতা-পাঠে তোমারই অধিকার ।
তুমি সে জানহ এই গীতার অর্থ-সার ॥ ১০২ ॥

prabhu kahe,-gita-pathe tomara-i adhikara

tumi se janaha ei gitara artha-sara

SYNONYMS

prabhu kahe-the Lord replied; gita-pathe-in reading Bhagavad-gita; tomarai adhikara-you have the proper authority; tumi-you; se-that; janaha-know; ei-this; gitara-of Bhagavad-gita; artha-sara-the real purport.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told the brahmana, "Indeed, you are an authority in the reading of Bhagavad-gita. Whatever you know constitutes the real purport of Bhagavad-gita."

PURPORT

According to the sastras: bhaktya bhagavatam grahyam na buddhya na ca tikaya. One should understand Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam by hearing them from a real devotee. One cannot understand them simply by erudite scholarship or sharp intelligence. It is also said:

gitadhita ca yenapi
bhakti-bhavena cetasa
veda-sastra-puranani
tenadhitani sarvasah

To one who reads Bhagavad-gita with faith and devotion, the essence of Vedic knowledge is revealed. According to the Svetasvatara Upanisad (6.23):

yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

All Vedic literatures are to be understood with faith and devotion, not by mundane scholarship. We therefore present Bhagavad-gita As It Is. There are many so-called scholars and philosophers who read Bhagavad-gita in a scholarly way. They simply waste their time and mislead those who read their commentaries.