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A dream becomes automatically known to a person as false and immaterial, and similarly one eventually realizes that material happiness in this life or the next, on this planet or a higher planet, is insignificant. When one realizes this, the Vedas, although an excellent source, are insufficient to bring about direct knowledge of the truth.
(More...) In Bhagavad-gita (2.45), Krsna advised Arjuna to become transcendental to the material activities impelled by the three material modes of nature (traigunya-visaya veda nistraigunyo bhavarjuna). The purpose of Vedic study is to transcend the activities of the three modes of material nature. Of course in the material world the mode of goodness is accepted as the best, and one can be promoted to the higher planetary systems by being on the sattva-guna platform. However, that is not perfection. One must come to the conclusion that even the sattva-guna platform is also not good. One may dream that he has become a king with a good family, wife and children, but immediately at the end of that dream he comes to the conclusion that it is false. Similarly, all kinds of material happiness are undesirable for a person who wants spiritual salvation. If a person does not come to the conclusion that he has nothing to do with any kind of material happiness, he cannot come to the platform of understanding the Absolute Truth, or tattva jnana. Karmis, jnanis and yogis are after some material elevation. The karmis work hard day and night for some bodily comfort, and the jnanis simply speculate about how to get out of the entanglement of karma and merge into the Brahman effulgence. The yogis are very much addicted to the acquisition of material perfection and magical powers. All of them are trying to be materially perfect, but a devotee very easily comes to the platform of nirguna in devotional service, and consequently for the devotee the results of karma, jnana and yoga become very insignificant. Therefore only the devotee is on the platform of tattva jnana, not the others. Of course the jnani's position is better than that of the karmi but that position is also insufficient. The jnani must actually become liberated, and after liberation he may be situated in devotional service (mad-bhaktim labhate param).
(More...) Thus Lord Chaitanya showed many defects in the Mayavadi philosophy, and although Bhattacharya wanted to establish himself with various juggleries of words and logic, Lord Chaitanya was able to maintain Himself from such attacks, and He established that the Vedic literature is meant for three things: to understand our relationship with the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead, to act according to that understanding, and at the end to achieve the highest perfection of life, love of Godhead. Anybody who wants to prove something other than the above-mentioned three purposes must be the victim of his own imagination.
(More...) You have written to say "Vaisnava tradition in India'', and that is the real cultural standing of Vedic civilization. In the Rigveda you will find the mantra, tad visnu paramam padam sada pasyanti suraya. In the Visnu Purana also it is said, visnu bhakti bhovet deva. So Vedic civilization means the civilization of the devas, or the demigods, and the whole purpose is to understand Krishna. As it is said in the Bhagavad-gita, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam [Bg 15.15], the whole purpose of the Veda is to understand Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, if we wish to present the real traditional cultural ideas of India to the western public, we have to present to them the teachings of Lord Krishna as they are. That is my mission, and I am pleased to inform you that I am getting good response in America especially and also in London and Germany.
(More...) Just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual sky, Krsna has given a great number of Vedic literatures. The forgetful living entities or conditioned souls have forgotten their relationship with the Supreme Lord, and they are engrossed in thinking of material activities. Just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual sky, Krsna has given a great number of Vedic literatures. First He divided the Vedas into four, then He explained them in the Puranas, and for less capable people He wrote the Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata there is given the Bhagavad-gita. Then all Vedic literature is summarized in the Vedanta-sutra, and for future guidance He gave a natural commentation on the Vedanta-sutra, called Srimad-Bhagavatam. We must always engage our minds in reading these Vedic literatures. Just as materialists engage their minds in reading newspapers, magazines and so many materialistic literatures, we must transfer our reading to these literatures which are given to us by Vyasadeva; in that way it will be possible for us to remember the Supreme Lord at the time of death. That is the only way suggested by the Lord, and He guarantees the result: "There is no doubt." (Bg. 8.7)
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