A Devotee Who Can Deliver the World
If there is even one first class devotee of the Lord on this planet, he can deliver the entire world turning everyone to Krishna consciousness. This is confirmed as follows in the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya Lila 22.65:
śāstra-yuktye sunipuṇa, dṛḍha-śraddhā yāṅra
'uttama-adhikārī' sei tāraye saṁsāra
"One who is expert in logic, argument and the revealed scriptures and who has firm faith in Krishna is an uttama-adhikārī, a first-class Vaiṣṇava. He can deliver the whole world turning everyone to Krishna consciousness."
We saw one such pure devotee in the form of our beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He set into motion a movement which is predicted to go down in history for inundating this entire globe with Krishna consciousness. How will it be successful in doing this? This will only be possible if we, his followers, will also become first-class devotees. Therefore let us now do our duty by being pure in all of thoughts, words, and deeds in all times, places, and circumstances. Let us all have firm faith in Lord Krishna and become expert in presenting the science of Krishna consciousness both on the basis of sound philosophical reasoning and scriptural evidence.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Revealing the Secrets of Unlimited Happiness
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I had a discussion with a friend who is following Advaitavada, which teaches that everything is one and that each of us is therefore God. I know that it is a sin to discuss Krishna with these people. But still he raised some questions which I was unable to answer. He said that the four Vedas are the ultimate truth and Krishna is not mentioned in any of the four Vedas. He also said that their are four Mahavakyas from the Vedas which say "I am Brahman", i.e. there is no difference between the Supreme Spirit, Brahman, and us if we understand that we are soul. He concluded that that if you are believing something less then Vedic conclusion "I am Brahman" then it is not the complete knowledge. He said that to believe in Krishna as something different than our real self is not the truth.
Though I am fully convinced that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that we are His eternal servants, still his arguments have made me wonder about Vedic truth. I am in your shelter to kindly explain me these things in more detail so that I'll get rid of the slight doubt that has come to my mind.
Your humble servant,
Deepti
We do not disagree that the four Vedas are presenting the ultimate truth. But your friend is clearly mistaken when he says that Krishna is not mentioned in the four Vedas. Krishna is directly mentioned in the Atharva Vedas as the dispenser of Vedic wisdom to Lord Brahma at the beginning of this universe:
yo brahmāṇaṁ vidadhāti pūrvaṁ yo vai vedāṁś ca gāpayati sma kṛṣṇah
"It was Krishna who in the beginning instructed Brahmā in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past."
Therefore according to the authority of the Atharva Veda, Krishna's teachings are accepted as Vedic truth and thus naturally Bhagavad-gita being the words of Krishna is also accepted as Vedic truth. Your friend has drawn an imperfect conclusion based on mental speculation, which is not in accordance with the great Vedic authorities. Srila Vyasadeva is the compiler of the Vedic wisdom, and he accepts Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living beings as Krishna's eternal servants. Does your friend think that he is a greater Vedic authority than the compiler of the Vedic wisdom, Srila Vyasadeva?
We accept the oneness of Brahman with the individual living entities, but at the same time there is a distinct difference between the Complete Whole Brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence, and the tiny fragments of Brahman, the living entities. Have we ever seen that a drop of ocean of water is the same as the ocean? Of course, qualitatively it is one because the chemical composition of the drop and the entire ocean is the same. But quantitatively there is an ocean of difference between a drop of ocean water and the entire ocean. We can float an aircraft carrier on the ocean, but we cannot float it on a drop of ocean water.
If your friend that wants to convince us that his real self is Krishna, then let him prove to us by lifting Govardhana Hill on his little finger and holding it there for seven days.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
śāstra-yuktye sunipuṇa, dṛḍha-śraddhā yāṅra
'uttama-adhikārī' sei tāraye saṁsāra
"One who is expert in logic, argument and the revealed scriptures and who has firm faith in Krishna is an uttama-adhikārī, a first-class Vaiṣṇava. He can deliver the whole world turning everyone to Krishna consciousness."
We saw one such pure devotee in the form of our beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He set into motion a movement which is predicted to go down in history for inundating this entire globe with Krishna consciousness. How will it be successful in doing this? This will only be possible if we, his followers, will also become first-class devotees. Therefore let us now do our duty by being pure in all of thoughts, words, and deeds in all times, places, and circumstances. Let us all have firm faith in Lord Krishna and become expert in presenting the science of Krishna consciousness both on the basis of sound philosophical reasoning and scriptural evidence.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Revealing the Secrets of Unlimited Happiness
Riga, Latvia--4 April 2010
Answers According to the Vedic Version:
Question: How to Defeat Advaitavada Philosophy?
Dear Gurudeva,Please accept my humble obeisances.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I had a discussion with a friend who is following Advaitavada, which teaches that everything is one and that each of us is therefore God. I know that it is a sin to discuss Krishna with these people. But still he raised some questions which I was unable to answer. He said that the four Vedas are the ultimate truth and Krishna is not mentioned in any of the four Vedas. He also said that their are four Mahavakyas from the Vedas which say "I am Brahman", i.e. there is no difference between the Supreme Spirit, Brahman, and us if we understand that we are soul. He concluded that that if you are believing something less then Vedic conclusion "I am Brahman" then it is not the complete knowledge. He said that to believe in Krishna as something different than our real self is not the truth.
Though I am fully convinced that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that we are His eternal servants, still his arguments have made me wonder about Vedic truth. I am in your shelter to kindly explain me these things in more detail so that I'll get rid of the slight doubt that has come to my mind.
Your humble servant,
Deepti
Answer: With Logic and Vedic Evidence
It is not sinful to preach the message of Krishna to those who are in illusion. It is very good that you wanted to tell him about Krishna. Lord Caitanya has ordered us to enlighten everyone we meet with the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita. Simply we must be careful to present them in such a way that the people will appreciate our words.We do not disagree that the four Vedas are presenting the ultimate truth. But your friend is clearly mistaken when he says that Krishna is not mentioned in the four Vedas. Krishna is directly mentioned in the Atharva Vedas as the dispenser of Vedic wisdom to Lord Brahma at the beginning of this universe:
yo brahmāṇaṁ vidadhāti pūrvaṁ yo vai vedāṁś ca gāpayati sma kṛṣṇah
"It was Krishna who in the beginning instructed Brahmā in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past."
Therefore according to the authority of the Atharva Veda, Krishna's teachings are accepted as Vedic truth and thus naturally Bhagavad-gita being the words of Krishna is also accepted as Vedic truth. Your friend has drawn an imperfect conclusion based on mental speculation, which is not in accordance with the great Vedic authorities. Srila Vyasadeva is the compiler of the Vedic wisdom, and he accepts Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living beings as Krishna's eternal servants. Does your friend think that he is a greater Vedic authority than the compiler of the Vedic wisdom, Srila Vyasadeva?
We accept the oneness of Brahman with the individual living entities, but at the same time there is a distinct difference between the Complete Whole Brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of all existence, and the tiny fragments of Brahman, the living entities. Have we ever seen that a drop of ocean of water is the same as the ocean? Of course, qualitatively it is one because the chemical composition of the drop and the entire ocean is the same. But quantitatively there is an ocean of difference between a drop of ocean water and the entire ocean. We can float an aircraft carrier on the ocean, but we cannot float it on a drop of ocean water.
If your friend that wants to convince us that his real self is Krishna, then let him prove to us by lifting Govardhana Hill on his little finger and holding it there for seven days.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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