Mundane scholarship is not the same as spiritual realization

The same propensity that makes people attracted to artists, politicians, billionaires, etc., makes them attracted to spiritual leaders who show power, fame, wealth, knowledge, etc. That's a trap.

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In the material platform, we are attracted to powerful people. There are six types of opulence: wealth, power, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation. We can see that all famous people have one or more of these qualities. This can be observed not only in mundane society but even in spiritual movements. The same propensity that makes people attracted to famous artists, politicians, billionaires, etc., makes them attracted to spiritual leaders who show power, fame, wealth, knowledge, beauty, or renunciation. If a spiritual leader is truly transcendental, it still works because he or she can direct this mundane attraction of followers toward Kṛṣṇa, but things can go terribly wrong if the spiritual leader himself is blinded by money and fame.

Another trap is mundane erudition. This is also a form of material asset, much like money or fame. There is something called spiritual knowledge that leads to spiritual realization, the capacity of differentiating the real from the illusory and understanding Kṛṣṇa. This transcendental knowledge is discussed in the 4th chapter of the Gītā, culminating with the formula to obtain it:

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” (Bg 4.34)

Real transcendental knowledge has to be obtained from a self-realized soul. Even if a devotee is afraid of committing to the vows of initiation, one still has to find some form of spiritual teacher or mentor and learn from him or her. Even if one is studying Prabhupāda’s books, one still has to learn their practical application from one of his genuine followers.

Kṛṣṇa then continues:

“Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine.” (Bg 4.35)

This is the practical result of obtaining transcendental knowledge: we are elevated beyond the material cloud, beyond all illusion, fear, and doubt, and attain transcendental vision.

There is a great difference between seeing something and just reading a description in a book. As long as our knowledge is simply theoretical, we will never be fully sure about it, and a clever person can always make us change our minds. From the moment we see, however, our understanding becomes fixed, and no one can convince us otherwise. From the moment we factually see that trees are green, no one will be able to convince us that they are red or pink.

Mundane scholarship is also a form of material power. People admire and follow people who have knowledge. If one knows a lot and can juggle cleverly with this information, one will surely get many followers or admirers; people will stay close to him as a way to stay closer to this material power they are attracted to.

The danger is that material power is very different from spiritual realization, just as smoke is different from fire, or an ordinary stone is different from gold.

Prabhupāda reveals this point in his purport to Bg 6.8. The verse itself is:

“A person is said to be established in self-realization and is called a yogī [or mystic] when he is fully satisfied by virtue of acquired knowledge and realization. Such a person is situated in transcendence and is self-controlled. He sees everything – whether it be pebbles, stones or gold – as the same.”

The direct meaning of this verse is that a materialistic person sees gold as more valuable than stones because gold can be converted into material possessions and power. Gold is thus an instrument to satisfy desires. A self-realized soul, however, has no material desires and thus sees no value in gold or money. For him, gold is like an ordinary stone, and money is like ordinary paper. A devotee may desire for Kṛṣṇa, of course, but in terms of his self-satisfaction, there is indifference.

In his purport, however, Prabhupāda calls our attention to a higher meaning that is connected with our discussion:

“Book knowledge without realization of the Supreme Truth is useless. This is stated as follows: ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi, na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau, svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ

“No one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa through his materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.234)

This Bhagavad-gītā is the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. No one can become Kṛṣṇa conscious simply by mundane scholarship. One must be fortunate enough to associate with a person who is in pure consciousness. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has realized knowledge, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, because he is satisfied with pure devotional service. By realized knowledge, one becomes perfect. By transcendental knowledge one can remain steady in his convictions, but by mere academic knowledge one can be easily deluded and confused by apparent contradictions. It is the realized soul who is actually self-controlled, because he is surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. He is transcendental because he has nothing to do with mundane scholarship. For him mundane scholarship and mental speculation, which may be as good as gold to others, are of no greater value than pebbles or stones.”

Mundane scholarship may look like gold to the materialist who desires material power, but for a real transcendentalist, who can see things as they are, it is useless, just like pebbles or stones. Worse than useless, it is actually dangerous because it entangles us further in this material world. It makes us more covered by illusion and doubt, lost in many apparent contradictions between different passages and statements from the scriptures and ācāryas, incapable of finding the way out.

As explained by Kṛṣṇa Himself, the process for obtaining true transcendental knowledge is different. It is not about reading a thousand books and trying to brute force our way into transcendence by our material intellect, but by humbly accepting the conclusions of the text, as confirmed by self-realized souls. For a devotee learning from Prabhupāda’s books, this means to start by accepting as truth what he says and the conclusions he makes, and later further refining this understanding by inquiring from disciples and followers of Prabhupāda who live according to his teachings. There is always the possibility of being misguided, but if one is sincere, Kṛṣṇa can help from inside the heart.

If one is not submissive, there is no transmission of transcendental knowledge. Study in this case becomes mere material erudition. One who takes Prabhupāda as just one voice among many, as just an imperfect opinion, will later also see the guru and different spiritual teachers in the same light, and will end up depositing his faith in some impostor, remaining disconnected from the source.

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