Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 6.151

ataeva sruti kahe, brahma -- savisesha

'mukhya' chadi' 'lakshana'te mane nirvisesha

SYNONYMS

ataeva -- therefore; sruti -- Vedic mantras; kahe -- say; brahma -- the Absolute Truth; sa-visesha -- personal; mukhya -- direct meaning; chadi' -- giving up; lakshana'te -- by interpretation; mane -- accept; nirvisesha -- impersonal.

TRANSLATION

"All these mantras confirm that the Absolute Truth is personal, but the Mayavadis, throwing away the direct meaning, interpret the Absolute Truth as impersonal.

PURPORT

As mentioned above, the Svetasvatara Upanishad (3.19) states:

apani-pado javano grahita

pasyaty acakshuh sa srinoty akarnah

sa vetti vedyam na ca tasyasti vetta

tam ahur agryam purusham mahantam

This Vedic mantra clearly states, purusham mahantam. The word purusha means "person." In the Bhagavad-gita (10.12) Arjuna confirms that this person is Krishna when he addresses Krishna as purusham sasvatam: "You are the original person." Thus the purusham mahantam mentioned in the verse from the Svetasvatara Upanishad is Sri Krishna. His hands and legs are not mundane but are completely transcendental. However, when He comes, fools take Him to be an ordinary person (avajananti mam mudha manushim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]). One who has no Vedic knowledge, who has not studied the Vedas from a bona fide spiritual master, does not know Krishna. Therefore he is a mudha. Such fools take Krishna to be an ordinary person (param bhavam ajanantah). They do not actually know what Krishna is. Manushyanam sahasreshu kascid yatati siddhaye [Bg. 7.3]. It is not possible to understand Krishna simply by studying the Vedas perfectly. One must have the mercy of a devotee (yat-padam). Unless one is favored by a devotee, he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Arjuna also confirms this in the Bhagavad-gita (10.14): "My Lord, it is very difficult to understand Your personality." The less intelligent class of men cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead without being favored by His devotee. Therefore the Bhagavad-gita (4.34) contains another injunction:

tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya

upadekshyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah

One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master and surrender to him. Only then can one understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a person.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness