Under Whose Guidance Should We Study Scripture?

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I will read one letter written by Guru Mahārāja; it is self-explanatory of course.  In this letter, Gurudeva was replying to one person's inquiry about what Bhagavad-gītā  to read. There are so many printings of Bhagavad-gītā available, so which book should we refer to?  Śrīla Gurudeva answered. We can learn so many things from this letter about how to reply, what to reply, and what is the way to reply.  This may highly appeal to everyone, so I will just read it:  
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Suppose there is a person named Ram Babu.  The person who has never seen him, never came in contact with him, cannot speak anything about Ram Babu. The person who has seen Ram Babu externally can speak to some extent about external denominations like his appearance, his dress, and the like. But the person who has come closer to Ram Babu, as they are of master-servant relation will be able to speak about Ram Babu much more than the person who has seen him from a distance. But between master and servant, due to the gravity of reverence, their relationship is such that both cannot exchange their hearts freely. Love in this relationship is restricted by inferiority and superiority complex and therefore hampers unrestrained outpouring of love and affection because there is a master-servant relationship. There is hesitation and you cannot speak fully and freely to your master because you consider yourself as a servant. A servant can speak more than an indifferent and unconcerned person.

Whereas a bosom friend can have entrance into the secret of Ram Babu because he knows him from childhood and so perhaps he can speak much more than a servant. A friend can know his heart and speak about him.  Parental love is more intense than friendship relation.  The mother especially rears up the child, so her affection for the child is great.  She knows many more secret matters about the child than the childhood friend.  She even knows about any kind of private bodily defect which is not known to others. The mother always thinks of the child as incompetent and inferior.  Her intensity and love are much more than that of a friend. 

In spite of this tremendous affection, there exists a kind of reservation of heart between parent and child. Even between mother and child the intensity of love between a chaste wife and a chaste husband is the highest because no portion of the heart of the chaste wife is concealed from her husband and vice versa. The chaste wife's service is unrestricted, she serves with all her sense organs and dedicates herself fully to the service of her husband.  The chaste husband is compelled to dedicate himself to his devoted wife.  This is natural.  Is this clear? If it is, then we can discuss it further. 

But then this person asked, "About Bhagavad-gītā, what should I do?  I should hear from whom? you have not made it clear.  

Now Guru Mahārāja explained further:

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Likewise is the situation of the devotee. Supreme Lord Śrī Nārāyaṇa mentioned in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam that a sādhu who has one-pointed devotion to Me has an equal vision to all. As a chaste wife by her desire and pure love subdues her chaste husband, a pure devotee by his causeless devotion subdues Me. As per the degree of dedication to Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His personal associates so much will be the revelation of the transcendental glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His associates in the heart of a bonafide devotee. 

Amongst all devotees, devotees of Vraja (in particular gopīs) are the most elevated and are most dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Such gopīs will know the exact feeling of Śrī Kṛṣṇa from the core of the heart. Now if you read Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā as explained by gopīs or someone who is following the footsteps of gopīs we would be able to understand the actual meaning of what the Supreme Lord wants to convey because the gopīs are the highest and the purest.  So if you read or hear from what they say that would be the best explanation.  

Śrīla Viśvanātha Chakravarti Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, etc. are devotees of madhura rasa, they are all mañjarīs. They have all given the explanation of Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. Because these devotees are the best, we should study Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā under the guidance of Śrīla Gurudev, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and Śrīla Viśvanātha Chakravarti Ṭhākura.

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Here in such a beautiful way, Gurudev has explained, without taking sides of anyone, that we should not buy other books of Bhagavad-gītā and why we should choose only particular ones. He took us from dāsya bhāva to madhurya bhāva and in madhurya bhāva, they know the heart of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and only they can give the best explanation of Kṛṣṇa. So our Śrīla Viśvanātha Chakravarti Ṭhākura and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura are mañjarīs and their bhāva is the highest.  

So this is the mood in which we are supposed to learn and this is the mood in which we are supposed to speak. This is why I love to read the books of our guru-varga, our Gurudeva, our Param Gurudev, and other acāryas because this gave me an understanding of how to speak and how to convince and help others.  

I am sorry if I could not speak properly. Because I am not qualified to speak, I can only speak from whatever I have read, that's all.  

 —Śrī Rādhāgovinda Das, Mumbai





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