When Lord Caitanya was traveling in South India he arrived at bigest temple of the world, Ranganatha temple,
He went to see the Deity, and He saw one brahmana was reading Bhagavad-gita.
And people were joking with him, ‘Oh, Mr. Brahmana, how you are reading Bhagavad-gita?’
Because they were neighbors, they knew that this brahmana was illiterate, and he was studying Bhagavad-gita. So they were joking.
But the brahmana did not care about them.
He was taking the book and in his own way he was reading.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw this incident. He came to the brahmana.
He asked the brahmana, ‘My dear brahmana, what you are reading?’
The brahmana could understand, ‘This person is not joking with me; he is serious.’
So he explained, ‘My dear sir, I am reading Bhagavad-gita. Unfortunately, I am illiterate. I do not know even the alphabet.’
‘Why you are reading Bhagavad-gita?’
So he said, ‘My spiritual master knows that I am illiterate, but still, he has asked me to read Bhagavad-gita. What can I do? Therefore I have taken this book. I am seeing simply pictures.. I do not know how to read.’
‘Oh, that’s all right. You cannot read. But I see that you are crying. How you are crying, if you are not reading?’
‘Yes, I am crying. Of course, there is cause.’ ‘What is that?’
‘As soon as I take this Bhagavad-gita, I remember Krsna. Krsna is sitting as driver and Arjuna is hearing.
I am going from the begining to the end of the book and then i am simply craying looking at picture of Arjuna and Krishna.
I cry remembering how Supreme Lord love his devotees. He has become servant of his devotee. Is not that amazing?
I have heard the story. I know something of the instruction but cannot read.
So as soon as I take this book, this picture comes before me and I simply think how Krsna is nice that He has become a charioteer of His devotee. He is so great. Still, He has accepted a menial service of His devotee. This gives me so much pleasure that I cry.’
Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced him, ‘Your Bhagavad-gita reading is perfect. You have taken the essence.’
MORAL OF THE STORY:
“If you simply remember how Krsna is teaching Arjuna and Arjuna is hearing—if you simply remember the picture—that is sufficient.
We don’t have to become a learned man to argue with another learned man.
Simply if I remember this picture, that is perfection.We have to simply think of Krsna. You think in any way. That is your perfection. Smartavyah satatam visnuh [Padma Purana]. This is the injunction. You have to think of Visnu always. This is samadhi; this is meditation; this is yoga siddhi, perfection of yoga.
“One who has learned to think of Krsna always, he is already on the perfectional stage. Aradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim [Narada Pancaratra]. If one has come to this stage, just to understand Krsna to be the great, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he’s a surrendered soul: ‘Krsna, whatever You like You do. I am surrendered.’ This is aradhana. Then he isn’t required to undergo any austerities or penance. His everything is finished. And naradhito yadi haris tapasa tatah kim. And if he does not come to this stage, his so-called scholarship, learned argument, this or that—all nonsense, finished. Useless. One has to come to this stage. Therefore Lord Caitanya embraced the brahmana: ‘Yes, your study of Bhagavad-gita is perfect.’ Because one has to come to this stage, thinking of Krsna always.
“So, that is the perfection. Krsna and gopis. They were cowherd girls. Their father, mother, they were only ordinary village [people], keeping cows. That’s all. What was their education? They were not Vedantists. But they learned to love Krsna. That was their qualification. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu certifies, ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena ya kalpita: ‘Oh, there is no better worship than that which was contemplated by the gopis.’ They did not know what is Krsna, but they loved Krsna. That’s all. They loved Krsna. Because Krsna was God or Krsna was something great? No. Their natural affection was for Krsna. They could not stay even for a moment without seeing Krsna. That was their qualification. This is Krsna consciousness.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
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