View source for Unfortunately, there are so many interpreters, they interpret the verses in their own way. That is the nonsense of the whole thing. But if Bhagavad-gita understood as it is, oh, it is a great boon to the human society

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{{terms|"Unfortunately, there are so many interpreters, they interpret the verses in their own way. That is the nonsense of the whole thing. But if Bhagavad-gītā understood as it is, oh, it is a great boon to the human society"}}
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[[Category:Understanding the Bhagavad-gita]]
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[[Category:Human Society]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SHARMISTHA]]
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<h2>Conversations and Morning Walks</h2>
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<h3>1969 Conversations and Morning Walks</h3>
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Unfortunately, there are so many interpreters, they interpret the verses in their own way. That is the nonsense of the whole thing. But if Bhagavad-gītā understood as it is, oh, it is a great boon to the human society.
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[[Vanisource:690212 - Interview - Los Angeles|690212 - Interview - Los Angeles]]
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Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all we pray to God to help us in the, our, I mean to say, preaching or chanting process. Then we begin chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, conjointly, congregationally. And it immediately transfers the atmosphere to a spiritual feeling.

And if you sometimes attend our class, you can see practically how the boys and girls, they become ecstatic and chant and dance. So after chanting and dancing for a few minutes, say, fifteen to twenty minutes, then we speak something from Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about theology and philosophy, ethics, morality. Then again we chant and pray to God and then close our class.

Interviewer: Is your philosophy, your approach to consciousness, based on the Gītā?

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. Bhagavad-gītā. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness means practical understanding of Bhagavad-gītā. This is the sum and substance. I thank you for your capturing the idea. Bhagavad-gītā is the sum and substance of the whole Vedic literature, and it is very nicely explained, things as they are.

Unfortunately, there are so many interpreters, they interpret the verses in their own way. That is the nonsense of the whole thing. But if Bhagavad-gītā understood as it is, oh, it is a great boon to the human society.

Interviewer: In what . . . are there fundamental differences between . . . or is it simply a difference in approach between your awareness and interpretations and, for example, those of the people who are involved with Zen? With some of the other Eastern concepts? Would you like to . . .

Prabhupāda: Of course, I do not know what is Zen conception, Eastern conception, but we agree with many of them, just like we agree with the concept of God presented by Bible or Koran. That is recognized. And Bhagavad-gītā is so simple that it does not require any interpretation. When things are understood directly, there is no question of interpretation. When things are not understood, then you can interpret, I can interpret.

So the verses of Bhagavad-gītā are so simple that there is no question of interpretation. Unfortunately, I have seen that in Bhagavad-gītā commented by a great scholar like Dr. Radhakrishnan, the verse is translated very nicely, and that is done by an Englishman, but he interprets in a different way. So when we can understand the thing very nicely, there is no question of interpretation. You see?

Interviewer: Well, would you say that . . . agree with those who say that in the people who have understood, in all the great schools of thought, they have come to approximately, at least, and sometimes almost identical conclusions? The thinking of the great mystics in all religions have been in essential agreement.

Prabhupāda: The thing is that religion is a different thing. Religion is a kind of faith. You may have your faith in a certain type of procedure; I may have a certain type of procedure. That is different thing. Suppose you are now Christian. You may change your faith to Muhammadanism. But you as person, you do not change; your faith may change. Similarly, we are concerned with consciousness.
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