View source for Some of his friends were criticizing him: "Hello, brahmin. How you are reading Bhagavad-gita?" He knew that, "They are criticizing," so he remained silent. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw that he was reading Bhagavad-gita with transcendental ecstasy

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{{terms|"some of his friends were criticizing him: "Hello, brāhmiṇ. How you are reading Bhagavad-gītā?" He knew that, "They are criticizing," so he remained silent"|"But Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw that he was reading Bhagavad-gītā with transcendental ecstasy"}}
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[[Category:Some Of]]
[[Category:Friend]]
[[Category:Criticism]]
[[Category:Intellectual Class - Brahmana]]
[[Category:Reading the Bhagavad-gita]]
[[Category:Know That]]
[[Category:Remain]]
[[Category:Silent]]
[[Category:Caitanya's Seeing]]
[[Category:Transcendental Ecstasy]]
[[Category:Pages Needing Audio - SOHAM]]
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<h2>Lectures</h2>
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<h3>General Lectures</h3>
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Even a very layman, illiterate man, without any understanding of the Vedas, if he is a devotee, he can understand Bhagavad-gītā, whereas a person, very erudite scholar, with reputation, he cannot understand Bhagavad-gītā. I shall cite one example when Lord Caitanya was traveling in the South India. When He was in the Raṅganātha temple of South India, one brāhmiṇ was reading Bhagavad-gītā, and his friends and neighbors knew that the brāhmiṇ was illiterate. He could not know even what is written there, but still he was trying to read Bhagavad-gītā. So some of his friends were criticizing him: "Hello, brāhmiṇ. How you are reading Bhagavad-gītā?" He knew that, "They are criticizing," so he remained silent. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw that he was reading Bhagavad-gītā with transcendental ecstasy.
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[[Vanisource:710331 - Lecture Pandal - Bombay|710331 - Lecture Pandal - Bombay]]
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Unfortunately, we do not understand or do not try to understand or do not like to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is. If we try to understand Bhagavad-gītā as it is, then we have to accept a certain prescribed process. Not that because one is very erudite scholar academically, because one has got some degrees of the university he will be able to understand Bhagavad-gītā. It is not like that. Even a very layman, illiterate man, without any understanding of the Vedas, if he is a devotee, he can understand Bhagavad-gītā, whereas a person, very erudite scholar, with reputation, he cannot understand Bhagavad-gītā.

I shall cite one example when Lord Caitanya was traveling in the South India. When He was in the Raṅganātha temple of South India, one brāhmiṇ was reading Bhagavad-gītā, and his friends and neighbors knew that the brāhmiṇ was illiterate. He could not know even what is written there, but still he was trying to read Bhagavad-gītā. So some of his friends were criticizing him: "Hello, brāhmiṇ. How you are reading Bhagavad-gītā?" He knew that, "They are criticizing," so he remained silent.

But Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw that he was reading Bhagavad-gītā with transcendental ecstasy. He therefore approached him, "My dear brāhmiṇ, what you are reading?" The brāhmiṇ could understand that this gentleman, or this sannyāsī—Caitanya Mahāprabhu at that time was a sannyāsī—He was not joking; he was serious. So he informed Him, "My dear Sir, I am reading Bhagavad-gītā, but I am illiterate. My Guru Mahārāja asked me to Bhagavad-gītā . . . to read Bhagavad-gītā a few chapters daily, although he knew that I am illiterate. So I am trying to read Bhagavad-gītā, but I cannot actually read it."
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