Hear transcendental knowledge only from spiritually self-controlled masters, never from your own imperfect senses.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrī Īśopaniṣad, Mantra 10 — May 15, 1970, Los Angeles 700515IP-LOS ANGELES [23:13 Minutes] Iso-10_700515IP-LOS ANGELES Prabhupāda: oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate [Īśo Invocation] īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam [Īśo mantra 1] kurvann eveha karmāṇi jijīviṣec chataṁ samāḥ evaṁ tvayi nānyatheto 'sti na karma lipyate nare [Īśo mantra 2] asuryā nāma te lokā andhena tamasāvṛtāḥ tāṁs te pretyābhigacchanti ye ke cātma-hano janāḥ [Īśo mantra 3] anejad ekaṁ manaso javīyo nainad devā āpnuvan pūrvam arṣat tad dhāvato 'nyān atyeti tiṣṭhat tasminn apo mātariśvā dadhāti [Īśo mantra 4] tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike tad antar asya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ [Īśo mantra 5] yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtāny ātmany evānupaśyati sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate [Īśo mantra 6] yasmin sarvāṇi bhūtāny ātmaivābhūd vijānataḥ tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka ekatvam anupaśyataḥ [Īśo mantra 7] sa paryagāc chukram akāyam avraṇam asnāviram śuddham apāpa-viddham kavir manīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūr yāthātathyato 'rthān vyadadhāc chāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ [Īśo mantra 8] andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti ye 'vidyām upāsate tato bhūya iva te tamo ya u vidyāyām ratāḥ [Īśo mantra 9] anyad evāhur vidyayānyad āhur avidyayā iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ ye nas tad vicacakṣire [Īśo mantra 10] So this verse is very important. anyad evāhur vidyayā anyad āhur avidyayā iti śuśruma dhīrāṇāṁ ye nas tad vicacakṣire [Īśo mantra 10] [03:53] So here is one word, iti śuśruma. Śuśruma means heard. The word meaning is there. "It is heard." In the Vedic disciplic succession, it is never said, "It is experienced." That is the secret of Vedic understanding. No student will...
Just like in the material world, they are engaged in research work. They are trying to find out what is the Absolute Truth or... Even in this material world, just like people are now engaged in researching what is there in the moon planet. So this is material policy, to try to understand things by his own experience. Pratyakṣa, direct; experimental knowledge.
The Vedic understanding is different. It is śruti. Śruti means to hear from authoritative source. That is real knowledge. Just like I have given many times this example that if you want to know your father by experimental knowledge, is it possible?
Not possible. Then how to know my father? By hearing from the authority, mother. That's all.
Simple thing. Similarly, things which are beyond our experimental knowledge you should not try to understand by your imperfect senses. That is not possible. If you cannot know your material father by experimental knowledge, how you can know the supreme father by experimental knowledge? The original father...
The father of the father, father, father, you go on searching father, and the original father is Kṛṣṇa. So if you cannot understand your material father, the next generation, by experimental knowledge, how you can know God, or Kṛṣṇa, by experimental knowledge? Can you answer this, anyone? So people are searching what is God. And searching, searching, searching, and they fail.
They say, "Oh, there is no God. I am God." Finished. You see? This is not possible.