Choosing Human and Animal Lives
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which are conditioned in so many ways. If we are to have knowledge, it must come from a superior source which is not conditioned by these four imperfections. That source is Kṛṣṇa. He is the supreme authority of  Bhagavad-gītā , and He is accepted as the perfect authority by so many saints and sages.
Those who are serious students of Vedic literature accept authority.  Bhagavad-gītā , for example, is not a scholarly presentation which arose out of so much research work. It is perfect knowledge that was taught by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, and we receive information from it that in previous ages Śrī Kṛṣṇa also taught it to the sun-god Vivasvān, and it was handed down from time immemorial from Vivasvān by disciplic succession.
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam vivasvān manave prāha manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt
“The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of  yoga  to the sun-god Vivasvān, and Vivasvān instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikṣvāku.” (Bg. 4.1)
If we study  Bhagavad-gītā  according to academic knowledge or according to our own mental speculation, we are certain to commit mistakes. It is not possible to understand  Bhagavad-gītā  in this way. It is necessary to follow carefully in the footsteps of Arjuna. In previous ages, due to interpretation and mental speculation, the real purport of  Bhagavad-gītā