Introduction
7
Originally there was only one  Veda , and there was no necessity of reading it. People were so intelligent and had such sharp memories that by once hearing from the lips of the spiritual master they would understand. They would immediately grasp the whole purport. But 5,000 years ago Vyāsadeva put the  Vedas  in writing for the people in this age,  Kali-yuga . He knew that eventually the people would be short-lived, their memories would be very poor and their intelligence would not be very sharp. “Therefore, let me teach this Vedic knowledge in writing.” He divided the  Vedas  into four:  Rk ,  Sāma ,  Atharva , and  Yajus . Then he gave the charge of these  Vedas  to his different disciples. He then thought of the less intelligent class of men,  strī ,  śūdra  and  dvija-bandhu . He considered the woman class and  śūdra  class (worker class) and  dvija-bandhu .  Dvija-bandhu  refers to those who are born in a high family but who are not properly qualified. A man born in the family of a  brāhmaṇa , who is not qualified as a  brāhmaṇa , is called  dvija-bandhu . For these persons, he compiled  Mahābhārata , called the history of India, and the eighteen  Purāṇas . These are all Vedic literatures: the  Purāṇas , the  Mahābhārata , the four  Vedas , and the  Upaniṣads . The  Upaniṣads  are part of the  Vedas . Then Vyāsadeva summarized all Vedic knowledge for scholars and philosophers in what is called the  Vedānta-sūtra . This is the last word of the  Vedas . Vyāsadeva personally wrote  Vedānta-sūtra  under the instructions of Nārada, his  Guru Mahārāj , spiritual master, but still he was not satisfied. That is a long story, described in the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . Vedavyāsa was not very satisfied even after compiling many  Purāṇas ,  Upaniṣads , and even after  Vedānta-sūtra . Then his spiritual master, Nārada, instructed him, “You explain  Vedānta .”  Vedānta  means Ultimate Knowledge, and the Ultimate Knowledge is  Kṛṣṇa .  Kṛṣṇa  says that throughout all the  Vedas  one has to understand  Kṛṣṇa .  Vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham .  Kṛṣṇa  says, “I am the Compiler of  Vedānta , and I am the Knower of the  Vedas .” Therefore the Ultimate Objective is  Kṛṣṇa . That is explained in all the  Vaiṣṇava  commentaries on  Vedānta  philosophy. We Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas