44 Raja-vidya: The King of Knowledge

In Bhagavad-gita, for example, we see that Arjuna is
listening to Krsna on the battlefield. He is not
engaged in the study of Vedanta philosophy. We can
hear from the Supreme Authority in any place,
even in the battlefield. The knowledge is received,
not manufactured. Some people think, “Why should
I listen to Him? I can think for myself. I can manu-
facture something new.” This is not the Vedic
process of descending knowledge. By ascending
knowledge, one tries to elevate himself by his own
effort, but by descending knowledge one receives
the knowledge from a superior source. In the Vedic
tradition, knowledge is imparted to the student from
the spiritual master, as in Bhagavad-gita (evam
parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh). Submis-
sive hearing is so powerful that simply by hearing
from authoritative sources we can become completely
perfect. In becoming submissive, we become aware
of our own imperfections. As long as we are condi-
tioned, we are subject to four kinds of imperfections:
we are sure to commit mistakes, to become illusioned,
to have imperfect senses and to cheat. Therefore our
attempt to understand the Absolute Truth by our
faulty senses and experience is futile. We must hear
from a representative of Krsna who is a devotee of
Krsna’s. Krsna made Arjuna His representative be-
cause Arjuna was His devotee: bhakto ’si me sakha
ceti. (Bg. 4.3)

No one can become a representative of God with-
out being a devotee of God’s. One who thinks, “I am
God,” cannot be a representative. Because we are
part and parcel of God, our qualities are the same as
