Why Study the Vedantra Sutra? 215
for nobody can be equal in intelligence to God. Another Name of God is there-
fore Asmaurdha. Nobody is equal to or greater than Him. Everybody has his
equal or superior in intelligence, and nobody can claim that he has neither.
This fact is corroborated in the Sruti Mantras, where it is said that before the
Creation of the material Universe, there was the Lord, Who is the Master of
everyone. The Lord instructed Brahma in the Vedic knowledge. That Per-
sonality of Godhead has to be obeyed in all respects. Anybody who wants to
become free of the material entanglement must, therefore, surrender unto
Him. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita also.

Unless one surrenders unto the Lotus Feet of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead it is sure and certain that one must be bewildered, even if he
happens to be a great mind. When the great minds surrender unto the Lotus
Feet of Vasudeva and know fully that Lord Vasudeva is the Cause of all causes,
as is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita, then only can such great minds become
Mahatmas or the truly broad-minded. But such a broad-minded Mahatma is
rarely seen. Only the Mahatmas, however, can understand the Supreme Lord,
Who is the Absolute Personality of Godhead, the Primeval Cause of all crea-
tions. He is Parama, or Ultimate Truth, because all other truths are relatively
dependent on Him. And because He is the Source of everyone’s knowledge
He is omniscient, and for Him there is no illusion as there is for the relative
knower.

Some scholars of the Mayavadi school argue that Srimad Bhagwatam was
not compiled by Sri Vyasadeva, and some of them suggest that this book is
a creation in the modern age of somebody by the name of Bopedeva. Srila
Sridhar Swami, in order to refute this meaningless argument, says that there
is reference to the Bhagwatam in many other of the oldest Puranas. The first
Sloka, or verse, of the Srimad Bhagwatam is begun with the Gayatri Mantra,
and there is reference to this as the Matsya Puranam (the oldest Puranam).
In that Puranam it is said, with reference to the context of Gayatri Mantra in
the Bhagwatam, that there are many narrations of spiritual instructions, begin-
ning with the Gayatri Mantra, and also the history of Vitrasura is in Gayatri
Mantra. Anyone who makes a gift of this great work on the full moon day,
attains to the highest perfection of life by going back to Godhead. Similarly,
there is a reference to this Bhagwatam in other Puranas where it is said that the
work consists of twelve cantos and 18,000 Slokas. In the Padma Puranam also
there is reference to the Bhagwatam, during the conversation of Goutam and
Maharaj Amburish. The king was advised therein to read regularly Srimad
Bhagwatam if he at all desired liberation from the material bondage. Under
