The Vedas are telling us, you cannot know him. Why can we not know him? Let's find
out. What is the problem with him? The problem is not with him. The problem is
with us, the knower. What is the problem with us? Our instruments of knowledge are
defective
How do we know anything? Supposing I lift this up and say what is this ? You will
immediately say, "Swamiji, it's a wristwatch." But how did you come to know?
that it's a wristwatch. "I saw with my eyes." Did the eyes come to know? Eyes
cannot know. The eyes only gather the light and pass it to the mind. The mind
reads, this is the shape, this is the color, this is the texture, this is the
size. The mind also doesn't make a decision. It passes that data to the
intellect and the intellect compares oh it's a similar thing that is on my wrist.
I've seen it thousands of times. it's a wristwatch, tell him. The intellect
instructs the mind, the mind instructs the mouth, and you speak up, "Swamiji, it's
a wristwatch". So how did you get knowledge of this? With the senses, the
mind and the intellect. These three are the instruments of knowledge. Any
knowledge you want will be through the senses, mind and intellect. An ant will
gather knowledge like that and saraswathi, Brihaspati will gather
knowledge like that. So if you want knowledge of God, you will have to use
your senses, mind and intellect. Now, the problem is our senses mind and intellect
are material. They are made out of the material energy Maya, and God is not
material, He is divine. He is beyond Maya (Ramayan verse)
So that divine God, our senses mind and intellect cannot reach.
Let me give you an example. You know, I completed my schooling, my last few years,
I was studying in Delhi. So in those days, there was a tradition
that before the first beginning of the school all
the children would gather in the assembly yard. and then the principal
would address them. So, occasionally he would get some VIP to inspire every
month. Now I was studying in grade five at that time .You know India was still
developing, so the education level was less and many of the ministers were
quite less educated. On this day, the principal got some Mantriji (Minister) to the school.
So the mantri (minister) came and he asked us the question,
the price of potatoes is ten rupees a kilo,
tell me what is my age? We were all confused, the price of potatoes is ten
rupees a kilo and what is the age of the minister? There was no formula that we
had taught, we try to remember what did we learn physics, chemistry, mathematics.
Now no answer was coming, the minister got annoyed. He looked at the principal,
"what have you taught them?" So again he asked in a louder voice,
"the price of potatoes is ten rupees a kilo, what is my age?" Now the principal was
getting worried. If this Minister gets annoyed, he will block the government
funds. He was praying and praying and praying. One boy lifted his hand. He said
Mantriji your age is 50 years. The Minister was so happy, "well done, very good. you have
found it out. wonderful." He wrote a good report and went off.
Later on the principal called that boy to his office. He said, "my child you saved
the life of all of us today. You have done well for our school. But tell me how
did you come to know that if the price of potatoes is 10 rupees a kilo then the
age of this Minister is 50 years? The boy said, "sir,
I applied a simple computational formula. There is one man who lives in my
neighborhood. He is 25 years, he is half mad. This Minister is full mad, so he must
be fifty years". All right ?This it is not a subject of the intellect what will the intellect
figure out? Similarly, the scriptures say that God is not a subject of your
intellect. (Sanskrit verse)
God is beyond the realm of maya. With these eyes, you cannot see him. With
these ears, you cannot hear him. With this mind, you cannot truly meditate on
Him. (Sanskrit verse)
(from Mandukyaponishad) He is beyond the purview
of your senses, mind and intellect. See even material things, our intellect is
unable to comprehend. If one of these children were put in UT Dallas, in the
physics class there (pure physics), and they were asked at the end, "my child, what
is the professor teaching." They would say, I don't know. It's all going over my head.
Right? Possibly, what Swamiji is saying, is also going over the head. Once I asked
one little child, "what did you understand in today's lecture?" The child said,
"Swamiji, I was counting today you said three times Rasagolla (Indian sweet)."
So, the child has got the little intellect. Now, God is infinite. He is
divine. How will we grasp Him with our little intellect? There was one sage
called Maharshi (Great Sage) Panini. He has written the Sanskrit grammar. It is such a perfect
grammar that it has not changed since 5000 years.
Once somebody showed me a paper written by a NASA scientist in 1974. That NASA
scientist had written in his paper, which was published, that we were thinking of
developing a computer compatible spoken language. However, after studying Sanskrit,
I feel there is no need for such a language. Sanskrit is such a perfect
computer compatible language. So that Maharshi (Great Sage) Panini who wrote the grammar
of Sanskrit, when he wished to learn for himself first, he thought may as well
learn from Lord Shiv. So, he went to Mansarovar (in Himalaya), and he was trudging his
way up Kailash (in Himalaya). Lord Shiv, sitting on Kailash, saw the Maharishi coming and he
thought, he understood, why he is coming.He wants to get knowledge. Lord Shiv
thought that why should he labor all the way to climb up. Let me teach him
from far. This was the first instance of distant learning. Nowadays it has become
common. Maharshi was climbing up, Lord Shiv took his damru (hand percussion)
in his hand and he made twelve sounds on it (Sanskrit)
See the Sanskrit scholars know. Maharshi Panini heard, he understood. The light went on.
He went back and wrote the Sanskrit grammar. If you wish to study, it the
complete course was for 12 years. imagine the genius that he had. Now if
Lord Shiv did this to us, we would not become Shastri (degree awarded after years of higher education in Sanskrit language). You will say, I don't have the
intellect. So the Vedas say, "look, you don't have the intellect to understand
God." if you say I can understand Him, then your intellect must be divine. That is
why you can understand the divine God. "No Swamiji, my intellect is material." Then
God must also be material. That is why your material intellect can understand
Him. "No no God is divine my intellect is material." Then this material intellect
can never comprehend the supreme almighty. That is why the Vedas are
saying, with these eyes you cannot see Him; with these years you cannot hear Him.