You will be surprised to know.
In this country, in this culture the holy books, the spiritual texts,
I am not talking of modern books written in English, or Hindi, or translation, explanation.
The classical books which are originally written in Sanskrit,
and just to tell you most of the scriptures are written in Sanskrit language.
Sanskritam.
In English we call Sanskrit but its name is Sanskritam.
In this language they are so many in numbers,
to me one life is not enough just to read once all the books.
Just to read, I am not telling understanding, contemplating, realizing.
I am not talking of that.
Just if you want to read these books once only, one life is not enough.
What to do?
Then I will quote Gurudev’s word, “There is no need to read.”
Gurudev used to quote a verse from the scriptures,
“śāstrāṇi adhītyāpi bhavanti mūrkhāḥ
yastu kriyāvān puruṣaḥ sa vidvān
It is a verse.
“śāstrāṇi adhītyāpi bhavanti mūrkhāḥ
yastu kriyāvān puruṣaḥ sa vidvān
sucintitam ca auṣadham āturāṇā
na nāma-mātreṇa karoti ārogyam”.
The meaning,
“Those who study a lot, they’re are fools”.
Or you become a fool after study lots of scriptures, lots of books.
One who is a Kriyavan,
Kriyavan means a person who is practical, or practising Kriya, in any way you can take it.
One who is a Kriyavan,
Kriyavan means one who is practical not theoretical,
or one who is practising Kriya.
He is the intelligent one.
He is the person of knowledge, or she is the person of knowledge.
Why?
There is one example in this verse.
sucintitaṃ ca auṣadham āturāṇām
Somebody is sick, and he has been given a prescription of some medicine,
and it is given by a good doctor.
sucintitaṃ ca auṣadham āturāṇām,
na nāmamātreṇa karoti ārogyam
If one is just chanting the name,
suppose antibiotic, antibiotic, antibiotic, antibiotic
or the name of antibiotic, for example, it is not going to heal you.
Only by reading the books you are reading the words only.
na nāmamātreṇa karoti ārogyam
If you just read the names, names of the medicine, you are not going to be healed, you have to eat.
So those who are practical or those who practise Kriya they are intelligent.
Lahiri Mahasaya said: pothī merā thūthī in Bengali.
He said, “Scriptures are like the spit from the mouth”.
When we are talking with somebody sometimes a little saliva come out from our mouth,
and we tell sorry if it is falling on somebody.
So we should… and you’ll find there are some people when they speak with their teacher
they don’t talk like this, they keep the hand here and they talk.
Very humble way of talking.
Keeping the hand here they talk.
This thing happened.
And there are the monks in a particular religion in this country, the Jainas in Jainism,
they put a cover on the mouth
and not only they put a cover while speaking they keep a handkerchief in their hand.
So humble.
The Jains.
So Lahiri Mahasaya said: pothī merā thūthī
The scriptures are my spit.
Why?
You study scriptures then what you will do? You will talk, “I read this”.
These are only words, words are like the spit.
Why to speak so much?
cāra veda paḍhe majūra he said.
The four vedas which I told you, who is reading?
All the workers they read, the laborer.
Why?
The worker is coming and working the daily labour, or servants, or any employee.
At the end what does he need?
Why he is working?
majūri- To get some remuneration.
Why these people are studying the scriptures? You just think.
And I am also asking you.
Why you are studying?
Do you want recognition?
Do you want to tell, “Oh, I know this”.
Do you want to have a certificate that “I have finished this”.
Or to tell people, “This is this”.
For what?
If you are studying something, or knowing something just for your name and fame,
just to earn your own bread.
It is just like any worker any labor.
cāra veda paḍhe majūra. kathanī ke loga bahut haiṃ
There are many people talking on the scriptures.
You go to temple, go to church, go to spiritual religious congregations.
Many people are talking from the Bhagavatam, from the Ramayama, from the Bible, from the Gita.
People are talking.
kathanī ke loga bahut haiṃ.
There are many people those who talk.
karanī ke loga dūra
Those who are really practising, they’re few.
Then he said: kriyyar abhyāsa hi vedapāṭha
He said, “Practise of Kriya is study of the Vedas”.
Practise of Kriya is study of the Vedas.
Now you might ask me a counter question.
You will tell, “Swamiji, then why this class?”
Remember we are not just taking the classes, we have practise,
we need some theory, some understanding which brings a foundation also.
Then I want to tell you, Lahiri Mahasaya, every late afternoon, evening,
in his own living room, drawing room, he was sitting with the devotees and disciples
and he was also talking a little from the scriptures.
You will say, “On one hand he said this and the other hand he also did this?”
He spoke on the Gita, he spoke on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,
he spoke on manusmṛti, the law book of Manu.
He spoke on many different scriptures also.
Then, why he was talking then?
He was talking to those who are practising so that they can really understand what is the inner meaning.
Which will be helpful for them for their own practise and it will give a good spiritual foundation.
It is not just for intellectual understanding.
Am I clear?