Jul 14, 2013 — USA (SUN) —
"Factually the path of bhakti-yoga is the path of hearing…" (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.28.65)
"Simply hearing submissively will free one's heart from all the faults of ignorance, and thus one will achieve deep love for Krsna." (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 1.107)
> "My dear Lord, by expanding Your transcendental vibrations, You reveal the actual meaning of everything." (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.24.40)
"Simply by hearing about Him, one develops love for Him. That is the gift of the Lord." (Teachings of Lord Caitanya)
Tac chrnu: "Hear from Me." (Bhagavad-gita 7.1)
The question of whether we require to receive transcendental sound vibration from a physically manifest guru, or if books, tapes or other media are sufficient for us to attain spiritual perfection, is intimately connected with the topic of guru tattva and paramatma tattva. It helps us to understand all these subjects together to get a more complete picture of the subject matter of the transmission of transcendental sound.
One thing on which we should all agree is the obligation for us to accept a bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession as the first step in spiritual life. Srila Prabhupada states:
"When the living entity is lost in the forest of the material world, in the struggle for existence, his first business is to find a bona fide guru who is always engaged at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu." (SB 5.14.1)
"Therefore the process is that if you want to make progress in Krishna consciousness, then you have to find out a guru who is mahatma. Adau gurvasrayam. That is the first business. Adau, in the beginning, gurvasrayam, to take shelter of a bona fide mahatma guru. That is the Vedic instruction. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. "Must," abhigacchet. This verb is used—"must." It is not, "Oh, I can do without guru." No, that is not possible. That is not possible. If you want to understand the transcendental science, spiritual science, you must approach. Gacchet. This, this form of verb used when there is the meaning "must." (Lecture, Vrndavan August 10 1974)
It is also affirmed in various other places in the Vedic scriptures that accepting a bona fide spiritual master is an absolute necessity for the conditioned soul. Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya-lila 22.115 states;
"On the path of regulative devotional service, one must observe the following items: (1) one must accept a bona fide spiritual master. (2) Accept initiation from him. (3) Serve him. (4) Receive instructions from the spiritual master and make inquiries in order to learn devotional service. (5) Follow in the footsteps of the previous acaryas and follow the directions given by the spiritual master."
The Hari-bhakti-vilasa (2.10) quotes:
ato gurum pranamyaivam sarva-svam vinivedya ca grihniyad vaishnavam mantram diksha-purvam vidhanatah
"It is the duty of every human being to surrender to a bona fide spiritual master. Giving him everything - body, mind and intelligence - one must take Vaishnava initiation from him."
Also in Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya-lila 25.122;
sarva-desa-kala-dasaya janera kartavya
guru-pase sei bhakti prashtavya, srotavya
"It is therefore the duty of every man - in every country, in every circumstance and at all times - to accept the bona fide spiritual master, question him about devotional service and listen to him explain the process."
The acceptance of a guru is incontestable. The next question is, 'physically manifest or not?' If we examine the behavior of the original spiritual master, Krsna, we may find a clue. This from Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.21:
"Although formally Srila Narada Rshi is his spiritual master, Srila Vyasadeva is not at all dependent on a spiritual master because in essence he is the spiritual master of everyone else. But because he is doing the work of an acarya, he has taught us by his own conduct that one must have a spiritual master, even though he be God Himself. Lord Sri Krishna, Lord Sri Rama and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all incarnations of Godhead, accepted formal spiritual masters, although by Their transcendental nature They were cognizant of all knowledge."
So, Krsna Himself does not accept an unmanifest guru, nor Lord Rama, nor Lord Caitanya. In fact neither did Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura nor Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, etc. Why should we do something contrary to what they did and what they also instruct us to do throughout their teachings? Where do they say to accept an unmanifest guru? Further, Srila Prabhupada mentions in the Srimad Bhagavatam (3.7.39) that such a process of not accepting a physically manifest guru is not approved at all;
"There are many inexperienced persons who advocate self-realization without the help of a spiritual master. They decry the necessity of the spiritual master and try themselves to take his place by propagating the theory that a spiritual master is not necessary. Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, does not approve this viewpoint. Even the great transcendental scholar Vyasadeva had need of a spiritual master, and under the instruction of his spiritual master, Narada, he prepared this sublime literature, Srimad-Bhagavatam. Even Lord Caitanya, although He is Krishna Himself, accepted a spiritual master; even Lord Krishna accepted a spiritual master, Sandipani Muni, in order to be enlightened; and all the acaryas and saints of the world had spiritual masters. In Bhagavad-gita Arjuna accepted Krishna as his spiritual master, although there was no question about the necessity of accepting a spiritual master. The only stipulation is that the spiritual master should be bona fide; i.e., the spiritual master must be in the proper chain of disciplic succession, called the parampara system."
What to actually do is also confirmed by Srila Prabhupada in the Purport from Bhagavad-gita 4.34:
"The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders. The Bhagavatam (6.3.19) says, dharmam tu sakshad bhagavat-pranitam: the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help lead one to the right path. Nor by independent study of books of knowledge can one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect."
The truth outlined by Srila Prabhupada here is perfect, flawless, direct and unavoidable. There is no need to twist the meaning. It is very clear.
Of course, there may be rare exceptions whereby one is beyond the modes of nature and is a liberated soul already in touch with the previous (unmanifest) acaryas, but is that really our own position? If not, then we cannot also 'jump over' to the previous acaryas. This is always expressly forbidden. Srila Prabhupada states in a Bhagavad-gita lecture in London, August 3 1973:
"We have to receive mercy both from the spiritual master and Krishna. We cannot jump over to Krishna. That is another nonsense. We must approach Krishna through guru. That is parampara system. Krishna is not so cheap thing that you can jump over. Somebody says, "Oh, why shall I accept guru? I can approach Krishna directly." No. Krishna does not accept such... Mad-bhaktah pujabhyadhikah. Krishna says that "First of all you become devotee of My devotee."
Further, Prabhupada states that:
"The best way to establish our relation in transcendental sweetness is to approach [Lord Krishna] through His recognized devotees. One should not try to establish the relation directly; there must be a via medium which is transparent and competent to lead us to the right path." (SB 1.9.22)
So then, once we accept the need to find a pure via medium (finding whom we will address later on in this article), do we really need their personal physical association? According to our acaryas, yes. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura confirms this in his Amrta Vani (Nectar of Instructions for Immortality) :
Question: Is it essential to associate and serve the spiritual master directly?
"We should certainly communicate directly with the spiritual master. Those who do not wish to serve and associate with their spiritual master personally are bound to be cheated. Direct communication with guru is the first step on the path of divine service. "
"It is not enough to serve the spiritual master with awe and reverence only from a distance; we must serve him with strong faith and love. The best example of this is the intimate service Srila Raghunatha dasa rendered to Srila Svarupa Damodara Prabhu. "
Srila Prabhupada states in a morning walk January 8, 1977 Bombay:
Dr. Patel: Sat-sanga is continuously coming in contact with such gurus like you or, I mean, reading that sastras, also is a sat-sanga.
Prabhupada: But reading... By reading, you cannot understand. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. That is also vidhilin: "In order to understand that science, he must go to guru. "
It is never authorized to simply read sastra on your own or to 'make a guru in the air.' Srila Prabhupada says in a lecture in London September 3rd 1971:
"Because when you make a spiritual master you have got personal touch. Not that in air you make a spiritual master. You make a spiritual master concrete."
Whom and what exactly is a bona fide spiritual master and how is that related to the transmission of spiritual sound? Firstly, the bona fide guru is as follows:
"My dear King, a disciple has to accept the spiritual master not only as spiritual master, but also as the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the Supersoul. In other words, the disciple should accept the spiritual master as God because he is the external manifestation of Krishna. " (Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto Eleven)
"Krishna is situated in everyone's heart as caitya-guru, the spiritual master within. When He is kind to some fortunate conditioned soul, He personally gives one lessons to progress in devotional service, instructing the person as the Supersoul within and the spiritual master without." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Madhya-lila 22.47)
"Every living entity is essentially a servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the spiritual master is also His servant. Still, the spiritual master is a direct manifestation of the Lord. With this conviction, a disciple can advance in Krishna consciousness. The spiritual master is nondifferent from Krishna because he is a manifestation of Krishna. " (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Adi-lila 1.44)
"Krishna appears in two ways. He appears as antaryami, the Supersoul within himself, within oneself, and He appears as the spiritual master, externally. Caitya-guru and diksha-guru. Caitya-guru... As caitya-guru, as the supreme spiritual master, He is in everyone's heart. And His representative... In order to help externally the sincere person, He sends the spiritual master. Therefore the spiritual master from outside and the caitya-guru from inside, they are helping. The Supreme Personality is helping a devotee, a real, serious devotee two ways: from within, from without. The Caitanya-caritamrita therefore says that krishnera prakasa, manifestation of Krishna, a spiritual master." (Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture Gorakhpur February 10 1971)
"Since one cannot visually experience the presence of the Supersoul, He appears before us as a liberated devotee. Such a spiritual master is none other than Krsna Himself." (CC Adi 1.58 Translation)
When Krsna assumes a body and appears before us, that is guru. Only such a spiritual master can generate transcendental sound that can liberate us:
"One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source, accept it as a reality and prosecute the direction without hesitation. The secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master. Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from the bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed. " (SB 2.9.8)
Additionally, unless we are on the liberated platform, how can we hear transcendental sound vibration from an unmanifest acarya? Surely they need to be physically manifest. This makes practical sense. Krsna knows we are conditioned and therefore mercifully appears before us as guru.
With this understanding, how does one go about finding such a guru who can generate this transcendental sound vibration that will liberate us? Srila Prabhupada explains that it is when one is serious and sincere, Krsna will send such a guru:
Mr. O'Grady: The problem is to find this spiritual master.
Srila Prabhupada: That is not the problem. The problem is whether you are sincere. You have problems, but God is within your heart. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam [Bg. 18.61]. God is not far away. If you are sincere, God sends you a spiritual master. Therefore God is also called caitya-guru, the spiritual master within the heart. God helps from within and from without. Everything is thus described in the Bhagavad-gita. This material body is like a machine, but within the heart is the soul, and with the soul is the Supersoul, Krishna, who gives directions. The Lord says, "You wanted to do this; now here is the chance. Go and do it." If you are sincere, you say, "Now, God, I want You." Then He will give you directions. "Yes, now you come and get Me like this." This is His kindness. However, if we want something else, that is all right. We can have it. God is very kind. When I want something, He is in my heart directing me and telling me how to have it. So why should He not give directions on how to have a spiritual master? First of all we must again be eager to revive our God consciousness. Then God will give us a spiritual master." (Science of Self Realisation)
"So, finding a bona fide guru requires intelligence and sincerity. If you are serious about understanding the goal of life, spiritual knowledge, then Krishna will help you. He is situated in everyone's heart, and he understands when you are sincerely seeking the Absolute Truth. Then He gives direction: "Go to this person." (The Quest for Enlightenment)
"If one is actually serious about understanding the goal of life, spiritual knowledge, then Krishna is situated in everyone's heart. He understands how this person is sincerely seeking. Then He'll give direction that 'You do this.' He is giving direction in every respect. We want to do so many things. So Krishna is giving us facility. But when one becomes actually very much eager to understand Krishna, God, He is very glad to give instruction, that 'You go to such and such person and you submissively inquire. By the mercy of guru, by the mercy of Krishna, one can make advancement in spiritual understanding. So one must be sincere. Then every direction is there." (Lecture July 7 1976)
"The Personality of Godhead may not be present before one's eyes, but if one is sincere in wanting such guidance the Lord will send a bona fide person who can guide one properly back home, back to Godhead.... The bona fide representative of God is as good as God Himself. Or, in other words, the loving representative of the Lord is more kind and more easy to approach. A sinful soul cannot approach the Lord directly, but such a sinful man can very easily approach a pure devotee of the Lord. And if one agrees to put himself under the guidance of such a devotee of the Lord, he can also understand the science of God and can also become like the transcendental pure devotee of the Lord and thus get his liberation back to Godhead, back home for eternal happiness." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.7.46)
"... Where, then, is the difficulty in finding a guru? If one is sincere he can find the guru and learn everything. One should take lessons from the guru and find out the goal of life." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.24.53)
Thus, if Krsna is convinced of our seriousness and sincerity, He will make the suitable arrangement. It is a completely spiritual arrangement. It is not that we can see a bona fide guru with our material senses or pick and choose based on our mind and intelligence. We must surrender to Krsna and ask Him, "Who is your man? I cannot see him. Please help." When Krsna sends such a bona fide spiritual master, what should one then do? We should hear from him the transcendental sound vibration from the bona fide spiritual master, as it means hearing Krsna directly:
"You are correct when you say that when the Spiritual Master speaks it should be taken that Krishna is speaking. That is a fact. "(Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 10th, 1969)
"The first thing is sravana. Sravana means hearing. One has to hear from authorities. That is the beginning of spiritual life or Krsna consciousness. Just like Arjuna. He achieved his spiritual consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, by hearing from Krsna. Similarly, one has to hear from Krsna or from the representative of Krsna. One who presents Krsna's words as it is -- from him one has to hear because at the present moment we have no opportunity to hear directly. TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM KRSNA IS THERE. THE ARRANGEMENT IS THERE. Krsna is situated in everyone's heart, and one can hear from Him very easily, anywhere and everywhere, but he must have the training how to hear. For that purpose one requires the help of the representative of Krsna. …So in the Caitanya-caritamrta it is also said that spiritual master is the direct manifestation of Krsna. Krsna comes before the devotee as spiritual master just like sun enters your room by the sunshine. Although the sun does not enter your room or your city or your country -- he is so many millions and millions of miles away -- still, he can enter everywhere by his potency, the sunshine. Similarly, Krsna enters everywhere by His different potencies. And to receive this light from Krsna, one has to hear. Hearing is so important. (CDV 12-4 (18:45 Min.) Purport on Bhajahu Re Mana)
Krsna always makes this arrangement. We can actually still hear Him today if we have 'divine ears.' Why wouldn't He make this arrangement for us to hear Him right now, today, via His pure via medium? Isn't He our best friend? Why would He 'stop' this arrangement, ever? It doesn't make sense. It is only by hearing this sound, from the physical lips and mouth of a self-realized soul that we can hear Him, become purified from material contamination and come to love Him. Hearing from the self-realized souls is the secret of success. The pure devotees have the key:
"A pure living entity, being always subservient to the Almighty Godhead Sri Krsna, should reverentially give an aural reception to the transcendental sound emanating from the mouth of a self-realized soul describing the glories of the Personality of Godhead. Only a self-realized soul can produce the powerful effect of transcendental sound. Devotees must live thoroughly honest lives in all respects by their body, mind, and words. These are the simple methods of culturing spiritual realization to its zenith." (SP: Hear from Realized Souls pre 1967 Article)
"One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source, accept it as a reality and prosecute the direction without hesitation. The secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master. Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from the bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.9.8)
"The transcendental form of eternal bliss and knowledge can be experienced by our original spiritual senses, which can be revived by chanting of the holy mantras, or transcendental sound representations. Such sound should be received from the transparent agency of the bona fide spiritual master, and the chanting may be practiced by the direction of the spiritual master. That will gradually lead us nearer to the Lord." (SB 1.5.38)
"One should be intelligent enough to understand or to hear katha of Krishna. Simply you have to do this. Just like you are all sitting here. It doesn't require that you have to pass M.A. examination, Ph.D. examination. God has given you the ear. Simply you sit down and hear from a realized person. The words are there, the message are there. Just like Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, especially. Everything is there to understand about God. Simply you have to increase your attachment for hearing. That is, that qualification required. Not that first of all you pass M.A. examination, then you come here and you can understand. No. Simply by hearing, hearing, hearing, you will become expert." (SB Lecture LA Aug 18 1972)
"King Prthu to the Lord, "My dear Lord, I therefore do not wish to have the benediction of merging into Your existence, a benediction in which there is no existence of the nectarean beverage of Your lotus feet. I want the benediction of at least one million ears, for thus I may be able to hear about the glories of Your lotus feet from the mouths of Your pure devotees."
Purport: … Maharaja Prithu wanted to have a million ears to hear the glories of the lotus feet of the Lord. He specifically mentioned that the glories of the Lord should emanate from the mouths of pure devotees, who speak from the cores of their hearts. … Srimad-Bhagavatam became more relishable because it emanated from the mouth of Srila Sukadeva Gosvami. One might think that these glories of the Lord can be heard from anywhere, from the mouths of either devotees or nondevotees, but here it is specifically mentioned that the glories of the Lord must emanate from the mouths of pure devotees. Sri Sanatana Gosvami has strictly prohibited hearing from the mouth of a nondevotee. There are many professional reciters of Srimad-Bhagavatam who speak the narrations very ornamentally, but a pure devotee does not like to hear from them because such glorification of the Lord is simply a vibration of material sound. But when heard from the mouth of a pure devotee, glorification of the Lord is immediately effective ….The words satam prasangan mama virya-samvidah (Bhag. 3.25.25) mean that glorification of the Lord is potent when uttered from the mouth of a pure devotee ."
SB 4.20.25 Translation:
"…My dear Lord, I therefore do not need any other benediction but the opportunity to hear from the mouth of Your pure devotee. "
Purport: It is explained in the previous verse that one has to hear glorification of the Lord from the mouth of a pure devotee. This is further explained here. The transcendental vibration from the mouth of a pure devotee is so powerful that it can revive the living entity's memory of his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. …This awakening voice comes through the mouth of a pure devotee …For a conditioned soul, therefore, it is very important to hear from the mouth of a pure devotee, who is fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord without any material desire, speculative knowledge or contamination of the modes of material nature….Therefore, this process of hearing from the mouth of a pure devotee is very important for making progress in the line of spiritual understanding."
Again, one must hear this transcendental sound vibration from a physically manifest self-realized soul. In fact, Srila Prabhupada states that we should hear, "exactly like Arjuna heard from Krsna." Arjuna was there, and Krsna was there. Neither of them were 'unmanifest'. Srila Prabhupada stresses that we have to hear 'just like' Arjuna heard, exactly as Maharaja Pariksit heard:
"Concerning your questions: Yes, it will help to read Bhagavad-gita but you have to hear from the realized person. Without the help of guru, if you read independently, you may be misguided. … Our system, the Vedic system, is to approach the right person and hear from him exactly as Arjuna listened from Krishna. Mental speculation will not help. Hearing is the main point. …That is the difference, hearing from devotees, the sound vibration coming from the realized person. tattva-darsana--hearing from one who has seen the truth. Reading or hearing from the realized person there is no difference, but hearing the sound vibration from the realized soul is still more effective, better." (Letter to: Punjabi Premanand -- Bombay 16 April, 1976)
"So hearing is very important. Hearing. Just like Arjuna heard from Krsna." (Room Conversation -- May 10, 1969, Columbus, Ohio)
"That is the process. This is called sravanam. In this way, if one lives with and hears, san-mukharitam, from the realized soul... Just like Arjuna is hearing from Krishna, from the perfect person, san-mukharitam."
""You hear from the realized soul. God has given you ear you can hear. It doesn't require education. Formerly everyone was taking education simply by hearing. There was no book. Formerly everyone was taking education simply by hearing. There was no book. Therefore all the Vedic knowledge is called sruti. So this Krsna consciousness movement is opening centers just to give you chance to hear about Krsna, only hearing. Simply by hearing, you become perfect. Just like Pariksit Maharaja. At the time of point of his death, he had no time to perform any yajna or any big, big thing. He simply heard Srimad-Bhagavatam carefully and he became perfect simply by hearing." (Bhagavad-gita 4.14 Lecture Bombay, April 3, 1974)
This hearing must be 'from the lips and mouth' of the pure devotee:
"….Krishna says that, "Anyone who understands Me in truth ..." So how you will understand? Simply if you hear about Him, then you will understand. Then you will understand. So hearing is not very difficult job. But you must hear from the realized soul. … Hearing must be from sadhu, from devotee, from the lips of the devotee. Just like Sukadeva Gosvami was speaking to Maharaja Parikshit. (SP SB Lecture June 12, 1972)
"What is the process? San-mukharitam bhavadiya-vartam: "You just try to understand the Supreme from the reliable source." San-mukharitam. Sat-mukharitam. Mukharita means from the lips, from the lips of realized souls. Just like Arjuna is understanding about God from direct Krishna, from the lips of Krishna. Svayam padmanabha-mukham, mukha-nihsritah. So this is the process. So similarly, if we understand about God through the lips of Arjuna or his bona fide representative, that is the process." (BG 8.14-15 NY Nov 16 66)
We should also understand that we cannot comprehend Srimad Bhagavatam independently of surrendering at the lotus feet of the self-realized soul:
"Srimad-Bhagavatam, or, for that matter, any other scientific literature, cannot be studied at home by one's own intellectual capacity. Medical books of anatomy or physiology are available in the market, but no one can become a qualified medical practitioner simply by reading such books at home. One has to be admitted to the medical college and study the books under the guidance of learned professors. Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the postgraduate study of the science of Godhead, can only be learned by studying it AT THE FEET of a realized soul like Srila Vyasadeva. Although Sukadeva Gosvami was a liberated soul from the very day of his birth, he still had to take lessons of Srimad-Bhagavatam from his great father, Vyasadeva, who compiled the Srimad-Bhagavatam under the instruction of another great soul, Sri Narada Muni. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed a learned brahmana to study Srimad-Bhagavatam from a personal bhagavata." (SB 2.1.8 Purport:
"Our real point is that Sukadeva Gosvami was not a grammarian, but he learned everything from his father by hearing. Therefore it is called sruyamanayam. If you hear from the right person, properly, then you become perfect. There is no need of literary education. Therefore Vedas are called sruti. Sruti means... Formerly the students, they were learning everything. Their memory was so nice and sharp that simply by hearing from guru's mouth they would learn…If you want to learn Srimad-Bhagavatam, you go to a person whose life is Bhagavatam. Grantha bhagavata and person bhagavata—both of them bhagavatas. So bhagavat para giya bhagavat sthane. One whose life is Bhagavatam and nothing else, you should learn Bhagavatam from him, not from the professional person who are earning livelihood by reading or reciting Srimad-Bhagavatam. That will not be effective. You have to find out like Sukadeva Gosvami. Then this study of Srimad-Bhagavatam will be effective." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.8--Vrindavana, September 7, 1976)
Additionally, Srila Prabhupada says that it is 'not through the eyes' that one can be enlightened:
"Sruta. The specific meaning of sruta means this knowledge has to be received through the ear, through the tongue. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau [Brs. 1.2.234]. Sruta-grhitaya. It is never explained in the Vedic literature that the science of God can be understood by the eyes. No. It has been mentioned, the tongue and the ear. These are the sources. Sruta-grhitaya. One must hear the Vedic literature. The Vedic literature is called, therefore, sruti. Srotriyam brahma-nistham [MU 1.2.12]. Srotriyam. Formerly there was no book. The students used to hear from the spiritual master. Sruta, srotriyam. That was perfect. There was no need of literacy. That ear is sufficient. Sruta-grhitaya. Tac chraddadhana munayo jnana-vairagya...[SB 1.2.12]. And hearing, hearing, hearing, one becomes enlightened with knowledge, and the effect of knowledge is vairagya." (Lecture Bhagavad-gita 13.18 -- Bombay, October 12, 1973)
Hearing from a physically manifest, self-realized soul is the actual Vedic process how we may become enlightened. This is evidenced by the practice of Krsna and the previous acaryas, as well as sastra. Guru, sadhu and sastra all clearly line up on this point. The required ingredients are submission, service and inquiry to a manifest person. The spiritual reality is a matter of revelation from above and our success is in fact utterly dependent upon this process of surrender to aphysically manifest guru. Can anyone honestly say they have wholeheartedly 'surrendered' to an unmanifest acarya or a book? Anyone can say that they have 'surrendered' to Srila Prabhupada. It has no meaning. If one was really surrendered to him, they would heed his instructions to surrender to a self-realized soul. If one is liberated already, that is another story. It is this manifest guru who can generate this transcendental sound vibration. This spiritual sound vibration will definitely take us back home, back to Godhead:
"By vibrating this transcendental sound, the meaning of everything, both material and spiritual, is revealed." (SB 4.24.40)
More nectar from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (Amrta Vani):
"Whatever devotees speak, however, is above mundane sound vibration. Such sounds are invested with extraordinary power. As soon as they enter human ears, they awaken people's spiritual consciousness. These sound vibrations can penetrate Brahmaloka, pass over the Viraj River, and enter Vaikuntha. The same sound that appears in this world from Vaikuntha takes us back to Vaikuntha."
"There is no way to connect ourselves with the transcendental object except by aural reception"
"I am in favor of transcendental sound. If you walk with the heavy burden of the rubbish you have accumulated balanced on your head, you will not be able to move an inch toward Vraja or the Lord. Those who are established as intellectual giants should suspend their philosophy for some time and hear transcendental sound."
And again, finally,
Your servant,
Vraja Vilasa dasa
