19901102 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.13.63

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on November 2nd, 1990 in New Tālavana. The Class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10th Canto, Chapter 13, Verse 63.

utthāyotthāya kṛṣṇasya cirasya pādayoḥ patan āste
mahitvaṁ prāg-dṛṣṭaṁ smṛtvā smṛtvā punaḥ punaḥ

Translation: Rising and falling again and again at the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa for a long time, Lord Brahmā remembered over and over the Lord’s greatness he had just seen.

*Translation with repetition*

Purport: As stated in one prayer,

śrutim apare smṛtim itare
bhāratam anye bhajantu bhava-bhītāḥ
aham iha nandaṁ vande
yasyālinde paraṁ Brahmā

“Let others study the Vedas, smṛti and Mahābhārata, fearing material existence, but I shall worship Nanda Mahārāja, in whose courtyard is crawling the Supreme Brahmān. Nanda Mahārāja is so great that the Parabrahmān is crawling in his yard, and therefore I shall worship him.” (Padyāvalī 126)

Brahmā was falling down in ecstasy. Because of the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who exactly resembled a human child, Brahmā was naturally astonished. Therefore, with a faltering voice he offered prayers, understanding that, here was the Supreme Person.

So, and this is what Brahmā did not know who Kṛṣṇa was. He was not sure that Kṛṣṇa was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He took the cows and the calves, all those pastimes occurred for one year. He came back, Kṛṣṇa revealed His glory… transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

So many Viṣṇu forms came out. So many Lakṣmīs, so many Brahmās were worshiping Him. All kinds of spiritual opulences were revealed. Brahmadeva could see everything in relationship to Kṛṣṇa for a moment. He had this amazing realization that vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti - Kṛṣṇa was the sum total, He is everything yet He is independent of everything. He is the Supreme controller, He, at the same time He is aloof and having His own pastimes, realizing so many transcendental glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa, realizing that Kṛṣṇa Himself was present, realizing that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Absolute truth, the ultimate reality of everything was present before him, realizing the greatness of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

All these things are overwhelming Brahmā and he is just exploding in ecstasy, jumping up to once to offer prayers to the Lord but then being overwhelmed with tears and ecstasy, he can’t, fall down again at the Lord and offered obeisances. And again he wants to get up and offer pray. he gets up, he tries to offer pray. he gets overwhelmed again and again he falls down on the ground ecstasy. And again, he wants get up and offer prayers and again he gets up and again he is overwhelmed, tears fall from his eyes. And again he falls down so like this, again and again and again he is just overwhelmed with the transcendental ecstasy of realizing the Lord’s unlimited spiritual glories and feeling so much affection and devotion and love for the Lord.

How can you offer prayers when you are lying down on the ground, paying obeisances? you have to get up and when getting up and then again, he is overwhelmed, again he falls down and offers obeisance’s again and finally in the next verse it mentions,

śanair athotthāya vimṛjya locane
mukundam udvīkṣya vinamra-kandharaḥ
kṛtāñjaliḥ praśrayavān samāhitaḥ
sa-vepathur gadgadayailatelayā

Translation: Then, rising very gradually and wiping his two eyes, Lord Brahmā looked up at Mukunda. Lord Brahmā, his head bent low, his mind concentrated and his body trembling, very humbly began, with faltering words, to offer praises to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: Brahmā, being very joyful, began to shed tears, and he washed the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa with his tears. Repeatedly he fell and rose as he recalled the wonderful activities of the Lord. After repeating obeisances for a long time, Brahmā stood up and smeared his hands over his eyes. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that the word locane indicates that with his two hands he wiped the two eyes on each of his four faces. Seeing the Lord before him, Brahmā began to offer prayers with great humility, respect and attention.

Thus, end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Tenth Canto, Thirteenth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Lord Brahmā” completed on the 2nd day of November 1990, 504 Gaurābda, the dvitīya-parārdha of Lord Brahmā.

So, get some insight into the spiritual bliss achieved by the devotee in realizing the Lord. Lord Brahmā didn’t know that this was Kṛṣṇa. The original Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa revealed Himself to Lord Brahmā in a very dynamic way.

And then Lord Brahmā could realize all pastimes that Kṛṣṇa is doing as a cowherd boy. All His pastimes are simply manifestations of His glory. But He is the same Supreme personality of Godhead that is manifesting all the universes. Same Supreme Personality of Godhead, on one hand that’s the origin of all the Viṣṇus.

But in spite of all that, He is coming down and playing like a cowherd boy enjoying spiritual loving exchanges with His devotees. The glories of Kṛṣṇa are difficult to understand. It is easier for the conditioned soul in one sense to understand absolute truth is impersonal.

Because this is like the opposite, today Thursday and is night. This world is performed and unformed, as the supreme, is part of the material logic. That itself is the proof that it is not the absolute truth. Absolute truth has to be beyond our logic.

So then if one comes to the conclusion that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a person, then also it is easier to relate with Lord Nārayaṇa who is all powerful, all majestic, all opulent worshiped in Vaikuṇṭha with great awe and reverence. That also is relatively speaking easier to relate with. Because one will picture that the Supreme Godhead is the ultimate powerful and will be having all this power and majesty and opulence. But then there is again another extension of material logic. If you go deeper, then one can understand that even I guess they were reading about one princess here in Luciana and Mississippi, the last princess of the certain dynasty who is from India.

So, it’s when ah, that the king he never had to, her father never had to touch money. Why the king has to touch money? He is not going to pay the taxes. He is not going to pay the, maybe he had treasures, he had got ministers. He didn’t have to touch money himself. He doesn’t have to go buy and sell things. It’s all done by other people. It’s something like 1600 servants, 19 cooks and there's a whole list of people.

But, even for some time that kind had his little private area, he would go and play with the kids or He would have some kind of an informal meeting. But as a king, it was difficult but something was there little bit.

So, this informal aspect if it is there even in a mundane king, what to speak of the Supreme Lord! That intimate informal exchange is the highest aspect of the Lord. And the other things are more expansions of the Lord. But, His original self is actually in these enjoyable pastimes with His devotees.

So, Brahmā is coming in the middle of these pastimes. He is not relating with these pastimes..  what is going on here. When Kṛṣṇa reveals to Brahmā who He is, then Brahmā is being overwhelmed that Kṛṣṇa is so amazing His pastimes. One couldn’t even recognize, this is the Lord. That’s how wonderful His pastimes are. He appears to be acting like a child then when Brahmā came, he didn’t know that He was not an ordinary child. He took all of His cowherd boys and cows. When he came back then Kṛṣṇa revealed who He was, then Brahmā was really astonished. When he realized that this is my Lord and then being overwhelmed with different meditations on the Lord’s transcendental qualities. So he manifested all these pure devotional ecstasies. Tears are pouring out from his eight eyes! His hairs were standing on end, he’s quivering in his body, he is becoming stunned he is practically fainting in ecstasy. His voice was choked up. We can understand, all the aṣṭa-sāttvika-bhāva, all the eight ecstasies of devotional service were manifesting in the body of Lord Brahmā.

So, again and again he is offering his obeisances overwhelmed with ecstasy, overwhelmed with loving sentiments for the Lord. The Lord does not have to come down. Comes down in order to deliver His devotees, devotees like Lord Brahmā, devotees like uh, so many other devotees are there, residents of Vṛndāvan.

Different conditioned souls have all assembled to be able to participate in His pastimes of the Lord. So, here at 6:30 in the morning, I heard that the bus comes to pick up the kids to go to the public school. So, you wanna catch the bus, you have to be there at the right time and you can catch the bus. So, Kṛṣṇa comes once in the 27th, day of Brahmā. 27 Kali-yuga.. 27 Kali-yuga and every day of Brahmā, not Kali-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga because Lord Caitanya.

And, even though Brahmā knows that Kṛṣṇa is supposed to be there, but even Lord Brahmā at first he got doubts. Kṛṣṇa is described, was so expert He is having these pastimes with devotees. But the devotees are feeling so much transcendental love for Kṛṣṇa. And, then when Kṛṣṇa gives His mercy to Lord Brahmā, he is also able to experience this transcendental love for Lord Kṛṣṇa.

In the Vedic tradition, there’s many pastimes where the Lord reveals Himself to His devotees. It’s rich in the history of many great devotees who through their devotion or through the causeless mercy of the Lord, they could realize the presence that, of the Lord directly. And realizing the Lord is not something very casual or it’s not a non-event.

It’s an event so momentous, so overwhelming, so wonderful, so ecstatic that practically you can see how Lord Brahmā, the most sober entity in the whole universe, all knowing what is going on in the entire universe, in all the all the planet. He is overwhelmed, falling on the ground and jumping up and falling down again on the ground, jumping up, completely overwhelmed in joy, in happiness to be seeing the Lord directly and offering his respects to the Lord.

This idea of realizing God is mentioned in the Bible, Old Testament. It’s mentioned in other scriptures as well. Moses had some kind of partial realization of the Lord. But, not so much information is given in other scriptures about aspect of perfection of God Realization.

Whereas in the Vedas, there’s lot of examples especially in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, every Canto has got so many examples of great devotees who are realized. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is considered the greatest literature in all of the Vedas. Because it is dealing directly with God realization. So many types of religious activities are there, so many kinds of pious activities, even different forms of spiritual realization. But we know that the form of realization of God as a person is considered to be the most complete and the most perfect realization because the Personality of Godhead is the complete aspect of the manifestation of the absolute truth. When different yogis realize, for instance in Īśopaniṣad, Vyāsadeva realized the impersonal absolute truth in the last verses.

But He prays to the Lord that “remove your glaring effulgence so I can see your eternal form of bliss” that the Lord is covering Himself with material energy, covering Himself with the effulgence of the spiritual brahma-jyoti. But, the devotees even if they realize the brahma-jyoti, they want to, that effulgence to be cleared away so that they can directly see the form of Śyāmasundara.

All these things are happening so fast here when Brahmā came, He didn’t really stay long enough to study what Kṛṣ, what Kṛṣṇa was or to introspect. The idea is to steal the cowherd boys and the cowherd, the cows, calves left all in a sudden. Then in a… it was moment for him, it was a year by ah, Vṛndāvana time. He thought, “well, wait a second, maybe I made a mistake and let me check it out”. And he came back and all these other things just happened. Realizing Kṛṣṇa, he became completely joyful that Kṛṣṇa is in his universe, that Kṛṣṇa is before him that Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental qualities are giving him so much love for Kṛṣṇa that he is experiencing all this ecstasy.

So, When Brahmā met Kṛṣṇa then all these wonderful expressions or ecstasies became arisen in his consciousness. When Lord Viṣṇu appears before His devotees, they also received Him with respect, offering obeisances.

Sometimes the devotees also be very ecstatic. But, the ecstasy that Lord Brahmā has expressed here for Lord Kṛṣṇa is something really extraordinary. And devotees when they are united with the Lord, Śrīla Prabhupāda explained that they feel unlimited joy that Kṛṣṇa comes and embraces His devotee and says, what is taking you so long? And the devotee is ah, overwhelmed in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa with his tears pouring from his eyes.

Of course, In the case of Lord Brahmā, he has got 8 eyes. So, the 8 times as many tears are pouring. He only has 2 hands. He can hardly keep up with the tears coming. When if two eyes are crying incessantly, you have two hands to keep wiping the tears but if you, eight, how can you manage? How can you cope? So, Kṛṣṇa embraces the devotee when they are re-united and the devotee is just overwhelmed, the love for Kṛṣṇa. So, Kṛṣṇa asked, what has taken you so long?

Actually, normally to reach Kṛṣṇa it’s not easy. Doesn’t happen so quickly also. If someone takes a normal course of events, Brahmā can return to Kṛṣṇa at the end of his lifetime which is 100 years by his calculation. Of course, there may be some variation, but this is the standard calculation, 100 years by his time. So now when the second half of Lord Brahmā’s life that means, in this universe, we’ve been prisoners for more than ah, 50 years times 12 months times 30 days times 1000 ages times 4 million 300 thousand years. We are already in this universe, in this creation we have been here that long.

Taking birth sometimes as a demigod, sometimes as a demon, sometimes as an animal, sometimes as a human being. And, Lord Brahmā has got more or less, he is just like may be 51 years old or something. We don’t know exactly. But he is over 50. It’s like may be just over 50. Just it is beginning of second half, middle age. Another equally long period of time almost as equal as long is there. On a normal course, at the end of the universe if somebody happens to be in Satyaloka with Lord Brahmā, they can go up to the Viṣṇuloka. And he goes then satyaloka residents, they can accompany him. The other residents like in, in the Indra-loka and they try to reach Satyaloka, but its they may or may not make it.

Just like this scientist predict there is going to be an earthquake in San Francisco or earthquake in different places. The people know it, more or less in next 1 or 5 or 10 years, there is gonna be some earthquake. But, like nobody is really prepared.

Whenever it happens, it is always a big surprise in spite of so many warnings. So even though more or less people know that the end of the universe is coming, but you know, could be it could take a few million years, but by Brahmā ’s calculation that’s like, it’s few hours difference but for other entities of the lower planets, they don’t know you know, it is a big time by their relative perspective.

So, they are not ready, they are not like all necessarily just ready. It comes as a surprise, they also have to quickly try to get to satyaloka. Many don’t make it. Some make it. So, there is a long delay, with life even that’s risky.

But, here Lord Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He is giving out His pastimes. He has come as Caitanya Mahāprabhu giving us the process whereby in this short period of time, if you take it as a percentage of Lord Brahmā’s lifetime, is an insignificant drop of time or like not even a drop in the bucket. I don’t know how many drops in a bucket, but I am sure it is not a drop in the bucket. It may be a drop in the ocean of Lord Brahmā’s lifetime. I don’t think a bucket has as many drops.

So, in this very short period of time, we can realize Lord Caitanya, we can realize Kṛṣṇa face to face like Lord Brahmā is realizing. The Difference is that we have short life time, at the end of this life time, being Kṛṣṇa conscious, we can go back to Kṛṣṇa.

Therefore, Brahmā admires the good fortune of the devotees. He hankers for their good fortune to be able to go back to Kṛṣṇa so quickly. Māyā is expert to create many necessities of life, working for maintenance. Now, Kaliyuga, that’s more complicated. Before you had horse and buggy, it was alright. People could have a couple of servants even if, but now it is all do it yourself with many machines. But to maintain these machines, one has to work, to pay the bills.

So, society is like that that everyone has to work hard, in order to maintain their status quo, your living standard. So much energy is going like that, that in spite of getting all the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, being able to realize Kṛṣṇa face to face at the end of this lifetime. Or if you are really enthusiastic even during the lifetime, it’s not impossible although more rare. But we allow this valuable opportunity to slip through our fingers.

The facility that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us to live in a temple, community, to give us the facility of worshipping the Deities, of chanting

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

and associating with devotees is inconceivable good fortune. And someone can remind someone or even can have various meetings and group meetings and class and iṣṭagoṣṭhis. Ultimately it is up to every individual to consider what a great opportunity we are getting and to try to spread up.

Māyā will give unlimited excuses, unlimited reasons, but in spite of whatever māyā puts up, to actually take the advantage of Lord Caitanya’s mercy to engage in chanting the Holy names. In Māyāpur, where everybody is living, Prabhupāda encouraged that everyone should even go to the noon ārati if they can. Morning and evening ārati is always packed. Hardly had to tell the devotees to go to maṅgala-ārati or evening, they, In fact when guests come, they always see hundreds of devotees chanting and it is very inspiring for them.

Sometimes maṅgala-ārati and Gaura Pūrṇimā times you have 2000 devotees, there is no standing room only. Even if you wanted to sit, you couldn’t sit, so packed up. So apart from Gaura Pūrṇimā, even on other weekends, it is completely packed. And in the evenings also, lot of the Mātājīs can’t come in the morning, because of children or something may be only 50% or I don’t know what percent. Some few, less Mātājīs not 100% Mātājī’s come with kids. But if you see the evening ārati, there is very good attendance.

So Prabhupāda, there he was encouraging noon ārati. Śrīla Prabhupāda actually wanted us to fill our life with as much Kṛṣṇa consciousness as we can. Of course, here is, everyone is working, noon ārati’s presence is out of the question maybe except for the gurukula or something. But evening ārati and morning ārati is ah, very possible. It is the difference from India.

Like, in Jaipur, for maṅgala-ārati, the place at Rādhā Govinda temple is packed. People run to go to the temple when they hear the bells of the ārati ring. There’s nobody who is telling them if we have to get up to maṅgala-ārati and maintaining some kind of discipline. They developed that degree of spontaneous ah, affection for the Lord that they want to be there for the ārati.

In fact, in Guruvāyur, the morning ārati for the Deities at 3 AM, and every day there’s thousands of people for that ārati. In fact, you have to get a special permission. If you, like as a sannyāsī, I had to speak the night and get late at 2:30 just to get in before the rush so I can get a front row darshan. You can how in India, why it is still considered a holy place. Not that you see the dirty roads, you see the coolie, you see the police, you see the beggars, you see so many things, but people are spontaneously interested in spiritual life. Somebody, you know, Some people are at least, not everybody. Some people are. So that is that opportunity that Prabhupāda is giving us. People say I am an older devotee, I am a mature so. Although I am a mature, Of course, means that we take the opportunity to personally motivate ourselves to make our lives so that whenever it’s possible, there may not be always be possible, but as far as possible, which means most of the time, to actually take advantage of greeting the Lord.

Lord Caitanya when He would hear the temple bell ringing in Jagannātha Purī, He would be running, sometime [background noise] [inaudible]. I’m late. And then when He see the Lord, sometimes, He would faint in ecstasy and fall before Lord Jagannath. So I think ah, Vedānta-kṛt, he knows more about. I never been to Jaipur, I just heard about it. When they open that curtain for Rādhā Govinda, what’s the… what’s… what happens, they all shout out.

So somehow or other if we can get His mercy to have the love of Kṛṣṇa, like the Lord Brahmā is manifesting here. We could hanker for that day, when will I feel that kind of ecstasy whenever the Deities ah, curtain is opened or whenever the opportunity, that spontaneous desire that I am doing all my duties, but the high point is to be able to gather together with the devotees and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and taste that little drop of spiritual ecstasy.. because Bhakti Vinod Thakur explains that

nāma bina kichu nahiko aro, caudda-bhuvana-majhe

In the eternal reality, there is nothing in the entire 14 planetary systems, from the Brahmā loka dhāma to Patāla, except this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, except this devotional service to whatever extent. That’s the reality. Just like if we had some kind of polaroid glasses, we could only see spiritual activity. We could only see the eternal reality. You put them on the whole world would disappear. Nothing is there. All you see is the holy name. all you see is few devotees chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and doing their work, everything else would disappear. It doesn’t exist in the eternal reality. It’s simply ah, there in temporary time. Nothing is by mistake. It is all sandcastles. All the activities of our life, whatever is not devotional service, is just blank spaces.

So knowing that, the devotee wants to always remain connected with the Lord and the high points when we can really focus on the Lord is a special interest. So, that is the mood that makes the holy dhāma or makes creating a place of pilgrimage. Prabhupāda said that we should create places of pilgrimage. It is the desire of the devotee to serve the Lord. That’s what makes it especially, place of, why Vṛndāvana is speacial, thousands of people yelling Rādhe! Rādhe! Rādhe! Like if you walk in Vṛndāvana, everybody was crashed out and everything and nobody was…, even though you know it is the holy dhāma, you wouldn’t have to say, you go people are mad now trying to go to Ayodhyā for building the Rāma temple.

All this, when you see that someone has some enthusiasm to serve the Lord, that’s what creates the atmosphere of the spiritual world. Because that is what Vṛndāvana means as everybody is mad after serving Kṛṣṇa.

And somehow Brahmā comes in and crashes the party. Doesn’t know what is going on? Steals cow and everything then finally he realizes what is going on and then he himself is like so overwhelmed that he can’t even control himself. He is just so happy, he is ah, so joyful, so ecstatic that he’s gone practically mad jumping up and down like a little child in ecstasy, tears pouring out of all his eyes.

we are very fortunate to hear all these pastimes from the lotus lips of ah, Prabhupāda so that we can pray to Lord Brahmā in his ecstasy that he may bless us so that we can become spontaneously attracted to chanting the holy names that we can become spontaneously attracted to serving Nitāi Gaura Nitāi and Rādhā-Rādhā-Kāntā and to associating with the devotees.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Questions or darśana?

Questions.

Question: Mahārāja, to some extent that we can probably understand that lot of devotees are attracted to Lord Kṛṣṇa. But what makes the unalloyed love or the unmotivated service of devotee. What particular quality is in the devotee, is it that really attracts the Lord?

Jayapatākā Swami: The devotee, when a devotee render pure devotional service, that’s attractive to the Lord. The conditioned soul, acting in the material world, independently is that nothing really very attractive about that to the Lord. In accordance with their desire to serve the Lord, in accordance with their desire to approach the Lord, it becomes more attractive. It is more glorious when someone wants to do some religious principle. It is even better if they want to become liberated from the material world.

But he when he realizes the super soul but, the best is when someone is engaging in pure devotional service. That’s really attractive for the Lord. Just like we have a small child but when the baby is relating with you, depending on you, there is some attraction there. Even though one sense insignificant but in another sense and especially when the baby is trying to say their father’s name, they recognize and say you know, “da, da” or something, that’s a special.

So, it is a happiness for the mother and father you know, it’s like a little high point there. So, when the conditioned soul remembers Kṛṣṇa and wants to serve Kṛṣṇa, that pure devotional service is attractive even to Kṛṣṇa. Not only attractive, but it can purchase Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa promises to reciprocate although we are insignificant, but if we give our whole self to Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa would give His whole self to us. Talk about a business deal. (laughter)

There’s no great king or great person even if some political follower gives his wife you know for the leader, this leader is not gonna reciprocate and give everything just for the one little person. Because he has this one person, he has to see over so many.

But Kṛṣṇa being unlimited, He can individually expand and individually relate to each devotee. He is not limited like that. So, He can reciprocate, although we are insignificant but He can, He is so unlimited that He can relate with each insignificant part of Him. He is not limited.

But like one president, he has got millions or 250 million people, how can he personally relate with each individual. It is beyond his capacity. He can only have a cabinet of 20 people and talk with a few congress committee chairmen. He can hardly relate to all the representatives in the house of congress. What to speak of you know in a personal way. It would take his whole time. He has only 24 hours in a day.

But Kṛṣṇa is unlimited. He is not limited by time also. In the spiritual world, there is no limitation of time. So, Kṛṣṇa can expand Himself unlimitedly. He can be having unlimited simultaneous pastimes going on. So, because of Kṛṣṇa’s grace, although we are so insignificant, that doesn’t limit Kṛṣṇa because He is so unlimitedly great. He can relate and He becomes attracted when we approach Him in pure devotional service. Not only that, They have to purchase. The way to attract even when we do a little devotional service. He is attracted. Is that clear?

Any other question?

Our system is guru-paramparā. We always learn from the… those who know. Very… everyone is born in ignorance. We don’t know anything. There is nothing to be ashamed about we don’t know something. When we are born and we are taught, right? Process is continual learning process. When we enter spiritual life, our learning continues.

So, someone may be very expert, they may learn in one day. Lord Caitanya, He was shown one letter and He would memorize it immediately. The next letter, next letter. He learnt the alphabet in 15 minutes. But this, He also went through the procedure of learning. Someone showed Him the alphabets, this is A, this is B, this is C. this is aa, ba, ka. So, this our system. If we don’t learn it from someone, then how we know that what we are doing is right? we are not in the paramparā, we may be mentally speculating.

So, the devotee always wants to confirm whatever they are doing with sādhu, śāstra and guru. Not just take it that they know it from only reading the book or from otherwise As Prabhupāda explained someone may have a superficial understanding like the veterinarian pastime where the sister of a veterinarian did not take the whole course and he thought he knew veterinarian science how to cure to lungs in the neck of the horse. But, in the end he started killing the horse instead.