Srimad Bhagavatam 10.86.53-54 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | 28 April 2026
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī
gopījana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana
yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Jaya Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10 Chapter 86 Verse 53.
ŚB 10.86.53
brāhmaṇo janmanā śreyān
sarveṣām prāṇinām iha
tapasā vidyayā tuṣṭyā
kim u mat-kalayā yutaḥ
Synonyms
brāhmaṇaḥ — a brāhmaṇa; janmanā — by his birth; śreyān — the best; sarveṣām — of all; prāṇinām — living beings; iha — in this world; tapasā — by his austerity; vidyayā — by his learning; tuṣṭyā — by his satisfaction; kim u — what more, then; mat — upon Me; kalayā — with loving meditation; yutaḥ — endowed.
Translation
By his very birth, a brāhmaṇa is the best of all living beings in this world, and he becomes even more exalted when he is endowed with austerity, learning and self-satisfaction, what to speak of devotion to Me.
Text 54
Translation
Even My own four-armed form is no dearer to Me than a brāhmaṇa. Within himself a learned brāhmaṇa comprises all the Vedas, just as within Myself I comprise all the demigods.
Purport
It is understood from the Vedic science of epistemology, the Nyāya-śāstra, that knowledge of an object (prameya) depends on a valid means of knowing (pramāṇa). The Supreme Personality of Godhead can be known only by means of the Vedas, and thus He relies on the brāhmaṇa sages, who are the Vedas personified, to reveal Him in this world. Even though Lord Kṛṣṇa embodies all the demigods and viṣṇu-tattva expansions of Nārāyaṇa, He considers Himself obliged to the brāhmaṇas.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So Krishna is saying that the brahmana is very dear to the Lord. So why is he dear? So in this verse he answers, the brahmana knows all the Vedas and through the Vedas people can understand about the Lord. So in the previous verses again Krishna was saying that the brahmanas are very merciful to all living entities. They are merciful because they reveal knowledge. So what is so important about the Vedas? So at the beginning of this purport, there is a little bit of an explanation. So the Vedas act as pramana or proof.
So proof or pramana means an accepted means of knowing. So the pramana means that we need a method of knowing. So for instance, how do we know that the population of Tokyo is so many, 30 million people, how do we know that? So of course we can say, well we can count all the individuals, but that’s a little difficult for us [Laughs]. But then we do have people, government agencies that do count all the people. So we go to the agency and then we ask for that population. So they will give us some number, may be it’s 30 million. But of course then we will say, well, how did you get that number? So they have you know, people, they go out and they count all the people [Laughs]. Census, they call it census. It’s called a census, you count all the people [Laughs].
So to know that number is very important for many things. It is used for voting, who can vote [Laughs]. If we get more people voting than there is population, then there’s a problem, somebody’s cheating [Laughs]. And we also use that number to analyze how many young people, how many old people, how many working people, how many foreigners, and sociologists and other people use that information for many things. And based on that we make educational systems, health systems, etc. So we take the government as the authority for that knowledge. So that’s called the pramana [Laughs]. So they are pramana for number of population. So that population is the prameya.
So the government gives statistics for knowing population, which is the prameya. So the government is the pramana, and the population statistics, the number, that’s called the prameya. So to know about atma and Supreme Lord, the prameya, what is the pramana? So we can try to use our senses, but that doesn’t give any result because our material senses cannot see atma or God. We can use more refined instruments like microscopes, electron microscopes, telescopes etc but still we cannot get an answer. Or without seeing, we can think and we can intuit or through logic come to some conclusions about atma or God. Of course Prabhupada calls this speculation.
The reason why this is faulty is because our theories are all based upon our sense perceptions. Sometimes our conclusions may be true, sometimes they may be false, but we don’t know. For instance, we look at a mountain and then we see some, looks like smoke on the mountain, so we say, because there’s smoke on the mountain, there’s a fire. So this of course, is based on the previous conclusion we have by experience that fire gives smoke. So if there is smoke, there must be fire.
Of course, then there’s a little problem. Of course, we say the fire causes the smoke. But even after the fire goes out, the smoke may continue. So if we say there’s fire on the mountain, but actually the fire has already gone out, then it’s not correct. The only way we can correct the mistake is to go up on the mountain and see if there’s a fire or not [Laughs], and then we’ll say, well no, the smoke was caused by a fire, but the fire went out, and that would be a proper conclusion.
Or, we may think, yes, there is smoke on the mountain, but it may be a cloud. So we make a mistake and think that the cloud is smoke, and then we come to a conclusion. So again, because there’s a cloud on the mountain doesn’t mean there’s fire [Laughs]. So such type of logic to prove something is not always true. That’s why in science they make a theory, and they have to keep testing it and testing it and testing it to see if it works so many times [Laughs]. And then they can say, okay, this is not just a theory, it’s actually true. However, we can continue to test and test and test, and finally we find, ah, there’s an exception [Laughs], that it’s not true anymore, the theory’s not true. So in any case, this type of method of proving or pramana is not perfect. But for everyday living, using our senses and using logic and inference is useful for us, so we use it all the time. However, we have to recognize it is not perfect, subject to mistake.
So, how do we know about atma and God? So we cannot use our usual pramanas of senses and logic here because they apply only to material things. So if we don’t have a method of knowing, then we can’t know about God or atma. So some scientists conclude, okay, we don’t know, finished [Laughs]. So we can’t even discuss it. We can’t say God exists, we can’t say God does not exist. So still some people insist, no, we have to know [Laughs], we want to know.
So again, what is the pramana, how are we going to know? So then we come up with another pramana, that is called sabda. So sabda, of course, this means sound, but it actually means authorized sound. Or perfect knowledge. So it is simply stated, and that is the proof itself. So, scripture says, atma exists, God exists, God has this form, God is called Krishna, God is called Narayana.
So, what is the proof? Because scripture says it, that’s the proof [Laughs]. So we cannot say, why does scripture say that Krishna is blue, why does Krishna say that He has a flute? No, scripture says it, that’s the proof [Laughs]. It’s like a person, and he goes to a foreign land. Foreign, a different country, he goes to another country. And then he observes everything, all the country and the people, whatever. And then he comes back and he says, okay, this country, let’s say Iceland [Laughs] Iceland. And he says, okay, the people are like this, they speak this language, they’ve got some color hair, their eyes are this color, they do this for their job etc. So then we hear him, and then we accept, okay, people of Iceland have this color hair, they speak this language, etc.
And we don’t question, why are you saying this? So we don’t question because we trust that he went there and he saw, he had an experience, and we accept him as an authority. So in the same way, we accept the authority of the Vedas. So once we accept the authority, we do not question it. So we accept that authority, particularly on subjects of God and atma. We have no other way of knowing about them. So some people choose to accept the authority of the Vedas. So they accept the Vedas as pramana because they want to know about God. If they want to know about material world, then they don’t have to go to Vedas.
So therefore, we say Veda is pramana, it gives us the proof. And what is the object of our knowledge there? What is the prameya? So the prameya is Supreme Lord. So that pramana and the prameya is preserved by human beings. And these human beings communicate the knowledge to us. They give us that knowledge [Laughs]. So traditionally, the brahmanas are the people who study the Vedas. So if we want to know about God, we go to the brahmana, and he knows the pramana, he knows the prameya, so he gives us information about God. However, we have other recipients of that knowledge. The other people who have that knowledge. And that knowledge is not only in Vedas, it’s in Puranas, it’s in Mahabharata, it’s in Bhagavad Gita, which is not Veda.
Still, we need someone to give us that knowledge. So who gives it? The Vaishnava, the devotee. He may not be a brahmana. But he is a devotee of the Lord. Of course, we can ask, so we have the pramana, which gives us knowledge of God, the prameya. Why do we need somebody to deliver it? We can just get the pramana, read Bhagavad Gita, read the Vedas. So we can ask, why can’t we just go to the authoritative text Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam, Vedas? Why do we need some person there? Why do we need the brahmanas to deliver the Vedas?
So the reason is that when we do have some knowledge or a text or whatever, it’s better we get it from an expert. So we need the brahmana to explain the Vedas or we need the devotee to explain the Puranas. So it’s just like in the material world, we will have libraries full of books. And we’ll have all knowledge about medicine, surgery, and all branches of medicine there. But in normal cases, you can’t just go to the library to take all the books and read them on medicine and become a doctor [Laughs]. You need some authority to give us the essential texts and the real meaning of those things and he has experience and he can give us the real knowledge.
So therefore, the pramana or the scripture, is delivered through an authorized devotee. And to get the knowledge from that devotee, we have to give proper respect. So Krishna was speaking to Srutadeva and he said, oh, you’ve not respected the brahmanas enough [Laughs]. If you respect them, then you will get the knowledge of the Vedas [Laughs].
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
1.) His question is, sabda is even perceived by imperfect senses, so how can it be the perfect knowledge?
Yes. So as I said, we have the knowledge of scripture but we should take it through an authorized person. And the scripture will not be available to an unqualified person. So therefore, we say, if you don’t have devotion, you cannot understand Bhagavatam [Laughs]. So though, we start out with imperfect senses, imperfect mind, etc, because we do have some faith and some devotion, we get access to a little bit of that knowledge. But it’s likely, in the beginning, our mistaken senses will give us wrong knowledge [Laughs]. And therefore, we have the teacher there, that’s the Vaishnava, who will say, no, you got the wrong interpretation [Laughs]. So therefore, we have two safeguards to see that the knowledge is intact. One, we have, the person has to be qualified with devotion. And second, we have someone to teach the knowledge, so that they guarantee we don’t make mistake [Laughs]. Of course, there is another objection. Scriptures are made up of words. Words and sound are material. How we can say that Veda is our spiritual authority when they’re made up of material words [Laughs]. How can we understand Supreme Lord, who is beyond material words, by using material words [Laughs]. So that is the question which is asked in the next chapter [Laughs] of Bhagavatam. The answer is that, yes, Veda and scripture is made up of words, but the words are not material. How is that possible [Laughs]? It’s possible because Supreme Lord, who is spiritual, has His spiritual shaktis, that can make words spiritual, not material. So when we hear and read scriptures, it may look material, like material sound and material words, but the more that we are spiritualized and devotional, the more we get the spiritual meaning of the words.
Devotee: Scientists also have authority and they have faith for some type. So the same logic they are using as sabda.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So in the material world also we have sabda. Newspaper is a sabda. Television news is a sabda [Laughs]. Textbooks in science and university are sabda. Of course, some of the sabdas are more reliable. Some are may be fake [Laughs]. And ultimately, none of these sabdas in the material world are perfect. Because they are dealing with material subject matters using senses and logic. And eventually whatever knowledge is there gets refuted by new discoveries [Laughs]. But as far as the material world is concerned, these act as authorities, and they are useful in normal circumstances. They are useful for us as authorities. So our Acharyas also do not reject pratyaksha or sense knowledge or logic. And we can also use them even on spiritual subjects in sabda. So to read scripture we have to use some logic [Laughs]. However, that logic and sense perception should not dominate our meaning in the scripture. We should not interpret the scripture to come up with our own conclusions by logic [Laughs]. We should not interpret the scripture and produce a meaning which we like [Laughs]. In other words, we don’t put our own goals into that and say this is the meaning of scripture.
2.) In this particular sloka, Krishna says, very general, that brahmanas are very dear to me. And through them we can understand the Veda. But in kali yuga we see there are so many brahmanas. Some are impersonalists, some are fake, some are Mayavadi, some are Brahmavadi. The rikshawala has a brahmana thread and he thinks I’m a brahmana. So how to distinguish who is a real brahmana because in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, my devotees are very dear to Me. But here He says the brahmanas are very dear. It’s a very general statement.
Of course, here also it is said that the brahmana is to respected by his birth, his knowledge, his tapasya and conduct etc and by his devotion [Laughs]. Similarly in the Caitanya Caritamrta it’s said that, okay, we respect humans as higher than animals and among the humans, those who follow varnashrama are superior. In the varnashrama system, the brahmana is superior. But the brahmana who’s actually following all the rules he’s better than that [Laughs]. So in other words, he has now, she has austerity etc. So he’s capable of teaching the Vedas. But superior to the brahmana is the Vaishnava. So Krishna praises everybody, praises varnashrama system, ultimately praises the brahmana but then ultimately more than that is the Vaishnava [Laughs]. And when He praises, He means praising those people who are actually following [Laughs]. If they’re not really following or if they’re doing the opposite and cheating, then of course that they’re not to be respected at all [Laughs]. So those who are actually carrying out their functions as a brahmana or as a Vaishnava, those are the persons that get the most respect.
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Could you please explain the word prameya. Is it only used for the Supreme Lord or does it have a broader significance?
So the words pramana and prameya have a general usage. So the pramana for medicine are the medical textbooks [Laughs]. And if it’s a textbook on anatomy then the prameya is heart, lung and stomach and all these things that you’re supposed to know [Laughs]. So the newspaper reports current events, things that are happening earthquakes, wars etc, so it’s a pramana [Laughs]. And the prameya is the events which they should be reporting true [Laughs]. So we’ll have various pramanas with their individual prameyas. So then we’ll have Vedas and Puranas etc, they are pramana. And the prameya is Supreme Lord and atma. Of course, they will also have other prameyas. So those same scriptures will explain karma yoga, jnana yoga, astanga yoga. And each of those yogas will have a prameya, that is the karma yoga will end up with swargaloka or jnana with Brahman, so these are also prameyas [Laughs]. But then we have the highest prameya that is Supreme Lord, Bhagavan.
Devotee: We don’t ask for pramana for normal life?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Oh, for pramana, we don’t ask for pramana in regular life?
Devotee: We say something, that person is bad. Then we say, oh, he’s bad. We never ask for pramana and all something or proof. We just believe.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So in normal life, our pramama is our sense perceptions. Or our conclusions or inferences based on our sense perceptions. So we can say that person is a cheater. But there must have been some pramana, some way of knowing it [Laughs]. How do we know he’s a cheater? So we may see him cheating, come to the hundi box and steal some money ah, he’s stealing [Laughs]. So that’s direct sense perception. Or we may not see him steal but we come into the temple room after he left, we see him leave and the hundi is empty, the donation box is empty, so we’ll conclude, oh, he must have stolen the money, that’s inference [Laughs]. So in these cases our sense perception and our inference are pramana. And then, if you report that this person is a thief to another person, you become a pramana [Laughs].
Devotee: But that person is, if I tell somebody he’s a thief, he doesn’t believe me.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, then he says you’re not a pramana [Laughs]. You didn’t see or you misinterpreted. That’s also there. So the pramanas are not perfect in the material world. So in complicated cases, then you go to court [Laughs]. And then people testify and then they see, are you telling the truth or not telling the truth? Are you a pramana or not a pramana? And then the lawyer will get up and question you, did you actually see him steal the money or may be you just inferred it? Or even if you saw him, how many feet away were you? Did you see clearly? May be you weren’t wearing your glasses, so you made a mistake. So we do have the four defects of knowledge. So you make a mistake, you may think he stole the money but he actually didn’t do that. You saw him put his hand near the hundi but actually he was doing something else [Laughs]. Another is called pramada, he may have stolen the money but you’re standing there looking at him but you were thinking of something else, you don’t even see it [Laughs]. So sometimes in court then they get all the witnesses to a crime. You question them all, they all say something different [Laughs]. So one will say, I didn’t see anything, he didn’t do anything, so that’s inattention [Laughs]. Another may say, I think he must have stole that thing, but when they question him, may be it wasn’t true or not [Laughs]. And some witnesses may be too far away, so then they may say something, but may be too far away, senses are incapable of seeing at a distance. And then we have the witnesses actually saw it, but he says something different because somebody pays him to make a different statement, that’s called cheating [Laughs]. So these are the defects which are present in human society for our senses and our anumana or inference, and they even carry over into science. They may have the same four defects.
Devotee: Even Vaishnava Acharyas have different commentary?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So that is, we can say, different interpretations of the scripture, which is a pramana. So we take a pramana, and there may be different opinions about certain statements. So these differences may occur because the words can mean different things. And they’re not necessarily wrong, one is right and one is wrong, as long as the conclusion is correct. So there are rules for interpreting scripture. So the basic rule is we go by the direct words as much as possible. And all the individual statements of the scripture should also align with and agree with the final conclusion. So with those two rules, then you could interpret differently and still be correct [Laughs].
Hare Krishna!
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!