[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on July 8th, 1997, in Holland, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 21]
Srila Gurudeva: Aranya Maharaja, a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, He was not literate at all. Not knowing ABCD or Sanskrit or Bangla. Even he could not sign his own name. But he was so learned that he used to give classes like Srila Prabhupada Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. Using bombastic words like advaya-jnana para-tattva. Vadanti tat tattva vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11). Advaya-jnana para-tattva who is Krsna. How? How is He para-tattva advaya-jnana? I don’t think that any one of you can explain these things. If you have heard from any bona-fide Vaisnava like Pujyapada Sridhara Maharaja, Guru Maharaja or anyone of them, Puri Maharaja, then you can have some idea. Otherwise you cannot define what is advaya-jnana para-tattva. It is very difficult.
But Aranya Maharaja used to explain all these things very easily. Quickly he would explain all these things. So many learned people used to bow down their heads at his feet. They knew all these things only by hearing. So sruti comes from hearing. At first there was no Veda or Upanisada on papers. They were in sruti, in the hearts of devotees. So these truths, love and affection, it is not only papers. It will always be in the heart of the pure devotees, those who are rasika and bhavaka. It is not a mental exercise or a bodily exercise that you can do and you can lift very big big weights. You cannot do anything. It will come only by giving yourself, unconditional surrender.
yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas tasyaisa atma vivrnute tanum svam
-Katha Upanisad 1.2.23
[He manifests Himself in the hearts of those who are surrendered to Him.]
For those who are surrendered, Krsna will think that, “Oh, they are a person to be mercified, given mercy.” Then mercy will come and then you can know all these things. By reading, by giving lectures, by remembering so many Vedic mantras and memorizing the whole Srimad-Bhagavatam even, you cannot gain anything. So, we should be so humble and we should see that all our teachers, acaryas, even all the disciples of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura were so much qualified. All were so learned. All were realized. There may be some exceptions, those who had not given themselves, fully surrendered. They cannot realize anything. Only by name they are disciple.
So, we should try to take the heart of our Gurudeva and realize it and do bhajana in the same way. Then everything will be realized very easily.