"When Sanātana Gosvāmī approached Lord Caitanya to become His disciple, Sanātana surrendered himself and said, “My dear Lord, when I was a [Government] minister, people used to address me as a learned man, and so I accepted that I was learned and intelligent. But actually I am neither learned nor intelligent, because I do not know what I am. This is the result of my learning: I know everything except what I am and how to get out of this miserable material condition of life.”
- Second Chance: Ch. 8: Religion: Hearing from Authority. By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
"We see that modern education fails here also. The professor talks about so many things, but if we ask him what he is, he has no answer. Universities award degrees to the graduates, who think, “I am a Ph.D., a very learned man,” but if we ask that Ph.D. to explain what he is and what the purpose of life is, he will refer only to his bodily designations: “I am American, I am male, etc.” He can only state his identification with the body, which he is not, and therefore he is fool number one."
- Second Chance: Ch. 8: Religion: Hearing from Authority. By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
"Without following the mahājanas [Great Personalities], it is impossible to know God, because we cannot understand the path of religion by our mental speculation. Religious principles are enunciated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead (dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam [SB 6.3.19]). Therefore real religion means to abide by the words of the Supreme Lord and His representatives. In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66) Kṛṣṇa says, mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: “Simply surrender unto Me.” That is true religion. Anything else is irreligion. Manmade religion is not religion; it is cheating. Nowadays it has become fashionable for everyone to manufacture his own religion without reference to the authorities. One should know that dharma, or religion, means the laws given to man by God. The path of dharma is strictly followed by the mahājanas, and so we have to follow them. Otherwise there is no possibility of understanding what religion is or who God is."
- Second Chance: Ch. 8: Religion: Hearing from Authority. By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
"Everyone in the material world is puzzled about what religion is. Therefore, the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12) says, one should approach a guru [One who is Heavy with Knowledge] : tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. “If someone wants to learn the transcendental science, he has to approach a guru.” There are no exceptions. One cannot say, “I shall learn the transcendental science without going to a spiritual master." No. That is not possible."
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