Chapter 6: The Liberation of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

According to the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.19):

apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā
paśyaty acakṣuḥ sa śṛṇoty akarṇaḥ
sa vetti vedyaṁ na ca tasyāsti vettā
tam āhur agryaṁ puruṣaṁ mahāntam

This Vedic mantra clearly states, puruṣaṁ mahāntam. The word puruṣa means "person." That person is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā by Arjuna when he addresses Kṛṣṇa, puruṣaṁ śāśvatam: "You are the original person." (Bg. 10.12) This puruṣaṁ mahāntam is Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His hands and legs are not mundane, but are completely transcendental. However, when He comes, fools take Him to be an ordinary person (avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam). One who has no Vedic knowledge, who has not studied the Vedas from the bona fide spiritual master, does not know Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he is a mūḍha. Such fools take Kṛṣṇa to be an ordinary person (paraṁ bhāvam ajānantaḥ). They do not actually know what Kṛṣṇa is. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye. It is not possible to understand Kṛṣṇa simply by studying the Vedas perfectly. One must have the mercy of a devotee (yat pādam). Unless one is favored by a devotee, he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Arjuna also confirms this in Bhagavad-gītā: "My Lord, it is very difficult to understand Your personality." The less intelligent class of men cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead without being favored by His devotee. Therefore Bhagavad-gītā contains another injunction (4.34):

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master and surrender to him. Only then can one understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a person.