Question: This is a question on BG 2.45. Sri Krishna advises ‘trai-gunya-visaya veda’ by asking us to rise above the Vedas; and in some other chapter He says ‘shrutis mrutir mamaivagya…’, thereby asking us to study the Vedas. Could you please clarify.
Answer by Romapada Swami: In BG 2.45 Krishna is advising Arjuna to rase above the three modes as described in the Vedas, not above the Vedas. In the purport, Srila Prabhupada explains that Arjuna is being advised to raise himself to the transcendental position of the Vedanta philosophy.
Srila Rupa Gosvami writes in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.101): “Devotional service of the Lord that ignores the authorized Vedic literatures like the Upanishads, Puranas and Narada-pancaratra is simply an unnecessary disturbance in society.”
However in BG 2.53, Sri Krishna comments that “When your mind is no longer disturbed by the flowery language of the Vedas, and when it remains fixed in the trance of self-realization, then you will have attained the divine consciousness.” In this context He is referring to the aspect of Vedas that deals with fruitive activities for materialistic gains, which tend to lead one away from unalloyed devotional service.
NOTE: The “shrutis mrutir mamaivagya” reference is not from BG, but study of the vedas is always recommended, under the guidance of a bonafide spiritual master.
