Page 18 - WIS - Eng

2 Who is Supreme?

God is, what He looks like, or what His nature is? Although much
can be understood through logic, often logic alone does not reveal
the full nature of any given object. Therefore the only way to learn
about the nature of the Supreme is to hear from one who knows Him:

tam etaà vedänuvacanena brähmaëä vividiñanti
“Brähmaëas study the Vedas to understand the Supreme Personality
1
of Godhead.” (Båhad-äraëyaka Upaniñad 4.4.22)
The word veda means “knowledge.” Hence, the words of the Vedas,
called çabda-brahma, are the authorized source for learning about
God. For example, if we do not know who our father is, we must
ask our mother. Similarly, the Vedas reveal the Supreme Father
to us. All saintly persons and great äcäryas (self-realized spiritual
masters) accept that the best method for understanding the
Absolute Truth is to hear from the Vedas.

The Kaöha Upaniñad (1.2.15) states:
sarve vedä yat-padam ämananti

“All the Vedas describe the feet of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead.”

Similarly, the Gopäla-täpané Upaniñad (2.27) states:
yo ’sau sarvair vedair géyate
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is glorified by all the Vedas.”

That the Vedas are apauruñeya (not written by any mortal being)
is confirmed in the following verse of Båhad-äraëyaka Upaniñad
(4.5.11):

asya mahato bhütasya niçvasitam etad yad
åg-vedo yajur-vedaù säma-vedo ’tharväìgirasa
itihäsaù puräëaà vidyä upaniñadaù çlokäù süträëy
anuvyäkhyänäny asyai vaitäni sarväëi niçvasitäni
1 Intellectual class of men.