Whose Commentaries on the Scriptures, and Whose Translations of the Scriptures Can We Trust and Read? (Scriptures are the Authorities: Part 4)

Today, there are more commentaries on the scriptures than the scriptures themselves. All kinds of people, from all types of varying (and often suspicious) backgrounds, have written commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabarath, Upanishads, Puranas. Some, of course, get away with their fame, popularity, eloquence and even appearance, and successfully purvey their unverified and unauthentic views to the unwary public that willingly swallows everything hook, line and sinker.

Srimad Bhagavatam says, uninformed people go to "sat-prasaṅgāt" (= false preachers and teachers) for clarifications, and as a result of which, they end up "nikṛta-matir", i.e., they lose all intelligence. In other words, 5:14:13 says that there are fraudsters who pass themselves off some erudite swamijis or sadhus, and when we read or listen to their translations and interpretations of the scriptures, we not only get disinformation from them but also cause harm to our spiritual life.

Can we trust the views of someone just because he "seems" to be making sense? Is it safe and even proper to listen to and read the opinions of people whose spiritual background is in question. Because a writer accepts someone as a spiritual master, and has perhaps lived in his ashram or monastery for some years, could his views be accepted as the evidence that our scriptures speak of? There are many OSHOs, Sadhgurus, YouTube swamijis, sadhus these days, and are vastly growing in numbers and popularity --- who amongst them can be trusted in our search for the truth in the scriptures?

These are some of the questions that have been addressed in the following satsang by Swami Sri Velukkudi Krishnan: