Jagabandhu das: “We love to read a book which we have never read before. We are anxious to gather whatever information is contained in it, and with such acquirement our curiousity stops. This mode of study prevails amongst a great number of readers who are great men in there own estimation as well as the estimation of those who are of their own stamp. In fact, most readers are mere repositories of facts and statements made by other people. But this is not study. The student is to read the facts with a view to create, and not with the object of fruitless retention. Students, like satellites, should reflect whatever light they receive from authors, and not imprison the facts and thoughts just as the magistrates imprison the convicts in the jail!”
(Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur-The Bhagavat Speech, 1869)
So much might be learned just from listening & watching egoless natural phenomena like water & trees while floating carefree in the midst of God’s Creation. From water I can learn how to endure at my own true level—eventually overcoming all obstacles with gentle strength (“little drops of water wear away the stone”). From studying trees I can learn how to tolerate any and all discomfort or disturbance with unperturbed forebearance.
If I really want to learn. Then the sky’s the limit, so long as I don’t limit myself with the burden of false ego. Like how Mahaprabhu demonstrated that the student should feel foolish before their Teacher. Although I consider it more as reflective receptivity than the actual acquisition of learning per se.
The clearer that the mirror of the mind is: it will greatly enhance unique subjective capacity to reflect the eternal light of the Krishna Sun into our individual consciousness. Like a receiver, satellite or antenna receiving a sort of continual broadcast from Supersoul without egoistical sense of thought propriety. This is why Krishna tells us that He’s the intelligence in men. Which makes “intelligence” more like reflective receptivity or the listening capacity. I suppose that’s why we have only one tongue—but two ears. Because for a true student hearing is more important than speaking.
Therefore, we can’t really accept any credit for what our vanity might consider “our” realization because we’re really only repeating what we hear and reflect from Chaitya-guru/Supersoul/The Guru Within: which is why all Glory must always go to Sri Guru, manifest by God’s Infinite Grace-both within and without: in an infinity of forms in order to help you, me and all others…