Caitanya Mahaprabhu appreciates a brahmana's reading Bhagavad-gita

[Bhakti Vikasa Swami]

When Caitanya Mahaprabhu was traveling in South India, He saw that a brahmana
was reading Bhagavad-gita and his neighbors knew that "This brahmana is
illiterate. He does not know even what is A-B-C-D, and still he's reading
Bhagavad-gita." They were joking, sometimes criticizing him. The brahmana, of
course, was reading as far as possible.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the fun and approached the brahmana.
"My dear brahmana, what are you reading?"
The brahmana understood that "Here is a sincere person. He's not joking with
me. He's simply inquiring."
So he replied, "My dear sir, I am illiterate. I do not know even the alphabets.
But my Guru Maharaja asked me to read eighteen chapters of Bhagavad-gita every
day. So what can I do? I have taken to reading this Bhagavad-gita in pursuance
of the order of my spiritual master. So I am simply seeing the cover and trying
to understand what is there."
Now, he's illiterate. By seeing the cover, he's trying to understand
Bhagavad-gita by the order of his spiritual master. This is called Krsna
consciousness. "Because my spiritual master has ordered me to read
Bhagavad-gita - I know I'm illiterate, I cannot read - oh, let me see what it
is."
Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked him, "Well, you are illiterate, but I see that with
feeling you are crying."
"Yes, sir, I am crying."
"Why?"
"Now, as soon as I take this book, the picture of Krsna and Arjuna comes before
me. I see that Krsna is driving the chariot and Arjuna is hearing, and I simply
appreciate, 'Oh, Krsna is so kind that He has become the chariot driver of His
devotee.' Therefore I am crying. 'Oh, He's so kind.'"
Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "You are reading Bhagavad-gita."
At once He embraced him.
This is reading Bhagavad-gita. Commentary on Bhagavad-gita without Krsna is all
rascaldom. Be careful of those who comment in that way. They are all rascals,
because they have made Bhagavad-gita minus Krsna. They want to interpret in
their own way.
Similarly, they interpret Vedanta minus God. Caitanya Mahaprabhu warns you,
"Don't go to such rascals." There is no mistake. Try to understand
Bhagavad-gita or Vedanta-sutra or any scripture as it is. Don't try to change
it.
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Srila Prabhupada
Quoted in Back to Godhead Magazine #54-06, 2020