The parable of the father’s will teaches that scripture must be read symbolically, not literally.
A rich shopkeeper’s father left a will: go to work on the shadow, always eat the most delicious food, and give money without asking for it back. The son built a covered walkway, hired the best chef, and gave money to everyone. In three months he lost everything. An old friend explained: go before sunrise and return after sunset; eat only when very hungry, so three-day-old bread tastes delicious; and when lending money, take something more valuable as security. The son then received a second letter directing him to a temple at a specific time. He destroyed the temple looking for money, found nothing, and rebuilt it through karma yoga. The next year, the friend showed him to dig where the temple roof’s shadow fell. There he found the money.
We do the same with Guru Gītā, Bhagavad Gītā, and all texts. They are written in poetic language, the language of the wise, because what is beyond dimensions cannot be explained in ordinary words. Without symbolic understanding, Guru Gītā becomes a cult of personality. The real Guru says, “I am just a disciple, just a postman.”
From verse 20 to 30, the teaching is: leave attachment to social status, identity, and ego. Leave mokṣa as attachment. Leave āśram—the four stages of life—and pride in being a householder or sannyāsī. Leave jāti, social position; kīrti, reputation; puṣṭi, material security. Give everything to Gurudev, but this means non-attachment, not literal renunciation. Mahāprabhujī told a disciple: take care of everything, but know it is mine. Wisdom comes only through Guru Bhakti, not through reading hundreds of śāstras. The Guru swallows the darkness. Guru is beyond the three guṇas—tamas, rajas, sattva—which are māyā. Yoga is unity of ātmā with Paramātmā, beyond māyā.
Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic