Don’t you know how to swim? | Śrīla Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī #shorts

29 Dec 2025 · 3 min

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2:45

In this short devotional monologue, the speaker recounts an anecdote about a highly educated Indian scholar who studied at Harvard and returned to India, traveling by boat with an uneducated but devout Krishna‑chanting boatman. The scholar boasts about his knowledge of English, computers, and astronomy, claiming the boatman has wasted increasing portions of his life. When a storm threatens the boat, the scholar admits he cannot swim, prompting the boatman to remark that the scholar has now wasted 100% of his life. The speaker uses this story to illustrate that worldly knowledge is ultimately tested by death and that true purpose lies in spiritual practice. He cites Bhagavad‑gītā chapters 3 and 5, emphasizing karma‑yoga – performing actions for the pleasure of the Lord – as the proper orientation of life.

Chapters

There once was a very learned man, Indian who had gone to America to Harvard to study. Then he came back to India. He was traveling in a boat. Though he was traveling in a boat, he was very educated, PhD. And the boatman was uneducated. But the boatman had one qualification. He was a devotee of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and he was chanting the holy names of the Lord. He knew the purpose of human life. So this scholar from America asked the boatman, "What is this you are doing?" He was a westernized Indian. You know, some of these westernized Indians know nothing about their culture. So the boatman said, "I am chanting the names of God, Hare Kṛṣṇa." So a little later the scholar said, "Do you know American English?" He said, "I don't even know Indian English, forget about it. I'm uneducated." So he said, "You have wasted 25% of your life." A little later, he asked him if he knew something about computers. And the boatman said, "No, I know nothing about computers too." So he said, "You've wasted half your life, 50%." A little later, he asked him about astronomy. If you knew something about astronomy. And the boatman replied, "No." He knew nothing. So the scholar in a very boastful mood said, "You have wasted 75% of your life." And as they were sailing, it became windy. Can you predict when the temperature will change? No one can predict. It became very windy. And because it became windy, The boat began to— and then the boatman, the scholar got nervous. He said, "What's happening? The boat is— it looks very windy. The boat is shaking." So the boatman said, "Sir, I hope in America you learned how to swim. It appears we are going to get drowned and you may have to due to bad weather." And scholar said, I learned everything except swimming. So the boatman said, so now 100% reliable. So the point is, everything we learn gets tested at death, and human life is temporary. Therefore, Bhagavad-gītā, in chapters 3 and 5, where the subject matter is karma yoga, Bhagavad-gītā is teaching us that we should act, but act for the pleasure of the Lord.