Who? Who is recommended to find out a spiritual master? Tasmād gurum...jijñāsuḥ. Jijñāsuḥ means who is inquisitive. What kind of inquisitive? Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam: "What is the ultimate goal of my life?" If you have no such view to inquire what is the ultimate goal of your, you need not require to search out a spiritual master. Spiritual master is not a show bottle. Just like, "Oh, so many people, they have got a spiritual master. Let me have also some spiritual master." It is not like that. It is only jijñāsuḥ, one must be very much inquisitive of the transcendental subject matter. He requires a spiritual master. So here also, the Lord says that tad viddhi: "If you want to understand that transcendental subject matter, then you must approach a person, a bona fide spiritual master."
Jijnasuh means
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Go on inquiring. The inquiry is called philosophy. Philosophy means to inquire, research. Or say... You have read in the Bhagavad-gītā, jñānī jijñāsuḥ. Jijñāsuḥ means inquiry. Four kinds of people who are in the righteous path, whose life is regulated, who is not upstart, who follows the rules and regulation of scriptures, and higher authority, or higher principles, such person, not all... That is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ (BG 7.15). Those who are simply addicted to, I mean to say, sinful activities, they cannot inquire. They will be in the darkness, gone, gone under some intoxication, gone. But those who are actually righteous and pious, they will have this inquiry, and they will come to God.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is directed, tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta: (SB 11.3.21) "One should surrender to a spiritual master." Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ. Who will surrender? Who has become very inquisitive, "What is God?" Take for example, "What is God? What I am?" Now, unless one is very seriously inquisitive about this subject matter, there is no need of spiritual master. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ. Jijñāsuḥ means very inquisitive. And what sort of jijñāsuḥ, inquisitive? There must be some subject matter of inquiry. Just in the market place the businessmen, their inquiry, "What is the rate? What is the price of this thing?" He's interested in purchasing and selling. The Bhāgavata says, "Not that kind of inquisitiveness. Not for any material inquiry." There is no need of asking about any material things which are hackneyed. Jijñāsuḥ śreya. "What is my ultimate goal of life?" That inquiry. Now, everyone knows that "My ultimate goal of life is to accumulate a big bank balance." Generally, we think like that. Or somebody thinks that "If I possess a big skyscraper house and several motorcars, that is ultimate goal of my life." But Bhāgavata says, "Not that kind of inquiries. You do not require to enquire about how to achieve a skyscraper house or several motorcars or very good apartment." Just materialists, as they want.
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in Bhagavad-gītā, in all Vedic literature... Who requires a guru? That is described. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). He requires a guru. Jijñāsuḥ. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. That is human life. One who is interested in inquiring about Brahman, he requires a guru. One who has no business for understanding Brahman, simply to make a fashion that "I have a guru," this is useless. It has no value. One must be very much inquisitive to understand the spiritual science. He requires a guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ (SB 11.3.21). Jijñāsuḥ means inquisitive.
- catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ
- janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna
- ārto jijñāsur arthārthī
- jñānī ca bharatarṣabha
- (BG 7.16)
Jñānī jijñāsur ārtaḥ arthārthī. The gṛhasthas, they are ārta, distressed. So if he's pious, so in his distressed condition he approaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead, "My Lord, I am very much distressed. Kindly give me Your favor." "Give me." There is "give me." And jijñāsuḥ, jñānī, they do not want anything "Give me," but jijñāsuḥ: "Actually, what is God? What is the Absolute Truth?" That is the difference. One is going to God for asking something, and jijñāsuḥ, jñānī, is eulogized because they do not ask anything. To ask anything from God is not higher standard of bhakti.
Generally, they worship God, needy ārtaḥ arthārthī. Ārtaḥ means diseased, arthārthī means in need of money. People generally go to church (or) temple when they are suffering from some ailments or need of money, these two classes. Another two classes, jijñāsuḥ jñānī. Jñānī means who is after pure knowledge and jijñāsuḥ means inquisitive—what is the nature of God. These are, they are higher section but they are not bhaktas. Just like there are many philosophers, they also talk of God, but they are not bhaktas. But because they are talking of God, they are getting some benefit. Just like if you handle with fire, you perceive some warmth automatically. So these four classes of man they are not bhaktas, devotees, ārtaḥ, arthārthī, jñānī, and jijñāsuḥ. But because they come to Kṛṣṇa for some benefit, somehow or other they offer their service, because praying is also another service. There are nine kinds of services: śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam, arcanaṁ vandanam (SB 7.5.23). Vandanam, this is also service. But because this service is rendered for some motive to mitigate the sufferings, ārtaḥ arthārthi, or to satisfy some inquires, they are not pure devotion.
So one who requires to go to the world of light, he requires a guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ (SB 11.3.21). Jijñāsuḥ means inquisitive. Everyone is jijñāsuḥ. We go to the market to purchase something, we are also jijñāsuḥ there. "What is the price of this? What is the price of that?" That is also inquiry. But not, inquiry is not like that, as we go to the market and other material markets. That is also, inquiry is the life—but material inquiry. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. Śreya, śreya means ultimate goal of life. In the material world, there is no question of śreya; it is all preya. There are two things, preya and śreya. Immediate benefit, that is called preya. Just like child. If you ask child to sit down and read book, he would not like. If you offer one lugdu, he will immediately accept. A small child, we see, you have seen: we distribute biscuits and immediately, the small child, immediately he knows how to take it and put it in the mouth. This is called preya, "dear." They do not know anything else. If you give him poison, he will like to eat. This is child's nature. So if you ask the child, "Now you sit down and read books and write," he would not like. That is called śreya. To become educated is good for him for future, but he doesn't like. But if we give our lugdu, immediately he'll accept. This is the distinction between śreya and preya.
Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ. Jijñāsuḥ means inquisitive. What kind of inquisitiveness? Not that we are inquisitive about politics or economics or some football result or some... So many things we have got. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that there are many questions by the conditioned soul. There are many questions by the conditioned soul living within this material existence without any knowledge of the self-realization. There are many questions. So that sort of question is not required to be solved by the spiritual master. The spiritual master should be approached by a person who is inquisitive to understand śreya uttamam, what is the highest benefit, spiritual benefit, beyond this material existence. For that purpose. Śreya. Śreya means the benefit, highest benefit. Preya and śreya. Preya means immediately I want some benefit, and śreya means the ultimate benefit. One who is inquisitive about the ultimate benefit, he should be inquisitive or inquire from a bona fide spiritual master. Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam.
General Lectures
In our process, ādau gurvāśrayaṁ sad-dharma pṛcchāt. One has to accept a bona fide spiritual master and he has to inquire from him, sad-dharma pṛcchāt. Similarly, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also says that jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. "One who is inquisitive to understand the Absolute Truth, he requires a spiritual master." Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21). Jijñāsuḥ means inquisitive, one who inquires. Inquiry is natural. Just like a child: with the development of his life he inquires from the parents, "Father, what it is? Mother, what it is? What it is? What it is?" This is nice. A boy, child, who is inquiring, that means he is very intelligent boy. So we should be intelligent and inquire, jijñāsā. Brahma-jijñāsā. This life is for brahma-jijñāsā, to understand, to inquire about God. Then a life is successful. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. And after inquiring, inquiring, inquiring, understanding, understanding, understanding, then what is the ultimate stage? That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). After many, many births of inquiry, when one becomes actually a wise man, man of knowledge, then what happens? Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate: "He surrenders unto Me," Kṛṣṇa says. Why? Vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti. He understands that Vasudeva, Kṛṣṇa, is the cause of all causes. Sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ. But such kind of great soul is very rare, to understand it. Therefore Caitanya-caritāmṛta says, sei bado catura: he is very intelligent.
| Page Title: | Jijnasuh means |
| Compiler: | Rishab, Serene |
| Created: | 31 of Oct, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=8, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 8 |