Sevā means service. Not that "Oh, I have inquired so many things from such and such person. Oh, I have not rendered any payment or any service, so I have gained." No. Without service, your inquiry will be futile. So three things here. Praṇipāta, paripraśna and sevā. Praṇipāta. Praṇipāta means you must have the qualification to, at least to find out a person who is actually qualified to give you real instruction. That you have to do. That remains on you.
Suppose you have to purchase some gold or jewelries, and if you do not know where to purchase, if you go to a grocer shop to purchase a jewel, oh, then you'll be cheated. If he says, go to a grocer shop and ask, "Oh, can you give me diamond?" he will understand that "Here is a fool. So let him (me) give him something. This is diamond." "Oh. What is the price?" He can charge anything and when you come home, your relatives say, "What you have brought?" "This is diamond. I went to the grocer shop." So that kind of finding spiritual master will not do. You have to become a little intelligent. Because without being intelligent nobody can make any spiritual progress.
Athāto brahma... In the Brahma-sūtra, in the Vedānta-sūtra, it is stated, athāto brahma jijñāsā. Brahma-jijñāsā. Brahma-jijñāsā means to inquire, inquire about the supreme subject matter Brahman. That requires a qualification. Atha. Atha means those who have become experienced of this miserable life of this material world. They can inquire. Then can inquire what is Absolute Truth, what is spiritual life. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. Similarly, in the Bhāgavata also it is stated, tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21).
Śreya uttamam. Uttamam means the udgata-tamam. That is transcendental. Tama means darkness. Anything of this material world, that is in darkness because this material world is dark. You know that the whole world, whole universe, is dark. Therefore there is requisition of the sunlight, moonlight, electricity. It is dark. So uttamam means which is beyond this darkness, beyond this darkness. That means transcendental subject, spiritual subject. In the spiritual world there is no darkness. So if anyone is desirous of inquiring about the spiritual world, then he requires to find out a spiritual master. Otherwise there is no necessity. For a man who wants to remain in this darkness, for material benefit...
Suppose I want some spiritual master or I want to study Bhagavad-gītā or Vedānta-sūtra so that I may make some material improvement. Oh, that is not required. For material improvement you can work just so many people are working. They are making, trying industry or something like... That is prescribed. But if you are at all interested about the Brahman subject, the spiritual subject, then you require a spiritual master. That is clearly stated. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta (SB 11.3.21). Tasmāt means "Therefore one has to surrender unto the spiritual master."
Who? Who is jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam: "who is very much eager to understand about the transcendental subject matter." So any Vedic literature the same instruction you'll find, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā,
- tad viddhi praṇipātena
- paripraśnena sevayā
- upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
- jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
- (BG 4.34)
Jñāninaḥ means jñānī, or a man who is in perfect knowledge. Perfect knowledge means one who has perfect vision or the perfect, not theoretical, but actual vision of the spiritual subject matter. He is called jñānī. Jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ.
Tattva. Tattva means the Absolute Truth. Now, so far tattva is concerned, you'll find in the Bhagavad-gītā that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme tattva, Absolute Truth.
Now, He explains that manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye: (BG 7.3) "Out of many, many thousands of people, a few people may try how to get spiritual salvation." Not all. Everyone is not expected to hanker after spiritual salvation. That requires also many, many years qualification. So manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu. After many... Out of many, many thousands of people, one is very much anxious for spiritual realization. And then Lord Kṛṣṇa says, yatatām api siddhānām (BG 7.3). And out of many perfected spiritualists, some may know what is Kṛṣṇa. Just try to understand. First of all out of many, many, many thousands of people, who wants to have perfection in spiritual life, then those persons who have attained such perfection, out of them, one or two may understand what is Kṛṣṇa.
So the subject matter of Kṛṣṇa is not so easy. It is very difficult also. But one can understand very easily. That process is also prescribed in the Bhagavad-gītā.
- bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
- yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
- tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā
- viśate tad-anantaram
- (BG 18.55)
Bhakti, devotional service. That devotional service, if you accept, you can understand that difficult subject matter of Kṛṣṇa very easily. Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti. Abhijānāti means perfectly you can understand. Yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ. Tattvataḥ means the Absolute Truth as it is, you can understand. And tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā, and after understanding the Kṛṣṇa science very perfectly, he becomes eligible to enter into that spiritual kingdom. These things are stated.