Lord Krsna gives three requirements for one seeking
enlightenment from a self-realized soul.
A lecture given in New York on August 14, 1966
tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. Bhagavad-gita 4.34
KRSNA ADVISES, "IF YOU WANT to know the transcendental science, just approach someone who knows it." Pranipata means "surrender." You must select a person to whom you can surrender yourself.
Nobody likes to surrender to anyone. We are puffed up with whatever knowledge we have. "Oh, who can give me knowledge?" And there is regular propaganda that for spiritual realization there is no need of a spiritual master. But the Vedic literature Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Upanisads says that there is need of a spiritual master. For example the Vedic Upanisads say, tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet: "If you want to learn the transcendental subject, you must approach a spiritual master."
The first requirement is that you must be eager to learn the transcendental subject. Suppose I want to learn the art of music. Then I have to find a musician. Without having the association of a musician, one cannot learn the art of music. The same holds true for any art. If you want to become an engineer, you have to enroll in an engineering college or a technical college and learn there. Nor can one become a medical practitioner simply by purchasing books from the market and reading at home. That is not possible. You have to enroll in a medical college and undergo training and practical examination and so many things.
Similarly, if you want to learn Bhagavad-gita or any transcendental subject matter, Lord Krsna says that you must go to a person to whom you can surrender yourself. That means you have to check: "Who is the real person who can give me instruction on Bhagavad-gita or any Vedic literature?" Your search must not be whimsical. You have to search very seriously for a person who actually knows the subject. Otherwise, why surrender to someone? But since you have to find a person to whom you can voluntarily surrender, without finding that person your mission will not be fulfilled.
In the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita Arjuna was talking with Krsna just like a friend. But when Arjuna realized, "Our friendly talk will not make a solution," he surrendered unto Krsna. Sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam: "I become a surrendered disciple unto You. Please instruct me in my duty." This is the process.
Intelligent Inquiry
Here Krsna advises, "If you want to learn Bhagavad-gita, then you have to go to a person to whom you can surrender." But you should not blindly surrender. You must be able to inquire pariprasna. The next qualification is pariprasna, "inquiry." Without inquiry you cannot make advancement. A student in school who inquires from the teacher is intelligent. Even a child who inquires, "Oh, father, what is this? What is this?" is intelligent.
So inquiry is required, not only surrender "Oh, I have found a very good spiritual master. All right. I have surrendered. Now all my business is finished." No. You may have a very good spiritual master, but if you have no power to inquire, then you cannot make progress. Inquiries must be there. How do you inquire? Not to challenge. Not "Oh, I shall see what kind of spiritual master he is. Let me challenge him and put some irrelevant questions and talk nonsensically, this way and that way." That kind of inquiry will not help. Pariprasna means "inquiry on the point."
And that inquiry should be sevaya, "with service." Seva means "service." One should not think, "Oh, I have inquired so many things from such and such person, and I have not rendered any payment or service, so I have gained." No. Without service your inquiry will be futile.
So three requirements for approaching a spiritual master are given here: pranipata (surrender), pariprasna (inquiry), and seva (service).
No Diamonds from a Grocer
Pranipata means you must at least have the qualification to find a person actually qualified to give you real instruction. That qualification you must have. That remains on you.
Suppose you have to purchase some gold or jewelry. If you do not know where to purchase if you go to a grocery shop to purchase a jewel then you'll be cheated. If you go to a grocery shop and ask, "Can you give me a diamond?" the grocer will understand, "Here is a fool. So let me give him something else."
"Here. This is a diamond."
"Oh. What is the price?"
The grocer can charge anything. And when you come home, your relatives will ask, "What have you brought?"
"This is a diamond. I bought it at the grocery shop."
That way of finding a spiritual master will not do. You have to become a little intelligent, because without being intelligent one cannot make any spiritual progress.
The Vedanta-sutra says, athato brahma-jijnasa. Brahma-jijnasa means "to inquire about the supreme subject matter, Brahman." That inquiry requires a qualification: atha. Atha indicates that those who have become experienced by the miserable life in the material world can inquire about the Absolute Truth, about spiritual life.
Similarly, the Srimad-Bhagavatam states, tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam. Uttamam means udgata-tamam, "transcendental." Tama means "darkness." Anything of the material world is in darkness, because this material world is dark. You know that the whole universe is dark and therefore there is need of sunlight, moonlight, electricity. Uttamam refers to that which is beyond this darkness the transcendental subject, the spiritual subject. In the spiritual world there is no darkness.
Only one who wants to inquire about the spiritual world must find a spiritual master. Otherwise, there is no need of a spiritual master. For material improvement you don't require a spiritual master. For that you can work just as so many people are working. That is prescribed.
But because you are interested in the subject of Brahman the spiritual subject therefore you require a spiritual master. That is clearly stated. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta: "Therefore one has to surrender unto the spiritual master." Tasmat means "therefore."
Easy with Bhakti
In any Vedic literature you'll find the same instruction as stated in the Bhagavad-gita:
tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah
Jnaninah means jnani, or "a man in perfect knowledge." One in perfect knowledge has perfect vision not theoretical, but actual vision of the spiritual subject matter.
Tattva means "the Absolute Truth." You'll find in the Bhagavad-gita that Krsna is the supreme tattva, the Absolute Truth. Krsna says, manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye: "Out of many, many thousands of people, a few may try to get spiritual salvation." Not everyone is expected to hanker after spiritual salvation. That hankering requires many, many years' qualification. Then Lord Krsna says, yatatam api siddhanam kascin mam vetti tattvatah: "Out of many perfected spiritualists, only some may know Me in truth." First of all, out of many, many thousands of people, only some want perfection in spiritual life. Then out of those who have attained such perfection, one or two may understand Krsna.
The subject matter of Krsna is not easy. It is very difficult. But one can understand it very easily by following the process given in Bhagavad-gita:
bhaktya mam abhijanati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram
If you accept bhakti, devotional service, you can understand the difficult subject matter of Krsna very easily. Bhaktya mam abhijanati. Abhijanati means that you can understand perfectly. Yavan yas casmi tattvatah. Tattvatah means that you can understand the Absolute Truth as it is. And tato mam tattvato jnatva: after understanding the science of Krsna perfectly, you become eligible to enter the spiritual kingdom.
Lord Krsna says that after many, many births, when I am fully perfect in knowledge, I have to surrender to Him. "Then why not immediately surrender to Him? Why shall I wait for many, many births?" That is a very intelligent question. If surrender to Him is the end of perfection, then why not accept the perfection immediately?
But people are doubtful. Somebody asked me, "How long will it take to be perfect in Krsna consciousness?" I replied that Krsna consciousness can be had in one second, or it cannot be had in thousands of births and deaths. But if I understand the principle that after attaining full knowledge I have to ultimately surrender to Krsna to become a mahatma, a great soul why not immediately surrender to Krsna?
Most of us are not prepared to immediately accept Krsna as Supreme, or we have many doubts. Therefore, to drive away all our doubtful ideas, the sastras, the scriptures especially the Bhagavad-gita and theSrimad-Bhagavatam are there. If we scrutinizingly study these two books, we can understand the science of Krsna very nicely, and our progress in Krsna consciousness will be definite.
Thank you very much.