Brahma-jijnasa means

Expressions researched:
"Means when a person" |"brahma-jijnasa means"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Brahma-jijñāsā means to inquire, inquire about the supreme subject matter Brahman.

Lecture on BG 4.34 -- New York, August 14, 1966:

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...

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

So the brahma-jijñāsā means how the sun is rising exactly in time? Who has made this rule?

Lecture on SB 1.5.22 -- Vrndavana, August 3, 1974:

Brahma-jijñāsā means... Anything you take, it is working in a standard way. Just like the sun is rising. So the brahma-jijñāsā means how the sun is rising exactly in time? Who has made this rule? And in astronomy there is very fine calculation, one ten-thousandth part of a minute or something like that? I have heard from you scientists. They, they make calculation of the movement of the sun, that. In astrology also, the moment is calculated like that. If the exact moment is there, by mathematical calculation, he can give you the exact history of your whole life. This is standard, all standard. Niyamitaḥ. Yasyājñayā bhramati kāla-cakraḥ. There is, Brahma-saṁhitā says:

yac-cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ

rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ

yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

How exactly the sun and the moon and the planets, they are rotating? How? Yasyājñayā, by whose order? That Govinda, ādi-puruṣa, I offer my respectful... Everywhere you'll find the research.

Brahma-jijñāsā means... That is not ordinary jijñāsā. It is called uttamam. Uttamam means transcendental to this material world, which is full of darkness, ignorance.

Lecture on SB 3.25.19 -- Bombay, November 19, 1974:

Now, when there is question of jijñāsā, brahma-jijñāsā, then we inquire from a person who knows. Therefore it is said that tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam: (SB 11.3.21) "If you are actually interested in inquiring about Brahman, then you must go to guru who knows Brahman." Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta. You cannot understand Brahman realization alone. Therefore, according to Vaiṣṇava philosophy, ādau gurvāśrayam. The first business is to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master. If you want... Not only brahma-jijñāsā—any. You must go to the perfect person who knows things. If you wandering on some street you do not know, you ask somebody, "Where shall I go? In this way or that way?" So this is natural. So about Brahman, jijñāsuḥ... Brahma-jijñāsā means... That is not ordinary jijñāsā. It is called uttamam. Uttamam means transcendental to this material world, which is full of darkness, ignorance. That is called ut. Ud-gata tama yasmād iti uttama. There is no more darkness, simply light. If you, at night, you inquire about something, then it is very difficult. But if you go in the daytime... And at night if you got up on your roof and want to see where is Bombay or where is Santa Cruz, it is very difficult. But daytime, you can see. Similarly, uttamam. You must go out of this darkness, come to the light, and then you will see.

Brahma-jijñāsā means inquiry about the spirit soul. That is brahma-jijñāsā.

Lecture on SB 6.1.3 -- Melbourne, May 22, 1975:

So the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, as I have repeatedly said, it is that culture. Athāto brahma jijñāsā: "What is the ultimate aim of life, ultimate goal of life?" Because I am eternal. I am simply changing body. Na jāyate na mriyate va kadācit. Kadācit means at any time the ātmā, the soul, is never born, na jāyate, the living soul. Na jāyate. Na jāyate means never born. "But I see. My child is born." No, that you see, the body of the child, not the child as soul. That is knowledge. That is called brahma-jñāna, that "This body... I am not this body; I am spirit soul." Then the inquiry will be "Then wherefrom the spirit soul has come?" That should be the inquiry. "And why, if I am eternal, then why I am put to this condition of repetition of birth and death?" These are inquiries. This is called brahma-jijñāsā. Brahma-jijñāsā means inquiry about the spirit soul. That is brahma-jijñāsā. So in this way we should utilize our intelligence, life, not simply for these bodily comforts of life, no. That bodily comforts of life even the dogs and hogs they are also seeking. They are also seeking. Then what is the difference between dogs, hogs, and myself? Therefore śāstra says, nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye (SB 5.5.1). This is the warning given by Mahārāja Ṛṣabhadeva to His sons. "My dear sons, don't spoil your life working very hard like the dogs and hogs just to satisfy your senses." This is the instruction. We are being taught at the modern age that "Work very hard and enjoy your senses." This is the modern civilization. "Get money some way or other, and spend it for sense gratification." That is the goal. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). They are not taught, they are not educated, that what is the end of life, goal of life. That is God realization. They do not know it. Na te viduḥ. "They do not know it." Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatim. Everyone is self-interested. Everyone is looking after his self-interest. That's good, very good. But do you know what is your self-interest? That they do not know. Somebody is thinking, "My self-interest is this"; somebody is thinking, "My self-interest is this," and therefore there is collision, strife, fight. But actually, the self-interest is one for the..., at least for the human being. What is that? Realization of God. It is equally important for the Americans; it is equally important for the Indians; equally important for every living being, especially for the civilized man. This is self-interest. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. What is that Absolute Truth? Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. That should be our first business. Of course, we require a living place and eating materials and sex arrangement or defense arrangement. That is required. You do that. But don't forget your main business. Then you are cats and dogs. Your main business is God realization.

This is called brahma-jijñāsā, this is called brahma-jijñāsā. Means when a person becomes inquisitive about this "Why?" "Why I am suffering?" then he becomes intelligent. The he comes to the standard of human life.

Lecture on SB 6.1.6 -- Sydney, February 17, 1973:

Then because, as Śukadeva Goswāmī is the most intelligent instructor of Bhāgavata principles, the audience, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he is also very important, very intelligent audience, and he has put this, "What is the use of this atonement? I don't find any benefit. If I have to commit the same sinful activities, what is the use of such atonement? It is just like the bath taken by the elephant, kuñjara-śaucavat." Therefore he replied,

bādarāyaṇir uvāca

karmaṇā karma-nirhāro

na hy ātyantika iṣyate

avidvad-adhikāritvāt

prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam

"Yes, my dear King, you are right. Your question is very intelligent. Actually, by committing something wrong and reacting it by something else, that is not very beneficial. The real prāyaścitta is knowledge." Real prāyaścitta is knowledge. A thief is committing theft and going to the prison, suffers for six months, again he comes out, and again he commits theft, and within four days again he is put into the prison. We have seen many such cases. He..., the thief comes out of the jail, and exactly after four days he's again put into the jail. So this action and reaction... One has committed theft, and the reaction is that he is put into the jail. This is not exactly beneficial. Real is that thief must be given knowledge. Knowledge... For want of knowledge, the whole world is suffering for want of knowledge. Therefore Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving actual knowledge of the living entity, mīmāṁsā. Mīmāṁsā means that think over the matter, that "Why I am doing this?" This is called brahma-jijñāsā, this is called brahma-jijñāsā. Means when a person becomes inquisitive about this "Why?" "Why I am suffering?" then he becomes intelligent. The he comes to the standard of human life. And there is Upaniṣad, Kena Upaniṣad. Kena means "why." Just like Sanātana Gosvāmī, when he approached Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he placed this question, "Why? Why I am suffering?" Ke āmi, kene jāre tāpa-traya. "I do not want to die. Why there is death? I do not want to suffer from disease. Why there is disease? I do not want to take birth. Why I am put into the womb of mother again and again? Janma-mṛtyu jarā-vyādhi (BG 13.9). And I do not want to become old. Why I am forced to become old?" When a person comes to this standard, to inquire "Why these things are there?" this is real intelligence. Intelligence does not mean you gather, like asses, all the stones and iron and put them together and be satisfied that "Oh, I am very happy." That is asses' business. Ass is very expert to overload his body with heavy tons of... You know that? Maybe you do not know, but in India there is washerman, he puts tons of cloth over the back of the ass, and it carries. It cannot move, still it carries it. And it goes to the washing ghāṭa, washing place, and it stands there whole day eating little morsel of grass. He's thinking that "Unless I overload my back with this cloth, I cannot get this grass." Although he sees there are so many thousands and thousands of grasses all over, still he'll serve that washerman. Therefore it is called ass. (devotees laugh) You see? Ass. (more laughter) No intelligence, simply working for others, and eating a morsel of... I've seen in New York, very big publisher, he's very busy, but he's eating a few slice of bread and cup of tea and nothing more, that's all. You see? There are so many big, big men, they cannot eat much but they work more than us, all day and night. Therefore they are called asses. Karmīs, they are called asses. Not for his personal benefit, but he does not know for whose benefit he is working so hard, but still he is working, without benefit. Therefore sa eva go-kharaḥ. Those who are under the impression, the bodily concept of life, sa eva... Yasyātmā buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādīṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13). So when the asses will come to this standard, "Why I am working so hard?" then he's human being; otherwise he's no better than the cows and the asses.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Brahma-jijñāsā means first to know one's self, self-realization, "what I am."

Room Conversation -- September 19, 1973, Bombay:

Brahma-jijñāsā means this human form of life is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth, brahma-jijñāsā. This is human life. Unless one is jijñāsu, just like Sanātana Gosvāmī went to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and he inquired... His first inquiry was, "What I am?" His first inquiry was. Ke āmi, kene āmāya jāre tāpa-traya? He said, "grāmya-vyavahāre paṇḍita, tāi satya māni." He was a brāhmaṇa. So brāhmaṇas are addressed as "paṇḍitjī." He was paṇḍita. He was very learned scholar in Sanskrit and Parsee, Urdu. But he admitted his fault, that "Everyone calls me as paṇḍitjī, but I am such a paṇḍita that I do not know what I am. This is my 'paṇḍitjī.' Therefore I have come to inquire from You what I am." That is brahma-jijñāsā. Nobody knows in this material world what he is. Everyone is thinking, "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am Hindu," "I am Muslim," "I am brāhmaṇa," "I am woman," "I am man." This is their... is their... They do not know. Brahma-jijñāsā. Brahma-jijñāsā means first to know one's self, self-realization, "what I am." And in the Bhagavad-gītā the first reply is given there. This brahma-jijñāsā. Because Arjuna was puzzled. He was thinking that "My kinsmen, my grandfather, my brothers, they are this skin, this body." So he was thinking, "If I kill my grandfather, my brother on the other side, what is the use of this fight? I do not like." But he was thinking in bodily concept of life. This is the position of everyone. Everyone is in the bodily concept of life. Therefore the first instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā is dehino 'smin yathā dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā, tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). The asmin dehe, in this body, there is the soul. He is the proprietor. So this life should be, education means one should be advanced in education to inquire about himself, that is brahma-jijñāsā.