We understand from Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate that, "This living entity is never born, never dies." This information we get, very simple information. We are taking information from whom? Kṛṣṇa, jagad-guru, the supreme guru, the original guru. Guru means Kṛṣṇa's representative. A guru cannot be manufactured. Guru means . . . Kṛṣṇa is jagad-guru, and one who speaks on behalf of Kṛṣṇa or one who speaks as Kṛṣṇa says, he is guru. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, āmāra ājñāya guru hañā (CC Madhya 7.128): "You just become guru on My order." You cannot become guru automatically, without following the order of jagad-guru. The government servant . . . who is government servant? Who is strictly following the government order, that is government servant. Anyone can say: "I am government servant." No. How you can be? Similarly, guru means who is following the principles given by the jagad-guru. The . . . he's guru.
So the principle . . . what is that principle? Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). This is principle. "You give up all these nonsense activities. Simply surrender." So one who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa fully, no other business, he is guru. This is the definition of guru. There is no difficult to understand who is guru. One who follows strictly the principles laid down by jagad-guru, he is guru. So the jagad-guru says . . . because we have to learn everything, especially spiritual subject matter, from guru. Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). This is the injunction of the Vedas. If you want to understand Brahman, athāto brahma jijñāsā . . . this life, human life, is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth: athāto brahma jijñāsā. This is not meant for any other purpose. This life, any life, there is no question of inquiring about "Where shall I eat? Where shall I sleep? Where shall I have sex? How shall I be saved from fear?" There is no such question. This is already arranged. These things are already arranged even for the birds and beast. They are also living. They are also eating. They are also sleeping. They are also having sex life. They also defend them from danger. So by nature the arrangement is already there. So only thing is, difference than in other life . . . there are 8,400,000 . . . so eighty-million, 8,000,000 lives, they do not know except these things. And out of the four millions, eight million, four . . . 400,000 human species, so mostly they are like animals. So unless one comes to the Vedic civilization, he's not human being. He's not human being.
So when one comes to the Vedic principle, then the question is athāto brahma jijñāsā. Vedānta-sūtra says: "Now you have come to the real platform. You inquire about Brahman." Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ (SB 11.3.21). When one is inquisitive to inquire about the higher-level questions, brahma-jijñāsā, then he requires a guru. Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta: "You are now inquisitive about understanding higher-level knowledge, so you must go to a guru." Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta. Who? Jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. Uttamam. Uttamam means that which is above this darkness. This whole world is darkness. So one who wants to go above darkness . . . tamasi mā jyotir gama. The Vedic injunction is: "Don't keep yourself in darkness. Go to the light." That light is Brahman, brahma-jijñāsā.
So one who is inquisitive . . . the uttama . . . udgata-tama yasmāt. Udgata-tama. Tama means ignorance. So in the spiritual world, there is no ignorance. Jñāna. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they simply say jñāna, jñānavān. But jñāna is not stereotyped. There is varieties of jñāna. Just like in Vṛndāvana there is jñāna, but there is varieties: Somebody wants to love Kṛṣṇa as servant; somebody wants to love Kṛṣṇa as friend; somebody wants to appreciate Kṛṣṇa's opulence; somebody wants to love Kṛṣṇa as father and mother; somebody wants to love Kṛṣṇa as conjugal lover, as paramour—never mind. So somebody wants to love Kṛṣṇa as enemy, just like Kaṁsa. That is also vṛndāvana-līlā. He is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa in a different way, how to kill Kṛṣṇa. Pūtanā, she also apparently came as lover of Kṛṣṇa, to offer her breast for sucking; but the internal desire was how to kill Kṛṣṇa. But that is also taken indirect love. Indirect love. Anvayāt.
So Kṛṣṇa is jagad-guru. He is the original teacher. That teacher is teaching personally in the Bhagavad-gītā, and we rascals, we do not take the lesson. Just see. Therefore we are mūḍhas. Anyone who is unfit to take the lessons given by the jagad-guru, he is mūḍha. Therefore our test tube is: if one does not know Kṛṣṇa, if one does not know how to follow Bhagavad-gītā, we immediately take him as a rascal. That's all. Never mind he . . . he may be prime minister, he may be high-court judge, or . . . no. "No, he is prime minister. He is high-court judge. Still mūḍhaḥ?" Yes. "How?" Māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ (BG 7.15): "He has no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. He is covered by māyā." Māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Therefore he's mūḍha. So straightly preach. Of course, you may say all these things in soft language just to . . . not to make any agitation, but anyone who does not accept Kṛṣṇa as the jagad-guru and does not take His lessons, he is a rascal. Just like this mūḍha in Jagannātha Purī. He says that, "You take next birth. Then you can . . ." That mūḍha, take him as rascal. Why? He is jagad-guru; he is also says: "I am jagad-guru." But he is not jagad-guru. He has not even seen what is jagat. He is a frog, and he is claiming jagad-guru. So he's mūḍha. Kṛṣṇa says. He is mūḍha because he has not taken the lessons given by Kṛṣṇa.