View source for This is not higher science. Higher science is brahma-jijnasa, to inquire about Brahman. That is higher science. This science, earning money and fulfilling the hungry belly, this science the birds and beast also know how to do it

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{{terms|"This is not higher science. Higher science is brahma-jijnasa, to inquire about Brahman. That is higher science. This science, earning money and fulfilling the hungry belly, this science the birds and beast also know how to do it"}}
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{{compiler|Krsnadas}}
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[[Category:That Is Not]]
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[[Category:Athato Brahma Jijnasa]]
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[[Category:Earn Money]]
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[[Category:Know How]]
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<div id="Lectures" class="section" sec_index="4" parent="compilation" text="Lectures"><h2>Lectures</h2>
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<div id="General_Lectures" class="sub_section" sec_index="11" parent="Lectures" text="General Lectures"><h3>General Lectures</h3>
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<div id="SundayFeastLectureLosAngelesMay211972_0" class="quote" parent="General_Lectures" book="Lec" index="116" link="Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972" link_text="Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972">
<div class="heading">Earn some money, and eat something, and sleep, and have some sex life, and die—this is not higher science. This is not higher science. Higher science is brahma-jijñāsā, to inquire about Brahman. That is higher science. This science, earning money and fulfilling the hungry belly, this science the birds and beast also know how to do it. It does not require much education.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972|Sunday Feast Lecture -- Los Angeles, May 21, 1972]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="text"><p style="display: inline;">There is a small instructive story in this—not story, fact—in this connection. In Calcutta there was a great dramatist. He was very well known, government officer. He wrote one book, Shah Jahan. That is very famous book for theatrical play. So in that Shah Jahan, means the king emperor Shah Jahan, the... Practically, the name which is given on the book, the hero title, he's the hero. So one of the friends of Mr. D. L. Raya, he inquired from Mr. Raya that "In your book Shah Jahan, the actual hero is Aurangzeb. Why you have given the title Shah Jahan?" He could not understand it. So I'm just trying to explain that the purpose of the book must be known to the author, not others. So the author replied, "My dear friend, the actual hero is Shah Jahan, not Aurangzeb." Although the Shah Jahan book is full of the activities of Aurangzeb, the fact is that Shah Jahan was the emperor. He had many, four or five sons, and his wife died, Mumtaz, at an early age. You have seen, those who have gone to India, you have seen the Taj Mahal building. That building was constructed in the memory of that Mumtaz by Shah Jahan. He spent all his money for constructing that building. So it is one of the seven wonders of the world. So that Shah Jahan lost his wife at an early age. She (he) was very fond of his wife. And because, affectionate father, he did not very much chastise his sons, and he spent all his money in constructing the memory of his wife, so when the sons grew up, the third son, Aurangzeb, came out very crooked. And he made a plan how to usurp the empire. He killed his elder brother and other brothers. He arrested his father, Shah Jahan. So this is the book subject matter, Shah Jahan. So whole activities. But the author says that "Aurangzeb is not the hero; hero is Shah Jahan." Then he explained why. "Now, because Shah Jahan was living, sitting in the Agra Fort as a prisoner, and all the reactions of Aurangzeb's activities, killing of his other sons, usurping the empire, that was beating on his heart; therefore he was suffering. He is the hero."</p>
<p>So this is an example. The author of a book knows very well what is the purpose of that book. That is my statement. Similarly, this Vedānta-sūtra was compiled by Vyāsadeva, or Kṛṣṇa's incarnation, or Kṛṣṇa Himself. So He knows what is Vedānta-sūtra. So if you want to understand Vedānta-sūtra, then you must understand Kṛṣṇa. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyam ([[Vanisource:BG 15.15|BG 15.15]]). Kṛṣṇa says also that by studying all the Vedic literature, one has to understand Kṛṣṇa. And He also confirms... And Vyāsadeva explains Vedānta-sūtra in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Because He knew that "Vedānta-sūtra, being authoritative version of Vedic literature, so many rascals will comment in different way. Therefore I must leave..." That was also done under the instruction of Nārada. He wrote personally a commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. That is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāṣyāyāṁ brahma-sūtrānāṁ vedārtha paribṛṁhitam. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the right commentary by the author Himself. And the vedārtha paribhṛmhitam the purpose of Vedas, the scheme of Vedic literature, is explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So this human life..., athāto brahma jijñāsā, means, the Vedānta-sūtra says, that "This life, this human life, is meant for understanding God." Brahma-jijñāsā. At least, not understanding, at least inquiring, jijñāsā. Jijñāsā means inquiring.</p>
<p>So where the inquiry should be made? If I want to inquire about God, shall I go to the storekeeper or drug shop or a motor shop? No. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). If you want to know the transcendental science, then you must find out a guru. That is injunction. Jijñāsuḥ śreyaḥ uttamam. Guruṁ prapadyeta. Tasmād prapadyeta guruṁ jijñāsuḥ śreyaḥ uttamam. If you are actually inquisitive to understand higher science, uttamam... Uttama means higher. These are not higher sciences, how to earn some money. Earn some money, and eat something, and sleep, and have some sex life, and die—this is not higher science. This is not higher science. Higher science is brahma-jijñāsā, to inquire about Brahman. That is higher science. This science, earning money and fulfilling the hungry belly, this science the birds and beast also know how to do it. It does not require much education. There is no scientific education how to enjoy sex life. Everyone knows how to do it. Similarly, there is no need of scientific education, how to eat or how to find out your food. The birds and beast, they are also finding out, and are they also eating. So these are not higher sciences. The higher science is to inquire, athāto brahma jijñāsā, to inquire about God, the Supreme. And that can be done by the human being, not by others. Not the cats and dogs. So if we do not give education of this higher science to the human society, if we keep them dumb about this, or if we make secular state, prohibitive injunction to understand God, then it is an animal society. It is an animal society. So such things happen sometimes.</p>
<p>So there is a narration of King Vena. The King Vena happened to be an atheist king. So because that... The reason is given that his mother was the daughter of an atheist king. Narānāṁ matur lakṣānām. It is a scientific fact that a son inherits the quality of the mother, and a daughter inherits the quality of father. So the King Vena's mother inherited the quality of her father, and the Vena, King Vena, inherited the quality of grandfather, or mother. So he was atheist king, atheistic. When he become king... He was very powerful, strong, but atheist. So when he became king, because he was very powerful, he declared by drum beating... What is that?</p>
:na yaṣṭavyaṁ na dātavyaṁ
:na hotavyaṁ dvijāḥ kvacit
:iti nyavārayad dharmaṁ
:bherī-ghoṣeṇa sarvaśaḥ
:([[Vanisource:SB 4.14.6|SB 4.14.6]])
<p>Bherī-ghoṣeṇa means by sound of bugle. Formerly, when there was some declaration by the king, by the government, one should go in the marketplace and, the government men, and take a drum and one bugle, and they'll declare, "This is the law from this day." That's all. No more gazette. So, this is the old system. Somewhere it's still existing. So the Vena king declared that "These are all nonsense." What is this? Na yaṣṭavyam: "No more worship of God, no more sacrifice." Na dātavyam: "No more charity. Stop all this!" Na dātavyaṁ na hotavyam: "No more offering oblations to the fire, sacrifice." Dvijāḥ kvacit iti. This business was meant for the brāhmaṇas; therefore, dvija, he's restricting the brāhmaṇas that "Don't do all this nonsense anymore." Dvijāḥ kvacit. Iti nyavārayad dharmam: "In this way he stopped all religious activities." Bherī-ghoṣeṇa sarvaśaḥ.</p>
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