Tattva-darśī means who has actually seen the truth, oṁ tat sat. One who has seen the Supreme Truth. That Supreme Truth is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that "You are searching after the truth. You are studying the Vedic literature, Vedānta-darśana. That is very good. But what is the goal of Vedānta-darśana?" Veda means knowledge, and anta means the end, Vedānta, the ultimate knowledge. What is that? Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15). Kṛṣṇa says that, "If you are actually studying Vedānta, then ultimately you have to understand Me." Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd vedānta-vid cāham: "I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I understand . . . I am the knower of Vedānta." So if you hear from Kṛṣṇa what is Kṛṣṇa, that is actually understanding Vedānta. If you do not understand Kṛṣṇa and if you simply advertise yourself vedāntī, or vedantī, that will not help you.
Therefore, without this knowledge, there is . . . they have been called in the Bhagavad-gītā as mūḍhāḥ. Mūḍho 'yaṁ nābhijānāti, mohitam (BG 7.25).
- tribhir guṇamayair bhāvair
- mohitaṁ . . . mūḍhāḥ nābhijānāti
- mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam
- (BG 7.13)
The mūḍhas, they do not know it. So anyone who is in this material world, more or less, we are all mūḍhas. This morning I was talking while walking on the beach: more or less, we are all mūḍhas. Without being mūḍhaḥ, nobody comes here in this material world. Beginning from Brahmā down to the small ant, we are all mūḍhas of different degrees. So in order to become really learned, not to remain mūḍha, we have to associate with devotee. Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvidaḥ. Then it will be relishable. Relishable. Satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvidaḥ. When it is relishable . . . actually, when you take some foodstuff, if it is relishable, it gives you contentment, "Oh, very nice food." So bhavanti hṛt: "It is pleasing to the heart." "Oh, such a nice food." And pleasing to the tongue. Similarly, when kṛṣṇa-kathā is discussed amongst the devotees, it is pleasing to the heart and pleasing to the ear. Unless you taste, relish something through the ear and through the heart, how you can steadily follow kṛṣṇa-kathā? So that requires little training. And that training is given by the devotees, by their practical life, by their daily behavior, their routine work. If we follow, taj-joṣaṇāt . . . joṣaṇāt means to practice, is it not? (aside) What is given, joṣaṇāt? Cultivation, yes. Cultivation means practice. Practice.
So the ācāryas and the devotee, big, big devotees, they have given the routine work for cultivation. Just like we have got this Nectar of Devotion, how to cultivate devotional life. It is being very well received in European, American universities. In some of the universities they have made our Nectar of Devotion as textbook, "The Science of Bhakti." So there is everything. If we want to cultivate bhakti, it is not sentiment. Sentiment, of course, that may remain for some time. But it is a great science. We have to learn it scientifically. That is The Nectar of Devotion, the science of devotional life. So those who are interested, they may kindly read this book, Nectar of Devotion, cultivation. Taj-joṣaṇāt. And practical cultivation—if you live with the devotees, in the association, then there will be practical cultivation, to rise early in the morning, to offer maṅgala-ārātrika to the Deity, then study some Vedic literature, then take prasādam, then do this, do that; they go for preaching. Actually, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, practically showing how to cultivate the devotional life, taj-joṣaṇāt. And if we do so, then āśu. Āśu means very soon, without delay, even in this life. Even in this life, not that we have to wait for another life. If we practice devotional service in this life, even for few days, still, it will be a permanent asset.
Tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi (SB 1.5.17). If one takes to devotional service, tyaktvā sva-dharmam, giving up his routine duty . . . sva-dharma means the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. They have got the all . . . or brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, they have got their particular duties. But nobody is following any duty. They are creating their own duty. So anyway, somehow or other, if one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ, and practices for some time regularly, then again, due to bad association or by something he falls down, so śāstra says that, "What is the loss? There is no loss." On the other hand, if a person is executing his occupational duties very nicely, but he does not know what is Kṛṣṇa conscious, then what is the gain? There is no gain. No gain. Even if you become very pious by acting as a strict brahminv or a sannyāsī, but if you do not understand what is Kṛṣṇa, then there is no gain. It is simply waste of time.