Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


Suppose if you want to learn engineering, so you cannot go to a butcher; you must find out an engineer. You must admit yourself into the engineering college, learn how to practice engineering

Expressions researched:
"Suppose if you want to learn engineering, so you cannot go to a butcher; you must find out an engineer. You must admit yourself into the engineering college, learn how to practice engineering"

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Suppose if you want to learn engineering, so you cannot go to a butcher; you must find out an engineer. You must admit yourself into the engineering college, learn how to practice engineering. Suppose if you want to become a medical practitioner, so you have to admit yourself in some medical college. Similarly, if you want to know about spiritual matter, then you must approach a spiritual master who knows the things. How you can learn it from anywhere and everywhere? One must be expert in spiritual knowledge. From him you have to learn. Therefore it is said here, "Just try to learn the truth by here . . .".

This is the process of understanding spiritual knowledge. "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master." So if you want to learn, this is a commonsense affair. Whatever subject matter you want to learn, you have to find out an expert.

Suppose if you want to learn engineering, so you cannot go to a butcher; you must find out an engineer. You must admit yourself into the engineering college, learn how to practice engineering. Suppose if you want to become a medical practitioner, so you have to admit yourself in some medical college. Similarly, if you want to know about spiritual matter, then you must approach a spiritual master who knows the things. How you can learn it from anywhere and everywhere? One must be expert in spiritual knowledge. From him you have to learn. Therefore it is said here, "Just try to learn the truth by here . . ."

"Truth" means the Absolute Truth, not relative truth. Or even if you want to know relative truth, you have to approach a particular expert. But here, it is indicated, truth means the Absolute Truth. So Kṛṣṇa indicates that, "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master." Tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet.

That is the Vedic injunction.

In the Kaṭhopaniṣad the Vedas says that, "If you want to learn transcendental science, so you have to approach a bona fide spiritual master." And who is bona fide spiritual master? That is also described, śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham: "One who has heard from his spiritual master." This is . . . Spiritual master becomes by disciplic succession, ascending process. Just like we learn "Man is mortal" from some higher authority—from my father, from mother or any other authority.

Or just a child. A child is attracted generally to his mother—in human being, in animals, everywhere. So if a child wants to know his father, then the authority is the mother, and there is no other authority. The child cannot know the name of his father by his own imagination or speculation. If he thinks, "Oh, he may be my father," "He may be my father," "He may be my father . . ." go on imagining, speculating, but you will never be able to understand who is your father. But the mother indicates, "My dear child, he is your father"—immediately business finished. You see?

So if you want to speculate how is God, who is the supreme father, you go on speculating for lives together. But if somebody knows, "Here is your God," you accept it—the business finished. Very simple truth. You cannot imagine, you cannot speculate, even on your ordinary father, what to speak of the supreme father. Is it possible? No.

Therefore just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. One who is fortunate to have a bona fide spiritual master, he is supposed to . . . Ācāryavān puruṣo veda (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2):

"One who has taken shelter of a real ācārya, spiritual master, from the disciplic succession, he knows." Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Veda means "He is in the knowledge." One who has accepted a bona fide spiritual master, he is in the knowledge. Others are fools. This is the Vedic version everywhere. Here also, Bhagavad-gītā, it is said that "You try to learn the truth by approaching spiritual master."

Page Title:Suppose if you want to learn engineering, so you cannot go to a butcher; you must find out an engineer. You must admit yourself into the engineering college, learn how to practice engineering
Compiler:Nabakumar
Created:2023-01-10, 06:49:33
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1