So for spiritual realization this is very important thing, jijnasa. Jijnasa means inquiry. One who is not inquisitive, for him there is no progress, either spiritually or materially. In ordinary school also, the boy who inquires from the teacher always, he is considered to be very intelligent boy. Similarly, in our householder life, sometimes, generally, the children, they inquire from the parents: "Father, what is this? Father, what is that?" That boy, that child, is supposed to be very intelligent. This is experienced. So for spiritual life also, one should be very seriously inquisitive and studious.

It is a great science. It is not a bluff, that anybody can manufacture something spiritual. No. It is a great science. One has to study the science from bona fide spiritual master. Study means... It does not mean that one has to be very highly qualified in academic education. Spiritual science does not depend on one's academic education. You'll be surprised to know that my grand-spiritual master, my spiritual master's spiritual master, he was illiterate. And my spiritual master was the learned, greatest learned scholar of his age. Now, how he became the disciple of an illiterate man? So, but that Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja... His name was Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, my spiritual master's spiritual master, my grand-spiritual master. So he was illiterate, but when you asked him some question, some intricate question of spiritual significance, he'll answer you immediately very nicely. That is realization.

Now, how this realization takes place? Not by academic education, but by sincerity. If one is very sincere, that he wants to know what is spiritual science, what is God, what is self, what is Superself, what is this world, what is spiritual worldthere are so many questions. Unfortunately, we are not inquisitive. And one who is not inquisitive, for him there is no need of accepting a spiritual master. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is directed, tasmad gurum prapadyeta: [SB 11.3.21] "One should surrender to a spiritual master." Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh. Who will surrender? Who has become very inquisitive, "What is God?" Take for example, "What is God? What I am?" Now, unless one is very seriously inquisitive about this subject matter, there is no need of spiritual master. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh. Jijnasuh means very inquisitive. And what sort of jijnasuh, inquisitive? There must be some subject matter of inquiry. Just in the market place the businessmen, their inquiry, "What is the rate? What is the price of this thing?" He's interested in purchasing and selling. The Bhagavata says, "Not that kind of inquisitiveness. Not for any material inquiry." There is no need of asking about any material things which are hackneyed. Jijnasuh sreya. "What is my ultimate goal of life?" That inquiry. Now, everyone knows that "My ultimate goal of life is to accumulate a big bank balance." Generally, we think like that. Or somebody thinks that "If I possess a big skyscraper house and several motorcars, that is ultimate goal of my life." But Bhagavata says, "Not that kind of inquiries. You do not require to enquire about how to achieve a skyscraper house or several motorcars or very good apartment." Just materialists, as they want. That you may enquire or not enquire. What is destined to you, it will come. It will come. The Bhagavata says that "Either you enquire..." You go to astrologer, "What is in my fate? Whether I am getting such and such things or not?" You enquire or not enquire, if you are destined to achieve that thing, it will come automatically. Everyone is bound up by the reaction of his past work.

Tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovidah. There is another verse in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Kovidah. Kovidah means very intelligent person. He should work for that purpose. What is that? Tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah [SB 1.5.18]. Now we have invented so many instruments for flying in the space. Upary adhah means very upward, fifty thousand miles up, and again down, you can travel. But the real goal of your life is not to be achieved in that way. Bhramatam upary adhah. Suppose if you reach the moon planet or sun planet... There are so many planets higher and higher, bigger and bigger. That is not your goal of life. Tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah [SB 1.5.18]. Your goal of life is that which you cannot achieve even by traveling the whole space. What is that? That goal of life is to search out God and your relationship with God. Because you are part and parcel of God, and somehow or other, you have been entrapped by this material atmosphere, and you are not happy. Nobody is happy. If one says that "I am happy," he must be a crazy man or he must be speaking lie. Nobody is happy. How you can be happy? Because we are always full of anxiety. That is our condition. Even if you are sitting here in the classroom of Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, still, I am thinking, "What will happen tomorrow? This business I have got to do." Some anxiety.

So, so long we have got anxiety, there is no question of happiness. And other things... Just like threefold miseries. Miseries means we have got three kinds of miseries: miseries pertaining to the body, pertaining to the mind, and pertaining to other people with whom we have got connection, and pertaining to the nature's disturbance. So there are so many miseries, threefold miseries. Adhyatmika adhibhautika adhidaivika. And besides that, we have got birth, death, old age and disease. So in this... So long we have got this body, there is no question of happiness. If somebody is satisfied that "I am happy," he is cheating himself. Happiness has to be found out. The Bhagavad-gita says that sukham atyantikam yat [Bg. 6.21]. If you want supreme happiness, then you have to search out beyond the sense happiness. We are entrapped here in this material world in sense happiness. If our senses are satisfied, we think we are happy. But Bhagavad-gita says that real happiness is to be searched out beyond the senses, transcendental.

So Bhagavata also says like that, that you should be inquisitive for the goal of your life. That goal of lifeeveryone is searching after happiness, but where I can get uninterrupted happiness, eternal happiness, blissful happiness? That you have to search out. That is the direction of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovidah. Intelligent persons who search out that kind of happiness, na labhyate yad bhramatam upary adhah, which cannot be achieved even by traveling or covering the whole space... Then one may question that "If I am engaged in searching out the goal of my life, accepting that spiritual realization is the goal of my life, then what about my living condition? I have to work." So Bhagavata answers that "You be engaged in your whatever engagement God has ordained to you, and do it honestly. But the gain out of your engagement will automatically come. Don't be very much anxious. You should be anxious to realize yourself." And how it will be achieved, my material needs? The answer is, "As you achieve all these miseries." The miseries are enforced upon us. Nobody desires that such-and-such misery may come upon him. Nobody expects. Just like there is fire brigade always running. Nobody expects that "There may be fire in my apartment or house," but sometimes it takes place, and the fire brigade has to be called for. Similarly, as we do not expect fire but it takes place, similarly, even I do not try for my material happiness, whatever ordained, whatever I am destined to achieve, that will come. That is the answer of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Therefore we should not be wasting our valuable time of human life simply for economic development. We should be inquisitive about "What I am." This is the first inquiry. Athato brahma jijnasa. This is called brahma-jijnasa. So Narada Muni is instructing Vyasadeva that "You have already inquired..." Because he's the spiritual master, he knows how Vyasadeva inquired and how learned he was, how he studied very seriously. Everything known. Therefore he's asking, jijnasitam adhitam ca brahma: "You have inquired very elaborately about Brahman, and you have studied about the subject matter Brahman, sanatanam, eternal, athapi socasi, but still, I see that you are morose. You are not happy." Socasy atmanam akrtartha iva prabho. Akrtartha means "Of this you have done nothing." Just like a foolish man sometimes, in very grave thought that "What is the ultimate goal of my life? I do not know what to do," so "You are thinking like that."

So answer, vyasa uvaca. Now, Vyasa's answer is asty eva me sarvam idam tvayoktam tathapi natma paritusyate me. "Yes, sir. You are right. I have studied about Brahman, I have inquired about Brahman, and I know what is Brahman." He says, "I know what is Brahman." Asty eva me sarvam idam tvayoktam tathapi natma paritusyate me. "But I do not know why I am not satisfied. I'm not satisfied." Tan-mulam avyaktam agadha-bodham prcchamahe tvatma-bhavatma-bhutam: "Therefore you are my spiritual master. I am asking you to find out what is the defect in me. What is the defect in me that, in spite of my so advancement of knowledge in spiritual science by studying..., by inquiring, and by writing so many books, the..." You'll be glad to know that this Vyasadeva is the original writer of Vedanta-sutra. You have heard about Vedanta-sutra. There are many, I mean to say, classes in here in your Los Angeles. There is a Vedanta Church. This Vedanta philosophy was written by this Vyasadeva. But after even writing this Vedanta philosophy, he was not satisfied. That is the conversation is going on. Sa vai bhavan veda samasta-guhyam upasito yat purusah puranah. "Now I am asking you what is the defect in me because you know the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Now, in other words, Vyasadeva agrees or accepts that he knows Brahman, the Absolute Truth, but he does not know the Absolute Truth's ultimate feature, the Personality of Godhead. That he admits. Absolute Truth in the beginning is impersonal. Just like the example, the sun. The sun, the first experience of sun is the sunshine. Every one of us has got the experience how sunshine is overcast all over the universe. It comes within your room, in your apartment, or when you come out you see sunshine, everything. So just like in the night there is no sunshine, but in the morning, as soon as there is sunshine, you experience what is sunshine. Similarly, at a certain stage of our life we may understand what is Brahman. Brahman is compared with the sunshine, light. Sunshine is light, and Brahman is light. How? Light, what is the difference between light and darkness? Light, the difference of light and darkness is... Just like at the present moment it is darkness. We cannot see things rightly. Although we have got very lightening arrangement, artificial electricity, still, we do not see things as they are. Suppose you go up to your roof, and if you want to see, find out some friend's house, you cannot see. This is darkness. Darkness means you do not understand things as it is. But in the sunlight you can see everything.

Similarly, Brahman's light... As soon as you realize Brahman realization, Brahman, then you can see things as they arewhat you are, what is this world, why you are unhappy, how you can be happy. So many things are there, the light. Therefore the Vedic sutras, mantras, advises that tamasi ma jyotir gama. Don't keep yourself in darkness. Try to come out of the darkness and see the light. See the light. So... Now, here Vyasadeva says that "I have seen the light, but still I am not happy." So that means even one who has realized Brahman but has not ultimately realized what is the ultimate end of Brahman, still there is no happiness. Still there is (no) happiness.

Just like you are seeing the sunlight, but suppose if you are able to go to the sun planet, that will be still more extensive knowledge. But not only going to the sun planet, if you can meet the president of the sun globe... Everywhere there is a presiding deity. Just like you have got your president in your country, or in my country we have got a president. Similarly, in every planet there is one presiding deity. They are called demigods, and they have got their different names. We get all this information from... Take, for example, the sun planet. The sun planet is presided over by one gentleman whose name is Vivasvan. Vivasvan, Vaivasvata. And his son is Manu. These things are described. In Bhagavad-gita also you'll find. We read Bhagavad-gita, but we do not take information. In the fourth chapter of Bhagavad-gita these things are stated there. Imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam: [Bg. 4.1] "First of all, I recited this bhakti-yoga or Bhagavad-gita yoga system to Vivasvan." You can ask me that "Swamiji, where do you get the name of the presiding deity of sun-god, sun planet, as Vivasvan?" I say, "I get it from Bhagavad-gita. It is mentioned there." Just like in our country who has not seen America, if he has studied the Constitution of America, he knows the presiding gentleman is Mr. Johnson. There is no need of seeing. Simply from authoritative scripture, authoritative book, one can understand who is the presiding deity, who is ruling there, what is the condition. Everything is there in the scriptures and authorized books of Vedic literature.

So here Vyasadeva says that sa vai bhavan veda samasta-guhyam. "My dear Narada, my dear spiritual master, you can answer why I am unhappy because you know the presiding Deity of the whole creation, purana-purusah." Purana means old, and purusa means the Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the oldest. He must be oldest because He is the father of everything. So nobody can be older than Krsna. Here it is said purana-purusah. In the Brahma-samhita it is also described how is that purana-purusah the oldest man, Krsna. So it is described there, advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam ca [Bs. 5.33]. That Purana-purusa, that oldest man, Krsnanot man, GodHe is oldest. Advaitam acyutam, and He is infallible, and He is without any second. Nobody is greater than Him, nobody is equal than Him. Advaitam acyutam anadim. And he has no origin. These are the description of God. He has no origin. Just like I have got my origin. I am generated by my father, you are generated by your father, your father is generated by his father, his father... You go on. But the Supreme Lord, Purana-purusah, He has no father. But in His pastimes, as you see Nanda Maharaja is His father or Vasudeva is His father... They are His devotees. When God comes, appears on this planet, He appears just like ordinary man. He's born, and He accepts His devotee as father. These are the intricate questions there.

So Vyasadeva says that "You know that oldest Supreme Personality, Purana-purusah. Therefore you can answer." Indirectly, one who goes deeper and deeper into his spiritual understanding... The first understanding is the impersonal Brahman. The next spiritual understanding is Paramatma, or the Supersoul. The Paramatma, or Supersoul, means God is staying, He's situated with you, within your heart, He is Paramatma. That is another feature. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese arjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is existing, is sitting with you. This is confirmed by the Upanisads and other Vedic literatures. But the...

Just like the same example. The sunshine and the sun planet and the presiding deity, the sun-god Vivasvan. Similarly, Absolute Truth is understood in three phases. The first understanding is impersonal Brahman, light. The second understanding is to know Him by meditation within your heart. Those who are meditators, they are expected to see the Supersoul within himself. Unless he can see the Supersoul within himself, his meditation or samadhi is imperfect or it is not finished. So the yogis, they find out, they try to find out. Not find out-try to find out the localized aspect of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within himself. And the devotees, they want to go directly to the planet where Krsna is there and associate with Him. And the jnanis, those who have simply come to the light... Just like the sunlight. So to experience sunlight, as it is not perfection of understanding of the sun, similarly, to experience Brahman is not all. One has to understand the Paramatma feature and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ultimately Krsna.

The Vedic information says, kasmin tu bhagavo vijnate sarvam idam vijnatam bhavati. If one can understand Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then everything becomes automatically known to him. Everything becomes automatically known to him. And Narada is expected to know Krsna, and therefore Vyasadeva is asking him that "Because you know Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you can understand what is the defect in me."