SB 11.18.38 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

दु:खोदर्केषु कामेषु जातनिर्वेद आत्मवान् । अजिज्ञासितमद्धर्मो मुनिं गुरुमुपव्रजेत् ॥ ३८ ॥

Verse text

duḥkhodarkeṣu kāmeṣu jāta-nirveda ātmavān ajijṣāsita-mad-dharmo muniṁ gurum upavrajet

Synonyms

duḥkha — unhappiness ; udarkeṣu — in that which brings as its future result ; kāmeṣu — in sense gratification ; jāta — arisen ; nirvedaḥ — detachment ; ātma — vān — desiring spiritual perfection in life ; ajijṣāsita — one who has not seriously considered ; mat — Me ; dharmaḥ — the process of obtaining ; munim — a wise person ; gurum — a spiritual master ; upavrajet — he should approach .

Translation

One who is detached from sense gratification, knowing its result to be miserable, and who desires spiritual perfection, but who has not seriously analyzed the process for obtaining Me, should approach a bona fide and learned spiritual master.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

One who is detached from material enjoyment, knowing its result to be miserable, and who desires spiritual perfection, but who has not seriously considered Paramātmā, should approach a wise guru. Having describes the activities of a person who has attained knowledge, Kṛṣṇa describes the activities of a person desiring to attain knowledge. The person who has not considered Paramātmā (ajijṣāsita-mad dharmaḥ) should approach a guru.

Purport

In the previous verses Lord Kṛṣṇa described the duty of one who has developed perfect knowledge. Now Lord Kṛṣṇa discusses the situation of one who, desiring self-realization, has become detached from material life but lacks perfect knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such a detached person desiring self-realization must approach the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and then he will quickly come to the standard of perfect understanding. One who is seriously inclined toward spiritual perfection should not hesitate to adopt the regular discipline necessary for achieving the highest perfection in life.