The Brahma sutra which sets out to demarcate the lines of this inquiry has, as the very first aphorism, ‘Athato Brahmajijnasa’. These four words - Atha, Atah, Brahma and Jijnasa’ - deserve careful study, for they contain the very essence of the Four Vedas and their teachings, meant to help the Jijnasa (or study) of Brahma, the Atma Principle in its universal aspect.
The word Atha has many meanings: auspiciousness, afterwards in the beginning, questioning, universal etc. But the meaning ‘afterwards’ is most appropriate here. After what? ‘After acquiring the requisite qualifications’ is the answer. They are (1) Discrimination between the temporary and the permanent, (2) Detachment: awareness that the objective world is of no lasting worth (3) Self control: of both the outer senses and the inner urges (4) longing for liberation from delusion and the desires that delusion breeds. These are four more requirements. These are: (5) Good Listening: using the senses for the beneficent purposes for which they are gifted by God; (6) Reflection; on what is heard, seen, tasted etc (7) Practising: What is found beneficent. These steps reveal Truth and confer full Bliss. (SSS Vol.11, p. 51)