The act of cooking is the karma or work. After having made all the preparations, eating the cooked food is like Dharma jijnasa. If we the to find the merits and demerits such as shortage or salt, sugar, pepper etc., in the cooked food, that is Brahma jijnasa. Our being born is itself karma jijnasa. After being born realising the details of life and doing the duties that are appropriate to the time and circumstances is Dharma jijnasa. After fulfilling such duties, the realisation of the fact that merely fulfilling such duties gives no ananda or the realisation that there is no ananda in Dharma jijnasa alone is Brahma jijnasa. (SSB 1974, p. 62)
The Brahma sutra begins with a statement, ‘Athato Brahmajijnasa, ‘After this, the consideration of Brahman’. After what? What are the preliminary steps? When does a person become entitled to participate in the discussion and study Brahman? We have two other texts, which have to be studied, earlier one, which says, ‘Athato Karmajijnaasa’, ‘After this, the consideration of Karma, activity’, and the next one begins with ‘Athato Dharmajijnaasa’, ‘After this, the consideration of Dharma’. So, man becomes entitled to the knowledge of the Universal Principle that is the very substance of everything, since eternity, only after his mind is purified by karma and Dharma. (SSS Vol.5, p. 17)