Sprouts in the Snow
— A Meditation on Yearning for Self-Knowledge
A friend posted on our WhatsApp group for me to suggest a Gita verse to Reflect On. I opened a new tab and this one popped up. What better verse to reflect on.
Just One Verse
adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ tattva-jñānārtha-darśhanam etaj jñānam iti proktam ajñānaṁ yad ato ’nyathā
“Constant yearning for the knowledge of the Self, and pondering over the lessons of the great Truth — this is wisdom; all else is ignorance.”
Bhagavad Gita 13 ∙ 12
The Quiet Power of a Question
A crocus doesn’t argue with winter.
It doesn’t demand perfect conditions or wait for a kinder season. Instead, it leans into an ancient impulse: push upward, seek the sun, bloom.
Krishna calls this same impulse “jijñāsā” — an unyielding thirst to know who we really are. The verse doesn’t praise memorizing philosophy, collecting diplomas, or polishing a résumé of spiritual experiences.
It celebrates the question itself — the steady, inner tug that says there must be more than the surface of things.
Wisdom as a Direction, Not a Destination
Modern life loves finish-lines: degrees, promotions, certifications. The Gita turns that thinking on its head. “Yearning” and “pondering” are continuous verbs.
Wisdom isn’t a trophy on a shelf; it’s the direction of our gaze.
The moment I decide I already “know enough,” I freeze like soil that refuses the sprout. The moment I stay curious — even when the ground feels inhospitable — something tender begins to rise.
Take-Home Seeds
Honor the Thirst. If you feel restless in your routine, that may be the crocus nudging you.
Cultivate Wonder & Joy Daily. A two-minute pause before replying, scrolling, or hitting send can reopen the door to ponder.
Measure Growth by Openness. If your questions are getting deeper (and your certainties lighter), you’re heading toward wisdom.
Closing
Snow may blanket the field, headlines may shout certainty, and schedules may harden like ice, yet the Self grows upward through it all.
Let the crocus remind us: wisdom begins where yearning meets patient attention. Everything else — even brilliant ignorance — eventually melts away.
What question will you plant today? What does wisdom mean to you? What else arises for you? Feel free to express your thoughts.
Love
Suresh
