Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 7: Knowledge and Realization

Bhagavad Gita 7.16

caturvidhā bhajante māṃ janāḥ sukṛtino'rjuna | ārto jijñāsurarthārthī jñānī ca bharatarṣabha ||

Four kinds of good people worship me, Arjuna: the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of gain, and the wise.

Modern context

Four kinds of people turn to the divine, and all four are called good. The distressed come in trouble. The curious come wanting to understand. Those who want something come asking for help. And the wise come simply because they love. This is a generous, realistic view. Most people first pray because something has gone wrong or because they want something. The Gita does not look down on this. Every road toward the divine is a good road, and the first three often lead, in time, to the fourth.