tan naḥ Å›uÅ›rÅ«á¹£amÄṇÄnÄm
arhasy aá¹…gÄnuvarṇitum
yasyÄvatÄro bhÅ«tÄnÄá¹
ká¹£emÄya ca bhavÄya ca
tat - those; naḥ - unto us; Å›uÅ›rÅ«á¹£amÄṇÄnÄm - those who are endeavoring for; arhasi - ought to do it; aá¹…ga - O SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ«; anuvarṇitum - to explain by following in the footsteps of previous ÄcÄryas; yasya - whose; avatÄraḥ - incarnation; bhÅ«tÄnÄm - of the living beings; ká¹£emÄya - for good; ca - and; bhavÄya - upliftment; ca - and.
O SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ«, we are eager to learn about the Personality of Godhead and His incarnations. Please explain to us those teachings imparted by previous masters [ÄcÄryas], for one is uplifted both by speaking them and by hearing them.
The conditions for hearing the transcendental message of the Absolute Truth are set forth herein. The first condition is that the audience must be very sincere and eager to hear. And the speaker must be in the line of disciplic succession from the recognized ÄcÄrya. The transcendental message of the Absolute is not understandable by those who are materially absorbed. Under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master, one becomes gradually purified. Therefore, one must be in the chain of disciplic succession and learn the spiritual art of submissive hearing. In the case of SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« and the sages of Naimiá¹£Äraṇya, all these conditions are fulfilled because ÅšrÄ«la SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« is in the line of ÅšrÄ«la VyÄsadeva, and the sages of Naimiá¹£Äraṇya are all sincere souls who are anxious to learn the truth. Thus the transcendental topics of Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa’s superhuman activities, His incarnation, His birth, appearance or disappearance, His forms, His names and so on are all easily understandable because all requirements are fulfilled. Such discourses help all men on the path of spiritual realization.
