tatra kÄ«rtayato viprÄ
viprarṣer bhūri-tejasaḥ
ahaá¹ cÄdhyagamaá¹ tatra
niviá¹£á¹as tad-anugrahÄt
so 'haá¹ vaḥ Å›rÄvayiá¹£yÄmi
yathÄdhÄ«taá¹ yathÄ-mati
tatra - there; kÄ«rtayataḥ - while reciting; viprÄḥ - O brÄhmaṇas; vipra-ṛṣeḥ - from the great brÄhmaṇa-ṛṣi; bhÅ«ri - greatly; tejasaḥ - powerful; aham - I; ca - also; adhyagamam - could understand; tatra - in that meeting; niviá¹£á¹aḥ - being perfectly attentive; tat-anugrahÄt - by his mercy; saḥ - that very thing; aham - I; vaḥ - unto you; Å›rÄvayiá¹£yÄmi - shall let you hear; yathÄ-adhÄ«tam yathÄ-mati - as far as my realization.
One can certainly see directly the presence of Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa in the pages of BhÄgavatam if one has heard it from a self-realized great soul like Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«. One cannot, however, learn BhÄgavatam from a bogus hired reciter whose aim of life is to earn some money out of such recitation and employ the earning in sex indulgence. No one can learn ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam who is associated with persons engaged in sex life. That is the secret of learning BhÄgavatam. Nor can one learn BhÄgavatam from one who interprets the text by his mundane scholarship. One has to learn BhÄgavatam from the representative of Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«, and no one else, if one at all wants to see Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa in the pages. That is the process, and there is no alternative. SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« is a bona fide representative of Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« because he wants to present the message which he received from the great learned brÄhmaṇa. Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« presented BhÄgavatam as he heard it from his great father, and so also SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« is presenting BhÄgavatam as he had heard it from Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ«. Simple hearing is not all; one must realize the text with proper attention. The word niviá¹£á¹a means that SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« drank the juice of BhÄgavatam through his ears. That is the real process of receiving BhÄgavatam. One should hear with rapt attention from the real person, and then he can at once realize the presence of Lord Kṛṣṇa in every page. The secret of knowing BhÄgavatam is mentioned here. No one can give rapt attention who is not pure in mind. No one can be pure in mind who is not pure in action. No one can be pure in action who is not pure in eating, sleeping, fearing and mating. But somehow or other if someone hears with rapt attention from the right person, at the very beginning one can assuredly see Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa in person in the pages of BhÄgavatam.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the First Canto, Third Chapter, of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, entitled “Kṛṣṇa Is the Source of All Incarnations.â€