nivá¹›tta-tará¹£air upagÄ«yamÄnÄd
bhavauá¹£adhÄc chrotra-mano-'bhirÄmÄt
ka uttamaÅ›loka-guṇÄnuvÄdÄt
pumÄn virajyeta vinÄ paÅ›ughnÄt

63 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: CC(2) , KB(1) , LBG(4) , LCC(1) , LSB(24) , MM(1) , NBS(2) , TLKS(27) , TQK(1)

 nivá¹›tta - released from; tará¹£aiḥ - lust or material activities; upagÄ«yamÄnÄt - which is described or sung; bhava-auá¹£adhÄt - which is the right medicine for the material disease; Å›rotra - the process of aural reception; manaḥ - the subject matter of thought for the mind; abhirÄmÄt - from the pleasing vibrations from such glorification; kaḥ - who; uttamaÅ›loka - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; guṇa-anuvÄdÄt - from describing such activities; pumÄn - a person; virajyeta - can keep himself aloof; vinÄ - except; paÅ›u-ghnÄt - either a butcher or one who is killing his own personal existence.


Text

Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is performed in the paramparÄ system, that is, it is conveyed from the spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self?

Purport

In India it is the practice among the general populace to hear about Kṛṣṇa, either from Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ or from ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, in order to gain relief from the disease of repeated birth and death. Although India is now fallen, when there is a message that someone will speak about Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ or ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, thousands of people still gather to hear. This verse indicates, however, that such recitation of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ and ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam must be done by persons completely freed from material desires (nivá¹›tta-tará¹£aiḥ). Everyone within this material world, beginning from BrahmÄ down to the insignificant ant, is full of material desires for sense enjoyment, and everyone is busy in sense gratification, but when thus engaged one cannot fully understand the value of kṛṣṇa-kathÄ, either in the form of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ or in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam.

If we hear the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from liberated persons, this hearing will certainly free us from the bondage of material activities, but hearing ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam spoken by a professional reciter cannot actually help us achieve liberation. Kṛṣṇa-kathÄ is very simple. In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ it is said that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As He Himself explains, mattaḥ parataraá¹ nÄnyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: “O Arjuna, there is no truth superior to Me.†(Bg. 7.7) Simply by understanding this fact — that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead — one can become a liberated person. But, especially in this age, because people are interested in hearing Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ from unscrupulous persons who depart from the simple presentation of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ and distort it for their personal satisfaction, they fail to derive the real benefit. There are big scholars, politicians, philosophers and scientists who speak on Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ in their own polluted way, and people in general hear from them, being uninterested in hearing the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from a devotee. A devotee is one who has no other motive for reciting Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ and ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam than to serve the Lord. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu has therefore advised us to hear the glories of the Lord from a realized person (bhÄgavata paro diya bhÄgavata sthane). Unless one is personally a realized soul in the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, a neophyte should not approach him to hear about the Lord, for this is strictly forbidden by ÅšrÄ«la SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«, who quotes from the Padma PurÄṇa:

avaiṣṇava-mukhodgÄ«rṇaá¹
 pÅ«taá¹ hari-kathÄmá¹›tam
Å›ravaṇaá¹ naiva kartavyaá¹
 sarpocchiṣṭaá¹ yathÄ payaḥ

One should avoid hearing from a person not situated in Vaiṣṇava behavior. A Vaiṣṇava is nivá¹›tta-tṛṣṇa; that is, he has no material purpose, for his only purpose is to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So-called scholars, philosophers and politicians exploit the importance of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ by distorting its meaning for their own purposes. Therefore this verse warns that kṛṣṇa-kathÄ should be recited by a person who is nivá¹›tta-tṛṣṇa. Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« epitomizes the proper reciter for ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, and ParÄ«ká¹£it MahÄrÄja, who purposefully left his kingdom and family prior to meeting death, epitomizes the person fit to hear it. A qualified reciter of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam gives the right medicine (bhavauá¹£adhi) for the conditioned souls. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore trying to train qualified preachers to recite ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam and Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ throughout the entire world, so that people in general in all parts of the world may take advantage of this movement and thus be relieved of the threefold miseries of material existence.

The instructions of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ and the descriptions of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam are so pleasing that almost anyone suffering from the threefold miseries of material existence will desire to hear the glories of the Lord from these books and thus benefit on the path of liberation. Two classes of men, however, will never be interested in hearing the message of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ and ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam — those who are determined to commit suicide and those determined to kill cows and other animals for the satisfaction of their own tongues. Although such persons may make a show of hearing ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam at a BhÄgavata-saptÄha, this is but another creation of the karmÄ«s, who cannot derive any benefit from such a performance. The word paÅ›u-ghnÄt is important in this connection. PaÅ›u-ghna means “butcher.†Persons fond of performing ritualistic ceremonies for elevation to the higher planetary systems must offer sacrifices (yajñas) by killing animals. Lord Buddhadeva therefore rejected the authority of the Vedas because his mission was to stop animal sacrifices, which are recommended in Vedic ritualistic ceremonies

nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha Å›ruti-jÄtaá¹
sa-daya-há¹›daya darÅ›ita-paÅ›u-ghÄtaá¹
keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare

(GÄ«ta-govinda)

Even though animal sacrifices are sanctioned in Vedic ceremonies, men who kill animals for such ceremonies are considered butchers. Butchers cannot be interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for they are already materially allured. Their only interest lies in developing comforts for the temporary body.

bhogaiÅ›varya-prasaktÄnÄá¹
 tayÄpahá¹›ta-cetasÄm
vyavasÄyÄtmikÄ buddhiḥ
 samÄdhau na vidhÄ«yate

“In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination of devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place.†(Bg. 2.44) ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura says:

manuá¹£ya-janama pÄiyÄ, rÄdhÄ-kṛṣṇa nÄ bhajiyÄ,
 jÄniyÄ Å›uniyÄ viá¹£a khÄinu

Anyone who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious and who therefore does not engage in the service of the Lord is also paÅ›u-ghna, for he is willingly drinking poison. Such a person cannot be interested in kṛṣṇa-kathÄ because he still has a desire for material sense gratification; he is not nivá¹›tta-tṛṣṇa. As it is said, traivargikÄs te puruá¹£Ä vimukhÄ hari-medhasaḥ. Those interested in trivarga — that is, in dharma, artha and kÄma — are religious for the sake of achieving a material position with which to gain better facilities for sense gratification. Such persons are killing themselves by willingly keeping themselves in the cycle of birth and death. They cannot be interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

For kṛṣṇa-kathÄ, topics about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there must be a speaker and a hearer, both of whom can be interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness if they are no longer interested in material topics. One can actually see how this attitude automatically develops in persons who are Kṛṣṇa conscious. Although the devotees of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are quite young men, they no longer read materialistic newspapers, magazines and so on, for they are no longer interested in such topics (nivá¹›tta-tará¹£aiḥ). They completely give up the bodily understanding of life. For topics concerning UttamaÅ›loka, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master speaks, and the disciple hears with attention. Unless both of them are free from material desires, they cannot be interested in topics of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The spiritual master and disciple do not need to understand anything more than Kṛṣṇa because simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa and talking about Kṛṣṇa, one becomes a perfectly learned person (yasmin vijñÄte sarvam evaá¹ vijñÄtaá¹ bhavati, Muṇá¸aka Upaniá¹£ad 1.3). The Lord sits within everyone’s heart, and by the grace of the Lord the devotee receives instructions directly from the Lord Himself, who says in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (15.15):

sarvasya cÄhaá¹ há¹›di sanniviṣṭo
 mattaḥ smá¹›tir jñÄnam apohanaá¹ ca
vedaiÅ› ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
 vedÄnta-ká¹›d veda-vid eva cÄham

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known; indeed, I am the compiler of VedÄnta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.†Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so exalted that one who is perfectly situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, under the direction of the spiritual master, is fully satisfied by reading kṛṣṇa-kathÄ as found in ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ and similar Vedic literatures. Since merely talking about Kṛṣṇa is so pleasing, we can simply imagine how pleasing it is to render service to Kṛṣṇa.

When discourses on kṛṣṇa-kathÄ take place between a liberated spiritual master and his disciple, others also sometimes take advantage of hearing these topics and also benefit. These topics are the medicine to stop the repetition of birth and death. The cycle of repeated birth and death, by which one takes on different bodies again and again, is called bhava or bhava-roga. If anyone, willingly or unwillingly, hears kṛṣṇa-kathÄ, his bhava-roga, the disease of birth and death, will certainly stop. Therefore kṛṣṇa-kathÄ is called bhavauá¹£adha, the remedy to stop the repetition of birth and death. KarmÄ«s, or persons attached to material sense enjoyment, generally cannot give up their material desires, but kṛṣṇa-kathÄ is such a potent medicine that if one is induced to hear kṛṣṇa-kÄ«rtana, he will certainly be freed from this disease. A practical example is Dhruva MahÄrÄja, who at the end of his tapasya was fully satisfied. When the Lord wanted to give Dhruva a benediction, Dhruva refused it. SvÄmin ká¹›tÄrtho ’smi varaá¹ na yÄce. “My dear Lord,†he said, “I am fully satisfied. I do not ask for any benediction for material sense gratification.†We actually see that even young boys and girls in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement have given up their long practice of bad habits like illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. Because Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so potent that it gives them full satisfaction, they are no longer interested in material sense gratification.