Prabhupada:

yaḥ; svanubhavam akhila-sruti-saram ekam
adhyatma-dipam atititirṣataṁ tamo 'ndham
saṁsariṇaṁ karuṇayaha puraṇa-guhyaṁ
taṁ vyasa-sunum upayami guruṁ muninam
[SB 1.2.3]

So, yaḥ; svanubhavam akhila-sruti-saram ekam. Akhila means "entire." Read the word meanings. (Pradyumna leads synonym recitation)

Pradyumna: Translation: "Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto him (Suka), the spiritual master of all sages, the son of Vyasadeva, who, out of his great compassion for those gross materialists who struggle to cross over the darkest regions of material existence, spoke this Puraṇa, supplement to the Vedas, the cream of Vedic knowledge, after having personally assimilated it by experience."

Prabhupada: So these are the qualifications of the spiritual master. What is that? Svanubhavam, "must assimilate personally." Svanubhavam akhila-sruti-saram. Sruti. The Vedas are called sruti, absolute knowledge. It has to be learned by hearing, not by speculation. Sruti. Tad-vijñanarthaṁ sa gurum evabhigacchet srotriyam [MU 1.2.12]. From sruti, the srotriya comes. So he's offering respect to Sukadeva Gosvami because he has assimilated the whole Vedic knowledge. Sruti-sara. What is that sara? Sara means essence. What is the ultimate goal of knowledge, essence of knowledge? This is also explained in Bhagavad-gita: vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ; [Bg. 15.15]. The real purpose of Vedic knowledge is to search out where is Krṣṇa.

So Sukadeva Gosvami assimilated the Vedic knowledge and he was after Krṣṇa. Although he was liberated soul, still, he was after Krṣṇa. To become liberated is not the final stage. Liberated means one who understands that he is not this material body—he is liberated. But that much knowledge is not sufficient. One must act according to that. Just like one is cured of the feverish condition. One was suffering some fever; now there is no fever. That's nice. But that is called convalescent stage. In the convalescent stage, if we do not take care nicely, again the fever may be relapse. That is marginal stage. We must come this side or that side. So even if we are liberated, if we are not engaged in the activities of liberation, then we are to be considered on the marginal stage. And marginal stage means we may fall down in this material condition. Aruhya krcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ; patanty adho 'nadrta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ; [SB 10.2.32]. Aruhya krcchreṇa. Krcchreṇa means with great difficulty. The philosophers, they try to understand the Absolute Truth by mental speculation. But simply by mental speculation you cannot stay in that understanding. Or, in other words, by theoretical knowledge you cannot escape. It must be practiced. Practiced.

So in our Krṣṇa consciousness movement we are putting the candidate into practice. Without practice, simply knowledge is no good. That is... Simply foolishly to become puffed up that "I am now liberated," no. That is not liberation. That is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam elsewhere. Ye 'nye 'ravindakṣa vimukta-maninaḥ;. Vimukta-maninaḥ;. They're thinking that they have become liberated. Just like the Mayavada sannyasis, they address amongst themselves as "Narayaṇa." That means everyone has become Narayaṇa. The modern increase of incarnation of God means this Mayavada philosophy. Because in the Mayavada philosophy everyone thinks that he is God, Narayaṇa. "I have become Narayaṇa." Brahma-bhuta [SB 4.30.20]. "Now I have become Narayaṇa." No. You cannot become Narayaṇa. You can become Narayaṇa's dasa, servant. That is your healthy state.

So if after liberation... Liberation means sufficient knowledge to understand that one is not this body. That is called liberation. So after liberation there is activity. That they do not know. They think after liberation there is no other activity. Some of them say that when the waterpot is full, there is no more sound. It is solid. But our philosophy is that when one is liberated, his actual life begins. What is that actual life? The actual life is to be engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. That is actual life. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita it is said,

brahma-bhutaḥ; prasannatma
na socati na kaṅkṣati
samaḥ; sarveṣu bhuteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate param
[Bg. 18.54]

After being brahma-bhutaḥ;, not simply by knowing ahaṁ brahmasmi. No. One must realize, assimilate, how he is Brahman. Brahman means the same thing as the Absolute Truth. So we, all living entities, being part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, Krṣṇa, certainly we are Brahman. There is no doubt about it. But if one stops activities of Brahman realization, then he falls down.

The Brahman activities are this devotional service. People may see that "These Krṣṇa conscious people, they are also working, they are also eating, they are also sleeping, they are earning money. We are earning money in this way; they are earning money in another way." So they may see the similarity of action. Karma and bhakti to the fools appear to be the same. No. It is not the same. Here is realization that everything belongs to Krṣṇa, whereas in the karma platform, the realization is that "Everything belongs to me. It is my house, my money, my children, my country, my society, my property." "My" and "I." "I am the monarch of all I survey, and I am the proprietor of everything." So this misconception is not there in the bhakti. In the bhakti school, everything belongs to Krṣṇa. We don't take anything as our own. That is called Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Assimilate. Anubhava.

So it is stated here yaḥ; svanubhavam. Svanubhavam. Svanubhavam means personally convinced. Anubhavam. God can be realized at the present stage by anubhava. We cannot see God now, but anubhava, appreciating or understanding the nature of God and seeing God, there is no difference. Absolute. So our business is at the present moment to feel the presence of the Lord in every action. To... Presence... The presence of the Lord, that is wanted. So someday, if you continue in that Krṣṇa consciousness, presence of Lord in everything, then it will be possible some day to see Krṣṇa eye to eye. Just like we are seeing. We are seeing Krṣṇa: here is Krṣṇa. But still, because we are conditioned souls, sometimes we think that "This is not actual Krṣṇa; this is a statue of Krṣṇa." But that is not the fact. Fact is Krṣṇa is one. Krṣṇa is absolute, advaya-jñana. He is identified to everything. What is everything? Everything means manifestation of His energy.

So energy is not different from the energetic. Sakti-saktimatayor abhedam. There is no difference. Just like the sun and the sunshine, or heat of the sun. Heat of the sun and the sunshine, or heat of the sun. Heat of the sun and the sunshine, they appear to be different from the sun, but actually it is not, because they are simultaneous. Wherever there is sun, there is heat and light. Or wherever there is heat and light, there is sun. In the morning, when you see that it is now clear, there is no more darkness, immediately you understand that there is sunrise. So this svanubhava, when there is no darkness in your heart... Svanubhava. What is Krṣṇa, when you understand fully within your heart, at that time your actual liberation is attained.

So what Sukadeva Gosvami did, that after assimilating the whole Vedic literature, he distributed it. That is another instinct. If you really have learned the essence of Vedic knowledge, automatically you'll be inclined to preach it. Sravaṇaṁ kirtanam. Sravaṇam means to hear, to receive the knowledge. And next, kirtanam, means to distribute, to describe the knowledge. Yaḥ; svanubhavam akhila-sruti-saram ekam adhyatma-dipam [SB 1.2.3]. Dipam means lamp. So this Srimad-Bhagavatam is just like the lamp in the darkness to see Krṣṇa, or God. Adhyatma-dipam. And for whom is it meant? Srimad-Bhagavatam is not meant for the street boys, or who are accustomed to read so many nonsense literature. They want to waste their time. They have no engagement. They purchase some book, fictitious book, and read it. Not only they, even elderly men, they read it. But this book is different from those books. It is meant for persons, those who are desiring to get out of this world of ignorance. Tamo 'ndham.

Grha andha-kupam. Andha. Andha means blind or darkness. So our materialistic way of life is described as grha andha-kupam. The family life is just like a dark well. We are already in the darkness, and another darkness is to fall in the dark well. If one falls down in the dark well, it is very difficult to get out because he may cry very loudly and people may not hear. These dark well are sometimes there in the paddy field. I have seen one dark well. In your country when I was guest in John Lennon's house in 1969 we saw in the garden there was a dark well. Dark well means a very deep ditch, well, but it is covered with grass. You cannot know that there is a deep well, but while walking, you may fall down within it. And it is already covered with grass, and it is very deep. If you fall down and you try to get out of it, because it is lonely place, nobody is there, nobody may hear you, and you may simply die without any help.

So this materialistic way of life, without any knowledge of the outside world, or without any knowledge... Outside world means just like we are within this universe. It is covered. The round thing which we see in the sky, that is the covering. Just like a coconut shell. A coconut shell, within and without. Within the coconut shell it is darkness, and without it is light. Similarly, this universe is just like the coconut. We are within. As in within coconut there is water, half water, similarly, within this universe there is half water. On that water, Lord Viṣṇu, Garbhodakasayi Viṣṇu, is lying. And from His navel, a lotus stem is sprouted. Just imagine within the coconut there is water, and somebody's lying, and there is some stem out of the navel. Exactly this universe is like that. But outside the universe there is light. Here, within the universe, because it is covered, light is required. Sunlight is required. Moonlight is required. Electricity is required. But in the spiritual world there is no necessity of light. They're self effulgent. Therefore tamo 'ndham. Those who are actually serious about going out of this darkness and come to the light, tamasi ma jyotir gama: "Don't remain in this darkness. Come to the light."

So anyone who is very serious... Atititirṣataṁ tamo 'ndham. Those who are actually serious to go out of this darkness to light, for them this is the lamp. Just like in darkness, if you are helped with a lamp, "Please come this way. Come this way," so you can come out of the darkness. Similarly, atititirṣatam, one who wants to get liberation from this darkness, for them this Srimad-Bhagavatam is given by Sukadeva Gosvami. Saṁsariṇam... Karuṇaya. This is the business of the saintly persons. They are very much compassionate to these materialistic men, saṁsariṇam. Saṁsari means they are perpetually rotating, wandering, within this darkness in different forms of life. Caitanya Mahaprabhu says,

ei rupe brahmaṇḍa bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krṣṇa-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija
[Cc. Madhya 19.151]

We are wandering. The modern education system has no knowledge. They simply know that "This life is everything. Waste this life by sense gratification, because after death everything is void. Now I have got this body. Body means the senses. So enjoy my senses." This is the materialistic way of life. They have no knowledge that there is life after death. We should prepare ourself, what kind of body we shall have next life. Instead of, they are being washed off. Not washed off, carried away by the waves of material nature.

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhakura therefore sings,

(miche) mayar bose jaccho bhese' Khaccho habuḍubu bhai
(jiv) krṣṇa-das e biswas korle to' ar duḥ;kho nai

Everyone is suffering, mayar bose. Under the influence of maya, the illusory energy, they are being carried away by the waves. Waves mean the three modes of material nature. And suffering. Sometimes being drowned, sometimes up, sometimes relief, sometimes distress. This is going on. So the only way to get out of this anxiety or to stop the perpetual being carried away is to take shelter of Krṣṇa. Krṣṇa also says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekaṁ saraṇaṁ vraja: [Bg. 18.66] "You are suffering; you simply surrender unto Me."

So what Krṣṇa says, the Bhagavata also says the same thing. Bhagavata begins, paraṁ satyaṁ dhimahi: "The Supreme, I offer my respect to the Supreme." Oṁ namo bhagavate vasudevaya: "I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Vasudeva." Vasudeva means Krṣṇa. So saṁsariṇaṁ karuṇayaha puraṇa-guhyam. Puraṇa. Puraṇa means, sometimes the Mayavadis, they say these Puraṇas are stories. No. They are not stories. It comes from the Puraṇa. Puraṇa means filling up, supplementary, to complete it. Puraṇas, they are not out of the Vedic literatures. Ramayaṇa, Mahabharata, Puraṇa, they are all belonging to the Vedic literature. Especially Srimad-Bhagavatam is called Maha-Puraṇa. Therefore Maha-Puraṇa... Why Maha-Puraṇa? Puraṇa-guhyam. Very confidential Puraṇa.

There are sattvika-puraṇa, rajasika-puraṇa, tamasika-puraṇa. Three kinds of puraṇas. So the aim is to take the leader on the liberation platform, but according to the quality. In the tamasika-puraṇa there are recommendations for goddess Kali and other. And rajasika-puraṇa there is recommendation for yajña or worshiping the demigods in the heavenly planet, Indra, Candra. But in the sattvika-puraṇa only about Viṣṇu, Lord Viṣṇu, is recommended to be worshiped. So this is called puraṇa-guhyam because in this Puraṇa you won't find any recommendation for worshiping any other demigod. Simply satyaṁ paraṁ dhimahi [SB 1.1.1]. Only the absolute. Satyaṁ param. The ultimate Absolute Truth, Krṣṇa, oṁ namo bhagavate vasudevaya.

Saṁsariṇaṁ karuṇayaha puraṇa-guhyam. He first of all spoke Srimad-Bhagavatam to, being compassionate to the people suffering from these material pangs. Taṁ vyasa-sunum upayami guruṁ muninam. Guruṁ muninam. "He's not only my guru, but he is guru, spiritual master, of great sages and saintly persons." Even Vyasadeva also considered his son greater than himself. When Sukadeva Gosvami appeared in the assembly where many saintly persons were present at the time of Maharaja Parikṣit, so at the time all the munis stood up to receive him. All the munis. Even there was Vyasadeva, he also stood up. Therefore he is guruṁ muninam. He is spiritual master of all saintly persons. Read purport.

Pradyumna: "In this prayer, Srila Suta Gosvami practically summarizes the complete introduction of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the natural supplementary commentary on the Vedanta-sutras. The Vedanta-sutras or the Brahma-sutras were compiled by Vyasadeva with a view to presenting just the cream of Vedic knowledge."

Prabhupada: Yes. First of all, there was only one Veda, Atharva-veda. Then he divided according to the subject matter into four Vedas: Sama, Yajur, Atharva, Ṛg. Then he explained the Vedas by the Puraṇas, and he compiled Mahabharata also for same purpose, how one can understand the Vedic literature. Stri-sudra-dvija-bandhunaṁ trayi na sruti-gocara [SB 1.4.25]. Those who are less intelligent, woman, sudra, and dvija-bandhu... Dvija-bandhu means those who are born in brahmaṇa family but are not just to the quality. They are called dvija-bandhu. For them this Mahabharata. And at the end he compiled, he summarized the whole thing by writing Vedanta-sutra. Still, he was not happy, and under the direction of his spiritual master Narada he wrote himself the commentary of the Vedanta-sutra, and that is Srimad-Bhagavatam. Go on.

Pradyumna: "Srimad-Bhagavatam is the natural commentary on this cream. Srila Sukadeva Gosvami was a thoroughly realized master of the Vedanta-sutra, and consequently he also personally realized the commentary, Srimad-Bhagavatam. And just to show his boundless mercy upon bewildered materialistic men who want to cross completely over nescience, he recited for the first time this confidential knowledge. There is no point in arguing that a materialistic man can be happy. No materialistic creature, be he the great Brahma or an insignificant ant, can be happy. Everyone tries to make a permanent plan for happiness, but everyone is baffled by the laws of material nature. Therefore the materialistic world is called the darkest region of God's creation. Yet the unhappy materialists can get out of it simply by desiring to get out. Unfortunately they are so foolish that they do not want to escape."

Prabhupada: They do not know that there is escape. They think this is all. This is their education. They have no knowledge. Although they are suffering in every step, they are making plan in their own way within this material world. Just like the UNESCO and so many others, all nation attempts are there. They are planning within this... That is described in the Srimad-Bhagavatam as carvita-carvaṇanam. Carvita means chewing the chewed. They see that our previous leaders, they also did like this; it was not successful. Still they are going on in different way. That is not the way. Actually, if you are really anxious to become free from the conditional life, then you have to take to adhyatma-sastra. You have to take knowledge from spiritual sources. Go on.

Pradyumna: "Therefore they are compared to the camel who relishes thorny twigs because he likes the taste of the twigs mixed with blood. He does not realize that it is his own blood and that his tongue is being cut by the thorns. Similarly, to the materialist his own blood is as sweet as honey. And although he is always harassed by his own material creations, he does not wish to escape. Such materialists are called karmis. Only a few may feel tired of material engagement and desire to get out of the labyrinth. Such intelligent persons..."

Prabhupada: Bahunaṁ janmanam ante jñanavan maṁ prapadyate [Bg. 7.19]. After many, many births they come to realize that "This is not the way of solution. I must take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

That's all right. Chant Hare Krṣṇa. (end)

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