इति कौषारवाख्यातामाश्रुत्य भगवत्कथाम् ।
क्षत्तानन्दं परं लेभे महाभागवतो द्विज ॥३३॥
sÅ«ta uvÄca
iti kauá¹£ÄravÄkhyÄtÄm
ÄÅ›rutya bhagavat-kathÄm
ká¹£attÄnandaá¹ paraá¹ lebhe
mahÄ-bhÄgavato dvija
sÅ«taḥ - SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ«; uvÄca - said; iti - thus; kauá¹£Ärava - from Maitreya (son of Kuá¹£Äru); ÄkhyÄtÄm - told; ÄÅ›rutya - having heard; bhagavat-kathÄm - the narration about the Lord; ká¹£attÄ - Vidura; Änandam - bliss; param - transcendental; lebhe - achieved; mahÄ-bhÄgavataḥ - the great devotee; dvija - O brÄhmaṇa (Åšaunaka).
ÅšrÄ« SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« continued: My dear brÄhmaṇa, Ká¹£attÄ [Vidura] the great devotee of the Lord achieved transcendental bliss by hearing the narration of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the authoritative source of the sage Kauá¹£Ärava [Maitreya], and he was very pleased.
If anyone wants to derive transcendental pleasure by hearing the pastimes of the Lord, he must hear from the authoritative source, as explained here. Maitreya heard the narration from his bona fide spiritual master, and Vidura also heard from Maitreya. One becomes an authority simply by presenting whatever he has heard from his spiritual master, and one who does not accept a bona fide spiritual master cannot be an authority. This is clearly explained here. If one wants to have transcendental pleasure, he must find a person with authority. It is also stated in the BhÄgavatam that simply by hearing from an authoritative source, with the ear and the heart, one can relish the pastimes of the Lord; otherwise it is not possible. SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«, therefore, has especially warned that one should not hear anything about the personality of the Lord from the lips of a nondevotee. Nondevotees are considered to be like serpents; as milk is poisoned by a serpent’s touch, so, although the narration of the pastimes of the Lord is as pure as milk, when administered by serpentlike nondevotees it becomes poisonous. Not only does it have no effect in transcendental pleasure, but it is dangerous also. Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu has warned that no description of the pastimes of the Lord should be heard from the MÄyÄvÄda, or impersonalist, school. He has clearly said, mÄyÄvÄdi-bhÄá¹£ya Å›unile haya sarva nÄÅ›a: if anyone hears the MÄyÄvÄdÄ«s’ interpretation of the pastimes of the Lord, or their interpretation of Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam or any other Vedic literature, then he is doomed. Once one is associated with impersonalists, he can never understand the personal feature of the Lord and His transcendental pastimes.
SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« was speaking to the sages headed by Åšaunaka, and therefore he addressed them in this verse as dvija, twice-born. The sages assembled in Naimiá¹£Äraṇya hearing ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam from SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« were all brÄhmaṇas, but to acquire the qualifications of a brÄhmaṇa is not everything. Merely to be twice-born is not perfection. Perfection is attained when one hears the pastimes and activities of the Lord from a bona fide source.
