TEXT - 4
नैमिषेऽनिमिषक्षेत्रे ऋृषयः शौनकादयः ।
सत्रं स्वगा॔यलोकाय सहस्त्रसममासत ॥४॥
naimise 'nimisaksetre
rsayah saunakadayah
satram svargayalokaya
sahasra-samam asata
naimise- in the forest known as Naimisaranya; animisa-ksetre-the spot which is especially a favorite of Visnu(who does not close His eyelids); rsayah-sages; saunaka-adayah-headed by the sage Saunaka; satram-sacrifice; svargaya- the Lord who is glorified in heaven; lokaya- and for the devotees who are always in touch with the Lord; sahasra- one thousand; saman-years; asata-performed.
TRANSLATION
Once, in a holy place in the forest of Naimisaranya, great sages headed by the sage Saunaka assembled to perform a great thousand year sacrifice for the satisfaction of the Lord and His devotees.
PURPORT
The prelude of the Srimad-Bhagavatam was spoken in the previous three slokas. Now the main topic of the great literature is being presented. Srimad-Bhagavatam, after its first recitation by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, was repeated for the second time at Naimisaranya.
In the Vayaviya Tantra, it is said that Brahma, the engineer of this particular universe, contemplated a great wheel which could enclose the universe. The hub of this great circle was fixed at a particula place known as Naimisaranya. Similarly, there is another refrerence to the forest of Naimisaranya in the Varaha Purana, where it is stated that by performance of scarifice at this place, the strength of demoniac people is surtailed. Thus brahmanas prefer Naimisaranya for such sacrificial performances.
The devotees of Lord Visnu offer all kinds of sacrifices for His pleasure. The devotees are always attached to service of the Lord, whereas fallen souls are attached to the pleasures of material existence.
In Bhagavad-gita, it is said that anything performed in the material world for any reason other than for the pleasure of Lord Visnu causes further bondage for the performer.
It is enjoined therefore that all acts must be performed sacrificially for the satisfaction of Visnu and His devotees. This will bring everyone peace and prosperity.
The great sages are always anxious to do good to the people in general, and as such the sages headed by Saunaka and others assembled at this holy place of Naimisaranya with a program of performing a great and continuous chain of sacrificial ceremonies. Forgetful men do not know the right path for peace and prosperity. However, the sages know it well, and therefore for the good men they are always anxious to perform acts which may bring about peace in the world.
They are sincere friends to all living entities, and at the risk of great personal inconvenience they are always engaged in the service of the Lord for the good of all people. Lord Visnu is just like a great tree, and all others, including the demigods, men, Siddhas, Caranas, Vidhyadharas and other living entities, are like branches, twigs and leaves of that tree.
By pouring water on the root of the tree, all the parts of the tree are automatically nourished. Only those branches and leaves which are detached cannot be so satisfied. Detached branches and leaves dry up gradually despite all watering attempts. Similarly, human society, when it is detached from the Personality of Godhead like detached branches and leaves, is not capable of being watered, and one attempting to do so is simply wasting his energy and resources.
The mordern materialistic society is detached from its relation to the Supreme Lord. And all its plans which are being made by atheistic leaders are sure to be baffled in every step. Yet they do not wake up to this.
In this age, the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord is the prescribed method for waking up. The ways and means are most scientifically presented by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and intelligent persons may take advantage of His teachings in order to bring about real peace and prosperity. Srimad-Bhagavatam is also presented for this same purpose, and this will be explained more specifically later in the text.
TEXT - 5
त एकदा तु मुनयः प्रातहु॔तहुतान्गयः ।
सत्कृतं सूतमासीनं पप्रच्छुरिदमादरात् ॥५॥
ta ekada tu munayah
pratar huta-hutagnayah
satkrtam sutam asinam
papracchur idam adarat
te- the sages; ekada-one day; tu-but; munayah-sages; pratah-mornings; huta-burning; huta-agnayah- the sacrificial fire; sat-krtam-due respects; sutam-Sri Suta Gosvami; asinam-seated on; papracchuh-made inquiries; idam-on this(as follows); adarat- with due regards.
TRANSLATION
One day, after finishing their morning duties by burning a sacrificial fire and respectfully offering a seat to Srila Suta Gosvami, the great sages made earnest enquiries about the following matters.
PURPORT
Morning is the best time to hold spiritual services. The great sages offered the speaker of the Bhagavatam an elevated seat of respect called the Vyasasana, or the seat of Sri Vyasadeva. Sri Vyasadeva is the original spiritual preceptor for all men. And all other preceptors are considered to be his representatives. A representative is one who can exactly present the viewpoint of Sri Vyasadeva.
Sri Vyasadeva impregnated the message of Bhagavatam unto Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, and Sri Suta Gosvami heard it from him (Sri Sukadeva Gosvami). All bonafide representatives of Sri Vyasadeva in the chain of disciplic succession are to be understood to be Gosvamis. These Gosvamis restrain all their senses, and they stick to the path made by the previous acaryas. The Gosvamis do not deliver lectures on the Bhagavatam capriciously. Rather, they execute their services most carefully, following their predecessors who delivered the spiritual messafe unbroken to them.
Those who listen to the Bhagavatam may put questions to the speaker in order to elicit the clear meaning, but this should not be done in a challenging spirit. One must submit questions with a great regard for the speaker and the subject matter. This is also the way recommended in Bhagavad-gita. One must learn the transcendental subject by submissive aural reception from the right sources. Therefore these sages addressed the speaker Suta Gosvami with great respect.
TEXT 6
ऋषय ऊचुः
त्वया खलु पुराणानि सेतिहासानि चानघ ।
आख्यातान्यप्यधोतानि धम॔शास्त्राणि यान्युत ॥६॥
rsaya ucuh
tvaya khalu puranani
setihasani canagha
akhyatany apy adhitani
dharma-sastrani yany uta
rsayah-the sages;ucuh-said;tvaya-by you; khalu-undoubtedly; puranani-the supplements to the Vedas with illustrative narrations; so-itihasani-along with the histories; ca-and; anagha-freed from all vices; akhyatani-explained;api-although; adhitani-well read; dharma-sastrani-scriptures giving right directions to progressive life; yani-all these; uts-said.
TRANSLATION
The sages said: Respected Suta Gosvami, you are completely free from all vice. You are well versed in all religious scriptures, the Puranas and histories, for you have gone through them under proper guidance and have also explained them.
PURPORT
A Gosvami, or the bonafide representative of Sri Vyasadeva, must be free from all kinds of vices. The four major vices of Kali-yuga are 1) illicit connection with women, 2)animal slaughter, 3)intoxication 4)speculative gambling of all sorts. A Gosvami must be free from all these vices before he can dare sit on the Vyasasana. No one should be allowed to sit on the Vyasasana who is not spotless in character and who is not freed from the above mentioned vices.
He should not only be freed from all such vices, but he must also be well versed in all revealed scriptures or in the Vedas. The Puranas are also parts of the Vedas. And histories like the Mahabharata or Ramayana are also parts of the Vedas. To hear and explain them is more important than reading them. One can only assimilate the knowledge of the revealed scriptures by hearing and explaining. Hearing is called sravana, and explaining is called kirtana. The two processes of sravana and kirtana are of primary importance to progressive spiritual life. Only one who has properly grasped the transcendental knowledge from the right source by submissive hearing can properly explain the subject.