TEXT 12
सूत जानासि भद्रंते भगवान् सात्वतां पतिः ।
देवक्यां वसुदेवस्य जातो यस्य चिकीष॔या ॥१२॥
TRANSLATION
All blessings upon you, O Suta Gosvami. You know for what purpose the Personality of Godhead appeared in the womb of Devaki as the son of Vasudeva.
PURPORT
Bhagavan means the Almighty God who is the controller of all opulences, power, fame, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. He is the protector of His pure devotees. Although God is equally disposed to everyone, He is especially inclined to His devotees.
Sat means the Absolute Truth. And persons who are servitors of the Absolute Truth are called satvatas. And the Personality of Godhead who protects such pure devotees is known as the protector of the satvatas. Bhadram or "blessings upon you" indicates the sages' anxiety to know the Absolute Truth from the speaker.
Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared to Devaki, the wife of Vasudeva. Vasudeva is the symbol of the transcendental position wherein the appearance of the Supreme Lord takes place.
TEXT 13
तत्रः शुश्रूषमणानामह॔स्यङ्गानुवणि॔तुम् ।
यस्यावतारो भूतानां क्षेमाय च भवाय च॥१३॥
TRANSLATION
Enlighten us, O Suta, about the Personality of Godhead and His incarnations. We are eager to learn those teachings imparted by previous masters [acharyas], for one is uplifted by hearing them.
PURPORT
The conditions for hearing the transcendental message of the Absolute Truth are set forth herein. The first condition is that the audience must be very sincere and eager to hear. And the speaker must be in the like of disciple succession from the recoginzed acarya.
The transcendental message of the Absolute is not understandable by those who are materially absorbed. Under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master, one becomes gradually purified. Therefore, one must be in the chain of disciple succession and learn the spiritual art by submissive hearing.
In the case of Suta Gosvami and the sages of Naimisaranya, all these conditions are fulfilled because Srila Suta Gosvami is in the line of Srila Vyasadeva, and the sages of Naimisaranya are all sincere souls who are anxious to learn the truth.
Thus the transcendental topics of Lord Sri Krsna's superhuman activities, His incarnation, His birth, appearance or disappearance, His forms, His names and so on are all easily understandable because all requirements are fulfilled. Such discources help all men on the path of spiritual realization.
TEXT 14
आपत्रः संसृतिं घोरां यत्राम विवशो गृणन् ।
ततः सघो विमुच्येन यद्विभेति स्वयं भयम् ॥१४॥
TRANSLATION
Living beings who are entangled in the meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Krsna, which is feared by fear personified.
PURPORT
Vasudeva or Lord Krsna, the Absolute Personality of Godhead, is the supreme controller of everything. There is no one in creation who is not afraid of the rage of the Almighty.
Great asuras like Ravana, Hiranyakasipu, Kamsa, and others who were very powerful living entities were all killed by the Personality of Godhead. And the almighty Vasudeva has empowered His name with the powers of His personal Self. This indicates that the name of Krsna is nondifferent from Krsna.
Therefore, the name of Krsna is as powerful as Lord Krsna Himself. There is no difference at all. Anyone, therefore, can take advantage of the holy names of Lord Sri Krsna even in the midst of greatest dangers. The transcendental name of Krsna, even though uttered unconsciously or by force of circumstances, can help one obtain freedom from the hurdle of birth and death.
TEXT 15
यत्पादसंश्रयाः सूत मुनयः प्रशमायनाः।
सघः पुनन्त्युपस्पृष्टाः स्वधु॔न्यापोऽनुसेवया ॥५॥
TRANSLATION
O Suta, those great sages who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord can at once sanctify those who come in touch with them, whereas the waters of the Ganges can santify only after prolonged use.
PURPORT
Pure devotee of the Lord are more powerful than the waters of the sacred river Ganges. One can drive spiritual benefit out of prolonged use of the Ganges waters. But one can be santified at once by the mercy of a pure devotee of the Lord.
In Bhagavad-gita it is said that any person, regardless of birth as sudra, woman, or merchant, can take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and by so doing can return to Godhead. To take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord means to take shelter of the pure devotees. The pure devotees whose only business is serving are honored by the names Prabhupada and Visnupada, which indicate such devotees to be representatives of the lotus feet of the Lord.
Anyone, therefore, who takes shelter of the lotus feet of a pure devotee by accepting the pure devotees as his spiritual master can be at once purified. Such devotees of the Lord are honored equally with the Lord because they are engaged in the most confidential service of the Lord, for they deliver out of the material world the fallen souls whom the Lord wants to return home, back to Godhead.
Such pure devotees are better known as vice-lords according to revealed scriptures. The sincere disciple of the pure devotee considers the spiritual master equal to the Lord, but always considers himself to be humble servant of the servant of the Lord. This is the pure devotional path.
TEXT 16
को वा भगवतस्तस्य पुण्यश्र्लोकेड्यकम॔णः ।
शुद्धिकामो न श्रृणुयाधशः कलिमलापहम्॥१६॥
TRANSLATION
Who is there, desiring deliverance from the vices of the Age of Kali, who is not willing to hear the glories of the Lord?
PURPORT
The Age of Kali is the most condemned age due to its quarrelsome features. Kali-yuga is so saturated with vicious habits that there is a great fight at the slightest misunderstanding. Those who are engaged in the pure devotional service of the Lord, who are without any desire for self aggrandizement and who are freed from the effects of fruitive actions and dry philosophical speculations are capable of getting out of the estrangements of this complicated age.
The leaders of the people are very much anxious to live in peace and friendship, but they have no information of the simple method of hearing the glories of the Lord. On the contrary, such leaders are opposed to the propagation of the glories of the Lord. In other words, the foolish leaders want to completely deny the existence of the Lord.
In the name of secular state, such leaders are enacting various plans every year. But by the imsurmountable intricacies of the material nature of the Lord, all these plans for progress are being constantly furstrated. They have no eyes to see that their attempts at peace and friendship are failing.
But here is the hint to get over the hurdle. If we want actual peace, we must open the road to understand the Supreme Lord Krsna and glorify Him for His virtuous activities as they are depicted in the pages of the Srimad-Bhagavatam.