54
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 1]
Bhāgavatam  begins with the surrender of the devotee unto the Absolute Person. The devotee is fully aware that he is one with the Absolute and at the same time in the eternal position of servant to the Absolute. In the material conception, one falsely thinks himself the lord of all he surveys, and therefore he is always troubled by the threefold miseries of life. But as soon as one comes to know his real position as transcendental servant, he at once becomes free from all miseries. As long as the living entity is trying to master material nature, there is no possibility of his becoming servant of the Supreme. Service to the Lord is rendered in pure consciousness of one's spiritual identity; by service one is immediately freed from material encumbrances.
Over and above this,  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is a personal commentation on the  Vedānta-sūtra  by Śrī Vyāsadeva. It is written in the maturity of his spiritual life through the mercy of Nārada. Śrī Vyāsadeva is the authorized incarnation of Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead. Therefore, there is no question as to his authority. He is the author of all other Vedic literatures, yet he recommends the study of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  above all others. In other  Purāṇas  there are different methods set forth by which one can worship the demigods. But in the  Bhāgavatam  only the Supreme Lord is mentioned. The Supreme Lord is the total body, and the demigods are the different parts of that body. Consequently, by worshiping the Supreme Lord, one does not need to worship the demigods. The Supreme Lord becomes fixed in the heart of the devotee immediately. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has recommended the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  as the spotless  Purāṇa  and distinguishes it from all other  Purāṇas .
The proper method for receiving this transcendental message is to hear it submissively. A challenging attitude cannot help one realize this transcendental message. One particular word is used herein for proper guidance. This word is  śuśrūṣu . One must be anxious to hear this transcendental message. The desire to sincerely hear is the first qualification.
Less fortunate persons are not at all interested in hearing this  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . The process is simple, but the application is difficult. Unfortunate people find enough time to hear idle, social, political conversations, but when invited to attend a meeting of devotees to hear  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  they suddenly become reluctant. Sometimes professional readers of the  Bhāgavatam  immediately plunge into the confidential topics of the pastime of the Supreme Lord, which they seemingly interpret as sex literature.  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is meant to be heard from the beginning. Those who are fit to assimilate this work are mentioned in this  śloka : "One becomes qualified to hear  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  after many pious