192
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 4]
learned also. Śrī Śaunaka Rṣi had all these qualifications, and thus he stood up to congratulate Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī when he expressed his desire to present  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  exactly as he heard it from Śukadeva Gosvāmī and also realized it personally. Personal realization does not mean that one should, out of vanity, attempt to show one's own learning by trying to surpass the previous  ācārya . He must have full confidence in the previous  ācārya , and at the same time he must realize the subject matter so nicely that he can present the matter for the particular circumstances in a suitable manner.  The original purpose of the text must be maintained.  No obscure meaning should be screwed out of it, yet it should be presented in an interesting manner for the understanding of the audience. This is called realization. The leader of the assembly, Śaunaka, could estimate the value of the speaker, Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī, simply by his uttering  yathādhītam  and  yathāmati , and therefore he was very glad to congratulate him in ecstasy. No learned man should be willing to hear a person who does not represent the original  ācārya . So the speaker as well as the audience were bona fide in this meeting where  Bhāgavatam  was being recited for the second time. That should be the standard of recitation of  Bhāgavatam , so that the real purpose can be served without difficulty. Unless this situation is created,  Bhāgavatam  recitation for extraneous purposes is useless labor both for the speaker and the audience.
TEXT 2
शौनक उवाच
सूत सूत महाभाग वद नो वदतां वर ।
कथां भागवतीं पुण्यां यदाह भगवान्शुकः ॥ २ ॥
śaunaka uvāca
sūta sūta mahā-bhāga
vada no vadatām vara
kathām bhāgavatīm puṇyām
yad āha bhagavān chukaḥ
śaunakaḥ—Śaunaka; uvāca—said; sūta sūta—O Sūta Gosvāmī; mahā-bhāga—the most fortunate; vada—please speak; naḥ—unto us; vadatām—of those who can speak; vara—respectful; kathām—message; bhāgavatīm—of the  Bhāgavatam ; puṇyām—pious; yat—which; āha—said; bhagavān—greatly powerful; śukaḥ—Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī.