Text 10]
The Son of Droṇa Punished
329
śaunaka uvāca 
  sa vai nivṛtti-nirataḥ 
  sarvatropekṣako muniḥ 
  kasya vā bṛhatīm etām 
  ātmārāmaḥ samabhyasat
śaunakaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śaunaka asked; saḥ—he; vai—of course; nivṛtti—on the path of self-realization; nirataḥ—always engaged; sarvatra—in every respect; upekṣakaḥ—indifferent; muniḥ—sage; kasya—for what reason; vā—or; bṛhatīm—vast; etām—this; ātmārāmaḥ—one who is pleased in himself; samabhyasat—undergo the studies.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Śaunaka asked Sūta Gosvāmī: Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī was already on the path of self-realization, and thus he was pleased with his own self. So why did he take the trouble to undergo the study of such a vast literature?
PURPORT
For the people in general the highest perfection of life is to cease from material activities and be fixed on the path of self-realization. Those who take pleasure in sense enjoyment, or those who are fixed in material bodily welfare work, are called  karmīs . Out of thousands and millions of such  karmīs , one may become an  ātmārāma  by self-realization.  Ātmā  means self, and  rāma  means to take pleasure. Everyone is searching after the highest pleasure, but the standard of pleasure of one may be different from the standard of another. Therefore, the standard of pleasure enjoyed by the  karmīs  is different from that of the  ātmārāmas . The  ātmārāmas  are completely indifferent to material enjoyment in every respect. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī had already attained that stage, and still he was attracted to undergo the trouble of studying the great  Bhāgavatam  literature. This means that  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is postgraduate study even for the  ātmārāmas , who have surpassed all the studies of Vedic knowledge.
TEXT 10
सूत उवाच
अत्मारामाश्च मुनयो निर्ग्रन्था अप्युरुक्रमे । 
  कुर्वन्त्यहेतुकीं भक्तिमित्यम्भूतगुणो हरिः ॥१०॥