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The First Step in God Realization
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PURPORT
The statement made by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī that the topmost transcendentalist, who is beyond the jurisdiction of regulations and restrictions, mainly takes to the task of hearing about and glorifying the Personality of Godhead, is verified by his personal example. Śukadeva Gosvāmī, being a recognized liberated soul and the topmost transcendentalist, was accepted by all of the topmost sages present in the meeting during the last seven days of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. He cites from the example of his life that he himself was attracted by the transcendental activities of the Lord, and he studied  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  from his great father, Śrī Dvaipāyana Vyāsadeva.  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , or, for that matter, any other scientific literature, cannot be studied at home by one's own intellectual capacity. Medical books of anatomy or physiology are available in the market, but no one can become a qualified medical practicioner simply by reading such books at home. One has to be admitted to the medical college and study the books under the guidance of learned professors. Similarly,  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ,  the postgraduate study of the science of Godhead , can only be learned by studying it at the feet of a realized soul like Śrīla Vyāsadeva. Although Śukadeva Gosvāmī was a liberated soul from the very day of his birth, he still had to take lessons of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  from his great father, Vyāsadeva, who compiled the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  under the instruction of another great soul, Śrī Nārada Muni. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed a learned  brāhmaṇa  to study  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  from a personal  bhāgavatam .  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is based on the transcendental name, form, attributes, pastimes, entourage and variegatedness of the Supreme Person, and it is spoken by the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, Śrīla Vyāsadeva. Pastimes of the Lord are executed in cooperation with His pure devotees, and consequently historical incidences are mentioned in this great literature because they are related to Kṛṣṇa. It is called  brahma-sammitam  because it is the sound representative of Lord Kṛṣṇa—like the  Bhagavad-gītā .  Bhagavad-gītā  is the sound incarnation of the Lord because it is spoken by the Supreme Lord, and  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is the sound representative of the Lord because it was spoken by the incarnation of the Lord about the activities of the Lord. As stated in the beginning of this book, it is the essence of the Vedic desire-tree and the natural commentation on the  Brahma-sūtras , the topmost philosophical thesis on the subject matter of Brahman. Vyāsadeva appeared at the end of Dvāpara-yuga as the son of Satyavatī, and therefore the word  Dvāpara-ādau , or “beginning of