Text 14] Pure Devotional Service: The Change in Heart
143
explain it;  kathāḥ —topics;  hari-kathā-udarkāḥ —result in the topics of the Lord;  satām —of the devotees;  syuḥ —may be;  sadasi —in the assembly of;  dhruvam —certainly.
TRANSLATION
O learned Sūta Gosvāmī! Please continue to explain such topics to us because we are all eager to hear. Besides that, topics which result in the discussion of the Lord Hari should certainly be discussed in the assembly of devotees.
PURPORT
As we have already quoted above from the  Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu  of Rūpa Gosvāmī, even mundane things, if dovetailed in the service of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, are accepted as transcendental. For example, the epics or the histories of  Rāmāyaṇa  and  Mahābhārata , which are specifically recommended for the less intelligent classes of men (women,  śūdras  and unworthy sons of the higher castes), are also accepted as Vedic literature because they are compiled in connection with the activities of the Lord.  Mahābhārata  is accepted as the fifth division of the  Vedas  after its first four divisions, namely  Sāma ,  Yajus ,  Rk  and  Atharva . The less intelligent class of men do not accept  Mahābhārata  as part of the  Vedas , but great sages and authorities accept it as the fifth division of the  Vedas .  Bhagavad-gītā  is also part of the  Mahābhārata , and it is full of the Lord's instruction for the less intelligent class of men. Some less intelligent men say that  Bhagavad-gītā  is not meant for the householders, but such foolish men forget that  Bhagavad-gītā  was explained to a  gṛhastha  like Arjuna and spoken by the Lord in His role as a  gṛhastha  (family man). So  Bhagavad-gītā , although containing the high philosophy of the Vedic wisdom, is for the beginners in the transcendental science, and  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is for graduates and postgraduates in the transcendental science. Therefore literatures like  Mahābhārata , the  Purāṇas , and similar other literatures which are full of the pastimes of the Lord, are all transcendental literatures, and they should be discussed with full confidence in the society of great devotees.
The difficulty is that such literatures, when discussed by professional men, appear to be mundane literature like histories or epics because there are so many historical facts and figures. It is said here, therefore, that such literatures should be discussed in the assembly of the devotees. Unless they