406
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 7]
of real knowledge. In the  Upaniṣads  it is clearly said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead can never be known simply by working very hard and taxing the good brain, nor can He be known simply by mental speculation and jugglery of words. The Lord is knowable only by one who is a surrendered soul. Herein  Brahmājī , the greatest of all material living beings, acknowledges this truth. Therefore, the fruitless spoiling of energy by pursuing the path of experimental knowledge must be given up. One should gain knowledge by surrendering unto the Lord and by acknowledging the authority of the persons mentioned herein. The Lord is unlimited and, by the grace of the  yogamāyā , helps the surrendered soul to know Him proportionately with the advance of one's surrendering process.
TEXT 46
ते वै विदन्त्यतितरन्ति च देवमायां 
  स्त्रीशूद्रहूणशबरा अपि पापजीवाः । 
  यद्यद्भुतक्रमपरायणशीलशिक्षा- 
  स्तिर्यज्जना अपि किमु श्रुतधारणा ये ॥४६॥
te vai vidanty atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ 
  strī-śūdra-hūṇa-śabarā api pāpa-jīvāḥ 
  yady adbhuta-krama-parāyaṇa-śīla-śikṣās 
  tiryag-janā api kim u śruta-dhāraṇā ye
te —such persons;  vai —undoubtedly;  vidanti —do know;  atitaranti —surpass;  ca —also;  deva-māyāṁ —the covering energy of the Lord;  strī —such as women;  śūdra —the laborer class of men;  hūṇa —the mountaineers;  śabarāḥ —the Siberians, or those lower than the  śūdras ;  api —although;  pāpa-jīvāḥ —sinful living beings;  yadi —provided;  adbhuta-krama —one whose acts are so wonderful;  parāyaṇa —those who are devotees;  śīla —behavior;  śikṣāh —trained up by,  tiryak-janāḥ —even those who are not human beings;  api —also;  kim —what;  u —to speak of;  śruta-dhāraṇāḥ —those who have taken to the idea of the Lord by hearing about Him;  ye —those.
TRANSLATION
Surrendered souls, even from the groups leading sinful lives, such as the woman, the laborer class, the mountaineers, the Siberians, etc., or