Text 25]
Questions by King Parīkṣit
451
atra —in this matter;  pramāṇam —evidential facts;  hi —certainly;  bhavān —yourself;  parameṣṭhī —Brahmā, the creator of the universe;  yathā —as;  ātma-bhūḥ —born directly from the Lord;  apare —others;  ca —only;  anutiṣṭhanti —just to follow;  pūrveṣām —as a matter of custom;  pūrva-jaiḥ —knowledge suggested by a previous philosopher;  kṛtam —having been done.
TRANSLATION
O great sage, you are as good as Brahmā, the original living being. Others follow custom only, as followed by the previous philosophical speculators.
PURPORT
It may be argued that Śukadeva Gosvāmī is not the only authority of perfect knowledge in transcendence because there are many other sages and their followers. Contemporary to Vyāsadeva or even prior to him there were many other great sages, such as Gautama, Kaṇāda, Jaimini, Kapila and Aṣṭāvakra, and all of them have presented a philosophical path by themselves. Patañjali is also one of them, and all these six great  ṛṣis  have their own way of thinking, exactly like the modern philosophers and mental speculators. The difference between the six philosophical paths put forward by the renowned sages above mentioned and that of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, as presented in the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , is that all the six sages mentioned above speak the facts according to their own thinking, but Śukadeva Gosvāmī presents the knowledge which comes down directly from Brahmājī, who is known as  ātma-bhūḥ , or born of and educated by the Almighty Personality of Godhead.
Vedic transcendental knowledge descends directly from the Personality of Godhead. By His mercy, Brahmā, the first living being in the universe, was enlightened, and from Brahmājī, Nārada was enlightened, and from Nārada, Vyāsa was enlightened. Śukadeva Gosvāmī received such transcendental knowledge directly from his father, Vyāsadeva. Thus the knowledge, being received from the chain of discipline succession, is perfect. One cannot be a spiritual master in perfection unless and until one has received the same by discipline succession. That is the secret of receiving transcendental knowledge. The six great sages mentioned above may be great thinkers, but their knowledge by mental speculation is not perfect. However perfect an empiric philosopher may be in presenting a philosophical thesis, such