Text 13]
Vidura's Talks with Maitreya
175
PURPORT
The great sage Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa is the author of all Vedic literature, of which his works  Vedānta-sūtra ,  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  and  Mahābhārata  are very popular readings. As stated in  Bhāgavatam  (1.4.25), Śrīla Vyāsadeva compiled the  Mahābhārata  for the less intelligent class of men who take more interest in mundane topics than in the philosophy of life. The  Vedānta-sūtra  was compiled for persons already above the mundane topics, who might already have tasted the bitterness of the so-called happiness of mundane affairs. The first aphorism of  Vedānta-sūtra  is  athāto brahma-jijñāsā , i.e., only when one has finished the business of mundane inquiries in the marketplace of sense gratification can one make relevant inquiries regarding Brahman, the Transcendence. Those persons who are busy with the mundane inquiries which fill the newspapers and other such literatures are classified as  strī-śūdra-dvijabandhus , or women, the laborer class and unworthy sons of the higher classes ( brāhmaṇa ,  kṣatriya  and  vaiśya ). Such less intelligent men cannot understand the purpose of  Vedānta-sūtra , although they may make a show of studying the  sūtras  in a perverted way. The real purpose of  Vedānta-sūtra  is explained by the author himself in the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , and anyone trying to understand  Vedānta-sūtra  without reference to  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is certainly misguided. Such misguided persons, who are interested in the mundane affairs of philanthropic and altruistic work under the misconception of the body as the self, could better take advantage of the  Mahābhārata , which was specifically compiled by Śrīla Vyāsadeva for their benefit. The great author has compiled the  Mahābhārata  in such a way that the less intelligent class of men, who are more interested in mundane topics, may read the  Mahābhārata  with great relish and in the course of such mundane happiness can also take advantage of  Bhagavad-gītā , the preliminary study of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  or the  Vedānta-sūtra . Śrīla Vyāsadeva had no interest in writing a history of mundane activities other than to give less intelligent persons a chance for transcendental realization through  Bhagavad-gītā . Vidura's reference to the  Mahābhārata  indicates that he had heard of the  Mahābhārata  from Vyāsadeva, his real father, while he was away from home and was touring the places of pilgrimage.
TEXT 13
सा अद्धानस्य विवर्धमाना विरक्तिमन्यत्र करोति पुंसः ।