360
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 5, Ch. 10]
Arjuna for instruction in spiritual knowledge because Arjuna happened to be a great devotee and confidential friend. Similarly, great personalities also speak to the advanced, not to  śūdras ,  vaiśyas , women or unintelligent men. Sometimes it is very risky to give great philosophical instructions to ordinary people, but Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for the benefit of the fallen souls of Kali-yuga, has given us a very nice instrument, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra . The general mass of people, although  śūdras  and less, can be purified by chanting this Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra . Then they can understand the exalted philosophical statements of  Bhagavad-gītā  and  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has therefore adopted the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mahā-mantra  for the general masses. When people gradually become purified, they are instructed in the lessons of  Bhagavad-gītā  and  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . Materialistic people like  strī ,  śūdra  and  dvijabandhu  cannot understand words of spiritual advancement, yet one can take to the shelter of a Vaiṣṇava, for he knows the art of enlightening even  śūdras  in the highly elevated subject matter spoken in  Bhagavad-gītā  and  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam .
TEXT 19
अहं च योगेश्वरमात्मतत्त्व- 
    विदां मुनीनां परमं गुरुं वै । 
    प्रधृं प्रवृत्तः किमिहारणं तत् 
    साक्षाद्धरिं ज्ञानकलावतीर्णम् ॥१९॥
aham ca yogeśvaram ātma-tattva- 
    vidām munīnām paramam gurum vai 
    praṣṭum pravṛttaḥ kim ihāraṇam tat 
    sākṣād dharim jñāna-kalāvatīrṇam
aham—I; ca—and; yoga-īśvaram—the master of all mystic power; ātma-tattva-vidām—of the learned scholars who are aware of the spiritual science; munīnām—of such saintly persons; paramam—the best; gurum—the preceptor; vai—indeed; praṣṭum—to inquire; pravṛttaḥ—engaged; kim—what; iha—in this world; araṇam—the most