186 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Antya-lila, Ch. 5

thus hears the Bhdagavatam regularly and sincerely, his heart is purified of all ma-
terial contamination.
nasta-prayesv abhadresu
nityam bhagavata-sevaya
bhagavaty uttama-sloke
bhaktir bhavati naisthiki

“As one regularly hears the Bhagavatam or renders service unto the pure devotee,
all that is troublesome to the heart is practically destroyed, and loving service
unto the glorious Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as
an irrevocable fact.” (Bhdg. 1.2.18)

This is the proper process, but people are accustomed to being misled by
professional Bhagavatam reciters. Therefore SvarGpa Damodara Gosvami herein
advises that one should not hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from professional reciters.
Instead, one must hear and learn the Bhagavatam from a self-realized Vaisnava.
Sometimes it is seen that when a Mayavadi sannydsi reads the Bhagavatam, flocks
of men go to hear jugglery of words that cannot awaken their dormant love for
Krsna. Sometimes people go to see professional dramas and offer food and money
to the players, who are expert at collecting these offerings very nicely. The result
is that the members of the audience remain in the same position of grham andha-
kdpam, family affection, and do not awaken their love for Krsna.

In the Bhagavatam (7.5.30), it is said, matir na krsne paratah svato va mitho
‘bhipadyeta grha-vratandm: the grhavratas, those who are determined to continue
following the materialistic way of life, will never awaken their dormant love of
Krsna, for they hear the Bhagavatam only to solidify their position in household life
and to be happy in family affairs and sex. Condemning this process of hearing the
Bhagavatam from professionals, Svardpa Damodara Gosvami says, yaha, bhagavata
pada vaisnavera sthane: “To understand the Srimad-Bhagavatam, you must ap-
proach a self-realized Vaisnava.” One should rigidly avoid hearing the Bhagavatam
from a Mayavadi or other nondevotee who simply performs a grammatical jug-
glery of words to twist some meaning from the text, collect money from the inno-
cent public, and thus keep people in darkness.

Svaripa Damodara Gosvami strictly prohibits the behavior of the materialistic
so-called hearers of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Instead of awakening real love for Krsna,
such hearers of the Bhdgavatam become more and more attached to household
affairs and sex life (yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham). One should
hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from a person who has no connection with material ac-
tivities, or, in other words, from a paramahamsa Vaisnava, one who has achieved
the highest stage of sannydsa. This, of course, is not possible unless one takes
shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Srimad- -Bhagavatam is
understandable only for one who can follow in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu.
