404 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 22
PURPORT
This verse and the following two verses are found in Bhakti-rasémrta-sindhu
(1.2.90-92).
TEXT 131
Slagtrazordiararatc afats: Ag
ABS aM CT PACH lca) AR WS WI Hd |
srimad-bhagavatarthanam
asvado rasikaih saha
sajatiyasaye snigdhe
sadhau sangah svato vare
SYNONYMS
srimad-bhagavata—of the Srimad-Bhagavatam; arthanam—of the meanings;
asvadah—enjoying the taste; rasikaih saha—with the devotees; sa-jatiya—simi-
lar; 4saye—endowed with a desire; snigdhe—advanced in devotional affection;
sadhau —with a devotee; sanigah —association; svatah—for one’s self; vare—bet-
ter.
TRANSLATION
‘One should taste the meaning of Srimad-Bhagavatam in the association
of pure devotees, and one should associate with the devotees who are more
advanced than oneself and endowed with a similar type of affection for the
Lord.
PURPORT
The words sajatiyasaye snigdhe sédhau sangah svato vare are very important
items. One should not associate with professional Bhagavatam reciters. A profes-
sional Bhagavatam reciter is one who is not in the disciplic succession or one who
has no taste for bhakti-yoga. Simply on the strength of grammatical knowledge
and word jugglery, professional reciters maintain their bodies and their desires for
sense gratification by reading Srimad-Bhagavatam. One should also avoid those
who are averse to Lord Visnu and His devotees, those who are Mayavadis, those
who offend the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, those who simply dress as
Vaisnavas or so-called gosvamis, and those who make a business by selling Vedic
mantras and reciting Srimad-Bhagavatam to maintain their families. One should
not try to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam from such materialistic people. Ac-
cording to the Vedic injunctions: yasya deve pard bhaktih, The Srimad-
