Text 29] Birth of Emperor Pariksit 649
PURPORT

Material knowledge means ignorance of the knowledge of one’s own
self. Philosophy means to seek after the right knowledge of one’s own self,
or the knowledge of self-realization. Without self-realization, philosophy
is dry speculation or a waste of time and energy. Srimad-Bhagavatam
gives the right knowledge of one’s own self, and by hearing Srimad-
Bhagavatam one can get free from material attachment and enter into the
kingdom of fearlessness. This material world is fearfulness. Its prisoners
are always fearful as within a prison house. In the prison house no one
can violate the jail rules and regulations, and violating the rules means
another term for extension of prison life. Similarly, we in this material
existence are always fearful. This fearfulness is called anxiety. Everyone in
the material life, in all species and varieties of life, is full of anxieties,
either by breaking or without breaking the laws of nature. Liberation, or
mukti, means getting relief from these constant anxieties. This is only
possible when the anxiety is changed in the devotional service of the Lord.
Srimad-Bhagavatam gives us this chance of changing the quality of anxiety
from matter to spirit. This is done in the association of a learned philosopher
like the self-realized Sukadeva Gosvami, the great son of Sri Vyasadeva.
Maharaja Parksit, after receiving warning of his death, took advantage of
this opportunity by association with Sukadeva Gosvami and achieved the
desired result.

There is a sort of imitation of this reciting and hearing of Srimad-
Bhagavatam by professional men, and their foolish audience thinks that
they will get free from the clutches of material attachment and attain
the life of fearlessness. Such imitative hearing of Srimad-Bhagavatam is a
caricature only, and one should not be misled by such performance of
Bhagavatam saptaha, undertaken by ridiculous greedy fellows to main-
tain an establishment of material enjoyment.

TEXT 29

aft wa safass fam araeeriacn: |
SONU AAT: Fs MHeerey: ART TENA

iti rajfia upadisya
vipra jataka-kovidah
labdhapacitayah sarve
pratijagmuh svakan grhan
