Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 2.7.51
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesReceive the Bhāgavatam Through Disciplic Succession
“O Nārada, this science of God, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, was spoken to me in summary by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it was spoken as the accumulation of His diverse potencies. Please expand this science yourself.”
What the purport teaches
- Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of God and is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is His direct incarnation in transcendental sound.
- Brahmājī received this knowledge directly from the Lord and passed it to Nārada, who instructed Śrīla Vyāsadeva to expand it. This knowledge is eternal, perfect and beyond the material modes, not a product of mental speculation.
- One should hear this science from a bona fide representative in disciplic succession. The purport warns against professional reciters who earn their livelihood by gratifying their audience’s senses.
Try this today
Read this translation and purport attentively, noting how the knowledge is received and passed on.
Ask yourself
Am I seeking faithful spiritual instruction, or mainly something that pleases my senses?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.