Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 3.19.33
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesHear with the Ear and Heart
“Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī continued: My dear brāhmaṇa, Kṣattā [Vidura] the great devotee of the Lord achieved transcendental bliss by hearing the narration of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the authoritative source of the sage Kauṣārava [Maitreya], and he was very pleased.”
What the purport teaches
- Vidura experienced transcendental bliss by hearing the Lord’s pastimes from Maitreya, an authoritative source. One becomes an authority by faithfully presenting what one has heard from a bona fide spiritual master.
- To relish the Lord’s pastimes, one must hear with both the ear and the heart. The purport warns against hearing nondevotional or impersonalist interpretations, which obscure the Lord’s personal nature.
- Merely acquiring the qualifications of a brāhmaṇa is not perfection. Perfection is attained by hearing the Lord’s pastimes and activities from a bona fide source.
Try this today
Read this translation and purport slowly for five minutes, setting aside distractions.
Ask yourself
Am I choosing a faithful devotional source and giving it my heartfelt attention?
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.