Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam

<< Canto 3, The Status Quo >>
<< 4 - Vidura Approaches Maitreya >>

<< VERSE 25 >>

विदुर उवाच
ज्ञानं परं स्वात्मरहःप्रकाशं यदाह योगेश्वर ईश्वरस्ते
वक्तुं भवान्नोऽर्हति यद्धि विष्णोर्भृत्याः स्वभृत्यार्थकृतश्चरन्ति

vidura uvāca
jñānaṁ paraṁ svātma-rahaḥ-prakāśaṁ
yad āha yogeśvara īśvaras te
vaktuṁ bhavān no ’rhati yad dhi viṣṇor
bhṛtyāḥ sva-bhṛtyārtha-kṛtaś caranti

WORD BY WORD

viduraḥ uvāca — Vidura said; jñānam — knowledge; param — transcendental; sva-ātma — regarding the self; rahaḥ — mystery; prakāśam — enlightening; yat — that which; āha — said; yoga-īśvaraḥ — the master of all mystics; īśvaraḥ — the Lord; te — unto you; vaktum — to narrate; bhavān — your good self; naḥ — unto me; arhati — deserve; yat — for; hi — reason of; viṣṇoḥ — of Lord Viṣṇu; bhṛtyāḥ — servants; sva-bhṛtya-artha-kṛtaḥ — for the interest of their servants; caranti — do wander.;

TRANSLATION

Vidura said: O Uddhava, because the servants of Viṣṇu, the Lord, wander in the interest of serving others, it is quite fit that you kindly describe the self-knowledge with which you have been enlightened by the Lord Himself.

PURPORT

The servants of the Lord are actually the servants of society. They have no interest in human society other than to enlighten it in transcendental knowledge; they are interested in imparting knowledge of the relationship of the living being with the Supreme Lord, the activities in that transcendental relationship, and the ultimate goal of human life. That is the real knowledge which can help society achieve the real aim of human welfare. Knowledge in the matter of the bodily necessities of eating, sleeping, mating and fearing, transformed into various branches of advancement of knowledge, is all temporary. A living being is not the material body but an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Being, and thus revival of his self-knowledge is essential. Without this knowledge, the human life is baffled. The servants of the Lord, Viṣṇu, are entrusted with this responsible work, and so they wander over the earth and to all other planets in the universe. Thus the knowledge which was received by Uddhava directly from the Lord deserves to be distributed in human society, especially to persons like Vidura, who are highly advanced in the devotional service of the Lord.

El verdadero conocimiento trascendental desciende a través de la sucesión discipular que va del Señor a Uddhava, de Uddhava a Vidura, y así sucesivamente. Dicho conocimiento trascendental supremo no puede adquirirse mediante el proceso de la especulación imperfecta, como lo llevan a cabo los supuestamente eruditos pendencieros mundanos. Vidura estaba ansioso de aprender de Uddhava ese conocimiento confidencial conocido como paramāṁ sthitim, en el que se conoce al Señor mediante Sus pasatiempos trascendentales. Si bien Vidura era mayor que Uddhava, estaba ansioso de volverse un sirviente de Uddhava en la relación trascendental. Śrī Caitanya también enseña esta fórmula de sucesión discipular trascendental. Śrī Caitanya aconseja recibir conocimiento trascendental de cualquiera - bien sea un brāhmaṇa o un śūdra, un casado o un sannyāsī - , siempre y cuando esa persona se encuentre verdaderamente versada en la ciencia de Kṛṣṇa. La persona que conoce la ciencia de Kṛṣṇa es verdaderamente un maestro espiritual genuino.

Donate to Bhaktivedanta Library