If we hear the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from liberated persons, this hearing will certainly free us from the bondage of material activities, but hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam spoken by a professional reciter cannot actually help us achieve liberation. Krsna-katha is very simple. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As He Himself explains, mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya: O Arjuna, there is no truth superior to Me. (Bg. 7.7) Simply by understanding this factthat Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godheadone can become a liberated person. But, especially in this age, because people are interested in hearing Bhagavad-gita from unscrupulous persons who depart from the simple presentation of Bhagavad-gita and distort it for their personal satisfaction, they fail to derive the real benefit. There are big scholars, politicians, philosophers and scientists who speak on Bhagavad-gita in their own polluted way, and people in general hear from them, being uninterested in hearing the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from a devotee. A devotee is one who has no other motive for reciting Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam than to serve the Lord. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has therefore advised us to hear the glories of the Lord from a realized person (bhagavata paro diya bhagavata sthane). Unless one is personally a realized soul in the science of Krsna consciousness, a neophyte should not approach him to hear about the Lord, for this is strictly forbidden by Srila Sanatana Gosvami, who quotes from the Padma Purana:

The instructions of Bhagavad-gita and the descriptions of Srimad-Bhagavatam are so pleasing that almost anyone suffering from the threefold miseries of material existence will desire to hear the glories of the Lord from these books and thus benefit on the path of liberation. Two classes of men, however, will never be interested in hearing the message of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatamthose who are determined to commit suicide and those determined to kill cows and other animals for the satisfaction of their own tongues. Although such persons may make a show of hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam at a Bhagavata-saptaha, this is but another creation of the karmis, who cannot derive any benefit from such a performance. The word pasu-ghnat is important in this connection. pasu-ghna means butcher. Persons fond of performing ritualistic ceremonies for elevation to the higher planetary systems must offer sacrifices (yajnas) by killing animals. Lord Buddhadeva therefore rejected the authority of the Vedas because his mission was to stop animal sacrifices, which are recommended in Vedic ritualistic ceremonies.

For krsna-katha, topics about Krsna consciousness, there must be a speaker and a hearer, both of whom can be interested in Krsna consciousness if they are no longer interested in material topics. One can actually see how this attitude automatically develops in persons who are Krsna conscious. Although the devotees of the Krsna consciousness movement are quite young men, they no longer read materialistic newspapers, magazines and so on, for they are no longer interested in such topics (nivrtta-tarsaih). They completely give up the bodily understanding of life. For topics concerning Uttamasloka, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master speaks, and the disciple hears with attention. Unless both of them are free from material desires, they cannot be interested in topics of Krsna consciousness. The spiritual master and disciple do not need to understand anything more than Krsna because simply by understanding Krsna and talking about Krsna, one becomes a perfectly learned person (yasmin vijnate sarvam evam vijnatam bhavati). The Lord sits within everyones heart, and by the grace of the Lord the devotee receives instructions directly from the Lord Himself, who says in Bhagavad-gita (15.15):

When discourses on krsna-katha take place between a liberated spiritual master and his disciple, others also sometimes take advantage of hearing these topics and also benefit. These topics are the medicine to stop the repetition of birth and death. The cycle of repeated birth and death, by which one takes on different bodies again and again, is called bhava or bhava-roga. If anyone, willingly or unwillingly, hears krsna-katha, his bhava-roga, the disease of birth and death, will certainly stop. Therefore krsna-katha is called bhavausadha, the remedy to stop the repetition of birth and death. Karmis, or persons attached to material sense enjoyment, generally cannot give up their material desires, but krsna-katha is such a potent medicine that if one is induced to hear krsna-kirtana, he will certainly be freed from this disease. A practical example is Dhruva Maharaja, who at the end of his tapasya was fully satisfied. When the Lord wanted to give Dhruva a benediction, Dhruva refused it. Svamin krtarthosmi varam na yace. My dear Lord, he said, I am fully satisfied. I do not ask for any benediction for material sense gratification. We actually see that even young boys and girls in the Krsna consciousness movement have given up their long practice of bad habits like illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. Because Krsna consciousness is so potent that it gives them full satisfaction, they are no longer interested in material sense gratification.