TEXT 4
na hy alparthodayas tasya
vidurasyamalatmanah
tasmin variyasi prasnah
sadhu-vadopabrmhitah
SYNONYMS
nanever; hicertainly; alpa-arthasmall (unimportant) purpose; udayahraised; tasyahis; vidurasyaof Vidura; amala-atmanahof the saintly man; tasminin that; variyasihighly purposeful; prasnahquestion; sadhu-vadathings approved by saints and sages; upabrmhitahfull with.
TRANSLATION
Saint Vidura was a great and pure devotee of the Lord, and therefore his questions to His Grace Rsi Maitreya must have been very purposeful, on the highest level, and approved by learned circles.
PURPORT
Questions and answers among different classes of men have different value. Inquiries by mercantile men in a business exchange cannot be expected to be highly purposeful in spiritual values. Questions and answers by different classes of men can be guessed by the caliber of the persons concerned. In Bhagavad-gita, the discussion was between Lord Sri Krsna and Arjuna, the Supreme Person and the supreme devotee respectively. The Lord admitted Arjuna to be His devotee and friend (Bg. 4.3), and therefore any sane man can guess that the discussion was on the topic of the bhakti-yoga system. Actually the whole Bhagavad-gita is based on the principle of bhakti-yoga. There is a difference between karma and karma-yoga. Karma is regulated action for the enjoyment of the fruit by the performer, but karma-yoga is action performed by the devotee for the satisfaction of the Lord. Karma-yoga is based on bhakti, or pleasing the Lord, whereas karma is based on pleasing the senses of the performer himself. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam, one is advised to approach a bona fide spiritual master when one is actually inclined to question from an elevated level of spiritual understanding. A common man who has no interest in spiritual values has no need to approach a spiritual master just as a matter of following fashion.
As a student, Maharaja Pariksit was serious about learning the science of God, and Sukadeva Gosvami was a bona fide spiritual master in the transcendental science. Both of them knew that the topics discussed by Vidura and Rsi Maitreya were elevated, and thus Maharaja Pariksit was very interested in learning from the bona fide spiritual master.

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