TEXTS 49–50
paurnamasyam sinivalyam
dvadasyam sravane ’thava
dina-ksaye vyatipate
sankrame ’rkadine ’pi va
sravayec chraddadhananam
tirtha-pada-padasrayah
necchams tatratmanatmanam
santusta iti sidhyati
SYNONYMS
paurnamasyam—on the full moon; sinivalyam—on the dark moon; dvadasyam—on the day after Ekadasi; sravane—during the Sravana star’s appearance; athava—or; dina-ksaye—at the end of the tithi; vyatipate—a particular day of the name; sankrame—at the end of the month; arkadine—on Sunday; api—also; va—or; sravayet—one should recite; sraddadhananam—to a receptive audience; tirtha-pada—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pada-asrayah—taken shelter of the lotus feet; na icchan—without desiring remuneration; tatra—there; atmana—by the self; atmanam—the mind; santustah—pacified; iti—thus; sidhyati—becomes perfect.
TRANSLATION
Persons who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord should recite this narration of Dhruva Maharaja without taking remuneration. Specifically, recitation is recommended on the full moon or dark moon day, on the day after Ekadasi, on the appearance of the Sravana star, at the end of a particular tithi, or the occasion of Vyatipata, at the end of the month, or on Sunday. Such recitation should of course be performed before a favorable audience. When recitation is performed this way, without professional motive, the reciter and audience become perfect.
PURPORT
Professional reciters may ask money to extinguish the blazing fire within their bellies, but they cannot make any spiritual improvement or become perfect. It is therefore strictly forbidden to recite Srimad-Bhagavatam as a profession to earn a livelihood. Only one who is completely surrendered at the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, depending fully on Him for personal maintenance or even for maintenance of his family, can attain perfection by recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is full of narrations of the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees. The process can be summarized as follows: the audience must be faithfully receptive to the Bhagavata message, and the reciter should completely depend on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhagavata recitation must not be a business. If done in the right way, not only does the reciter achieve perfect satisfaction, but the Lord also is very satisfied with the reciter and the audience, and thus both are liberated from material bondage simply by the process of hearing.
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