বিপ্র কহে,—মূর্খ আমি, শব্দার্থ না জানি শুদ্ধাশুদ্ধ গীতা পডি, গুরুআজ্ঞা মানিঽ
विप्र कहे,—मूर्ख आमि, शब्दार्थ ना जानि शुद्धाशुद्ध गीता पडि, गुरुआज्ञा मानिऽ
vipra kahe,—mūrkha āmi, śabdārtha nā jāni śuddhāśuddha gītā paḍi, guru-ājñā māni'
Synonyms
vipra kahe—the brāhmaṇa replied; mūrkha āmi—I am illiterate; śabda-artha—the meaning of the words; nā jāni—I do not know; śuddha-aśuddha—sometimes correct and sometimes not correct; gītā—Bhagavad-gītā; paḍi—I read; guru-ājñā—the order of my spiritual master; māni'—accepting..
Translation
The brāhmaṇa replied, "I am illiterate and therefore do not know the meaning of the words. Sometimes I read Bhagavad-gītā correctly and sometimes incorrectly, but in any case I am doing this in compliance with the orders of my spiritual master."
Purport
This is a good example of a person who had become so successful that he was able to capture the attention of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu even while reading Bhagavad-gītā incorrectly. His spiritual activities did not depend on material things such as correct pronunciation. Rather, his success depended on strictly following the instructions of his spiritual master.
yasya deve parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed." (Svet. Up. 6.23)
Actually the meaning of the words of Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are revealed to one strictly following the orders of the spiritual master. They are also revealed to one who has equal faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, being faithful to both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master is the secret of success in spiritual life.