क्षत्तुः कौशारवेस्तस्य संवादो ऽध्यात्मसंश्रितः यद्वा स भगवांस्तस्मै पृष्टस्तत्त्वमुवाच ह ब्रूहि नस्तदिदं सौम्य विदुरस्य विचेष्टितम् बन्धुत्यागनिमित्तं च यथैवागतवान्पुनः
kṣattuḥ kauśāraves tasya saṁvādo 'dhyātma-saṁśritaḥ yad vā sa bhagavāṁs tasmai pṛṣṭas tattvam uvāca ha brūhi nas tad idaṁ saumya vidurasya viceṣṭitam bandhu-tyāga-nimittaṁ ca yathaivāgatavān punaḥ
Synonyms
kṣattuḥ—of Vidura; kauśāraveḥ—as that of Maitreya; tasya—their; saṁvādaḥ—news; adhyātma—in the matter of transcendental knowledge; saṁśritaḥ—full of; yat—which; vā—anything else; saḥ—he; bhagavān—his grace; tasmai—unto him; pṛṣṭaḥ—inquired; tattvam—the truth; uvāca—answered; ha—in the past; brūhi—please tell; naḥ—unto us; tat—those matters; idam—here; saumya—O gentle one; vidurasya—of Vidura; viceṣṭitam—activities; bandhu-tyāga—renouncing the friends; nimittam—cause of; ca—also; yathā—as; eva—also; āgatavān—came back; punaḥ—again (at home)..
Translation
Śaunaka Ṛṣi said: Let us know, please, what topics were discussed between Vidura and Maitreya, who talked on transcendental subjects, and what was inquired by Vidura and replied by Maitreya. Also please let us know what was the reason for Vidura's giving up the connection of family members, and why he again came home, and please also let us know the activities of Vidura while he was in the places of pilgrimage.
Purport
Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī was narrating the topics of creation and destruction of the material world, but it appears that the ṛṣis headed by Śaunaka were more inclined to hear of transcendental subjects which are on a higher level than the physical. There are two classes of men, namely those too much addicted to the gross body and the material world, and the others, on the higher level, who are interested more in transcendental knowledge. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives facility to everyone, both to the materialist and the transcendentalist. And by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in the matter of the Lord's glorious activities both in the material world and in the transcendental world, men can derive equal benefit. The materialists are more interested in the physical laws, how they are acting, and they see wonders in those physical glamours. Sometimes, due to physical glamours, they forget the glories of the Lord. They should know definitely that physical activities and their wonders are all initiated by the Lord. The rose flower in the garden gradually takes its shape and color to become beautiful and sweet not by a blind physical law, although it appears like that. Behind that physical law there is the direction of the complete consciousness of the Supreme Lord, otherwise things cannot take shape so systematically. The artist draws a picture of a rose very nicely with all attention and artistic sense, and yet it does not become as perfect as the real rose. If that is the real fact, how can we say that the real rose has taken its shape without intelligence behind the beauty? This sort of conclusion is due to a poor fund of knowledge. One must know from the above description of creation and annihilation that the supreme consciousness is so omnipresent that it can take care of everything with perfect attention. That is the fact of the omnipresence of the Supreme Lord. There are persons, however, still more foolish than the gross materialists, who claim to be transcendentalists, and they claim to have such supreme all-pervading consciousness, but offer no proof. Such foolish persons cannot know what is going on behind the next wall, yet they are falsely proud of possessing the cosmic all-pervading consciousness of the Supreme Person. For them also, hearing of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a great help to open their eyes that by simply claiming supreme consciousness one does not become so, but actually one has to prove in the physical world that he has such supreme consciousness. The ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya, however, were above the gross materialists and the false transcendentalists, and thus they are always anxious to know the real truth in transcendental matters, as they are discussed by authorities.