Srimad Bhagavatham, which came from Sage Vyasa himself, tells us how to reach the feet of the Supreme One, Valayapet Ramachariar said in a discourse. The third verse in the Srimad Bhagavatham is also a mangala sloka, as are the first two slokas. Here, a call goes out to rasikas to come and reap the benefits of listening to the Srimad Bhagavatham. Why is this call specific to rasikas?
One must know the value of something to enjoy it and benefit from it. One does not offer higher thoughts to one whose mind is full of pettiness. One must have control over one’s senses and mind before one can turn to such sacred literature. The verse talks of the Vedas as “nigama kalpa taru”. Nigama means the Vedas and taru is a tree. But the Vedas are no ordinary tree. They are equivalent to the kalpaka tree, which gives abundantly. In Varadaraja Panchasat, Vedanta Desika refers to Lord Varadaraja as a kalpaka tree. Desika visualises Perundevi Thayar, the Goddess of the Varadaraja shrine, as a creeper entwined around Him.
One must listen to the Srimad Bhagavatham not occasionally but always. The Bhagavatham should be heard until one’s last breath. The sloka talks of phalam (fruit), and then uses the verb pibah (drink). Should the sloka not have said ‘eat’, instead of ‘drink’? One eats a fruit. One does not drink a fruit. A fruit has a skin and seeds, all of which must be discarded. But there is nothing irrelevant in the Bhagavatham. Every part of it is valuable. It gives us the essence of the Vedas. Hence the word ‘pibah’.
