Bhāgavatam is to be understood by devotional service and from a devotee, and not by one's own intelligence or by academic commentaries.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16: There were six questions put by the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya to Sūta Gosvāmī, and Sūta Gosvāmī explained or answered the six questions in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There is a verse in the Vedic literature in which Lord Śiva says, "As far as Bhāgavatam is concerned, I may know it, or Śukadeva or Vyāsadeva may know it, or we may not know it—but actually Bhāgavatam is to be understood by devotional service and from a devotee, and not by one's own intelligence or by academic commentaries." At the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.23) the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya asked,
- brūhi yogeśvare kṛṣṇe
- brahmaṇye dharma-varmaṇi
- svāṁ kāṣṭhām adhunopete
- dharmaḥ kaṁ śaraṇaṁ gataḥ
"My dear Sir, kindly tell us whether the principles of religion have gone with the Lord, after His departure for His own abode. How can we find such principles after His departure?"
The reply was (1.3.43):
- kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate
- dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha
- kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa
- purāṇārko 'dhunoditaḥ
"After Kṛṣṇa departed to His abode with all religious principles, His representative, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Mahā-Purāṇa, remains as the blazing, illuminating sun."
