Shloka 53
Bhagavān’s Avatāras, Their Protections (Poṣaṇa), and the Limits of Knowing Him
मायां वर्णयतोऽमुष्य ईश्वरस्यानुमोदत: । शृण्वत: श्रद्धया नित्यं माययात्मा न मुह्यति ॥ ५३ ॥
māyāṁ varṇayato ’muṣya īśvarasyānumodataḥ śṛṇvataḥ śraddhayā nityaṁ māyayātmā na muhyati
Die Handlungen des Herrn in Verbindung mit Seinen verschiedenen Energien sollen gemäß Seiner Lehre und mit Seiner Billigung beschrieben werden. Wer sie beständig mit Glauben und Hingabe hört, wird von der māyā des Herrn nicht verwirrt.
The science of learning a subject matter seriously is different from the sentiments of fanatics. Fanatics or fools may consider the Lord’s activities in relation with the external energy to be useless for them, and they may falsely claim to be higher participants in the internal energy of the Lord, but factually the Lord’s activities in relation with the external energy and the internal energy are equally good. On the other hand, those who are not completely free from the clutches of the Lord’s external energy should devoutly hear regularly about the activities of the Lord in relation with the external energy. They should not foolishly jump up to the activities of the Lord’s internal energy, falsely attracted by such activities as His rāsa-līlā. The cheap reciters of the Bhāgavatam are very much enthusiastic about the activities of the Lord’s internal potency, and the pseudodevotees, absorbed in material sense enjoyment, falsely jump to the stage of liberated souls and thus fall down deeply into the clutches of external energy.
FAQs
This verse says that by regularly and faithfully hearing authorized descriptions of the Lord’s māyā, the soul is not bewildered by māyā.
Because śraddhā (faith) makes hearing transformative; when the narration is in line with the Supreme Lord’s sanction, it protects the listener from illusion rather than increasing curiosity or confusion about māyā.
Maintain a daily habit of hearing or studying Bhagavatam from a trustworthy devotional source; this steady śravaṇa builds clarity and reduces the mind’s tendency to be carried away by distractions and material anxieties.