Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 7
Manu Offers Devahūti to Kardama; The Sage Accepts with a Devotional Vow
दिष्टया त्वयानुशिष्टोऽहं कृतश्चानुग्रहो महान् । अपावृतै: कर्णरन्ध्रैर्जुष्टा दिष्ट्योशतीर्गिर: ॥ ७ ॥
diṣṭyā tvayānuśiṣṭo ’haṁ kṛtaś cānugraho mahān apāvṛtaiḥ karṇa-randhrair juṣṭā diṣṭyośatīr giraḥ
I am blessed to have been instructed by you, and thus great favor has been bestowed upon me. Blessed too am I that, with open ears, I have heard your pure words.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has given directions, in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, on how to accept a bona fide spiritual master and how to deal with him. First, the desiring candidate must find a bona fide spiritual master, and then he must very eagerly receive instructions from him and execute them. This is reciprocal service. A bona fide spiritual master or saintly person always desires to elevate a common man who comes to him. Because everyone is under the delusion of māyā and is forgetful of his prime duty, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, a saintly person always desires that everyone become a saintly person. It is the function of a saintly person to invoke Kṛṣṇa consciousness in every forgetful common man.
FAQs
This verse highlights that when one’s “ear-openings” are unobstructed—free from distraction and resistance—one can truly relish and benefit from saintly instruction, receiving it as divine mercy.
After being guided by Kardama Muni, Devahūti expresses gratitude and acknowledges his instruction as a great favor, emphasizing how hearing his words has spiritually benefited her.
Approach spiritual study with humility and attentiveness: reduce distractions, listen carefully to authentic teachers, and treat sacred guidance as a gift rather than mere information.