FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.12.3

तस्माद्भ‍वन्तं मम संशयार्थं प्रक्ष्यामि पश्चादधुना सुबोधम् । अध्यात्मयोगग्रथितं तवोक्त- माख्याहि कौतूहलचेतसो मे ॥ ३ ॥
tasmād bhavantaṁ mama saṁśayārthaṁ
[tasmaad bhavantam mama samshayaartham]
prakṣyāmi paścād adhunā subodham
[prakshyaami pashchaad adhunaa subodham]
adhyātma-yoga-grathitaṁ tavoktam
[adhyaatma-yoga-grathitam tavoktam]
ākhyāhi kautūhala-cetaso me
[aakhyaahi kautoohala-chetaso me]
tasmāt — therefore bhavantam — to you mama — of me saṁśaya-artham — the subject matter that is not clear to me prakṣyāmi — I shall submit paścāt — afterwards adhunā — now su-bodham — so that it can be clearly understood adhyātma-yoga — of mystic instruction for self-realization grathitam — as composed tava — your uktam — speech ākhyāhi — please explain again kautūhala-cetasaḥ — whose mind is very inquisitive to understand the mystery of such statements me — to me.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tasmād bhavantaṁ mama saṁśayārthaṁ
tasmāt
therefore
bhavantam
to you
mama
of me
saṁśaya-artham
the subject matter that is not clear to me
prakṣyāmi paścād adhunā subodham
prakṣyāmi
I shall submit
paścāt
afterwards
adhunā
now
su-bodham
so that it can be clearly understood
adhyātma-yoga-grathitaṁ tavoktam
adhyātma-yoga
of mystic instruction for self-realization
grathitam
as composed
tava
your
uktam
speech
ākhyāhi kautūhala-cetaso me
ākhyāhi
please explain again
kautūhala-cetasaḥ
whose mind is very inquisitive to understand the mystery of such statements
me
to me.
Whatever doubts I have about a particular subject matter I shall ask you about later. For the time being, these mysterious yoga instructions you have given me for self-realization appear very difficult to understand. Please repeat them in a simple way so that I can understand them. My mind is very inquisitive, and I want to understand this clearly.

The Vedic literature instructs: tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. An intelligent man must be very inquisitive to know the transcendental science deeply. Therefore one must approach a guru, a spiritual master. Although Jaḍa Bharata explained everything to Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa, it appears that his intelligence was not perfect enough to understand clearly. He therefore requested a further explanation. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (4.34) : tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā. The student must approach a spiritual master and surrender unto him fully ( praṇipātena ). He must also question him in order to understand his instructions ( paripraśnena ). One should not only surrender to the spiritual master but also render loving service unto him ( sevayā ) so that the spiritual master will be pleased with the student and explain the transcendental subject matter more clearly. A challenging spirit before the spiritual master should be avoided if one is at all interested in learning the Vedic instructions in depth.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
I will later tell you my topics of doubt. Now please explain what you have said about adhyātma-yoga, making it easy to understand, since I am inquisitive. I will later tell you the topics of doubt. Now explain your words, difficult to understand, about adhyātma-yoga, so that it is easy to understand. I am inquisitive.
When a teaching is genuine, the disciple asks for it to be repeated in simpler form rather than pretending to have understood. Humility about confusion accelerates learning; pretending you got it slows it down forever.
Reflection Questions
  • What teaching have you been nodding along to that you do not really understand?
  • Whom could you ask to explain it again, simply, without losing face?
📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 12