SB 1.1 - Hearing in disciplic succession to understand rasas

One who attains full knowledge of the rasas can understand the false representations of the original rasas, which are reflected in the material world. The less intelligent transcendentalists cannot go beyond the conception of becoming one with the spirit whole, without knowing the different rasas. Here it is stated that spiritual rasa, which is relished in the liberated stage, can be experienced in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam due to its being the ripened fruit of all Vedic knowledge. One should receive this knowledge, however, from the right source. It was brought by Nārada from the spiritual world and given to Vyāsa. Vyāsa gave it to Śuka, who delivered the message to Parīkṣit. Śuka was liberated even from his birth, although he did not undergo any spiritual training. Yet he was attracted to the transcendental rasa of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord’s pastimes are more attractive to liberated souls. He is of necessity not impersonal because it is only possible to carry on transcendental rasa with a person.

When a ripened fruit is cut by the red beaks of a parrot (śuka), the sweet flavor of the fruit is enhanced. Śukadeva is compared to the parrot not for his ability to recite the Bhāgavatam exactly as he heard it from his father, but for his ability to present the work in a manner appealing to all classes of men. Any sincere listener can at once relish transcendental tastes which are distinct from the perverted tastes of the material world. The ripened fruit is not dropped all of a sudden from the highest planet of Kṛṣṇaloka. Rather, it has come down carefully thru the chain of disciplic succession without change or disturbance.

One should hear in disciplic succession from a representative of Śukadeva Gosvāmī. One should refrain from hearing from a professional man, who makes a business of living from Bhāgavatam. Such men usually plunge into the subject matter of rāsa dance, which some take as immoral, while others try to cover it up by their own stupid interpretations. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is so carefully presented that a sincere student can at once enjoy the ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge simply by drinking the nectarean juice thru the mouth of Śuka or his bona fide representative. The fruit remains unbroken coming down step by step from the branch of Sūta and others. What is implied here is that without the guru-paraṁparā, one cannot drink Bhāgavatam in its unbroken form, just by trying to taste it thru the use of one’s limited intelligence.