Hare Krsna
Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Here is the remedy for eliminating all inauspicious things within the heart which are considered to be obstacles in the path of self-realization. The remedy is the association of the Bhägavatas. There are two types of Bhägavatas, namely the book Bhägavata and the devotee Bhägavata. Both the Bhägavatasare competent remedies, and both of them or either of them can be good enough to eliminate the obstacles. A devoteeBhägavata is as good as the book Bhägavata because the devotee Bhägavata leads his life in terms of the bookBhägavata and the book Bhägavata is full of information about the Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees, who are also Bhägavatas. Bhägavata book and person are identical.
The devotee Bhägavata is a direct representative of Bhagavän, the Personality of Godhead. So by pleasing the devoteeBhägavata one can receive the benefit of the book Bhägavata.Human reason fails to understand how by serving the devoteeBhägavata or the book Bhägavata one gets gradual promotion on the path of devotion. But actually these are facts explained by Srila Närada deva, who happened to be a maidservant’s son in his previous life .The maidservant was engaged in the menial service of the sages, and thus he also came into contact with them. And simply by associating with them and accepting the remnants of foodstuff left by the sages, the son of the maidservant got the chance to become the great devotee and personality Srila Närada deva. These are the miraculous effects of the association of Bhägavatas. And to understand these effects practically, it should be noted that by such sincere association of the Bhägavatas one is sure to receive transcendental knowledge very easily, with the result that he becomes fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. The more progress is made in devotional service under the guidance of the Bhägavatas, the more one becomes fixed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The messages of the book Bhägavata, therefore, have to be received from the devotee Bhägavata, and the combination of these two Bhagavatas will help the neophyte devotee to make progress on and on.
- Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.18.
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