SB 1.2.18

नष्टप्रायेष्वभद्रेषु नित्यं भागवतसेवया ।
भगवत्युत्तमश्लोके भक्तिर्भवति नैष्ठिकी ॥१८॥

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu
nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke
bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī

naṣṭaplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bignasta

abolished; destroyed; devoid of; having disappeared; lost; spoiled.—destroyed; prāyeṣuplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigprāyeṣu

almost all; almost to nil.—almost to nil; abhadreṣuplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigabhadreṣu

all that is inauspicious.—all that is inauspicious; nityamplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bignityam

always; constant; constantly (engaged); constantly; constantly existing; daily; eternal; eternal function; eternally; for all time; forever; from time immemorial; perpetually; regularly; regularly by the principles of nature; regularly, always; the eternal spirit soul; twenty-four hours a day; without cessation, continuously.—regularly; bhāgavataplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigbhagavata

and with His Grace; by Lord Śiva; by the exalted personality; by the greatly powerful; by the Lord; by the most powerful; by the order of his father, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva; by the Personality of Godhead; by the Personality of Godhead Vāmanadeva; by the Supreme Lord; by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu; by Your Greatness; by Your Holiness; by Your Lordship; the most powerful; with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.—Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or the pure devotee; sevayāplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigsevaya

by hearing; by service; by serving; by such service; by the rendering of service; by the service; by the service of; simply by devotional service.—by serving; bhagavatiplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigbhagavati

in the Supreme Personality of Godhead; of the Personality of Godhead; of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; on the Supreme Personality of Godhead; Personality of Godhead; the Lord; the Personality of Godhead; the Supreme Lord; the Supreme Personality of Godhead; to the Supreme Personality of Godhead (not to the demigods); to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; to Śiva; towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead; unto Him; unto Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa; unto the Lord; unto the Personality of Godhead; unto the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa; unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu.—unto the Personality of Godhead; uttamaplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_biguttama

all of the foremost quality; best; celestial; enlightened; first class; first-class; good; one who is greater; the best; topmost; transcendental; upper; very good; very nice; very well.—transcendental; ślokeplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigśloke

in eighteen thousand verses; in that verse; in the verse; in the verses; in this verse; in verses; or verse; prayers; verse; verses.—prayers; bhaktiḥplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigbhaktiḥ

devotion; devotional service; devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; engagement in devotional service; feelings of devotional service; love; love and devotion; loving service; the devotional service; the nine kinds of devotional service, such as śravaṇa, kīrtana and smaraṇa; transcendental loving service; who possesses devotional service.—loving service; bhavatiplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigbhavati

become; becomes; becomes possible; becomes prominent; can it be; come into being; comes into being; is; is possible; it is; it so becomes; manifested, becomes; takes birth; takes place; there are; there is.—comes into being; naiṣṭhikīplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bignaiṣṭhikī

fixed; irrevocable; unflinching; without cessation.—irrevocable. ¶

By regular attendance in classes on the Bhāgavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact. ¶

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 Bhāgavatas. There are two types of Bhāgavatas, namely the book Bhāgavata and the devotee Bhāgavata. Both the Bhāgavatas are competent remedies, and both of them or either of them can be good enough to eliminate the obstacles. A devotee Bhāgavata is as good as the book Bhāgavata because the devotee Bhāgavata leads his life in terms of the book Bhāgavata and the book Bhāgavata is full of information about the Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees, who are also Bhāgavatas. Bhāgavata book and person are identical. ¶

The devotee Bhāgavata is a direct representative of Bhagavān, the Personality of Godhead. So by pleasing the devotee Bhāgavata one can receive the benefit of the book Bhāgavata. Human reason fails to understand how by serving the devotee Bhāgavata or the book Bhāgavata one gets gradual promotion on the path of devotion. But actually these are facts explained by Śrīla Nāradadeva, 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 Śrīla Nāradadeva. These are the miraculous effects of the association of Bhāgavatas. And to understand these effects practically, it should be noted that by such sincere association of the Bhāgavatas 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 Bhāgavatas, the more one becomes fixed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The messages of the book Bhāgavata, therefore, have to be received from the devotee Bhāgavata, and the combination of these two Bhāgavatas will help the neophyte devotee to make progress on and on. ¶