Translation by Srila Prabhupada : By regular attendance at classes in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and by serving a pure devotee, all afflictions of the heart are almost completely destroyed and unshakable loving devotion is established for the holy versed Sri Bhagavan, Whose praise is sung in transcendental songs.
Meaning : Here is the remedy for removing from the heart all those inauspicious things which are obstacles on the path to Self-realization. This remedy is to associate with the Bhagavatas.
There are two kinds of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the textual Bhagavatam and the devotional Bhagavatam. Both these Srimad-Bhagavatams are effective medicines, and either or both of them removes obstacles. The devotee is similar to the Bhagwat Granth because the devotee lives his life according to the Bhagwat Granth Bhagwat and the Bhagwat Granth is full of the knowledge of Shri Bhagwan and his pure devotees i.e. Bhagwats. The Bhagwat Granth and the Bhagwat person are the same, i.e. there is no difference between the Bhagwat Granth and the Bhagwat person.
Bhakta Bhagavat is the direct representative of Shri Bhagavan. Therefore, by pleasing Bhakta Bhagavat, one can take advantage of the Granth Bhagavat. Human reasoning cannot understand how one advances on the path of devotion by serving Bhakta Bhagavat or Granth Bhagavat.
But these are the facts explained by Shri Narad Muni, who was a servant in his previous life. The servants served the sages and thus he also came in contact with them.
Merely by their contact and by eating their leftovers, this servant son became a great devotee named Shri Narad Muni and a great personality. Such are the miraculous effects of the company of Bhagavats. To understand these effects practically, it is necessary to note that such untainted association with the Bhagavatams will surely lead to the attainment of divine knowledge, which makes one steady in the devotional service of Sri Bhagavan.
The more he progresses in devotion under the guidance of the Bhagavatams, the more he becomes steady in the divine loving service of Sri Bhagavan. Therefore, it is necessary to obtain the stories of the Granth Bhagavatam from the Bhakta Bhagavatam itself, and thus the newly inquisitive devotee will progress by the association of these two Bhagavatams.
From this verse of the Srimad Bhagavatam we have to understand that if one always attends the classes of the Srimad Bhagavatam and constantly serves the pure devotees of the Lord, then all the sorrows of his heart and all the sins are destroyed and unwavering love for the Lord is established in his heart.
What is meant to say here is that God loves his pure devotees the most, and if a person serves the pure devotees of God, then God is very much pleased with that person, and gives him his love devotion. That is, God is more pleased by serving his pure devotees than by serving himself.
There are two types of Shrimad Bhagwat, the first is Granth Bhagwat and the second is Bhakt Bhagwat. Both of them are said to be infallible medicines to remove all types of impurities from the heart. Granth Bhagwat and Bhakt Bhagwat are inseparable from each other, that is, there is no difference between these two.
Bhakt Bhagwat, that is, the pure devotees of God are the same as Granth Bhagwat, because Bhakt Bhagwat lives his life according to Granth Bhagwat, that is to say, the pure devotees of God do their every work only for God. The name of the Lord goes on constantly in his heart, that is to say, he does not forget the Lord for a moment in his heart, and the Lord and His pure devotees are described in the Granth Bhagavatam. Therefore, Bhakta Bhagavatam and Granth Bhagavatam are inseparable from each other. If a person takes shelter of even one of these, he will attain pure loving devotion to the Lord and after crossing this ocean of existence, he will attain the abode of Shri Bhagwan.
For example, the description of Narad Muni has been given here. In his previous life, Narad Muni was a servant's son. His father had died when he was a child. Then his mother was earning her livelihood by serving sages, doing household chores for them and taking care of them.
Narad Muni used to go with his mother, and when the sages used to take the prasad, Narad Muni used to eat the leftovers left in those plates. In this way, by associating with sages and eating their leftovers, Narad Muni became famous as such a great devotee of God. That is, if we constantly associate with the pure devotees of Shri Bhagwan, then our intelligence also gradually starts becoming like them, and their qualities also start coming in us.
