Text 18]
Divinity and Divine Service
109
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityam bhāgavata-sevayā bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī
naṣṭa —destroyed;  prāyeṣu —almost to nil;  abhadreṣu —all that is inauspicious;  nityam —regularly;  bhāgavata —Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or the pure devotee;  sevayā —by serving;  bhagavati —unto the Personality of Godhead;  uttama —transcendental;  śloke —prayers;  bhaktiḥ —loving service;  bhavati —comes into being;  naiṣṭhikī —irrevocable.
TRANSLATION
By regularly hearing the Bhāgavatam and rendering service unto the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is practically destroyed, and loving service unto the glorious Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.
PURPORT
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