Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu .2.218
ādī-purāṇe—
[aadee-puraane—]
ye me bhakta-janāḥ pārtha na me bhaktāś ca te janāḥ |
[ye me bhakta-janaah paartha na me bhaktaash cha te janaah |]
mad-bhaktānāṁ ca ye bhaktās te me bhaktatamā matāḥ ||218||
[mad-bhaktaanaam cha ye bhaktaas te me bhaktatamaa mataah ||218||]
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
ādī-purāṇe—
ye me bhakta-janāḥ pārtha na me bhaktāś ca te janāḥ |
mad-bhaktānāṁ ca ye bhaktās te me bhaktatamā matāḥ ||218||
Ādī-purāṇa says: Those who claim to be My devotees are not My devotees. Those who are the devotees of My devotees, I consider them to be My best devotees.
Purport
In the Ādi Purāṇa there is the following statement by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, addressed to Arjuna: “My dear Pārtha, one who claims to be My devotee is not so. Only a person who claims to be the devotee of My devotee is actually My devotee.” No one can approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly [Cc. Madhya 13.80]. One must approach Him through His pure devotees. Therefore, in the system of Vaiṣṇava activities, the first duty is to accept a devotee as spiritual master and then to render service unto him.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
My note
Source: vedabase.io