SB 11.26.31 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.26.31

यथोपश्रयमाणस्य भगवन्तं विभावसुम् । शीतं भयं तमोऽप्येति साधून् संसेवतस्तथा ॥ ३१ ॥

yathopaśrayamāṇasya

[yathopashrayamaanasya]

bhagavantaṁ vibhāvasum

[bhagavantam vibhaavasum]

śītaṁ bhayaṁ tamo ’pyeti

[sheetam bhayam tamo ’pyeti]

sādhūn saṁsevatas tathā

[saadhoon samsevatas tathaa]

Word-for-word

yathā — just as upaśrayamāṇasya — of one who is approaching bhagavantam — the powerful vibhāvasum — fire śītam — cold bhayam — fear tamaḥ — darkness apyeti — are removed sādhūn — saintly devotees saṁsevataḥ — for one who is serving tathā — similarly.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

yathopaśrayamāṇasya

yathā

just as

upaśrayamāṇasya

of one who is approaching

bhagavantaṁ vibhāvasum

bhagavantam

the powerful

vibhāvasum

fire

śītaṁ bhayaṁ tamo ’pyeti

śītam

cold

bhayam

fear

tamaḥ

darkness

apyeti

are removed

sādhūn saṁsevatas tathā

sādhūn

saintly devotees

saṁsevataḥ

for one who is serving

tathā

similarly.

Just as cold, fear and darkness are eradicated for one who has approached the sacrificial fire, so dullness, fear and ignorance are destroyed for one engaged in serving the devotees of the Lord.

Purport

Those engaged in fruitive activities are certainly dull; they lack higher awareness of the Supreme Lord and the soul. Materialists are engaged more or less mechanically in gratifying their senses and ambitions, and thus they are considered dull or practically unconscious. All such dullness, fear and ignorance are removed when one serves the lotus feet of the Lord, just as cold, fear and darkness are removed when one approaches a fire.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

Just as cold, fear and darkness are eradicated for one who has approached a fire, so apathy, fear and ignorance are destroyed for one engaged in serving the devotees of the Lord. When one uses fire for cooking, cold, fear and darkness are also destroyed as a secondary result. When one serves devotees for perfecting worship, the stupefying influence of karma, fear of saṁsāra, obstacles to worship are destroyed.

Personal Guidance

As cold, fear, darkness are eradicated near sacrificial fire, dullness, fear, ignorance are destroyed in service to His devotees. Proximity itself does the work.

Reflection Questions

Whose proximity has eradicated dullness or fear in me?
How could I be near such fire more?

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io