FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.26.31

యథోపశ్రయమాణస్య భగవన్తం విభావసుమ్ । శీతం భయం తమోఽప్యేతి సాధూన్ సంసేవతస్తథా ॥ ౩౧ ॥
yathopaśrayamāṇasya
[yathopashrayamaanasya]
bhagavantaṁ vibhāvasum
[bhagavantam vibhaavasum]
śītaṁ bhayaṁ tamo ’pyeti
[sheetam bhayam tamo ’pyeti]
sādhūn saṁsevatas tathā
[saadhoon samsevatas tathaa]
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.

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
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.
📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 26