Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 31


Sanskrit:

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

ITRANS:

yathopaśrayamāṇasyabhagavantaṁ vibhāvasumśītaṁ bhayaṁ tamo ’pyetisādhūn saṁsevatas tathā

Translation:

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.