yathopaÅ›rayamÄṇasya
bhagavantaá¹ vibhÄvasum
śītaṠbhayaṠtamo 'pyeti
sÄdhÅ«n saá¹sevatas tathÄ
yathÄ - just as; upaÅ›rayamÄṇasya - of one who is approaching; bhagavantam - the powerful; vibhÄvasum - fire; śītam - cold; bhayam - fear; tamaḥ - darkness; apyeti - are removed; sÄdhÅ«n - saintly devotees; saá¹sevataḥ - for one who is serving; tathÄ - 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.
