Spiritualভাগবেতর কথা েস তব অবতার ধীর ৈহয়া ზেন যিদ কােন বার বার (৮)
bhāgavatera kathā se tava avatāra dhīra haiyā śune yadi kāne bāra bāra bhāgavatera kathā—the message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; se—that; tava avatāra—Your incarnation; dhīra haiyā—becoming grave; śune—by hearing; yadi—if; kāne—by aural reception; bāra bāra— again and again.
The words of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are Your incarnation, and if a sober person repeatedly receives it with submissive aural reception, then he will be able to understand Your message.
Commentary Śrīla Prabhupāda describes here the message conveyed by ŚrīmadBhāgavatam as an avatāra of the Lord: bhāgavatera kathā se tava avatāra. Sūta Gosvāmī tells the sages of Naimiśāraṇya (SB 1.3.40):
This scripture named Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary incarnation of God, and it is compiled by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the incarnation of God. It is meant for the ultimate good of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and all-perfect.
In the purport to this verse, Śrīla Prabhupāda elaborates:
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu declared that ŚrīmadBhāgavatam is the spotless sound representation of all Vedic knowledge and history. Therein are selected histories of great devotees who are in direct contact with the Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary incarnation of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and is therefore nondifferent from Him. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam should be worshiped as respectfully as we worship the Lord. Thereby we can derive the ultimate blessings of the Lord through its careful and patient study. As God is all light, all bliss and all perfection, so also is ŚrīmadBhāgavatam. We can have all the transcendental light of the Supreme Brahman, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, from the recitation of ŚrīmadBhāgavatam, provided it is received through the medium of the transparent spiritual master. Lord Caitanya's private secretary, Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, advised all intending visitors who came to see the Lord at Purī to study the Bhāgavatam under the person Bhāgavatam. The person Bhāgavatam is the self-realized bona fide spiritual master, and through him only can one understand the lessons of the Bhāgavatam in order to receive the desired result. One can derive from the study of the Bhāgavatam all benefits that are possible to be derived from the personal presence of the Lord. It carries with it all the transcendental blessings of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa that we can expect from His personal contact.
As it is clear from this purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda had firm faith in the transformative potency of kṛṣṇa-kathā. He often said that the purpose of opening temples and preaching centers was primarily to give people a chance to hear about Kṛṣṇa. This hearing, especially when done with eagerness and a submissive attitude, is the first step on the path of perfection. The process of spiritual transformation is explained in the Second Chapter of the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in five verses. Śrīla Prabhupāda incorporates these verses now into his poem.