Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 31
Nimi Questions the Yogendras: Māyā, Cosmic Dissolution, Guru-Śaraṇāgati, Bhakti, and Deity Worship
स्मरन्त: स्मारयन्तश्च मिथोऽघौघहरं हरिम् । भक्त्या सञ्जातया भक्त्या बिभ्रत्युत्पुलकां तनुम् ॥ ३१ ॥
smarantaḥ smārayantaś ca mitho ’ghaugha-haraṁ harim bhaktyā sañjātayā bhaktyā bibhraty utpulakāṁ tanum
The devotees of the Lord constantly discuss the glories of the Personality of Godhead among themselves. Thus they constantly remember the Lord and remind one another of His qualities and pastimes. In this way, by their devotion to the principles of bhakti-yoga, the devotees please the Personality of Godhead, who takes away from them everything inauspicious. Being purified of all impediments, the devotees awaken to pure love of Godhead, and thus, even within this world, their spiritualized bodies exhibit symptoms of transcendental ecstasy, such as standing of the bodily hairs on end.
The word aghaugha-haram is very significant in this verse. Agha refers to that which is inauspicious or sinful. The living entity is actually sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, or eternal and full of bliss and knowledge, but by neglecting his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, he commits sinful activities and undergoes the inauspicious result in the form of material suffering. The chain of sinful reactions is called ogha, or a relentless wave of suffering. Kṛṣṇa is aghaugha-haraṁ harim; He takes away the sinful reactions of His devotees, who are thus entitled to experience the inconceivable bliss of the kingdom of God even while remaining in this world.
FAQs
This verse says devotees both remember Hari and actively remind one another of Him; this mutual remembrance strengthens devotion and deepens spiritual emotion.
He highlights a classic symptom of intensified bhakti: as devotion matures through shared remembrance of Hari, the body may naturally show ecstatic signs like horripilation.
Keep devotional company and create habits of mutual remembrance—discussing the Lord, sharing verses, and encouraging nāma-japa/kīrtana—so bhakti grows through bhakti itself.