The intelligent, who have understood the Supreme Lord in association with pure devotees and have become freed from bad materialistic association, can never avoid hearing the glories of the Lord, even though they have heard them only once.
By the association of pure devotees all the obstacles are removed.
It is imperative that one sincerely seeks the association of pure devotees and hears them patiently and submissively from any position of life.
Although there is a process of gradual elevation, if one, by the association of pure devotees, takes directly to Krishna Consciousness, that is the best way.
The root cause of devotional service to Lord Krishna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one's dormant love for Krishna awakens, association with devotees is still most essential.
The influence of a pure devotee is such that if someone comes to associate with him with a little faith, one gets the chance of hearing about the Lord from authoritative scriptures like Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.