In plain words
Prema cannot be experienced by any path other than Prema. What joins such Prema with Prema is the Bhāgavatam.
But some doubt may arise. In this Bhāgavatam there are not only believers filled with Prema; there are unbelievers too, who set themselves against divinity! Since wicked men such as Hiraṇyakaśipu, Hiraṇyākṣa, Kaṃsa, Dantavaktra and Śiśupāla are in the Bhāgavatam as well, there is no sense at all in saying it is only a bond of kinship between the devotees and God, is there! Here is a fine illustration of this. When someone comes to our house thirsty and asks for water, we must offer something or other: water, or buttermilk, or juice. To offer it, there must be a vessel. This vessel may be a silver vessel, or a porcelain vessel, or a plastic vessel. The vessel is not what matters. What it holds is what matters. In the same way, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Hiraṇyākṣa, Kaṃsa, Śiśupāla and Dantavaktra have all been shown in it, each as a vessel. It is simply to turn the substance held in this vessel into the Supreme, and to reveal its true form. Because of this there is room in the Bhāgavatam to speak of evil too. In your eyes they may be demons. In God's eyes they may stand as helpers to the devotee. Taking these very demons as examples, God has been handing the principle of the Ātma to the devotees. Pleasure is an interval between two pains. One good lies held right between two evils. Truly, had there been no Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu, there would have been no chance at all for the Narasiṃha Avatāra to appear before Prahlāda. In the same way, if there were no opposition at all, faith would have no way to grow strong. Though Hiraṇyakaśipu, father of the supreme devotee Prahlāda, tormented him in many ways, in the end these very hardships were the cause of his Bhakti and surrender spreading through the whole world. Hiraṇyakaśipu himself was the cause. To give the supreme devotee supreme Śānti and happiness, God has been creating opposing forces of this kind in people, and through them strengthening their faith in Him. When wood is rubbed against wood, fire appears. Though the fire is within it, for it to appear wood must be rubbed against wood. But if the rubbing happens a little today and a little tomorrow like this, the wood only breaks into pieces; the fire does not come forth. Only when this rubbing goes on without a break does fire arise in it. Only through the Name of God, without ceasing, does the fire of Jñāna in man's humanness blaze up. To give the devotees the experience of Ānanda and happiness, wicked ones like these simply have to be beside them. When a mother wants to bring up her child and give it joy, making it laugh and play, she has to keep everything right there beside her: biscuits, peppermints, toys.