Thakura Bhaktivinoda, the humble servant of the Lord, says, “The holy name of Krishna has fulfilled all my desires by vibrating on everyone’s tongue.” Bhaktivinoda therefore prays at the feet of Sri Rupa Goswami that the chanting of harinam may continue like this always. (Translation, verse 5)

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Nārada Muni Bājāy Vīṇā | HG Vaiśeṣika Dāsa | ISV | 5 Dec 2018

Cc Madhya 22.51-98 
https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/22/
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That's my point: everybody can rise. That's what Lord Caitanya is saying. And that's what Vyāsadeva says in the Vedānta-sūtra. He said the śāstras are all saying you should rise to the highest level, therefore you can, because if you couldn't rise to the highest level, then the śāstra would be illogical to say, "Rise to the highest platform."

There's also the way of defining what a pure devotee is. In Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says (BG 9.30):
api cet su-duracaro
bhajate mam ananya-bhak
sadhur eva sa mantavyaḥ 
samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

Which means that even if somebody at this point is encumbered by some worldliness, because their determination and intention is fixed properly, then Kṛṣṇa says emphatically, you have to consider them sādhus, and that's a big name: they're called a Sādhu.

What's more, you find the nuances and definitions in the Nectar of Instruction, verse number five, in the purport. Prabhupāda describes kaniṣṭha, madhyama, and uttama more in the context of, let's say, our ISKCON society, and then he describes a neophyte as somebody who just joined and is just making their way, getting chastised by everybody for sitting in the wrong direction. Then there's the madhyama-adhikārī.

But then he gives the uttama-adhikārī: he says somebody who's been practicing for a long time and has shown they're steady in the process, and they preach, and they know śāstra. Now, those are verifiable. You can see if somebody is doing that because they either show up or they don't. And then, do they know śāstra? Well, I mean, there are different levels of knowing śāstra. But if they know the basic śāstra enough to establish that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and some other things, that's pretty good. And then, that they preach.

If you try to take other kinds of definitions of uttama-adhikārī which are bandied about a lot, like, "How do you judge somebody's faith?" and "Okay, they have to be seeing Kṛṣṇa directly." We'll just ask them, "Are you seeing Kṛṣṇa directly?" Even the Six Gosvāmīs say, "No, we don't see Kṛṣṇa, we're looking for Him." And if somebody does say they saw Kṛṣṇa last night and were dancing with Him, how are you going to prove otherwise? Say, "Yeah, I dance with Him every night." And then say, "Okay, well, prove me wrong that I wasn't dancing with Him." So that's not the means by which we judge whether somebody is a kaniṣṭha, madhyama, or uttama; it has to be verifiable signs.

Madhvācārya says, when you're discerning an advanced devotee, you can't judge by the ecstatic emotions, because some pure devotees hide their emotions. That's in that verse: evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā. He said there are only two ways by which you can judge the pure devotee, and that's: one is by their steadiness, and the other is by what they say. Do they speak about Kṛṣṇa and is their speech merciful?.
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#70 | The Process of Devotional Service -1 | Govardhana Readings | 15 Oct 2025

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#70 | The Process of Devotional Service -1 | Govardhana Readings | 15 Oct 2025

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