However, it would be unthinkable to achieve this perfection without the grace of a pure devotee or a great soul, servant and servant of God. Without this grace, impossible even to let go of the hold of matter, what to say to rise to the level of love for God.
Lord Chaitanya informed Sanatane Gosvami that all scriptures insist on the company of pure devotees of the Supreme Lord. The chance to come into contact with these marks the beginning of our total perfection. The benefits and advantages acquired from a pure devotee are incomparable. They cannot be compared to the elevation to the celestial spheres or to liberation.
Krishna also confirms when He says: Dear Arjuna, always fill your mind with Me and become My full devotee, constantly devote your worship to Me and simply surrender to Me. This is the only way to access My Kingdom. I am revealing to you here the most secret of knowledge, because you are My friend, infinitely dear.
Such direct instruction from Krishna to Arjuna turns out to be more important than any Vedic directive or service performed according to the rules. There are certainly several Vedic recommendations regarding sacrificial rites and ceremonies, regulatory duties, meditation and the speculative culture of knowledge; but Krishna's direct order - Just renounce everything and become My devotee, My worshiper - must be taken as the final order of the Lord, to which we must adhere above all else. The mere fact of being convinced of this and embracing devotional service to the Lord, abandoning all other occupations, will undoubtedly bring us success.
Faith is in this unshakeable conviction. So those who have faith are firmly convinced that by simply devoting themselves to the devotional service of Krishna, they are automatically fulfilling everything, including the regulatory principles related to the rites of sacrificial offerings, the practice of yoga. and the speculative quest for knowledge. Everything is automatically accomplished by the person convinced that devotional service to the Lord is all encompassing. As the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Words of Wisdom, (4.31.14) teaches: Just as, by watering the root of a tree, one also nourishes the branches, twigs, leaves and fruits, and just like, by giving food to the stomach, one satisfies all the senses, it is enough to serve Krishna with devotion to automatically perform any other form of worship or recommended method. The person who has faith and who animates this firm conviction is worthy of becoming a pure devotee.
There are three classes of devotees according to their degree of conviction. The first-rate devotee is versed in all Vedic scriptures and imbued with the conviction described above. He can alleviate the material suffering of all other beings. The second-rate devotee is one whose conviction and faith are firm, but who is hardly able to cite the revealed scriptures to support his point. The third-order devotee is one whose faith remains fragile but who, through the gradual development of devotional service, will in time become worthy of being promoted to the second or even the first level.