Whoever is fortunate enough to serve a great soul is assured that the path to liberation is wide open to him. On the other hand, those who cling to materialists take the path of darkness. Holy souls are spiritualists as calm as they are peaceful; anger is foreign to them and they extend their friendship to all living beings. The mere fact of associating with such souls can transform a person into a devotee of Krishna. In truth, the company of devout saints is essential to the development of love for God. The path to spiritual progress is accessible to anyone who comes into contact with a holy person. By following this path one is sure to develop one's Krishna consciousness as part of integral devotional service.
The Lord then informed Sanatane Gosvami of the way in which the devotee, the servant of God, behaves. The essential point of Chaitanya is here that one must avoid any bad attendance. This is the essence of the conduct of the devotee. And, by bad association, we must understand the association of those and those who prove to be too attached to the opposite sex or who are not devotees of Krishna. As it is recommended to seek the company of the holy devotees of the Lord, it is advisable to carefully avoid that of the non-devotees. The pure devotees of Krishna are therefore careful not to associate with the two classes of individuals mentioned above. We must avoid any contact with those who are the toys of women, because the association of such ungodly people would deprive us of any quality worthy of the name, such as truthfulness, purity, compassion, seriousness, intelligence, reserve, beauty, fame, forgiveness, mastery of mind and senses, as well as all the excellences which the devotee automatically acquires. Nothing degrades a man more than associating with people who are too attached to women.
In this context, Lord Chaitanya also quotes a verse from the Katyayana-samhita (sacred text): Better to be a prisoner of a cage surrounded by a blazing fire than to live in contact with those who are not devotees of the Lord.
We advise not even to look at the faces of unbelievers or beings devoid of devotion to the Supreme Being. The Lord recommends that one scrupulously renounce the company of all unwanted beings and take full refuge in Krishna, the Supreme Lord. Krishna Himself gives this instruction to Arjuna at the end of the Bhagavad-Gita: Leave everything and simply surrender to Me. I will take care of you and free you from all the consequences of your faults.
A person who is intelligent and able to understand the philosophy of the consciousness of God will naturally abandon everything to take refuge in Krishna. In this context, Lord Chaitanya recited a verse uttered by Uddhava [Lord Krishna's most confidential friend and advisor to Mathurâ and Dvârakâ.] in Srimad-Bhagavatam: How could one take refuge in anyone other than Krishna, Him so benevolent?