Hare Krsna,
For me it is hard to say at what moment in my life association with a saintly person changed direction of my life. I grew up in a family of demigod worshippers. We would visit many temples and interact with many holy people. Who knew whether there was a pure saintly person in that midst of such holy people who blessed me? Who knew whether a very sincere and renounced devotee of Lord Siva, who our family is very attached to, blessed me to become a devotee of Krsna? Being a devotee of Krsna, surely he knew that Lord Siva is vaisnavanam yatha sambhu (Lord Siva is the greatest devotee of the Supreme Lord). Who knew whether it was a co-passenger from Mathura in my flight from India to London who kept talking to me non-stop about Krsna and blessed me secretly? Who knew whether it was a sankirtana devotee at my graduate school in Minneapolis who gave me a copy of Srimad Bhagavad Gita that changed my life? There is no doubt that association with saintly persons definitely changed the course of my life. Like the Avantika brahmana in Srimad Bhagavatam who considered both moving and non-living entities as his guru, I also consider all the different people who came into my life as arrangement by Lord Krsna to put me on the path of bhakti.
There is no doubt that association with Srila Prabhupada through his vani (his books and classes) played the most significant role in my devotional life. Whereas other saintly person may have blessed me to develop faith in the Lord, Srila Prabhupada really opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. As I mentioned in the previous post, I spent the last 8 days in New Vrindaban with advanced devotees. I was also very fortunate to associate with my dear spiritual master HH Varsana Swami Maharaja. Coming in contact with my spiritual master a few years ago gave me a new impetus to my bhakti life.
The amazing thing about bhakti is that our desire to associate with saintly persons increase every day. There is no satiation. Even a so-called new devotee in ISKCON is a saintly person because he/she is continue his/her Krsna consciousness from previous life. We should, therefore, not take association of saintly persons for granted. Rather we should develop the mood to hear from them, inquire about their realizations of bhakti, serve them, and seek their blessings. In one of my earlier trips to New Vrindavana during the summer this year, I met a wonderful small boy of 5-6 years old. His name is Om. My spiritual master met him a few months ago and was very impressed by the level of spiritual advancement of this young devotee. He recommended me to meet this boy whenever I get a chance. When I finally met him, I was so inspired. He is 100% Krsna conscious. His father told me that on his first day at school, he preached to the teachers and other students about the virtues of vegetarianism because the school was serving meat for lunch. He was not afraid to speak the truth and preach about Krsna conscious principles. He has so much potential that his mom (who is a doctor) gave up her profession so that she could take proper care of him and ensure that he turns out to be a great devotee. By associating with him, I realized that I do not possess even one percent of bhakti and realization this young devotee has. I am sharing this story just to prove the point that saintly persons come from different cultures, different ages, and different places. We should not blind sight ourselves by thinking that saintly persons are there only in ISKCON. The Supreme Lord is all pervading; His energies are all pervading. Similarly His devotees also exist everywhere. We must be on the look out for such devotees and seek their association.
“Lord Caitanya says that one should always try to associate with saintly persons because if one establishes a proper association with a saintly person, even for a moment, one attains all perfection. Somehow or other, if one meets a saintly person and achieves his favor, then the entire mission of one’s human life is fulfilled…Thus it is actually a fact that if one meets a saintly person completely engaged in transcendental duties and achieves his favor, then one’s life mission becomes complete. What is not possible to achieve in thousands of lives can be achieved in one moment if there is an opportunity to meet a saintly person. It is therefore enjoined in Vedic literature that one should always try to associate with saintly persons and try to disassociate oneself from the common man, because by one word of a saintly person one can be liberated from material entanglement.” (SB 3.22.5 Purport)
‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’—sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya
“The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.” (CC Madhya 22.54)
Only association with pure saintly devotees can give us the taste for chanting the Holy Name of the Lord.
“The chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord. When the mantra is chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has the greatest efficacy on hearers, and as such this chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved.” (The Science of Self Realization) All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 