Four Kinds Of Pious Men

In verse sixteen Krsna enumerates four kinds of pious men who render devotional service unto the Supreme: they are the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive and the man in search of the Absolute Truth. These four classes of men come to the Lord to render some devotional service under different conditions, but they are not pure devotees because they have some ambition to fulfill in exchange for devotional service. Pure devotional service is without material calculation or desire for material benefit. The Nectar of Devotion puts it this way: "One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favorably without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." But when these four kinds of persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service, they become completely purified by association with the pure devotee, and thus they also become pure devotees. Even a miscreant, for whom devotional service is extremely difficult due to his irregular, nonspiritual life, can also become a pure devotee if by chance he comes in contact with a pure devotee. Actually how we come to Krsna is not so important. Man may be distressed-he may have lost his wife or family, his business may have failed, some love relationship has gone haywire-and in that distress turn to the Supreme Lord. Somehow or other we get an inkling that our happiness is not to be achieved in material goals, but in the Supreme. And in that state, even though it is occasioned by a material event, we have an opportunity to associate with the Supreme Lord or with His devotee.