saintly persons
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A saintly person is one who understands fully that simply by discharging devotional service he can become confident of liberation. The qualifications of a saintly person are described in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu as follows: A saintly person is one who understands fully that simply by discharging devotional service he can become confident of liberation. He is always situated in the regulative principles of devotional life and at the same time aspires to be liberated from the material entanglement.
(More...) A saintly person thinks like this: "When shall I be able to live alone in the caves of the mountains? When shall I be dressed simply with undergarments? When shall I be satisfied by eating simply a little fruit and vegetables? When will it be possible for me to always think of the lotus feet of Mukunda, who is the source of the Brahman effulgence? When, in such a spiritual condition of life, shall I fully understand my days and nights to be insignificant moments in eternal time?"
(More...) The devotees and self-realized persons who are engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord always maintain an ecstatic love for the Lord within their hearts. Thus they are benefitted by the rays of the ecstatic moon, and they are called saintly persons.
(More...) The impulse of a saintly person is to be engaged in the study of the Vedas, especially the Upanisadic portions, to always live in a place where there is no disturbance from the common people, to always think of the eternal form of Krsna, to be ready to consider and understand the absolute truth, to always be prominent in exhibiting knowledge, to see the Supreme Lord in His universal form (visva-rūpa), to associate always with learned devotees and to discuss the conclusion of the Vedas with similarly elevated persons. All of these qualifications of a saintly person serve to raise him to the status of santa-rasa.
(More...) In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu it is stated that all those who attended the pious meeting held by Lord Brahma for the study of Vedic literature like the Upanisads became overwhelmed with ecstatic love for Krsna, the chief of the Yadu dynasty. Actually, the result of studying the Upanisads is to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Negation of material existence is only one of the subjects of the Upanisads. The next subject concerns becoming situated in the impersonal realization. And then, after penetrating through the impersonal Brahman, when one comes to the platform of associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one reaches the ultimate goal in studying the Upanisads.
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