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It is the duty of an advanced devotee in the second stage of devotional perfection to act in accordance with this verse. There are three stages of devotional life. In the lowest stage, a devotee is simply concerned with the Deity in the temple, and he worships the Lord with great devotion, according to rules and regulations. In the second stage the devotee is cognizant of his relationship with the Lord, his relationship with fellow devotees, his relationship with persons who are innocent and his relationship with persons who are envious. Sometimes devotees are ill-treated by envious persons. It is advised that an advanced devotee should be tolerant; he should show complete mercy to persons who are ignorant or innocent. A preacher-devotee is meant to show mercy to innocent persons whom he can elevate to devotional service. Everyone, by constitutional position, is an eternal servant of God. Therefore, a devotee's business is to awaken everyone's Krsna consciousness. That is his mercy. As for a devotee's treatment of other devotees who are his equals, he should maintain friendship with them. His general view should be to see every living entity as part of the Supreme Lord. Different living entities appear in different forms of dress, but according to the instruction of the Bhagavad-gita, a learned person sees all living entities equally. Such treatment by the devotee is very much appreciated by the Supreme Lord. It is said, therefore, that a saintly person is always tolerant and merciful, he is a friend to everyone, never an enemy to anyone, and he is peaceful. These are some of the good qualities of a devotee.
(More...) The word atmavatam is significant in this verse. There are three different kinds of devotees, namely kanistha-adhikari, madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari: the neophyte, the preacher and the maha-bhagavata or the highly advanced devotees. The highly advanced devotee is one who knows the conclusion of the Vedas in full knowledge; thus he becomes a devotee. Indeed, not only is he convinced himself, but he can convince others on the strength of Vedic evidence. The advanced devotee can also see all other living entities as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, without discrimination. The madhyama-adhikari (preacher) is also well versed in the sastras and can convince others also, but he discriminates between the favorable and the unfavorable. In other words, the madhyama-adhikari does not care for the demoniac living entities, and the neophyte kanistha-adhikari does not know much about sastra but has full faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Kumaras were, however, maha-bhagavatas because after scrutinizingly studying the Absolute Truth, they became devotees. In other words, they were in full knowledge of the Vedic conclusion. In the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed by the Lord that there are many devotees, but a devotee who is fully conversant in the Vedic conclusion is very dear to Him. Everyone is trying to elevate himself to the highest position according to his mentality. The karmis, who have a bodily concept of life, try to enjoy sense gratification to the utmost. The jnanis' idea of the highest position is merging into the effulgence of the Lord. But a devotee's highest position is in preaching all over the world the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the devotees are actually the representatives of the Supreme Lord, and as such they travel all over the world directly as Narayana because they carry Narayana within their hearts and preach His glories. The representative of Narayana is as good as Narayana, but he is not to conclude, like the Mayavadis, that he has become Narayana. Generally, a sannyasi is addressed as Narayana by the Mayavadis. Their idea is that simply by taking sannyasa one becomes equal to Narayana or becomes Narayana Himself. The Vaisnava conclusion is different, as stated by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura:
(More...) Here is an explanation of the Mahabhagavata, the great personality who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are three stages of realizing the presence of the Supreme Lord: The kanistha adhikari, the person who is in the lowest stage of realization of the Lord, goes to one place of worship, such as a temple, church, or mosque, in terms of his particular type of religious faith, and worships there in terms of the scriptural injunctions. Such devotees think that the Lord is there at the place of worship and nowhere else. Such devotees cannot recognize who is in what position in the devotional line, or in terms of realization of the Supreme Lord. They follow the routine formulas and sometimes quarrel among themselves, estimating one particular type of worship better than another. These kanistha adhikaris, in the lowest stage of devotion, are called materialistic devotees, or those just trying to transcend the material boundary to reach the spiritual plane.
(More...) Above the madhyam adhikari there is the uttama adhikari devotee, who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord. He does not make any particular discrimination between the atheist and the theist, but sees in every one of them the part and parcel of God. He knows that there is no difference between a vastly learned Brahmana and a dog in the street, because both of them are of the Lord, though in different embodiments due to the different qualities of material action. The Brahmana particle of the Supreme Lord has not misused the little independence given him by the Lord, but the dog particle has misused his independence, and thus he has been punished by the law of Nature, being encaged in the ignorant form of a dog. Without considering the respective actions of the Brahmana and the dog, the uttama adhikari tries to do good to both. Such a learned devotee of the Lord is not misled by the material bodies of the Brahmana and the dog, but he is attracted by the spiritual spark within the respective entities.
(More...) one who not only can preach but who also sees everything in the Absolute Truth and the Absolute Truth in everything is in the highest class of Vaisnavas. The highest perfectional brahmana is the Vaisnava. A Vaisnava who knows the science of the Absolute Truth but is not able to preach such knowledge to others is described as being in the lower stage, one who not only understands the principles of the science of God but can also preach is in the second stage, and one who not only can preach but who also sees everything in the Absolute Truth and the Absolute Truth in everything is in the highest class of Vaisnavas. It is mentioned here that a Vaisnava is already a brahmana; in fact, the highest stage of brahminical perfection is reached when one becomes a Vaisnava.
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