very rare

The word sa samudra means "near the sea." The reservoir of water was like a bay, for it was not very far from the sea. The word upa, meaning "more or less," is used in many ways, as in the word upapati, which indicates a husband "more or less," that is to say, a lover who is acting like a husband. Upa also means greater, smaller or nearer. Considering all these points, the reservoir of water which was seen by the Pracetas while they were traveling was actually a large bay or lake. And unlike the sea or ocean, which has turbulent waves, this reservoir was very calm and quiet. Indeed, the water was so clear that it seemed like the mind of some great soul. There may be many great souls-jnanis, yogis and bhaktas, or pure devotees, are also called great souls-but they are very rarely found. One can find many great souls amongst yogis and jnanis, but a truly great soul, a pure devotee of the Lord who is fully surrendered to the Lord, is very rarely found (sa mahatma sudurlabhah, Bg. 7.19). A devotee's mind is always calm, quiet and desireless because he is always anyabhilasita-sunyam, and he has no desire other than to serve Krsna as His personal servant, friend, father, mother or conjugal lover. Due to his association with Krsna, a devotee is always very calm and cool. It is also significant that within that reservoir all the aquatics were also very calm and quiet. Because the disciples of a devotee have taken shelter of a great man, they become very calm and quiet and are not agitated by the waves of the material world. (More...)

Lord Siva is rarely seen by common men, and similarly a person who is fully surrendered unto Vasudeva, Krsna, is also very rarely seen because a person who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Lord is very rare (sa mahatma sudurlabhah). Consequently Lord Siva came especially to see the Pracetas because they were fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva. Vasudeva is also mentioned in the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam in the mantra: om namo bhagavate vasudevaya. Since Vasudeva is the ultimate truth, Lord Siva openly proclaims that one who is a devotee of Lord Vasudeva, who is surrendered to Lord Krsna, is actually very dear to him. Lord Vasudeva, Krsna, is worshipable not only by ordinary living entities but by demigods like Lord Siva, Lord Brahma and others. Yam brahma-varunendra-rudra-marutah stunvanti divyaih stavaih (Bhag. 12.13.1). Krsna is worshiped by Lord Brahma, Siva, Varuna, Indra, Candra and all other demigods. That is also the situation with a devotee. Indeed, one who takes to Krsna consciousness immediately becomes very dear to anyone who is simply finding out and beginning to understand what Krsna consciousness actually is. Similarly, all the demigods are also trying to find out who is actually surrendered to Lord Vasudeva. Because the Praceta princes were surrendered to Vasudeva, Lord Siva willingly came forth to see them. (More...)

Such devotees of Krishna are actually Mahatma. Such Mahatmas are very rare. They are seen always engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord especially in the preaching work of the Lord's glories in His different energies namely the material as well as the spiritual which are described in the Bhagavad-gita as the Para and the Apara Prakrtis. These Mahatmas are always anxious to preach the universal message of peace mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita and it does not matter in whatsoever Ashram he belongs to. Arjuna was a householder Ksatriya and was fighting for the interest of the Lord and as such he was the first Acarya in the parampara line. (More...)