34
Śrī Īśopaniṣad
adhikāris , the devotees who are in the intermediate stage of devotional service. These  madhyam adhikāris  observe four principles in relation to the Supreme Lord, which are as follows:
1. They see, first of all, the Supreme Lord; 
 2. They see next the devotees of the Lord; 
 3. They see also the innocent, who have no knowledge about God; and at last, 
 4. They see the atheists who have no faith in the Lord, and who hate those in the devotional line.
The  madhyam adhikāri  devotee behaves differently toward the different above-mentioned four principles. He adores the Lord, considering Him the object of love, and he makes friendship with those who are in the devotional line. He tries to awaken the dormant love of Godhead in the hearts of the innocent people, but he does not approach the atheists who deride at the very Name of the Lord.
Above the  madhyam adhikāri  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  Brāhmaṇa  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  Brāhmaṇa  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  Brāhmaṇa  and the dog, the  uttama adhikāri  tries to do good to both. Such a learned devotee of the Lord is not misled by the material bodies of the  Brāhmaṇa  and the dog, but he is attracted by the spiritual spark within the respective entities.
Those who imitate an  uttama adhikāri  in terms of the sense of oneness or fellowship, but who behave in terms of bodily