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friends, a famous English musician, has become attracted to chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa, and even in his records he has several times mentioned the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. At his home he offers respect to pictures of Kṛṣṇa and also to the preachers of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In all regards, he has a very high estimation for Kṛṣṇa's name and Kṛṣṇa's activities; therefore we offer respects to him without reservation, for we are actually seeing that this gentleman is advancing gradually in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Such a person should always be shown respect. The conclusion is that anyone who is trying to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by regularly chanting the holy name should always be respected by Vaiṣṇavas. On the other hand, we have witnessed that some of our contemporaries who are supposed to be great preachers have gradually fallen into the material conception of life because they have failed to chant the holy name of the Lord.
While giving instructions to Sanātana Gosvāmī, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu divided devotional service into three categories.
śāstra-yukti nāhi jāne dṛḍha, śraddhāvān 'madhyama-adhikārī' sei mahā-bhāgyavān
“A person whose conclusive knowledge of the  śāstras  is not very strong but who has developed firm faith in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mahā-mantra  and who is also undeterred in the execution of his prescribed devotional service should be considered a  madhyama-adhikārī . Such a person is very fortunate.” (Cc.  Madhya  22.67) A  madhyama-adhikārī  is a