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THE PATH OF PERECTION
practicing  yoga . For them,  yoga  is nothing more than their personal concern. A devotee, however, is not satisfied just in elevating his personal self.
vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord, who can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and who are full of compassion for the fallen souls.” A devotee displays great compassion toward conditioned souls. The word  kṛpā  means “mercy,” and  sindhu  means “ocean.” A devotee is an ocean of mercy, and he naturally wants to distribute this mercy. Lord Jesus Christ, for instance, was God conscious, Kṛṣṇa conscious, but he was not satisfied in keeping this knowledge within himself. Had he continued to live alone in God consciousness, he would not have met crucifixion. But no. Being a devotee and naturally compassionate, he also wanted to take care of others by making them God conscious. Although he was forbidden to preach God consciousness, he continued to do so at the risk of his own life. This is the nature of a devotee.
It is therefore stated in  Bhagavad-gītā  (18.68–69) that the devotee who preaches is most dear to the Lord.
ya idam paramam guhyam mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati bhaktim mayi parām kṛtvā mām evaiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ
“For one who explains the supreme secret to the devotees, devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.”
na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛṭtamaḥ bhavitā na ca me tasmād anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi
Determination and Steadiness in Yoga
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“There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” Therefore the devotees go out to preach, and going forth, they sometimes meet opposing elements. Sometimes they are defeated, sometimes disappointed, sometimes able to convince, sometimes unable. It is not that every devotee is well equipped to preach. Just as there are different types of people, there are three classes of devotees. In the third class are those who have no faith. If they are engaged in devotional service officially, for some ulterior purpose, they cannot achieve the highest perfectional stage. Most probably they will slip, after some time. They may become engaged, but because they haven’t complete conviction and faith, it is very difficult for them to continue in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We have practical experience in discharging our missionary activity that some people come and apply themselves to Kṛṣṇa consciousness with some hidden motive, and as soon as they are economically a little well situated, they give up this process and take to their old ways again. It is only by faith that one can advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As far as the development of faith is concerned, one who is well versed in the literatures of devotional service and has attained the stage of firm faith is called a first-class person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And in the second class are those who are not very advanced in understanding the devotional scriptures but who automatically have firm faith that  kṛṣṇa-bhakti , or service to Kṛṣṇa, is the best course and so in good faith have taken it up. Thus they are superior to the third class, who have neither perfect knowledge of the scriptures nor good faith but by association and simplicity are trying to follow. The third-class person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness may fall down, but when one is in the second class or first class, he does not fall down. One in the first class will surely make progress and achieve the result at the end. As far as the third-class person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is concerned, although he has faith in the conviction that devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is very good, he has no knowledge of Kṛṣṇa through the scriptures like the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  and  Bhagavad-gītā . Sometimes these third-class persons in Kṛṣṇa consciousness have some tendency toward  karma-yoga  and  jñāna-yoga , and sometimes they are disturbed,