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Šri Caitanya-caritāmrta
[[Madhya-lilā Ch 22
THE MAN OF THE STARS  by  MARTIN LUTHER KING  and  EDWARD GREEN  ( MARTIN LUTHER KING  and  EDWARD GREEN   M
Pious activities bring about material opulence, but one cannot acquire devotional service by any amount of material pious activity, not by giving charity, opening big hospitals and schools or working philanthropically. Devotional service can be attained only by the mercy of a pure devotee. Without a pure devotee's mercy, one cannot even escape the bondage of material existence. The word  mahat  in this verse means "a pure devotee." As confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā :
mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Bg. 9.13)
One also has to associate with such a  mahātmā  who has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the supreme source of the entire creation. Without being a  mahātmā , one cannot understand Kṛṣṇa’s absolute position. A  mahātmā  is rare and transcendental, and he is a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Foolish people consider Kṛṣṇa a human being, and they consider Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pure devotee an ordinary human being also. Whatever one may be, one must take shelter at the lotus feet of a devotee  mahātmā  and treat him as the most exalted well-wisher of all human society. We should take shelter of such a  mahātmā  and ask for his causeless mercy. Only by his benediction can one be relieved from attachment to a materialistic way of life. When one is thus relieved, he can engage in the Lord’s transcendental loving service through the mercy of the  mahātmā .
TEXT 52
রङ्গগৈতত্ত্বপদ। ন যাতি 
 ন চেজ্যয়া নির্বপণাদ্গৃহাদ্বা । 
 ন চ্ছন্দদা নৈব জলাগ্নিস্থৰ্ষৈ- 
 ৰ্বিনা মহংপাদরজোহভিষেকম্ ॥ ৫২ ॥
rahūgaņaitat tapasā na yāti na cejyayā nirvapaņād gṛhād vā na cchandasā naiva jalāgni-sūryair vinā mahat-pāda-rajo-'bhiṣekam