Text 6] The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahūti
865
rajaḥ —the dust of the feet;  spṛṣṭam —is touched;  śīrṣṇā —by the head;  me-  
 my ;  bhavataḥ —your;  śivam —causing all auspiciousness.
TRANSLATION
It is my good fortune that I have been able to see you because you can- 
  not easily be seen by persons who have not subdued the mind or controlled 
  the senses. I am all the more fortunate to have touched with my head the 
  blessed dust of your feet.
PURPORT
The perfection of transcendental life can be achieved simply by touching 
  the holy dust of the lotus feet of a holy man. In the  Bhāgavatam  it is said, 
 mahat-pāda-rajo 'bhiṣekam , which means to be blessed by the holy dust 
  of the lotus feet of a  mahat , a great devotee. As stated in  Bhagavad-gītā , 
 mahātmānas tu : Those who are great souls are under the spell of spiritual 
  energy, and their symptom is that they fully engage in  Kṛṣṇa  consciousness 
  for the service of the Lord. Therefore they are called  mahat . Unless one is 
  fortunate enough to have the dust of the lotus feet of a  mahātmā  on his 
  head, there is no possibility of perfection in spiritual life.
The  paramparā  system of discipline succession is very important as a 
  means of spiritual success. One becomes a  mahat  by the grace of his  mahat  
  spiritual master. If one takes shelter of the lotus feet of a great soul, there 
  is every possibility of his also becoming a great soul. When  Mahārāja  
 Rahūgaṇa  asked  Jaḍa   Bharata  about his wonderful achievement of spiritual 
  success, he replied to the King that spiritual success is not possible simply by 
  following the rituals of religion or simply by converting oneself into a 
 sannyāsī  or offering sacrifices as recommended in the scriptures. These 
  methods are undoubtedly helpful for spiritual realization, but the real 
  effect is brought about by the grace of a  mahātmā . In  Viśvanātha  
 Cakravarti   Thākura 's eight stanzas of prayer to the spiritual master, it is 
  clearly stated that simply by satisfying the spiritual master one can 
  achieve the supreme success in life, and in spite of executing all ritualistic 
  performances, if one cannot satisfy the spiritual master, he has no access 
  to spiritual perfection. Here the word  akṛtātmanām  is very significant. 
 Ātmā  means body, soul, or mind, and  akṛtātmā  means the common 
  man, who cannot control the senses or the mind. Because the common 
  man is unable to control the senses and the mind, it is therefore his duty 
  to seek the shelter of a great soul or a great devotee of the Lord and just 
  try to please him. That will make his life perfect. A common man cannot