Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.16 purport-The servants of God are to be respected as God by the devotees who actually want to go back to Godhead. By serving the servants of the Lord, one gradually gets the quality of such servants, and thus one becomes qualified to hear the glories of God.
Being with and serving devotees is a must for a person who wants to ” go up” in spiritual life. With that association comes the risk of upsetting devotees because of our selfish motives. If we are careful and sincere, and with a dose of selflessness and attitude of humility, we can avoid those negative, unwanted things (upsetting and hurting devotees), and instead receive “another side of a coin”, a blessing, the thing we very much need and should always desire.
As years go on, our focus and eagerness for blessings and mercy from a saintly devotee becomes less, and our vision to even notice a saintly person gets lost (mostly because we become familiar with them, thinking them to be normal people).
So, my meditation on this purport above is that whenever you get an opportunity to be with and serve a saint, don’t take it lightly.
It is rare, it is special, and it can, or rather it will, change the direction in which your destiny is taking you.
It is entirely up to you to choose which “side of the coin” you choose to focus on.
Srimad Bhagavatam 9.4.69-Service to a Vaisnava gradually accumulates and becomes an asset for the devotee. Similarly, harmful activities directed against the devotee gradually become the ultimate cause of the performer’s falldown.
Ananta Gopal Das
6.4.2022
Bhakti Wisdom 