"O best of the Bhâratas, four kinds of people with very righteous backgrounds take up devotional service to Me. They are the distressed, the inquisitive, the seekers of material profit, and the jñānīs, or wise men." Out of these four, those who are distressed and those who desire wealth are called sakāma devotees, devotees with material desires, whereas the other two, the inquisitive and the searcher for wisdom, are mokṣa-kāma devotees, seekers of liberation. Because they all worship Kṛṣṇa, they are all considered to be very fortunate. In due course of time, if they give up all desires and become pure devotees of the Supreme Lord, they can be considered most fortunate. Such fortunate beginners can develop only in the association of pure devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When one associates with pure devotees, he becomes a pure devotee himself. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.10.11):
- sat-saṅgān mukta-duḥsaṅgo hātuṁ notsahate budhaḥ
- kīrtyamānaṁ yaśo yasya sakṛd ākarṇya rocanam
"A person who is actually intelligent is able, by the association of pure devotees, to hear descriptions of Lord Kṛṣṇa and His activities. These activities are so attractive that one who hears of them does not wish to give up such association with the Lord."