Prahlāda Mahārāja says that viprād dvi-ṣad-guṇa-yutādaravinda-nabha. Even a brahmin, qualified brahmin who has all these brahminical qualification, but he is not a devotee of the Lord . . . there are many good, qualified persons, but they do not accept the subordination of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Materially, one may be very much highly qualified. Academically, one may be very highly qualified. But if one is not a believer, faithful, or is not accepting the existence of God, or God the Supreme, he is called atheist.
And Prahlāda Mahārāja does not say atheist, but he says that, "Even one has got all these good qualifications, but if he is not qualified with the faith in God, or not becoming a devotee of God, then he is not qualified. He is rejected." You may take his qualification in consideration, but Prahlāda Mahārāja says he is rejected from Kṛṣṇa consciousness for that one disqualification, that he is not a devotee of God. Similarly, in other places it is also confirmed that:
- yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiṣcanā
- sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
- (SB 5.18.12)
"If one is simply unflinching faithful devotee of the Lord, then he develops all the good qualification of demigods." Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā: "If one is not devotee of the Lord, then he has no good qualification." Why? Because manorathenāsato dhāvato bahiḥ: "Because he is hovering on the mental plane." And because he is hovering on the mental plane—the mind's business is to change—so he will change from one platform to another, another platform to another. He has no fixed idea, therefore his qualification has no value.
In several places . . . in the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa says, api cet su-durācāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk (BG 9.30), "If a person is found even unclean and not very well behaved but he has got unflinching faith in Me, Kṛṣṇa," sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ, "oh, he is sādhu. He is saintly person." He is saintly because that one qualification, that he has full faith in God, Kṛṣṇa, that one qualification makes him a saintly person. Others may have all the good qualification, but simply for one minor godlessness, he is nonqualified.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja confirms the same statement. Prahlāda Mahārāja is also a sādhu, because he is a devotee. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has said that if you want to make concrete progress in spiritual life, then you have to corroborate the statement of the scriptures, the statements of saintly person, and statement of the spiritual master—three things. Why three things? Because a spiritual master means he does not place anything which is not in the scriptures.
He does not say that, "My theory is like this." That is not a spiritual master. Similarly, sādhu, saintly person, also does not say anything which is not mentioned in the scriptures. He does not manufacture anything by mental concoction. And what is śāstra, scriptures? They are statement of different saintly persons and spiritual masters.
Therefore one has to corroborate these three things: scriptures, and statement of saintly persons, and statement of spiritual master. The spiritual master is via media. The disciple, if he cannot understand the statement of the scriptures or any saintly person, he submits his doubts before the spiritual master and he clears it. In this way we have to make progress.