dekhiyÄ vyÄdhera prema parvata-mahÄmuni
nÄradere kahe, — tumi hao sparÅ›a-maṇi

 dekhiyÄ - seeing; vyÄdhera - of the hunter; prema - the ecstatic love; parvata-mahÄ-muni - the great sage Parvata Muni; nÄradere kahe - spoke to NÄrada Muni; tumi hao sparÅ›a-maṇi - you are certainly a touchstone.


Text

“When Parvata Muni saw the ecstatic loving symptoms of the hunter, he told NÄrada, ‘Certainly you are a touchstone.’

Purport

When a touchstone touches iron, it turns the iron to gold. Parvata Muni called NÄrada Muni a touchstone because by his touch the hunter, who was the lowest among men, became an elevated and perfect Vaiṣṇava. ÅšrÄ«la Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura said that the position of a Vaiṣṇava can be tested by seeing how good a touchstone he is — that is, by seeing how many Vaiṣṇavas he has made during his life. A Vaiṣṇava should be a touchstone so that he can convert others to Vaiṣṇavism by his preaching, even though people may be fallen like the hunter. There are many so-called advanced devotees who sit in a secluded place for their personal benefit. They do not go out to preach and convert others into Vaiṣṇavas, and therefore they certainly cannot be called sparÅ›a-maṇi, advanced devotees. Kaniṣṭha-adhikÄrÄ« devotees cannot turn others into Vaiṣṇavas, but a madhyama-adhikÄrÄ« Vaiṣṇava can do so by preaching. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu advised His followers to increase the numbers of Vaiṣṇavas.

yÄre dekha, tÄre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeÅ›a
ÄmÄra ÄjñÄya guru haÃ±Ä tÄra’ ei deÅ›a

(Cc. Madhya 7.128)

It is ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s wish that everyone should become a Vaiṣṇava and guru. Following the instructions of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and His disciplic succession, one can become a spiritual master, for the process is very easy. One can go everywhere and anywhere to preach the instructions of Kṛṣṇa. The Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ is Kṛṣṇa’s instructions; therefore the duty of every Vaiṣṇava is to travel and preach the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ, either in his country or a foreign country. This is the test of sparÅ›a-maṇi, following in the footsteps of NÄrada Muni.