Lord Chaitanya, the Golden Avatar, teaches that one should always seek the company of holy people, for whoever manages to establish a harmonious relationship with such a sage, even for just a moment, attains complete perfection.
In one way or another, whoever meets a holy person and gains their favor sees their entire human mission crowned with success.
By the grace of this holy spiritual master and true servant of God, we are now engaged in fulfilling a specific duty, having attained a spiritual occupation that will save us by freeing us from material pursuits. Indeed, whoever encounters a holy person wholly absorbed in their spiritual duties and receives their favor sees their mission as a human being crowned with success. What is impossible to achieve through thousands of lifetimes can be attained in an instant by one fortunate enough to meet a holy man, a wise servant of Krishna, God, the Supreme Person.
This is why the Vedic scriptures (the Vedas, the original holy scriptures also called “the true gospel”) advise us to always seek the company of sages and strive to break all ties with materialistic, atheistic people, for with a word a saint can liberate us from material bondage. Indeed, by virtue of his spiritual elevation, the authentic spiritual master, a true and intimate servant of Krishna, has the power to instantly liberate any soul conditioned by matter.
He has the power to lead the conditioned soul from the material realm to the spiritual realm, and thus grants it the second birth, the true birth, the one that allows the liberated soul to continue its spiritual ascent and journey toward Krishna.
If the first birth, through the mother, brings the incarnating soul into the material world, the second birth, granted by the authentic spiritual master, by revealing God as He truly is and transmitting true spiritual knowledge, brings it out of the material world and into the true world, the eternal spiritual world.
The true spiritual master reveals to the soul that has come to surrender itself to him its true spiritual identity, its true origin, reminds it of its position in relation to Krishna, and the duties it owes to the Lord. In short, he gives it Krishna, God, the Supreme Person; such is the marvelous mercy that the spiritual master offers, an invaluable gift.
This second birth brings the liberated soul into purity and eternal life. From then on, it is permanently with Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, and constantly desires to love and serve Him with love and devotion.
The spiritual master then becomes the true father of the liberated soul, teaching it how to surrender to God, how to love the Sovereign Lord, how to obey Him, how to do His divine will, how to renew the bond of love with Krishna, how to align its desires, plans, and interests with those of God, and how to serve God with love and devotion.