Because he is carrying the Supreme Lord within his heart, the devotee can purify everyplace and everything.
In the Vedic literatures it is also stated that the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not recognize a person who is very learned in all the divisions of the Vedas, but, rather, He likes a person who is a devotee, even though he may be born in a low family. If one offers charity to a brāhmaṇa who is not a devotee, the Lord does not accept; but if something is offered to a devotee, the Lord accepts. In other words, whatever a person wishes to offer the Lord may be given to His devotees. Caitanya Mahāprabhu also quoted Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to the effect that if a brāhmaṇa is not a devotee of the Supreme Lord, then he is lower than the lowest of the low, even though he may be qualified with the twelve brahminical qualities and born in a high family. A devotee, although born in a caṇḍāla (dog-eater) family, can purify his whole family for one hundred generations, past and future, by devotional service, whereas a proud brāhmaṇa cannot even purify himself. It is said in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (13.2):
- akṣnoḥ phalaṁ tvādṛśa-darśanaṁ hi
- tanoḥ phalaṁ tvādṛśa-gātra-saṅgaḥ
- jihvā-phalaṁ tvādṛśa-kīrtanaṁ hi
- sudurlabhā bhāgavatā hi loke
"O devotee of the Lord, to see you is the perfection of the eyes, to touch your body is the perfection of bodily activities, and to glorify your qualities is the perfection of the tongue, for it is very rare to find a pure devotee like you."