Somehow or other if one gets in touch with a pure devotee and thus develops a desire to render devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, he gradually rises to the platform of love of Godhead and is thus freed from the clutches of material energy. This is also explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.20.8) where the Lord Himself says: "For one who is attracted by My activities out of his own accord—being neither lured nor repelled by material activities—the path of devotional service leading to the perfection of love of God becomes possible." However, it is not possible to achieve the stage of perfection without the favor of a pure devotee, or a mahātmā, a great soul. Without the mercy of a great soul, one cannot even be liberated from the material clutches, and what to speak of rising to the platform of love of Godhead. This is also confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.12.12) in a conversation between King Rahūgaṇa of the Sind province in Siberia with King Bharata. When King Rahūgaṇa expressed surprise upon seeing King Bharata's spiritual achievements, Bharata replied:
- rahūgaṇaitat tapasā na yāti
- na cejyayā nirvapaṇād gṛhād vā
- na cchandasā naiva jalāgni-sūryair
- vinā mahat-pāda-rajo 'bhiṣekam
"My dear Rahūgaṇa, no one can attain the perfected stage of devotional service without being favored by a great soul or a pure devotee. No one can attain the perfectional stages simply by following the regulative principles of scriptures, or by accepting the renounced order of life, or by prosecuting the prescribed duties of householder life, or by becoming a great student of spiritual science, or by accepting severe austerity and penances for realization." Similarly, when the atheist father Hiraṇyakaśipu asked his son Prahlāda Mahārāja how it was he became attracted to devotional service, the boy replied, "As long as one is not favored by the dust of the feet of pure devotees, he cannot even touch the path of devotional service, which is the solution to all the problems of material life." (SB 7.5.32)