So if any person has understood the science of Kṛṣṇa and wants to keep friendship with Him, relationship with Him, friendly way… You can keep your relationship with Kṛṣṇa in so many ways. You can keep your friendship with Kṛṣṇa; you can love Kṛṣṇa as your master or as your son or as your lover. Kṛṣṇa is ready. There are twelve kinds of rasas, mellows, to establish relationship with Kṛṣṇa out of which five rasas are principal, mukhara: śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, mādhurya. And seven rasas are indirect. So one of the rasas indirect are to fight with Kṛṣṇa. Just like the demons: Kṛṣṇa makes His servitors sometimes demons to enjoy fighting. Therefore He sends His… Just like Hiraṇyakaśipu. He was, Hiraṇyakaśipu, two doormen in Vaikuṇṭha, and Kṛṣṇa desired to fight. Therefore they were sent to this material world to become staunch enemy of Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa has got all the rasas, but the indirect rasas cannot be enjoyed in the spiritual world. Therefore sometimes He is…, comes down and creates some of His devotee as demon, and fighting is going on. That is also enjoyment for Kṛṣṇa.
So these things are to be understood very scientifically. That is called kṛṣṇa tattva-vit. Why Kṛṣṇa comes? Janma karma ca me divyaṁ yo jānāti tattvataḥ (BG 4.9) The fighting of Kṛṣṇa is also divine. If anyone understands why Kṛṣṇa comes and fights, yo jānāti tattvataḥ tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti kaunteya, he also becomes liberated soul. So when one becomes kṛṣṇa tattva-vit, fully aware of the science of Kṛṣṇa, then any circumstances, it doesn’t matter whether he is a sannyāsī or gṛhastha or śūdra or brāhmaṇa, they are situated on the transcendental platform. So such persons described here, because the recommendation is mahat-sevā. So it does not mean mahat is only to be found in, among the sannyāsīs, or higher circle, brāhmaṇas. No. Mahat can be found in other circle also, but what is the qualification? The qualification is, ye vā mayīśe kṛta-sauhṛdārthā. His only business is to keep friendly relationship with Kṛṣṇa. That is the first qualification.
The first-class example is Arjuna. He was a military man, a politician, and gṛhastha, kṣatriya—not brāhmaṇa, not sannyāsī—but still Kṛṣṇa accepts him: sakhā ceti, "For you are My dear friend." Bhakto 'si sakhā ceti: "You are not only My devotee, you are My best friend," Kṛṣṇa says. Although he is gṛhastha, a military man, and a kṣatriya, still Kṛṣṇa accepts him that "I shall speak to you the mystery of Bhagavad-gītā, because you are My dear friend and bhakta." Bhakto 'si sakhā ceti rahasyaṁ hy etad uttamam (BG 4.3). Kṛṣṇa also wants somebody friendly. It doesn't matter whether he is a sannyāsī or gṛhastha. So any gṛhastha whose only aim is how to keep friendship with Kṛṣṇa, he is also mahat, mahātmā. He also mahat. Because the recommendation, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes (SB 5.5.2): one has to take shelter of a mahātmā and serve him with surrender, then his path of liberation will be open. So, if somebody says. . . I think the other day somebody was questioning that "If I cannot contact sannyāsī because I am gṛhastha, I am family man, so how my path of liberation will be open?" Yes, that is possible, provided you find amongst your society a person like this, ye va mayīśe kṛta-sauhṛdārthā. If you can find out amongst your associate a person who is only dedicated to Kṛṣṇa, you can associate with him. Then your path of liberation will be open.