24.277
dekhiya vyadhera prema parvata-mahamuni
naradere kahe,--tumi hao sparsa-mani
SYNONYMS
dekhiya—seeing; vyadhera—of the hunter; prema—the ecstatic love; parvata-maha-muni—the great sage Parvata Muni; naradere kahe—spoke to Narada Muni; tumi hao sparsa-mani—you are certainly a touchstone "When Parvata Muni saw the ecstatic loving symptoms of the hunter, he told Narada, ’Certainly you are a touchstone.’
PURPORT
When a touchstone touches iron, it turns the iron to gold.
Parvata Muni called Narada Muni a touchstone because by his touch the hunter, who was lowest among men, became an elevated and perfect Vaisnava.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura said that the position of a Vaisnava can be tested by seeing how good a touchstone he is-that is, by seeing how many Vaisnavas he has made during his life.
A Vaisnava should be a touchstone so that he can convert others to Vaisnavism 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 Vaisnavas, and therefore they certainly cannot be called sparsa-mani, advanced devotees.
Kanistha-adhikari devotees cannot turn others into Vaisnavas, but a madhyama-adhikari Vaisnava can do so by preaching.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised His followers to increase the numbers of Vaisnavas yare dekha, tare kaha ’krsna’-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa (Cc.Madhya 7.128) It is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s wish that everyone should become a Vaisnava and guru.
Following the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu 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 Krsna.Bhagavad-gita is Krsna’s instructions; therefore the duty of every Vaisnava is to travel and preach Bhagavad-gita, either in his country or a foreign country.
This is the test of sparsa-mani, following in the footsteps of Narada Muni.