Radhanath Swami – Who is a Saintly Person?

Who is a saintly person?  A saintly person is not one who shaves head or wears saffron robes or is unmarried or walks around naked.  That is not the meaning of saintly person. A saint is one who is self-controlled, who is a friend of all living beings, who is equal to everyone, who is compassionate, who is merciful, who is the humble servant of all and who only speaks the word of God.

The great saintly persons are truly humble and dedicated to serving God and uplifting humanity. They genuinely are concerned with our welfare and they want to train us and teach us, without expecting anything in return except the fulfillment of seeing us become blissful in relationship to God.  Such a selfless person repeats the word of God as he or she has heard from previous spiritual masters. He or she is not someone who is simply using intellectual gymnastics to present a wonderful philosophy for self-advertisement. Associating with such saintly people opens the doors to liberation.