Spiritual practices such as yoga, dhyana, penance, yagas, yagnas, study of the Vedas, and even sanyasa may be taken up with great effort by an aspirant. Each of these has its own merit and confers a sense of discipline. But there is no guarantee that it would lead to realisation of the Supreme Lord. When Krishna instructs Uddhava, He says that the goal of realisation is hard to attain for it requires total renunciation of all kinds of attachment, pointed out Sri K. Srinivasan in a lecture. Satsanga helps one to focus on the Lord by enabling one to perceive the bondage of samsara in proper perspective. In the four yugas, many without learning or penance, or scriptural practices and even those with dominant gunas such as Rajas and Tamas have attained Him because of association with the good.
Krishna tells Uddhava that the Gopis exemplify the state of realisation that even sages steeped in meditation and in solitude find it hard to attain. Akrura is a witness to the love of the Gopis. He is struck by their single-minded yearning for Krishna that is free of any other attachment to any object whatsoever except Krishna alone. The only qualification of the Gopis is their unalloyed love to Krishna. The touchstone for realisation is total absorption in the Lord. There is no need to go after other attainments, worldly or spiritual. The only concern is to seek shelter at the feet of Him.
Pururuvas is an example of one who is a victim of bad company and is deluded by worldly pleasure when he seeks Urvasi. Separation from her opens his eyes and he becomes a true renunciate. The wise devotee is the only resort to retrieve one from sinking in the sea of samsara.
