न ह्यम्मयानि तीर्थानि न देवा मृच्छिलामयाः ।
ते पुनन्त्युरुकालेन दर्शनादेव साधवः ॥
na hy am-mayāni tīrthāni na devā mṛc-chilā-mayāḥ |
te punanty uru-kālena darśanād eva sādhavaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.84.11; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.204, Bhakti Sandarbha 184)
[Kṛṣṇa:] “Are places made of water not tīrthas? [They are.] Are figures made of earth and stone are not devas? [They are.] They [certainly] purify [a living being] over the course of a long time. Sādhus [however] purify just by sight [i.e., immediately, and should thus be considered the greatest of tīrthas and the greatest of devas].”
Commentary
sat-saṅgamasyaiva parama-saṁskāra-hetutvāt tad-arthaṁ na puruṣasya saṁskāra-hetv-antaram apekṣyaṁ … |
(Bhakti Sandarbha: 184)
“Because of sat-saṅga alone being the cause of the greatest sanctification, a person has no need for another cause of sanctification for that purpose [i.e., for sake of attaining sanctification].”