That means karma, fruitive work, and jnan, the cultivation of knowledge, are unnecessary. One can begin a life of bhakti independently of karma and jnan — from any position. Bhakti need only be developed through sukrti, accumulated devotional piety, and through ruchi, our eagerness and earnestness for Krishna. That is what is necessary, and not our aspiration to know anything and everything (jnan) or to have so much energy under our control (karma). These two paths lead us to exploitation and renunciation. But wherever one may be, if he wants to get in touch with the Lord, he need only have some inclination to hear about Him from a proper source, a real saint. This is the proper beginning of bhakti. And so, one may begin in the bhakti school independent of any position in the social system of varnasram.
To become Krishna conscious, one need not be a wise man, nor a very energetic man, he may not be a master of opulence and power — the only requirement that is demanded from him is that he must have an earnest hunger for the Lord. He must find some sweetness, some taste in His words and His affairs when he hears from a proper source — a genuine saint. That taste will take him gradually further and further into the highest domain.
If they want to be successful in their search for the Infinite, the seekers of knowledge and power, the jnanis and karmis, will ultimately have to cast out their attachments, break out of their circle, and come to this position. They will have to depend on taste. Taste is everything. A taste for His affairs is the all-important qualification for a devotee. It is all-in-all. Wherever one may be does not matter. Through his taste for Krishna, one will progress from ruchi to the ultimate end of life.
So, we are told, «Giving up everything, and even rejecting all conceptions of society and religion as external, exclusively surrender to Krishna.» Without hesitation, one should take exclusive shelter of the Lord with full confidence, giving up bad association, and even neglecting the regulative principles governing society and religion. That is to say, one should abandon all material attachment. Saranagati: take shelter under His protection absolutely.