Devotion and Wisdom come in all shapes and sizes

What does a master look like? What do they wear and how do they act? These questions fill the mind of the inquisitve student... Surely, there must be some clear qualities that distinguish a "master" or "sage" from the rest of "us"? Right? Well, these questions are beautifully and thoughtfully answered by wise folks throughout time and history. An example that comes to mind for me is the Srimad Bhagavatam, an ancient sanskrit text dating back around 5,000 years.

In Canto (Book) 7 there is a chapter called "The Behavior of a Perfect Person" (Chapter 13). In this text, a great, wise and just king named Prahlada goes to visit a saintly person and inquires about how a perfect person should behave. This story is significant for a multitude of reasons, including the fact that Prahlada is actually a king of demons, and that the saintly person Prahlada goes to visit is found writhing around in the dirt and mud, completely naked, and very fat. Prahlada is very wise and transcendental, and he has the were-with-all to recognize the "sage living like a python" as being a highly advanced soul. The sage then explains to Prahlada that a perfect person practices being surrendered and takes many lessons from animals for how to accept any conditions offered to them. When the universe provides a big comfy bed, a large feast, and soft silk clothing, the sage living like a python accepts these things willingly. When the universe offers the dirt, leaves and bark, he accepts these willingly too. He is not concerned with appearing to others as being very scholarly, and instead often remains silent and people may think of him as dumb. He says:

"Different people are of different mentalities. Therefore it is not my business either to praise them or to blaspheme them. I only desire their welfare, hoping that they will agree to become one with the Supersoul..."

"The mental concoction of discrimination between good and bad should be accepted as one unit and then invested in the mind, which should then be invested in the false ego. The false ego should be invested in the total material energy. This is the process of fighting false discrimination."

In short... don't judge a book by it's cover! You never know whether someone is an "angel" or a "demon" just by the first look and it is probably not your place to judge regardless. We can learn something from every one, even the people who absolutely rub us the wrong way. It is simply our business to uplift everyone to be empowered, loving, and compassionate. Any one who exhibits this quality is worthy to be considered a great sage.