“When someone comes and sits at the front of an assembly of devotees, others think, ‘This person must be a great satsangi.’ However, the test of a great satsangi is as follows: If he is a householder, he would surrender everything he has for God and His devotees; and if required to do so, would even give his life for Satsang; and the moment his Ishtadev commands him to become a paramhansa, he would immediately become a paramhansa. If a devotee of God possesses these characteristics, then whether he sits at the front of an assembly of devotees, or at the back – he should be considered to be great amongst all devotees…”

[Gadhadã II-61]