Caitanya Mahāprabhu compared this universe . . . one devotee, he requested Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "My Lord, You have come. Please liberate all the people of this universe. And if they are sinful, so all their sins I may take, but they may be delivered." This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. "Others may be delivered by the grace of the Lord; I may rot in the hell. That doesn't matter." Not that "First of all I go to the heaven, and others may rot." This is not Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Vaiṣṇava philosophy is, "I may rot in the hell, but others may be delivered." Patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ (Maṇgalācaraṇa 9).
Vaiṣṇava is meant for delivering all the fallen souls. Just like a very good example: Lord Jesus Christ. According to the Christian idea, he took all the sins of all people and he sacrificed his life. Very good example. Similarly, Haridāsa Ṭhākura also. There . . . Nityānanda Prabhu. The Vaiṣṇava is always eager how to deliver all these fallen souls rotting in the hell of māyā. Therefore here it is recommended, syān mahat-sevayā. You have to take shelter of a mahat. Mahat means mahātmā or Vaiṣṇava.
Mahātmā is described in the Bhagavad-gītā, who is mahātmā: sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ. That mahātmā, simply by dressing like me with a saffron cloth, does not become a mahātmā.