The same truth is also indirectly described in the Garuḍa Purāṇa as follows:
pāraṁ gato 'pi vedānāṁ
sarva-śāstrārtha-vedy api
yo na sarveśvare bhaktas
taṁ vidyāt puruṣādhamam
"Even though one may have gone to the other side of all the Vedas, and even though one is well versed in all the revealed scriptures, if one is not a devotee of the Supreme Lord, he must be considered the lowest of mankind."
(Srimad Bhagavatam----2:9:36----purport).

The devotional service of the Lord with perfect knowledge through the training of a bona fide spiritual master is advised for everyone, even if one happens not to be a human being. This is confirmed in the Garuḍa Purāṇa as follows:

kīṭa-pakṣi-mṛgāṇāṁ ca
harau sannyasta-cetasām
ūrdhvām eva gatiṁ manye
kiṁ punar jñānināṁ nṛṇām
"Even the worms, birds and beasts are assured of elevation to the highest perfectional life if they are completely surrendered to the transcendental loving service of the Lord, so what to speak of the philosophers amongst the human beings?"
(Srimad Bhagavatam----2:9:36----purport).

In the Garuḍa Purāṇa, Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa and Padma Purāṇa, the same is repeated: What is the use of Vedic knowledge and penances for one who is devoid of devotional service to the Lord?
(Srimad Bhagavatam----2:9:36----purport).

avaśenāpi yan-nāmni kīrtite sarva-pātakaiḥ, pumān vimucyate sadyaḥ siṁha-trastair mṛgair iva
"If one chants the holy name of the Lord, even in a helpless condition or without desiring to do so, all the reactions of his sinful life depart, just as when a lion roars, all the small animals flee in fear." (Garuḍa Purāṇa)
(Srimad Bhagavatam----6:2:7----purport).

One may become famous as a brahma-jñānī, an impersonalist scholar, or one may become a materially opulent person. In either case, such reputations are inferior to the reputation of Kṛṣṇa's devotee. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa it is said:
kalau bhāgavataṁ nāma durlabhaṁ naiva labhyate
brahma-rudra-padotkṛṣṭaṁ guruṇā kathitaṁ mama
"In this Age of Kali, the fame of one who is known as a great devotee is very rare. However, such a position is superior to that of the great demigods like Brahmā and Mahādeva. This is the opinion of all spiritual masters."
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----2:8:246----purport).

"Until now, even the great demigods like Brahmā and Lord Śiva did not know the influence of a devotee." The Garuḍa Purāṇa similarly states:
brāhmaṇānāṁ sahasrebhyaḥ satra-yājī viśiṣyate
satra-yājī-sahasrebhyaḥ sarva-vedānta-pāragaḥ
sarva-vedānta-vit-koṭyā viṣṇu-bhakto viśiṣyate
vaiṣṇavānāṁ sahasrebhya ekānty eko viśiṣyate
"It is said that out of thousands of brāhmaṇas, one is qualified to perform sacrifices, and out of many thousands of such qualified brāhmaṇas expert in sacrificial offerings, one learned brāhmaṇa may have passed beyond all Vedic knowledge. He is considered the best among all these brāhmaṇas. And yet, out of thousands of such brāhmaṇas who have surpassed Vedic knowledge, one person may be a viṣṇu-bhakta, and he is most famous. Out of many thousands of such Vaiṣṇavas, one who is completely fixed in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa is most famous. Indeed, a person who is completely devoted to the service of the Lord certainly returns home, back to Godhead."
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----2:8:246----purport).

In any case, the Māyāvāda philosophy keeps one conditioned. If one becomes a Vaiṣṇava through proper initiation, he automatically becomes a brāhmaṇa. There is no doubt about it. TheGaruḍa Purāṇa confirms this:
brāhmaṇānāṁ sahasrebhyaḥ satra-yājī viśiṣyate
satra-yāji-sahasrebhyaḥ sarva-vedānta-pāragaḥ
sarva-vedānta-vit-koṭyā viṣṇu-bhakto viśiṣyate
"Out of many thousands of brāhmaṇas, one may become qualified to perform yajña. Out of many thousands of such qualified brāhmaṇas, one may be fully aware of the Vedānta philosophy. Out of many millions of learned Vedānta scholars, there may be one viṣṇu-bhakta, or devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. It is he who is most exalted."
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----2:15:277----purport).

Referring to the Bhakti-sandarbha, text 177, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura quotes the following statements from the Garuḍa Purāṇa in this connection:
brāhmaṇānāṁ sahasrebhyaḥ satra-yājī viśiṣyate
satra-yāji-sahasrebhyaḥ sarva-vedānta-pāragaḥ
sarva-vedānta-vit-koṭyā viṣṇu-bhakto viśiṣyate
vaiṣṇavānāṁ sahasrebhya ekānty eko viśiṣyate
"A brāhmaṇa qualified to offer sacrifices is better than an ordinary brāhmaṇa, and better than such a brāhmaṇa is one who has studied all the Vedic scriptures. Among many such brāhmaṇas, one who is a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu is the best, and among many such Vaiṣṇavas, one who fully engages in the service of the Lord is the best."
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----3:3:222----purport).

An associate of the Lord is one whose body is fully engaged in the service of the Lord. A materialist might see Sanātana Gosvāmī’s body as being full of itching sores that exuded foul moisture and a bad smell. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, said that actually the aroma of his body was the excellent scent of a mixture of sandalwood pulp, camphor, musk and aguru. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa this mixture, which is called catuḥsama, is described as follows:
kastūrikāyā dvau bhāgau catvāraś candanasya tu
kuṅkumasya trayaś caikaḥ śaśinaḥ syāt catuḥ-samam
"Two parts of musk, four parts of sandalwood, three parts of aguru or saffron and one part of camphor, when mixed together, form catuḥsama." The aroma of catuḥsama is very pleasing. It is also mentioned in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (6).
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----3:4:197----purport).

A brāhmaṇa must be a Vaiṣṇava and a learned scholar. Therefore in India it is customary to address a brāhmaṇa as paṇḍita. Without knowledge of Brahman, one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore a Vaiṣṇava is already a brāhmaṇa, whereas a brāhmaṇa may become a Vaiṣṇava. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa it is said:
bhaktir aṣṭa-vidhā hy eṣā yasmin mlecche ‘pi vartate
sa viprendro muni-śreṣṭhaḥ sa jñānī sa ca paṇḍitaḥ
"Even if one is born a mleccha, if he becomes a devotee he is to be considered the best of the brāhmaṇas and a learned paṇḍita."
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----3:16:29----purport).

We should understand that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the real explanation of the Brahma-sūtra, and it is compiled by Vyāsadeva himself. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa it is said:
artho 'yaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ
bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ
gāyatrī-bhāṣya-rūpo 'sau
vedārtha-paribṛṁhitaḥ
grantho 'ṣṭādaśa-sāhasraḥ
śrīmad-bhāgavatābhidhaḥ
"The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the authorized explanation of Brahma-sūtra, and it is a further explanation of Mahābhārata. It is the expansion of the gāyatrī mantra and the essence of all Vedic knowledge.
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya).

According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there are twelve authorities, and they are all famous because they were all great devotees of the Lord. These authorities are Brahmā, Nārada, Lord Śiva, Manu, Kapila, Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, Bali, Yamarāja and the Kumāras. These personalities are still remembered because they were all great stalwart devotees of the Lord. In the Garuḍa Purāṇa it is said to be more rare to be a famous devotee of the Supreme Lord in the age of Kali than to be a demigod such as Brahmā or Lord Śiva.
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya).

In the Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa it is stated that even personalities like Brahmā and other demigods do not know the value of a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Garuḍa Purāṇa points out that out of many thousands of brāhmaṇas, one may be expert in performing sacrifices, and out of thousands of such expert brāhmaṇas, one brāhmaṇa may be expert in the knowledge of the Vedānta-sūtra, and out of many, many thousands of such Vedāntists, there may be one person who is famous as a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. There are many devotees of Viṣṇu, and out of them, he who is unfiinching in his devotion is eligible to enter into the kingdom of God.
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya).

It may be questioned why devotees of Kṛṣṇa should be attacked by dizziness, which is usually considered a sign of the mode of ignorance. To answer this question, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī has said that the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa are always transcendental to all the modes of material nature; when they feel dizziness or go to sleep, they are not considered to be sleeping under the modes of nature, but are accepted as being in a trance of devotional service. There is an authoritative statement in the Garuḍa Purāṇa about mystic yogīs who are under the direct shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead: "In all three stages of their consciousness—namely wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep—the devotees are absorbed in thought of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, in their complete absorption in thought of Kṛṣṇa, they do not sleep."
(Nectar of Devotion).

In the Garuḍa Purāṇa the stress on hearing is expressed very nicely. It is said there, "The state of conditioned life in the material world is just like that of a man lying unconscious, having been bitten by a snake. This is because both such unconscious states can be ended by the sound of a mantra." When a man is snake-bitten he does not die immediately, but first becomes unconscious and remains in a comatose condition. Anyone who is in the material world is also sleeping, as he is ignorant of his actual self or his actual duty and his relationship with God. So materialistic life means that one is bitten by the snake of māyā, illusion, and thus, without any Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is almost dead.
(Nectar of Devotion).