This is the characteristic of a Vaiṣṇava. Para-duḥkha-duḥkhī: a Vaiṣṇava is always unhappy to see the conditioned souls unhappy. Otherwise, he would have no business teaching them how to become happy. In materialistic life, people must certainly engage in activities of animosity. Materialistic life is therefore compared to saṁsāra-dāvānala, a blazing forest fire that automatically takes place. Lord Śiva and his followers in the paramparā system try to save people from this dangerous condition of materialistic life. This is the duty of devotees following the principles of Lord Śiva and belonging to the Rudra sampradāya. There are four Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas, and the Rudra sampradāya is one of them because Lord Śiva (Rudra) is the best of the Vaiṣṇavas ( vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ ). Indeed, as we shall see, Lord Śiva drank all the poison for the benefit of humanity.