"One in whom the eight kinds of devotion are found, even if he be a mleccha (westerner), is the best of brahmins, a sage, illustrious, an ascetic, a pandit. But I do not respect a Vedic scholar who worships Me without devotion. One who is devoted to Me, even if he is a chandala (dog-eater) is one whom I respect. He is to be given to and received from. Indeed he is to be worshipped as Myself."

[ Garuda Purana 219:6-11 ]