Materially one may be very opulent, experienced, influential and educated, but if one still thinks himself lower than straw in the street, one attracts the attention of the Supreme Lord. Although Mahārāja Pratāparudra was a king, he took up a broom to cleanse the road for Lord Jagannātha’s Ratha chariot. Because of this humble service, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with the King, and for that reason the Lord embraced him. A devotee should never be puffed up by material power. He should know that material power is the result of one’s past good activities (karma) and is consequently transient. At any moment all one’s material opulence can be finished; therefore a devotee is never proud of such opulence. He is always humble and meek, considering himself lower than a piece of straw. Because of this, the devotees are eligible to return home, back to Godhead.
Ref >> Srila Prabhupada Vani.
