Unless one receives the mercy of the Lord, he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead or engage in His devotional service.
- athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
- prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
- jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
- na cānya eko ’pi ciraṁ vicinvan
A devotee who has received even a small fraction of the mercy of the Lord can understand Him. Others may engage in theoretical speculation to understand the Lord, but they cannot know anything about Him. Although Mahārāja Pratāparudra was very eager to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord refused to see him. But when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw the King engaged in menial service for Lord Jagannātha, He became very happy. Thus the King became eligible to receive Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy. If a devotee accepts Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the universal guru and Lord Jagannātha as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, he is benefited by the combined mercy of Kṛṣṇa and guru. That is stated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His instructions to Rūpa Gosvāmī (CC Madhya 19.151):
- brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
- guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
The seed of devotional service fructifies and becomes a transcendental creeper. Finally it reaches the lotus feet of the Lord in the spiritual sky. This seed is obtained by the mercy of the Lord and the guru. By the Lord’s mercy one gets the association of a bona fide guru, and by the mercy of the guru one gets a chance to render devotional service. Devotional service, the science of bhakti-yoga, carries one from this material world to the spiritual world.