Question: In nectar of devotion, it is said that devotional service is very rare. Lord easily offers liberation but He rarely agrees to offer a soul devotional service because by devotional service, the Lord is Himself purchased by the devotee. So how can we understand this? Is it the greatest fortune that we have got to do devotional service or we are still on the periphery of devotional service because we also know that we are not pure at this stage.

Jayapataka Swami: I think she said the Lord doesn’t give liberation but He gives devotional service easy. Did you say that? Do you have parents? (yes) Do you have mother and father? (yes) So, are you dear to them? (yes). So, like that if you become a devotee of Krishna you become very dear to Him, you purchase Him. Because of your love, you purchase Him. So, He doesn’t give love very easily, because by that He is committed. He can give liberation easily, but giving pure love is very hard and that’s why Lord Caitanya, He is a very special avatar, because He gave out this love very easily without considering that who is qualified and who is not qualified. Even in the recent reading of His sankirtana , some of the people were atheists and very fallen, when they saw Lord Chaitanya dancing, saw His ecstasy, saw His hair standing on end, His chanting Hare Krishna, how tears were flowing from His eyes, even these atheistic people they fell to the ground and they started chanting, Haribol, Hare Krishna. So we can’t estimate the mercy of Lord Chaitanya. While it says that it’s very difficult to achieve bhakti, we should see how Lord Chaitanya gave this bhakti freely. If someone offers you a million dollars, seven crores, now you are in awe that’s very great thing, but Lord Chaitanya is offering you something much more than that. Why would you not take it? That’s the point here. It’s normally very difficult to get love of Krishna. For that ladies are a bit better situated than men because men are very puffed up and they don’t normally accept a superior supreme Godhead initially. But ladies are used to be at more humble position I think, so they accept that there is a Supreme Godhead. In most religious functions, you see more ladies than men, whether it’s Christian, or Muslim or Hindu. So, the point is that by Lord Chaitanya’s mercy we can get something which is normally very difficult to achieve. He said He’ll give mercy to anyone! No matter, how fallen, how sinful, how hopeless, He’ll give them love of Krishna. The only one person He said He won’t give, you know who that is – the blasphemer of devotees. He said I can’t give that. But so don’t worry about being fallen, we have many acharyas they pray, you are Sri Krishna Chaitanya, You have come to deliver the patita, there is no one more fallen than me. So if you feel fallen, that is your qualification. If you feel that you are very pious and advanced, aristocratic, beautiful, whatever, that’s not the qualification. To be humble and meek and to consider oneself fallen and being willing and wanting the mercy of Lord Chaitanya- that’s the real qualification, not a disqualification.
28-MAY-2020 SRI MAYAPUR DHAM, INDIA