Å›rÄ«-bhagavÄn uvÄca
ahaá¹ bhakta-parÄdhÄ«no
hy asvatantra iva dvija
sÄdhubhir grasta-há¹›dayo
bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ
Å›rÄ«-bhagavÄn uvÄca - the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; aham - I; bhakta-parÄdhÄ«naḥ - am dependent on the will of My devotees; hi - indeed; asvatantraḥ - am not independent; iva - exactly like that; dvija - O brÄhmaṇa; sÄdhubhiḥ - by pure devotees, completely free from all material desires; grasta-há¹›dayaḥ - My heart is controlled; bhaktaiḥ - because they are devotees; bhakta-jana-priyaḥ - I am dependent not only on My devotee but also on My devotee's devotee (the devotee's devotee is extremely dear to Me).
All the great stalwart personalities in the universe, including Lord BrahmÄ and Lord Åšiva, are fully under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is fully under the control of His devotee. Why is this? Because the devotee is anyÄbhilÄá¹£itÄ-śūnya; in other words, he has no material desires in his heart. His only desire is to think always of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and how to serve Him best. Because of this transcendental qualification, the Supreme Lord is extremely favorable to the devotees — indeed, not only the devotees, but also the devotees of the devotees. ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura says, chÄá¸iyÄ vaiṣṇava-sevÄ nistÄra pÄyeche kebÄ: without being a devotee of a devotee, one cannot be released from material entanglement. Therefore Caitanya MahÄprabhu identified Himself as gopÄ«-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dÄsa-dÄsÄnudÄsaḥ. Thus he instructed us to become not directly servants of Kṛṣṇa but servants of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. Devotees like BrahmÄ, NÄrada, VyÄsadeva and Åšukadeva GosvÄmÄ« are directly servants of Kṛṣṇa, and one who becomes a servant of NÄrada, VyÄsadeva and Åšukadeva, like the Six GosvÄmÄ«s, is still more devoted. ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura therefore says, yasya prasÄdÄd bhagavat-prasÄdaḥ: if one very sincerely serves the spiritual master, Kṛṣṇa certainly becomes favorable to such a devotee. Following the instructions of a devotee is more valuable than following the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly.