Sri Caitanya Caritamrita. Madhya-lila

Chapter 13: The Ecstatic Dancing of the Lord at Ratha-yatra. Text 18

mahÄprabhu sukha pÄila se-sevÄ dekhite
mahÄprabhura ká¹›pÄ haila se-sevÄ ha-ite

 mahÄprabhu - ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; sukha pÄila - felt very happy; se-sevÄ - that kind of service; dekhite - to see; mahÄprabhura - of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; ká¹›pÄ - mercy; haila - there was; se-sevÄ ha-ite - because of that service.


Text

Upon seeing the King engaged in such menial service, Caitanya MahÄprabhu became very happy. Simply by rendering this service, the King received the mercy of the Lord.

Purport

Unless one receives the mercy of the Lord, he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead or engage in His devotional service.

athÄpi te deva padÄmbuja-dvaya-
 prasÄda-leÅ›Änugá¹›hÄ«ta eva hi
jÄnÄti tattvaá¹ bhagavan-mahimno
 na cÄnya eko ’pi ciraá¹ vicinvan

(BhÄg. 10.14.29)

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 MahÄrÄja PratÄparudra was very eager to see ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the Lord refused to see him. But when ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu saw the King engaged in menial service for Lord JagannÄtha, He became very happy. Thus the King became eligible to receive ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s mercy. If a devotee accepts Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu as the universal guru and Lord JagannÄtha as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, he is benefited by the combined mercy of Kṛṣṇa and guru. That is stated by ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu in His instructions to RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« (Cc. Madhya 19.151):

brahmÄṇá¸a bhramite kona bhÄgyavÄn jÄ«va
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasÄde pÄya bhakti-latÄ-bÄ«ja

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.