labhyate 'pi tat-ká¹›payaiva

 labhyate - it is gained; api - yet; tat - of Him (the Supreme Lord); ká¹›payÄ - by the mercy; eva - only.


Text

The association of great souls can be attained—but only by the Lord's mercy.

Purport

Although the pure devotee is rarely found in the world, the Supreme Lord directly helps a sincere seeker of the truth. As Lord Caitanya declared to ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«:

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

"According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down to the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. By the mercy of both Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service" (Cc. Madhya 19.151).

In His ParamÄtmÄ feature, Lord Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone's heart, and He fulfills our desires in accordance with what we deserve, which is based on our previous activities. (Even sinful desires must be sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa before one can fulfill them.) ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda writes, "If the living entity by chance or fortune comes in contact with the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and wishes to associate with that movement, Kṛṣṇa, who is situated in everyone's heart, gives him the chance to meet a bona fide spiritual master" (Cc. Madhya 19.151, purport). If one doesn't know exactly what or who he is looking for, but he calls out to God and asks to be delivered, the Lord will bestow His mercy—the chance to surrender to a great soul.

NÄrada's disciple Dhruva MahÄrÄja is an example of one who was helped by God. Dhruva was insulted by his stepmother, and on the advice of his mother he went to seek God in the forest. Although the boy desired an exalted position and revenge, his determination appealed to the Supreme Lord. Dhruva wandered in the forest asking the animals, "Where is God? Are you God?"—and suddenly the great sage NÄrada appeared before him. ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda explains,

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is present in everyone's heart, and as soon as He understands that the living entity is serious about entering devotional service, He sends His representative. In this way NÄrada was sent to Dhruva MahÄrÄja. [SB 4.8.25, purport]