Deliverance of Lord Śiva
311
For example, when Krṣṇa, before leaving the capital of the Pāṇḍavas for His home, was asking for permission to leave, Kuntīdevī said, “My dear Krṣṇa, in our distressed condition You are always present with us. Now, because we have been elevated to a royal position, You are leaving us. I would therefore prefer to live in distress than to lose You.” When a devotee is put into a situation of distress, his devotional activities are accelerated. Therefore, to show special favor to a devotee, the Lord sometimes puts him into distress. Besides that, it is stated that the sweetness of happiness is sweeter to those who have tasted bitterness. The Supreme Lord descends to this material world just to protect His devotees from distress. In other words, if devotees were not in a distressed condition, the Lord would not have come down. As for His killing the demons or the miscreants, this can be easily done by His various energies, just as many  asuras  are killed by His external energy, goddess Durgā. Therefore the Lord does not need to come down personally to kill such demons, but when His devotee is in distress He must come. Lord Nṛsimhadeva appeared not to kill Hiraṇyakaśipu but to see Prahlāda and to give him blessings. In other words, because Prahlāda Mahārāja was put into very great distress, the Lord appeared.
When, after the dense, dark night, there is finally sunrise in the morning, it is very pleasant. When there is scorching heat, cold water is very pleasant. And when there is freezing winter, hot water is very pleasant. Similarly, when a devotee, after experiencing the condition of the material world, relishes the spiritual happiness awarded by the Lord, his position becomes still more pleasant and enjoyable.
The Lord continued: “When My devotee is bereft of all material riches and is deserted by his relatives, friends and family members, because he has no one to look after him, he completely takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord.” Śrīla Narottamadāsa Thākur has sung in this connection, “My dear Lord Krṣṇa, O son of Nanda Mahārāja, You are now standing before me along with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu. I am now surrendering unto You. Please accept me. Please do not kick me away. I have no shelter other than You.”
When a devotee is thus put into so-called miserable conditions and is bereft of riches and family, he tries to revive his original position of material opulence. But although he tries again and again, Krṣṇa again and again takes away all his resources. Thus he finally becomes disappointed in material activities, and in that stage of frustration in all endeavors, he can fully surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such persons are advised by the Lord from within to associate with devotees. By associating with devotees they naturally become inclined to render service