37 / Impetuses for Krsna’s Service

The causeless mercy of Krsna, the dust of His lotus feet, His
prasadam and association with His devotees are some impetuses to-
ward a devotee’s engagement in transcendental loving service to the
Lord. .

Krsna exhibited His causeless mercy when He was present at the
departure of Grandfather Bhisma. During the Battle of Kuruksetra,
Bhismadeva, the grandfather of Arjuna, was lying on a bed of arrows
before departing from this mortal world. When Lord Krsna, Maharaj
Yudhisthira and the other Pandavas approached Bhismadeva, he was
very grateful to Lord Krsna, and he addressed the brahmana military
commander, Krpacarya, thus: “My dear Krpacarya, just see the won-
derful causeless mercy of Lord Krsna! I am most unfortunate. I have
no qualifications. I was opposing Krsna’s most intimate friend,
Arjuna—I even tried to kill him! I have so many disqualifications, and
yet the Lord is still so kind that He has come to see me at the last
point of my life. He is worshipable by all great sages, but still He is
so merciful that He has come to see an abominable person like me.”

Sometimes the vibration of Lord Krsna’s flute, His bugling, His
smiling, His footmarks on the ground, the transcendental fragrance
of His body and the appearance of a new cloud in the sky also be-
come impetuses for ecstatic love of Him.

In the Vidagdha-madhava there is the following statement: “When
Krsna was playing on His flute, Baladeva very anxiously declared,
‘Just see how, after hearing the transcendental sound of Krsna’s
flute, Indra the King of heaven is crying in his heavenly kingdom!

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