Text 24] Pure Devotional Service: The Change in Heart 163

dust of the feet of great devotees. It is never attained by tapasya (austerity),
the Vedic worshiping process, acceptance of renounced order of life, the
discharge of the duties of household life, the chanting of the Vedic hymns,
or the performance of penances in the hot sun, within cold water or be-
fore the blazing fire.”

In other words, Lord Sri Krsna is the property of His pure unconditional
devotees, and as such only the devotees can deliver Krsna to another
devotee; Krsna is never obtainable directly. Lord Caitanya therefore
designated Himself as the “gopi-bhartur ddsa-dasa-dasanudasa,”’ or “the
most obedient servant of the servants of the Lord who maintains the gopi
damsels at Vrndavana.” A pure devotee therefore never approaches the
Lord directly, but tries to please the Lord’s servant of servants, and thus
the Lord becomes pleased, and the devotee then only can relish the taste
of the tulasi leaves stuck to His lotus feet. In the Brahma-samhita it is said
that the Lord is never to be found by becoming a great scholar of the
Vedic literatures, but He is very easily approachable through His pure
devotec. In Vrndavana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of
Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Lord Krsna. Srimati Radharani
is a tender-hearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling
the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the
mercy of Radharani is available very readily by the sincere devotees, and
once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Krsna, the Lord at once
accepts the devotee’s admittance in His association. The conclusion is,
therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of
the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by doing so (by the good
will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will
be revived.

TEXT 24

qeman 8 gad
aS
a fifeaaa aa fad
at se MAT et IRV

tad aSmasadram hrdayam batedam

yad grhyamanair hari-nadma-dheyath
na vikriyetatha yada vikaro

netre jalam gatra-ruhesu harsah
