100 Teachings of Lord Chaitanya

I do not want anything further. While I was searching for some broken glass,
I have found a great and valuable gem.” Druva Maharaj stated his full satisfac-
tion, and he refused to ask anything from the Lord.

The living entity who is transmigrating through the 8,400,000 species
of life is sometimes likened to a log which is gliding downstream on the
waves of the river. Sometimes, by chance, the log comes to the shore and it is
saved from being forced to drift further downstream. There is a nice verse
in the Srimad Bhagwatam in which every conditioned soul is encouraged:
“Nobody should be depressed, thinking that he will never be out of the
clutches of matter; because there is the possibility of being rescued exactly
like the log which floats on the river for some time, and then comes to rest
on the bank.” This fortunate opportunity is also discussed here by the Lord.

Such fortunate incidents are considered the beginning of the decline of
one’s conditional life. They occur if there is the association of pure devotees
of the Lord. By association of pure devotees of the Lord, one actually develops
his attraction for Krishna. There are different types of rituals and activities:
some of them develop into material enjoyment, and some of them develop
into material liberation. If a living entity takes to ritualistic activities which
develop into his pure devotional service to the Lord, in the association of pure
devotees, then he naturally develops devotional service in his mind.

There is a nice verse in the Srimad Bhagwatam, Tenth Canto, Fifty-first
Chapter, where it is stated by Muchakunda: “My dear Lord, a living entity,
while travelling in this material world through different species of life, may
develop towards liberation. By chance he may come in contact with pure
devotees. Only at that time is he liberated from the clutches of the material
energy, and he becomes a devotee of Yourself, the Personality of Godhead.”

When a conditioned soul becomes a devotee of Krishna, Krishna by His
causeless Mercy trains him in two ways: He trains him by the Spiritual Master
from the outside, and He trains him from the inside by the Supersoul. In this
connection there is a very nice verse in the Srimad Bhagwatam, Eleventh Canto,
Twenty-ninth Chapter, in which it is said: “O my dear Lord, if somebody
should get a duration of life like Brahma’s, still he would be unable to express
his gratitude to You for the benefits derived from remembering You; because,
out of Your causeless mercy, You drive away all inauspicious conditions for
a devotee, expressing Yourself from outside as the Spiritual Master, and from
inside as the Supersoul.”

Somehow or other, if somebody gets in touch with a pure devotee and
thus develops a desire for devotional service to Krishna, he gradually rises
