Pure Love Only By Mercy

Mahanidhi Swami

To Srila Rupa Goswamipada, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spoke a very beautiful verse describing the relation between mercy and love divine. Let’s look at it and dive into the ocean of truth:

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva,
guru krishna prasade PAYA bhakti lata bija

“All living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. 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 Krishna. By the mercy of both Krishna and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service.” (Caitanya-caritamrta 2.19.151; trans. Srila Prabhupada)

Comment: Please clearly read this most important verse, a main pillar in the house of Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada translates the Bengali verb paya as receive. The word paya means to receive or to get something, which means that that something IS NOT INSIDE OF ONE.

The word PAYA clearly means, as Srila Prabhupada states, that something is received or gotten from an outside source. In this case it means one receives or gets the seed of bhakti or pure love of God, Krishna prema, from an outside source, namely Bhagavan Sri Krishna or Sri Guru, or a combination both as Srila Prabhupada states. In other words, neither Krishna bhakti nor its development to bhava or its culmination as Krishna prema is within the heart of any conditioned soul in this material world.

The conclusion is that if a jiva is very fortunate, however, he may RECEIVE OR GET BHAKTI FROM SRI KRISHNA OR SRI GURU. Then by purely hearing, chanting and remembering Sri Krishna’s beautiful sweet names, forms, qualities and pastimes that seed of bhakti will sprout, and grow into the tree of bhava producing the sweet tasty fruits of Krishna prema.

In other words, mercy gives bhakti, and that bhakti grows and develops by more mercy. Then by a rare and extraordinary ingress of mercy that bhakti becomes bhava and then quickly blossoms into prema, pure love of Krishna.

From this essential verse of Krishna consciousness we can understand the absolute importance and necessity of Sri Guru in our lives and the supreme role of mercy. Thus without the mercy of Sri Krishna and Sri Guru no one in the entire universe can ever attain pure love of Krishna, the sweetly fulfilling taste of Krishna prema.

Jai Jai Sri Radhe!