More Merciful Than the Lord
“Even
though a person is rejected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
devotees
of the Lord do not reject him; therefore the Lord’s devotees are more
merciful than the Lord Himself. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura thus sings,
chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā:
one cannot be relieved from the material clutches without engaging in
the service of pure devotees. The Lord Himself may sometimes be very
hard, but the devotees are always kind.”
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta
Madhya 10.67, Purport)
“Men
who are ignorant cannot appreciate activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
and therefore
Lord Kṛṣṇa advises us not to disturb them and simply waste valuable
time. But the devotees of the Lord are more kind than the Lord because
they understand the purpose of the Lord. Consequently they undertake all
kinds of risks, even to the point of approaching
ignorant men to try to engage them in the acts of Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
which are absolutely necessary for the human being.”
(Bhagavad-gīta
As It Is 3.29 Purport)
“The
bona fide representative of God is as good as God Himself. Or, in other
words,
the loving representative of the Lord is more kind and more easy to
approach. A sinful soul cannot approach the Lord directly, but such a
sinful man can very easily approach a pure devotee of the Lord. And if
one agrees to put himself under the guidance of
such a devotee of the Lord, he can also understand the science of God
and can also become like the transcendental pure devotee of the Lord and
thus get his liberation back to Godhead, back home for eternal
happiness.”
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
2.7.46, Purport)
“Kṛṣṇa
said that devotees, that you should not disturb them. But devotees are
so
kind that taking all risk. Just like Nityānanda Prabhu took all risk,
Lord Jesus Christ took all risk. Therefore a devotee is more kind than
God. A devotee is more merciful than God Himself. We should always
remember this.
And therefore Kṛṣṇa says,
mad-bhaktaḥ pūjyābhyādhika.
‘Anyone who worships My devotee, he worships more than what he can do
for Me.’ That means He appreciates the worship of His devotee than to
Himself. So actually, devotees are so kind. Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Those who are
absorbed too much in material consciousness,
don’t disturb them.’ But devotees take the risks, even at the cost of
life. Therefore devotee is so dear to Kṛṣṇa. That will be explained in
the Eighteenth chapter. ‘The person who takes all risk for preaching God
consciousness, nobody is dearer than him in
the human society.’ Kṛṣṇa says like that.”
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, December 30, 1968) compiled by Padmapani dasa