Having just attended the Ratha-yatra Festival in New York, my wife was reading to me from the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta some of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes. And there is this one very poignant sentence:
…By the Lord’s mercy one gets the association of a bona fide guru, and by the mercy of the guru, one gets a chance to render devotional service. Devotional service, the science of bhakti-yoga, carries one from this material world to the spiritual world. (from purport Madya-lila 13.18)
This sums up the benefits and results of devotional service or (bhakti-yoga).
While the Lord was being carried from the throne to the car, King Prataparudra personally engaged in the Lord’s service by cleansing the road with a broom that had a golden handle. (Madhya-lila 13.15)
The King sprinkled the road with sandalwood-scented water. Although he was the owner of the royal throne, he engaged in menial service for the sake of Lord Jagannatha. (Madhya-lila 13.16)
Although the King was the most exalted respectable person, still he accepted menial service for the Lord; he, therefore, became a suitable candidate for receiving the Lord’s mercy. (Madhya-lila 13.17)
Upon seeing the King engaged in such menial service, Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very happy. Simply by rendering this service, the King received the mercy of the Lord. Madhya-lila 13.18)
Unless one receives the mercy of the Lord, he cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead or engage in His devotional service.
athāpi te deva padāmbuja-dvaya-
prasāda-leśānugṛhīta eva hi
jānāti tattvaṁ bhagavan-mahimno
na cānya eko ‘pi ciraṁ vicinvan (Bhāg. 10.14.29)
Only a devotee who has received a small fraction of the mercy of the Lord can understand Him. Others may engage in theoretical speculation to understand the Lord, but they can not know anything about Him. Although Maharaja Prataparudra was very eager to see Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord refused to see him. However, when Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the King engaged in menial service for Lord Jagannatha, He became very happy. Thus the King became eligible to receive Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy. If a devotee accepts Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu as the universal guru and Lord Jagannatha as the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna, he is benefited by the combined mercy of Krsna and guru . That is stated by Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His instructions to Rupa Gosvāmī. (Cc. Madhya 19.151)
brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
The seed of devotional service fructifies and becomes a transcendental creeper. Finally it reaches the lotus feet of the Lord in the spiritual sky. This seed is obtained by the mercy of the Lord and the guru. By the Lord’s mercy one gets the association of a bona fide guru, and by the mercy of the guru, one gets a chance to render devotional service. Devotional service, the science of bhakti-yoga, carries one from this material world to the spiritual world.
The Hare Krishna Movement 