Srila Prabhupada was giving a talk on Srimad Bhagavatam and was pointing to a painting that was in the temple room of SrimatiRadharani offering Tulasi leaves to the lotus feet of Krsna and some gopis in the background, looking through the trees. So Srila Prabhupada pointed, saying, “Radharani is worshipping the feet of Krsna, and the gopis are not serving Krsna directly, They’re assisting Sri Radha in Her service to Sri Krsna and others are assisting those gopis in Their service to assist Sri Radha in Her service to Krsna.”
Then Prabhupada made a wonderful gesture. He said, “So, to become the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant is our goal.” And then Prabhupada said, with his finger like this in the air (pointing up), “And the further down the line of service you go,” (finger pointing lower and lower), “the sweeter that service becomes.”
I’ve always remembered that. I’ve always felt that if we have the opportunity to serve a devotee who is serving a devotee who is serving a devotee who is serving a devotee, then we have the sublime benefits of all of those devotees’ service, going all the way to Krsna.
So, not only can we not approach Krsna directly, but we shouldn’t want to approach Krsna directly because the nectar of serving the servants of the servants of the servants is so much richer and so much greater because it contains the accumulation of all of those services and all of those great devotees who are before us and between us and Krsna. Krsna’s mercy runs like an electrical current and as it flows down the line, it increases in its potency. So the further down the line of service you go, the sweeter and the richer that service becomes. So we don’t lose anything with time. I heard one devotee recently mention that the grandfather is more merciful than the father. So those who are in second generation, what to speak of great grandfather, great, great grandfather…
So the mercy only increases as we go down the line of service, if we’re sincere in serving the Lord.
Told by Jagat Purush Dasa