It appears He is partial to the devotees but in reality He reciprocates the desires of all beings equally, just as the sun shines its rays everywhere. It appears that the sun shows attachment to the sun stone by imparting its own qualities, by showing indifference to blind people and by being helpful to the Cakravāka birds that become joyful when the sun rises and destroys darkness. But the cause of difference is the good or bad qualities of the specific object, and not because of the partiality of the sun. Fools think that devotional service is flattering the Lord to get special mercy.
It appears He is partial to the devotees but in reality He reciprocates the desires of all beings equally, just as the sun shines its rays everywhere. It appears that the sun shows attachment to the sun stone by imparting its own qualities, by showing indifference to blind people and by being helpful to the Cakravāka birds that become joyful when the sun rises and destroys darkness. But the cause of difference is the good or bad qualities of the specific object, and not because of the partiality of the sun. Fools think that devotional service is flattering the Lord to get special mercy. But the pure devotee does not render service expecting anything, and thus the full mercy of the Lord is open for him. A mixed devotee may approach the Lord for getting some benefit, and once he attains that, he does not keep his connection with the Lord, even though the Lord’s mercy is open for him. Those who are against the service of the Lord are considered to be in abject darkness, those who ask for the Lord’s favor only at the time of necessity are partial recipients of His mercy, and those who are cent percent engaged in His service are full recipients of the mercy of the Lord. Thus the partiality in receiving mercy is relative to the recipient and not due to any partiality on the part of the Lord. Those who died in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra in the presence of the Lord got salvation even without any necessary qualifications, and this shows the mercy of the Lord.