Mercy is available for the taking; one simply has to want it. What is the symptom that one wants it? That one is willing to cry for it. Not false tears, but those tears that manifest when a devotee has nobody to turn to but the Lord. Before we can get to the stage of chanting and dancing with bliss, we actually have to cry. A devotee actually has to be willing to accept all that is due to him from his past sinful activities. A devotee is supposed to think that due to my past behavior, due to the attachments that are there within my heart, I deserve so much suffering. Therefore, he should be willing to accept that suffering so that he can cry out for mercy of the Lord. The Lord is so merciful that when He sees just a little tear manifest in the eye, then He gives that mercy.
May 1, 2000, Kiev