Hare Krsna,
Penance and perseverance are important qualities for spiritual realization. The mercy the Lord bestows upon a particular person engaged in executing the responsible work entrusted unto him is beyond imagination. But His mercy is received due to our penance and perseverance in executing devotional service.
SB 3.9.30: O Brahmā, situate yourself in penance and meditation and follow the principles of knowledge to receive My favor. By these actions you will be able to understand everything from within your heart.
In Canto 2, Chapter 9 Lord Krsna repeats the same instructions that he gave to Lord Brahma after underwent penance for 1000 celestial years by the calculations of the demigods. The Personality of Godhead, being thus very much satisfied with the penance of Lord Brahmā, was pleased to manifest His personal abode, Vaikuṇṭha, the supreme planet above all others. This transcendental abode of the Lord is adored by all self-realized persons freed from all kinds of miseries and fear of illusory existence. Then Lord Krsna said:
SB 2.9.20: The beautiful Personality of Godhead addressed Lord Brahmā: O Brahmā, impregnated with the Vedas, I am very much pleased with your long-accumulated penance with the desire for creation. Hardly am I pleased with the pseudo mystics.
SB 2.9.21: I wish you good luck. O Brahmā, you may ask from Me, the giver of all benediction, all that you may desire. You may know that the ultimate benediction, as the result of all penances, is to see Me by realization.
SB 2.9.22: The highest perfectional ingenuity is the personal perception of My abodes, and this has been possible because of your submissive attitude in the performance of severe penance according to My order.
SB 2.9.23: O sinless Brahmā, you may know from Me that it was I who first ordered you to undergo penance when you were perplexed in your duty. Such penance is My heart and soul, and therefore penance and I are nondifferent.
SB 2.9.24: I create this cosmos by such penance, I maintain it by the same energy, and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore the potency is penance only.
SB 2.9.31: Knowledge about Me as described in the scriptures is very confidential, and it has to be realized in conjunction with devotional service. The necessary paraphernalia for that process is being explained by Me. You may take it up carefully.
In essence, if a devotee is sincere in executing devotional service to the Supreme Lord but do not know how to engage in the process, the directions come from within… from the Paramatma. When Dhruva Maharaja went to the forest at the young age of five to attain Visnu, he did not know how to perform tapasya (penance and austerities). The Supreme Lord then directed his dear disciple Narada to go to Dhruva Maharaja to teach him the necessary process.
BG 10.10: To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
BG 15.15: I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.
The Supreme Lord is situated as Paramātmā in everyone’s heart, and it is from Him that all activities are initiated. Brahmā’s enlightenment in knowledge was due to the Lord sitting within his heart. After being created, Brahmā could not ascertain the source of his appearance, but after penance and mental concentration he could see the source of his birth, and thus he became enlightened through his heart. The spiritual master outside and the spiritual master within are both representations of the Lord.
The Supreme Lord can be experienced only by His causeless mercy, not by mental speculation or with the help of the material senses. Such mercy is bestowed upon the Lord’s pure devotees like Brahma and those in his disciplic succession. Any person authorized by either the Lord or by His bona fide representative is already blessed, as is the work entrusted to him. Of course, the person entrusted with such a responsibility should always be aware of his incapability and must always look for the mercy of the Lord for the successful execution of his duty. One should not be puffed up because he is entrusted with certain executive work.
The conclusion of my understanding is that the degree of instructions we received from the Lord in our heart is proportional to the degree of our surrender to the Lord, and penance and austerity performed to please the Lord.
ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
BG 4.11: All of them—as they surrender unto Me—I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha.
The best penance and austerity we can perform in this age is waking up very early in the morning (brahma-muhurta) and chanting our stipulated 16 rounds of the Hare Krsna maha mantra. This is the special mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 