24.172
sadhanaughair anasangair
alabhya sucirad api
harina casv adeyeti
dvidha sa syat sudurlabha
SYNONYMS
sadhana—activities of devotional service; aughaih—by masses of; anasangaih—without attachment; alabhya—very difficult to achieve; su-cirat api—even after a considerable duration of time; harina—by the Supreme Lord; ca—also; asu—very soon; adeya—not to be delivered; iti—thus; dvidha—two ways; sa—that; syat—is; su-durlabha—very difficult to obtain " ’Devotional perfection is very difficult to attain for two reasons.
First, unless one is attached to Krsna, he cannot attain devotional perfection even if he renders devotional service for a long time.
Second, Krsna does not easily deliver perfection in devotional service.’
PURPORT
As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.6.18): muktim dadati karhicit.
Srila Sukadeva Gosvami told Maharaja Pariksit that Krsna readily grants liberation but does not very readily grant perfection in devotional service.
This means that Krsna wants to see that a devotee is actually sincere and serious and that he does not have ulterior motives.
If this is the case, devotional service can very easily be successful; otherwise it is very difficult to obtain from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
This verse appears in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.1.35).