“Why did you stay away? Why have you been living away from home for so long? How was it possible for you? How could you bear My separation? You left Me, and you have been passing lives after lives without Me? Still, I know what trouble you took to return to Me. You searched for Me everywhere and went to beg from house to house, and you were chastised by many, ridiculed by many, and you shed tears for Me. I know all these things. I was with you. And now, after great trouble, you have again come back to Me.”

The Lord’s Loving Search for His Lost Servants: Great intensity is expressed here in a simple way. It is a mad search ‑ an urgent campaign. With great earnestness Krsna comes to deliver His lost servants. Krsna comes to take us home.

In Brhad‑Bhagavatamrta, it is written that once, as Krsna and the cows were returning from the Vrndavana forest at the end of the day, a boy had just attained spiritual emancipation and entered Vrndavana as a cowherd boy (sakhya rasa). Seeing His long lost servant, Krsna embraced him and both of them fainted in ecstasy.

All of Krsna’s other cowherd friends were astounded, thinking, “What is this! Krsna has lost His senses by embracing this newcomer? How is it possible!” Then, as all of the cowherd boys looked on astonished, Balarama came to Krsna’s relief and somehow managed to rouse Him.

Then Krsna addressed His friend with great affection: “Why did you stay away? Why have you been living away from home for so long? How was it possible for you? How could you bear My separation? You left Me, and you have been passing lives after lives without Me? Still, I know what trouble you took to return to Me. You searched for Me everywhere, and went to beg from house to house, and you were chastised by many, ridiculed by many, and you shed tears for Me. I know all these things. I was with you. And now, after great trouble, you have again come back to Me.” In this way, Krsna addressed His long lost servant and welcomed him. And when Krsna returned home, He took the newcomer by His side to take prasadam. In this way, a new recruit is earnestly welcomed by Krsna Himself.

So the Lord’s search for His lost servants is a loving search; it is not ordinary, but from the heart. And the Lord’s heart is not an ordinary heart. Who can estimate what type of search He is engaged in? Although He is full in all respects, still He feels pangs of separation for every one of us, however small we may be. In spite of His supreme position, He has room for us in a corner of His loving heart. This is the nature of the infinite. Such an absolute autocrat, absolute good is Krsna.

An autocrat is not under law. It is not that if Krsna gives Himself to one, another will be lacking. The infinite is not like that; rather there is an infinite supply at His command. So He is the emporium of rasa (akhila‑rasamrta-murtih). And He is searching for His lost servants, to bring them home.

~ Swami B.R Sridhar – The loving Search for the Lost Servant.