निदानं तु परं प्रेम्णः श्रीकृष्णकरुणाभरः ।
कस्याप्युदेत्यकस्माद्वा कस्यचित्साधनक्रमात् ॥
यथोदारान्मिलत्यन्नं पाक्वं वा पाकसाधनम् ।
साधकस्योच्यते शास्त्रगत्यायं साधनक्रमः ॥
nidānaṁ tu paraṁ premṇaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-karuṇā-bharaḥ |
kasyāpy udety akasmād vā kasyacit sādhana-kramāt ||
yathodārān milaty annaṁ pākvaṁ vā pāka-sādhanam |
sādhakasyocyate śāstra-gatyāyaṁ sādhana-kramaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.215–216)
“But the primary cause of [such] prema is an abundance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s grace, which manifests for some without [any apparent] cause and for some through the process of sādhana, just as one obtains from a generous person either cooked food or ingredients for cooking. This process of sādhana for a sādhaka [whereby Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s grace manifests] is described [now by me here] according to śāstra.”