SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 9 Text 32
mam hi partha vyapasrit ya
ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras
te 'pi yanti param gatim

mam--of Me; hi--certainly; partha--O son of Prtha; vyapasritya--particularly taking shelter; ye--those who; api--also; syuh--are; papa-yonayah--born of a lower family; stri yah--women; vaisyah--mercantile people; tatha--also; sudrah--lower-class men; te api--even they; yanti--go; param--to the supreme; gatim--destination.

TRANSLATION

O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth--women, vaisyas [merchants] and sudras [workers]--can attain the supreme destination.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada begins his purport by writing: It is clearly declared here by the Supreme Lord that in devotional service there is no distinction between the lower and higher classes of people. In the material conception of life there are such divisions, but for a person engaged in transcendental devotional service to the Lord there are not. Everyone is eligible for the supreme destination.

Not only is Love-of-God available to everyone, but Hope-of-God is here too. Without the hope of being able to attain a relationship with Krishna, nothing else can be hoped for. Krishna says the realization of this hope comes to "those who take shelter of me". So, we must approach Him, and surrender to Him, to have the relationship with Him that we all so deeply desire.