Jayapataka Swami: See, Bharata Mahārāja had given up his position, being the emperor of the world, and he was meditating on Kṛṣṇa in the forest. But somehow, he became attached to a deer, and when he was leaving his body, the deer was licking his face and he was thinking, who will take care of the deer? Rather than thinking about Kṛṣṇa. So as a result, next birth he took as a deer, but he remembered his previous life as emperor of the world. So, in effect, he could understand that he had blown it! He had made a very big mistake! So Kṛṣṇa protected him, by giving him the memory of his previous birth. When he took birth as Jada Bharata, and he became the guru of the great King Rahūgaṇa. So, in this way, ultimately, he achieved Kṛṣṇa. So,he was saved by Kṛṣṇa. And, this is a very specific case, where he had gotten very affectionate to this pet deer, and at the time of death he thought of the deer rather than Kṛṣṇa. But he didn’t lose his memory, and then he realized his mistake. So, I don’t see this an example. Normally we either go back to Godhead if we think of Kṛṣṇa, or we can be born in a family of devotees.
18-June-2020 SRI DHAM MAYAPUR, INDIA