Is attaining devotional service to Lord Krsna by chance?

Is attaining devotional service to Lord Krsna by chance, or is it due to one's activity (karma)?

The following verses sheds some light on the subject.

CC Madhya 22.45

kona bhāgye kāro saṁsāra kṣayonmukha haya

sādhu-saṅge tabe kṛṣṇe rati upajaya

Synonyms

kona bhāgye — by fortune; kāro — of someone; saṁsāra — conditioned life; kṣaya-unmukha — on the point of destruction; haya — is; sādhu-saṅge — by association with devotees; tabe — then; kṛṣṇe — to Lord Kṛṣṇa; rati — attraction; upajaya — awakens.

Translation

“By good fortune one becomes eligible to cross the ocean of nescience, and when one’s term of material existence decreases, one may get an opportunity to associate with pure devotees. By such association, one’s attraction to Kṛṣṇa is awakened.

Purport

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains this point. Is this bhāgya (fortune) the result of an accident or something else? In the scriptures, devotional service and pious activity are considered fortunate. Pious activities can be divided into three categories: pious activities that awaken one’s dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness are called bhakty-unmukhī sukṛti, pious activities that bestow material opulence are called bhogonmukhī sukṛti, and pious activities that enable the living entity to merge into the existence of the Supreme are called mokṣonmukhī sukṛti. These last two awards of pious activity are not actually fortunate. Pious activities are fortunate when they help one become Kṛṣṇa conscious. The good fortune of bhakty-unmukhī is attainable only when one comes in contact with a devotee. By associating with a devotee willingly or unwillingly, one advances in devotional service, and thus one’s dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness is awakened.


CC Madhya 22.84
bhavāpavargo bhramato yadā bhavej
janasya tarhy acyuta sat-samāgamaḥ
sat-saṅgamo yarhi tadaiva sad-gatau
parāvareśe tvayi jāyate ratiḥ

Synonyms
bhava-apavargaḥ — liberation from the nescience of material existence; bhramataḥ — wandering; yadā — when; bhavet — should be; janasya — of a person; tarhi — at that time; acyuta — O Supreme Personality of Godhead; sat-samāgamaḥ — association with devotees; sat-saṅgamaḥ — association with the devotees; yarhi — when; tadā — at that time; eva — only; sat-gatau — the highest goal of life for the topmost devotees; para-avara-īśe — the Lord of the universe; tvayi — to You; jāyate — appears; ratiḥ — attraction.

Translation
“ ‘O my Lord! O infallible Supreme Person! When a person wandering throughout the universes becomes eligible for liberation from material existence, he gets an opportunity to associate with devotees. When he associates with devotees, his attraction for You is awakened. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead — the highest goal of the topmost devotees, and the Lord of the universe.’

Purport
This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.51.53).

Bhagavad-gita 7.28

येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम् । 

ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रता: ॥ २८ ॥ 

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ

 janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām

 te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā

 bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ 

Synonyms

 yeṣām — whose; tu — but; anta-gatam — completely eradicated; pāpam — sin; janānām — of the persons; puṇya — pious; karmaṇām — whose previous activities; te — they; dvandva — of duality; moha — delusion; nirmuktāḥ — free from; bhajante — engage in devotional service; mām — to Me; dṛḍha-vratāḥ — with determination. 

 Translation

 Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination. 

Purport

 Those eligible for elevation to the transcendental position are mentioned in this verse. For those who are sinful, atheistic, foolish and deceitful, it is very difficult to transcend the duality of desire and hate. Only those who have passed their lives in practicing the regulative principles of religion, who have acted piously, and who have conquered sinful reactions can accept devotional service and gradually rise to the pure knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then, gradually, they can meditate in trance on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the process of being situated on the spiritual platform. This elevation is possible in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the association of pure devotees, for in the association of great devotees one can be delivered from delusion.

It is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.2) that if one actually wants to be liberated he must render service to the devotees (mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ); but one who associates with materialistic people is on the path leading to the darkest region of existence (tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam). All the devotees of the Lord traverse this earth just to recover the conditioned souls from their delusion. The impersonalists do not know that forgetting their constitutional position as subordinate to the Supreme Lord is the greatest violation of God’s law. Unless one is reinstated in his own constitutional position, it is not possible to understand the Supreme Personality or to be fully engaged in His transcendental loving service with determination.

For more information concerning this verse of Bhagavad-gita, from Chapter 7, Knowledge of the Absolute, text 28, please refer to: BG 07.28 yesam tv anta-gatam papam... cited