This is the divinity of the Personality of Godhead: He is not affected by the qualities of material nature, even though he is in contact with them. Similarly, the devotees who have taken shelter of the Lord do not become influenced by the material qualities.
Even if one distributes ten million cows in charity during an eclipse of the sun, lives at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna for millions of years, or gives a mountain of gold in sacrifice to the brahmanas, he does not earn even one hundredth part of the merit derived from chanting Hare Krishna.
Every one should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Every one should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaisnava thinking, Vaikuntha thinking.
A pure devotee of the Lord accepts tribulations as favors from the Lord. Since the Lord is absolute, there is no mundane difference between the two.