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On the Way to Krṣṇa
human being, however, has a special qualification whereby he can develop transcendental Krṣṇa consciousness, but if he does not avail himself of this, he is in the animal category. The defect of modern civilization is that it puts too much stress on solving these survival problems. As spiritual living beings it is incumbent upon us to extricate ourselves from this entanglement of birth and death. We should therefore be careful not to miss the special opportunity of human life. Śrī Krṣṇa Himself comes to deliver  Bhagavad-gītā  and to help us to become God conscious. Indeed, this very material creation is given to us to utilize for this cultivation. But if after receiving this chance and this gift of human life we do not utilize them to develop Krṣṇa consciousness, we shall be missing this rare opportunity. The process for cultivation is very simple:  śravaṇam kīrtanam —hearing and chanting. We have nothing to do other than listen, and by listening carefully, enlightenment is sure to come. Krṣṇa will surely help, for He is seated within. We only have to make the effort and spare a little time. We will not need anyone to ask us whether we are making progress. We will know it automatically, just as a hungry man knows that he has been satisfied by a full meal.
Actually this process of Krṣṇa consciousness or self-realization is not very difficult. Krṣṇa taught it to Arjuna in  Bhagavad-gītā , and if we understand  Bhagavad-gītā  just as Arjuna did, we will have no problem in coming to the perfectional state. But if we try to interpret  Bhagavad-gītā  according to our own mundane academic mentality, we spoil it all.