4
THE PATH OF PERFECTION
only devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, birth after birth; in other words, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was prepared to endure material miseries in one body after another. What, then, was Caitanya Mahāprabhu's desire? He wanted to engage in God's service, and nothing more, for that is the real perfection of  yoga .
Whether in the spiritual sky or the material sky, the individual spirit soul is constitutionally the same. It is said that he is one tenthousandth part of the tip of a hair. This means that our position is that of a small particle. But spirit can expand. Just as we develop a material body in the material world, we develop a spiritual body in the spiritual world. In the material world, expansion takes place in contact with matter. In the spiritual world, this expansion is spiritual.
Actually, the first lesson of  Bhagavad-gītā  is, "I am spirit soul. I am different from this body." I am a living force, but this material body is not a living force. It is dull matter, and it is activated only because spiritual force is present. In the spiritual world, everything is living force; there is no dead matter. There, the body is totally spiritual. One may compare the spirit soul with oil and the body with water. When oil is in water, there is a distinction, and that distinction always remains. In the spiritual sky, there is no question of oil being placed in water. There everything is spirit.
The impersonalists do not want to develop a body. They simply want to remain spiritual particles, and that is their idea of happiness. But we  bhakti-yogīs  (Vaiṣṇavas) want to serve Kṛṣṇa, and therefore we require hands, legs, and all the other bodily parts. Indeed, we are given these bodies in order to serve Kṛṣṇa. Just as we develop a material body in our mother's womb, we can similarly develop a spiritual body in the spiritual world.
The spiritual body is developed through the practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This material body is spiritualized by this  bhakti-yoga  process. If you place an iron within fire, the iron becomes so hot that it also becomes fiery. When the iron is red hot, it acquires all the qualities of fire. If you touch something with that iron, that iron will act as fire. Similarly, although this body is material, it can become spiritualized through Kṛṣṇa consciousness and act as spirit. Although copper is just a metal, as soon as it comes in con-
Yoga as Action
5
tact with electricity, it becomes electrified, and if you touch it, you will receive an electric shock.
As soon as your body is spiritualized, material activity ceases. Material activity means acting for sense gratification. As you become spiritualized, material demands dwindle until they become  nil . How is this possible? In order for an iron to act as fire, it must remain constantly in contact with fire. In order for the material body to become spiritualized, one must remain constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When this material body is fully engaged in spiritual activities, it becomes spiritual.
According to the Vedic system, the body of a high personality, a  sannyāsī , is not burned but buried, because a  sannyāsī 's body is considered spiritual, having ceased to engage in material activities. If everyone in this world engages fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and ceases to work for sense gratification, this entire world will immediately become spiritual. Therefore it is necessary to  learn  how to work for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. This requires a little time to understand. If something is used for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction, it is spiritual. Since we are using microphones, typewriters, etc., in order to talk and write about Kṛṣṇa, they become spiritualized. What is the difference between  prasāda  and ordinary food? Some people may say, "What is this  prasāda ? We are eating the  same  food. Why do you call it  prasāda ?" It is  prasāda  because it  has  been offered for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction and has thus become spiritualized.
In a higher sense, there is no matter at all. Everything is spiritual. Because Kṛṣṇa is spiritual and matter is one of the energies of Kṛṣṇa, matter is also spiritual. Kṛṣṇa is totally spiritual, and spirit  comes  from spirit. However, because the living entities are misusing this energy—that is, using it for something other than Kṛṣṇa's purposes—it becomes materialized, and so we call it  matter . The purpose of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to  respiritualize  this energy. It is our purpose to respiritualize the  whole  world, socially and politically. Of course, this may not be  possible , but it is our ideal. At least if we individually take up this  respiritualization  process, our lives become perfect.
In  Bhagavad-gītā  (9.22) Kṛṣṇa says that He provides for His