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THE PATH OF PERFECTION
oneself by attraction to sense objects. The more one is attracted by sense objects, the more one becomes entangled in material existence. The best way to disentangle oneself is to always engage the mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The word  hi  in verse 5, Chapter Six ( Bhagavad-gītā ), is used to emphasize this point—namely, that one  must  do this. It is also said.
mana eva manuṣyāṇāṁ kāraṇaṁ bandha-mokṣayoḥ bandhāya viṣayāsaṅgi muktyai nirviṣayaṁ manah
“For man, mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation.” ( Viṣṇu Purāṇa  6.7.28) The mind which is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the cause of supreme liberation. When the mind is thus engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no chance of its being engaged in  māyā  consciousness. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we remain in the sunlight, and there is no chance of our being obscured by darkness.
Because we have freedom, or liberty, we can stay within a dark room or go out into the broad daylight. That is our choice. Darkness can be eradicated by light, but light cannot be covered by darkness. If we are in a dark room and someone brings in a lamp, the darkness is vanquished. But we cannot take darkness into the sunlight. It is not possible. The darkness will simply fade away.  Kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā haya andhakāra . Kṛṣṇa is like sunlight, and  māyā  is like darkness. So how can darkness exist in sunlight? If we always keep ourselves in the sunlight, darkness will fail to act upon us. This is the whole philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness: always engage in Kṛṣṇa conscious activities, and  māyā  will be dissipated, just as darkness is dissipated when there is light. This is stated in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (1.7.4):
bhakti-yogena manasi samyak praṇihite 'male
Mastering the Mind and Senses
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apašyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ māvāṁ ca taḍ-apāśravam
“When the sage Vyāsadeva, under the instruction of his spiritual master, Nārada, fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by linking it in devotional service ( bhakti-yoga ) without any tinge of materialism, Vyāsadeva saw the Absolute Personality of Godhead, along with His external energy, which was under full control.”
The word  manasi  refers to the mind. When one is enlightened in  bhakti-yoga , the mind becomes completely freed from all contamination ( samyak praṇihite 'male ). When Vyāsa saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he saw  māyā  in the background ( māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayam ). Whenever there is light, there is also the possibility of darkness being present. That is, darkness is the other side of light, or darkness is under the shelter of light, just as if I hold my hand up to the light, the top part of my hand will be in light, and the bottom part will be shaded. In other words, one side is light and the other darkness. When Vyāsadeva saw Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, he also saw  māyā , darkness, under His shelter.
And what is this  māyā ? This is explained in the next verse of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (1.7.5):
yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam paro 'pi manute 'narthaṁ tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate
“Due to the external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries.”  Thus the illusory energy has temporarily covered the  conditioned souls . And who are these conditioned souls? Although finite, the conditioned spirit souls are as full of light as  Krpa . The problem is that the conditioned soul identifies himself  with this material world . This is called illusion, false identification with matter. Although the individual spirit soul is transcendental, he engages in improper activities under the dictation of