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THE PATH OF PERFECTION
consciousness movement, there is no question of hating anyone. Everyone is welcomed to come and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, take  kṛṣṇa-prasāda , listen to the philosophy of  Bhagavad-gītā , and try to rectify material, conditioned life. This is the essential program of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu said,
yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra' ei deśa
“Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in  Bhagavad-gītā  and  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” (Cc.  Madhya  7.128)
yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānam rahasi sthitaḥ ekākī yata-cittātmā nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ
“A transcendentalist should always try to concentrate his mind on the Supreme Self; he should live alone in a secluded place and should always carefully control his mind. He should be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness.” (Bg. 6.10)
In this chapter, in which the Lord is teaching the principles of the  yoga  system, He here points out that a transcendentalist should always try to concentrate his mind on the Supreme Self. “The Supreme Self” refers to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord. As explained before ( nityo nityānām cetanaś cetanānām ), God is the supreme eternal, the supreme living entity, the Supreme Self. The purpose of the entire  yoga  system is to concentrate the mind on this Supreme Self. We are not the Supreme Self. That should be understood. The Supreme Self is God. This is  dvaita-vāda —duality. Duality means that God is different from me. He is supreme, and I am subordinate. He is great, and I am small. He is infinite, and I am infinitesimal. This is the relationship between ourselves and God as we should understand it. Because we are infinitesimal, we should concentrate our mind on the infinite Supreme Self. In order to do this, we should live alone, and “liv-
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ing alone” means that we should not live with those who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious. Ideally, this means that one should live in a secluded place, like a forest or a jungle, but in this age such a secluded place is very difficult to find. Therefore “secluded place” refers to that place where God consciousness is taught.
The transcendentalist should also carefully control his mind, and this means fixing the mind on the Supreme Self, or Kṛṣṇa. As explained before, Kṛṣṇa is just like the sun, and if the mind is fixed on Him, there is no question of darkness. If Kṛṣṇa is always on our minds,  māyā , or illusion, can never enter. This is the process of concentration.
The transcendentalist should also be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness. People are materially diseased because they desire things and want to possess them. We desire that which we do not have, and we lament for that which we have lost.  Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā . One who is actually God conscious does not desire material possessions. He has only one desire—to serve Kṛṣṇa. It is not possible to give up desire, but it is possible to purify our desires. It is the nature of the living entity to have some desire, but in the conditioned state, one’s desire is contaminated. Conditioned, one thinks, “I desire to satisfy my senses by material possession.” Purified desire is desire for Kṛṣṇa, and if we desire Kṛṣṇa, desires for material possessions will automatically vanish.
śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ nāty-ucchritam nāti-nīcam cailājina-kuśottaram
tatraikāgram manaḥ kṛtvā yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogam ātma-viśuddhaye
“To practice  yoga , one should go to a secluded place and should lay  kuśa  grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should neither be too high nor too low and