Faith in Guru and Surrender to Kṛṣṇa
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every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.” (Bg. 18.54)
In the  brahma-bhūtaḥ  stage one no longer identifies with matter. The first symptom of one’s having become established on the  brahma-bhūtaḥ  platform is that one becomes jolly ( prasannātmā ). On that platform, there is neither lamentation nor hankering. But even if we rise to this stage and do not take to the loving service of Kṛṣṇa, there is the possibility of falling down again into the material whirlpool. We may rise very high in the sky, but if we have no shelter there, if we do not land on some planet, we will again fall down. A simple understanding of the  brahma-bhūtaḥ  stage will not help us unless we take to the shelter of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. As soon as we engage ourselves in the service of Kṛṣṇa, there is no longer any chance of falling down again into the material world.
Our nature is such that we want some engagement. A child may commit mischief, but he cannot refrain from mischief unless he is given some engagement. When he is given some toys, his attention is diverted and his mischievous activities stop. We are like mischievous children, and therefore we must have spiritual engagement. Simply understanding that we are spirit soul will not help. Understanding that we are spirit, we have to sustain the spirit by spiritual engagement. It is not uncommon in India for a man to give up all material engagements, to leave his home and family and take the renounced order,  sannyāsa , and after meditating for some while, begin doing