306 Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

spiritual existence. In the Bhagavad-gita the whole cosmic manifestation is
accepted as the mother of the living entities, and Krsna is the father. As
the father impregnates the mother by injecting the living entity within the
womb, so all the living entities are injected by Krsna in the womb of the
material nature. They come out in different bodies according to their
different fruitive activities. In all circumstances, the living entity is aloof
from this material conditional life.

If we simply study our own bodies, we can understand how a living
entity is always aloof from this bodily encagement. Every action of the
body is taking place by the interaction of the three modes of material
nature. We can see at every moment many changes taking place in bodies,
but the spirit soul is aloof from all changes. One can neither create nor
annihilate nor interfere with the actions of material nature. The living
entity is therefore entrapped by the material body and is conditioned in
three stages, namely while awake, asleep and unconscious. The mind is
acting through all the three conditions of life; the living entity in his
sleeping or dreaming condition sees something as real, and in his awake
condition he sees the same thing as unreal. It is concluded, therefore, that
under certain circumstances he accepts something as real, and under other
circumstances he accepts the very same thing as unreal. These matters are
the subject matter of study for the empiric philosopher or the sankhya-
yogt. In order to come to the right conclusion, sdikhya-yogis undergo
severe austerities and penances. They practice control of the senses and
renunciation.

All these different ways of determining the ultimate goal of life are
compared to rivers. Krsna is the ocean. As the rivers flow down toward the
ocean, all attempts for knowledge flow toward Krsna. After many, many
births of endeavor, when one actually comes to Krsna, he attains the
perfectional stage. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita: All are pursuing the
path of realizing Me, but those who have adopted courses without any
bhakti find their endeavor very troublesome.” Kleso’dhikataras tesam:
Krsna cannot be understood unless one comes to the point of bhakti.

Three paths are enunciated in the Gita: karma-yoga, jiiane-yoga and
bhakti-yoga. Those who are too addicted to fruitive activities are advised
to perform actions which will bring them to bhakti. Those who are ad-
dicted te the frustration of empiric philosophy are also advised to realize
bhakti. Karma-yoga is different from ordinary karma, and jiidna-yoga is
different from jfiana. Ultimately, as stated by the Lord in the Bhagavad-
gita, bhaktya mam abhijanati: only through execution of devotional
service can one understand Krsna. The perfectional stage of devotional
