212 Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

“The ordinary conditioned human being may think the conditioned
soul, who is covered by his materialistic senses, mind and intelligence, to
be equal to Krsna, but Lord Krsna is just like the sun, which, although it
sometimes may appear to be so, is never covered by the cloud, snow or fog
or by other planets. When the eyes of less intelligent men are covered by
such influences, they think the sun to be invisible. Similarly, persons
influenced by the senses and addicted to material enjoyment cannot have
a clear vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

The sages present then began to address Vasudeva in the presence of
Lord Krsna, Balarama and many other kings, and, as requested by him,
they gave their instructions: “To counteract the reaction of karma, or
desires impelling one to fruitive activities, one must execute the prescribed
sacrifices which are meant for worshiping Lord Visnu with faith and
devotion. Lord Visnu is the beneficiary of the results of all sacrificial
performances. Great personalities and sages who are sufficiently ex-
perienced to possess vision of the three phases of the time element,
namely past, present and future, and those who are able to see everything
clearly through the eyes of revealed scriptures, have unanimously recom-
mended that to purify the dust of material contamination accumulated
in the heart and to clear the path of liberation and thereby achieve tran-
scendental bliss, one must please Lord Visnu. For everyone in the different
social orders (brahmana, ksatriya and vaisya) who are living as house-
holders, this worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Visnu,
who is known as Purusottama, the original person, is recommended as the
only auspicious path.

“All conditioned souls within this material world have deep-rooted
desires to lord it over the resources of material nature. Everyone wants to
accumulate riches, everyone wants to enjoy life to the greatest extent,
everyone wants a wife, home and children, and everyone wants to become
happy in this world and be elevated to the heavenly planets in the next
life. But these desires are the causes of one’s material bondage. Therefore,
to get liberation from this bondage, one has to sacrifice his honestly
earned riches for the satisfaction of Lord Visnu.

“The only process to counteract all sorts of material desire is to
engage oneself in the devotional service of Lord Visnu. In this way a
self-controlled person, even while remaining in householder life, should
give up the three kinds of material desires, namely desire for the acquisition
of material opulences, the enjoyment of wife and children, and elevation
to higher planets. Eventually he may give up householder life and accept
the renounced order of life, engaging himself completely in the devotional
