22 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 exis-
tence. The best way to disentangle oneself is to always engage the
mind in Krsna consciousness. The word hi in verse 5, Chapter Six
(Bhagavad-gita), is used to emphasize this point—namely, that
one must do this. It is also said,

mana eva manusyanam
karanam bandha-moksayoh

bandhaya visayasangi
muktyai nirvisayam 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 libera-
tion.’ (Visnu Purana 6.7.28) The mind which is always engaged in
Krsna consciousness is the cause of supreme liberation. When the
mind is thus engaged in Krsna consciousness, there is no chance
of its being engaged in mayd consciousness. In Krsna conscious-
ness, 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. Dark-

ness 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.
Krsna stirya-sama maya haya andhakara. Krsna is like sunlight,
and maya 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 Krsna consciousness: al-
ways engage in Krsna conscious activities, and maya will be dissi-
pated, just as darkness is dissipated when there is light. This is
stated in Srimad-Bhdgavatam (1.7.4):

bhakti-yogena manasi
samyak pranihite ‘male

Mastering the Mind and Senses 23

apasyat purusam purnam
mayam ca tad-apasrayam

“When the sage Vydsadeva, under the instruction of his spiritual
master, Narada, fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by linking it
in devotional service (bhakti-yoga) without any tinge of material-
ism, Vydsadeva saw the Absolute Personality of Godhead, along
with His external energy, which was under full control.”’

The word manasirefers to the mind. When one is enlightened
In bhakti-yoga, the mind becomes completely freed from all
contamination (samyak pranihite male). When Vyasa saw the Su-
preme Personality of Godhead, he saw maya in the background
(mdayam ca tad-apasrayam). 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 | 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 Vydsadeva saw Krsna, the
Supreme Lord, he also saw maya, darkness, under His shelter.

And what is this mdya? This is explained in the next verse of
Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.7.5):

yaya sammohito jiva
atmanam tri-gunatmakam

paro pi manute ‘nartham
tat-krtam cabhipadyate

“*Due to the external energy, the living entity, although transcen-
dental 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
CONnditioned souls. And who are these conditioned souls? Al-
though finite, the conditioned spirit souls are as full of light as
Krena. The problem is that the conditioned soul identifies himself
with this material world. This is called illusion, false indentifica-
tlon with matter. Although the individual spirit soul is transcen-
dental, he engages in improper activities under the dictation of
