78 THE PATH OF PERFECTION | Perception of the Supersoul 79

sarva-bhuta-stham atmanam understand. It is neither an association nor a vision but a fact.
sarva-bhutani catmani When a devotee sees a cat or a dog, he sees Krsna in him. He
iksate yoga-yuktatma knows that a cat, for instance, is a living being, and that due to his
sarvatra sama-darsanah past deeds he has received the body of a cat. This is due to his
forgetfulness. The devotee helps the cat by giving it some krsna-
‘A true yogi observes Me in all beings, and also sees every being prasada so that someday the cat will come to Krsna consciousness.
in Me. Indeed, the self-realized man sees Me everywhere.” This is seeing Krsna in the cat. The devotee does not think, ‘‘Oh,
(Bg. 6.29) Sarva-bhita-stham atmanam: ‘‘A true yogi observes Me here is Krsna. Let me embrace this cat and serve this cat as God.”
in all beings.’ How is this possible? Some people say that all Such thinking is nonsensical. If one sees a tiger, he does not say,
beings are Krsna and that therefore there is no point in worshiping ‘‘Oh, here is Krsna. Come one, please eat me.” The devotee does
Krsna separately. Consequently, such people take to humanitarian not embrace all beings as Krsna but rather sympathizes with every
activities, claiming that such work is better. They say, ‘‘Why living being because he sees all beings as part and parcel of Krsna.
should Krsna be worshiped? Krsna says that one should see Krsna In this way, ‘‘the true yogi observes Me in all beings.”’ This is real
in every being. Therefore let us serve daridra-narayana, the man vision.
in the street.’ Such misinterpreters do not know the proper tech- Whatever is done in Krsna consciousness, knowingly or
niques, which have to be learned under a bona fide spiritual unknowingly, will have its effect. Children who bow down or try
master. to vibrate Krsna’s names or clap during Kirtana are actually ac-
A true yogi, as explained before, is the devotee of Krsna, and cumulating so much in their bank account of Krsna conscious-
the most advanced devotee goes forth to preach Krsna conscious- ness. Fire will act, whether one is a child or an adult. If a child
ness. Why? Because he sees Krsna in all beings. How is this? Be- touches fire, the fire will burn. The fire does not say, ‘Oh, I will
cause he sees that all beings are part and parcel of Krsna. He also not burn him. He is a child and does not know.” No, the fire will
understands that since these beings have forgotten Krsna, it is his always act as fire. Similarly, Krsna is the supreme spirit, and if a
duty to awaken them to Krsna consciousness. Sometimes mis- child partakes in Krsna consciousness, he will be affected. Krsna
sionaries go forth to educate primitive, uneducated people just be- will act, whether the child knows or does not know. Every living
cause they see that they are human beings and so deserve to be being should be given a chance to partake of Krsna consciousness
educated in order to understand the value of life. This is due to the because Krsna is there and will act. Therefore everyone is being
missionary’s sympathy. The devotee is similarly motivated. He invited to come and take prasdda, bécause this prasdda will some-
understands that everyone should know himself to be part and day take effect.
parcel of Krsna. The devotee understands that people are suffer- We should be careful not to make the mistake of thinking that
ing due to their forgetfulness of Krsna. everyone is Krsna; rather, we should see Krsna in everyone.
Thus the devotee sees Krsna in everything. He is not under the Krsna is all-pervading. Why is He to be seen only in human
illusion that everything has become Krsna. Rather, he sees every beings? As stated in Brahma-samhitd, He is also present within the
living being as the son of God. If I say that this boy is the son of atom: anddntara-stha-paramanu-caydntara-stham. The word
Mr. Johnson, do I mean that this boy is Mr. Johnson himself? I paramdnu means ‘‘atom,” and we should understand that Krsna is
may see Mr. Johnson in this boy because this boy is his son, but present within every atom. ‘‘A true yogiobserves Me in all beings
the distinction remains. If I see every living being as the son of and also sees every being in Me.’’ How does the yogi see every

Krsna, I see Krsna in every being. This should not be difficult to being ‘‘in Me’’? This is possible because the true yogi knows that
