108 Sr7-Caitanya-caritamrta

the sun in a mirror or on water appears to be the sun but is not. Similarly, the
material world is but a reflection of the spiritual world. Although it appears to be
factual, it is not; it is only a temporary reflection, whereas the spiritual world is a
factual reality. The material world, with its gross and subtle forms, is merely a re-
flection of the spiritual world.

The living entity is not a product of the material energy; he is spiritual energy,
but in contact with matter he forgets his identity. Thus the living entity identifies
himself with matter and enthusiastically engages in material activities in the guises
of a technologist, scientist, philosopher, etc. He does not know that he is not at all
a material product but is spiritual. His real identity thus being lost, he struggles very
hard in the material world, and the Hare Krsna movement or Krsna consciousness
movement tries to revive his original consciousness. His activities in manufacturing
big skyscrapers are evidence of intelligence, but this kind of intelligence is not at all
advanced. One should know that his only real concern is how to get free from
material contact, for by absorbing his mind in material activities he takes material
bodies again and again, and although he falsely claims to be very intelligent, in
material consciousness he is not at all intelligent. When we speak about the Krsna
consciousness movement, which is meant to make people intelligent, the conditioned
living entity therefore misunderstands it. He is so engrossed in the material concept
of life that he does not think that there can be any activities which are actually
based on intelligence beyond the construction of skyscrapers and big roads and the
manufacturing of cars. This is proof of mayayapahrta-jnana, or loss of all intelligence
due to the influence of maya. When a living entity is freed from such misconcep-
tions, he is called liberated. When one is actually liberated he no longer identifies
with the material world. The symptom of mukti (liberation) is that one engages in
spiritual activities instead of falsely engaging in material activities.

Transcendental loving devotional service is the spiritual activity of the spirit soul.
Mayavadi philosophers confuse such spiritual activity with material activity, but
Bhagavad-gita confirms:

mam ca yo’vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate
(Bg. 14.26)

One who engages in the spiritual activities of unalloyed devotional service
(avyabhicarini-bhakti) is immediately elevated to the transcendental platform, and
he is to be considered brahma-bhuta, which indicates that he is no longer in the
material world but in the spiritual world. Devotional service is enlightenment or
awakening. When the living entity perfectly performs spiritual activities under the
direction of the spiritual master, he becomes perfect in knowledge and understands
that he is not God but a servant of God. As explained by Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—Rrsnera ‘nitya-dasa’: the real identity of the living entity is
that he is an eternal servant of the Supreme (Cc. Madhya 20.108). As long as one
does not come to this conclusion, he must be in ignorance. This is also confirmed
by the Lord in Bhagavad-gitd (Bg.7.19). Bahiinarn janmanam ante jfianavan mar
prapadyate: ‘“‘After many births of struggling for existence and cultivating knowl-
