Text 5] Understanding Material Nature 1139
PURPORT

The process of liberation is very nicely explained in this verse. The
cause of one’s becoming conditioned by material nature is his thinking
himself the enjoyer, the proprietor or the friend of all living entities. This
false thinking is a result of contemplation on sense enjoyment. When one
thinks that he is the best friend to his countrymen, to society or to
humanity and he engages in various nationalistic, philanthropic and
altruistic activities, all that is just so much concentration on sense gratifi-
cation. The so-called national leader or humanist does not serve anyone;
he serves his senses only. That is a fact. But the conditioned soul cannot
understand this because he is bewildered by the spell of material nature.
It is therefore recommended in this verse that one should engage very
seriously in the devotional service of the Lord. This means that he should
not think that he is the proprietor, benefactor, friend or enjoyer. He
should always be cognizant that the real enjoyer is Krsna, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead; that is the basic principle of bhakti-yoga. One
must be firmly convinced of these three principles: one should always
think that Krsna is the proprietor, Krsna is the enjoyer and Krsna is the
friend. Not only should he understand these principles himself, but he
should try to convince others and propagate Krsna consciousness.

As soon as one engages in such serious devotional service of the Lord,
naturally the propensity to falsely claim lordship over material nature
disappears. That detachment is called vairdgya. Instead of being absorbed
in so-called material lordship, one engages in Krsna consciousness; that is
control of consciousness. The yoga process necessitates controlling the
senses. Yoga indriya-samyama. Since the senses are always active, their
activities should be engaged in devotional service—one cannot stop their
activities. If one wants to artificially stop the activities of the senses, it will
be a failure. Even the great yogi Visvamitra, who was trying to control his
senses by the yoga process, fell victim to the beauty of Menaka. There are
many suchinstances. Unless one’s mind and consciousness are fully engaged
in devotional service, there is always the opportunity for the mind to
become occupied with desires for sense gratification. One particular point
mentioned in this verse is very significant. It is said here, prasaktam
asatam pathi: the mind is always attracted by asat, the temporary
material existence. Because we have been associated with material nature
since time immemorial, we have become accustomed to our attachment
for this temporary material nature. The mind has to be fixed at the
eternal lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. Sa vai manah krsna-paddaravindayoh.
