94 Teachings of Lord Chaitanya

from the transcendental loving service of Krishna, and thus they are subjected
to the three-fold miseries of material existence. On account of the conditioned
soul’s eternally existing attitude of divorce from Krishna, the spell of material
energy awards him two kinds of bodily existence: one is the gross body,
consisting of the five elements, and the other is the subtle body, consisting
of mind, intelligence, and ego. Because he is covered by these two kinds of
bodies, the conditioned soul is eternally suffering the pangs of material exist-
ence, known as the three-fold miseries. We are subjected to six kinds of
enemies, such as lust and anger, etc., and that is the everlasting disease of the
conditioned soul.

Diseased and conditioned, the living entity is transmigrating all over the
Universe. Sometimes he is situated in the upper planetary system, and some-
times he is travelling in the lower planetary system. That becomes his normal
conditioned life. This disease can be cured only when the expert physician,
the bona fide Spiritual Master, is met and followed. When the conditioned
soul faithfully follows the instructions of such a bona fide Spiritual Master,
the material disease is cured and the living entity is promoted to the liberated
stage, and again attains to the devotional service of Krishna, and goes back
Home, back to Krishna.

A conditioned living entity should come to the consciousness of his real
position. He should pray to the Lord: how long and how much will I be under
the rule of the different bodily functions, such as lust and anger? As masters
of the conditioned soul, lust and anger are never merciful; and there is no
cessation of the conditioned soul’s service to such bad masters. When he comes
to his real consciousness, or Krishna Consciousness, he gives up serving those
bad masters and approaches Krishna with a frank and open heart to achieve
His shelter. Then he prays to Krishna to be engaged in His transcendental
loving service.

In the Vedic literature fruitive activities have sometimes been highly praised,
and sometimes the mystic process of Yoga is praised; and, sometimes, the
speculative search for knowledge is praised. They are each considered as a
different way to self-realization. But in spite of praise for the different paths
of self-realization, in every writing the path of devotional service has been
accepted as the foremost. In other words, devotional service to Lord Krishna
is the highest perfectional path of self-realization, recommended to be per-
formed directly. The effects of fruitive activities, mystic meditation, and the
cultivation of speculative knowledge are not direct methods of self-realization.
They are indirect methods because without the addition of devotional service
