The Master of the Senses 31
and worship a Hindu god?” is foolishness. If one thinks, ‘‘I am Muham-
madan,”’ ‘“‘I am Christian,”’ or ‘“‘I am Hindu,” one is in illusion. One
must purify the senses so that one can understand, ‘“‘I am a spirit soul,
and the supreme spirit soul is Krsna. I am part and parcel of Krsna, and
therefore it is my duty to serve Krsna.’’ When one thinks in this way, one
immediately becomes free. At that time, one is no longer American, In-
dian, African, this, or that. At that time, one is Krsna-ized, or Krsna con-
scious. That is what is wanted. Therefore Kuntidevi says, ‘‘My dear
Krsna, Hrsikesa, You are the master of the senses.”

For sense gratification we have fallen into this material condition and
are suffering in different varieties of life. Because this is the material
world, even Krsna’s mother was put into suffering. Devaki was so ad-
vanced that she became the mother of Krsna, but still she was put into
difficulties by her own brother, Karhsa. That is the nature of this material
world. The living entities in this world are so jealous that if one’s per-
sonal interest is hampered, one will immediately be ready to give trouble
to others, even to one’s nearest relatives.

The word khala means ‘‘jealous.”’ This material world is a world of
jealousy and envy. I am envious of you, and you are envious of me. The
Krsna consciousness movement, however, is meant for one who is no
longer jealous or envious. By becoming free from jealousy and envy, one
becomes a perfect person. Dharmah projjhita-kaitavo ‘tra paramo nirmat-
saranam satam (Bhag. 1.1.2). Those who are jealous and envious are
within this material world, and those who are not are in the spiritual
world. Therefore, we can test ourselves. If we are jealous or envious of
our friends or other associates, we are in the material world, and if we are
not jealous we are in the spiritual world. There need be no doubt of
whether we are spiritually advanced or not. We can test ourselves. Bhak-
tih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra ca (Bhag. 11.2.42). When we eat, we
can understand for ourselves whether our hunger is satisfied; we don’t
have to take a certificate from others. Similarly, we can test for ourselves
whether we are in the material world or the spiritual world. If we are
jealous or envious, we are in the material world, and if we are not we are
in the spiritual world.

If one is not jealous, one can serve Krsna very well, because jealousy
and envy begin with being jealous of Krsna. For example, some philoso-
phers think, ‘“Why should Krsna be God? I am also God.”’ This is the
beginning of material life—to be envious of Krsna. ‘‘Why should Krsna
be the enjoyer?”’ they think. ‘‘I shall also be the enjoyer. Why should
Krsna enjoy the gopis? I shall become Krsna and make a society of gopis
