Logos 3
Since no one can trace the origins of being stuck in material energy, the Lord says he's without a beginning. That is, conditioned existence precedes Creation; it manifests itself simply during and after Creation.
Forgetting its spiritual nature, the living being undergoes all kinds of sufferings within matter. Let us understand that there are also beings who, free from any material connection, inhabit the spiritual world. These liberated souls are still engaged in Krishna consciousness, in the loving and devotional service they offer to God. Souls conditioned by material nature engage in activities which result in them putting on various kinds of bodies over the course of their successive lifetimes. In the material universe, these souls are thus entitled to various punishments and rewards. Their meritorious deeds can elevate them to the higher planets, where they can join the ranks of the many celestial beings; their reprehensible acts can on the contrary precipitate them towards various infernal planets to suffer more the torments of the material life there.
Maya, the energy of illusion of God, is at the origin of the forgetting of our relation with Krishna, God. In fact, maya means “which is not”, which has no existence. It is therefore wrong to believe that the living being has no connection with the Supreme Lord. He may not believe in the existence of God, or think that nothing connects them, but these are all illusions, or maya. In the grip of this false conception of life, the human being languishes with endless fear and anguish. In other words, any conception of life without God comes under maya. This is why we must surrender ourselves to God with great devotion and recognize that He is the ultimate goal of existence. As soon as the being forgets the fundamental nature of its relationship with God, it succumbs to material energy, hence its false ego, its identification with the body, which it takes for itself. His entire conception of the material universe arises from this false conception of the body. Attaching himself to the latter, he also attaches himself to all that he can produce.
To escape this slavery, he has only to accomplish his duty by relying on the Supreme Lord intelligently, devotion and a sincere awareness of Krishna.