When the conditioned soul adheres with faith to the instructions of such a master, it sees itself cured of its material fever and enters the plane of liberation, where it returns to the devotional service to Krishna to finally return to Him, in its original home. The conditioned being must become aware of his true nature and pray to the Lord in these terms: How much longer will I have to live under the influence of anger and concupiscence, to name only these plagues?
Far from being compassionate, the masters of anger and lust forever reduce the conditioned soul to slavery. But when she regains her true consciousness, Krishna consciousness, she leaves these evil masters to rely on Krishna, sincerely seeking refuge with Him and begging him to engage her in his service of spiritual love. The Vedic writings, the Vedas, the original holy writings, sometimes make great mention of self-interested action, the yoga of powers or the speculative quest for knowledge as so many methods of self-realization. But they nonetheless recognize the superiority of devotional service. In other words, devotional service to Krishna is the most perfect path to spiritual realization. We recommend that you devote yourself directly to it. Self-interested action, meditation, and philosophical speculation are not direct methods of self-realization because, devoid of devotion, they cannot lead to the highest spiritual perfection. Indeed, all depend, in the final analysis, on the practice of devotional service.
The Lord compares Krishna to the sun, and maya, the power of material illusion, to darkness. Whoever is constantly bathed in the sunlight of Krishna cannot be confused by the darkness of temporal energy. Maya, the power of illusion, is ashamed to come before Krishna. Nevertheless, the living being is continually mystified by this same power. In his conditioning, he discovers several forms of verbal juggling that give him the impression of being able to free himself from the clutches of maya. But, in truth, it is enough for him to surrender himself sincerely to Krishna by saying only once: My dear Lord, from this day I belong entirely to you.
To immediately escape the chains of material energy. The Lord said: I promise, and I owe Myself, to always protect anyone who surrenders completely to Me.
A person may think that he benefits from self-serving action, from liberation, from the perfection of yoga, but if, luckily, he becomes truly intelligent, he will abandon all these practices to engage sincerely in the devotional service offered to the Lord. The intelligent man or woman consumed with material desires or thirsty for liberation should embrace perfect devotional service.
Those who seek to derive material benefit from devotional service are not pure devotees, but are nonetheless considered fortunate because they engage in this service. Even if they ignore that material blessings or pleasures are not the goal of devotion to the Supreme Lord, they will eventually come to this conclusion. Krishna Himself declares that those who desire some material benefit in return for their devotional service are foolish as they seek to poison their existence instead of settling on the level of love for God. Even if one desires certain material blessings from Krishna, He, almighty, considers his position, gradually frees him from his temporal ambitions, and engages him in devotional service. By truly devoting himself to it, he will forget his material aspirations and desires.