Even if one knows that the spirit soul is distinct from the body of dense matter, that it transcends matter, one can ignore what distinguishes it from the Supreme Soul.
In truth, one can only know this difference, as well as the relationship that unites us to God, by taking refuge with one of his representatives, by coming into contact with a perfect and authentic Krishna conscious spiritual master.
The Lord teaches that all beings are distinct and that He Himself is distinct from all beings, in the past, in the present and in the future, even after liberation.
In the darkness of ignorance and illusion, everything seems undifferentiated, but when the sun of knowledge rises, one can see the real nature of beings and things. True knowledge therefore consists in perceiving the spiritual individuality of all beings, together with that of God, the Supreme Being.
The power of our senses, our mental power, our physical vigour, our life force, as well as immortality and mortality, are all subject to the supreme authority of God.
The fools who ignore this truth believe that the inert material body is the cause of their actions, whereas these are performed by the material nature.
Krishna alone is the Supreme Master. All other beings are His servants, and they dance to His tune. We are all servants of God, and we have no independence. We all dance according to the desires of the Sovereign Lord, but due to ignorance and delusion, we think we are independent of His Supreme Will.
The Lord is the Supreme Master. His form is all eternity, knowledge and bliss. He is the origin of all that exists, and has no origin except Himself, for He is the cause of all causes.
The real function of the energy of illusion.
Under the influence of material energy, beings who are incarnated and conditioned by matter and illusionary energy become entangled in a thousand difficulties for the sole purpose of tasting a paltry material happiness, which they are unaware is ephemeral. They indulge in self-interested action without knowing the implications, the effects and consequences that will follow. Driven by the false sense of being the material body in which they reside, conditioned beings foolishly surround themselves with countless attachments, all of which are illusory. They thus believe that they can live perpetually in this material environment. This gross misconception has such a hold on them that they suffer continuously, life after life, trapped by the external energy of the Lord, in His aspect of illusionary energy, which thus seeks to compel beings to turn to the Supreme Lord, so that they may eventually obey Him and do His divine will.
Let us all be aware that all bodily conceptions of pleasure are but products of illusory energy and realize that all things in this material world are but the creation of material energy, in its aspect of illusory energy.