again made him a great bhakta. Many similar examples are offered to us in the life of advanced bhaktas, proving that once one has found the Lord, one can not be lost.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that one becomes a bhakta only after having completely freed himself from all the consequences of his sinful life. As Krsna states in the Bhagavad-gita (VII.28):

"Men who are free from duality, the fruit of illusion, those who in their past lives as in this life were virtuous, those in whom sin completely ended, these serve Me with determination." On the other hand, Prahlada Maharaja teaches:

Anyone who is too much attached to the life of a materialistic family-to the home, to the wife, to the children, etc.- can not develop in him the consciousness of Krsna.

By the grace of the Supreme Lord, these apparent contradictions are all resolved into the existence of a bhakta, so that he never loses his position on the path of liberation.

Qualities of liberated being.

The liberated being in this life is not guilty of any fault, which amounts to not having illicit sexual intercourse, not to consume animal flesh, to use neither exciting nor toxic substances and To give up games of chance.

Another characteristic of being liberated is that he is not affected by the sufferings of old age. Another trait, he is preparing to no longer put on material bodies, all destined to perish. In other words, it no longer falls back into the cycle of death and rebirth. Moreover, the joys and the material penalties leave him indifferent. The liberated being is also vijighatsa, which means that he no longer feels desires for material enjoyment, for he has no other aspiration than to serve Krsna, the dearest object of his desires, with love and devotion. All his desires are turned towards Krsna, the supreme Truth, and he wants nothing else. Finally, all his desires are fulfilled by the grace of Krsna. In all ways, he asks nothing for himself, and if he desires anything, it is only to serve the Supreme Lord. Now this desire is filled by the grace of the Lord. The bhakta returns to the spiritual world, to Vaikuntha, in his original home, and according to Sri Sukadeva, this same word indicates that the bhakta develops in him the qualities of God, the Supreme Personality. This is called "qualitative identity". Thus, like Krsna, who never is born or dies, those of His devotees who return to Him never again have to be born or die in this material universe.