is reduced to the rank of an animal. Thus, the most dangerous impurity which defiles the heart remains this erroneous identification of being with its body. Under the influence of this mistake, a person will think, “I am the body. I am English”, or “I am Indian. I’m American. I am Hindu. I am Muslim.” This misconception remains the major obstacle and must be cleared up. It’s God's instruction. Each of us is a spiritual soul embodied in a human body. Although the soul is in the body, due to a false understanding and animal tendencies, the incarnate being considers the body as the true self. Only the chanting of the holy Names of God, haré krishna, can purify the prisoner heart of this false concept.

The material world is characterized by the struggle for life. Survival of the fittest, or natural selection, is a well-known principle, but the poor souls of this material world do not know what true survival is or who is truly fit to live. Survival cannot go hand in hand with death; on the contrary, this word indicates that one should enjoy eternally a life full of happiness and knowledge, without ever knowing death. This is the real survival. The teaching of Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, is aimed at raising each person to this level of existence, and thus, stopping the struggle for life. He gives specific instructions on how we can end this fight and survive forever. Just listen to or read the Bhagavad-gita, Words of Krishna, Christ, God, the Supreme Person, and sing the anthem Haré Krishna to become completely pure. Thus the struggle for existence ceases, and the being can then return to God, in his original abode, located in his eternal and absolute kingdom.

Any act offered to God through the service of love and devotion is pure.

Any act for the pleasure of the senses, the action interested and performed outside the devotional service dedicated to God is made unclean by the influences of material nature and has good and / or bad consequences. All material activities intended for the satisfaction of the senses are impure. As long as the living being does not seek the spiritual values of existence, he must experience defeat and the evils of ignorance. Whether it is virtue or sin, karma (action-reaction law or self-interested action) bears fruit, and if a person is involved in one form or another of karma, one qualifies his mind as “tinged with desire to enjoy the fruits of the action”. As long as the mind remains unclean, the consciousness remains clouded, and as long as one follows the path of self-interested action, one has to put on a material body.