soon as the consciousness is purified, the false ego disappears. The false ego, or incorrect identification, corresponds to taking the body for the true self. Sri Caitanya confirms that the first fruit of the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra is the purification of consciousness, or of the mirror of the mind, which immediately extinguishes the brazier of material existence. This burning fire is due to the false ego, and as soon as the ego is eliminated, the being is able to grasp its real identity. At this moment, being is truly liberated from the claws of Maya. From the moment when one is delivered from the false ego, intelligence also regains its purity, and the mind is fixed forever on the lotus feet of God, the Supreme Personality.

Each distinct being is a tiny part of the Supreme Lord, so that his eternal position is to cooperate with Him, to dedicate His energy to Him. There lies its immutable nature. On the other hand, as soon as he uses his energy to satisfy the senses, his position changes and becomes vikara. According to this line of thought, when the being practices the service of devotion under the direction of the spiritual master, he attains immutability even in this material body, for that is his natural duty. As Srimad-Bhagavatam affirms, liberation consists in rediscovering our original position of serving the Lord. When the being detaches himself from all material attraction to absorb himself in the service of devotion, this is what is called immutability. When a person undertakes an action on his or her own initiative, it is because it is animated by a certain sense of possession, resulting in a reaction to the level of karma; But when she does everything for Krsna, she does not claim any right over her actions. By attaining to immutability and ceasing to avail oneself of its actions, one can immediately establish oneself at the spiritual level, beyond the reach of the influences of material nature, just as the sun reflecting on the water remains independent of the Movements of water.

The way of Krsna Consciousness is to sing Hare Krsna and listen carefully to the sound so that the mind is fixed on the spiritual vibration of the Krsna Name, which is not different from the Krsna Person. The one who fixes his thoughts directly on the lotus-like feet of Krsna at once reaches the goal of real mastery of the mind by the prescribed method of freeing the passage from the vital air.

The tiny particles that are distinct souls are like "sparks" of a greater soul, and this soul is the Supreme Soul, which is distinguished from infinitesimal souls from a quantitative point of view. The Vedic Texts describe it as being the one that provides for all the needs of infinitesimal souls. The one who understands this distinction between the Supreme Soul and the infinitesimal soul is beyond affliction and lives serenely. As for the infinitesimal soul which believes itself quantitatively equal to the