Page 14 - THE FOURTH DIMENSION

“Being purified by his intelligence and controlling the mind with determination, giving up the objects of sense
gratification, being freed from attachment and hatred, one who lives in a secluded place, who eats little, who
controls his body, mind and power of speech, who is always in trance and who is detached, free from false ego,
false strength, false pride, lust, anger, and acceptance of material things, free from false proprietorship, and
peaceful – such a person is certainly elevated to the position of self-realization.” (Bg 18. 51-53)

“When one is purified by intelligence, he keeps himself in the mode of goodness. Thus one becomes the controller
of the mind and is always in trance. He is not attached to the objects of sense gratification, and he is free from
attachment and hatred in his activities. Such a detached person naturally prefers to live in a secluded place, he
does not eat more than what he requires, and he controls the activities of his body and mind. He has no false
ego because he does not accept the body as himself. Nor has he a desire to make the body fat and strong by
accepting so many material things. Because he has no bodily concept of life, he is not falsely proud. He is satisfied
with everything that is offered to him by the grace of the Lord, and he is never angry in the absence of sense
gratification. Nor does he endeavor to acquire sense objects. Thus when he is completely free from false ego, he
becomes nonattached to all material things, and that is the stage of self-realization of Brahman. That stage is
called the brahma-bhūta stage. When one is free from the material conception of life, he becomes peaceful and
cannot be agitated. (Bg 18. 51-53 – purport)

The above verse and purport explain the mentality and values of a liberated person. The opposite of every point
made above is the material conception of life.

Desiring increasing sense gratification, acting under the influence of the modes of passion and ignorance, very
little or no control of the mind which is always roaming and agitated, strong attachment to the objects of sense
gratification, troubled by material attachments and hatred, living in a densely populated place, over eating-
sleeping-mating and defending. Lack of control over the body, mind and speech, inflated false ego due to
identification with the temporary body-family-ethnicity-nation-race, attachment to having a beautiful and
strong body for increased sense gratification, falsely proud due to the preceeding items, never satisfied,
impatient, easily angered when frustrated in obtaining sense gratification, obsessed by lust and greed to obtain
objects for sense gratification are the characteristics of someone attached to the material conception of life.

Freedom from material desires promotes peace of mind so that one can gradually free himself from the material
conception of life.

āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṁ / samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat
tadvat kāmā yaṁ praviśanti sarve / sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī

‘A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is
ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such
desires.’” (Bg. 2.70)

Genuine self-realization and freedom from illusion and the cycle of birth and death is the greatest blessing of
Lord Krishna. No other gift or welfare activity is comparable.

Sukadeva Goswami in the Srimad Bhagavatam exclaims that devotional service endows the devotee with
causeless knowledge and detachment from the material world.

vāsudeve bhagavati / bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ
janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ / jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam
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