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the highest perfec on of human life, the stage of pure love and devo-
on for Lord Krishna by which one a ains eternal existence.

The reason living en es fell from the spiritual world was the desire
for self-indulgence by sensuality. Due to this mistaken concept, a mi-
nority of eternal living en es became envious of God and decided to
independently compete with Him in the material world for dominance
over nature and sustained bodily pleasures. Lord Krishna facilitated
the errant souls by providing the material world and a material body
according to the karma and desires of each living en ty. He also estab-
lished the modes of material (goodness, passion and ignorance), the
five types of ignorance that bind one to birth and death (self-
decep on, the sense of death, anger a er frustra on, the sense of
false ownership and the illusory bodily concep on, or forge ulness of
one’s real eternal iden ty), and the laws of karma by which every liv-
ing en ty experiences a mix of temporary happiness and distress. As
one ages the happiness diminishes and distress increases. Eventually
through many births and deaths and myriad forms of suffering one
may come to the conclusion that they do not want to suffer anymore.
They feel totally defeated by material nature. In their despera on they
may seek the guidance of genuine spiritual authori es by which they
can transcend the illusion and misery of the material world. The great-
est obstacle to reaching the state of transcendence from material illu-
sion is the a rac on to sense gra fica on best exemplified by sex and
its concomitant factor of profit, dis nc on and eventually the desire
for adora on (to be worship like God).

The precise path to transcendence is given by Lord Caitanya, the
th
15 century incarna on of Lord Krishna in His eight prayers of instruc-
on (Siksastakam).

Sri Siksastakam

1-Glory to the Sri Krishna Sankirtana (congrega onal chan ng of the
names of God), which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated
for years and ex nguishes the fire of condi onal life, of repeated birth
and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benedic on for hu-
manity at large because it spreads the rays of the benedic on moon. It
is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of
transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for
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