A conditioned soul is one who has forgotten Krsna as his eternal master. Thinking that he is enjoying the material world, the conditioned soul suffers the threefold miseries of material existence. Saintly persons (sadhus), Vaisnava devotees of the Lord, preach Krsna consciousness on the basis of Vedic literature. It is only by their mercy that the conditioned soul is awakened to Krsna consciousness. When awakened, he is no longer eager to enjoy the materialistic way of life. Instead, he devotes himself to the loving transcendental service of the Lord. When one engages in the Lord's devotional service, he becomes detached from material enjoyment.

This is the test by which one can tell whether he is advancing in devotional service. One must be detached from material enjoyment. Such detachment means that maya has actually given the conditioned soul liberation from illusory enjoyment. When one is advanced in Krsna consciousness, he does not consider himself as good as Krsna. Whenever he thinks that he is the enjoyer of material advantages, he is imprisoned in the bodily conception. However, when he is freed from the bodily conception, he can engage in devotional service, which is his actual position of freedom from the clutches of maya. This is all explained in the following verse from Bhagavad-gita (7.14).