Real knowledge is attained by applying the senses in the service of Krsna. At present, our mind and senses are absorbed in bodily designations, such as I am American, I am Indian, or I am English. In this consciousness we think that we should apply our senses in the service of our relatives, our society, our nation, etc. But these are temporary circumstances. Our real position is that we are Brahman, pure spirit soul. As long as we think of ourselves as belonging to some temporary designation, we cannot become a devotee of Krsna.

As we have pointed out, Brahman realization is not the end of spiritual knowledge. There are three stages of self-realization: Brahman, or the realization that one is not this body but a spirit soul; Paramatma realization, or understanding the Lord within the heart; and Bhagavan realization, realizing the Lord in His personal form as Sri Krsna.

Beyond Brahman is Paramatma realization, realizing Krsna in the heart as Supersoul. Brahman is like the sunlight, but Paramatma realization is like seeing the sun globe itself, the source of the suns rays. Going still further, one can enter into the spiritual planets of Vaikuntha and see the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. This is the ultimate stage of self-realization and is like meeting the sun-god himself. The sunlight, the sun globe, and the sun-god are one and inseparable, yet they are simultaneously different. The sunlight is the impersonal effulgence of the sun, the sun globe is its localized aspect, and the sun-god is the personal source of both the sun globe and the sunlight. In the Bhagavad-gita (4.27) Krsna confirms that He is the source of the Brahman effulgence: brahmano hi pratisthaham. I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman. And in the Isopanisad (15) a devotee prays,

So Brahman realization is not enough. A sick mans fever may go down, but he may not yet be cured. He is finally cured when he is not only safe from fever but fully recovered and back to his normal, active life. Otherwise there is danger of relapse. Likewise, understanding I am a spirit soul, not the body does not mean one is cured of illusion. Only when a person fully understands that he is the eternal servant of Krsna and he acts on that understanding is he truly self-realized.