Here it is clearly stated that attachment for one thing is the cause of bondage in conditioned life, and the same attachment, when applied to something else, opens the door of liberation. Attachment cannot be killed; it has simply to be transferred. Attachment for material things is called material consciousness, and attachment for Krsna or His devotee is called Krsna consciousness. Consciousness, therefore, is the platform of attachment. It is clearly stated here that when we simply purify the consciousness from material consciousness to Krsna consciousness, we attain liberation. Despite the statement that one should give up attachment, desirelessness is not possible for a living entity. A living entity, by constitution, has the propensity to be attached to something. We see that if someone has no object of attachment, if he has no children, he transfers his attachment to cats and dogs. This indicates that the propensity for attachment cannot be stopped; rather, it must be utilized for the best purpose. Our attachment for material things perpetuates our conditional state, but the same attachment, when transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee, is the source of liberation.

Here it is recommended that attachment should be transferred to the self-realized devotees, the sadhus. And who is a sadhu? A sadhu is not just an ordinary man with a saffron robe or long beard. A sadhu is described in Bhagavad-gita as one who unflinchingly engages in devotional service. Even though one is found not to be following the strict rules and regulations of devotional service, if one simply has unflinching faith in Krsna, the Supreme Person, he is understood to be a sadhu. Sadhur eva sa mantavyah [Bg. 9.30]. A sadhu is a strict follower of devotional service. It is recommended here that if one at all wants to realize Brahman, or spiritual perfection, his attachment should be transferred to the sadhu, or devotee. Lord Caitanya also confirmed this. Lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya: [Cc. Madhya 22.54] simply by a moments association with a sadhu, one can attain perfection.

Mahatma is a synonym of sadhu. It is said that service to a mahatma, or elevated devotee of the Lord, is dvaram ahur vimukteh, the royal road of liberation. Mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimuktes tamo-dvaram yositam sangi-sangam (Bhag. 5.5.2). Rendering service to the materialists has the opposite effect. If anyone offers service to a gross materialist, or a person engaged only in sense enjoyment, then by association with such a person the door to hell is opened. The same principle is confirmed here. Attachment to a devotee is attachment to the service of the Lord because if one associates with a sadhu, the sadhu will teach one how to become a devotee, a worshiper and a sincere servitor of the Lord. These are the gifts of a sadhu. If we want to associate with a sadhu, we cannot expect him to give us instructions on how to improve our material condition, but he will instruct us how to cut the knot of the contamination of material attraction and how to elevate ourselves in devotional service. That is the result of associating with a sadhu. Kapila Muni first of all instructs that the path of liberation begins with such association.

According to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu:

It is said that man is a social animal, and, according to our association, we can mold our character. Businessmen associate with one another to develop their business capabilities. There are many different types of association, and association brings about bondage to a particular thing. If one associates with materialistic people, ones bondage to sense gratification tightens. Woman is the symbol of sense gratification; therefore anything dealing with sense gratification is called yosit-sanga. This material world is filled with yosit-sanga because everyone is interested in sense gratification. As stated in Bhagavad-gita (2.44):

Presently, people are in such a miserable condition that they are saying, Let us die. Let us die. However, Krsna in Bhagavad-gita says, Why should you die? People want to die in order to put an end to the threefold miseries of material nature, but who is making research on how to stop death? From Bhagavad-gita we learn that death is not really natural for us. It is artificially imposed upon us, and we have to become deathless again. That is the perfection of human life, but no one cares about it. We have become so dull that we cannot avoid birth, old age, disease and death. We are actually experiencing them because we are not alert. For this reason, when Sanatana Gosvami approached Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he said, My dear Lord, somehow or other You have dragged me to Your lotus feet. I am now asking You what my actual position is. Why am I forced to suffer the threefold miseries of material life? No one is interested in inquiring about this matter. Moksa, liberation, means getting free from the threefold miseries of life as well as birth, old age, disease and death. Sometimes, when people are a little interested, they take to a path that is not even approved, or they invent something. But nothing need be invented. By this Krsna consciousness process, everyone can be elevated. Everyone can be delivered, regardless of his situation or culture. We have spread this Krsna consciousness movement throughout the world, and people are becoming happy because of it.

According to Bhagavad-gita (9.32), anyone can take shelter of Krsna. Krsna never denies anyone, and similarly, Krsnas devotee never denies anyone. That is this Krsna consciousness movement. We tell everyone, Yes, you are welcome. Take this education and spiritual life and become a devotee of Krsna. Sometimes we are criticized because of this, but Krsna specifically says in Bhagavad-gita that even those who are lowborn can take shelter of Him and become elevated for liberation. What, then, to speak of pious people born in brahminical families? Unfortunately, in this age people born in rich or brahminical families often dont care for spiritual realization. They misuse their chance and exhaust the results of their pious activities. Society needs first-class sadhus in order to improve. If everyone is a sudra and debauchee, how can society be peaceful? Therefore in order to organize society, Krsna recommends the varnasrama-dharma. There must be ideal brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras. However, no one cares about this now.

One may ask, What is a sadhu? A sadhu is one who serves Krsna and engages in Krsna consciousness without reservation. In Bhagavad-gita (9.30), Sri Krsna says:

It is the sadhus business to be very tolerant. When one becomes a devotee, many people become ones enemy, because in this age people are asuric, demoniac. Even ones father may turn into an enemy like Hiranyakasipu, the father of Prahlada Maharaja. Prahlada was only five years old and was chanting Hare Krsna, but his father was prepared to kill him because he was a devotee. Hiranyakasipu was saying, Why are you chanting Hare Krsna? Why are you speaking of a separate God? I am God. That is the meaning of asuric, demoniac. Rascals who claim to be God themselves are simply demons. Although Prahladas father was insisting that he was God, Prahlada Maharaja could not accept this. He simply accepted his father as an asura, and consequently there was a quarrel between them. When Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada Maharaja, What is the best thing you have learned from your teachers? Prahlada replied, O best of the asuras, as far as I can understand, because we have accepted this material body, we have to accept death. But this is not the object of human life. Human life is meant for moksa, liberation. Unfortunately, foolish people do not understand this. Krsna says, mrtyuh sarva-haras caham: I am death, and I will take away everything you possess. (Bg. 10.34) Hiranyakasipu was such a powerful demon that even the demigods were afraid of him, but Krsna took everything away in a second. Hiranyakasipu was looking for security, and he was thinking, I will not die in this way, and I will not die in that way. But he did not think that he would be killed by the Lord in the form of Nrsimha. However intelligent we may be, and however much we may try to cheat Krsna, Krsna is always more intelligent. When mother Yasoda tried to bind Krsna with a rope, she found that the rope was always two inches too short. Our intelligence is like that. We want to cheat God and surpass Him, but this is not possible. People think themselves very advanced in knowledge, but actually, due to their pride, their knowledge is taken away by maya. Krsna actually takes the knowledge away from atheistic, demoniac people like Hiranyakasipu. Atheists do not know that Krsnas intelligence is always at least two inches greater than anyone elses.

In material life, we simply struggle for existence. We want to exist, and we do not want to die. Nor do we want to undergo the pains of birth, catch diseases or grow old. There are so many miseries in material life that we do not want, but they are forced upon us. Unfortunately, we are not intelligent enough to make a solution to all these problems. We should be inquiring like Sanatana Gosvami about how to put an end to them all. Instead, we are working in such a way that we have to accept another material body. We are experiencing the difficulties arising from this material body, but we are not working in a way to become free. This Krsna consciousness movement is giving information on how to become liberated.

Those who are mahatmas are always engaged in chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Bhajana is the chanting of Hare Krsna. If we serve a mahatma like Haridasa Thakura, who was always engaged in chanting Hare Krsna, our path of liberation is opened. However, if we associate with materialistic people, who are simply mad for sense gratification, we take the way of darkness. Tamo-dvaram yositam sangi-sangam. The Vedas enjoin that we not remain in darkness but that we go to the light. We have accepted a body, but we will not be allowed to remain in that body permanently. We will have to give it up and accept another, and then another and another. What is this business? The material world is in such darkness, and people are taking on one body after another. The Krsna consciousness movement is therefore here to give enlightenment and liberation, and it is offering not only the simplest process of chanting Hare Krsna but also the most sublime philosophy.