The very fact that we are bound in this material world and experience the threefold miseries proves our aversion to God, Śrī Krishna. The true root of our afflictions is forgetfulness of our eternal relationship with Him.

Those fortunate jīvas who have performed eternal pious deeds come in contact with real sādhus—perfected devotees—and realize their true identity as eternal servants of Śrī Krishna. Because of forgetfulness of this eternal relationship, they have become entangled in the snare of māyā. But when such souls take absolute shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Krishna, they are rescued.

Jīvas are atomic spiritual sparks endowed with the qualities of thinking, feeling, and willing. Misuse of their relative independence—of their free will—causes their aversion to Śrī Krishna. Yet the Lord never destroys this freedom, for to do so would defeat the very purpose of the jīvas’ existence. Instead, Śrī Krishna and His devotees continually advise and guide the jīvas so that they may, by their own choice, willingly submit to Him.

We cannot trace the exact moment when we turned away from our Supreme Master. From time immemorial we have forgotten our relationship with Śrī Krishna. By misusing our relative independence, we became averse to Him and were covered by His illusory external energy. Since then, we have been wandering through countless cycles of birth and death.

We ourselves reap the fruits of our good and bad deeds; we should not blame others for the suffering we undergo. Others may act as instruments, but they are not the cause—our own karma is. The results of prārabdha karma, which have already begun to unfold, must be experienced, whether one is an ascetic or a householder.

Only śuddha-bhakti (pure devotion) or the chanting of the śuddha-nāma (the pure holy name) can destroy even the fruits of prārabdha karma.