Māyā gives combinations and permutations of apparent enjoyment to every soul to exhaust that person's idea that "I can enjoy separately from Kṛṣṇa."

Queen Kuntī says: 'janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir edhamāna-madaḥ pumān

naivārhaty abhidhātuṁ vai tvām akiñcana-gocaram (SB 1.8.26).' We should be very, very humble, because Māyā can sneak into our lives at any time, and one of the ways she sneaks in is through the door of pride. There are some attitudes that we can be very careful about and avoid, like "My preaching is better than everybody else's," or "In general, I'm just better than other people," and become proud. Another one is, "I'm liberated. Why am I liberated? I'm in ISKCON. I'm initiated. I'm beautiful. I'm smart. I'm a Brahmin." I may also justify cheating: "Although there are these principles, I've been here a long time, I've seen many things. Give me a break. I know these things, and I am okay. I'm liberated, I'm entitled."

So pride opens the door for Māyā, and then justification allows her to stay inside. It's like, "It's okay, because I'm liberated. It doesn't matter. Who are these people? Mangal Arti, going 16 rounds. Who do they think they are? I know everything. And laxity—being lazy, lazy about following the regulative principles, not strict.

Here's a way to close the door on Māyā: "I am not liberated." Say that, "I'm not liberated." "I am a servant of the servant of the servant a million times removed." Prabhupāda says, "When you think, 'I'm the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant, a million times removed,' then you're liberated." But always say, "I'm not liberated." Always say, "I'm not liberated." And also, we shouldn't justify, and don't be lazy. Be careful. Prabhupāda says that besides practicing the rules and regulations in devotional service, you should also be careful. And we should also fortify ourselves by very strong sādhana. Prabhupāda writes in the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta that if we don't read all the books, then we'll fall down.

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https://thefourquestionsbook.com/

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