At the present moment, our senses are contaminated. I am thinking, “I am American, so my senses should be used for the service of my country, my society, my nation.” Or else I am thinking, “I am Indian, and my senses are Indian senses, and therefore they should be used for India.” In ignorance, one does not know that the senses belong to Kṛṣṇa. Instead, one thinks that one has American senses, Indian senses, or African senses. This is called māyā, illusion. In material life, the senses are covered by designations such as “American,” “Indian,” and “African,” but when our senses are no longer contaminated by all these designations (sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam), bhakti begins.
To think “I am an American. Why shall I take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and worship a Hindu god?” is foolishness. If one thinks, “I am Muhammadan,” “I am Christian,” or “I am Hindu,” one is in illusion. One must purify the senses so that one can understand, “I am a spirit soul, and the supreme spirit soul is Kṛṣṇa. I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore it is my duty to serve Kṛṣṇa.” When one thinks in this way, one immediately becomes free. At that time, one is no longer American, Indian, African, this, or that. At that time, one is Kṛṣṇa-ized, or Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is what is wanted. Therefore Kuntīdevī says, “My dear Kṛṣṇa, Hṛṣīkeśa, You are the master of the senses.”
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