'The Bad Masters'

the beautiful feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Diseased and conditioned, the living entity transmigrates throughout the universe. Sometimes he is situated in the upper planetary system and sometimes in the lower system. In this way he leads his diseased life. His disease can be cured only when he meets and follows the expert physician, the bona fide spiritual master. When the conditioned soul faithfully follows the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master, his material disease is cured, he is promoted to the liberated stage, and he again attains to the devotional service of Krsna and goes back home, back to Krsna.

Those who are eternally conditioned are always divorced from the transcendental loving service of Krsna and are thus subjected to the threefold miseries of material existence. The spell of material energy awards him two kinds of bodily existence — the gross body consisting of five elements, and the subtle body consisting of mind, intelligence and ego. Being covered by these two bodies, the conditioned soul eternally suffers the pangs of material existence known as the threefold miseries. He is also subjected to six enemies (such as lust, anger, etc.). Such is the everlasting disease of the conditioned soul.

A conditioned living entity should become aware of his real position and should pray to the Lord - "How much longer will I be under the rule of all these bodily functions such as lust and anger?" As masters of the conditioned soul, lust, anger and greed are never merciful. Indeed the conditioned soul will never cease rendering service to such bad masters. As confirmed by Lord Krishna (BG 16.21) - "There are three gates leading to this hell — lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul."

However, when the living entity comes to his real consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, he abandons these bad masters and approaches Krsna with a frank and open heart to achieve shelter at His Lotus Feet.

Srila Prabhupada (TLC Ch 10)