Why should we try to attain Krishna? Because if we can get complete reality, we can get everything. By getting whom, we get all; by knowing whom, we know all — that is Krishna. We will not want anything else. All our desires will be fulfilled and our problems solved.
One of Krishna’s unlimited names is Hrsikesa. That means He is the enjoyer of all sense organs and their objects. Now if we do not engage our senses in the transcendental service of Krishna, then unholy things will enter our minds through those senses. That is why we have to stop them from engaging in material matters, so that mundane thoughts don’t dominate. This can only be achieved by using our senses for the pleasure of the Lord under the guidance of a realised soul.
When Krishna is satisfied, He can give us the opportunity to see Him. That is called bhakti. This is the abhidheya, the method of spiritual practice as propagated by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Only by loving another person we can increase our love for him. Similarly, if we want to increase our love for Krishna, we have to practise loving Him. Krishna has no material form; his form is transcendental. If there is no form in the cause, then there can be no form in the effect either. God has infinite form. We can never find happiness independent of Him.
When we take the merits of our actions for our own self, it is called karma — it is not bhakti. The results of all our actions should go to the Supreme Lord, not to our own pocket. Someone may work throughout day and night and an observer might say, "This person is a very good servitor". But if he is doing this work to satisfy his own material ego, then it is not bhakti. We should be free from all kinds of material identification. Vinirmuktam means there should not be even a scent of material ego. If there is even a touch of material ego, there is no question of bhakti — it will be karma.
"I am from India, i am from such and such caste" — these are examples of material ego. There’s no goodness in this world; all is amangala, unholy. We become unholy when we think we are of this world. Anything done with the unholy ego is unholy. So we should have no connection with this world by completely freeing ourselves of this ego. This condition is very difficult to achieve.
However, just to be free from ego is not enough. Jnanis or knowledge-seekers also want to give up the ego. They want emancipation; they want to merge themselves with Brahmn, the impersonal, formless aspect of God. But we cannot perform bhakti just by divesting ourselves of the worldly material ego. We have to sincerely feel that we belong to Krishna and the guru in our hearts, not just mouth the words. Then we shall become sanctified, nirmalam. Bhakti is the best devotion: one should be free from non-devotional desires of any kind. We should not be entangled with jnana and karma, knowledge aimed at liberation and reward-seeking activity.
Radharani is the most perfect form of Krishna’s potency. She is the highest devotee, and we have to take shelter with Radha, her sakhis and manjaris (friends and maids). When, like them, we have given ourselves completely to Krishna, then whatever we do after that will be devotion.