SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 6 Text 10
yogi yunjita satatam
atmanam rahasi sthitah
ekaki yata-cittatma
nirasir aparigrahah

yogi--a transcendentalist; yunjita--must concentrate in Krsna consciousness; satatam--constantly ; atmanam--himself (by body, mind and self); rahasi--in a secluded place; sthitah--being situated; ekaki--alone; yata-citta-atma- -always careful in mind; nirasih--without being attracted by anything else; aparigrahah- -free from the feeling of possessiveness.

TRANSLATION

A transcendentalist should always engage his body, mind and self in relationship with the Supreme; he should live alone in a secluded place and should always carefully control his mind. He should be free from desires and feelings of possessiveness.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada in his purport to the above sloka writes; Krsna is realized in different degrees as Brahman, Paramatma and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsna consciousness means, concisely, to be always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. But those who are attached to the impersonal Brahman or the localized Supersoul are also partially Krsna conscious, because impersonal Brahman is the spiritual ray of Krsna and Supersoul is the all-pervading partial expansion of Krsna.

I have always thought (perhaps wrongly) that the realization of Brahman was step one on the path of ultimate realization of Krishna. Step two was Paramatma realization and then full realization of Krishna as Bhagavan would follow. I am not saying that these are hard and fast steps but that it is easiest to start with seeing God around us and then God within us before we try to renew our relationship with the Lord as Bhagavan.

I find that as I work on seeing the Lord around me and within myself and others that Bhagavan realization comes on its own, that the Lord draws closer to me as I try my best to see Him in all things.