Perception, or more specifically false perception, is the basis of illusion. The Bhagavad-gita (07.13) explains that we can’t know Krishna due to the delusion created by the modes. The working of the modes can be analyzed as having two primary effects: make Krishna seem irrelevant and make the world seem irresistible.

The illusion created by the modes doesn’t need to make us outrightly atheistic to keep us in its clutches, though it can do that too. But more frequently the modes operate more subtly – rather than making us think that God is non-existent, they make us think that he isn’t relevant, that he doesn’t matter.

The illusion of God’s irrelevance works hand-in-hand with another illusion: that of the world’s irresistibility. We are by our very nature pleasure-seeking beings. Gita wisdom explains that we are souls, spiritual beings meant to delight eternally in God, Krishna, who is the all-attractive reservoir of all pleasure. The notion that God is irrelevant implies also that he is not the source of our happiness. So we turn towards the default source of happiness, the world with its many promises of pleasure through its multifarious sense objects. Indeed, the more disconnected from God we become, the more worldly sense objects seem irresistible, thereby making us go further and further away from happiness in our very search for happiness.

Only by studying Gita wisdom seriously and purifying ourselves diligently through the practice of bhakti-yoga can we realize that Krishna far from being irrelevant is actually indispensable in our quest for happiness. Nothing can provide meaningful lasting satisfaction if it is not connected with him. The more such realizations inspire us to cement our spiritual connection with Krishna through selfless loving service, the more we find lasting happiness

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