Become conscious of Krishna in whatever makes you unconscious of Krishna

When we strive to become devoted to Krishna, we often face temptations that obstruct us. Tempting sense objects intrude into our consciousness and captivate it. The more they dominate our consciousness, the more they make us unconscious of Krishna. When battling such temptations, we strive to discern things as pro-devotional and anti-devotional. Yet Gita wisdom can help us see Krishna even in the anti-devotional things – not by indulging in them, but by meditating on the source of their attractiveness. The Bhagavad-gita (10.41) states that the attractiveness of all attractive objects reflects a spark of Krishna’s splendor. Applying this principle to seeing Krishna even in the things that make us forget him, Srila Prabhupada, the prominent modern Gita commentator, gives a striking example. He states that if a drunkard thinks that the taste of wine comes from Krishna and remembers Krishna while drinking, that remembrance will eventually make the drunkard a great devotee who will automatically go far beyond the urge to drink. We can extend this principle to the specific sense objects that allure us. By meditating that the attractiveness of those objects reflects Krishna’s supreme attractiveness, we can infuse consciousness of Krishna even into our phases of Krishna unconsciousness. Of course, we needn’t go out of our way to dwell on those objects, lest they captivate us. But when we do get captivated because of our past conditionings, we needn’t just berate ourselves for our falls. Instead of lamenting our folly, we can focus on the glory of Krishna: “How wonderful is his attractiveness that it is so irresistible even when manifested fragmentally and temporarily through a worldly object!” By thus shifting our consciousness from world-captivation or self-flagellation to Krishna-appreciation, we can progress towards Krishna even while battling with temptations that take us away from him