God is the sole, ultimate goal of existence.
Our goal in this world is to seek spiritual progress. Indeed, one who seriously desires spiritual progress must be very careful not to attach himself solely to Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and to no one else. In the pursuit of our spiritual path, we must sometimes agree to engage in all kinds of material activities, but we must always remember that we are acting solely for Krishna, Godhead. If this thought remains in our minds, we run no risk of becoming a victim of these material activities. We now see how affection for animals is increasing all over the world. Thus, even a person as exalted as a saint, having developed feelings of love for Godhead, can fall from his position because of his attachment to an animal, in this case, a fawn. For this reason, he had to be reborn as a small fawn. Now, if a saintly devotee of God could meet such a fate, what about all those who are not spiritually advanced and become attached to a dog or a cat?
Their affection for these animals will force them to be reborn in similar bodies, unless they appreciably increase their affection and love for the Supreme Lord. Indeed, unless we increase our faith in Him, we will become attached to a thousand other things, and this is precisely the cause of our bondage to matter. We must ensure that every moment of our lives is exclusively devoted to the service of the Lord. This is the safest position for those who desire to return to God, in His absolute kingdom.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Golden Avatar, said: I have brought the remedy for the perpetual sleep in which all beings are immersed. Please accept the holy name of the Lord, the chant Hare Krishna, and wake up.
You sleep in this world; wake up and make the most of your human existence. Sleep implies the loss of all consciousness. What is night for all beings becomes, for the human being who has mastered his senses, the time of awakening. Even on the higher, heavenly planets, all beings living there are under the spell of the illusory energy, maya. No one is truly interested in the real values of life. Deep sleep, which is called “the time factor,” keeps the soul conditioned in ignorance, so that its pure consciousness is lost.
The Lord advises us to always think of Him, and thus to bring Him into our minds. God advises us to practice yoga, the method of bonding with Him. Perfect yoga consists of always thinking of Krishna, God, the Supreme Personality, constantly absorbing ourselves in His devotional service, always worshiping Him, and constantly offering Him homage. Unless we practice this yoga, we cannot break the illusory attachment we feel for the miserable body, which serves as our garment. The perfection of yoga (yoga = path of union and communion with God) consists in renouncing all attachment to the body and to what is connected with it and in transferring our affection to Krishna. We are very attached to material pleasures, but when we transfer this same attachment to Krishna, God, we advance on the path of liberation. This is the only yoga that must be practiced.