Krsna Consciousness

One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.

The word muni means one who can agitate his mind in various ways for mental speculation without coming to a factual conclusion.  It is said that every muni has a different angle of vision, and unless a muni differs from other munis, he cannot be called a muni in the strict sense of the term.  But a sthita-dhir muni, as mentioned herein by the Lord, is different from an ordinary muni.  The sthita-dhir muni is always in Krsna consciousness, for he has exhausted all his business of creative speculation.  He is called prasanta-nihsesa-mano-rathantara, or one who has surpassed the stage of mental speculations and has come to the conclusion that Lord Sri Krsna, or Vasudeva, is everything.  He is called a muni fixed in mind.  Such a fully Krsna conscious person is not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the threefold miseries, for he accepts all miseries as the mercy of the Lord, thinking himself only worthy of more trouble due to his past misdeeds; and he sees that his miseries, by the grace of the Lord, are minimized to the lowest.  Similarly, when he is happy he gives credit to the Lord, thinking himself unworthy of the happiness; he realizes that it is due only to the Lord's grace that he is in such a comfortable condition and able to render better service to the Lord.  And, for the service of the Lord, he is always daring and active and is not influenced by attachment or aversion.  Attachment means accepting things for one's own sense gratification, and detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment.  But one fixed in Krsna consciousness has neither attachment nor detachment because his life is dedicated in the service of the Lord.  Consequently, he is not at all angry even when his attempts are unsucessful.  Success or no success, a Krsna conscious person is always steady in his determination.

Path of Bhakti Yoga for the Modern Man

1. Ritual worship of Idols and chanting God's name.
2. Read the Bhagavad Gita.  Try to understand and commit to memory some of the more heartfelt passages
3. Begin attending religious sermons.  Begin to try and understand the Bhagavad Gita and what it means to love and know God.
4. Read other religious texts by Srila Prabhupada, Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekenanda and others who have known and experienced God.  
5. Attempt to control your emotions.  Anger is the source of nearly all other sins.  Constantly practice to control your anger by remembering God and the principles stated in the Gita.  By gradual means, attempt to put any other emotions under your mental control.
6. Stop praying for achievement of any material desires or material attachment.  Pray only for absolute devotion and love for the Lotus Feet of the Lord.
7. Attempt to perform introspection on your life and see how God has affected all aspects of your life.  Embrace all of the small and big miracles in your life as directed by the hand of God.  Try and understand how you have learned and benefited from all of the suffering and misery you have experienced.  Examine all of the positive things in your life and realize and recognize that God is kind.  Compare your life to others who are not in the same situation as you and accept the blessed nature of your existing life.
8. Try to hold God in your heart and in your thoughts on a daily basis.  Be able to visualize a picture or vision of God simply by thinking of Him or by reading about Him.
9. Attempt to love another like God.  This could be a spouse, child, family member or another human being.  Develop wholehearted devotion and love for this person.  Whenever interacting with this person, always think of God and treat that person just like God.  As you succeed with one person, attempt to expand this devotion to other human beings.
10. Whenever a thought comes into your mind, think of how God would handle such a situation and act appropriately.
11. Begin on the path of renunciation.  Renounce attachments to common material and sense enjoyments.  For example, renounce a food that you particularly enjoy.  Continue gradually renouncing your attachments to material and sense enjoyments over time.
12. Release your ego and surrender your ego to God.  No longer think yourself as the doer of actions and instead think of yourself and all other human beings on this planet as instruments of God.  Every action that you perform should be done with the thought that you are working under the guidance and hand of God.
13. Over time and with the blessing of God, you will come to develop an intense love and realization of God.  You will be able to see God, know God and always feel God throughout your life.  Seeing God is done through your 3rd eye or your "mind's eye"  God can only be perceived in human form by a select few in many ages, but God pervades everything in this world and can be seen through achieving Bhakti Yoga.

These steps do not have to be completed serially and many of them can occur in parallel, but they need to be continually practiced with ardent fervor and always in the spirit of loving and devoting oneself to God.  In this manner, one can achieve liberation.