We are part and parcels of God, pure spiritual entities by nature, but due to contact with the material energy we become covered by ignorance.

Because of this covering, we display faults in our character. Four types of faults are especially prominent: 1. The tendency to make mistakes, 2. The tendency to be illusioned, 3. Having imperfect senses, and 4. The propensity to cheat. Every conditioned soul (contaminated by material consciousness) is subject to these four defects. Therefore the conditioned soul is not able to distinguish between matter and spirit, nor give adequate spiritual guidance to others.

In order to progress spiritually, we must take guidance from persons who are free from these four defects. God and His pure devotees are free from these defects. Religious principles can only be given by God. His pure devotees simply repeat these principles. They do not speculate as do mundane theologians, whose presentations are, at best, pseudo spirituality.

If one tries to manufacture his own religious process, pick and choose practices as he likes, or follow a spiritual guide who is not a pure devotee of God then he will be victimized by these four defects. Even a bonafide spiritual process, if interpreted by someone who is not pure, will be contaminated and not yield spiritual fruit. Only by strictly following the instructions of God, as repeated by His pure devotee can one be freed of these four faults.

The Post-Graduate Study of God

There is one God. All bonafide religious scriptures teach of the same God and stress the importance of loving Him. Religion, in fact, means to come to the stage of loving God without any personal self-centered motivation.

Because of the different circumstances in which God-consciousness is taught, there are different grades of information given to the spiritual aspirants. For example, if people are very degraded and engaged in gross sinful practices, it may be necessary to stress sub-religious principles that must be followed just to bring them tothe human platform. One may preach "Thou shaft not kill" or "Do not commit adultery" or "Honor your father and mother".

In this way, the saints preach according to time, place and circumstance, taking into account what each group of persons needs in order to advanceto the next stage of God-consciousness. In the Krishna consciousness movement, spiritual aspirants are instructed in the four regulative principles: 1. No meat, fish or eggs, 2. No illicit sex, 3. No gambling, and 4. No intoxication. If someone does not follow these principles, he can never understand God.

The higher principles taught in the Vedic literatures, such as the nature of God, the nature of pure love of God, the nature of the spiritual world and activities there, are considered the post graduate study of God-consciousness. Srila Prabhupada's books deal with this most exalted science.