Haṁsadūta: Swāmījī, in one of Professor Sanyal's books he says that the mind is an organ of the soul. Is that correct? I always thought the mind was part of the material . . . the subtle body, the subtle material body.
Prabhupāda: No. Organ of the self. It is covered by the material energy. Originally, you have got everything. You have got mind, ego and everything. Just like when I think ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa," that is also ego, "I am." But that is pure. But as soon as I think "I am American," "I am Indian," "I am this body," that is impure. This is impure egoism, and that is pure egoism.
So ego is there. Similarly, mind is also there, intelligence is also there, but when it is covered by this material contamination it is called māyā, and when it is out of material contamination, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa. I shall act for Kṛṣṇa, I shall live for Kṛṣṇa, I shall eat for Kṛṣṇa, I shall prepare foodstuff for Kṛṣṇa, I shall sing for Kṛṣṇa—everything Kṛṣṇa," that is liberated stage.
Haṁsadūta: So that mind is part of the soul. It's just, it's polluted.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is a symptom of . . . mind is the active principle. Without mind, how can you act? The mind is there. But at the present moment, becoming covered by the material energy, everything is contaminated. Mind is contaminated, the intelligence is contaminated, the ego is contaminated, I, or self, I am contaminated. Everything is contaminated.
When you have got fever, there is pain all over the body. There is temperature all over the body. And when the fever is off, there is no temperature. Similarly, it is the difference of consciousness only. As soon as we take material consciousness, it is to be understood in feverish condition. And as soon as we take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are out of feverish condition.
You want to ask? Yes, you can ask.
Nanda-kiśora: Swāmījī, what is . . . the material elements are described, the mind, intelligence and false ego. What's the . . . what is that mind, you know, that material mind? In other words, there's a spiritual mind and a material mind?
Prabhupāda: What is the difference of your material life and spiritual life?
Nanda-kiśora: One is for Kṛṣṇa, and one is for . . .
Prabhupāda: That is the difference between material mind and spiritual mind. Because you are thinking that you are this body, this is material conception. Therefore everything is material—mind, intelligence and identification, everything material. Similarly, if you think, that thinking means mind, that you are Kṛṣṇa's, then everything is spiritual. That we have to practice. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
We have to keep ourselves always in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Īhā yasya harer dāsye. And what is Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Kṛṣṇa consciousness means to . . . Īhā. Īhā means desire. Desire is a function of mind. So īhā means desire. So what is that desire? Īhā yasya harer dāsye: anyone whose desire is to engage himself in the service of Kṛṣṇa.