Our past can sometimes seem like a prison, especially if some of our past indulgences have become compulsive.

The way out of the prison of the past is not just by resolving not to relapse. Just as coming out of a prison requires a key, coming out of the thought-patterns that imprison us requires a key – that key is Krishna.

To the extent we think about Krishna we gain purity, potency and positivity.

It is impurities within the mind accumulated from our past behaviors that lock us into the past. The more we fix the mind in all-pure Krishna, the more those impurities get purged, thus opening the door to freedom for us.

Additionally, suppose a prisoner has been starved and weakened, then even if the door is open, they can’t go out. When we connect with omnipotent Krishna, we get the strength, the confidence, the inner belief that we can indeed overcome our past and start a fresh future for ourselves.

To break free from the prison of our past indulgences we need to have a better life beckoning us. If prisoners have no one outside to love and no purpose to live for, they may not feel any drive to come out. Similarly, if we don’t have any positive purpose to live for, then resisting our lower indulgences will not seem worthwhile, and we will live on in the prison. But Bhakti wisdom gives us the positive energy that not only can we have a richer, fuller life in service to Krishna, but also we can make significant contributions by using whatever gifts we have in a mood of service to him.

Thus, bhakti brings purity, potency and positivity through our connection with Krishna to free us from the prison of our past.