The karma-yogī knows that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the only enjoyer and exploiter of all material objects and that He is the only Lord and master of all living entities. Forgetful of this relationship with Lord Kṛṣṇa, the living entity falls into the clutches of māyā, or illusion. Under the influence of māyā, he tries in vain to act the part of an enjoyer or a renouncer—but this is all a mere fantasy. In fact, the real affliction of the living entity is the pretense he is the enjoyer or renouncer. All types of good and pious activities—like yoga, the cultivation of knowledge, austerity, and renunciation—are misapplied labor if they cannot kindle in the heart the flame of loving attraction for topics relating to the Supreme Lord. As Lord Kṛṣṇa declares in the Bhagavad-gītā (5.29),
A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.