You know those “eyes” on some butterfly wings, or on the backs of frogs, that “nature” has endowed them with to fool predators? Obviously, they’re not real eyes. No information comes in through them. They’re for show only.

All of us have some qualities by which we’re known in this world. Family and friends see us one way, co-workers another way, children (if we have any) another way, and strangers see us yet another way. And we have our own “eyes” through which we form self-conceptions (“I’m good at ‘x,’ I’m no good at ‘y,’ I’m skinny, I’m fat, I’m smart, I’m stupid”).

There are a lot of eyes on us, but what do they see? Who sees the real “us?”

Vultures have keen eyesight, which are fully utilized for corpse location purposes. Unless we’re on the verge of death, if vultures look at us, chances are their interest level is low. If they give us any thought at all, they probably just wish we were dead. They really only want us for our bodies.

But how often do we worry about what others think of us? How frequently do we try (or at least hope) to impress everybody (or at least somebody)?

When Sanatan Goswami met Caitanya Mahaprabhu, one thing he said was, “So many people call me a learned man, that I've come to think of myself that way. But who am I, really? Please tell me.”

In the process of self-realization, we have to pass through so many different layers of self-awareness. Ultimately, we want to arrive at a point where we can say, “This is who I am,” and have no doubt about it.

The basic “who I am” for everyone is: “I am a spiritual being, different from my body.” A more advanced perspective is: “I am a servant of Krishna.” Who can see us this way? It’s a safe bet that Krishna sees us this way, and it’s expected that a genuine spiritual master be empowered to always deal with us on the basis of our pure spiritual identity.

So it doesn’t pay to be seen as very “great” in the eyes of the world. The great often fall from greatness. Those who are first now will later be last. The eyes of the world, if they can’t see the spiritual essence of everything, are basically the “eyes” on the backs of butterflies.