Wanting to become Krishna Conscious is also as good as being in a state of Krishna Consciousness. There is no actual difference, but the difference is only just like the difference between green mangos and fully ripened mangos. The ripened mango is not a separate mango, but it is another condition of the green mango. So if the green mango is properly taken care of, it will surely come to the stage of the ripened mango. Therefore, as a mango, there is no difference between the two stages.
Letter to Robert Hendry, 3 August, 1969