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Due to ignorance (Lectures, BG)

Expressions researched:
"due to" |"ignorance"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "due to ignorance"/10

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 2.11 -- Edinburgh, July 16, 1972:

In India still, there are many snake chanters, enchanters, I am sorry. So they chant some mantra, and a man, snake-bitten, can be revived to his consciousness. Anyone Indian present here, they know. Still. Especially I have seen in Punjab, there are many snake enchanters who know the how to chant the mantras. So if it is physically possible that a dead man... Of course, when a man is bitten by a snake he's not dead. He becomes unconscious. He's not dead. But by this chanting of mantra, he comes to his consciousness. Therefore, it is the system in India, if a man is bitten by a snake, he's not burned, or he's not taken as dead body. He's floated in some lifeboat and given to the water. If he gets chance he may come out again to consciousness. So similarly, we are, at the present moment, due to our ignorance, we are sleeping. We are sleeping. Therefore, to awaken us, this mantra, mahā-mantra, is required to awaken.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:

Prabhupāda: Now, the next question is that the Māyāvādī philosophers, they say that "Because I am now covered in ignorance, therefore I see individuals." Yes.

Woman: Is that a main claim?(?)

Prabhupāda: Yes. My... This individual experience that you are Mr. Such and Such, you are Mr. Such and Such, you are Mrs. Such and Such, this individual experience, is due to my ignorance. And generally, they give the example of a disease. I think it is called, medical terms, myopia. Myopia means they see this moon in two. The eyes become so defective that whenever they see things, they see two.

Woman: No, that's astigmatism.

Prabhupāda: Uh, yes.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:

Prabhupāda: Now, here it is clearly stated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead that na tu eva ahaṁ jātu (BG 2.12). Aham. Aham means Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. Now sometimes we make some grammatical jugglery of words, but I cannot understand. Now, aham, "myself," when I speak aham, or "myself," is applicable to me. When you speak, the aham is applicable to you. But that does not mean because there is a common understanding of myself between you and me, therefore I... Now that I and you become one. When you speak, you say, "I speak." When I say, I say, "I speak." That does not mean this "I" and that "I" becomes one. So Śrī Kṛṣṇa says like that, na tu aham.

Woman: Ah, yes.

Prabhupāda: He. That means this aham, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. And na tvam: "And you." That means Arjuna. And na ime janādhipāḥ: "Neither all these kings." He's dividing the whole audience into three: "Myself, yourself and they." And again He confirms it, sarve: "all." He never identifies into one. So this is the version of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Now, if I say that our interpretation of aham, I, myself, yourself, and he, or she, different vision, this is due to our ignorance. You can say. Because I am ignorant, it may be my mistake, that I see differently from you. But Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, cannot see like that. He is above all this ignorance because He's all-perfect.

Lecture on BG 2.12 -- New York, March 9, 1966:
How can He commit any mistake? Then there is no meaning of full knowledge. If you are in full knowledge, then how you can commit mistake? So this ignorance of duality, because they say that "We see two because it is due to our ignorance. All, everything is one," but here you cannot apply that ignorance to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Otherwise, His instruction of whole Bhagavad-gītā, which is so importantly taken by all authorities, all scholars, then it is at once rejected. If it is supposed that Śrī Kṛṣṇa was also to commit mistake, or He was in imperfect knowledge, then whole thing becomes rejected. So it is not, not like that. So Śrī Kṛṣṇa, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He's in full knowledge, and therefore as He says that "Either Myself or yourself or all these persons, kings and soldiers, who are assembled here, they're all individuals. In the past they were individuals, in the present we are individuals, and in the future they will continue to be individuals." Now, one thing... Suppose another argument is that due to ignorance... Just like an animal.
Lecture on BG 2.13 -- New York, March 11, 1966:

Dhīra means that one who is undisturbed in mind. And our disturbance of the mind is due to our ignorance. Suppose I want to go somewhere. Now I am in the station. Actually, it so happened when I came to New York first from India. I was to be dispatched to Butler by the bus station, but I was a new man. I did not know the rules and regulation. Of course, somebody was guiding me. Still, I was very much in disturbed condition, how to get on the bus, how to get the ticket, how... All these. So disturbance of mind is due to our ignorance. (someone enters) Yes. Come in. Yes. So disturbance of mind is due to our ignorance. So here, a very nice word. (aside:) You can come here. All right. Here a very nice word is used: dhīra. Dhīra. Dhīra means undisturbed. Undisturbed. So this we should, we should carefully note, that our mind in the material condition is always disturbed, always disturbed. And this is due to our unfavorable condition.

Lecture on BG 2.13 -- London, August 19, 1973:

Just like we are, temporarily, we are placed with so many problems Suppose there is severe cold. So it is also a problem. We have to search out nice coat or fireplace and... These are problems. If they are not available, then we are in distress. These are problems also. But these problems are temporary. Severe cold, winter, has come and it will go. That is not permanent problem. Permanent problem has been due to my ignorance, I am taking birth, I am accepting death, I am accepting disease, I am accepting old age. This is real problem. These are real problems. Therefore Kṛṣṇa has said, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam: (BG 13.9) "Actually those who are in knowledge, they should see all these four problems, birth, death, old age and disease."

Lecture on BG 2.28 -- London, August 30, 1973:

So the situation of the world, due to ignorance of the soul they are creating so many sinful activities and becoming entangled. But they have no knowledge how they are becoming entangled. This is māyā's, prakṣepātmika-śakti, āvaraṇātmika. Although he is being entangled, but he's thinking that he's advancing, advancing in scientific knowledge. This is their knowledge. The gentleman was talking that he's a mining engineer. So mining engineer, his business is to make the atmosphere within the mine very comfortable.

Lecture on BG 4.11 -- New York, July 27, 1966:

You know, of course, according to Vedic literature... And I don't say about the Vedic literature. That is the injunction of every scripture, either Bible, Koran, or any religious scripture, that we suffer due to our sinful actions. And our sinful actions are due to our ignorance. This is the cause.

Lecture on BG 4.34 -- New York, August 14, 1966:

Verse:

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
(BG 4.34)

Now, this verse we are discussing in our last meeting. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, has concluded that all kinds of sacrifices that we can expected, we are expected to do, the best sacrifice is to acquire knowledge, acquire knowledge. Because whole, our this material conditioned life is due to ignorance. Therefore the purpose of sacrifice, penance, yoga, and philosophical discussion, everything—the ultimate aim is to acquire knowledge.

Lecture on BG 4.34-38 -- New York, August 17, 1966:

Any Vedic literature, especially Bhagavad-gītā... Bhagavad-gītā does not take into account what was you in the past life. That doesn't matter. Because we are in ignorance, we might have done so many things in ignorance, which is not approved, which is not virtuous. That is quite possible. Every one of us, we are subjected. Because due to ignorance, we do so many things, so nobody can say that "I am free from any sinful activities." Nobody can say. So that doesn't matter. But if we get, if we can learn the science of Kṛṣṇa, then, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, api ced asi pāpebhyaḥ sarvebhyaḥ pāpa-kṛttamaḥ: "Even one is the most sinful man, but if he gets the Kṛṣṇa science, he is free. He is free, and he can go. He can cross over the material ocean of ignorance very easily."

Lecture on BG 4.34-38 -- New York, August 17, 1966:

So by culture of Kṛṣṇa science, when we understand the Kṛṣṇa science, then we become free from this ignorance. And Lord Kṛṣṇa recommends that "By this knowledge, you can very easily cross over the ocean of nescience, ocean of ignorance." The whole thing is: we are suffering due to... Just like ignorance is no excuse in the law court. Suppose you have done something wrong and if you say to the judge, "So I, I did not know, sir, this law," oh, that is no excuse. You'll be punished. You'll be punished. Now, in the śāstra, in the Vedic literature, it is said that "Everything belongs to God. Everything is manufactured by God. So everyone has right, not only human being, even the animals, everyone has got the right to live and use things as much as he requires. But if he stocks more, if he acquires more, he becomes the thief, and he is punishable."

Lecture on BG 4.34-38 -- New York, August 17, 1966:

So this is another example of punishment. (laughter) We are also punished and they, for whom they are going, they are also punished. So we are all being punished. As we are making progress, as we are violating the law of nature, the law of God, we are being punished in every step. But due to ignorance, we do not know how we are being... We have been accustomed. We have been callous, "Oh, let us be punished. Go on. Go on like this. Go on." Oh, this is not human life. We must make a solution of this punishment. That is human life. Because I am put into jail, "All right, it is very good. Without working, I am getting three times food. Let me remain in the jail." Oh, that is not very intelligent question.

Lecture on BG 4.34-39 -- Los Angeles, January 12, 1969:

This material world, conditioned life, because... The other day was explained. Our sinful life means ignorance, due to ignorance. Just like if I touch this flame, it will burn. Somebody may say, "Oh, you are burned. You are sinful." This is common sense. "You are burned. You are sinful. Therefore you are burned." That is, one sense, it is right. "I am sinful" means I do not know that if I touch this flame, I will be burned. This ignorance is my sin. Sinful life means the life of ignorance. Therefore, in this thirty-fourth verse, "Just try to learn the truth. Don't remain ignorant. Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master." Why should you remain in ignorance if there is way and means? That is my foolishness. Therefore I am suffering.

Lecture on BG 4.37-40 -- New York, August 21, 1966:
So when one is awakened to the full knowledge, he understands, "Oh, I am not happy. Oh, I want freedom. Oh, there is no freedom. I don't want to die, but there is death. I don't want to become old man. Oh, there is old age. I don't want diseases. Oh, there are diseases." These are the problems, but due to our ignorance we set aside all these big questions of human problems. We take a small problem as very important. We take economic development as the most important thing, forgetting that how long I shall live here in this material world?
Lecture on BG 4.37-40 -- New York, August 21, 1966:

Just like you are hungry and if you are given some food, foodstuff and you eat it, and as you eat it, you feel that "Yes, I am feeling satisfaction," so you'll feel it. You won't have to ask anybody that "Whether I am making progress nor not?" You yourself will feel it. Acireṇa. Acireṇa śāntim adhi... He feels full peace acireṇa, very soon. Then ajñaś cāśraddadhānaś ca saṁśayātmā vinaśyati. And those who are faithless or hesitating, oh, they have no chance. They have no chance. Ajñaś ca. That hesitation is due to also ignorance. Ajñaś ca aśraddadhānaḥ. And ignorant and faithless. Saṁśayātmā, hesitating.

Lecture on BG 5.26-29 -- Los Angeles, February 12, 1969:

So self-discipline and constantly endeavoring for perfection. This is the perfection. Always be situated in self-realized condition that I am not this body. This is perfection. Actually it is. But due to my ignorance I am identifying with this body, therefore I am now self-realized. So constantly endeavoring. This cannot be attained all of a sudden. One has to practice. It is a fact. But one has to realize this fact by endeavoring. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice. All the yoga practice or philosophical speculation or anything—all practice targets to one point—that I am spirit soul. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi, I am Brahman. I am not this matter. This is perfection.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Los Angeles, March 12, 1970:

This will be the result. Tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye (SB 1.2.19). They become diminished. The whole entanglement of our material life is due to our embarrassement by the qualities of ignorance and passion. So by hearing, these modes of ignorance and passion will be diminished. Then we come to the platform of goodness, and then we come to the platform of transcendental understanding.

Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Sydney, February 16, 1973:

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa bhakti 'sādhya' kabhu naya (?). Our loving propensity or our love for God is already there in every living being, but it is now covered due to our ignorance, or due to our contamination with this material nature. So simply we have to awaken that love. That is our business. That awakening of love cannot be possible in other living condition than the human being. The human being, the human form of life, is therefore the perfectional stage, how to develop our love for God, or how we can love God. This is the main business of human life. Athāto brahma jijñāsā. The Vedānta-sūtra says that this life is especially meant for developing or inquiring about our love with Kṛṣṇa, or God. This is the only business. Athāto brahma jijñāsā.

Lecture on BG 7.7 -- Bombay, February 22, 1974:

They do not know that the ultimate goal of life is to understand Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, and go back to Him. That is the goal of life. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti (BG 4.9). That is being taught in the Bhagavad-gītā. This is the goal of life. But they are misled. They are captivated by this material energy. That will be explained in this chapter also. Tribhir guṇamayair bhāvaiḥ, mohitaṁ nābhijānāti mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam (BG 7.13). They have been bewildered by the three modes of material nature. They are not trying to understand Kṛṣṇa. They are not trying to follow the instruction of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore they are in difficulty. The whole trouble is due to this ignorance. Therefore there is great necessity for broadcasting this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. There is great necessity.

Lecture on BG 7.28-8.6 -- New York, October 23, 1966:

Pāpam means sin. So sin, we commit sins out of ignorance. Our sinful nature is due to ignorance. Just like a person who does not know the laws of the state, he commits something which he does not know, but he is captured, he is arrested under the law. So similarly, all kind of sins we perform, it is due to ignorance. And ignorance is no excuse at the same time. Suppose a child does not know that fire burns, but the child catches fire. The fire is so cruel that it will not excuse. The laws of fire will act, even on the child. The child is innocent or ignorant. Innocence is also sometimes ignorance, due to ignorance. We sometimes praise the quality of child, the ignorance. But that child, when grown up, becomes a vicious man. So this ignorance, or innocence, they are not very good qualities.

Lecture on BG 7.28-8.6 -- New York, October 23, 1966:

By Kṛṣṇa consciousness we can transcend this material consciousness of different interests. We have no other interest except realization of our self. But because, due to our ignorance, we have created our different interests and we are committing sins and breaking the laws of nature; and therefore we are gradually, by and by, becoming more and more entangled in this material nature. So the Lord says that "One who has surpassed this material nature and ignorance," te, "they can become free from this conception of duality," bhajante mām, "and becomes a perfect devotee of Myself." That means, in other words, one who becomes perfectly Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he becomes liberated from this conception of duality or illusion of duality. He becomes a perfect man—jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya.

Lecture on BG 7.28-8.6 -- New York, October 23, 1966:

This is necessary for you to become this Kṛṣṇa conscious, to adopt this life of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Why? Because jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya: "In order to get out of the miseries of jarā." Jarā means old age, invalidity. And jarā-maraṇa. Maraṇa means death. Due to ignorance, we forget the miseries of death, the miseries of invalidity, or old age. We think, "Now we are young, young man, young woman. Oh, we don't care for what is old age or what is death. Let us enjoy." We forget. But a man who is not in ignorance, he has always in his view that this material life is full of miseries because there is birth, there is death, there is old age and there is disease.

Lecture on BG 7.28-8.6 -- New York, October 23, 1966:

So we materialists, we don't take into consideration that birth, death, disease and old age are the greatest miseries of our life due to our ignorance. But this ignorance has to be removed if one has to become out of these clutches of birth, death, old age and disease. This is not possible to remove by the so-called material science. Material science cannot remove these miseries. They can remove temporary, something artificially, some of our miseries. Just like we are feeling little warm. If the room was, had been air conditioned, we could feel some comfort. That is temporary. But our ultimate miseries are these four things: jarā-maraṇa-mokṣa. Jarā means old age and birth, death.

Lecture on BG 8.22-27 -- New York, November 20, 1966:

Prabhupāda: Yes. You do not know what is happiness.

Student (2): Well, of course, that sorrow or that suffering might add the spice to make that suffering that goes in between happiness.

Prabhupāda: No. The thing is that there are different kinds of miseries. That we understand. That is our..., due to our ignorance. We don't care for it. Just like a man who is suffering from very, since a long time. He has forgotten what is happiness. He has forgotten what is real happiness. Similarly, the sufferings are there already. Now take for example, you are now young man. Now, would you like to become old man?

Student: I will become an old man in the process of...

Prabhupāda: Now, you will become. You'll be forced to become old man, but you don't like to become an old man.

Lecture on BG 8.22-27 -- New York, November 20, 1966:

Student: If I've never known happiness, I feel sure I've never known suffering either.

Prabhupāda: That is due to your ignorance. We are in suffering. We don't want to die. The death is there. We don't want to be diseased. The disease is there. We don't want to become old. The old age is there. So we don't..., so many things we don't want, but they are forced upon us. And any sane man will admit that these are sufferings. But if you are accustomed to these sufferings so you say, "It is all right," that is a different thing. But naturally, any sane man, he won't like to be diseased. He won't like to be old. He won't like to die. You see. Why this movement? Because if there is war, there will be death. So people are afraid. They're making agitation, "There should be no war." So don't you... Do you think that death is very pleasurable thing?

Student: I have never experienced...

Prabhupāda: You have experienced, forgotten. You have exper... Several times you have died, you have experienced, but you have forgotten. Forgetfulness... Forgetfulness is no excuse. Forgetfulness is no excuse. Suppose a child forgot some suffering. That does not mean that he did not suffer.

Lecture on BG 9.2 -- New York, November 22, 1966:

Our suffering is due to sinful activities. And sinful activities are due to our ignorance. Ignorance. Sinful activities are done by persons who do not know what is what. Just like a child. A child does not know what is the result of catching fire. Because he is ignorant. But as soon as the child catches fire, his hand becomes burned immediately. The fire does not allow any concession for the child. It will act as fire. Similarly, we do not know how this material world is going on, what are the laws, who is the controller, how it is being controlled. Due to our ignorance, we act in some way, but nature is so stringent that it will never excuse you, either you do it knowingly or unknowingly. Just the same example: the child does not know that the fire will burn, but if the child catches the fire, the fire will not excuse because it is child. Therefore ignorance is the cause of suffering.

Lecture on BG 9.18-19 -- New York, December 4, 1966:

The Lord is gati. Gati means the destination. We do not know what is our destination. Due to our ignorance, due to our becoming overwhelmed by the illusory energy, we do not know what is our destination of life. Na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum (SB 7.5.31). People do not know what is their destination of life. The destination of life is to reestablish his lost relationship with the Supreme Lord. That is his destination. Unfortunately, people do not know what is the destination. They are simply thinking, destination of life, to have the greatest amounts of sense gratification. This is illusion.

Lecture on BG 10.1 -- New York, December 27, 1966:

Just like the animals, they cannot know, they do not know, what is unhappiness. When there is a slaughterhouse, they'll be slaughtered next moment. They are standing and eating grass because, due to ignorance. They do not know. Similarly, when human society becomes thrown (?) into ignorance, they do not know what is unhappiness. Their struggle for existence and therefore, therefore they are in unhappiness. They are never satisfied, full of anxiety. In spite of having all these things, the foolish man says, "Yes, we are advancing in civilization." This is their ignorance and foolishness.

Lecture on BG 16.4 -- Hawaii, January 30, 1975:

So we are the cause of material bondage and freedom from material world. We are, ourself, the cause. There is no other cause. Simply we have to develop either this demonic characteristic or the divine characteristic. So human life is meant for developing divine characteristic, not this demonic char... Demonic characteristic is already there. Just like dambhaḥ. A dog has also pride: "I am this dog, grr." (laughter) "I am fox terrier. I am this. I am that." So dambhaḥ is there even in the dog, even in the lower animal, even in the cat. But the divine characteristic, "Oh, I am so low," Tṛṇād api sunīcena, "I am lower than the grass. I am lower than the grass"... This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's teaching. What is this dambhaḥ? Why I should be pride? What is this pride? So that is ignorance, due to ignorance. When one man is unnecessarily proud, that means it is due to ignorance. And Caitanya-caritāmṛta author, he describes himself that "I am lower than the worms in the stool."

Page Title:Due to ignorance (Lectures, BG)
Compiler:Labangalatika, Serene
Created:20 of Feb, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=29, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:29