Imperfect senses (Books)

Expressions researched:
"imperfect experience of the senses" |"imperfect in his senses" |"imperfect material senses" |"imperfect of senses" |"imperfect sense" |"imperfect senses" |"imperfect, illusioned, and cheating senses" |"sense - they are all imperfect" |"sense are not the perfect" |"sense impressions, imperfect" |"sense is always imperfect" |"sense perception are all imperfect" |"sense perception for their imperfect knowledge" |"sense perception, that is imperfect" |"sense, it is imperfect" |"sense, they are imperfect" |"senses are admittedly imperfect" |"senses are all imperfect" |"senses are also imperfect" |"senses are blunt, imperfect" |"senses are faulty, imperfect" |"senses are imperfect" |"senses are neither imperfect" |"senses are not imperfect" |"senses are not perfect" |"senses are so imperfect" |"senses are so imperfect" |"senses are so limited, imperfect" |"senses are very blunt, imperfect" |"senses are very imperfect" |"senses is always imperfect" |"senses must be imperfect" |"senses you will find imperfect" |"senses, all are imperfect" |"senses, you become imperfect" |"senses? They are all imperfect"

BG Preface and Introduction

BG Introduction:

Vedic knowledge is not a question of research. Our research work is imperfect because we are researching things with imperfect senses. We have to accept perfect knowledge which comes down, as is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, by the paramparā (disciplic succession).

BG Introduction:

Avyakta means unmanifested. Not even all of the material world is manifested before us. Our senses are so imperfect that we cannot even see all of the stars within this material universe. In Vedic literature we can receive much information about all the planets, and we can believe it or not believe it.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 10.2, Purport:

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also it is clearly said that even the great demigods are not able to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They can speculate to the limits of their imperfect senses and can reach the opposite conclusion of impersonalism, of something not manifested by the three qualities of material nature, or they can imagine something by mental speculation, but it is not possible to understand Kṛṣṇa by such foolish speculation.

BG 11.43, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa is absolute; therefore His activities and potencies are supreme. It is also stated that although He does not have senses like ours, He can perform all sensory activities; therefore His senses are neither imperfect nor limited. No one can be greater than Him, no one can be equal to Him, and everyone is lower than Him.

BG Chapters 13 - 18

BG 16.24, Purport:

Śāstra is without the four principal defects that are visible in the conditioned soul: imperfect senses, the propensity for cheating, certainty of committing mistakes, and certainty of being illusioned. These four principal defects in conditioned life disqualify one from putting forth rules and regulations. Therefore, the rules and regulations as described in the śāstra—being above these defects—are accepted without alteration by all great saints, ācāryas and great souls.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.1.1, Purport:

The materialist wrongly thinks that there is no creator other than his own self. This is called māyā, or illusion. Because of his poor fund of knowledge, the materialist cannot see beyond the purview of his imperfect senses, and thus he thinks that matter automatically takes its own shape without the aid of a superior intelligence.

SB 1.5.38, Purport:

Our present senses are all made of material elements, and therefore they are imperfect in realizing the transcendental form of Lord Viṣṇu. He is therefore worshiped by sound representation via the transcendental method of chanting. Anything which is beyond the scope of experience by our imperfect senses can be realized fully by the sound representation. A person transmitting sound from a far distant place can be factually experienced. If this is materially possible, why not spiritually? This experience is not a vague impersonal experience. It is actually an experience of the transcendental Personality of Godhead, who possesses the pure form of eternity, bliss and knowledge.

SB 1.6.23, Purport:

The neophyte devotee has no ability to approach the Absolute Personality of Godhead by the strength of his present imperfect material senses, and therefore under the direction of the spiritual master he is trained in transcendental service of the Lord.

SB 1.8.19, Purport:

Another difficulty is that those who depend more on their imperfect senses cannot realize Him as the Supreme Lord. Such persons are like the modern scientist. They want to know everything by their experimental knowledge. But it is not possible to know the Supreme Person by imperfect experimental knowledge. He is described herein as adhokṣaja, or beyond the range of experimental knowledge. All our senses are imperfect. We claim to observe everything and anything, but we must admit that we can observe things under certain material conditions only, which are also beyond our control. The Lord is beyond the observation of sense perception.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.1.17, Purport:

This oṁkāra is a note of address, such as "O my Lord," just as oṁ hari om means "O my Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." As we have explained before, the Lord's holy name is identical with the Lord Himself. So also is oṁkāra. But persons who are unable to realize the transcendental personal form or name of the Lord on account of their imperfect senses (in other words, the neophytes) are trained to the practice of self-realization by this mechanical process of regulating the breathing function and simultaneously repeating the praṇava (oṁkāra) within the mind.

SB 2.1.30, Purport:

We must accept the description of the śāstras and concentrate more on the form of the virāṭ-rūpa than on common sense. Common sense is always imperfect, whereas the description in the śāstras is always perfect and complete. If there is any incongruity, it is due to our imperfection and not the śāstras'. That is the method of approaching Vedic wisdom.

SB 2.4.8, Purport:

The Lord is unlimited, and His activities are also unfathomed. With a limited source of knowledge and with imperfect senses, any living being, up to the standard of Brahmājī, the highest perfect living being within the universe, can never imagine knowing about the unlimited. We can know something of the unlimited when it is explained by the unlimited, as has been done by the Lord Himself in the unique statements of the Bhagavad-gītā, and it can also be known to some extent from realized souls like Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who learned it from Vyāsadeva, a disciple of Nārada, and thus the perfect knowledge can descend by the chain of disciplic succession only, and not by any form of experimental knowledge, old or modern.

SB 2.6.13-16, Purport:

This philosophical truth of simultaneous oneness and difference was propounded by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is known as acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Brahmā, Nārada and all others are simultaneously one with the Lord and different from the Supreme Lord. We are all one with Him, just as the gold ornaments are one in quality with the stock gold, but the individual gold ornament is never equal in quantity with the stock gold. The stock gold is never exhausted even if there are innumerable ornaments emanating from the stock because the stock is pūrṇam, complete; even if pūrṇam is deducted from the pūrṇam, still the supreme pūrṇam remains the same pūrṇam. This fact is inconceivable to our present imperfect senses.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.15.46, Purport:

It is said in Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord cannot be seen by our imperfect eyes, He cannot be heard by our imperfect ears, and He cannot be experienced by our imperfect senses; but if one engages in devotional service with faith and devotion, then God reveals Himself.

SB 3.24.12, Purport:

A conditioned soul in the material world has the disqualification of cheating. He has four disqualifications: he is sure to commit mistakes, he is sure to be illusioned, he is prone to cheat others, and his senses are imperfect. But if one carries out the order of the spiritual master by disciplic succession, or the paramparā system, he overcomes the four defects.

SB 3.24.17, Purport:

In the modern age there is a tendency to do research by mental speculation and concoction. But the man who speculates forgets that he himself is subject to the four defects of nature: he is sure to commit mistakes, his senses are imperfect, he is sure to fall into illusion, and he is cheating. Unless one has perfect knowledge from disciplic succession, he simply puts forth some theories of his own creation; therefore he is cheating people.

SB 3.32.28, Purport:

The form of Kṛṣṇa has to be understood as it is described in the books of knowledge such as Brahma-saṁhitā. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1): Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has an eternal, blissful spiritual body. By our imperfect sense perception we cannot understand the form of the Lord. We have to acquire knowledge about Him.

SB 3.32.28, Purport:

In this verse it is clearly said that those who are averse to the Supreme Personality of Godhead speculate with their imperfect senses about the nature of the Absolute Truth. The formless Brahman conception, however, can be received only by aural reception and not by personal experience. Knowledge is therefore acquired by aural reception.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.2.31, Purport:

Every living entity within this material world is subject to four deficiencies: he commits mistakes, he accepts one thing for another, he cheats, and he has imperfect senses. The Vedas, however, are not written by any living creature within this material world. Therefore they are said to be apauruṣeya.

SB 4.18.5, Purport:

At the present moment it has become fashionable to disobey the unimpeachable directions given by the ācāryas and liberated souls of the past. Presently people are so fallen that they cannot distinguish between a liberated soul and a conditioned soul. A conditioned soul is hampered by four defects: he is sure to commit mistakes, he is sure to become illusioned, he has a tendency to cheat others, and his senses are imperfect. Consequently we have to take direction from liberated persons.

SB 4.21.27, Purport:

In order to regulate the activities of the living entities, God has given us codes, just as a king gives codes of law in a state, and whoever breaks the law is punished. Similarly, the Lord has given the infallible knowledge of the Vedas, which are not contaminated by the four defects of human life—namely the tendency to commit mistakes, to be illusioned, to cheat and to have imperfect senses. If we do not take direction from the Vedas but act whimsically according to our own choice, we are sure to be punished by the laws of the Lord, who offers different types of bodies in the 8,400,000 species of forms.

SB 4.21.42, Purport:

Therefore a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is actually a perfect brāhmaṇa. His situation is transcendental, for he is free from the four defects of conditional life, which are the tendencies to commit mistakes, to be illusioned, to cheat and to possess imperfect senses. A perfect Vaiṣṇava, or Kṛṣṇa conscious person, is always in this transcendental position because he speaks according to Kṛṣṇa and His representative.

SB 4.24.40, Purport:

Vedic evidence is called śabda-brahma. There are many things which are beyond the perception of our imperfect senses, yet the authoritative evidence of sound vibration is perfect. The Vedas are known as śabda-brahma because evidence taken from the Vedas constitutes the ultimate understanding.

SB 4.26.7, Purport:

Everyone is therefore advised to act in terms of the Vedic injunctions and not irresponsibly. When a person within a state acts according to the laws and licenses of the government, he does not become involved in criminal activities. Man-made laws, however, are always defective because they are made by men who are prone to committing mistakes, being illusioned, cheating and having imperfect senses. The Vedic instructions are different because they do not have these four defects. Vedic instructions are not subject to mistakes. The knowledge of the Vedas is knowledge received directly from God, and there is consequently no question of illusion, cheating, mistakes or imperfect senses.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.13.15, Purport:

When Aghāsura was being killed by Kṛṣṇa, who was accompanied by His associates, Brahmā was astonished, but when he saw that Kṛṣṇa was very much enjoying His pastimes of lunch, he was even more astonished and wanted to test whether Kṛṣṇa was actually there. Thus he became entangled in Kṛṣṇa's māyā. After all, Brahmā was born materially. As mentioned here, ambhojanma janiḥ: he was born of ambhoja, a lotus flower. It does not matter that he was born of a lotus and not of any man, animal or material father. A lotus is also material, and anyone born through the material energy must be subject to the four material deficiencies: bhrama (the tendency to commit mistakes), pramāda (the tendency to be illusioned), vipralipsā (the tendency to cheat) and karaṇāpāṭava (imperfect senses). Thus Brahmā also became entangled.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 1 Summary:

Since we belong to this chain of disciplic succession from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, this edition of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta will contain nothing newly manufactured by our tiny brains, but only remnants of food originally eaten by the Lord Himself. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu does not belong to the mundane plane of the three qualitative modes. He belongs to the transcendental plane beyond the reach of the imperfect sense perception of a living being. Even the most erudite mundane scholar cannot approach the transcendental plane unless he submits himself to transcendental sound with a receptive mood, for in that mood only can one realize the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Adi 3.89, Purport:

Everything covered by the influence of māyā is within the limited boundaries of space, time and thought. Even the greatest manifestation we can conceive, the sky, also has limitations. From the authentic scriptures, however, it is evident that beyond the sky is a covering of seven layers, each ten times thicker than the one preceding it. The covering layers are vast, but with or without coverings, space is limited. Our power to think about space and time is also limited. Time is eternal; we may imagine billions and trillions of years, but that will still be an inadequate estimate of the extent of time. Our imperfect senses, therefore, cannot think of the greatness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nor can we bring Him within the limitations of time or our thinking power.

CC Adi 3.102, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu preached the philosophy of inconceivable, simultaneous oneness with the Lord and difference from Him. Conceivable dualism and monism are conceptions of the imperfect senses, which are unable to reach the Transcendence because the Transcendence is beyond the conception of limited potency. The actions of Śrī Advaita Prabhu, however, give tangible proof of inconceivable nondualism. One who therefore surrenders unto Śrī Advaita Prabhu can easily follow the philosophy of inconceivable simultaneous dualism and monism.

CC Adi 6.14-15, Purport:

Since materialistic philosophers and scientists are too much engaged with their imperfect senses, naturally they conclude that the living force is a product of a material combination. But the actual fact is just the opposite. Matter is a product of spirit.

CC Adi 7.108, Purport:

Here Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirms that all Vedic literatures, including the Upaniṣads, Brahma-sūtra and others, whether śruti, smṛti or nyāya, must be understood according to their original statements. To describe the direct meaning of the Vedic literatures is glorious, but to describe them in one's own way, using imperfect senses and imperfect knowledge, is a disastrous blunder.

CC Adi 8.15, Purport:

For logicians who want to accept only that which is proven through logic and argument, it is a fact that without logic and reason there can be no question of accepting the Absolute Truth. Unfortunately, when such logicians take to this path without the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they remain on the platform of logic and argument and do not advance in spiritual life. However, if one is intelligent enough to apply his arguments and logic to the subtle understanding of the fundamental spiritual substance, he will be able to know that a poor fund of knowledge established on the basis of material logic cannot help one understand the Absolute Truth, which is beyond the reach of imperfect senses.

CC Adi 8.72, Purport:

To write about the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not an ordinary endeavor. Unless one is empowered by the higher authorities, or advanced devotees, one cannot write transcendental literature, for all such literature must be above suspicion, or, in other words, it must have none of the defects of conditioned souls, namely mistakes, illusions, cheating and imperfect sense perceptions.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 6.135, Purport:

In his book Sarva-saṁvādinī, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has noted that although there are ten kinds of evidence—direct perception, the Vedic version, historical reference, hypothesis and so on—and although they are all generally accepted as evidence, the person presenting a hypothesis, reading the Vedic version, perceiving or interpreting by his experience is certain to be imperfect in four ways. That is, he is subject to committing mistakes, to becoming illusioned, to cheating and to having imperfect senses. Although the evidence may be correct, the person himself is in danger of being misled due to his material defects. Apart from the direct presentation, there is a chance that an interpretation may not be perfect. Therefore the conclusion is that only a direct presentation can be considered evidence. An interpretation cannot be accepted as evidence, but may be considered proof of evidence.

CC Madhya 7.66, Purport:

Both the jñānīs and karmīs depend on direct sense perception for their imperfect knowledge. The karmīs never agree to accept anything not directly perceived, and the jñānīs put forth only hypotheses. However, the Vaiṣṇavas, the unalloyed devotees of the Lord, do not follow the process of acquiring knowledge by direct sense perception or mental speculation. Because they are servants of the Supreme Lord, devotees receive knowledge directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead as He speaks it in the Bhagavad-gītā, or sometimes as He imparts it from within as the caittya-guru.

CC Madhya 12.184, Purport:

Materialists simply believe their imperfect senses and do not take instructions from the revealed scriptures. According to Vedic civilization, one has to see through the authority of the revealed scriptures. Śāstra-cakṣuḥ: one should see everything through the medium of the Vedic literature. In this way, one can distinguish between the spiritual world and material world. Those who ignore such instructions cannot be convinced of the existence of the spiritual world.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 19:

Since Vyāsadeva is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord, he cannot be likened to an ordinary person, who has the four defects which arise due to contact with material existence. The defects of a conditioned soul are: (1) he must commit mistakes; (2) he must be illusioned; (3) he must possess the tendency to cheat others; and (4) all his senses must be imperfect. We must understand that the incarnation of God is transcendental to all these defects.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 23:

Due to his poor fund of knowledge, the materialist cannot see beyond the purview of his imperfect senses; thus he thinks that matter automatically takes its own shape independent of a conscious background. This is refuted by Śrīla Vyāsadeva in the first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Easy Journey to Other Planets

Easy Journey to Other Planets 2:

Matter does not develop unless in contact with the superior spiritual, or antimaterial, energy, which is directly part and parcel of the spiritual whole. The subject matter of this spiritual energy exhibited by living beings is undoubtedly very complicated for an ordinary man, who is therefore astounded by the subject. Sometimes he partially understands it through the imperfect senses, and sometimes he fails to know it altogether. It is best, therefore, to hear from the highest authority, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or from His devotee who represents Him in the chain of disciplic succession.

Message of Godhead

Message of Godhead Introduction:

The philosophers and the logicians have tried to understand the intrinsic relationship of living entities with God by various conceptions and methods, on the strength of their mundane education and scholastic research. But the Absolute Truth remains above the philosophers and their acquired knowledge. The conception of the Absolute is never perfectly attained by such an ascending process, because of its being born of imperfect, material senses.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad Introduction:

There are three kinds of evidence: pratyakṣa, anumāna and śabda. Pratyakṣa means "direct evidence." Direct evidence is not very good because our senses are not perfect. We are seeing the sun daily, and it appears to us just like a small disc, but it is actually far, far larger than many planets. Of what value is this seeing? Therefore we have to read books; then we can understand about the sun. So direct experience is not perfect.

Sri Isopanisad Introduction:

Lastly, our senses are imperfect. We are very proud of our eyes. Often, someone will challenge, "Can you show me God?" But do you have the eyes to see God? You will never see if you haven't the eyes. If immediately the room becomes dark, you cannot even see your hands. So what power do you have to see? We cannot, therefore, expect knowledge (veda) with these imperfect senses. With all these deficiencies, in conditioned life we cannot give perfect knowledge to anyone. Nor are we ourselves perfect. Therefore we accept the Vedas as they are.

Sri Isopanisad Introduction:

If you want to research to find out whether man is mortal, you have to study each and every man, and you may come to think that there may be some man who is not dying but you have not seen him yet. So in this way your research will never be finished. In Sanskrit this process is called āroha, the ascending process. If you want to attain knowledge by any personal endeavor, by exercising your imperfect senses, you will never come to the right conclusions. That is not possible.

Sri Isopanisad 1, Purport:

The words spoken by the Lord are called apauruṣeya, which indicates that they are not delivered by any mundane person. A living being who lives in the mundane world has four defects: (1) he is certain to commit mistakes; (2) he is subject to illusion; (3) he has a propensity to cheat others; and (4) his senses are imperfect. No one with these four imperfections can deliver perfect knowledge. The Vedas are not produced by such an imperfect creature.

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 4, Purport:

It is not possible to know the transcendental nature of the Divinity by dint of one's imperfect sense perception, but the Divinity reveals Himself to a pure devotee in proportion to the transcendental service rendered unto Him.