Hare Krsna Prabhus!
Here is my commentary on Mantra 9. This is really hitting on a lot of issues that are very close to me, so I would very much like to hear your thoughts on this commentary and/or its issues.
This mantra speaks on the concepts of vidya and avidya. Avidya, implies a lack of knowledge, or ignorance. We all understand the difficulties of ignorance, and the dangers that we face through our lack of knowledge; however vidya, knowledge, can be even more dangerous that its lack, dependent upon the type of use of that knowledge.
In the past, many people were avidya. This allowed certain “leaders” to take advantage of the people and lead them astray. However, the majority of the people, knowing no better, simply went along with what they were given, and as a result, led relatively happy lives; hence the phrase “ignorance is bliss.” These individuals still felt the pains and sufferings of life, but simply accepted them as “the way things are.” One can live in this ignorance and find a sense of pleasure, but without knowledge, one can never move beyond that state. One cannot attain true knowledge. The vidya, those who have knowledge, can move beyond this simplistic state.
Modern society has given individuals the opportunity to attain great knowledge in many areas, but as we have learned in the first mantra of Sri Isopanisad, the only True Knowledge is of the Supreme Absolute. Education and knowledge should help one move towards this understanding; however, the vast majority of people in the world squander this educational opportunity and instead pursue wealth, status, and other earthly things. The multi-millionaire businessman with all of his degrees, or the quantum physicist who attempts to advance self and civilization is still living in ignorance when compared to the pure devotee. They are concerned only with sense gratification and nothing more, so these people walk away from the pursuit of True Knowledge and the acceptance of real happiness. This is what the mantra means when it says that the vidya is more dangerous than avidya.
In ignorance, if one has a genuine spiritual master, one may make some progress towards the Absolute, but when one becomes educated in the worldly spheres one walks away from that progress in favour of sense gratification. In his commentary, Srila Prabhupada writes: “those who simply engage in the profitless pursuit of sense gratification are worshiping avidya…And those who play the role helping this sort of civilization in the name of educational advancement are actually doing more harm than those who are on the platform of gross sense gratification. The advancement of learning by a godless people is as dangerous as a valuable jewel on the hood of a cobra” (pp. 64-5).
Many times, even those who are educated in the Vedas are really advidya because their aim is towards self-glorification or self-gratification. Anyone may pick up the Vedas and begin to study, but if one does so without a spiritual guru within the disciplic succession, then one runs the risk of altering the teachings. So many learned people claim that they understand the truth of scripture and then begin to instruct others, but these people are leading their followers down a dark path. The Bhagavad-Gita (2.42 & 7.15) refers to these “mundane educators” as veda-vadarata or mayayapahrta-jnana.
In reading the Vedas such people will offer their own interpretation, and change the meaning of the scripture. They will divert the purpose of the scripture to fit their own ends. In many cases, their actions are motivated simply by the desire to be well known and have followers. In other cases, they place the emphasis of their study upon receiving rewards, and embracing the fruits of their actions. One might think, “if I follow this scripture, then I will attain heaven”; but such attachment to the fruits of action is what forces one to be reborn into the material condition. As it states in the Bhagavad-Gita (15.15), the sole purpose of the Vedas is to know the Personality of Godhead. The Vedas are not to be used for any other purpose, all of its passages aim towards this central point. Once one has come to truly know Sri Krishna, then one has the Absolute Knowledge, the only permanent and lasting knowledge. However, in order to use the scripture in the correct manner and come to this genuine realization, one must study under a spiritual master within the disciplic succession. In this way, the teachings of the Vedas remain pure and undiluted by material ambition and hubris.
The Truth of the Vedas originated in the Godhead and has been distributed to man. There is an unbroken line from the ancient world to the present which has preserved the purity of these teachings, and so by studying the scriptures under such a bone fide spiritual master, one may attain their true meaning and purpose. Srila Prabhupada is such a figure, and so by reading his translations and commentaries, one is well on the road towards genuine vidya. This is why it is recommended that we set some time aside to read from Prabhupada’s books daily, as he is the genuine acarya.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Sri Caitanya. All glories to Sri Krsna.
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