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TEXT 8 tamas tv ajnana-jam viddhi
SYNONYMS  tamah--mode
of ignorance; tu--but; ajnana-jam--products of ignorance;
viddhi--knowing; mohanam--delusion; sarva-dehinam--of
all embodied beings; pramada--madness; alasya--indolence;
nidrabhih--sleep; tat--that; nibadhnati--binds; bharata--O
son of Bharata.
TRANSLATION O son of
Bharata, the mode of ignorance causes the delusion of all living entities.
The result of this mode is madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the
conditioned soul.
PURPORT In this verse
the specific application of the word tu is very significant. This
means that the mode of ignorance is a very peculiar qualification of the
embodied soul. This mode of ignorance is just the opposite of the mode
of goodness. In the mode of goodness, by development of knowledge, one
can understand what is what, but the mode of ignorance is just the opposite.
Everyone under the spell of the mode of ignorance becomes mad, and a madman
cannot understand what is what. Instead of making advancement, one becomes
degraded. The definition of the mode of ignorance is stated in the Vedic
literature: under the spell of ignorance, one cannot understand the thing
as it is. For example, everyone can see that his grandfather has died,
and therefore he will also die; man is mortal. The children that he conceives
will also die. So death is sure. Still, people are madly accumulating money
and working very hard all day and night, not caring for the eternal spirit.
This is madness. In their madness, they are very reluctant to make advancement
in spiritual understanding. Such people are very lazy. When they are invited
to associate for spiritual understanding, they are not much interested.
They are not even active like the man who is controlled by the mode of
passion. Thus another symptom of one embedded in the mode of ignorance
is that he sleeps more than is required. Six hours of sleep is sufficient,
but a man in the mode of ignorance sleeps at least ten or twelve hours
a day. Such a man appears to be always dejected and is addicted to intoxicants
and sleeping. These are the symptoms of a person conditioned by the mode
of ignorance.
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