BHAGAVAD-GITA 18:22

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 18:22

 

yat tu krtsna-vad ekasmin

karye saktam ahaitukam

atattvartha-vad alpam ca

tat tamasam udahrtam

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

yat--that which; tu--but; krtsna-vat--as all in all; ekasmin--in one;

karye--work; saktam--attached; ahaitukam--without cause;

atattva-artha-vat--without knowledge of reality; alpam--very meager;

ca--and; tat--that; tamasam--in the mode of darkness; udahrtam--is

said to be.

 

TRANSLATION

 

And that knowledge by which one is attached to one kind of work as the

all in all, without knowledge of the truth, and which is very meager,

is said to be in the mode of darkness.

 

PURPORT

 

The "knowledge" of the common man is always in the mode of darkness or

ignorance because every living entity in conditional life is born into

the mode of ignorance. One who does not develop knowledge through the

authorities or scriptural injunctions has knowledge that is limited to

the body. He is not concerned about acting in terms of the directions

of scripture. For him God is money, and knowledge means the

satisfaction of bodily demands. Such knowledge has no connection with

the Absolute Truth. It is more or less like the knowledge of the

ordinary animals: the knowledge of eating, sleeping, defending and

mating. Such knowledge is described here as the product of the mode of

darkness. In other words, knowledge concerning the spirit soul beyond

this body is called knowledge in the mode of goodness, knowledge

producing many theories and doctrines by dint of mundane logic and

mental speculation is the product of the mode of passion, and

knowledge concerned only with keeping the body comfortable is said to

be in the mode of ignorance.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.