Ignorance—See Modes of nature (Tamo-guṇa).

Prabhupada ›Glossary›-I-›Ignorance-See Modes of nature

Ignorance-See Modes of nature (Tamo-guna).

Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/glossary/i/ignorance-see-modes-of-nature-tamo-guna

Previous: Idhmavahat-the devotee who approaches the spiritual master. Idhma refers to wood that is taken to burn as fuel for a fire. A brahmacari is supposed to take this idhma to ignite the fire used in performing sacrifices. By spiritual instruction a brahmacari is trained to ignite a fire and offer oblations in the morning. He is supposed to go to the spiritual master to take lessons on transcendental subject matter, and the Vedic injunction is that when approaching the spiritual master one must carry with him fuel to perform yajnas, or sacrifices. The exact Vedic injunction is as follows: tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet-samit-paniḥ srotriyam brahma-nistham " To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth." "To learn transcendental subject matter, one must approach the spiritual master. In doing so, he should carry fuel to burn in sacrifice. The symptom of such a spiritual master is that he is expert in understanding the Vedic conclusion, and therefore he constantly engages in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Munḍaka Upanisad 1.2.12) By serving such a bona fide spiritual master, gradually a conditioned soul becomes detached from material enjoyment and invariably makes progress in spiritual realization under the direction of the spiritual master. Those who are misled by the illusory energy are never interested in approaching a spiritual master to make life successful. Next: Iksvaku-the son of Manu who was king of the earth in ancient times and to whom Manu spoke Bhagavad-gita.