Mother: I didn't understand.
Pradyumna: You didn't understand? The son acquires the quality of the mother and the daughter acquires the quality of the father. So like mother, like son.
Mother: When . . . (indistinct) . . . was living in the temple, I didn't tell Kim this, but he looked ten years younger than he does right now, so . . .
Mādhavānanda: When he was living in the temple he looked ten years younger. I was thinking he should live in the temple again.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that's a fact. One clergyman, he asked me, "Swāmījī, why your disciples look so bright?" So that's a fact.
Mother: All the devotees.
Prabhupāda: Because they are spiritually enlightened. That is the cause of brightness. And materially involved—moroseness. Because it is ignorance. Material life means life of ignorance, and spiritual life means life of enlightenment. That is the difference. Material life is called tama. Tama means darkness. Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya. This is the Vedic mantra. "Don't remain in darkness." But people cannot understand that, "I am living in the light. Why I'm darkness?" So darkness means without any spiritual enlightenment. That is darkness. So the Vedic injunction is "Don't remain in darkness. Come to the light." The light is my spiritual life, and material life means darkness. Because he does not know what is going to happen next. You are under the laws of material nature. The nature will act according to the association you make, exactly. You do not know that you are infecting some contagious disease. You may not know it, but it will act. In due course of time, you'll develop that disease and suffer. Similarly, without knowledge, in ignorance, imperceptibly we are associating with a certain law of nature, and we shall be victimized. We may not know it, but we shall be victimized. That is the life of ignorance. A child does not know that if he touches the fire it will burn and it will cause some disease, some sore. He does not know. But he, somehow or other, if he touches fire, these things will come. This is the life of ignorance. You do something, you do not know what is the effect. But the effect will come, and you'll have to suffer. You know or not know, it doesn't matter. That is ignorance. Life of darkness. The Christian theologicians, they say that, "Why shall I suffer for my . . .?" They do not believe in the karma, fruitive activity. But that means ignorance. They have no sufficient knowledge. Karma is there and effect is there, but they do not know it. Poor fund of knowledge. Therefore it is failing. They have failed, these Christian priest, to explain everything philosophically.