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If we commit some sinful activity and if we plead in the court, "My dear judge, I did not know the law," so this kind of pleading will not help him. Ignorance is no excuse

Expressions researched:
"if we commit some sinful activity and if we plead in the court" |"My dear judge, I did not know the law" |"so this kind of pleading will not help him. Ignorance is no excuse"

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Just like in our ordinary life, if we commit some sinful activity and if we plead in the court, "My dear judge, I did not know the law," so this kind of pleading will not help him. Ignorance is no excuse. Therefore human life is distinct from animal life. If we live in human life without caring for the supreme laws, then we are destined to suffer. Therefore in the human society there is a system of religion and scripture. It is the duty of the human being to understand the laws of the nature, the injunction in the śāstras and live very honestly according to their direction.

This is the symptom of a Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣṇava cannot tolerate the sufferings of the humanity. Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja, he said before Nṛsiṁha-deva, naitad udvije paro duratyaya-vaitaraṇyāḥ: "My dear Lord, I have no problem how to get delivered from this material world." Because a devotee is already on the transcendental platform. It is said in the Bhagavad-gītā,

māṁ ca vyabhicāriṇi
bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyā . . .
(BG 14.26)

Means, anyone who is engaged in devotional service, he is already on the Brahman platform. Therefore a devotee means he is already in the Brahman platform, or spiritual platform. So Parīkṣit Mahārāja became very anxious, how this suffering humanity can be saved. Here it is said, nānā ugra yātanāt neyāt tan me vyākhyātum arhasi: "Kindly give me some enlightenment how these people can be saved from this severe type of suffering."

So at the present moment in this age of Kali people are so fallen low, that they do not know what is going to happen in the future. They are dismissing the whole problem by saying that there is no next life. This is very precarious condition of the modern civilization. So as there are comfortable life, we can see there are discomfortable life also. So there is understanding of pāpa and puṇya. Especially in the human form of life one should know what is pāpa and what is puṇya. The human life is responsible life. You have got practical experience that if you violate the law of the state you become criminal and punished. But if the cats and dogs or animals, they violate the law, they are not punishable. Therefore human life must be very responsible. Yes.

So Śukadeva Gosvāmī says, "My dear king, if before one's next death whatever impious acts one has performed in this life with his mind, words and body are not counteracted through proper atonement according to the description of the Manu-saṁhitā and other dharma-śāstras, one will certainly enter into the hellish planets after death and undergo terrible sufferings as I have previously described (SB 6.1.7)."

So just like in our ordinary life, if we commit some sinful activity and if we plead in the court, "My dear judge, I did not know the law," so this kind of pleading will not help him. Ignorance is no excuse. Therefore human life is distinct from animal life. If we live in human life without caring for the supreme laws, then we are destined to suffer. Therefore in the human society there is a system of religion and scripture. It is the duty of the human being to understand the laws of the nature, the injunction in the śāstras and live very honestly according to their direction.

Page Title:If we commit some sinful activity and if we plead in the court, "My dear judge, I did not know the law," so this kind of pleading will not help him. Ignorance is no excuse
Compiler:Nabakumar
Created:2022-09-03, 12:06:47
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:1