Lacking in knowledge

Expressions researched:
"lacking in that knowledge" |"lacking in knowledge" |"lacking in the knowledge"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

Arjuna did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. Since he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man.

BG 2.11, Purport: The Lord at once took the position of the teacher and chastised the student, calling him, indirectly, a fool. The Lord said, "You are talking like a learned man, but you do not know that one who is learned—one who knows what is body and what is soul—does not lament for any stage of the body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition." As explained in later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man. As he did not happen to be a very learned man, he was consequently lamenting for something which was unworthy of lamentation. The body is born and is destined to be vanquished today or tomorrow; therefore the body is not as important as the soul. One who knows this is actually learned, and for him there is no cause for lamentation, regardless of the condition of the material body.

SB Canto 6

"Real atonement is full knowledge." Vimarśana refers to the cultivation of speculative knowledge. In Bhagavad-gītā, karmīs, who are lacking in knowledge, are compared to asses.

SB 6.1.11, Purport: The guru, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, has examined Parīkṣit Mahārāja, and it appears that the King has passed one phase of the examination by rejecting the process of atonement because it involves fruitive activities. Now Śukadeva Gosvāmī is suggesting the platform of speculative knowledge. Progressing from karma-kāṇḍa to jñāna-kāṇḍa, he is proposing, prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam: "Real atonement is full knowledge." Vimarśana refers to the cultivation of speculative knowledge. In Bhagavad-gītā, karmīs, who are lacking in knowledge, are compared to asses.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is more important than religious formularies. And because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man.

Lecture on BG 2.8-12 -- Los Angeles, November 27, 1968: The Lord said, 'You are talking like a learned man, but you do not know that one who is learned, one who knows what is body and what is soul, does not lament for any stage of the body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition.' As explained in the later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is more important than religious formularies. And because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man. As he did not happen to be a very learned man, he was consequently lamenting for something which was unworthy of lamentation. The body is born and is destined to be vanquished today or tomorrow. Therefore the body is not as important as the soul. One who knows this is actually learned. For him there is no cause for lamentation in any stage of the material body."

The knowledge which the pigeons, the cats and dogs have got, we are lacking in that knowledge, that the whole thing belongs to the Supreme Lord and we can accept them, whatever we need, not more than that. That is knowledge.

Lecture on BG 4.34-38 -- New York, August 17, 1966: So in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata you'll find that whatever property is... In this morning also I was speaking. Just if you throw in the street some bags of grains, the pigeons will come, but they will pick up only four, five, six, eight, ten grains, and they will go away. They will not take even one grain more than it needs. As soon as he's satisfied to his heart's content—"Oh, I am full now"—oḥ, he'll go away. It will go away. He'll not stock. Similarly, this is natural. This is natural. But if we put here a hundred bags of flour and if we ask people that "Come and take," then somebody will take ten bags, somebody will take fifteen bags, somebody will take, will not take any bags because, if he's weak, he cannot take. So the distribution will not be equal. That is our advancement of civilization. The knowledge which the pigeons, the cats and dogs have got, we are lacking in that knowledge, that the whole thing belongs to the Supreme Lord and we can accept them, whatever we need, not more than that. That is knowledge. That is knowledge. There will be no difficulty. The whole world is made by the Lord's arrangement that you have no scarcity. Everything is sufficient. Everything is sufficient. There will be no scarcity, provided you know the distribution. The distribution is... There is fallacy, distribution: one is taking is more and the other is starving. Therefore, the starving population, they are making protest, "Why we shall starve?" But that is also defective.

But at the present moment, throughout the whole world, we have become less than the animals because we do not know what is the basic principle of civilization, what is the ultimate goal of life, what is our perfection. These things we are lacking in knowledge.

Lecture on BG 13.1-2 -- Bombay, September 25, 1973: Therefore, according to Vedic civilization, this is a civilization of the cows and the asses. Sa eva go-kharaḥ [SB 10.84.13]. So in other words, it is an animal civilization. So you cannot be happy in animal civilization, in the societies of animals. Just like in the jungle there are animals. There is no peace. There is always struggle for existence, fight between one animal. Still, they are peaceful. But at the present moment, throughout the whole world, we have become less than the animals because we do not know what is the basic principle of civilization, what is the ultimate goal of life, what is our perfection. These things we are lacking in knowledge. Therefore Arjuna inquires, "What is jñānam, what is knowledge, and what is the object of knowledge?" So Kṛṣṇa replied that "This body, śarīram, idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram, this is our field of activities." We have got different types of body. Yesterday I have explained. There are eight million four hundred thousand forms of body, and according to our desire, nature is supplying a type of body for our activity.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

You are thinking, making adjustment to live for fifty years or hundred years very comfortably, or even next life..." Karmīs, they also take consideration of the next life, to be promoted in the heavenly planet or other higher planetary system. But still, they are poor. Poor. Because they are lacking in the knowledge of eternal life, full of knowledge and blissfulness. That they do not know. Sac-cid-ānanda life.

Lecture on SB 1.5.30 -- Vrndavana, August 11, 1974: Here the, I mean to..., saintly persons, the mahātmās, gamiṣyantaḥ, when they were going, they confidentially said what was spoken by Kṛṣṇa directly. This is the secret of success. Try to understand. Anvavocan gamiṣyantaḥ kṛpayā dīna-vatsalāḥ. Guru, or mahātmā, they are very merciful, merciful in this way that they know how a person can be elevated to the topmost platform of knowledge, and they can give him. And this is not very difficult. It is said here that yat tat sākṣād bhagavatoditam. This is mercifulness. A guru's business is to deliver the same message as Kṛṣṇa said. Then he's dīna-vatsala. Otherwise, if he says something else, he's a cheater. He's not guru. He must be, to the suffering humanity, being kind upon them. Dīna-vatsala. Dīna means very poor, poor in knowledge. At the present moment, the... Not only at the present moment, always. Those who are in the material world, they are very, very poor. Very, very poor. Gṛhiṇāṁ dīna-cetasām. Because their mind is very crippled. They are thinking that this duration of life—say, fifty years or twenty years or utmost seventy, or hundred years—this is everything. That's all. Therefore they are very poor. Their expansion of knowledge is very, very meager. And it is the business of the saintly persons to be kind upon them, that "This is not the life. You are thinking, making adjustment to live for fifty years or hundred years very comfortably, or even next life..." Karmīs, they also take consideration of the next life, to be promoted in the heavenly planet or other higher planetary system. But still, they are poor. Poor. Because they are lacking in the knowledge of eternal life, full of knowledge and blissfulness. That they do not know. Sac-cid-ānanda life. So it is the business of the mahātmā to enlighten them to the real platform of life.

So the Yamadūta, they are also servant of very exalted personality, one of the authority. So they are not lacking in knowledge by the grace of their master.

Lecture on SB 6.1.39 -- San Francisco, July 20, 1975: What is dharma, and what is adharma? So if you are representative of Yamarāja, then you explain to us first of all whether you are actually representative." So the Yamadūta, they are also servant of very exalted personality, one of the authority. So they are not lacking in knowledge by the grace of their master. So the first thing they said, veda-praṇihito dharmo hy adharmas tad-viparyayaḥ. Dharma and adharma, religious principle and not religious principle, nonreligious principle—how to discern. The book is there, Veda. We have to consult the Vedas. There are so many Vedic literatures: four Vedas, then Upaniṣad, 108 Upaniṣad, then philosophy, Vedānta-sūtra, all summarized. Then explanation of Vedānta-sūtra, or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāṣyaṁ brahma-sūtrāṇām **. Then there is Rāmāyaṇa, there is Mahābhārata, immense literature, full of Vedic literature. So one should try to understand this literature. They are meant for the human being. Veda-praṇihito dharmaḥ. If one wants to be religious... Religious means that is the beginning of human life. If one is not religious, then he is animal. Dharmeṇa hīnāḥ paśubhiḥ samānāḥ. So in order to make a person perfectly religious, there are so many Vedic literatures. So who is taking care of it? Nobody is taking care of. Therefore, at the present moment, kalau śūdra-sambhavaḥ. Śūdra means equal to the animal. Tulasī dāsa has classified, dhol guṇar śūdra paśu nārī, ihe sab sasan ke adhikārī.(?) So women will be sorry, but he has classified in that way. Anyway... So nobody is taking care of the Vedic literature. Therefore they do not know what is right, what is wrong. Dharma, dharma means right and wrong.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

They are all, so far we have studied all these philosophers, they (indistinct). They are lacking in knowledge. The main difference is that they consider the body as the self, and on that wrong basis they theorize

Room Conversation -- February 13, 1974, Vrndavana:

Guest (1): Darwinism. Yes, by all means. That's good.

Guru dāsa: They tried, but they weren't, they weren't God conscious. They were (indistinct).

Hayagrīva: The philosophers, you know, they were just men trying to figure, figure it out with their minds.

Prabhupāda: They are all, so far we have studied all these philosophers, they (indistinct). They are lacking in knowledge. The main difference is that they consider the body as the self, and on that wrong basis they theorize (indistinct). If your basic standing is wrong, then how you can deliver the right? Therefore in Bhāgavata, Śrīmad Bhāgavata, it is said that yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ: [SB 10.84.13] "Anyone who considers this body as his self is no better than the ass and the cow." What is your philosophy? You consider this body as the self?

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And, because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man

Evening Darsana -- August 12, 1976, Tehran:

Harikeśa:

śrī bhagavān uvāca aśocyān anvaśocas tvaṁ prajñā-vādāṁś ca bhāṣase gatāsūn agatāsūṁś ca nānuśocanti paṇḍitāḥ [Bg. 2.11]

"The Blessed Lord said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead."

Prabhupāda: Purport.

Harikeśa: "The Lord at once took the position of the teacher and chastised the student, calling him, indirectly, a fool. The Lord said, 'You are talking like a learned man, but you do not know that one who is learned—one who knows what is body and what is soul—does not lament for any stage of the body, neither in the living nor in the dead condition.' As it will be explained in later chapters, it will be clear that knowledge means to know matter and spirit and the controller of both. Arjuna argued that religious principles should be given more importance than politics or sociology, but he did not know that knowledge of matter, soul and the Supreme is even more important than religious formularies. And, because he was lacking in that knowledge, he should not have posed himself as a very learned man."