Degradation - an essential subject

At the present moment human society is so degraded that people cannot even provide themselves with life's daily necessities, yet they are captivated by Māyāvādī philosophers and are being misled. According to the Bhagavad-gītā, simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa one can get free from the cycle of birth and death. Unfortunately this great science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness has been impeded by Māyāvādī philosophers, who are opposed to the personality of Kṛṣṇa. The greatest knowledge we can ever get, is knowledge of the supreme Lord. If we are deprived of this knowledge, then we have to suffer the hellish conditions of this material world. Because of ignorance, we consider every life offered by nature to be happy and pleasing, but in the degraded life within this material world, from the life of Lord Brahma down to that of an ant, no one can actually be happy. Therefore a person who wants real happiness and elevation from this degraded conditions of life accepts the position of the Lord as the supreme controller.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Degradation category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 10 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		A conditioned soul is already degraded by the material association, and still in the Kali-yuga the good qualities of a man will deteriorate to the lowest standard. He was advised to leave home before Kali-yuga approached because the atmosphere which was created by Vidura, his valuable instructions on the facts of life, would fade away due to the influence of the age which was fast approaching. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.28)



vanipedia.org 		A hog's life is degraded in its standard of happiness, which entails living in a filthy place, engaging in sex enjoyment at every opportune moment, and laboring hard in a struggle for existence, but this is unknown to the hog. Similarly, human beings who are unaware of the miseries of material existence and are happy in sex life and hard labor are the lowest of fools. Yet because they have no sense of miseries, they supposedly enjoy so-called happiness. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.7.17)



vanipedia.org 		One should give up all association with a person who is a plaything for women, for by associating with such an unholy person one becomes bereft of all good qualities, such as truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, gravity, intelligence, shyness, beauty, fame, forgiveness, control of the mind, control of the senses, and all the opulences that are automatically obtained by a devotee. A man is never so degraded as when he associates with persons who are too much attached to women. (Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 12)



vanipedia.org 		As far as the great devotees of the Lord are concerned, they can purify a degraded soul even by being seen by the lowborn, and what to speak of association. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to purify the whole atmosphere of the polluted world by sending qualified preachers all over the world, and it remains with the Indians to take up this task scientifically and thus do the best kind of humanitarian work. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.18.18)



vanipedia.org 		Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds." Especially in this Kali-yuga, material advancement means degradation and attraction to many unwanted necessities that create a low mentality. Therefore, jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā: since people are contaminated by the lower qualities, they will lead their next lives either as animals or in other degraded forms of life. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.15.29)



vanipedia.org 		There is always someone who wants to go to a prostitute for illicit sex or to a hotel to eat meat and drink wine. There is always someone who wants to gamble at nightclubs or enjoy so-called sports. All these propensities are already within the hearts of the living entities, but some living entities stop to enjoy these abominable activities and consequently fall down to a degraded platform. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.4)



vanipedia.org 		If one accepts Kṛṣṇa as the supreme friend, the attraction of material friendship will be finished for him, and he will not be dismayed by so-called friendship with mundane wranglers. If he is attracted by servitorship to Kṛṣṇa, he will no longer have to serve the material body in the degraded status of material existence, with the false hope of becoming master in the future. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.35)



vanipedia.org 		Lust is the greatest enemy of the living entity, and it is lust only which induces the pure living entity to remain entangled in the material world. Wrath is the manifestation of the mode of ignorance; these modes exhibit themselves as wrath and other corollaries. If, therefore, the mode of passion, instead of being degraded into the mode of ignorance, is elevated to the mode of goodness by the prescribed method of living and acting, then one can be saved from the degradation of wrath by spiritual attachment. (Bhagavad-gītā 3.37)



vanipedia.org 		In the human form of life, a living entity is expected to be sane and to follow the regulations given for elevating his life to the highest platform, but if he does not follow them, then he degrades himself. But even if he follows the rules and regulations and moral principles and ultimately does not come to the stage of understanding the Supreme Lord, then all his knowledge becomes spoiled. And even if he accepts the existence of God, if he does not engage himself in the service of the Lord his attempts are spoiled. (Bhagavad-gītā 16.23)



vanipedia.org 		In this life we have to prepare ourselves for promotion to the next life. Those who are in the mode of rajo-guṇa are generally interested in being promoted to the heavenly planets. Some, unknowingly, are degraded to lower animal forms. Those in the mode of goodness can engage in devotional service, and after that they can return home, back to Godhead (yānti mad-yājino 'pi mām). That is the real purpose of human life. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is trying to bring intelligent human beings to the platform of devotional service. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.14.31)



Degradation - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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