From ignorance to goodness?
The mode of ignorance creates many challenges to our spiritual practice, to put it mildly. How to escape them? Is it possible to progress to goodness simply by chanting?
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“Can a person who is in the mode of ignorance be directly elevated to mode of goodness by regular chanting? What are the reasons one may not be able to get out of the mode of ignorance even after starting his practice of devotional service?”
There is always the possibility of direct progression not only to goodness, but even directly to the spiritual platform by a devotee chanting the holy names sincerely, because the holy names are unlimitedly powerful, but this usually happens only when one associates with a pure devotee, because chanting the holy names sincerely by oneself is also not so easy. We need to understand what we are doing, understand the proper process, and what the final goal is. It is not easy to reach this point alone, especially when we start from the mode of ignorance.
The problem is that the main characteristic of the mode of ignorance is the absence of knowledge. This leads to confusion: we tend to take right for wrong and wrong for right. In this state, even if we receive good spiritual instructions, we tend to reject them, and even if we don’t immediately reject them, we usually misunderstand, and even if we somehow don’t misunderstand, we tend to be too lazy to follow. In ignorance, there is very little impetus to follow the disciplinary process of devotional life. You can imagine someone who is deep in ignorance being told to wake up every day early, go to maṅgala-ārati, chant 16 rounds, and then stay for the Bhāgavatam class. Day after day. It is not so easy.
In general, when we are in ignorance, the only propensity to act is destructive, based on anger. We thus become attracted to offend others, and to destroy what is there, to act destructively. We can practically see that many follow this path, especially online.
Kṛṣṇa describes the mode of ignorance in the Gītā. This is the strongest chain of material nature. It should not be underestimated:
O son of Bharata, know that the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul. (Bg 14.8)
From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; and from the mode of ignorance develop foolishness, madness and illusion. (Bg 14.17)
That understanding which considers irreligion to be religion and religion to be irreligion, under the spell of illusion and darkness, and strives always in the wrong direction, O Pārtha, is in the mode of ignorance. (Bg 18.32)
And that determination which cannot go beyond dreaming, fearfulness, lamentation, moroseness and illusion – such unintelligent determination, O son of Pṛthā, is in the mode of darkness. (Bg 18.35)
Goodness is diametrically opposite:
O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge. (Bg 14.6)
The manifestation of the mode of goodness can be experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge. (Bg 14.11)
O Arjuna, when one performs his prescribed duty only because it ought to be done, and renounces all material association and all attachment to the fruit, his renunciation is said to be in the mode of goodness.
The intelligent renouncer situated in the mode of goodness, neither hateful of inauspicious work nor attached to auspicious work, has no doubts about work. (Bg 18.9-10)
O son of Pṛthā, that understanding by which one knows what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what is binding and what is liberating, is in the mode of goodness. (Bg 18.30)
So, how can we escape the mode of ignorance and gradually elevate ourselves to goodness?
The decisive point is good association. Without good association, it is almost impossible to understand what to do and what not to do. If we are too deep in ignorance, even if we come into contact with perfect knowledge in the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda and different devotees who are connected to him, we may still usually fall into the vicious cycle of misunderstanding, procrastinating, and finally doing the opposite thing. In this level, even chanting may not help much because we will probably not be able to do it properly.
If we can find good association, however, and if we somehow get a little bit of faith in the devotees around us, there are two important changes. The first is that we receive good advice, and the second is that the association with these devotees gives us proper example and some purification, which allows the process to start working. We may not be able to chant attentively at all on our own, but if we go to the temple in the morning and chant with the devotees there, our chances suddenly become much better, and if we do this day after day, miracles start happening.
There is also a third point that is, perhaps, even more decisive: if we keep closer to other devotees, they will probably start engaging us in different services, and that’s our opportunity to escape the mode of ignorance and progress to passion, becoming active. We may then go from passivity to enthusiasm, even if at first sustained by fanaticism. This is a much better platform to advance further, because now we can work for Kṛṣṇa, and this can be decisive.
The point is that Kṛṣṇa consciousness requires constant remembrance of Kṛṣṇa. At this stage, we are not able to do much sādhana. Maybe we can chant 16 rounds, maybe go sometimes to the temple and do something there, but 20 or 22 hours per day, we will still be doing other things not directly connected with Kṛṣṇa.
Coming to the stage, we become active and start working for Kṛṣṇa; however, we come to a platform where we can work hard for Him and start spending most of the time in activities connected with Him. Even if our attitude at this stage is not completely mature, the process works. We can imagine that perfection means remembering Kṛṣṇa 24 hours per day. If we can find some service we are enthusiastic about and be engaged there for 8 hours per day, and on top of it chant our 16 rounds and daily attend some programs, we can easily reach 12 hours of activities connected with Kṛṣṇa. That’s already 50% of perfection! It is undeniable that this will have an effect.
By getting into this cycle, we remain active and gradually gain the association of progressively more advanced devotees, which reinforces the cycle. Eventually, we may come to the association of a pure devotee, and by maintaining this attitude of active service, we may stay long enough to become purified. That’s how we get into goodness. From this purified state, we can attain devotional maturity and continue to serve Kṛṣṇa until the end of our lives. That’s usually the process followed by many devotees who attain success in this life.
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