Illusory Energy Bewilders the Conditioned Soul

The conditioned soul, having forgotten their eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, wanders through the material world under the spell of illusion. This article explores the nature of this bewilderment, the specific mechanisms of the illusory energy, and the distinct difference between the fallible living entity and the infallible Supreme Lord, as illuminated by the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Mechanism of Illusory Energy

Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the material energy, known as avidyā, acts specifically to keep the living entity in a state of forgetfulness regarding their constitutional position. This external potency bewilders the soul, causing them to mistake the temporary material manifestation for reality.

• The energy of the Lord called avidya is the bewildering factor of the conditioned souls. The material nature is called avidya, or ignorance, but to the devotees of the Lord engaged in pure devotional service, this energy becomes vidya, or pure knowledge.
• A conditioned soul is bewildered by the Lords illusory energy (maya). Maya's business is to keep the conditioned soul forgetful of his real relationship with Krsna.
• The conditioned living entity, bewildered by the illusory energy, considers himself a part of the material creation due to forgetfulness of his spiritual identity, and thus he becomes entangled in material activities life after life.

False Identification and Attachment

The primary symptom of a bewildered soul is the misidentification of the self with the material body. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that this leads to "I" and "mine" consciousness, where one becomes attached to labels such as nationalism, family, and social designations, which serve only the flickering senses.

• To the conditioned soul, me means the material body. This is called moha, or bewilderment.
• My wealth, my country, my community, and hundreds and thousands of similar illusory contemplations - cause bewilderment for the conditioned soul.
• Men are mad after false name and form. The form of body obtained under certain conditions is taken up as factual, and the name also taken bewilders the conditioned soul into misusing the energy in the name of so many "isms."

Supremacy of the Lord vs. Conditional Frailty

There is a vast gulf between the position of the Supreme Lord and the minute living entity. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that while the conditioned soul is subject to lamentation and is covered by māyā, the Supreme Lord is the controller of māyā and is never bewildered by His own energy.

• Lamentation, aggrievement and bewilderment are characteristics of conditioned souls, but how can such things affect the person of the Supreme, who is full of knowledge, power and all opulence?
• The Supreme Brahman, who is spreading the effulgence of light, He cannot be covered. We, the small particles are covered. Mam eva ye prapadyante (BG 7.13). In the Bhagavad-gita this is. They are bewildered by this external energy.
• The Lord, being situated in the heart of every individual living entity, knows very well the tendency of such conditioned souls in terms of past, present and future, but the bewildered conditioned soul hardly can know Him in His eternal form.

Divine Guidance through Scripture

Recognizing the helpless state of the conditioned souls, the Supreme Lord provides a means of deliverance. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Vedic literatures were compiled by Vyāsadeva specifically to enlighten those bewildered by the external energy and guide them back to their original consciousness.

• For the enlightenment of bewildered conditioned souls, the Supreme Lord has presented voluminous Vedic literatures such as the Vedas, the Puranas and the Vedanta-sutra. These are all intended to guide the human being back to Godhead.
• He (Vyasadeva) also saw His (God's) different plenary portions & parts of the plenary portions, namely His different incarnations also, and he specifically observed the unwanted miseries of the conditioned souls, who are bewildered by the external energy.

Conclusion

The bewilderment of the conditioned soul is a state of spiritual amnesia caused by the influence of the illusory energy, māyā. Identifying with the material body and its temporary extensions, the living entity suffers in the cycle of birth and death. However, as Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches, this ignorance is not permanent. By taking shelter of the Supreme Lord and the wisdom provided in the Vedic scriptures, the soul can dissipate the clouds of avidyā, reclaim its original knowledge, and return to its eternal constitutional position.

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Bewilderment of a Conditioned Soul. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.

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