Darkest Regions of Material Existence
The "darkest regions of material existence" refer to the perilous destinations awaiting those who misuse the human form of life. While the material world is by nature a place of darkness (tamas), there are gradations of ignorance. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that through uncontrolled senses, false scholarship, and envy of the Supreme, a living entity can descend into states of profound suffering, anxiety, and eventual birth in lower species.
Uncontrolled Senses - Downward Spiral
The journey to the darkest regions often begins with the failure to control the senses. Citing the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.30), Śrīla Prabhupāda identifies the mechanism of degradation: the unbridled senses drag the conditioned soul into a cycle of "chewing the chewed"—repeating the same exhausted attempts at sense gratification until the consciousness is completely covered.
- According to Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 7.5.30), they (atheists) are simply progressing to the darkest region of material existence. Adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram.
- Because they (the so-called householders) are unable to control their senses, they continue a life of chewing the chewed and therefore descend to the darkest material regions.
- Men do not know that the ultimate goal of life is Visnu, due to being bewildered by the glaring reflection in the darkness, and as such everyone is entering into the darkest region of material existence, driven by the uncontrolled senses.
Danger of False Knowledge
Śrī Īśopaniṣad provides a startling warning: while ignorance is dangerous, the culture of misleading knowledge is worse. Academic scholars, pseudo-religionists, and veda-vāda-ratāḥ (those attached to the flowery words of the Vedas without knowing their purpose) mislead society. Because they pose as authorities while devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they fall into darker regions than the simple ignorant masses.
- Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.
- Unfortunately, there are many scholars, academic scholars of Bhagavad-gita, but because they do not come in the disciplic succession from Krsna, they misinterpret the real sense of Bhagavad-gita and mislead the whole human society to the darkest region of ignorance.
Envy of Supreme
The ultimate cause of falling into darkness is envy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa declares that He casts the envious and mischievous into the darkest regions of material existence, ensuring they take birth in demoniac species.
- In the Bhagavad-gita we understand from the 16th Chapter that when a living entity becomes envious of Krishna, he is put into the darkest region of material existence.
- Such persons (renegades whose only business is to make men more forgetful of the Lord) are never dear to the Lord, and the Lord sends them deeper into the darkest region of matter so that such envious demons may not be able to know the Supreme Lord.
Darkest Region of Anxiety
Even within this life, the struggle to maintain material adjustments leads to a psychological hell. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that when we try to rectify the inevitable reversals of material nature without taking shelter of God, we simply enter the "darkest regions of material anxiety."
- Although there may be sufficient cause for being unhappy, one should avoid counteracting such reversals, for the more we become implicated in rectifying such reversals, the more we enter into the darkest regions of material anxiety.
- Sleeping in that darkest region, one does not get any refreshment, but, rather, gradually becomes fatigued. He invents many processes to adjust this fatigued condition, but he fails and thus remains confused.
Conclusion
The human form of life is a crossroads. One can choose the path of light, leading back to Godhead, or the path of darkness, leading to lower species and suffering. By avoiding bad association, controlling the senses, and accepting the authority of the bona fide spiritual master, one can escape the pull of the darkest regions.
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