What is Ignorance
In the Bhagavad Gita, when Arjuna refuses to fight against the Kauravas, claiming that they are his kinsmen and he would rather die than kill his own people, Krishna accuses him of suffering from ignorance. What is ignorance? What is its nature and what is its effect? Here ’s what Swami says.
“What was responsible for Arjuna’s despondency? It was ignorance. Because of ignorance he developed body-consciousness, and because of body-consciousness he became confused and weakened, he lost all his resolve and courage, and was unable to accomplish anything. Krishna told Arjuna, ‘As long as you are faint-hearted, even the smallest task won’t get done. You will be haunted by sorrow. Do you know what causes this sorrow? It is your attachment; you are infatuated with a sense of ‘my people’, ‘my kinsmen’, ‘my friends.’ This possessive attitude stems from ignorance. Attachment and infatuation will always make you weak-minded and plunge you into grief. They are the real enemies that you have to conquer.”’
Discourses on the Bhagavad Gita, p. 97
“Krishna said, ‘Arjuna, you think that these people are your relatives and friends. But who is the relative? Who is the friend? All your relatives and friends are not only present today, but they have existed previously in any number of births. You also have existed before and so have l existed as well. Body, mind and intellect are all just instruments. They are something like the clothes you wear; they are all inert things that you change now and again. Why develop a close relationship with them, getting infatuated with them and thereby subjecting yourself to so much unnecessary sorrow and grief?”‘
Discourses on the Bhagavad Gita, p. 100
“Ignorance is like fire. Fire may be extinguished almost completely, except for just a few glowing embers. But if a breeze comes up, sparks from these few coals may develop into a huge conflagration. Therefore, not even a remnant of fire should be left. In the same way, if any latent impressions of attachment and desire are left in your heart, your sorrow is likely to flare up and grow. That is why Krishna admonished Arjuna, ‘If you retain even the smallest bit of attachment in your heart, whatever I teach you will become useless. You must completely destroy all your attachment, which has been fed for so long by the ignorance that is beclouding your heart.”‘
Discourses on the Bhagavad Gita, p.110
