Page 7 - Ananda Mela 2016- Joyful Festival of India

Why are there so many problems in modern society?

The Vedas explain that there are three modes of material nature that condi-
on living en es to remain in the cycle of birth and death con nuously. It is

only in the human form of life that the living en ty has a chance to free him-
self from this interminable cycle. However, in the human form, if the living
en ty remains influenced by passion and ignorance, he cannot achieve
emancipa on. The mode of passion results in leading a life full of misery and
the mode of ignorance results in foolishness and abject suffering due to con-
sistently making the wrong decisions. In the following excerpt from the Bha-
gavad-gita As It Is by Bhak vedanta Swami Prabhupada, the dire conse-
quences of living under the influence of the mode of ignorance is described.

“As far as the mode of ignorance is concerned, the performer is without
knowledge, and therefore all his ac vi es result in present misery, and a er-
wards he will go on toward animal life. Animal life is always miserable, alt-
hough, under the spell of the illusory energy, maya, the animals do not un-
derstand this. Slaughtering poor animals is also due to the mode of igno-
rance. The animal killers do not know that in the future the animal will have
a body suitable to kill them. That is the law of nature. In human society, if
one kills a man he has to be hanged. That is the law of the state. Because of
ignorance, people do not perceive that there is a complete state controlled
by the Supreme Lord. Every living creature is a son of the Supreme Lord, and
He does not tolerate even an ant’s being killed. One has to pay for it. So in-
dulgence in animal killing for the taste of the tongue is the grossest kind of
ignorance. A human being has no need to kill animals, because God has sup-
plied so many nice things. If one indulges in meat-ea ng anyway, it is to be
understood that he is ac ng in ignorance and is making his future very dark.
Of all kinds of animal killing, the killing of cows is most vicious because the
cow gives us all kinds of pleasure by supplying milk. Cow slaughter is an act
of the grossest type of ignorance. In the Vedic literature (Ṛg Veda 9.46.4) the
words gobhiḥ prīṇita-matsaram indicate that one who, being fully sa sfied
by milk, is desirous of killing the cow is in the grossest ignorance. There is
also a prayer in the Vedic literature that states:

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