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Mantra Nine

Deveta mantra

Text

Besedilo

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti
ye ’vidyām upāsate
tato bhūya iva te tamo
ya u vidyāyāḿ ratāḥ
andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti
ye ’vidyām upāsate
tato bhūya iva te tamo
ya u vidyāyāḿ ratāḥ

Synonyms

Synonyms

andham — gross ignorance; tamaḥ — darkness; praviśanti — enter into; ye — those who; avidyām — nescience; upāsate — worship; tataḥ — than that; bhūyaḥ — still more; iva — like; te — they; tamaḥ — darkness; ye — those who; u — also; vidyāyām — in the culture of knowledge; ratāḥ — engaged.

andham — v slepo nevednost; tamaḥ — v temo; praviśanti — vstopijo; ye — tisti, ki; avidyām — nevednost; upāsate — častijo; tataḥ — kot to; bhūyaḥ — še bolj; iva — kakor; te — ti (oni); tamaḥ — v temo; ye — tisti, ki; u — tudi; vidyāyām — z negovanjem znanja; ratāḥ — zaposleni.

Translation

Translation

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.

Tisti, ki s svojim delovanjem gojijo nevednost, zabredejo v najglobljo zaslepljenost, še hujši pa so tisti, ki negujejo navidezno znanje.

Purport

Purport

This mantra offers a comparative study of vidyā and avidyā. Avidyā, or ignorance, is undoubtedly dangerous, but vidyā, or knowledge, is even more dangerous when mistaken or misguided. This mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad is more applicable today than at any time in the past. Modern civilization has advanced considerably in the field of mass education, but the result is that people are more unhappy than ever before because of the stress placed on material advancement to the exclusion of the most important part of life, the spiritual aspect.

Ta mantra je primerjalna študija vidye in avidye. Avidyā (nevednost) je nedvomno nevarna, vidyā (znanje) pa je še nevarnejša, kadar živimo v zmoti ali jo napačno usmerimo. Razumevanje te mantre Śrī Īśopaniṣad je dandanes pomembnejše, kot je bilo kdaj v preteklosti. Sodobna civilizacija je zelo uspešno uveljavila splošni izobraževalni sistem, posledica tega pa je, da so ljudje nesrečnejši kot kdaj prej, saj šolstvo poudarja materialni napredek, izključuje pa človekov duhovni razvoj, ki je v življenju najpomembnejši.

As far as vidyā is concerned, the first mantra has explained very clearly that the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of everything and that forgetfulness of this fact is ignorance. The more a man forgets this fact of life, the more he is in darkness. In view of this, a godless civilization directed toward the so-called advancement of education is more dangerous than a civilization in which the masses of people are less “educated.”

   Vidyo zelo nazorno razlaga prva mantra, ki pravi, da je Vsevišnji Gospod lastnik vsega in da je pozaba tega dejstva nevednost. Bolj ko na to pozabljamo, bolj se pogrezamo v temo. Zato je brezbožna civilizacija, ki je usmerjena k tako imenovanemu napredku izobraževanja, nevarnejša od družbe, kjer je večina ljudi manj »izobraženih«.

Of the different classes of men – karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs – the karmīs are those who are engaged in the activities of sense gratification. In the modern civilization, 99.9 percent of the people are engaged in the activities of sense gratification under the flags of industrialism, economic development, altruism, political activism, and so on. All these activities are more or less based on satisfaction of the senses, to the exclusion of the kind of God consciousness described in the first mantra.

   Obstaja več vrst ljudi – karmīji, jñānīji in jogiji – med katerimi so karmīji tisti, ki se posvečajo delovanju za zadovoljevanje čutov. V sodobni družbi pod okriljem industrializma, gospodarskega napredka, dobrodelnosti, političnega delovanja itd. na tak način živi 99,9 odstotkov ljudi. Vse njihovo delovanje večinoma temelji na zadovoljstvu čutov in izključuje zavedanje Boga, kot ga opisuje prva mantra.

In the language of the Bhagavad-gītā (7.15), people who are engaged in gross sense gratification are mūḍhas – asses. The ass is a symbol of stupidity. Those who simply engage in the profitless pursuit of sense gratification are worshiping avidyā, according to Śrī Īśopaniṣad. And those who play the role of helping this sort of civilization in the name of educational advancement are actually doing more harm than those who are on the platform of gross sense gratification. The advancement of learning by a godless people is as dangerous as a valuable jewel on the hood of a cobra. A cobra decorated with a valuable jewel is more dangerous than one not decorated. In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3.11.12), the advancement of education by a godless people is compared to decorations on a dead body. In India, as in many other countries, some people follow the custom of leading a procession with a decorated dead body for the pleasure of the lamenting relatives. In the same way, modern civilization is a patchwork of activities meant to cover the perpetual miseries of material existence. All such activities are aimed toward sense gratification. But above the senses is the mind, and above the mind is the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul. Thus the aim of real education should be self-realization, realization of the spiritual values of the soul. Any education which does not lead to such realization must be considered avidyā, or nescience. And to culture such nescience means to go down to the darkest region of ignorance.

   Po besedah Bhagavad-gīte (7.15) so ljudje, ki se posvečajo neobvladanemu zadovoljevanju čutil, mūḍhe (osli). Osel je poosebljenje neumnosti. Śrī Īśopaniṣad pravi, da tisti, ki si samo prizadevajo za brezplodno čutno zadovoljstvo, častijo avidyo. Tisti, ki podpirajo tako družbo v imenu napredka v izobraževanju, pa so še škodljivejši od ljudi, ki so na ravni grobega zadovoljevanja čutov. Znanstveno napredovanje brezbožnih ljudi je nevarno kot dragocen dragulj na kobrini glavi. Taka kobra je nevarnejša od neokrašene. Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3.11.12) primerja izobraževalni napredek brezbožnih z okraševanjem trupla. V Indiji in številnih drugih deželah gredo pogrebci v zadovoljstvo žalujočih sorodnikov na sprevod z okrašenim truplom. Sodobna družba prav tako združuje raznovrstne dejavnosti, ki so namenjene zakrivanju nenehnega trpljenja v materialnem svetu. Vse take dejavnosti so usmerjene k čutnemu zadovoljevanju. Vedeti pa moramo, da je um nad čutili, nad njim je razum, nad razumom pa je duša. Samospoznanje oziroma spoznanje duhovnih vrednot duše bi zato moralo biti pravi cilj izobraževanja. Vsako izobraževanje, ki ne vodi k takemu spoznanju, moramo imeti za avidyo oziroma nevednost. Z razvijanjem take nevednosti se pogreznemo v najglobljo zaslepljenost.

According to the Bhagavad-gītā (2.42, 7.15), mistaken mundane educators are known as veda-vāda-rata and māyayāpahṛta-jñāna. They may also be atheistic demons, the lowest of men. Those who are veda-vāda-rata pose themselves as very learned in the Vedic literature, but unfortunately they are completely diverted from the purpose of the Vedas. In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) it is said that the purpose of the Vedas is to know the Personality of Godhead, but these veda-vāda-rata men are not at all interested in the Personality of Godhead. On the contrary, they are fascinated by such fruitive results as the attainment of heaven.

   Bhagavad-gītā (2.42, 7.15), opredeljuje posvetne izobražence, ki živijo v zmoti, kot veda-vāda-rata in māyayāpahṛta-jñāna, pa tudi kot brezbožne demone, najnižje med ljudmi. Tisti, ki so veda-vāda-rata, se imajo za velike poznavalce vedske književnosti, na žalost pa so povsem zgrešili smisel Ved. Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) pravi, da je namen Ved spoznati Božansko Osebnost. Toda Bog teh, ki so veda-vāda-rata, niti najmanj ne zanima, očarajo pa jih sadovi koristi prinašajočega delovanja, kot na primer odhod v nebesa.

As stated in Mantra One, we should know that the Personality of Godhead is the proprietor of everything and that we must be satisfied with our allotted portions of the necessities of life. The purpose of all Vedic literature is to awaken this God consciousness in the forgetful living being, and this same purpose is presented in various ways in the different scriptures of the world for the understanding of a foolish mankind. Thus the ultimate purpose of all religions is to bring one back to Godhead.

   Prva mantra pravi, da bi se morali zavedati Gospodovega lastništva nad vsem in da bi morali biti zadovoljni z življenjskimi potrebščinami, ki so nam dodeljene. Namen vseh vedskih spisov je v pozabljivem živem bitju prebuditi zavedanje o Bogu. Tudi drugi sveti spisi sveta stremijo za istim ciljem in si na razne načine prizadevajo, da bi nespametno človeštvo to razumelo. Tako je najvišji smisel vseh verstev človeka pripeljati nazaj k Bogu.

But the veda-vāda-rata people, instead of realizing that the purpose of the Vedas is to revive the forgetful soul’s lost relationship with the Personality of Godhead, take it for granted that such side issues as the attainment of heavenly pleasure for sense gratification – the lust for which causes their material bondage in the first place – are the ultimate end of the Vedas. Such people misguide others by misinterpreting the Vedic literature. Sometimes they even condemn the Purāṇas, which are authentic Vedic explanations for laymen. The veda-vāda-ratas give their own explanations of the Vedas, neglecting the authority of great teachers (ācāryas). They also tend to raise some unscrupulous person from among themselves and present him as the leading exponent of Vedic knowledge. Such veda-vāda-ratas are especially condemned in this mantra by the very appropriate Sanskrit words vidyāyāṁ ratāḥ. Vidyāyām refers to the study of the Vedas because the Vedas are the origin of all knowledge (vidyā), and ratāḥ means “those engaged.” Vidyāyāṁ ratāḥ thus means “those engaged in the study of the Vedas.” The so-called students of the Vedas are condemned herein because they are ignorant of the actual purpose of the Vedas on account of their disobeying the ācāryas. Such veda-vāda-ratas search out meanings in every word of the Vedas to suit their own purposes. They do not know that the Vedic literature is a collection of extraordinary books that can be understood only through the chain of disciplic succession.

   Ljudje, ki so veda-vāda-rata, pa mislijo, da je stranski učinek Ved, kot so rajski užitki in čutno zadovoljstvo (torej poželenje, ki je pravzrok njihove materialne pogojenosti), najvišji cilj. Ne razumejo, da je namen Ved obuditi izgubljen odnos z Božansko Osebnostjo. Taki ljudje zavajajo druge z napačnimi razlagami vedske književnosti in včasih celo zavračajo Purāṇe, ki so verodostojna razlaga Ved za nestrokovnjake. Svojevoljno razlagajo Vede in se ne zmenijo za avtoriteto velikih učiteljev (ācārij). Običajno med sabo izberejo kakega brezvestnega človeka in ga razglašajo za glavnega predstavnika vedskega znanja. Ta mantra z zelo primernima sanskrtskima besedama vidyāyāṁ ratāḥ posebej obsodi take veda-vāda-rata. Vidyāyām se nanaša na preučevanje Ved, saj so Vede vir vsega znanja (vidyā), ratāḥ pa pomeni »tisti, ki se temu posvečajo«. Vidyāyāṁ ratāḥ torej pomeni »tisti, ki se posvečajo preučevanju Ved«, ker pa so ti tako imenovani preučevalci zaradi nespoštovanja ācārij zgrešili pravi smisel Ved, jih ta mantra obsodi. Veda-vāda-rata si vsako besedo Ved prikrojijo tako, da služi njihovemu namenu. Ne vedo, da je vedska književnost zbirka izjemnih knjig, ki jih lahko razumemo samo v nasledstvu duhovnih učiteljev in učencev.

One must approach a bona fide spiritual master in order to understand the transcendental message of the Vedas. That is the direction of the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12). These veda-vāda-rata people, however, have their own ācāryas, who are not in the chain of transcendental succession. Thus they progress into the darkest region of ignorance by misinterpreting the Vedic literature. They fall even further into ignorance than those who have no knowledge of the Vedas at all.

   Če želimo razumeti božansko sporočilo Ved, se moramo obrniti na verodostojnega duhovnega učitelja. Tako nam naroča Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (1.2.12). Veda-vāda-rata pa imajo svoje ācārye, ki ne prihajajo iz transcendentalnega nasledstva. Tako z napačnimi razlagami Ved drsijo v najglobljo zaslepljenost – še globlje od tistih, ki Ved sploh ne poznajo.

The māyayāpahṛta-jñāna class of men are self-made “Gods.” Such men think that they themselves are God and that there is no need of worshiping any other God. They will agree to worship an ordinary man if he happens to be rich, but they will never worship the Personality of Godhead. Such men, unable to recognize their own foolishness, never consider how it is that God can be entrapped by māyā, His own illusory energy. If God were ever entrapped by māyā, māyā would be more powerful than God. Such men say that God is all-powerful, but they do not consider that if He is all-powerful there is no possibility of His being overpowered by māyā. These self-made “Gods” cannot answer all these questions very clearly; they are simply satisfied to have become “God” themselves.

   Māyayāpahṛta-jñāna so tisti, ki sebe razglašajo za »Boga«, zato mislijo, da drugega Boga ni treba častiti. Z veseljem so pripravljeni častiti navadnega človeka, če je le bogat, nikoli pa ne bodo častili Božanske Osebnosti. Ker se ne zavedajo lastne nespametnosti, nikoli ne pomislijo na nesmiselnost tega, da bi Boga lahko zaslepila māyā, Njegova lastna slepilna energija. Če bi Ga lahko, bi bila močnejša od Njega. Taki ljudje pravijo, da je Gospod vsemogočen, ne pomislijo pa, da si Ga kot takega māyā nikoli ne bi mogla podvreči. Samooklicani »Bogovi« na taka vprašanja nimajo jasnih odgovorov, zadovoljijo pa se že z mislijo, da so sami postali »Bog«.