# The Four Defects *On the imperfections of conditioned souls* --- ### Sure to Commit Mistake > There is nobody in the world, in this conditional state, who can boldly say that "I have never committed any mistake in my life." Is there anybody? No. We have committed so many mistakes. Even a perfect... Our country, Mahatma Gandhi, he was supposed to be a very great, perfect leader of the country. He also committed mistakes, so many. And what to speak of us. — [[spoken/1966/660711bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 and Review, New York, 1966]] --- ### Accepting Illusion > The second imperfection is accepting something which is not real. This is called illusion. The example of illusion is given generally: Just like in darkness, if you find some curling rope, you are afraid, "Oh, here is a snake!" Actually, that is not a snake. That means accepting the curling rope as a snake. This is the example of illusion. — [[spoken/1966/660711bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 and Review, New York, 1966]] --- ### Cheating Propensity > The third imperfection is that cheating. Everyone thinks himself very clever and he can cheat others. The customer and the shopkeeper: the shopkeeper thinks that "I am giving him nonsense things and making profit," and the customer is thinking, "Oh, I am getting it very cheap." So this is going on, even in ordinary dealing. So this is called cheating process. — [[spoken/1966/660711bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 and Review, New York, 1966]] --- ### Imperfect Senses > And the fourth imperfection is that our senses are blunt. We acquire knowledge by our senses. Just like we acquire knowledge by seeing. Everyone we say, "Can you show me God?" But the answer is, "Can you see God?" How you can see God? You have no eyes to see God. Even I show you God, you cannot see. Our senses are so imperfect. — [[spoken/1966/660711bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 and Review, New York, 1966]] --- ### Cannot See in Darkness > Just like take for example the eyes. The eyes, it is seeing under certain condition. As soon as you put off this light, you cannot see. So what is the use of having this eyes? So therefore, we have got our imperfect senses. We have got cheating propensity, we are prone to commit mistake, and we accept illusory things. These four principles of imperfection is in the conditioned soul. — [[spoken/1966/660711bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 and Review, New York, 1966]] --- ### Liberated Souls Are Different > But who is liberated soul or who is God, they are not under these conditions. Therefore Kṛṣṇa is considered to be the highest perfectional personality, and Arjuna selected Him as the spiritual master. — [[spoken/1966/660711bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 and Review, New York, 1966]] --- ### Cannot Speculate to Truth > So spiritual knowledge is beyond the scope of our sense speculation. Beyond the scope. Just like when a soul, a spiritual spark only, leaves this body, you cannot see. Therefore atheistic class of men, they speculate, "There may be a soul; there may not be soul." Or "The bodily function was going like this; now it stopped." These are speculation. This is not actual knowledge. — [[spoken/1971/710903ba.lon|Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's Appearance Day Lecture, London, 1971]] --- ### Must Go to Authority > In the modern age people think that "I am free, I am independent, and I can make my own solution." That is rascaldom. That's not good. So Arjuna, when he was talking with Kṛṣṇa as friend, but when he saw that there was no solution talking like this, he surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. He said, śiṣyas te 'ham: "Myself, I surrender unto You as Your disciple." — [[spoken/1971/710903ba.lon|Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's Appearance Day Lecture, London, 1971]] --- ### The Diseased Condition > When you ask me, "Swāmījī, what you are?" Oh, I'll say, "I am Indian." What sort of Indian I am? Because my this body is Indian, made in India or got in India. But I am not this body. I am not this body. So this is illusion. Accepting something which is not real. — [[spoken/1966/660711bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 and Review, New York, 1966]] --- ### Knowledge Above Defects > Why we are giving so much stress on the Bhagavad-gītā? Because it is spoken by a personality who is above all imperfection. So these four principles of imperfect is in the conditioned soul. But who is liberated soul or who is God, they are not under these conditions. — [[spoken/1966/660711bg.ny|Bhagavad-gītā 4.1 and Review, New York, 1966]] --- *10 quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda on the four defects* [[wiki/quotes|Back to Quotes]]