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"blind man" | '''Theme Analysis''' | ||
The condition of the "blind man" is used by Śrīla Prabhupāda to describe the soul bereft of transcendental vision. While the materialist may possess physical sight, he is "blind" to the spiritual reality of reincarnation, the laws of nature, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This analysis explores the three primary analogies used in this category: the blind man falling into a dark well of ignorance, the group of blind men providing a distorted description of an elephant based on touch, and the visionary cooperation between the "blind" Western countries and "lame" India. Ultimately, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that blindness can only be cured by the "eye ointment" of knowledge delivered through the disciplic succession. | |||
* '''The Ditch of Ignorance:''' Without a guide who has "eyes to see" the truth, the blind leader and the blind follower are both doomed to fall into the ditch of material suffering and karmic reactions. | |||
* '''Incomplete Perception (The Elephant Story):''' Śrīla Prabhupāda uses the story of the blind men and the elephant to show that material research, logic, and touch are always mistaken or incomplete when applied to the Absolute Truth. | |||
* '''The Dark Well of Anxieties:''' A person who loses their spiritual intelligence becomes like a blind man perpetually trapped in a dark well, where anxiety and the bodily concept of life prevent any escape. | |||
* '''Cooperative Vision:''' In a stroke of practical genius, Prabhupāda proposes that the Western world (the blind man with money and legs) and India (the lame man with spiritual vision) should combine to lead human society back to Godhead. | |||
* '''Restoring Sight:''' The article concludes that through the mercy of the Pañca-tattva and the Spiritual Master, even the most "blind" soul can be granted the vision to see the stars of spiritual reality. | |||
* Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: [[Vanipedia:Restoring Spiritual Vision - Rescuing the Blind from Material Bondage|Restoring Spiritual Vision - Rescuing the Blind from Material Bondage.]] | |||
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[[Category:Blind]] | [[Category:Blind]] | ||
[[Category:Men]] | [[Category:Men]] | ||
[[Category:Categories - First Stage Theme Analysis Pending Proofreading|V]] | |||
[[Category:Observe, Perceive, and See - Umbrella Category]] | [[Category:Observe, Perceive, and See - Umbrella Category]] | ||
[[category:People and Persons - Umbrella Category]] | [[category:People and Persons - Umbrella Category]] | ||
[[Category:Men and Women - Umbrella Category]] | [[Category:Men and Women - Umbrella Category]] | ||
[[Category:All Categories - Vaniquotes]] | [[Category:All Categories - Vaniquotes]] | ||
Revision as of 08:35, 22 January 2026
Theme Analysis
The condition of the "blind man" is used by Śrīla Prabhupāda to describe the soul bereft of transcendental vision. While the materialist may possess physical sight, he is "blind" to the spiritual reality of reincarnation, the laws of nature, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This analysis explores the three primary analogies used in this category: the blind man falling into a dark well of ignorance, the group of blind men providing a distorted description of an elephant based on touch, and the visionary cooperation between the "blind" Western countries and "lame" India. Ultimately, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that blindness can only be cured by the "eye ointment" of knowledge delivered through the disciplic succession.
- The Ditch of Ignorance: Without a guide who has "eyes to see" the truth, the blind leader and the blind follower are both doomed to fall into the ditch of material suffering and karmic reactions.
- Incomplete Perception (The Elephant Story): Śrīla Prabhupāda uses the story of the blind men and the elephant to show that material research, logic, and touch are always mistaken or incomplete when applied to the Absolute Truth.
- The Dark Well of Anxieties: A person who loses their spiritual intelligence becomes like a blind man perpetually trapped in a dark well, where anxiety and the bodily concept of life prevent any escape.
- Cooperative Vision: In a stroke of practical genius, Prabhupāda proposes that the Western world (the blind man with money and legs) and India (the lame man with spiritual vision) should combine to lead human society back to Godhead.
- Restoring Sight: The article concludes that through the mercy of the Pañca-tattva and the Spiritual Master, even the most "blind" soul can be granted the vision to see the stars of spiritual reality.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Restoring Spiritual Vision - Rescuing the Blind from Material Bondage.
Pages in category "Blind Men"
The following 66 pages are in this category, out of 66 total.
2
A
- A blind man must first eradicate his blindness before he can attempt to lead others to light
- Accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man
- Although ignorant, people still go to other blind men for leadership. As a result, both are subjected to miserable conditions. The blind lead the blind into the ditch
- America has the money, so this is co-operation between the blind men and lame men. This will be a good name to your country, that Americans are building such nice buildings. It will make good relations between India and America
- As a blind man, being unable to see, accepts another blind man as his leader, people who do not know the goal of life accept someone as a guru who is a rascal and a fool
- As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords
- At the present moment, India may be compared to the lame man and the Western countries to the blind man. For the past two thousand years India has been subjugated by the rule of foreigners, and the legs of progress have been broken
B
- Being anxious, he cannot even sleep properly. He thus becomes more and more unhappy, and he gradually loses his intelligence and consciousness. In that state he becomes almost perpetually like a blind man who has fallen into a dark well of ignorance
- Blind man leading other blind men. There is no sense. Whole civilization. It is, this Krsna con..., our movement is a challenge to everyone, a challenge, genuine challenge. After all, everyone wants happiness, but they do not know what is happiness
- Blind men may lead many other blind followers without true knowledge of material conditions, but they are not accepted by devotees like Prahlada Maharaja
- By remembering the lotus feet of the Panca-tattva, a dumb man can become a poet, a lame man can cross mountains, and a blind man can see the stars in the sky
- By utilizing the sun rays, sometimes even the stones become valuable, whereas a blind man cannot see the sun, although there are enough sun rays before him
I
- If a blind man pretends to help another blind man cross a road, then both the blind leader and the blind follower shall fall into the further darkness of some unseen ditch. Everyone who is devoid of transcendental knowledge is just like a blind man
- If one becomes Krsna conscious, then immediately he gets out of the control of maya. That is the sign. Otherwise, if I remain a blind man, how can I lead others
- If one blind man tries to lead another, what is the result? If both the leaders and followers are blind, they will all fall in a ditch, for they are all bound by their nature
- If one puts into the bondage of karmic activity his disciple, son or citizen who is bereft of transcendental vision, how will one profit? It is like leading a blind man to a dark well and causing him to fall in
- If one who is blind takes instruction from a blind man, it will not be possible for him to be liberated from material bondage
- If you are sinful, how you can lead persons? Andha yathandhair upaniyamanah (SB 7.5.31). Blind man is leading other blind men. Therefore there is no solution. Why the world is in chaos? Because the leaders are all sinful
- If you remain blind, don't try to lead other blind men. That is misleading. First of all open your eyes. Everything is there. Nobody can do anything whimsically. If you do whimsically, concoctedly, that will be failure. It will not be effective
O
- Of the many inhabitants of this city, there are two persons named Nirvak and Pesaskrt. Although King Puranjana was the ruler of citizens who possessed eyes, he unfortunately used to associate with these blind men
- One blind leader is leading other blind men. This is going on. And when we present the real solution, they say it is brainwash
- One must therefore remain situated as he is and be conducted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, exactly as a blind man is led by a person who has eyes with which to see
- One should distribute visnu-prasada to everyone, including the poor man, the blind man, the nondevotee and the non-brahmana
- Our point is that if you are yourself blind, how you can lead other blind men?
S
- Since we cannot avoid the plan of the Supreme Godhead, we must agree to be directed by Him, just as a blind man is led by a person who has eyes
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "I saw in a dream that you were coming, and so this is very auspicious. I have been like a blind man, but your coming here restores My vision"
- Suppose one blind man says, "All right, come, follow me. I shall help you crossing this busy Mulberry Street." He is blind, and the followers are also blind. The result will be that they will be hit by some car or truck and they will all die
- Suppose we advertise some falsehood - "If you follow this path, within six months you will become God, and you will be all-powerful." Many people would come. This is actually one blind man leading other blind men
T
- The blind man may take the lame man over his shoulder, and as he walks the lame man may give him directions. Thus combined they may work, but individually neither the blind man nor the lame man can walk successfully
- The child, a small child, is reincarnating from one body to another, one body to another, one body to another. So similarly, the final change is called reincarnation. So there is no question of belief. It is a fact. Only the blind man, he cannot see it
- The Godless leaders of the society are blind themselves and their followers are also blind. So blind men leading blind men has no meaning
- The greatest enemies of progressive spiritual culture in human society are the old fossils of political parties who are blind themselves and who try to lead other blind men. They bring about disaster in a peaceful human society
- The leader must be perfect. If the leader is blind, how can I accept such blind leader? I am blind man. What is the use
- The leaders are blind and they are leading other blind men. So it is a very dangerous civilization. In spite of being born in India, in spite of having the privilege of studying Bhagavad-gita, they are not taking advantage of it
- The leaders, they are blind, and they are leading some other blind men without knowing that they cannot be happy in that way because he is under strict, stringent laws of material nature
- The so-called leaders, they are blind themselves, and they are trying to lead other blind men. This is the social position. Therefore there is no more hope of reviving the Vedic culture
- The so-called philosophers, scientists, they have been taught by another not scientist, so he is also not scientist, not philosopher, because he has been taught by another andha. Just like one blind man leads other blind man. So what knowledge he will get
- The so-called rascal guru, he does not know also what is the aim of life, and if he makes some disciples, then sastra says, andha yathandair upaniyamanah: one blind man is trying to guide many other blind men. So what is the benefit? There is no benefit
- Their (Persons) struggle for existence is in the wrong direction of material civilization, which is under the external energy. They are led by similar foolish persons, just as one blind man is led by another blind man and both fall in the ditch
- These rascals are blind, and they are leading some other blind men, and they are satisfied that "We have got all scientific knowledge." That's all. That is not the way of scientific knowledge
- They (people) are simply busy with material activities. Therefore all of them are performing only bad karma and therefore suffering. They are blind men leading other blind men. And both are then suffering by bad karma. That is very easy to understand
- They are becoming leaders. So what kind of leader? Andha yathandhair upaniyamanah. One blind man is leading several other blind men. So what will be the result? The result must be disaster. That is being done
- They are blind men and leading some other blind men. And both of them are expanding the path to hell by bad karma
- This is a civilization where a blind man is guiding a few others or many other blind men. So what is this civilization? The leader, he is a rascal. He does not know what is the aim of life
- To understand these subjects, we should be careful to approach Krsna's representative. We should not approach a bogus guru, who is like a blind man trying to lead other blind men
W
- When a blind man leads several other blind men, the result is that all of them fall down in a ditch. This is actually happening
- When disobedient leaders lead the disobedient people, the whole atmosphere of the administration becomes polluted and full of dangers, as when a blind man leads several other blind men
- When Gandhari came to know that her would-be husband was a blind man, to follow her life companion she decided to become voluntarily blind
- Why India's name should be defamed, that they are following in the same blind man's way? Therefore I repeatedly said that, - I invite you all. Come. Join. Understand