Category:Conditioned Stage
Theme Analysis
The conditioned stage (nitya-baddha) is described by Śrīla Prabhupāda as a diseased condition of the soul. In this state, the living entity is characterized by four basic defects: imperfect senses, the tendency to commit mistakes, being in illusion, and the cheating propensity. Because of these defects, direct perception (inductive knowledge) is flawed; for example, one sees the sun merely as a disc. The conditioned soul is trapped in the bodily concept of life, seeing duality (friends and enemies) and being helplessly forced by the laws of nature to undergo birth and death. Crucially, Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that in this stage, one should not attempt to imitate the confidential pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa (rāsa-līlā). instead, worship should be performed with awe and reverence (like Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa) under the strict guidance of the spiritual master.
- Defective Perception: The senses are limited and imperfect. Knowledge gathered through direct perception (pratyakṣa) in the conditioned stage is unreliable.
- The Cheating Propensity: One of the four defects is the desire to cheat others, which Śaṅkarācārya carried to the extreme to mislead the monists.
- Appropriate Worship: A conditioned soul cannot understand the intimate love of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Worship in this stage is technically of Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa (awe and reverence), even if directed at the Kṛṣṇa Deity.
- Helplessness: The conditioned soul does not wish to die or take birth but is forced to do so. This helplessness is a symptom of the "diseased" material condition.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Characteristics of Conditioned Stage.
Pages in category "Conditioned Stage"
The following 34 pages are in this category, out of 34 total.
A
I
- In His eternal, blissful form, Lord Krsna is accepted by Arjuna as param brahma. A living entity in the conditioned stage accepts something illusory as substantial. This is called maya or avidya - ignorance
- In our gross conditional stage we perceive things through material experience and remembrance, and in the subtle stage we perceive the world in dreams
- In the conditioned stage of existence, all living entities have four basic defects, of which one is the cheating propensity. Sankaracarya has carried this cheating propensity to the extreme to mislead the monists
- In the conditioned stage of material existence they (the living entities) can hardly appreciate what is the factual, existential, cognizable and pure happiness of life
- In the conditioned stage of the living entities, there are two kinds of results of fruitive activities: the conditioned living entity who is constantly engaged in sinful activities has suffering as his result
- In the conditioned stage one should not even try to remember such things - rasa-lila
- In the conditioned stage we impregnate according to the bodily conception - that is, by sexual intercourse - but the Supreme Lord does not need sexual intercourse to impregnate. The impregnation is performed simply by His glance
- In the conditioned stage we think that some living beings are our friends whereas others are enemies, and thus we are in duality
- In the conditioned stage, one's conceptions of life are sometimes polluted by passion and ignorance, which are exhibited by false prestige, insults, fault-finding, deception, envy, intolerance, passion, bewilderment, hunger and sleep
- In the conditioned stage, when one engages in devotional service, he should follow the instruction of the bona fide spiritual master in full surrender
S
- Sense activities in liberation are accepted only in connection with Krsna consciousness, whereas sense activities in the conditioned stage are enacted for personal sense gratification
- So in our conditioned stage there will be so many doubts, so many implication. But the same thing as I gave you example, that don't be very much hasty to receive the result immediately. Simply we have to follow
- Spiritual energy is prominent everywhere, in this material world and the spiritual world. Here also, the matter is developing upon spirit, not that spirit is manifesting under certain conditional stage of matter. That is a wrong theory
T
- The identification of oneself with one's material possessions in the conditional stage must be purified, and one must identify himself in relationship with the Supreme Lord
- The living entity in his conditioned stage identifies himself with the body, but when he identifies himself with the Lord within himself, he becomes just as free as the Lord, even while in the body. (Svet. 3.18). BG 1972 purports
- The material nature is a conditional manifestation of spiritual nature, just as smoke is a conditional stage of fire. Smoke is dependent on fire, but in a blazing fire there is no place for smoke. Smoke disturbs, but fire serves
- The Supreme Godhead is always awake. In the conditioned stage we forget things because we change our bodies, but because the Supreme Personality of Godhead does not change His body, He remembers past, present and future
- Then (after the living entity in the conditioned stage uncovers his aptitude for serving the Absolute Truth) the Lord reveals Himself within his heart, and he can know that Krsna is seated in the heart of every pure devotee
- This intuition of the living being is sometimes manifested even during the conditioned stage in the material world and it is expressed in the manner of altruism, philanthropy, socialism, communism etc. by the undeveloped minds of less intelligent persons
- Those who are conditioned, they are called nitya-baddha, ever-conditioned. Nitya-baddha means we do not know when our, this conditional stage has begun. It is impossible to trace out the history.
- Those who are under the control of maya, and specifically under the control of lusty desires, are called maya-mrga. Indeed, everyone in the conditional stage of material life is a maya-mrga
W
- We admit that we are in the conditional stage and our source of knowledge is not the senses because they are imperfect
- We do not wish to die, but we have to accept death. This is our conditional stage of life. I do not wish to take birth; still, I am forced to go into the womb of my mother by the laws of nature
- We have got our senses with limited power, and there are so many defects in our conditioned stage. Therefore inductive process is not always perfect. The deductive process, from the authority, the knowledge received, is always perfect
- We should always know that this bodily conditional stage of the pure soul is a diseased condition. And anyone who does not know that he is suffering from disease is a fool. He is Fool Number One