Category:Dark
Theme Analysis
The concept of "dark" in Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings encompasses both the material condition of ignorance and the transcendental beauty of the Supreme Lord. Materially, the entire universe is described as naturally dark (tamas), requiring the sun, moon, or electricity for illumination. This physical darkness parallels the spiritual darkness of the bodily concept of life, where the conditioned soul is blind to the reality of the self and God. Sinful activities and atheism are said to drag the soul down to the "darkest regions" of hell. Conversely, the "dark" complexion of Lord Kṛṣṇa (śyāmasundara) is the perfection of beauty, resembling a fresh raincloud. In His pastimes, Kṛṣṇa often uses darkness—such as entering a dark cave or stealing butter in unlit rooms—where His own bodily effulgence or jeweled ornaments provide the light.
- The Dark Universe: The material world is inherently dark. Light here is artificial or reflected, unlike the self-illuminated spiritual sky.
- Ignorance is Darkness: Being born in the material world means being born in the darkest ignorance. The guru provides the torchlight of knowledge.
- Transcendental Complexion: Kṛṣṇa's body is dark like a thundercloud, yet He is the source of all effulgence. Lord Caitanya, however, hides this dark complexion under a golden luster.
- Pastimes: Kṛṣṇa's activities often take place in the dark—whether fighting demons in caves or stealing butter—illuminating the scene with His presence.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Darkness - Material and Spiritual Perspectives.
Subcategories
This category has the following 6 subcategories, out of 6 total.
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Pages in category "Dark"
The following 121 pages are in this category, out of 121 total.
A
- Actually this dark universe is illuminated by the sun, but the sun and moon simply reflect the bodily effulgence of the Supreme Lord. In BG (BG 7.8) the Lord says, prabhasmi sasi-suryayoh: "I am the illuminating energy of both the sun and the moon."
- Adorned with dark tresses, she hid herself, as it were, out of shyness. Upon seeing that girl, the asuras were all infatuated with an appetite for sex
- After dark, the moon comes out just like a line, then it increases, & one night it becomes full. Similarly, as your heart becomes cleansed of the material dirty things, your real form, eternity blissful life of knowledge, becomes visible, just like moon
- After the scorching heat of the summer season, it is very pleasing to see dark clouds in the sky. As confirmed in Brahma-samhita. The Lord wears a peacock feather in His hair, and His bodily complexion is just like a blackish cloud
- As soon as the electric energy is stopped, the fan is stopped. The room is dark. So there is powerhouse behind this electric energy, and the powerhouse is being managed by one engineer. This is natural conclusion
- As we have got day and night, in the higher planetary system the waxing and waning moon, then when the moon is present there and the sky is in light, that is the day of the higher planetary system. And when the moon is dark, that is the night
- Asuras, devoid of self-realization and knowledge of isavasya, the Lord's universal proprietorship, are certain to enter into the darkest regions
B
- Bali Maharaja saw his grandfather Prahlada Maharaja, the most fortunate personality, whose dark body resembled black ointment for the eyes
- Begging, borrowing and stealing to live for sense gratification is condemned in this verse (SB 5.5.4) because such consciousness leads one to a dark, hellish condition
- Besides these, there is the beauty of the Kaustubha-mani pearl, and on the dark chest of the Lord there are streaks named Srivatsa, which are signs of the goddess of fortune
- Beyond Puskaradvipa there are two islands, one always lit by the sunshine and the other always dark. Between them is a mountain called Lokaloka, which is situated one billion miles from the edge of the universe
D
- Dear master, kindly enlighten us in transcendental knowledge, which may act as a torchlight by which we may cross the dark nescience of material existence
- Down, when you start your plane, it may be very dark, and then, when you go beyond the sky, seven miles above, then you see there is sunlight
- During the months of January, February and March, oblations offered to the forefathers are called astaka-sraddha. The sraddha ceremony is held during the dark fortnight of the month
E
- Even one is not in goodness, even one is in the darkest part of the quality of ignorance, still, he can be immediately elevated to the spiritual platform, which is recommended by Krsna, that you have come to the platform above the modes of goodness
- Every one of you know that it is dark by nature. Therefore, here we require sunlight, moonlight, electricity. Just like if you live in a dark room, you must always have light, electricity. Otherwise you are blind
H
- He (Krsna) asked them (citizens of Dvaraka) to remain outside, He Himself entered the dark tunnel alone to find Rksa, Jambavan. After entering the tunnel, Krsna saw that the valuable jewel known as Syamantaka had been given to the son of Rksa as a toy
- He (Krsna) has tasted that love while hiding His own dark complexion with Her effulgent yellow color. May that Lord Caitanya confer upon us His grace
- He (Krsna) plays a flute, and His eyes are like the petals of a lotus flower. He wears a peacock feather, and His complexion is very beautiful, like a dark cloud
- He (Trnavarta) picked the child up on his shoulders and raised a great dust storm all over Vrndavana, covering everyone's eyes. Within a few moments the whole area of Vrndavana became so densely dark that no one could see himself or anyone else
- He has tasted that love while hiding His own dark complexion with Her effulgent yellow color. May that Lord Caitanya confer upon us His grace
- Her (Devahuti's) countenance shone, with beautiful teeth and charming eyebrows. Her eyes, distinguished by lovely moist corners, defeated the beauty of lotus buds. Her face was surrounded by dark curling tresses
- His (Aghasura's) lower lip rested on the surface of the earth, and his upper lip was touching the clouds in the sky. The borders of his mouth resembled the sides of a big cave in a mountain, & the middle of his mouth was as dark as possible - SB 10.12.17
- His (Krsna) yellow garments and garlands of flowers made it appear as if a dark cloud were surrounded simultaneously by sun, moon, lightning and rainbows
I
- I (Narada Muni) visited deep, dark and dangerously fearful forests, which were the play yards of snakes, owls and jackals
- I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him. BG 1972 Introduction
- If one commits offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee, one's shadow attachment or para attachment can be extinguished. This extinguishing is like the waning of the full moon, which gradually decreases and at last becomes dark
- If we (the elder gopis) keep our stock of yogurt, butter and milk in a solitary dark place, your Krsna and Balarama find it in the darkness by the glaring effulgence of the ornaments and jewels on Their bodies
- Ignorance, stupidity, is compared with darkness. Just like if you are . . . if this room, immediately all lights are off, then it becomes dark. We cannot see where I am sitting, where others sitting. It becomes a confusion
- In darkness at night the only happiness is sleeping and sex, that's all. There is no other happiness. And when there was dark in New York, electricity failed, and so many women became pregnant. (laughs) Yes
- In length and breadth the animal's (Aghasura) tongue resembles a broad traffic-way, and the inside of its mouth is very, very dark, like a cave in a mountain - SB 10.12.22
- In Padyavali Radharani told Her companion, "My dear friend, I was just going to the bank of the Yamuna, and all of a sudden a very nice boy whose complexion is like a dark blue cloud became visible in front of My eyes"
- In Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 1.18.12) it is stated: O my dear Suta Gosvami, even though we have become darkened by the sacrificial smoke of fruitive activities, you have given us the nectar of Krsna's lotus feet
- In the open space there is sunlight, and therefore it is illuminated, but in the covering, because of the absence of sunlight, it is naturally dark
- In the Varaha Purana the following offenses (in Deity worship) are mentioned: (a) to eat in the house of a rich man, (b) to enter the Deity's room in the dark, (c) to worship the Deity without following the regulative principles
- It (raja-vidya) is the knowledge of light, and darkness has been separated from it. If one follows this path of knowledge, he will personally understand how far he has progressed down the path of perfection - pratyaksavagamam dharmyam
- It is said: "I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him." This gives the definition of the guru
K
- Krsna consciousness means not to remain in the dark consciousness. Tamasi ma jyotir gama. That is the Vedic instruction, "Don't remain in the darkness." And what is that darkness? The darkness is bodily concept of life
- Krsna is compared to the dark cloud, and Lalita is compared to the cataki bird seeking only Krsna's company
M
- Mucukunda knew very well that wherever the Lord is personally present by His transcendental name, qualities, form and so on, there cannot be any darkness of ignorance. He is like a lamp placed in the darkness; He immediately illuminates a dark place
- My Lord, the darkest evening, which covers the world, is fast approaching. Since You are the Soul of all souls, kindly kill him (Hiranyaksa) and win victory for the demigods
O
- Oh, the son of royal order, you live forever. Because you do not know, next life is very dark for you, because you do not cultivate any Krsna consciousness
- On a dark night, the darkness produced by snow has no meaning. The glowworm appears very important at night, but in the daytime its glow has no value; whatever little value it has is lost
- On this very dark planet, the sinful man is chastised by the Yamadutas, who beat and rebuke him. He is starved, and he is given no water to drink. Thus the wrathful assistants of Yamaraja cause him severe suffering
- One may live in the darkest jungle alone out of home, but a steadfast devotee knows very well that he is not alone. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is with him, and He can protect His sincere devotee in any awkward circumstance
- One may see a rope in the dark and think it to be a serpent, or one may see a glittering oyster shell and think it to be gold. These are mistakes
- One of the cowherd boys said, "That long highway appears to be its (the snakes's) tongue, and inside the mouth it is as dark as in a mountain cave"
- One should not touch the Deity in a dark room. 2) One should not fail to strictly follow the rules and regulations in worshiping the Deity. 3) One should not enter the temple of the Deity without first making some sound
- One who feels the need to cross the dark ocean of nescience, which is material existence, requires a guru. It is not the guru's task to supply gold and medicine
- Our philosophy has the full potency to deliver anyone from the darkest realms of ignorance to the enlightened realm of complete cognizance. The potential is there, simply you have to master the words & deliver them purely, & this will please me very much
R
- Ramananda continued speaking to Lord: First I saw You as a sannyasi, & then I saw You as a cowherd boy. I see before You a golden doll, & due to its presence Your complexion has become golden. Yet I see that Your complexion is dark, like a cowherd boy's
- Raya continued speaking to Lord: I see before You a golden doll, & due to its presence Your complexion has become golden. Yet I see that Your complexion is dark. Will You please explain why I am seeing You in this way? Please tell me without reservation
S
- Salva also managed to create such a strong whirlwind within the city that all of Dvaraka became dark because of the dust that covered the sky
- Sat and asat. These two things are side by side. Just like there is darkness and there is light, you can see merging in the sunlight. You'll see, one side is light, and one side is dark. Similarly, sat and asat, they are existing side by side
- Seeing above his head the dark marks on the rising moon, which resembled a deer, Bharata said: Can it be that the moon, who is so kind to an unhappy man, might also be kind upon my deer, knowing that it has strayed from home and has become motherless?
- Sinful activities deepen the dark gloom of ignorance, while pious activities bring the light of transcendental knowledge into one's life
- Sri Isopanisad advises us not to bother with any destination within this dark material universe, but to try to get out of it and reach the effulgent kingdom of God
- Sri Krsna is like the sun, and the materialistic speculations about the Absolute Truth are like the darkest midnight
- Srimad-Bhagavatam was especially spoken for the guidance of the people of this age, which is darkened by the cloud of ignorance
- Such observation is not always possible, but it becomes manifest exactly like the dark planet known as Rahu, which is observed in the presence of the full moon
- Sun is also rotating. So, sun also by rotating, it does not light that (dark) part? This is moon; it is not rotating. But sun is rotating, so why it does not shine the other part?
T
- Tama means darkness. Anything of this material world, that is in darkness because this material world is dark. You know that the whole world, whole universe, is dark. Therefore there is requisition of the sunlight, moonlight, electricity
- That is the problem, risky civilization, that people are kept in dark ignorance about the problems of the life. They do not know. They are struggling from the beginning of life, but they do not know what is the problem of life
- That spiritual nature, is not dark. That is full of light. Just like the sun planet there is no possibility of darkness, similarly, every planet there, they are self-illuminated, so there is no darkness
- The autumn season takes away the rolling of dark clouds in the sky as well as the polluted water. Filthy conditions on the ground also become cleansed. Similarly, a person who takes to KC immediately becomes cleansed of all dirty things within & without
- The Balarama feature is as good as Krsna Himself, the only difference being that the bodily hue of Krsna is dark and that of Balarama is fair
- The chili should be added to the hot ghee just after the cumin seed begins to darken in color, and both of them should become brown, but not black or burnt. I think this adjustment with a little trial will improve the dahl for offering to the Deities
- The conditioned soul becomes very morose to receive notice of death. His fear is compared to the fear experienced upon entering a dark mountain cave, and death is compared to a great elephant
- The conditioned souls, although eternally existing as parts of the Supreme Lord, are sometimes put within the cloud of the material concept of life, in the darkness of ignorance. The whole Vedic process is to alleviate that darkened condition
- The darkness of snow on a dark night and the light of a glowworm in the light of day have no value - SB 10.13.45
- The demigods, who are denizens of higher planets, are also very much afraid of incidents such as the universe's becoming dark, and so they consulted Brahma. This indicates that the quality of fear exists for every living entity in the material world
- The evening in the rainy season is dark all around. There is no sight of the twinkling stars on the horizon or the pleasing moon. They are covered by clouds. & the insignificant glowworms become prominent in the absence of the luminaries in the open sky
- The four yuga-avataras are (3) syama (dark blue) in Dvapara-yuga (SB 11.5.27) and (4) generally krsna (black) but in special cases pita (yellow) as Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Kali-yuga - SB 11.5.32 and SB 10.8.13
- The Gandharvas came to earth, and at midnight, when everything was dark, they appeared in the house of Pururava and stole the two lambs entrusted to the King by his wife, Urvasi
- The hunter's complexion was very dark, and his eyes were red. It appeared to be dangerous just to see him standing there with his bow and arrows, looking just like an associate of Yamaraja, death
- The King of heaven, Indra, was advised to surrender himself at the lotus feet of Krsna when he was causing torrents of rain to fall on the land of Braja. At that time Indra's face became very darkened out of doubtfulness
- The kings who were imprisoned by Magadhendra were put into dark cells, and when Krsna appeared there, the darkness immediately disappeared, just as if the sun had risen
- The knowledge of the materialists is restricted within the four-billion-mile limit of this material world, which is in the dark portion of the creation; they do not know that beyond the material world is the spiritual world
- The limitless sky, or the all-pervading Absolute Truth (Brahman), is nondifferent from the covered portion of the sky, but simultaneously the whole sky is different from the fractional portion that is liable to be covered by the dark cloud
- The living entity (jivatma) takes different positions-sometimes he merges into the dark material nature and identifies himself with matter, and sometimes he identifies himself with the superior spiritual nature. BG 1972 purports
- The Lord was clad in spotless yellow silk, and His lotus face was fringed with slick dark locks of curly hair
- The Lord's beauty resembles a dark cloud during the rainy season. As the rainfall glistens, His bodily features also glisten. Indeed, He is the sum total of all beauty
- The lower part of the Lord's waist is dark and covered with yellow garments and a belt bedecked with golden embroidery work. His symmetrical lotus feet and the calves, thighs and joints of His legs are extraordinarily beautiful
- The Mayavadi philosopher sometimes puts forward the argument of the snake and the rope. In the dark of evening, a curled-up rope is sometimes, due to ignorance, taken for a snake
- The moon loses his shining power during the dark fortnight, and in the bright fortnight it is manifest again
- The next day, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His personal associates got up in the dark and attentively took their early-morning baths
- The night was very dark, but as soon as Vasudeva took Krsna on his lap and went out, he could see everything just as in the sunlight
- The other part is dark, now how it can remain dark if the shining from the earth is going there? Every planet is rotating. How it is possible?
- The perfect process of performing yajnas, or sacrifice, to please the Supreme Lord Hari (the Personality of Godhead, who gets us free from all miseries of existence) is to follow the ways of Lord Sri Caitanya in this dark age of quarrel and dissension
- The portion in dissolution remains without sunrays or moonglow. It all remains dark and full of water, and there are indefatigable winds, as explained in the following verses
- The room is dark, and the sun is far away in the sky, but the sun's reflection on the water illuminates the darkness of the room. A pure devotee can realize the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in everything by the reflection of His energy
- The sun rays are equally distributed, but still there are some places which are always dark. This is not due to the sun but to the receptive power
- The two very beautiful arms of Krsna are just like long bolts. They also resemble the bodies of black snakes that enter the space between the two hill-like breasts of women and bite their hearts. The women then die from the burning poison
- The Vedic literature directs us not to be captivated by the dark regions (tamah) but to try to reach the shining regions of the Absolute - yogi-dhama
- The whole Vedic process is to alleviate that darkened condition. Ultimately, when the senses and mind of the conditioned being are fully purified, he comes to his original position, called Krsna consciousness, and that is liberation
- Their (those who are not yogis but who die at an opportune moment due to pious acts of sacrifice) going forth takes place at a period known as dhuma, the dark, moonless half of the month, or when the sun is on its southern path
- They (gopis) can perceive His hand in everything, because they are His topmost devotees. Thus even in the dark or in a hazy storm of dust, devotees can understand what Krsna is doing
- They (Persons) are dragged by the unbridled senses into the darkest region of ignorance, and thus they madly engage in what is called chewing the chewed
- They (the neighborhood friends) told Mother Yasoda, - Your son comes to our house and steals butter. We try to conceal it in the dark so that He cannot see it, but somehow He still finds it out
- This energy (time) is called Kali and is represented by the dark destructive goddess generally worshiped by persons influenced by the mode of darkness or ignorance in material existence
- This is not at all astonishing, for the Lord is always situated in pure goodness. Formerly, during creation, He entered the dark universe and illuminated it by His spiritual effulgence
- This material world, we are living in darkness, hrdayandhakaram. Our heart is dark. We do not know what is what
- This whole universe is dark. By God's arrangement, there is sun, moon, like that, illumining. But there is another world, where there is no need of sun and moon, and that is spiritual world. That is spiritual world, this information is there
W
- When after the dense, dark night there is finally sunrise in the morning, it is very pleasant; when there is scorching heat, cold water is very pleasant
- When the butter and milk were kept in a dark room, Krsna and Balarama would go there and make the place bright with the valuable jewels on Their bodies. On the whole, Krsna and Balarama engaged in stealing butter and milk
- When they (the gopis) saw that it was getting gradually darker, they stopped. Their mind and intelligence became absorbed in thoughts of Krsna; they all imitated the activities of Krsna and His speeches
- While the elderly gopis go about their household affairs, Krsna and Balarama sometimes go into a dark room, brightening the place with the valuable jewels and ornaments on Their bodies and taking advantage of this light by stealing - SB 10.8.30
- Why then should they (the Haryasvas) be encouraged to become entangled in family life, which is so dark that once having entered it one cannot leave it
- Within a second a very big, dark cloud may come and cause devastation immediately. That is possible. These are the wonderful activities of maya. But still, she is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Y
- You are not thinking it is hellish? This is hellish planet. What do you mean by hellish planet? Especially this London, (laughter) always dark and moist, and what do you want more, hellish?
- You are the only hope by which we can get out of these dark regions. Therefore I request you not to go any further with the merciless Yama
- You have got very nice good planet, very nice city, Rome and London and America, this and that. That's all right. But as soon as it is dark, you cannot see anything. The mercy of sunshine, Krsna's mercy, is there. Therefore you can see. You can enjoy