Category:Modern Man
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda paints a vivid picture of the "modern man" as a figure of tragic contradiction: technologically advanced yet spiritually incompetent. Obsessed with material possessions and "mad" for sense gratification, modern man has forgotten the immense power of the soul. He rejects scriptural authority because he cannot verify it with his blunt material senses, leading to a "bestial civilization" of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Unlike the trained *brahmacārīs* of the past or warriors like Arjuna who could discuss philosophy on a battlefield, modern man is too distracted by "ordinary daily duties" to understand the Bhagavad-gītā. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that even this fallen condition can be remedied by the "easy method" of Lord Caitanya and the distribution of transcendental books.
- Spiritual Blindness: Modern man disbelieves in God and demigods because he relies only on his imperfect eyes.
- Bestial Civilization: Focus on eating, sleeping, and sex has misled man into forgetting his dazzling spiritual nature.
- Incompetence: Unlike Arjuna, modern man lacks the training and focus to understand deep philosophy amidst daily life.
- Aversion to Scripture: He rejects Vedas and Purāṇas, preferring foolish theories of prolonging life by science.
- The Remedy: The simple process of Lord Caitanya and reading even one line of a Kṛṣṇa conscious book can save him.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Predicament of Modern Man.
Pages in category "Modern Man"
The following 30 pages are in this category, out of 30 total.
A
- Affinity for family relations, which Marshal Arjuna displayed overwhelmingly in the manner of the typical modern man, is the sign of our lack of transcendental knowledge
- Although they (the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran) have their arguments and reasonings, they are not very sound and transcendental. As such, modern people advanced in science and philosophy deem these scriptures unacceptable
- Arjuna was able to discuss the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita even on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. We modern men have no time to get into the details of the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita, even in the midst of our much more ordinary daily duties
E
- Everyone, and especially the brahmana and ksatriya, was trained in the transcendental art under the care of the spiritual master far away from home, in the status of brahmacarya. Modern man, however, is incompetent to understand it perfectly
- Everything is spoken by Krsna. I am simply putting them for modern man's understanding. That's all
I
- I have simply adopted the easy method of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu just suitable to the modern people in general
- If we try to compare the godly qualities of Dhruva Maharaja to the qualities of modern statesmen, we can see that there is no actual comparison
- In this age of Kali the manifested demigods are also not to be seen, for space travel has completely stopped. So both the powerful demigods and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nonmanifested to the covered eyes of the modern man
M
- Modern advanced in science people, they think: "Oh, what is the use of asking bread in the church? Why not take to industry?" That is their aim. In India, especially, this is the situation
- Modern man does not understand his entanglement and how condemned he is, nor does he know what kind of body he is going to have in the next life
- Modern man has struggled very hard to reach the moon, but he has not tried very hard to elevate himself spiritually. BG 1972 Introduction
- Modern men want to see everything with their eyes, although they are not sufficiently qualified. Consequently, they disbelieve in the existence of the demigods or of the Supreme God
- Modern people, they are after peace, stopping war. And suppose you stop war. Can you stop death? Then why you are after stopping war? Why you forget your real business?
- Mucukunda knew well that every higher planetary system has a predominating deity. He was not ignorant like modern men who think that this planet earth is full of living entities and all others are vacant
T
- The bestial civilization of eating, sleeping, fearing & sense-gratifying has misled modern man into forgetting how powerful a soul he has. the soul is a spiritual spark many times more illuminating, dazzling & powerful than the sun, moon or electricity
- The bestial civilization of eating, sleeping, fearing and sense-gratifying has misled modern man into forgetting how powerful a soul he has
- The modern man does not know. They are neither educated about this pravrtti and nivrtti. And we are speaking on nivrtti, and all of them are in the pravrtti. So they cannot understand. It is foreign to them. They have no idea what is spiritual life
- The modern man wants to live forever by the advancement of material science, and there are many foolish theories for prolonging life to the maximum duration
- The modernized man of Kali-yuga believes in personal endeavor and denies the benediction of the Supreme Lord
- The propensity to utilize nature's own gifts is still there, even in the heart of modern civilized man
- The time factor is also explained by modern men in various ways. Some accept it almost as it is explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam
- They (modern men) should see through the pages of authentic scriptures and should not simply believe their unqualified eyes. Even in these days, God can also be seen by qualified eyes tinged with the ointment of love of God
- This ignorance about the eternity of the living being and the change of covering in the material world has played havoc in the structure of modern human society. Consequently there are many problems, multiplied by various plans of modernized man
W
- We are stressing on pushing on these books because a modern man, if he purchases one book, then at least he will see one line, "What these nonsense have written?" So if he reads one line, if he is intelligent man, he will understand the value
- Whether he (the modern man) believes or not, the next life is there, and one has to suffer if one does not lead a responsible life in terms of the injunctions of authoritative scriptures like the Vedas and puranas