Ignorance is the spring of misery. Through ignorance one suffers afflictions and incurs great danger. Ignorance has its origin in covetousness. As covetousness grows, ignorance also grows. Ignorance exists there where covetousness exists. Current COVID virus is a direct attack on the vital Link necessary for transfer of Energy to Form. Our willful engagement in the Greed-Deceit group of negative attributes at Shanks has given birth to this virus. Life is going to be different post Corona. It is a message to the entire world that we must limit performance of our activity which is based on the Greed-Deceit group of negative attributes. Disclaimer: This is the opinion of the writer. All are welcome to make further studies in this direction.

1. Page 1 of 8
Important Summary – Ignorance and Covetousness
Ref: PS (0) Converted PDFs – General – Hinduism (G)
Ignorance and Covetousness
(From: The Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section CLIX)
Ignorance Attachment, hate, loss of judgment, joy, sorrow,
vanity, lust, anger, pride, procrastination, idleness,
desire, aversion, jealousy, and all other sinful acts are
all known by the common name of ignorance.
Covet
Covetousness
Covet means to long to possess; to desire or wish for
eagerly; to wish for wrongfully and covetousness
means ardent desire.
Procrastination Procrastination means to put off doing things from day to day,
to defer; to leave things undone as long as possible.
Aversion Aversion means dislike or antipathy; thing or person one
dislikes.
Vanity Vanity means an unsubstantial or unreal thing; empty display;
vain pride in oneself, conceit, self-conceit.
S. No. Bhishma Reply
1 The person who commits sin through ignorance, who does
not know that his end is at hand, and who always hates those
that are of good behaviour, soon incurs infamy in the world.
2 In consequence of ignorance one sinks into hell.
3 Ignorance is the spring of misery. Through ignorance one
suffers afflictions and incurs great danger.
4 Ignorance has its origin in covetousness. As covetousness
grows, ignorance also grows. Ignorance exists there where
covetousness exists.
5 As covetousness decreases, ignorance also decreases. It rises
with the rise of covetousness.
6 The root of covetousness is loss of judgment. Loss of
judgment, again, is its inseparable attribute.
7 Eternity is ignorance's course. The time when ignorance
appears is when objects of covetousness are not won.
8 From one’s ignorance proceeds covetousness and from the
latter, precede ignorance. (Covetousness, therefore, is both
the cause and consequence of ignorance). Covetousness is
productive of all. For these reasons, everyone should avoid
covetousness.

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Important Summary – Ignorance and Covetousness
Ref: PS (0) Converted PDFs – General – Hinduism (G)
9 Avoid covetousness by a strong resolution. Avoiding
covetousness thou shalt obtain happiness both here and in
the next world.
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Purport
Ignorance is the negative attribute of Vibratory Element – Water (tytytyty)
Jal Tattwa. It has its seat at Over the Feet, the thirteenth spiritual plane
(rcdrcdrcdrcd) from above known as Rasatala. It is the South Pole of the positive
attribute of Vibratory Element – Water having its seat at the Sacral
Chakra or Svadishthana, the sixth spiritual plane from above known as
Bhuvarloka.
Ignorance is located in the region of darkness situated far away from
Real Light and Knowledge. Its course is Eternity till we develop the real
spiritual knowledge while in human form. Otherwise its course will
never end and we will remain part of this Creation.
Human body is the miniature copy of the Cosmos. Thus we carry the
entire Cosmos within us. We have fourteen spiritual planes in our body.
Seven spiritual planes (known as Lokas) from Crown of Head to Base
of the Spine comprise our Upper House whereas seven planes (known
as Talas) from Hips to Under the Feet comprise our Lower House. South
Pole of Lokas are Talas where the dross of the Lokas collects.
Our consciousness keeps on moving in these spiritual planes but for
majority of mankind, it is active mostly in the Lower House where only
negativity prevails:
1. Dross from the Regions of Energy
• Fear (located at Hips – Atala) is at the top of the Lower House
followed by anxiety, stress, lust, desire, promiscuity, devotion to
all else but One God, illusion, lack of faith; and like.
• Anger (located at Thighs - Vitala) followed by resentment,
rashness, wrath, bitterness; and like.
• Envy (located at Knees – Sutala) followed by jealousy, revenge,
coveting, and impatience; and like.

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Important Summary – Ignorance and Covetousness
Ref: PS (0) Converted PDFs – General – Hinduism (G)
Note: The above three sets are dross from the formless region
of Energy. They are most potent and permeate from the inner
cores to the surface.
Advice from Srimad Bhagavatam on Lust, Desire, Envy
Material Enjoyment and Sense Gratification
9.19.13: A person who is lusty cannot satisfy his mind even if he
has enough of everything in this world, including rice, barley
and other food grains, gold, animals and women. Nothing can
satisfy him.
9.19.14: As supplying butter to a fire does not diminish the fire
but instead increases it more and more, the endeavor to stop
lusty desires by continual enjoyment can never be successful.
[In fact, one must voluntarily cease from material desires.]
9.19.15: When a man is non-envious and does not desire ill
fortune for anyone, he is equipoised. For such a person, all
directions appear happy.
9.19.16: For those who are too attached to material enjoyment,
sense gratification is very difficult to give up. Even when one is
an invalid because of old age, one cannot give up such desires
for sense gratification. Therefore, one who actually desires
happiness must give up such unsatisfied desires, which are the
cause of all tribulations.
9.19.20: One who knows that material happiness, whether good
or bad, in this life or in the next, on this planet or on the
heavenly planets, is temporary and useless, and that an
intelligent person should not try to enjoy or even think of such
things, is the knower of the self. Such a self-realized person
knows quite well that material happiness is the very cause of
continued material existence and forgetfulness of one's own
constitutional position.
2. Dross from the Link between Energy and Form
• Greed (located at Shanks – Mahatala) followed by grasp, deceit,
stubbornness, falsehood, frustration, sense of mineness,
arrogance, hypocrisy, instinctive willfulness, cursing and emotive
nature; and like.

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Important Summary – Ignorance and Covetousness
Ref: PS (0) Converted PDFs – General – Hinduism (G)
Note: This is the link between Energy and Form. Greed, deceit,
falsehood, sense of mineness and instinctive willfulness etc. are
the drivers which further give power to the negative attributes
of Form hereunder.
Advice from Srimad Bhagavatam on Importance of Human
Form and Obedience to Elders
9.18.43: Puru replied: O Your Majesty, who in this world can
repay his debt to his father? By the mercy of one's father, one
gets the human form of life, which can enable one to become an
associate of the Supreme Lord.
9.18.44: A son who acts by anticipating what his father wants
him to do is first class, one who acts upon receiving his father's
order is second class, and one who executes his father's order
irreverently is third class. But a son who refuses his father's
order is like his father's stool.
3. Dross from the Regions of Form
• Selfishness (located at Ankles – Talatala) along with corrupt,
accusing, possessive, complaining and animal nature; thirst,
unfaithfulness, dislike, calumny, backbite, guilt, shame, laziness,
sadness, aversion and disgust; and like.
• Absence of conscience (located at Over the Feet – Rasatala)
followed by cruelty, taste, ignorance, attachment, ill-will,
infatuation, theft and stealing nature, ambition, passion, lack of
respect, tendency to believe readily, lack of trust, suspicion,
mistrust delusion and false knowledge; and like.
• Murder (not only to kill others but kill to eat) located at Under the
Feet – Patala along with malice, material enchantment,
gratification of senses, and conceit (‘me’ or ‘mine’).
Note: Of the above three sets as dross from the Regions of Form,
the former two are not visible but are at the back of our day to
day activity and our interaction with others. These are duly
supported by the dross from the Regions of Energy and its Link.
Depending upon our weaknesses as per the script of our current
life, our consciousness picks up respective negative attributes

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Important Summary – Ignorance and Covetousness
Ref: PS (0) Converted PDFs – General – Hinduism (G)
during its occupation in the Lower House. We feel we are clever
in hiding these unseen negative attributes while dealing with
others. But God’s Law is very clear: What we hide from others is
made known to us as disease on our body. God does not want
that His children should continue to suffer. Disease is a word of
caution from God that we should check our actions.
A word of Caution from Ramcharitmanas
Uttarkand, Verses 120 A-B: 14-19
Now pay heed, my friend, to the ailments of the mind, from
which all people suffer. Ignorance (attachment) is the root of all
ailments, from which again arise many afflictions.
Lustful activity disturbs ‘airs’ in our body showing effect on our
excretory system. Greed motivated actions disturb ‘mucus’
balance of our system. Anger disturbs ‘bile’ management of our
system.
Should all these three combine, there results a derangement of
the aforesaid three humors of the body, causing fever that rises
to the head and is of dangerous type?
The feeling of mineness correspond to ring worms, envy
represents itches while joy and grief correspond to a disease of
the throat marked by an excessive enlargements of its glands.
Grudging contemplation of others’ happiness represents
consumption; while wickedness and perversity of soul
correspond to leprosy.
Egotism is a counterpart of the most painful gout; while
hypocrisy, deceit, arrogance and pride correspond to the various
pains experienced by us.
Thirst for enjoyment represents the most advanced type of
dropsy; while the three types of craving (those for progeny,
riches and honour) correspond to the violent quartan ague (viral
fevers).
Jealousy and thoughtlessness are the two types of fever. There
are many more fell diseases, too numerous to mention.
Like this all the persons of the world are afflicted. Sorrow,
distress, grief, woe; joy, glee, pleasure, delight, mirth; fear; love,

6. Page 6 of 8
Important Summary – Ignorance and Covetousness
Ref: PS (0) Converted PDFs – General – Hinduism (G)
affection; and separation, detachment, bereavement; all add fuel
to the fire.
Saint Tulsidas Ji says that I have quoted a few disorders of the
mind that afflict mankind, but a very few persons have been
able to recognize them.
Resentment is one of the root causes of cancer. Manipulation of
other people’s money will also cause cancer. Worldly ambition
is opposite to peace.
Activity performed with the Selfish group of negative attributes
at Ankles will cause problems in the region of Solar Plexus.
Activity performed with the Absence of conscience group of
negative attributes at Over the Feet will cause problems in the
blood and fluid system of the body.
Activity performed with Murder group of negative attributes at
Under the Feet will cause problems to solid parts of our body.
In short, to engage our consciousness in the negative attributes
of the Lower House is Ignorance. We willfully engage in this
activity and hence end up paying a very heavy price as disease
on our body.
Our immune system is the army of cells in our body that were created
to protect us from harmful things such as viruses, bacteria, parasites,
fungus, toxins and cancer cells. However, in science our immune system
has been shown to be directly affected by our thought life and
emotions.
Human birth is a gift from God and it is given for the sole purpose of
elevating our status from a mere mortal to His level for real peace, bliss
and everlasting life. But when we attack ourselves spiritually through
thoughts of self-hatred, self-rejection, condemnation, guilt and self-
bitterness due to our willful and conscious engagement in negativity,
the immune system is redirected to attack our own body tissues, while
ignoring the true enemy which is viruses, bacteria, cancer cells etc.
When we are attacking ourselves spiritually in our thoughts, the
biogenetic character of the cells of the immune system is changed so
that they take on an assignment of the devil and go on a highly
calculated mission of destruction. Autoimmune diseases are commonly

7. Page 7 of 8
Important Summary – Ignorance and Covetousness
Ref: PS (0) Converted PDFs – General – Hinduism (G)
genetically inherited. This is related to varying degrees of self-hatred
and guilt in previous generations in our family tree.
Thus the immune system, which was originally designed by God for
our good (protection against infections, cancer etc.) begins to cause
disease in our body.
If we have a low self-esteem and hate ourselves in our heart, in essence
we are murdering ourselves in our thoughts…and be careful, because
eventually our body will follow suit and will begin attacking itself –
we will eventually end up with diseases that will lead to our physical
death…all because we were murdering ourselves in our thoughts.
There is a very high price to pay for not loving one self.
Covetousness (when directed downwards and out for the Objective
World) is the negative attribute of Vibratory Element – Ether (ÁdÁdÁdÁdkkkkÓÓÓÓ)
Aakash Tattwa. It has its seat at the Knees, the Tenth spiritual plane
from above known as Sutala, the exit of Energy to lower spiritual
planes. It is the South Pole of the positive attribute of Vibratory
Element – Ether having its seat at the Throat Chakra or Vishuddha, the
third spiritual plane from above known as Janaloka.
Energy is of the Soul and our Space is full of it. This is the Creative
Power of God. All that exists animate or inanimate are connected to this
Energy. When the connection to this Energy is cut, there is Death.
The Vibratory Element Ether gives rise to Vibratory Element Air (ok;ok;ok;ok;qqqq)
Vayu Tattwa. Transfer of Energy from Ether is done by the Vibratory
Element Air to Vibratory Element - Fire (vXuhvXuhvXuhvXuh) Agni Tattwa. This is
where the Energy appears as Form. Vibratory Element – Fire gives rise
to the Vibratory Element – Water (Jal Tattwa) which in turn gives rise
to Vibratory Element – Earth (i`Éohi`Éohi`Éohi`Éoh) Prithvi Tattwa.
Covetousness being the feature of Energy is very powerful. It has its
roots in the loss of judgment. Human form is superior to animals
because of the discriminating faculty (foosdfoosdfoosdfoosd) given to us. We fail to use
this faculty and start coveting the unreal objective world. As the
coveting increases our ignorance also increases and we are drawn far
away from Truth.

8. Page 8 of 8
Important Summary – Ignorance and Covetousness
Ref: PS (0) Converted PDFs – General – Hinduism (G)
Coveting solely for God is the positive attribute of Vibratory Element –
Ether and we must direct it inwards and upwards away from the
Objective World. This has to be done while living in the human form
and only when we are able to retain our consciousness in the Upper
House, Ignorance by itself will be overcome by Real Knowledge.
Herein above Bhishma advises Yudhishthira to avoid covetousness by
a strong resolution so as to obtain happiness both here and in the next
world.
*******