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What are the four primary defects of the conditioned soul?

This is a very important question. By conditioned soul, I am referring to the difference between those who are in transcendental knowledge as opposed to those who merely consider themselves as a by product of the circumstantial material body.


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Making speculative answers to primary questions of human existence and spirituality is a useless waste of time. Answers to matters outside the purview of the limited mind and senses must be given from authoritative scriptures by realized souls who are properly initiated in a bona fide disciplic succession.

If one is to undergo a major surgical procedure, one will hardly trust it to be performed by an unqualified person or someone who whimsically or speculatively presents themselves as qualified. Spiritual science is no different. Without a qualified and bona fide spiritual master progress is impossible. The basic qualification of the bona fide guru is that his every thought, word and deed exhibits the critera established in the Vedic scriptures.

samsara davanala lidha loka
tranaya karunya ghanaghanatvam

"One should approach a guru who can extinguish the blazing fire of this material world, the struggle for existence."
Srila Prabhupada also adds that "People want to be cheated, and therefore they go to yogis and swamis who play tricks, but tricks do not mitigate the miseries of material life."

(see Bhagavad Gita 4.34 on the site asitis.com for an elaboration of this point)
tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva darsinah
"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Enquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth."

The answer to this question above is given by Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the purport to Srimad Bhagavatam or Bhagavat Purana, Canto 5, Chapter 14, Text 26; The translation of the verse is as follows.
"As far as transactions with money are concerned, if one person cheats another one by a farthing or less, they become enemies."
Prabhupada explains in the purport;
"Even in ordinary transactions between two people, there is invariably cheating because the conditioned soul is defective in four ways; he is illusioned, he commits mistakes, his knowledge is imperfect, and he has a propensity to cheat.. Unless one is liberated from material conditioning, these four defects must be there."

When Prabhupada mentions that the conditioned soul is in illusion, he is referring to the false identification we have with the body and mind, and the false duality which hides the fact that nothing exists other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the expansion of His energies. This state of consciousness is called illusion. The state of consciousness where the soul is cognizant of his original identity and relationship with Krishna is called self realization, or Krishna consciousness. The recommended process for achieving such a platform of consciousness is the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare