Text 22] Purusa-sikta Confirmed 297

there is no forgetfulness by the living entities, who are free from all kinds of
contaminations resulting from the forgetful state of existence. The material
body is the symbol of the gross and subtle form of forgetfulness; therefore
the whole atmosphere of the material world is called avidya, or nescience,
and similarly the whole atmosphere of the spiritual world is called vidya,
or full of knowledge. There are different stages of avidya, and they are
called dharma, artha, and moksa. The idea of moksa, or liberation, held by
the monist in the matter of oneness of the living entity and the Lord by
ultimate merging in one, is also the last stage of materialism or forgetful-
ness. To acquire the knowledge of qualitative oneness of the self and
Superself is partial knowledge and ignorance also because there is no
knowledge in the matter of quantitative difference, as explained above.
The individual self can never be equal to the Lord in cognizance, otherwise
he could not be placed in the state of forgetfulness. So, because there is a
stage of forgetfulness of the individual selves, or the living entities, there is
always a gulf of difference between the Lord and the living entity, as
between the part and the whole. The part is never equal to the whole. So
the conception of one hundred percent equality of the living being with
the Lord is also nescience.

In the field of nescience, activities are directed toward lording it over
the creation. In the material world, therefore, everyone is engaged in
acquiring material opulence to lord it over the material world. Therefore
there is always clash and frustration, which are the symptoms of nescience.
But in the field of knowledge, there is devotional service of the Lord
(bhakti). Therefore there is no chance of being contaminated by the
influence of nescience or forgetfulness (avidyd) in the liberated stage of
devotional activities. The Lord is thus the proprietor both of the fields of
nescience and of cognition, and it remains the choice of the living entity
to exist in either of the above regions.

TEXT 22

TNS fae at Fal ayMAs: |
ae ReaAeTIMTS Aad TI: GF AAT 1122

yasmad andam virad jajiie
bhiitendriya-gunatmakah

tad dravyam atyagad visvarn
gobhih sirya ivatapan
