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Why are there so many problems in modern society?

     The Vedas explain that there are three modes of material nature
     that  condition  living  entities  to  remain  in  the  cycle  of  birth  and
     death continuously. It is only in the human form of life that the liv-
     ing entity has a chance to free himself from this interminable cy-
     cle.  However, in the human form, if the living entity remains influ-
     enced  by  passion  and  ignorance,  he  cannot  achieve  emancipa-
     tion.  The  mode  of  passion  results  in  leading  a  life  full  of  misery
     and the mode of ignorance results in foolishness and abject suf-
     fering due to consistently making the wrong decisions. In the fol-
     lowing  excerpt  from  the Bhagavad-gita As It Is by  Bhaktivedanta
     Swami Prabhupada, dire consequences of living under the influ-
     ence of the mode of ignorance is described.

     “As far as the mode of ignorance is concerned, the performer is
     without knowledge, and therefore all his activities result in present
     misery, and afterwards he will go on toward animal life. Animal life
     is always miserable, although, under the spell of the illusory ener-
     gy, maya, the animals do not understand this. Slaughtering poor
     animals is also due to the mode of ignorance. The animal killers
     do not know that in the future the animal will have a body suitable
     to kill them. That is the law of nature. In human society, if one kills
     a man he has to be hanged. That is the law of the state. Because
     of ignorance, people do not perceive that there is a complete state
     controlled by the Supreme Lord. Every living creature is a son of
     the Supreme Lord, and He does not tolerate even an ant’s being
     killed. One has to pay for it. So indulgence in animal killing for the
     taste of the tongue is the grossest kind of ignorance. A human be-
     ing has no need to kill animals, because God has supplied so
     many nice things. If one indulges in meat-eating anyway, it is to be
     understood that he is acting in ignorance and is making his future
     very dark. Of all kinds of animal killing, the killing of cows is most
     vicious because the cow gives us all kinds of pleasure by supply-
     ing milk. Cow slaughter is an act of the grossest type of ignorance.
     In the Vedic literature (Ṛg Veda 9.46.4) the words gobhiḥ prīṇita-
     matsaram indicate that one who, being fully satisfied by milk, is
     desirous of killing the cow is in the grossest ignorance. There is
     also a prayer in the Vedic literature that states:
                           namo brahmaṇya-devāya
                            go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
                             jagad-dhitāya kṛṣṇāya
                            govindāya namo namaḥ

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