Blind Man carrying the Lame Man

The Founder Acarya of International Society for Krsna Consciousness, His Divine Grace A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, used to often give this example of a Blind Man Carrying the Lame Man to stress on topic of co-operation. A man who is blind cannot see and a lame man cannot walk. So if both of them combine and the Blind Man carries the Lame man on his shoulders, the Lame man can show him the direction by which both of them can use what they have and become successful in achieving what they lack. Srila Prabhupada used to site this example in connection with combining the efforts of materially advanced nation like United States of America and spiritually advanced nation like India. If both of them utilize their expertise in helping each other they can combine to become a very powerful force in the world.

Lord Krishna informs us in Bhagavad-Gita that the material body is the covering of the soul which is moving the material body.

väsäàsi jérëäni yathä vihäya

naväni gåhëäti naro 'paräëi

tathä çaréräëi vihäya jérëäny

anyäni saàyäti naväni dehé [B.g. 2.22]

“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones".

Just like a car is moving because of the presence of a driver, similarly the body is animated because of the soul within the body. The presence of the soul can be perceived by the presence of Consciousness all over the body, In other words the body is conscious because of the soul. This can be validated by studying the dead body, all the organs in a dead body are same as that of a living body, but since the soul has left the body there is no consciousness in a dead body. The presence of soul in a body is debated and some accept it and other don't, but as far as Bhagavad-Gita is concerned, it is clearly stated that, soul is the primary cause of consciousness and that is our real identity. The soul is a part and parcel of God and it cannot be destroyed by any means.

na jäyate mriyate vä kadäcin
näyaà bhütvä bhavitä vä na bhüyaù

ajo nityaù çäçvato 'yaà puräëo

na hanyate hanyamäne çarére [B.g 2.20]

"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."

So our real identity is that we are spirit souls and part and parcel of God and not the material bodies. Even the dimensions of the soul have been mentioned in various other Vedic texts


bälägra-çata-bhägasya
çatadhä kalpitasya ca
bhägo jévaù sa vijïeyaù
sa cänantyäya kalpate [Svetasvara Upanishad 5.9]

"When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul."

If one is real researcher and wants to know the truth and studies these Vedic literatures with an unbiased mind, he or she will find out very interesting facts about life and which will drastically change the perspective of an individual about life and things around him or her.

So coming back to the topic, modern civilizations are highly advanced in technology, which is primarily meant to provide comfort to the material body, it is good to have these facilities indeed and the progress done in this regard is truly appreciable. The material body as mentioned in Bhagavad-Gita as a covering of the soul and is a machine which helps the soul to conduct itself in this world, but by making the machine comfortable will not make the soul happy. Just like polishing the cage nicely and decorating it with flowers but neglecting the bird within the cage and not feeding it will eventually lead to the death of the bird and without the bird the nicely decorated cage has no value. Similarly, as per the Vedic Literatures, Spirit soul within the material body is the actual self and not the body, our misidentification with the body and only taking care of the body, will soon lead to dissatisfaction of the soul leading to its unhappiness. This is the reason why in today's world, we find materially developed countries , even though they have ample of money have one of the highest rates of suicides and mental disorders like depressions and that is the major cause of many deaths. One who neglects the interest of the soul and only cares for the body is a Blind man. Hence it is very important for every human being to inquire about the soul with open mind and try to understand the science behind it, in order to see properly.

On the other hand, developing countries, like India, though they have the required spiritual knowledge struggle economically. If the body is not fit to work, the soul cannot work properly; hence it is also important to take care of the body sufficiently. Though body is less important than the soul, but it has to be maintained for the soul to carry out its business in this world. Hence such a person who is hampered materially is a Lame Man, who cannot walk properly. Vedic culture in India, has answers to all the problems in the world and can guide the whole world, to peaceful situation, with its advanced spiritual science and knowledge on the other hand developed nations with advanced material science can join hands to explore and research the truths embedded in these ancient texts using the latest technologies to educate the people all over the world. Such a co-operative spirit will surely bring peace to the world. Thus if the Blind man (materially advanced nations) carry the Lame man, like India on their shoulders, both of them will be benefited.

Some efforts have been made in this direction and institutions like ISKCON are practical examples of this co-operation, however, the number is very small. Unfortunately, in this age of quarrel know as Kali Yuga, people are more inclined towards material advancement rather than spiritual knowledge. This is evident from the fact, that even though India has got a wealth of spiritual knowledge, now a days, the leaders are inclined more towards, material prosperity, trying to follow in the footsteps of materially advanced nations, the young generation of this country is slowly forgetting the spiritual heritage and taking to modern ways, in short, the lame man is trying to become blind also. Hence there is a great need for everyone to understand the importance of spiritual knowledge and study Vedic literatures, like Bhagavad-Gita, with an unbiased mind, from a bonafide teacher to understand the intricacies of life and its purpose. With the purified mind one must try to understand the spiritual self and make his or her life successful and in this age of Kali the best way to purify as mentioned in the scriptures is to chant the holy names of God, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare.

harer näma harer näma
harer nämaiva kevalam
kalau nästy eva nästy eva
nästy eva gatir anyathä [C.c. Adi, 17.21]

“‘In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari.’