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Chapter 16
CONFLICT BETWEEN THE DIVINE AND THE DEMONIACAL TENDENCIES
89. The Forces Of Light And Darkness
7. Against this army of virtues, the army of vices is pitted. About hypocrisy, ignorance etc., the less said the better. We know them well. Hypocrisy is as though ingrained in us. The whole edifice of life as if stands on that foundation. And of ignorance, it can be said that it has become an innocent excuse for us to cover our lapses. We seem to think that it is not, after all, a serious crime. But the Lord says that ignorance is a sin. Socrates had said just the opposite thing. In the course of his trial he said, “What you think as sin is only ignorance, and ignorance is excusable. How can there be any sin without ignorance, and how can you punish ignorance?” But the Lord is saying that ignorance too is a sin. We know that ignorance of law is no excuse in a court of law. Ignorance of the Divine law too is a crime. In fact, both the Lord and Socrates mean the same thing. The Lord is telling us how to look at our ignorance while Socrates is telling us how to look at others’ sins. The sins of others should be forgiven, but it is a sin to forgive ignorance in ourselves. We should not allow the least vestige of ignorance to remain in ourselves. |
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