Guest guest Posted March 30, 2001 Report Share Posted March 30, 2001 Sir,<br><br>Do all religious discussions centre around conceptions developed by the religious leaders? Is religion concerned with whose conception is more popular or widely discussed? Does being religious imply that one must belong to one of the sects or creeds propagated by the religious leaders? Will theoretical analysis of what truth or God is, reveal to us the ultimate reality? Does truth or God belong to the realm of knowledge? Can intellectual understanding lead us beyond thought, word and deed towards that which is silence eternal?<br><br>Can we discuss this further, if you are interested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2001 Report Share Posted March 30, 2001 Sir,<br><br>Do all religious discussions centre around conceptions developed by the religious leaders?<br><br>Yes.<br><br>Is religion concerned with whose conception is more popular or widely discussed?<br><br>No. Only the leaders.<br><br>Does being religious imply that one must belong to one of the sects or creeds propagated by the religious leaders? <br><br>NO.<br><br>Will theoretical analysis of what truth or God is, reveal to us the ultimate reality? <br><br>Sometimes yes, but often no.<br><br>Does truth or God belong to the realm of knowledge? <br><br>Yes. Knowledge of being. I AM. <br><br>Can intellectual understanding lead us beyond thought, word and deed towards that which is silence eternal?<br><br>No, only spiritual understanding which is similar. The only one that cannot understand God is the ego that often is confused with the intellect. Knowing will always be present.<br><br>Can we discuss this further, if you are interested? <br><br>Perhaps *<)<br><br>Lucideye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2001 Report Share Posted March 30, 2001 Dear ? Anand?,<br><br>Sorry, I am not sure how to address you as you didn't sign your post.<br><br>You have asked seven questions which I will lump together somewhat for ease.<br><br>We are all spiritual by nature and knowledge of our spirituality is also inherent in our being. However it is also a discernable fact that we are not born (with rare exceptions) with awareness of our existence as spirit. From where do we obtain our conceptions? This seems to be a central part of your question. As far as saints of the past and present go - they are our guides - they have captured a glimpse of the eternal and are sharing that through language that is flawed and incapable of perfect transmission. Nonetheless, just as we learn any subject matter from one who has studied and dedicated their life to pursuit of that knowledge we have much to gain by listening to those who have tread the path of transcendence and left for us directions which can help us to go in that direction as well. Logic, reason and argument will never lead to conclusive truth. Jiva Goswami has dealt very nicely with this in his sat sandarbhas. In the tattva-sandarbha he has discussed at length from where we can get perfect knowledge. First he deals with sense perception. We all gain knowledge through our senses. JS points out, however, that the senses are imperfect - we can only see objects within a certain distance and which are large enough, we can only hear certain frequencies, and we are also mislead by our senses as in the example of someone mistaking a rope for a snake (an occurence which happened to me last night when I came into my daughter's Tae Kwon do class carrying a length of surgical tubing and someone thought I was carrying a snake!) - so in this way JS has shown that the senses cannot be relied upon to lead us to conclusive truth. He next suggest that logic and reason are a way of understanding and that it is inherent in human beings and one of the things that distinguishes us as a species. Through a very wonderful exercise he shows how logic, reason and argument can never lead to conclusive truth - there is always an exception or alternative etc. (Not enough space here to go into this in detail). He then suggests that since sense perception and logic cannot lead to conclusive truth that that truth can only be known if it reveals itself. Here suggests the sacred literature which is known as apauruseya (eternally existent - revealed knowledge). Again there is not enough time for me now, nor enough space to reproduce all he has said in this regard, but he presents compelling evidence from the literature itself that supports his thesis. By sacred literature JS is specifically referring to Vedic literature. Since the Vedas were compiled by Vyasadeva - JS suggests that the cream of all the Vedic literatures is the Srimad-Bhagavatam. He reasons that since it is the fruit of his samadhi and final work that it must be so. He also backs it up with considerable evidence from the sacred literature itself.<br><br>This answers some aspects of your questioning. Your last question is worth reflecting on and I hope you will consider my reflection on it to some degreee. You ask if intellectual understanding can lead beyond thought towards that which is silent eternal. I would ask you - from where did you get the 'thought' that which is eternity is silent? <br><br>I have much more to say about all of this but I have to go. So that's all for now.<br><br>sincerely<br>Audarya lila dasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2001 Report Share Posted March 30, 2001 "apauruseya (eternally existent - revealed knowledge"<br>I have heard apaurusheya means .'not created by man'.can some sanskrit scholars throw light?thanks<br>sulekh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 30, 2001 Report Share Posted March 30, 2001 Dear sulekh,<br><br>Thank you for the correction. I think you will find that even though I did not use the exact sanskrit to english translation, the meaning was conveyed correctly. Not created by man can be taken at eternally existent - revealed knowledge in the context of the sacred literature.<br><br>sincerely,<br>Audarya lila dasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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