[vedic-culture] Vaishnava Vedanta

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Dear Egroup Members, I have been experiancing major technical difficulties

trying to post messages. This is the 3rd time I have tried to post this message,

so please forgive me if you receive it more than once.

 

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“Professor H.P. Stapp of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory has written a book called

Gaudiya Vaisnava Vedanta. He is an internationally known quantum physicist who

describes Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy as a coherent, consistent and more

complete conceptual framework for science than the presently accepted paradigm."

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By Bhakti Madhav Puri Swami Ph.D.

 

Modern science teaches that matter is the basis of Reality. This is a philosophy

of impersonalism and voidism. The atomic theory of matter is basically the

theory of the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras. The Paramanuvada of the Indian sage,

Kanada, also presents an atomic theory of matter. The modern atomic theory is

very problematic. The philosopher Alfred North Whitehead pointed out that our

present atomic theory does not account for the existence of motion. (He later

developed his own theory of matter called "process theory" that includes the

dynamic aspect of Reality.) Given only atoms and the void as the starting

elements, motion appears in the system as an ad hoc principle, not derived from

just atoms and void. Time is therefore not inherent in the system either. Thus

modern scientific laws are time invariant, meaning that phenomena that they

explain can occur in reversible order. Such a description, however, does not

correspond to Reality since time goes in only one direction from past to future.

There is also no definitive explanation of how subjective experience or

personhood arises from the basic ab initio principles of physics. These include

e, h, m and c, the electronic charge, Planck's constant, mass and the speed of

light, respectively.

 

To describe subjectivity as epiphenomena, apparent manifestations of complex

material interactions, is only avoiding the issue. Reductionism means to attempt

to explain all subjective experience and personality at the mechanical atomic

level. This is the theory that life comes from matter by a process of gradual

evolution over a long time span. Srila Prabhupada especially wanted to uproot

this idea that life came from matter. He wanted to establish that life comes

from life, and even that matter comes from life. I remember that it was a relief

for us to realize that we were ultimately persons and God was ultimately

personal. A personal Reality was a lot less difficult to conceive than an

impersonal, materialistic one. I am a person. This is obvious. To conceive of

ourselves as a combination of atoms and molecules is difficult. It is difficult

to think of how a stone can give rise to a concept. But that mind or soul can

contain "stone" as a concept within it is not so difficult. When we think of the

hard, "kickable" stone out there beyond the subtle and ephemeral mind we may

feel that the two realms have nothing in common. However, the objective world

relates to the subjective world as its negation, or it’s opposite. For example,

night is the negation of day, sleep is the negation of wakefulness. The negative

charge is the opposite of the positive, etc. In all these cases we can see that

negation does not imply annihilation. So the subjective world is inseparably

related to the objective world. If one exists then the other must also exist. So

matter and mind both must have their own existence in themselves. If one exists

then the other must also exist. But in what medium do these two principles

exist? Ultimately the ground or actual being of subjective and objective

existence is Spirit or the Absolute. Those who stand on the objective ground do

not stand on ultimate Reality. Only those who know that their being arises from

the Absolute, the conscious world can know Reality in Truth.

 

Once I asked Srila Prabhupada a question that Albert Einstein had pondered

throughout his whole life but was never able to answer, "What is the relation

between the world of ideas and the world as it is?" Srila Prabhupada immediately

answered, "Yes, that is the difference between matter and spirit." This was

astonishing to us! We were not in contact with matter. Rather we were under the

influence of a material conception of life. In other words, matter is the world

of ideas, and spirit is the world as it is. Spirit is simultaneously substance

as well as subject. We think ourselves to be the knowing agents of Truth.

However, if Truth itself is a knowing Agent then we are just a moment in the

subjective activity of the Absolute Person. The failure of modern science is

that it does not include the observer in its considerations. That the subjective

observer is a part of Truth means that Truth must be subjective in itself. This

is indeed a Copernican revolution in thought. Copernicus changed the thinking of

man's place in the universe from an earth centered perspective to a solar

centered one. Srila Prabhupada and ultimately Srila Sridhara Maharaja helped to

change our perspective of life from a provincial self-centered one, at odds with

others of similar conception, to a harmonious, surrendered life of

Krishna-centered existence in the service of Guru and vaisnava.

 

In order to deliver this message to the scientific world Srila Prabhupada

established the Bhaktivedanta Institute

http://www.bvinst.edu/home.html with the help of his Ph.D. disciples Sripad

Bhakti Swarupa Damodara Maharaja, Sripad Sadaputa Dasa, and myself. A number of

conferences on Science and Religion, were arranged by the devotees of the

Institute at the beautiful temple-auditorium complex in Juhu Beach, India. They

hold similar conferences at various times throughout the world. Calcutta was the

site of the most recent one in January 1997. Sripad Sadaputa Dasa has written a

number of books on a variety of scientific topics: Vedic cosmography, quantum

mechanics, and aliens as well as an influential book called "Forbidden

Archeology." He is presently at the Bhaktivedanta Institute in Florida. A number

of other Vaishnavas have also written books. A few Noble Laureates have taken a

favorable interest in Srila Prabhupada's movement. Dr. George Wald, Nobel

Laureate from the Biology Department at M. I. T., has shown some interest. Dr.

Wald made important discoveries about the effect of Vitamin A on the eye. Vision

is impossible to understand on the basis of mere mechanism. So naturally one has

to inquire about the existence of another principle besides matter to explain

some simple observations such as visual illusions like the Nekker cube, for

example. Here we look at one object but "see" it in different ways -- as a flat

figure of intersecting lines, as a three dimensional cube facing left or facing

right. Such a variety of perspectives of a single object by a particular eye is

the effect of a meta level of reality operating outside the physical level of

the eye.

 

Professor H.P. Stapp of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory has written a book called

Gaudiya Vaisnava Vedanta. He is an internationally known quantum physicist who

describes Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy as a coherent, consistent and more

complete conceptual framework for science than the presently accepted paradigm.

The good work of the researchers of the Bhaktivedanta Institute is all the

result of Srila Prabhupada's preaching mission in the West.

http://www.bvinst.edu/home.html

 

PS. About the "Unrighteous Block" message; I sent that out as a test, and it was

in jest. It was supposed to be moderated, because vediculture's current policy

is that even the moderators messages must be approved 1st. It was not meant to

be posted and it is a mystery as to how it could have been immediatly

distributed. It is important to remember that the importance of Vedic Culture

goes beyond the temporary political turmoils of any era and is rellevant to all

people, regardless of nationality, religion, or creed.

Sincerely, Vrin Parker

 

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