[vedic-culture] Vaishnava Vedanta pt2

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"The Indian scientist, Jaggadish Chandra Bose, carefully measured the amount of

water and air used by a growing tree. The weight of the tree, soil, air and

water was greater than the sum of the additions. This means that the tree was

producing matter from some unmeasurable source."

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By Bhakti Madhav Puri Swami Ph.D.

 

My Gurudeva, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explained that we daily

observe that life comes from life. A dog comes from a dog. A human being comes

from a human being. Everywhere we look we see that life comes from life.

Therefore why should we conclude that life comes from matter? Science means

observe and then draw some conclusion based on those observations. We observe

that life comes from life, but has anyone ever observed life coming from

chemicals? No. Then how can this idea be scientific? Observation or experiment

does not support the theory that life comes from matter. Without supporting

evidence, imaginative theories are not science. This was his simple argument.

 

 

That matter comes from life is also observable. The Indian scientist Jaggadish

Chandra Bose carefully measured the amount of water and air used by a growing

tree. The weight of the tree, soil, air and water was greater than the sum of

the additions. This means that the tree was producing matter from some

unmeasurable source. Srila Prabhupada pointed out that our urine contains so

many chemicals produced by the effect of the life force in the body.

 

 

Philosophically, we can understand that spirit is the truth of matter, the truth

that matter has no truth. Beyond the experienced world, and the experience

itself is the plane of the experiencer or witness, the knower. Vedic literature

teaches that beside this knower there is also a superknower or Paramatan. The

supreme Sri Bhagavan is established as the actual spiritual ground of Reality,

and not the material ground. Maya or the illusion of the material existence is

real. Maya actually comes from ma which means "not", and ya which means "that."

So what is "that?" The Truth or "that" is actually Krishna, so maya means to see

"not Krishna." These are all transformations of conscious energy due to the

modes of ignorance, passion and goodness, or Triguna.

 

The psychologist Carl Jung once said, "Matter is a symbol we place over reality

which may in fact be spirit or anything else; it may even be God."

 

 

In the Bhagavad-gita (13.30) prakrityaiva ca karmani all activity is explained

as being carried out by the material energy. This idea parallels the modern

scientific attempt to explain everything in terms of mechanical laws of nature.

Galileo laid down the stern laws of the universe with his physics, along with

Newton’s help. Chemical determinism conquered the field of biology in the first

decades of the 19th century while Darwin imprisoned life within physical

necessity. As Ortega y Gasset wrote, “ It is no longer the organism that moves

but the environment that is moving through it. Our actions are no more than

reactions.” With Pavlov’s experiments on the conditioned - reflex reaction of

dogs, psychology itself became a branch of mechanics. In effect, this whole

development reduced the individual to no more than an electricians diagram of

afferent and efferent nerves. Life, according to materialistic science, is no

more mysterious or divine than what goes on within the interior of the

carburetor and engine of one’s car.

 

 

When the Gita describes that the stringent laws of material nature produce the

gross and subtle actions of the living entities, we can understand that it is

taking a very scientific approach. Unlike the materialistic theory, it is not

reductionistic since it preserves the self or atma as the witness or non-doer

along with paramatama. A life in the conscious world is available to the

surrendered soul where only the law of love prevails. In any case the individual

soul is always subordinate to the energy of the Supreme Lord.

 

 

Vaishnava Devotees, throughout the world, are spreading the teachings of

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu because of the efforts of Srila Prabhupada. One day the

whole world may recognize his great importance in the history of human

civilization. Srila Sridhara Maharaja and other devotees called him a

shaktyavesh avatara, or God-empowered incarnation. Since his appearance in the

West, modern science has taken a dramatic turn toward developing a more

inclusive spiritual conception.

 

 

There are still those who try to see everything in terms of the grand unifying

materialistic theory of everything, but this only concerns the material laws of

gravity, electromagnetism, subatomic forces and relativistic phenomena. They

cannot unify their laws with the subjective and spiritual realms of the

lawmaker. One must consider the three aspects of knower-knowledge-known in any

complete scientific description of reality. We cannot only talk about the known

world of sense objects and neglect to include the realms of the knower and

knowledge. This is not knowledge in the mundane, relative plane but in the plane

of transcendental, absolute knowing. Classical philosophy calls these three

areas of study:

 

 

theology - study of the knower and superknower

epistemology - relative and absolute knowledge

ontology - the known and the Supreme Being

 

A complete scientific system of philosophy must include these three areas

otherwise it will be incomplete and one will not be able to understand the

Absolute Truth. Once one understands the personal nature of Reality, the

necessity of approaching the agent of the Lord and surrendering there will be

apparent.

 

 

Knowledge of the scientist is the most difficult part of science. The scientist

is at the same time above science yet an essential part of it. Modern science is

exacting in its description of the objective world but tells us nothing of the

scientist. What we say about the scientist may therefore be misconstrued as

sentiment or subjective rather than scientific even though science and the

scientist are inseparably connected. This is the difficulty.

 

 

Similarly we may understand something of the science of the Absolute but how do

we know and understand the absolute scientist or Guru? We know he must be ananya

bhak exclusively devoted to Guru and Krishna (God), and he must also be

anyabhilasitasunyam jnana karmady anavritam completely devoid of any interest in

karma and jnana. We also have the acknowledgment of sadhu, the Saintly People,

the other recognized devotees. Then we have sastra, the writings of the Lord and

previous great devotees, and acharyas, or recognized leaders and authorities, to

confirm and support whatever they may be teaching. We also require sukriti, the

good fortune to come into the proper connection.

 

 

On one of the first occasions that I had to converse with Srila Prabhupada, the

thought came to me that first I must say something to glorify and please my

spiritual master. While I was beside him on his morning walk I said, “Srila

Prabhupada, I think you are the greatest scientist.” Immediately he stopped with

a big smile arched across his face from ear to ear. I was astonished to see such

a remarkable smile, and very happily he said, “Yes, I think so!” Having pleased

him so, I felt as if my whole life was successful. The scientist is always more

important than the science. Srila Prabhupada’s influence on science, not only

mundane science and scientists, extends to spiritual science and spiritual

scientists as well. He has established and shown us the standard of the genuine

spiritual scientist.

 

 

In the absence of Srila Prabhupada we had his example and his instructions

before us, and with our faith we tried to remain true to that understanding. By

the grace of Srila Prabhupada we came to know that Srila Sridhara Maharaja was

delivering the same conception of surrender and service. He gave us much

inspiration and an even greater appreciation of Srila Prabhupada and what he was

teaching. Genuine vaisnavas have the ability to magnify other devotees, just as

a telescope can magnify distant places. We find the same spiritual current can

be traced in Srila Govinda Maharaja who was intimately connected with Srila

Prabhupada and Srila Sridhara Maharaja. Srila Prabhupada’s influence is found in

reciprocal degree in these three great personalities and by Krishna’s perfect

arrangement the same science of Krishna consciousness Srila Prabhupada taught

us, is being carried on today in the person of Srila Govinda Maharaja. We cannot

speak of Srila Prabhupada’s influence on the scientific world without reference

to these things as well. The entire spiritual atmosphere of the world has been

influenced by his Krishna consciousness movement and that affects everything.

 

In the genuine spirit of guru parampara, that same mood of humble surrender

which Srila Prabhupada expressed in the prayer to his Divine Guardian,Shreela

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, is perfectly reflected in the prayer which

Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spoke in His sikshastikam,

 

 

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram

patitam mama visame bhavambudhau

krpaya tava pada-pankaja-

sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vichintaya

 

"O Nandanandana, son of King Nanda,Krishna, although I am Your eternal servitor,

I have fallen into the terrible ocean of material existence due to the

fructification of my own misdeeds. Please, even if this may be too much to hope

for, may you graciously consider me to be a particle of dust at Your lotus

feet."

 

Yours in the Service of Shree Shree Guru and Gauranga,

Bhakti Madhav Puri Swami

 

 

 

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