Subject: Preaching To Impersonalists

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Can the logic of the Impersonalists be put into a

couple of words ? Prabhupad says :

 

 

 

 

“ Çaìkaräcärya's interpretation is that

ghaöäkäça-potakasa (?), ghaöäkäça-potakasa (?).( ghata

: pot ) Just like within the pot there is äkäça.( sky

) And outside the äkäça, outside the pot, there is

äkäça. When the pot is broken, both the äkäça becomes

one”...

 

 

 

....similarly, when the soul gets rid of the material

body, it merges with the Supreme.

 

 

 

But Srila Prabhupad points out that this comparison or

analogy itself is false, incorrect .

 

“But this analogy cannot be applied. Analogy means

points of similarity. That is the law of analogy. The

sky cannot be compared... The small sky within the

pitcher cannot be compared with the living entity. It

is material, matter. Sky is matter, and individual

living entity is spirit. So how you can say? Just like

a small ant, it is spirit soul. It has got its

individuality. But a big dead stone, hill or mountain,

it has no individuality. So matter has no

individuality. Spirit has individuality. So if the

points of similarity differ, then there is no analogy.

That is the law of analogy. So you cannot analogize

with matter and spirit. Therefore this analogy is

fallacious. Ghaöäkäça poöäkäça.”

 

 

 

After exposing the weakness in their logic, Srila

Prabhupad gives a simple, vivid example to illustrate

the absurdity of the Impersonalist desire to merge

with the Supreme. This example could also be used

while preaching to them as atleast a few of them may

consider rethinking their goals after hearing this

example..

 

 

 

“Now, I can give you another crude example that a,

that a, from the mother... Suppose a few children,

half a dozen children, has come. Now, what is the

intention of the mother? The mother or the father...

Mother or father, same thing—who has taken the

responsibility of the children. They, they want to be

happy. Otherwise, why people are taking so much

trouble, whole day, for, I mean, maintaining their

children? There is some happiness. Nobody wants to

take so much trouble, but at home, because there is

some happiness by seeing the children, by maintaining

the children, by..., therefore he takes so much

trouble. Now, at the same time, the children has also

some troubles of life. Now, if one of the children

requests the mother, "Mother, you have given birth to

me, and... But I find my life very troublesome. Better

you again put me in your belly." (laughs) Is it a good

proposal? It is not at all a good proposal. This is a

disappointment. "Oh," the mother says, "où, my dear

son, you are in trouble. Therefore you want to come

again into my belly? You want to merge into my

existence again?" Well, the mother is unable. He

cannot, she cannot do that. But if, if such kind of

request is made to the Supreme Lord, He can accept

that. For Him it is not possible, impossible. "All

right, you want to merge into My existence? Come on.

Come on. I, I, I take you." But the thing is whether

the son who requests the mother or the father like

that, he is sane person. The sane son, the intelligent

son, will think, "Well, my father and my mother, they

have brought up me. They have begotten me. They have

given us our life. All right, let us serve our

parents. Let them be happy. Our activities so that..."

That is the natural way. That is the natural...

 

 

 

säyujya-mukti... That is not very difficult. But the

thing is whether we should think like that, whether it

is good for us. ....

 

 

 

So that merging into the existence of God. There is a

liberation like that. But that is not the ultimate.

 

 

 

On the contrary the devotee knows that, .."God has

created me as an individual being, so He has got some

purpose. And because He has created me for some

purpose, I must fulfill that purpose. I must fulfill

that purpose."

 

 

 

 

( Lec, BG 2.12, New York, March 9, 1966 )

 

 

 

 

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