Knowing without thinking?

[Guest guest]

> > I think, (or I made the observation!) that too often devotees or

> > aspiring devotees, seem to close down theyr natural ability to "think",

>

> Mr. Bhattacarya: We just took a hired taxi to this place and that place.

> And he would go for preaching. I never talked to him during the preaching,

> but once when I was coming back from the preaching, I said, “You said this

> thing about this. But I tell you it is not this. It is this." I crossed

> him in something or argued. And he was furious. Whenever we argued and I

> said, “No, I think this is this," then he was shouting. He was very

> furious. He said, “You are always saying, “I think, I think, I think.'

> What is the importance of what you think? Everything is what you think.

> But it doesn't matter. It matters what sastra says. You must follow." I

> said, “I must do what I think, what I feel—that is important." He said,

> “No, you should forget this. You should forget your desire. You should

> change your habit. Better you depend on sastras. You follow what sastra

> wants you to do, and do it. I am not telling you what I think, but I am

> repeating what the sastra says." (Srila Prabhupada Lilamrita, Chapter 4)

 

 

I think we can understand that, when confronted with the proper

higher authority such as a bona fide spiritual master, one is not

expected to go speculating and crossing the authority with

some "I think"-s.

 

In our discussins here, all you have to do is to overlook the

phrase "I think" if somebody says it. Just pretend that it is

not there, and take in consideration the rest of what is being

said. Some persons want to use it before they say something, some

(like you) want to avoid it by any mean. That's all.

 

 

 

Harsi's point was, in my OPINION, that we don't make a dogma

out of everything. Why not leave people to say "I think" when

they are to express themselves. Why pretend that whatever

we say is a pure sastra poring out our mouths? Wether you

say "I think" or you don't say it, makes no difference here.

Everybody is using it. I listen to the classes of your

Guru Maharaja. He is using "I think" also, quite sometimes.

Just a way of expressing oneself. Nothing bad.

 

 

I remember bhakta classes where one was being explained how

anything that comes after "I think" and "I belive" is just

a speculation. A bogus thing (certainly, I am sure you can supply

the relevant quotes from the Folio). So, then we go out in book

distribution and meet people on the street. Then they ask sometimes,

like, "Do you really believe that there is God existing". Then we,

being well trained, show to the person the line of our smiling

teeth and give a cool reply, "I believe..? No.. I don't believe."

And then, having a poor fellow left confused for a few moments,

the triumphal ending comes, "I *know* that God exits, I don't

simply belive or think. You see, to belive or think, it still

means 'I don't know' ". And if you still got the chance, you

quote him some Sanskrit, the invocation lines from Brahma-Samhita.

The cream on a cake!

And the people also smile back. And walk away, having felt our

attempt to make an impression on them as being superior in our

"knowledge".

 

 

 

- mnd