A Scientist Becomes A Vedantin, #3 (corrected)

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A Scientist Becomes A Vedantin

 

The Effect of Bhagavan's Darshan

 

This article, written anonymously in Tamil by a scientist, was received by Ramanasramam on 15th april, 1946. It remained unpublished until it appeared in Tamil in the 1996 Advent Centenary Souvenir. This first English translation by T.V. Venkatasubramanian and David Godman, is a slightly abridged version of the original article.

 

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(cont)

 

In this book he found phrases such as 'the world is false' and 'what exists is only one'. These ideas puzzled the young man. All that he had learned at the university rose up in his mind: the nature of the atom and the universe, the wonderful and great power that was stored in them; and the means emplyed by scientists to harness this power for everyday use.

 

He began to think about the book he was reading and the academic knowledge he had acquired: "I am like a tiny atom in this universe. Why should God create me here? Where was I before I was born? Where will I be after I die, and why should I be here now? Is not everything that I see real? Am I not aware of the existence of things through my five senses? The Maharshi says that none of these things exists. Am I not seeing the Maharshi himself sitting in front of me?

 

Thoughts such as these churned his mind until he could no longer continue reading the book. He became lost in deep thought.

 

The Maharshi then looked at the young man and asked, "What is your doubt?"

 

The young man immediately sat up and, looking at the Maharshi, replied, "A form exists on the sofa, and another form exists on the floor. If I open my eyes and look, the two of of them are clearly visible. But you are teaching that what exists is only one. How can this be true?"

 

The Maharshi laughed a little then kept quiet for some time. A few minutes later he gave the following reply.

 

"Don't you perform experiments in the laboratory when you are at the university? Let us suppose that you are researching into some topic. To whatever extent the equipment you use in the experiment is subtle and precise, to that same extent the real nature of the things being studied will be known. But even if the equipment is highly sophisticated, if your vision is not normal, then the true nature of the things being studied will not be known. Even if the vision is normal, if the brain itself is not normal, then also the true nature of the object being studied will not be known clearly. And if the vision is normal, if the mind does not engage itself with full attention to the experiment, knowing the truth will not be possible. So, ultimately, ascertaining the truth of an object of study is dependent on the mind."

 

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....to be continued

taken from The Mountain Path, Deepam 2004