Guest guest Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 Reply to Rakesh from Prakash======== Dear Rakesh, Thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to meditate on Swamiji's teachings. Please accept my respects and congratulations for your keen interest in solving the riddles of life in the light of Swamiji's teachings available to us in prints. These are the answers coming to my mind for your serious questions:- 1) Yes, people are born with different intellectual capacities (brain power). This is a mere fact. Otherwise there will never be a difference between the IQ of Krishna, Einstein, Karl Marx, Lallu Prasad Yadav, Mayadevis and people like us. Regarding the second part of the same question, my conviction is that people of less intellectual capacity (slow learners) will be immensely benefitted if they know where they stand. It will give them a fair chance to re-organise their learning habits and routine and hours of time to work hard with a steady mind to achieve their goal. So, there is no such discouraging trend as a matter of fact in it. (Please do not confuse here with spiritual illumination. For spiritual illumination, brain power may not be an absolute tool necessary in aeching the goal) 2) Swamiji always tried to underline the Divinity potentially present in all human beings. There is no superiority or inferiority of that DIVINITY. The Atman (Atman with a capital A) trapped in a body is known as Jiva (atman with a small a) is not superior or inferior with that is trapped in another body. Atman is the same. Jivas are the same. But the dress (refering to the physical body) these Jivas are wearing will have different texture and colour. Brain power is one of the colours or layers of this dress. It is a mere part of the veil, which we cover ourselves. Intelligence (brain power) is a part of the physical body only. As different physical bodies have different shapes, colour, strength, energy level, beauty or charm, the brain power, which is a part of these physical bodies will definitely exhibit different levels of manifestations like low and high IQs; but that does not have anything to do with the Eternally Existent Atman trapped in those physical bodies. Please refer to the Pancha-Kosha Siddhanta explained in Katopanishad and elaborated in some other books also. So, Swamiji is not contradicting anything here. In essence, all men are equal in the spiritual dimension. He firmly declared that TRUTH without any ambibuity. In the unending march of these spirits trapped in the physical bodies, (our life) the physical variations are clearly seen according to the degrees of attachment/detachment to these covers/dresses. The more the Spirit moves away from the Matter, it sheds more light. Every trapped Atman (atman) has to shed that Ultimate Light by finally evolving fully from the clutches of the matter. This great process of discarding the matter or clinging to the matter is all about that we talk and see in this world. 3) Can any level headed ordinary man deny the fact that Ancient Indians had indepth knowledge of Science and Technology, with whose help they created wonderful temple structures, astronomical gadgets, medical knowledge and vedic mathematics etc etc? Can any one of us deny the fact that the British were great maritime experts and skilled tradesmen and administrators? Or can we deny the fact that Westerners as a whole were superb in the spheres of modern administration, military skills, space technology, scientific research? Or any one of us can ever derate the skills of the modern Indian software Engineers? Can we not see the modern Chinese and Japanese faring commendably in many fields with great success? Finally, is it difficult for us to take pride in the fact that we Indians (of yore !) as a class were experts in Spiritual science and profound philosophical thoughts? So there are ups and downs of manifestations in various degress. THIS IS A FACT beyond any ambiguity. But beyond (or behind) all these various apparent manifestations, there IS AN UNDERLYING DIVINITY, which is free from all such gradations. In essence, man is that DIVINITY. and hence every man is equal. This is Swami Vivekananda is trying to impress upon us. So, all prejudice will die off in that lofty realm. Hope this way of thinking is acceptable to you for the moment. Best Regards Prakash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2004 Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 The reply to Rakesh from Prakash was very enlightening. Vijay Reply to Rakesh from Prakash======== Dear Rakesh, Thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to meditate on Swamiji's teachings. Please accept my respects and congratulations for your keen interest in solving the riddles of life in the light of Swamiji's teachings available to us in prints. These are the answers coming to my mind for your serious questions:- ------ stuff deleted ------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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