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Re: avatar "proof"
In article <3g9b3b$7jp@ucunix.san.uc.edu>,
pontus mattsson <pontus.mattsson%nesterc@nesterc.neste.fi> wrote:
>Every evidence finally relies on perception and cognition. You have to trust
>your senses, your own existence etc, etc.
There is faith needed in every field, material science, religion, law, etc.
But the Vedic statement (which we should be primarily interested in, as this
is alt.hindu) is that there are 3 types of evidence: perception, logic, and
scriptural statement. Of the three, scriptural statements are given precedence.
>In the end (IMHO) only Your
>Self, your hearth, that can decide if a person walking this earth is an Avatar.
Someone is not an Avatar by popular vote; either a person _is_ an
Avatar or _is not_ an Avatar. Your own personal decisions have no
impact on the matter, correct? They only have impact on your
own faith, not the reality behind the situation.
>This is
>the challenge - dragging your ego to a level of trust where you can surrender to
>Brahman/Atman/Guru/Avatar, still keeping your critical judgment. One should not I think
>surrender to mere words and scriptural "authorities".
One should surrender to Krishna and Guru, as recommended in BG 18.66
and in 4.34. The Vedas are not mere words, although people these days
have a tendency to treat them as such. They are directly from the
Supreme platform.
"The Rg, Yajur, Sama, Atharva, and Itihasas are all breathed
out by the Absolute Truth. Just as one's breath comes easily,
these arise from the Supreme Brahman without any effort
on his part." -- Brhad-Aranyaka Upanishad (2.4.10)
Therefore, accepting the Vedas is not "surrender[ing] to mere words".
Surrendering to scriptural authority is part of the recommended
process, and there should be no qualms about it. You have the right
to ask questions for the enlightenment of yourself and others, but
they should be done with faith. That was the rule of the Upanishads
and the Gita. The student would ask the Guru tough questions, and
the Guru would give an answer. Once the student heard the answer, he
would ask another question, but it was always with faith. It was not
blind faith or fanaticism, but faith endowed with the intelligence
and insight needed to properly understand and integrate those
teachings.
We are always surrendering to something, your boss, your advisor,
your wife, kids, your dog, your nation, or even the common cold. So,
surrender is a natural tendency of all of us. Let that surrender be
to the Lord and we will have no more worries [BG 18.66]. We can
continue in our regular lines of action, so long as they are done
in accordance with the Lord's will and for His purposes.
>yours,
>
>pontus
Yours,
Vijay
PS: I currently don't have the quotes you were looking for in the
first half of your post. I will put them together and post them when
I get the chance. Many are available in Bhagavata Purana.
