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Re: A Philosophical Sketch of Hinduism: Comments
Hare Krsna!
First of all, thank you for the nice comments. I am only following up
because I feel like I did not really get my point across the first time.
It's probably my fault, really, since I am not very good at expressing
myself. I hope you will be patient and bear with me.
You wrote:
>
> Let me first thank Krishnaji for expressing his opinion and I respect his
> view point. I fully agree that "There is only one Absolute Truth."
> Fortunately or unfortunately, I do not know what is that "Absolute Truth."
> How do I judge "Who is right?" and "Who is wrong?" All the information
> are communicated to me only through my sense organs as rightly pointed out
> by Krishnaji. Krishnaji is absolutely correct in his assetion that
> "senses cannot yield perfect information". His assertion is a paradox
> confirming that it is impossible to prove "Who is Right?" and "Who is
> Wrong?". This is beyond the capacity of intellect! A win-win strategy
> for me is to give the benefit of doubt and accept them until they are
> negated. Finding the "Absolute Truth" is an endless path and "Absolute
> Truth" is a pathless land as J. Krishnamurthy said.
>
Well, I am glad that you agree that the Absolute Truth is not something
we can deduce from our faulty senses and mental speculation. That is the
first step in spiritual advancement, because it indicates great humility.
So many people these days want to speculate in their attempt to find God,
but I am glad you are past that stage.
I certainly did not mean to imply, however, that there is no way of
realizing the Absolute Truth, or God. My point was that we cannot do it
on our own, with our own faulty processes. But the mere fact that we get
all of our information through faulty senses does not preclude us from
getting perfect knowledge. It just means that we have to employ our
senses in receiving perfect knowledge from an authority. In the Vedic
system, this is known as shabda pramaana. What this means is that one
should accept a spiritual master who is knowledgeable in Vedanta and
inquire from him about God. The information presented in the Vedas is
perfect, by definition, because it comes from God. It was meant for us to
study them when we realize that this material world is not our true
position. In the Vedic system, this knowledge is transmitted through a
chain of spiritual masters, each of whom has purified their senses of
material contamination. Consequently, they are qualified to transmit the
knowledge given by God without adulteration or deletion.
So, the way to find out about God is to accept such a self-realized
person as one's guru.
> In summary "Absolute Truth" is beyond intellectual perception and
> intellectual discussions will not yield the desired result. How can we
> explain "What We do not Know" from "What We Know?" Any one who says that
> I can explain is not telling the "Absolute Truth." Krishnaji's recent
> article in Alt.Hindu asserts the same point of view. This beautiful
> passage is fr: Srimad Bhagavatam, 6.3.14-15: Translation by His Divine
> Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada:
>
> "I, Yamaraja; Indra, the King of heaven; Nirrti; Varuna; Candra, the
> moon-god; Agni; Lord Siva; Pavana; Lord Brahma; Surya, the sun-god;
> Visvasu; the eight Vasus; the Sadhyas; the Maruts; the Rudras; the
> Siddhas; and Marici and the other great rsis engaged in maintaining the
> departmental affairs of the universe, as well as the best of the demigods
> headed by Brhaspati, and the great sages headed by Bhrgu are all certainly
> freed from the influence of the two base material modes of nature, namely
> passion and ignorance. Nevertheless, although we are in the mode of
> goodness, we cannot understand the activities of the Supreme Personality
> of Godhead. What, then, is to be said of others, who, under illusion,
> merely speculate to know God?"
>
> The Gods, semi-gods and demigods substantiate my belief that "Absolute
> Truth" is beyond anybody's speculation.
Again, beyond speculation, yes. But that does not mean that God is
ultimately unknowable. If God had not given us some system whereby we can
realize Him, then He wouldn't be a very benevolent God, would he? This
system is the disciplic succession of realized spiritual masters.
I am great admirer of His Divine
> Grace A.C. Bhativedanta Srila Prabhupada. His Bhagvad Geeta translation
> and commentary is a master piece and he has done unselfish service to the
> humanity. I accept that he is the authority on "Hare Krishna Movement."
It might be more appropriate to say that he is an authority on the Vedic
literature, because that is what he studied and taught. Specifically, His
Divine Grace is an authority coming from the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya chain
(or sampradaya) of spirtiual masters. It's not that his knowledge is
limited to the movement that he created. Rather, the Hare Krsna movement
was what he created to spread the Vedic message.
I am glad, though that you accept him as an authority. Because then you
should have no problem taking his advice. Srila Prabhupada always
emphasized that one must accept a spiritual master in order to make
advancement. In the Bhagavad-Gita (4.34), it is stated
tad viddhi praNipAtena
paripras'nena sevayA
upadekSyanti te jn~Anam
jn~Aninas tattva-dars'inaH
"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire
from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized
souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth."
Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport to this verse:
"One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the
knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender,
and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without
false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the
secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission
constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless
there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual
master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the
spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he
automatically blesse the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding.
In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are
condemned... A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward
the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always
ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries
becomes perfect."
(Copyright Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Used with permission)
So, the quest for the Absolute Truth is not a hopeless one. One should
just abandon mental speculation and surrender to a self-realized
spiritual master, who will give the knowledge. This, I think, is one of
the major differences in materialistic vs Hindu culture. In the West,
people are conditioned to believe that they can figure out everything by
speculation, and this shows in many Western-educated Hindus I meet who
have little real respect for their teachers. In India, by contrast, there
is great respect for the teacher, even for one who is only giving
material knowledge.
So, you should make it a point in life to seek out a guru and render
service to him. This is the way one should learn about the Supreme
Absolute Truth. In the Padma Purana, it is clearly stated that the
authorities on Vedic knowledge will be those descending from the lines of
Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarkacarya, and Vishnuswami (Srila Prabhupada comes
from Madhva's line). So, this should give you some idea of where to start
looking.
Respectfully,
-- HKS
