Modern

Manu:

 

25.3 Doctrines to be rejected:

All those traditions (smriti) and those despicable systems of
philosophy, which are not based on the Veda, produce no reward after
death; for they are declared to be founded on Darkness. [v.12.95.]
All those (doctrines), differing from the (Veda), which spring up and
(soon) perish, are worthless and false, because they are of modern
date. [v.12.96.]

 

Srimad Bhagavatam:

 

O Supreme Personality of Godhead, all contradictions can be reconciled in You. O Lord, since You are the Supreme Person, the reservoir of unlimited spiritual qualities, the supreme controller, Your unlimited glories are inconceivable to the conditioned souls. Many modern theologians argue about right and wrong without knowing what is actually right. Their arguments are always false and their judgments inconclusive because they have no authorized evidence with which to gain knowledge of You. Because their minds are agitated by scriptures containing false conclusions, they are unable to understand the truth concerning You. Furthermore, because of polluted eagerness to arrive at the right conclusion, their theories are incapable of revealing You, who are transcendental to their material conceptions.[1] You are one without a second, and therefore in You contradictions like doing and not doing, happiness and distress, are not contradictory. Your potency is so great that it can do and undo anything as You like. With the help of that potency, what is impossible for You? Since there is no duality in Your constitutional position, You can do everything by the influence of Your energy.

 

PURPORT

 

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, being self-sufficient, is full of transcendental bliss (ätmäräma). He enjoys bliss in two ways—when He appears happy and when He appears distressed. Distinctions and contradictions are impossible in Him because only from Him have they emanated. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all knowledge, all potency, all strength, opulence and influence. There is no limit to His powers. Since He is full in all transcendental attributes, nothing abominable from the material world can exist in Him. He is transcendental and spiritual, and therefore conceptions of material happiness and distress do not apply to Him.

 

We should not be astonished to find contradictions in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually there are no contradictions. That is the meaning of His being supreme. Because He is all-powerful, He is not subject to the conditioned soul's arguments regarding His existence or nonexistence. He is pleased to protect His devotees by killing their enemies. He enjoys both the killing and the protecting.

Such freedom from duality applies not only to the Lord but also to His devotees. In Våndävana, the damsels of Vrajabhümi enjoy transcendental bliss in the company of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa, and they feel the same transcendental bliss in separation when Kåñëa and Balaräma leave Våndävana for Mathurä. There is no question of material pains or pleasures for either the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His pure devotees, although they are sometimes superficially said to be distressed or happy. One who is ätmäräma is blissful in both ways.

 

Nondevotees cannot understand the contradictions present in the Supreme Lord or His devotees. Therefore in Bhagavad-gétä the Lord says, bhaktyä mäm abhijänäti: [Bg. 18.55] the transcendental pastimes can be understood through devotional service; to nondevotees they are inconceivable. Acintyäù khalu ye bhävä na täàs tarkeëa yojayet: the Supreme Lord and His form, name, pastimes and paraphernalia are inconceivable to nondevotees, and one should not try to understand such realities simply by logical arguments. They will not bring one to the right conclusion about the Absolute Truth. (6.9.36)

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[1] Nietzsche says in Beyond Good and Evil:

 

Suppose Truth is a woman, what then? Would’t have we not a good reason to suspect that all philosophers, insofar as they were dogmatists, had a poor understanding of women; that the dreadful seriousness and awkward pushiness with which they have so far habitually approached Truth are clumsy and inappropriate ways to win over a woman. It’s clear that Truth did not allow herself to be won over and all forms of dogmatism are nowadays standing there dismayed and disheartened, if they are standing at all.

Да сънуваш че си се събудил

Наскоро прочетох есе на Георги Марков, големия български писател- дисидент, който някои наричат „българския Солженицин“. В есето ставаше дума за това как хората, в конкретния случай комунистите, предават своите идеали. Предават ги заради алчност, пари и власт. Или от страх. Тези, които откажат да ги предадат и остават верни, загиват или биват постепенно маргинализирани. Бавно изгасват забравени и изоставени от всички. Подигравани също.

Това е болезнена тема – загубването на вярата, потъпкването на идеалите. Особено за един идеалист. Както беше писал Вапцаров: „ако вземеш едно зрънце от моята вера ще ревна като ранена в сърцето пантера“. Вярата е нашата идентичност. Ако я загубим, губим себе си.

Обаче това е неизбежно. Ние сме обречени да губим и изграждаме наново вярата си в доброто и в човека докато не стигнем до Абсолютната Истина, Кришна. И дори след това пак продължаваме да преправяме и подобряваме картата на духовния свят в съответствие с нашите реализации.

Комунистите са вярвали, че жертват живота си за благото на хората; те са били убедени, че загиват за благородна идея. За да се реализира на практика една благородна идея има нужда от благородни хора. Как да създадем тези добри хора, които няма да злоупотребят с красивата идея?

Нито една материалистична теория няма задоволителен отговор на този въпрос. Не може и да има, защото в основата на материализма стои желанието за пълен контрол и егоистично наслаждение. Докато контролираме и се наслаждаваме ние неизбежно възприемаме другите не като личности, а като обекти, като фигури на шахматна дъска, които имат смисъл само ако задоволяват нашите прищевки. Истинският контролиращ и наслаждаващ се обаче е Бог, Кришна. Когато на едно място се съберат много фалшиви “богове” и най-благородната идея със сигурност ще бъде опорочена.

А дали тази идея е всъщност толкова благородна? Така изглежда на пръв поглед. Свобода, равенство, братство са били лозунгите на много революции и революционери. Разбира се, в името на тези светли идеали са извършвани много жестокости. Шрила Прабхупада назовава истинската причина за провала на всички опити за постигане на утопия:  революционерите искат да се наслаждават на царството на Бога, без да поканят Бога вътре.

В материалния смисъл това е възможно. Можеш да заграбиш чуждо имение например, да прогониш собственика-капиталист (кулак) и да се разположиш удобно вътре, в името на народа. Разбира се, това не значи, че ще живееш щастливо. Грозното лице на завистта, алчността, покварата и похотта ще се подаде въпреки идеализма на революционните повели и кодекси. Независимо каква материалистична утопия преследват и колко искрено вярват в нея, без пречистващото божествено присъствие хората не са по-различни от животни; човек за човека е вълк.

Революцинерите-утописти се вдъхновяват от идеалистичните си представи за съвършеното бъдеще. Но съвършено бъдеще се гради от съвършени хора. А човек става съвършен само ако служи на източника на Съвършенството и Красотата – Кришна.

Тъй като всичко така или иначе принадлежи на Бог, ако не признаваме неговата собственост и я узурпираме незаконно, ние сме престъпници, независимо колко възвишен е революционния ни идеал. Това е все едно шайка разбойници да ограбят банка и след това да започнат да умуват и да творят теории за справедливо и етично разпределение на плячката. Между престъпници мир и любов не може да има.

В своето есе Георги Марков описва със състрадание, примесено със съжаление, комунистите, които са се жертвали напразно за една неосъществена (неосъществима) утопия. Техните оцелели другари са използвали властта, за да наложат същия, ако не и още по-страшен терор. От удобната позиция на времето (есето е писано през 70-те години на миналия век) авторът може ясно да види и изобличи тяхната заблуда. Те са вярвали в една илюзия.

Но авторът не осъзнава, че самият той се намира в същата илюзия. Тоталитарният комунизъм в Източна Европа и Либералната Западна демокрация, въпреки че изглеждат противиположни, в крайна сметка са двете лица на една и съща монета. Те са два начина да се опитаме да се наслаждаваме на собствеността на Бога отделно и независимо от Него. Това, че става дума за една и съща концепция, се доказва от факта, че така наречените либерали лесно стават много консервативно и дори тоталитарно настроени, когато се изправят срещу различно мнение.

Това, че Марков е прозрял частично заблудата на комунистите, не го спасява от Мая, илюзорната енергия на Бога. Тя отстъпва само когато се отдадем на Кришна. Докато сме с материално съзнание, посочването на чуждата грешка не значи по необходимост, че ние сме безгрешни. Много от комунистите са разбрали своята грешка още през 50-60-те години. Хора като Марков разбират своята чак в момента на смъртта. Ако имат късмет.

Кришна казва: “Съгласно Моите инструкции, човек трябва да установи ума си единствено върху Мен. Ако, обаче, той продължава да вижда много различни ценности и цели в живота, вместо да вижда как всичко е в Мен, тогава, макар привидно да е буден, той всъщност сънува поради несъвършено знание, точно както някой може да сънува че се е събудил от сън.” (Шримад Бхагаватам 11.13.30)

Who is a great soul?

“A devotee’s behavior establishes the true purpose of religious principles. The behavior of Mādhavendra Purī Gosvāmī is the essence of such religious principles.”

Purport

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives the following commentary on this passage. A sādhu, or honest man, is called a mahājana or a mahātmā. The mahātmā is described thus by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.13):

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.”

In the material world, the word mahātmā is understood in different ways by different religionists. Mundaners also come up with their different angles of vision. For the conditioned soul busy in sense gratification, a mahājana is recognized according to the proportion of sense gratification he offers. For instance, a businessman may consider a certain banker to be a mahājana, and karmīs desiring material enjoyment may consider philosophers like Jaimini to be mahājanas. There are many yogīs who want to control the senses, and for them Patañjali Ṛṣi is a mahājana. For the jñānīs, the atheist Kapila, Vasiṣṭha, Durvāsā, Dattātreya and other impersonalist philosophers are mahājanas. For the demons, Hiraṇyākṣa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s son Meghanāda, Jarāsandha and others are accepted as mahājanas. For materialistic anthropologists speculating on the evolution of the body, a person like Darwin is a mahājana. The scientists who are bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s external energy have no relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet they are accepted by some as mahājanas. Similarly, philosophers, historians, literary men, public speakers and social and political leaders are sometimes accepted as mahājanas. Such mahājanas are respected by certain men who have been described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.19):

śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ
 saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ
na yat-karṇa-pathopeto
 jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ

“Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils.”

Thus on the material platform animalistic leaders are worshiped by animals. Sometimes physicians, psychiatrists and social workers try to mitigate bodily pain, distress and fear, but they have no knowledge of spiritual identity and are bereft of a relationship with God. Yet they are considered mahājanas by the illusioned. Self-deceived persons sometimes accept leaders or spiritual masters from a priestly order that has been officially appointed by the codes of material life. In this way, they are deceived by official priests. Sometimes people accept as mahājanas those who have been designated by Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura as ḍhaṅga-vipras (imposter brāhmaṇas). Such imposters imitate the characteristics of Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and they envy Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who was certainly a mahājana. They make great artificial endeavors, advertising themselves as great devotees of the Lord or as mystic hypnotists knowledgeable in witchcraft, hypnotism and miracles. Sometimes people accept as mahājanas demons like Pūtanā, Tṛṇāvarta, Vatsa, Baka, Aghāsura, Dhenuka, Kālīya and Pralamba. Some people accept imitators and adversaries of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, such as Pauṇḍraka, Śṛgāla Vāsudeva, the spiritual master of the demons (Śukrācārya), or atheists like Cārvāka, King Vena, Sugata and Arhat. People who accept such imitators as mahājanas have no faith in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rather, they accept godless cheaters who present themselves as incarnations of God and cheat foolish people within the material world by word jugglery. Thus many rascals are accepted as mahājanas.

It is those who are devoid of devotional service who sometimes mistakenly accept persons with mundane motives as mahājanas. The only motive must be kṛṣṇa-bhakti, devotional service to the Lord. Sometimes fruitive workers, dry philosophers, nondevotees, mystic yogīs and persons attached to material opulence, women and money are considered mahājanas. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.25) gives the following statement about such unauthorized mahājanas:

prāyeṇa veda tad idaṁ na mahājano ’yaṁ devyā vimohita-matir bata māyayālam
trayyāṁ jaḍī-kṛta-matir madhu-puṣpitāyāṁ vaitānike mahati karmaṇi yujyamānaḥ

In this material world, karmīs (fruitive actors) are accepted as mahājanas by foolish people who do not know the value of devotional service. The mundane intelligence and mental speculative methods of such foolish people are under the control of the three modes of material nature. Consequently they cannot understand unalloyed devotional service. They are attracted by material activities, and they become worshipers of material nature. Thus they are known as fruitive actors. They even become entangled in material activities disguised as spiritual activities. In the Bhagavad-gītā such people are described as veda-vāda-ratāḥ, supposed followers of the Vedas. They do not understand the real purport of the Vedas, yet they think of themselves as Vedic authorities. People versed in Vedic knowledge must know Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. (Bg. 15.15)

In this material world a person may be famous as a karma-vīra, a successful fruitive worker, or he may be very successful in performing religious duties, or he may be known as a hero in mental speculation (jñāna-vīra), or he may be a very famous renunciant. In any case, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.23.56) gives the following opinion in this matter.

neha yat karma dharmāya na virāgāya kalpate
na tīrtha-pada-sevāyai jīvann api mṛto hi saḥ

“Anyone whose work is not meant for elevating him to religious life, anyone whose religious ritualistic performances do not raise him to renunciation, and anyone situated in renunciation that does not lead him to devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead must be considered dead, although he is breathing.”

The conclusion is that all pious activity, fruitive activity, religious principles and renunciation must ultimately lead to devotional service. There are different types of processes for rendering service. One may serve his country, people and society, the varṇāśrama-dharma system, the sick, the poor, the rich, women, demigods and so on. All this service comes under the heading of sense gratification, or enjoyment in the material world. It is most unfortunate that people are more or less attracted by such material activity and that the leaders of these activities are accepted as mahājanas, great ideal leaders. Actually they are only misleaders, but an ordinary man cannot understand how he is being misled.

Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya: “One should accept as one’s guide the words of the sādhus, the śāstra and the guru.” A sādhu is a great personality like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the śāstras are the injunctions of revealed scriptures, and the guru, or spiritual master, is one who confirms the scriptural injunctions. Accepting the guidance of these three is the actual way of following the great personalities (mahājanas) for real advancement in life (mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ). A man covered by illusion cannot understand the proper way; therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, dharma-sthāpana-hetu sādhura vyavahāra: “The behavior of a devotee is the criterion for all other behavior.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself followed the devotional principles and taught others to follow them. Purī-gosāñira ye ācaraṇa, sei dharma sāra. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally followed the behavior of Mādhavendra Purī and advised others to follow his principles. Unfortunately, people have been attracted to the material body since time immemorial.

yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ

“A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers his land of birth worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like an ass or a cow.” (Bhāg. 10.84.13) Those who accept the logic of gaḍḍālikā-pravāha and follow in the footsteps of pseudo mahājanas are carried away by the waves of māyā. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore warns:

miche māyāra vaśe, yāccha bhese’,
khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi
jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, e viśvāsa,
ka’rle ta’ āra duḥkha nāi

“Don’t be carried away by the waves of māyā. Just surrender to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and all miseries will end.” Those who follow social customs and behavior forget to follow the path chalked out by the mahājanas; thus they are offenders at the feet of the mahājanas. Sometimes they consider such mahājanas very conservative, or they create their own mahājanas. In this way they ignore the principles of the paramparā system. This is a great misfortune for everyone. If one does not follow in the footsteps of the real mahājanas, one’s plans for happiness will be frustrated. This is elaborately explained later in the Madhya-līlā (chapter twenty-five, verses 55, 56 and 58). It is there stated:

parama kāraṇa īśvare keha nāhi māne
sva-sva-mata sthāpe para-matera khaṇḍane

tāte chaya darśana haite ‘tattva’ nāhi jāni
‘mahājana’ yei kahe, sei ‘satya’ māni

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-vāṇī — amṛtera dhāra
tiṅho ye kahaye vastu, sei ‘tattva’ — sāra

People are so unfortunate that they do not accept the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead, they want to be supported by so-called mahājanas, or authorities. Tāte chaya darśana haite ‘tattva’ nāhi jāni: we cannot ascertain the real truth simply by following speculators. We have to follow the footsteps of the mahājanas in the disciplic succession. Then our attempt will be successful. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-vāṇī — amṛtera dhāra: “Whatever is spoken by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is an incessant flow of nectar.” Whoever accepts His words as reality can understand the essence of the Absolute Truth.

No one can ascertain the Absolute Truth by following the philosophy of Sāṅkhya or the yoga system of Patañjali, for neither the followers of Sāṅkhya nor the yogīs who follow Patañjali accept Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead (na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum). The ambition of such people is never fulfilled; therefore they are attracted by the external energy. Although mental speculators may be renowned all over the world as great authorities, actually they are not. Such leaders are themselves conservative and not at all liberal. However, if we preach this philosophy, people will consider Vaiṣṇavas very sectarian. Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī was a real mahājana, but misguided people cannot distinguish the real from the unreal. But a person who is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness can understand the real religious path chalked out by the Lord and His pure devotees. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was a real mahājana because he understood the Absolute Truth properly and throughout his life behaved like a pure devotee. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu approved the method of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī. Therefore, although from the material viewpoint the Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇa was on a lower platform, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu considered him situated on the highest platform of spiritual realization.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.20) states that there are twelve mahājanas: Brahmā, Nārada, Śambhu, the four Kumāras, Kapila, Manu, Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Bali, Śukadeva and Yamarāja.

To select our mahājanas in the Gauḍīya-sampradāya, we have to follow in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His representatives. His next representative is Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, and the next representatives are the six Gosvāmīs — Śrī Rūpa, Śrī Sanātana, Bhaṭṭa Raghunātha, Śrī Jīva, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and Dāsa Raghunātha. A follower of Viṣṇu Svāmī’s was Śrīdhara Svāmī, the most well known commentator on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He was also a mahājana. Similarly, Caṇḍīdāsa, Vidyāpati and Jayadeva were all mahājanas. One who tries to imitate the mahājanas just to become an imitative spiritual master is certainly far away from following in the footsteps of the mahājanas. Sometimes people cannot actually understand how a mahājana follows other mahājanas. In this way people commit offenses and fall from devotional service. (CC Madhya 17.185)

Вирусни съображения

от Пандава бандхава дас

Вселената е хаотична и объркваща купчина безжизнена материя. Понякога, много рядко, тази материя се организира по произволен и едновременно уникален начин и оживява. После еволюира и се появява разумът. Освен разумни същества има и низши организми, които или са забавили своята еволюция, или не еволюират изобщо, например бактерии и вируси. Следвайки инстинктите си, те живеят за сметка на други живи организми, даже често ги убиват размножавайки се в тях.  Могат също да прескачат от гостоприемник на гостоприемник и така да предизвикат епидемии и пандемии. Ако, обаче, спазваме стриктно правилата на хигиена и си стоим вкъщи, пандемиите скоро изчезват и ние пак си живеем живота както обикновено.

В това вярват много хора. Те са достигнали до тези изводи, следвайки възходящия процес на знанието – стъпили върху раменете на предишните великани на науката, те наблюдават света, водят си записки, измислят правдоподобни теории, проверяват ги чрез научни експерименти и ако резултатите са задоволителни според техните критерии – хоп, това е знание. До следващия учен, който, следвайки същата процедура, не обори тяхната теория и не утвърди своята като по-правдободобно обяснение на реалността. Но това си е в реда на нещата.

Ние, последователите на Ведите, следваме различен процес за получаване на знание. Този метод се нарича низходящ:  знанието идва до нас от съвършен източник – Бог и неговите представители, чистите предани. Това знание не се променя, защото е вече съвършено. Веднъж получено, то се потвърждава от нашите съждения и наблюдения и специално от нашите позитивни и на моменти екстатични усещания, които възникват в резултат на правилното му приложение.

Според това знание, ние трябва да гледаме на света през шастра-чакшус, очите на свещените писания. Гледайки през тях, нещата изглеждат различно. Вселената е затвор за непокорни и завистливи души; тя е създадена и се контролира от Кришна. Завистта води до грехове, греховете се заплащат, част от заплащането са болестите, някои от тези болести изглежда се разнасят от вируси. Вирусите ще намерят своите жертви, независимо колко стриктно следваме указанията за редовни дезинфекции и карантина. Един предан не вярва, че подобни мерки могат да подобрят кармата на хората, защото знае, че няма материално разрешение на материалните проблеми. Хората се изолират един от друг, стоят си вкъщи, мият си ръцете, носят маски и ръкавици, но продължават да вършат грехове, в резултат на които ще дойдат нови болести. Само ако следваме дхарма и спрем да вършим грехове ще можем да се освободим от страданията. Едно свято име произнесено в намабхаса има силата да ни избави от всички минали, настоящи и бъдещи грехове и страдания във Вселената.

Нашия принос към обществото трябва да бъде главно в разпространяването на такива, наглед радикални, твърдения. Само духовното знание може да помогне да се решат всички проблеми. Ако абдикираме от това си задължение, ние извършваме насилие към обществото. Шрила Прабхупада ни е казал това още в коментарите си към Бхагавад-гита. Ние следваме предписанията на правителството за ограничаване на пандемията, не защото вярваме в тяхната ефективност, а защото ако не ги следваме е много вероятно да има негативни последици върху проповядването и практикуването на Кришна съзнание.

Кармата на всеки човек е предопределена още от раждането му и няма материална сила, която може да я промени. Продължителността на живота, количеството щастие и страдание, няма как да се променят с маски и изолация, по скоро маските и изолацията са част от страданията. Прахлада Махараджа казва, че материалните лекарства за материалната болест са по-страшни от самата болест. Това лесно може да се види в момента, когато юга-дхарма, съвместното възпяване на святите имена, е силно ограничавана заради изискванията за ограничаване на социалните контакти.

С други думи, гледната точка на преданите (шастра чакшус) и гледната точка на материалистите са различни, даже противоположни. Още в началото на Бхагаватам се казва, че за благото на всички истината е различна от илюзията. Материалистите смятат, че преданите са в илюзия, преданите знаят, че материалистите са в мая. В тази връзка има едно есе на Шрила Прабхупада, което е озаглавено “Кой е луд?”

Knowledge or Information

avidyaàjévanaàçünyaàdik-çünyäçcaabändhaväù

putra-hénaàgåhaàçünyaàsarva-çünyädaridratä

Life without knowledge is empty, and all directions are void for those without friends. Household life without a son is void, and for the poor the whole world is void.

In the contemporary world we often equate knowledge with information. But according to the Vedas real knowledge is not merely a database of facts and figures; it is a practical method for solving our problems.

We are drowning in an endless ocean of information. Modern man prides himself as well-informed, in fact he claims to be the best informed person in the whole history of mankind. This is usually viewed as a sign of progress; but what part of this information is actually useful in our practical day to day life and can it actually resolve our real problems?

Well, first of all, what are these real problems of life? War? Famine? Crime? The social and economical unrest? The environmental crises? Terrorism? To answer these questions we need real knowledge and not just information.

The difference between knowledge and information resembles the difference between philosophy and science. Science is mainly concerned with making human life easier by offering a constant flow of new technological solutions. Philosophy, on the other hand, is supposed to deal with the question “What is the purpose of human life?” In his book “Substance and Shadow” Suhotra Swami pinpoints the problem:

Scientists are often heard to dismiss the speculations of these great thinkers [the philosophers] as unreliable. But they should not dismiss the original purpose of philosophy, which is to explain information,to probe beneath the surface data that makes up the world of bodily objects. Philosophy grapples with the why of the world. If…this is irrelevant to today's scientists, then science only informs. Though by the grace of science today's world is perhaps better informed than it ever has been, there is no certain metaphysical foundation to all this information. The result is information chaos.

The American writer Fred Reed shares similar thoughts on the matter:

Science enjoys great prestige as it has led to great results, such as iPhones. Perhaps because of this scientists, for some reason thought to be smarter than the rest of humanity, are seen as oracles and almost as priests. Yet they have nothing to say, and can have nothing to say about meaning, purpose, origins, destiny, consciousness, beauty, right and wrong, Good and Evil, death, love or loathing.

Trouble begins when one tries to stretch a system beyond its premises. Here we come to scientism, as distinct from science. A great many people, some of them scientists, want science to explain everything whatever. This of course is the function of a religion.

Scientism, like other varieties of political correctness, is de rigueur among much of the cognitive or approximately cognitive elite, and has been inculcated in the populace by endless repetition. The credo runs roughly: Big Bang, stars form, planets, oceans, life, evolution, Manhattan. Acceptance—unexamined acceptance—of scientism is now regarded as evidence of right thinking. Most who accept it have no idea what they are accepting, but they know that it is the proper thing to do.

For much of the public, this is a sort of religion by Disney, “the Force Be With You”, with an origin of the universe that, well, you know, the scientists understand it, and we are evolving upward and onward into like, better beings and all. And death? Let us speak of other things.

Information, of course, can be useful in many ways. But if information (we are using the word as a synonym to modern science) does not give solution to the core problems of life (how to eradicate birth, death, old age, and disease) it is dismissed by the Vedic sages asno better than refined ignorance. The inherent inability of materialistic science to solve the real problems of life led an increasing number of people to doubt even the need of the whole scientific enterprise. A noted philosopher of science, Paul Feyerbend commented, “It is good to be constantly reminded of the fact that science as we know it today is not inescapable and that we may construct a world in which it plays no role whatsoever (such a world, I venture to suggest, would be more pleasant than the world we live in today.”Many would disagree with Feyerbend by pointing out that science and technology gave us more power and control than anything in the past. Nonetheless, even they would have to admit that modern science is dangerously imperfect. As the American educator and cultural critic Neil Postman remarks in his book “The End of Education”,

Its story of our origins and of our end is, to say the least, unsatisfactory. To the question, How did it all begin?, science answers, Probably by accident. To the question, How will it all end?, science answers, Probably by an accident. And to many people, the accidental life is not worth living. Moreover, regarding the question, What moral instruction do you give us?, the science-god maintains tight-lipped silence. It places itself at the service of both the beneficent and the cruel and its grand moral impartiality, if not, indifference, has made it welcome the world over.

The Vedic version is that real knowledge will make life happy instead of complicated. Many of us confuse happy life with complicated life. As pointed out by Neil Postman in his book “Technopoly – The Surrender of Culture to Technology”,

To the question ‘What problem does the information solve?’ the answer is usually How to generate, store, and distribute more information, more conveniently, at greater speeds than ever before…For what purpose or with what limitations, it is not for us to ask; and we are not accustomed to asking, since the problem is unprecedented.

The Vedic sages urge us to ask precisely this question, “unprecedented” in the modern world: “What is the meaning of all this informational chaos? Is there anything beyond producing and consuming goods?” The actual answer to this question constitutes real knowledge. This knowledge has three parts: 1) Knowledge of ourselves and our relationship with God and the Universe, 2) Knowledge of the ultimate goal of human existence, and 3) The method for attaining this goal.

One cannot solve these problems relying on mental faculties or empirical data. Thus real knowledge is necessarily transcendent. It must come down from a perfect source outside the matrix of our limited material experience and reasoning. As the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “The sense of the world must be outside of the world”. In this connection Fred Reed urges us:

Note that the premises of the sciences, if accepted other than provisionally for a particular investigation, lead to paradoxes, as for example the Aquarium Effect. Scientists view the universe as if it were an isolated system in a vast aquarium. They can look at it, poke at it with sticks and instruments, but they are apart from it. If they regard themselves as being within the system, problems arise.

For example, the brain is an electrochemical mechanism, all parts of which follow the laws of physics and chemistry. Successive states of a physical mechanism are completely determined by preceding states, just as they are in a computer. Physical systems cannot choose their behavior: a rock when dropped cannot decide to fall sideways. Our thoughts are therefore predestined. Are they then still thoughts?

Which leads to the obvious conclusion that one cannot simultaneously be part of a physical system and fully understand it. Like conjugate variables or something. But we are part of the universe.

According to the Vedas we are indeed “part of the universe”, and thus incapable of acquiring perfect knowledge, only until we choose to ignore God. However this is not our constitutional position. Originally we are spiritual, eternal beings, parts and parcels of God, who is the creator and controller of all the Universes. Our objective is to reestablish our loving relationships with Him and the way to do this is by performing devotional service for His pleasure. Without this type of knowledge we will, sooner or later, find our life empty.

Real knowledge is never merely theoretical, it is meant to be applied in life and to produce good results. The Vedic sage Narada Muni famously said that the ultimate result of all studies should be development of good qualities. Similarly in the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krishna defines knowledge as virtues:

Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.

If knowledge culminates in devotion to God and a good character, lack of knowledge must result in godlessness and vice which naturally leads to degradation of human relationships. Many people today will agree that if we don’t have at least one real friend our life is empty. Who is a real friend? The one who is willing to help us in a difficult moment. That rules out the thousands of our so-called friends in the social networks. This type of facebook “friends” are really cheap, they will not be there for us in adversity. Of course, we won’t be there for them either. This is because friendship is not formed by simply clicking the virtual button for “sending or accepting an invitation”; developing actual friendship requires a serious amount of knowledge, time, energy, and commitment. Usually we don’t mind having thousands of cheap friends online until a time of need comes and we realize that we can’t count on them. This is neatly summed up by Brad Pit’s character in the movie “The Counselor”: “If your definition of a friend is somebody who is ready to die for you, then you have no friends.”

All valuable things in life have a price and require time. But since we are very busy trying to have fun, we don’t have the time and energy to invest in the actual values. Instead we are content with the cheap, “practical” substitutes for everything, from food to friendship, family, and love. We are in the position of a person who wants to possess a precious gem, but does not want to pay the price for it.

In the ultimate sense, the real friend can help us by pointing out our real problems and by giving the solution. In Bhagavad-gita our best friend, God himself, informs us that there are four main problems in our life: “janma-måtyu-jarä-vyädhi”–birth, death, old age and disease. There are no material solutions to these problems. The only possible solution is spiritual: by developing spiritual consciousness we can transfer ourselves to a higher, spiritual dimension, were these problems do not exist. Material problems pertain to the material body and they trouble us as long as we persist in our wrong identification with matter. As soon as we realize that we are not dull matter but pure spirit soul, our material anxieties cease to exist. Then only can we enjoy life to the fullest extend and this enjoyment is found in the pure loving relationships which the soul exchanges with God.

According to Chanakya Pandit another reason for living an empty life is poverty. But how do we define poverty? We find that some people enjoy simple, happy life, while some others, although rich and affluent, suffer from isolation and depression. In this sense only those who have mastered the art of being content with whatever destiny offers them are truly happy. According to Srimad Bhagavatam the lack of satisfaction is dangerous even for persons who are materially advanced:

Many persons with varied experience, many legal advisers, many learned scholars and many persons eligible to become presidents of learned assemblies fall down into hellish life because of not being satisfied with their positions.

Bhaktivedanta Swami, the foremost proponent of the Vedic wisdom in our age, writes in this connection:

For spiritual advancement, one should be materially satisfied, for if one is not materially satisfied, his greed for material development will result in the frustration of his spiritual advancement. There are two things that nullify all good qualities. One is poverty. Daridra-doñoguëa-räçi-näçé. If one is poverty-stricken, all his good qualities become null and void. Similarly, if one becomes too greedy, his good qualifications are lost. Therefore the adjustment is that one should not be poverty-stricken, but one must try to be fully satisfied with the bare necessities of life and not be greedy.

The great sage Chanakya tells us that there is yet another reason for an empty life – the lack of a son in the family. According to the Vedas death is not the end but merely a change of the body. If one follows his religious duties properly, in his next life he is promoted to higher realms in the Universe. In order to stay there longer, his descendants should continuously perform Vedic ritualistic ceremonies to please the managers of the Universal affairs. Or, in a case when after death the father goes to the lower regions, the son can save him from there by performing a special rite.

Besides that, according to Vedic culture (which includes the ancient European tradition too) the son imbibes the father’s skills and occupation, inherits the father’s property, pays off his debts and takes care of the rest of the family, accomplishing whatever the father couldn’t. Such a son is traditionally accepted as an expansion of the father’s personality. For example according to the Vedic tradition a widow is not really a widow, if she has a son since the son is a representative of the father. In the East and West the daughter did not inherit the father’s assets (unless she was the only child), nor she could perform religious duties like funeral rites and sacrifice to forefathers on her own; she belonged to the family of her husband.

Therefore the begetting of a pious and obedient son is very important in the Vedic society.

The seven mothers of man

One's own mother, the wife of the guru, the wife of a brähmaëa, the wife of a king, the cow, the nurse, and the earth are known as the seven mothers of a man.

If someone asks us “How many mothers you have?”, we will most probably reply “What do you mean? Everybody can possibly have one mother only.” This is a normal reply in the contemporary world where we are used to minimize our true relationships and the accompanying responsibilities and to maximize our fun-time.

We like to use things and people according to our plans. Sometimes we do not even see so much of a difference between things and people; for us they are rather all commodities. It is instructive to observe how often people surround themselves with commodities (in the form of persons, animals, plants, or gadgets) expecting that this will make them happy, and at the same time complaining that they are feeling lonely and unable to express themselves. It is only natural to feel depressed when one’s value system places facilities over relationships. The real happiness in life is always connected with having deep and meaningful interaction with other human beings. This, however, is impossible if humans have been reduced to the status of things at the very beginning. The amount of pleasure in such dealings is so scanty and its nature so twisted, that it quickly turns into despair.

By now it should be clear why in the ancient Vedic civilization people accepted that they have not just one but seven mothers. Acknowledging the relationships with a wider range of living entities means acknowledging our dependence and indebtedness to them. This is a sign of a truly advanced civilization.

Of course, everybody will agree that we are indebted to our parents for all the obvious reasons. They gave us life, they took care of us when we were helpless in our early age and they were our first teachers. Our father provided for the family, endeavored to bring us up as human beings, thought us the difference between proper and improper. Our mother breastfed us and nourished us with her unconditional love. But how many real mothers do we actually have?

In our western society we traditionally paid homage to three of the mothers mentioned by Chanakya – the mother who gave us birth, the Queen, and the nurse. In medieval Europe the Queen was supposed to be respected as a model of decency, example of chastity and perfect behavior, whom the citizens adored and served with deep gratitude. Traditionally the nurses in Europe were also honored; they were accepted as part of the family and addressed as “mothers”. They enjoyed respect and good facilities.

The fact that ancient Indian and European traditions shared similar values is not surprising when we consider that in the past they were part of one big family, known as Aryan civilization. The term Aryan does not refer to a certain race or ethnic group, rather it denotes a person who is advanced in culture.

According to the culture of Vedic India planet Earth is also our mother. Ancient European culture shared this understanding too. Unfortunately we, the modern people both in the East and the West, abandoned this understanding long ago. For many of us earth is simply a warehouse of resources we feel we are entitled to exploit. As a result, human beings are the only species known to science which destroys its own habitat. Polluting and destroying our home, planet earth, is the price we must pay for adhering to the slogan of the first world countries: exploit, produce, and consume. The more the better. One of the problems with this agenda is that although the desires for gratifying the senses by producing and consuming seem to be unlimited, the recourses of our planet are limited.

The cow is also our mother because, just as our real mother, she feeds us with her milk. According to the Vedic tradition, the cow’s milk is very important because its regular consumption helps in producing finer tissues in the human brain by which we can understand the subtle laws of nature and the goal of human life. In gratitude, after taking her milk for 3-5 years, the cow is simply slaughtered. To slaughter mercilessly one’s own mother after exploiting her is hardly a sign of a civilized society. But the problem is elegantly resolved: who ever said that cow is our mother? (Besides some old-fashioned superstitious believers from the underdeveloped India.) After all, the cows, just like everything else, are simply commodities. Thus we whimsically ascribe values to living entities and things around us according to our plan to use them, instead of accepting them as they are. Therefore many modern men and women are against the notion that there exists a God’s design and plan for the Universe. (Unless, of course, this plan is that He let us control and enjoy all of our survey.)

Opposed to this consummative and exploitive approach towards anything that can be exploited, the Vedas offer a sophisticated culture of respect, gratitude and acknowledgment of our connection and indebtedness to all. Rather than boasting about our rights, the ancient sages of India put more emphasis on our obligations, knowing well that society can run smoothly only when everybody follows their duties properly. For example, in Srimad Bhagavatam, acknowledged as the ripened fruit of all Vedic scriptures, it is said that from the moment of birth everybody is already indebted to so many living entities: the great sages, ordinary living beings, relatives, friends, mankind and one's ancestors.

As a general principle, we are indebted to anybody who produced something in the past that we use and enjoy now. For example, if we are, let’s say, students at a University we are indebted to the University’s founders, the first university professors, students, sponsors, builders, cleaners, maintainers and everybody who helped and helps in establishing and advancing the institution over the years.

We are indebted to the great philosophers for the wisdom and good instructions recorded by them in the books of knowledge. This mood was encapsulated by Isaac Newton when he famously said: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

We are indebted to our parents and other relatives for all the care and facilities we received or inherited from them. We are indebted to our friends for the support they give us in difficult moments, and to mankind for the simple fact that there exists a human society where we can pursue our goals and have protection and meaningful relationships. We are indebted also for the sunlight and fresh air, the pure water that quenches our thirst, for the beauty of nature and for the very fact that we exist and are able to appreciate all that.

We cannot always pretend that all these debts do not exist. At one point in our lives we will have to face the reality that we are indebted to much more entities that we care to acknowledge. And, needless to say, debts must be paid on time, otherwise the interests grow.

Acknowledging our indebtedness to others is connected with cultivation of respect for the seniors. Just 30-40 years ago our own western culture was paying much more attention to offering proper respect to all. For example, in my schooldays in the 1980’s we had to greet our teachers upon their entrance in the classroom by standing up. It is interesting that according to the Vedic custom, when a superior person enters the room, he should be honored in the same way. This culture of offering respect to the teacher (or as he is known in the Vedic culture - the Guru, or a brähmaëa) is essential for the proper education and schooling. Showing respect to our teachers proves that we are worthy of their attention and a fit candidate for receiving wisdom.

In order to attain success in life we always depend on the good advice and training received from those who are already successful. They can teach us how to become like them. This applies to all spheres of knowledge, material and spiritual. Without cultivating a genuine feeling of respect and service attitude for those who are superior, we can never attain any type of tangible accomplishment in life. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita, the world famous Vedic book of wisdom, Lord Krishna says:

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. (Bhagavad-gita 4.34)