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Thursday, July 21, 2005

Science and Hinduism

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JAY SHREE POOJYASHREE SHREE AMMA
JAY MAHAN BRAHMASHREE GOPALAVALLIDASAR
JAY SHREE RADHEKRISHNA SATHSANG

Dear readers,
In our last posting, we concluded with the spiritual version of the scientific law of motion. In this posting we present you a comparison between the scientific version and the spiritual version.

On one hand stands the scientific version that says:

"To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction".

This law speaks on a very material level and deals with phenomenon occuring in the nature. This can be known from the examples we studied about how a fish moves in water, how a bird flies in the sky, how a car moves on the road etc.This law provides us with knowledge that sharpens our intellect, improves our logic and way of thinking. It makes us intelligent 'apparently'.

On the other hand the spiritual version says:

Karmanaa jaayathe janthuhu karmaNaiva Vileeyathe

sukham dhukkham bHayam ksHemam KarmaNaiva abHipadhyathe

(Srimad Bagawatham - 10/1-24th chapter - 13th sloka)

Meaning:

1 Due to the karma only the jeevaathmaas are taking birth here.
2 So also, due to karma only the bodies of the jeevaathmaas are facing an end.
3 The happiness and sadness, fear and comfort; everything is just because of their karmas.

This version speaks on a much much subtler level and gives us knowledge which motivates us to perform our duties in a perfect way.It teaches us important lessons needed to lead a happy life.Lessons such as how to refine our karma's so that we maintain a steady state of mind and always remain happy; how should we remain away from qualities like anger, agitation, pride, greed, jealousy etc or how we should remain unaffected by the adverse effects of such qualities. Ultimately everything that happens in our life is directly linked to our karma's. So if we get this step right (i.e. of doing good karma's) then there wouldn't be any hassles in our lives at all !!

The explanation of this version is so simple that even a layman can easily apprehend it.
On the other hand the explanations given in the examples related to the scientific version require that one actually observes such natural phenomenon to understand what that law is saying. Merely by reading or hearing the explanation it is not possible for everyone to understand the law.

The scientific version has limited applicability upto the material level whereas the spiritual version scores because its applicablity is at all levels. Most importantly it paves the way to attain the ultimate goal i.e. salvation (moksha). Having attained the knowledge to attain this goal, one doesn't need any other knowledge for attaining any other goal.

That was the comparison between the two versions for you. In the next posting we continue with or discussions on this topic. Till then Radhekrishna!!

Sarvam Guruvarpanam

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Science and Hinduism

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JAY SHREE POOJYASHREE SHREE AMMA
JAY MAHAN BRAHMASHREE GOPALAVALLIDASAR
JAY SHREE RADHEKRISHNA SATHSANG


Dear Readers,

Radhekrishna!!

In our last posting we mentioned a shloka from Srimad Bhagvatham and we discussed about it a bit. We continue with our discussion in this posting.

The explanation of the second line which was:

"Due to karma only the bodies of the jeevaathmaas are facing an end."

This line says that when the purpose of a soul in a certain body is accomplished, it moves from that body to another body. The time of a souls departure from one body to another is decided by one and only one major factor which is nothing but 'the karma's which that body has performed'.Each living thing has been gifted with three things:body, mind and intellect by Lord Krishna. The development of the body,mind and intellect varies from one living thing to another. Animals,birds, plants,trees possess these three things to a very less extent; whereas human beings are fortunate enough to possess a much more developed body,mind and intellect.

The body,mind and intellect are the three subtle elements apart from the five sensory organs. So depending on how a person's body,mind and intellect work, that person performs various karma's. At a point of time when all the purposes for which the soul moved into that body are accomplished then the soul moves from that body in search of another body and the present body perishes.

Now coming to the third line:

The happiness and sadness, fear and comfort; everything is just because of their karmas.

This line has great relevance for we jeevaathmas. Of the three lines of this shloka this line is the most important one.

It says that the various feelings that one experiences like happiness, sadness, fear, comfort, ecstacy, embarassment, pain, grief, jealousy, pride, greediness...... and the list can go on and on; all these feelings are a direct result of our karma's only!!

Let us take some examples:

1. Doesn't one feel guilty when he does anything wrong? When a person intentionally cheats someone say in business, will his mind be at peace? No never! his conscience will always prick him.

2. Similarly, if you happen to save a small puppy which is unknowingly walking on the road and a vehicle is about to hit it, don't you feel that happiness, the ecstacy! The divine joy of having saved the life of a poor thing, of having helped a creature which can't express its feelings properly? Yes you would definitely do!

3. When one is in a hurry to reach a certain place and boards a running train but hurts himself, ouch! doesn't it pain? Yes it does!

4. When a person promises another person that he would meet the other person on a certain day at a certain time and fails to keep his promise, will he not feel embarassed? will he not feel sad? disappointed? Most definitely he will !!

So one can very easily conclude that the state of mind of a person is directly proportional to his karma's. If the karma's are good the state of mind will be good and vice versa.

This was the spiritual version of the scientific law of motion. In our next posting, we shall bring to you a comparison between the two versions. Till then do continuous chanting Radhekrishna!

Sarvam Guruvarpanam
 

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