Science and Hinduism

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

Dear Readers,
After going through such articles doesn't one feel that hinduism is not outdated? Its very true that what people today call science has always been a part and parcel of hinduism. Since time immemorial the rishis or sages knew several scientific things which human beings have just discovered now and are taking the credit for the same. Such people feel that they have invented something new but the fact is that they have merely 'discovered' it.

Coming back to our this months first article, in our last posting, we spoke about the most important exam which a person has to give in his lifetime!! That concluded one method following which its possible to attain salvation. Apart from the method that we mentioned to attain salvation i.e through chanting Lord's name throughout one's life and consequently, also at the last moments of one's life, there exists another method which gets us the same result, there exists another road that leads us to the same destination, there exists another key that opens the same lock. That method is described very aptly in the under mentioned shloka:

YathkarOshi yadhashnaasi YajjuhOshi dhadhaasi Yath!
Yaththapasyasi Kountheya! Thathkurushva madharpanam!

Meaning:

Whatsoever you do, Whatsoever you eat, Whatsoever you offer, Whatsoever you give away, Whatsoever austerity you practise, O Arjuna, do that as an offering to Me.
Bhagwad Gita (Chapter-9 verse 27)

A very beautiful verse! This verse says whichever action one performs during one's entire lifetime one must dedicate it sincererly and whole heartedly to Lord Krishna. 'Arpana' means offering'. The indirect meaning of this verse is that if a person performs acts with the aim of reaping its fruits then he will reap the fruits according to the excellence of the act i.e. if the act is good the fruit will be good and if the act is evil then so will be its fruits too.

However if one wishes to escape from the benefits and evils of one's actions then the simplest way is to perform the act by praying to Lord Krishna thus:

Krishna whatever i am doing, i am dedicating it to you.Please accept my acts as an offering to you. I don't know anything. I am at your mercy. I am surrendering myself to your lotus feet. Whatever I am doing, I am doing it as a service to you.

This simple prayer, the Lord says, will free a person automatically from the fruits of that act i.e. that person wont be affected by the merits or demerits of the act. But this prayer must be with a firm faith in mind about the prowess of Lord Krishna as also with sincere devotion (bhakti). Prayer said just for the sake of saying it will be effective but not be as effective as a prayer said with utmost devotion.

All this seems very unreal in modern day world but this is the truth to be frank.A simple example from day to day life can prove it.When a person meets with an accident his/her relatives depend on a doctor to treat him and cure his wounds. That doctor is at that point of time no less than God for them. But when the injury is of a very severe nature then at times even the doctor is not sure whether he will be able to save the patient or not. At such times the doctor consoles the near and dear ones of the patient by saying that he is just a human being and not God. He can only try his best to save the patient but cannot guarantee that the patient will be saved and the doctor also asks them to pray to God to save the patient. This simple example proves the fact that there are limitations to science, irrespective of how much technology develops and irrespective of how many new medicines be discovered by human beings!! Also there exists something which is more powerful than science. That power is the unflinching faith in the Supreme One, Lord Krishna.

This example was just for the purpose of making all the readers aware that even in today's so called modern society when everything else fails, the only thing that may work is a sincere prayer! Isn't it?

.....to be continued

Sarvam Guruvarpanam