Transcendental Nectar of Sadhu-Sanga

by

Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja, Ph.D.

When we refer to God we imply that ultimately Reality is Personal. You are fundamentally and irreducibly personal, as a part of Reality. And so Reality as a whole must contain the element of irreducible personality, which or whom we call God. Only a Reality that is fundamentally personal can possibly produce finite persons from itself. This we call the principle of "Life comes from Life."

Whether Darwin is right or wrong is therefore a central point. It is not a side issue. Darwinian philosophy presents the idea of material reductionism. It claims that life comes from a random combination of matter. This is in direct confrontation with scriptural teachings of all religion, that life comes from life. God is the original Person (adi purusa) from whom all other life comes. If matter is the origin of everything, then reality is purely impersonal, and there are no real persons in the world. If God is the origin of everything, then reality is fundamentally personal, and personality is a real irreducible part of Reality.

We have already pointed out that scientific observation proves that life comes from life, while Darwin 's claims have never been substantiated by any scientific evidence.[1] More evidence is being accumulated every day that substantiates the fact that life is a non-material principle that cannot be explained away in terms of matter and energy. We are compiling that evidence and, from time to time, presenting some of it here in this list. We will establish a separate website to archive all this scientific evidence in order to assist in the research of any theistic scientist who would like to take up this service.

To ignore Darwin is simply to ignore the major atheistic argument that is influencing the youth and older generation today. First we must show scientifically that Darwin is wrong. Then the question of God becomes significant for the materialistic scientists. We are concerned with them because they are influencing the whole society toward godlessness. Everyone knows what Richard Dawkins, and others are doing in this regard.[2] And this is being propagated in the schools, with the result that students are losing their faith due to this teaching. So it must be stopped, and genuine science must be taught that will encourage faith in God.

To understand God is not difficult. Before the age of Darwinism, everyone was able to understand God throughout the whole history of human civilization. The greatest philosophers and sages all understood God, and the common people also easily understood God. Our entire modern civilization, East and West, arose on the basis of faith in God. Civilizations do not arise and are not preserved for thousands of years merely on the basis of primitive superstitions. This is shallow mindedness to barbarian proportions. Mankind is not stupid. Human beings have always had reason, and the greatest rationalists in human history have all concerned themselves with the existence and central importance of God. Modern civilization, government and science as we know it would not have existed without this fundamental foundation rooted in God. Only an uneducated brute who had not studied history and the great literature and philosophies of the world would be ignorant of this fact.

It is the greatest arrogance to think that those great philosophers who lived before us were all unscientific and superstitious fellows who could not understand the natural reality in front of them. Rather, we should be more modest and realize that the modern conception of scientific materialism has only existed for less than 300 years, and already it is showing signs of decay and degradation in society and the environment.[3] Despite whatever advances have been made by modern science, we have all experienced that it has also created disastrous consequences for Mankind and the Earth. What was preserved by thousands of years of a faithful humanity, is being destroyed by the myopic and godless impersonalist vision of materialistic science.

But this does not mean that science is itself to blame. Science was gloriously practiced for hundreds of years by the previous civilizations in India. The evidence for this in writings and in archeological finds is quite conclusive on this point. There has never been a problem of doing science on the basis of a theistic conception of reality. And there is no problem with doing science on a theistic basis today. Rather, it will lead to a further advance of science, beyond what the materialistic viewpoint can produce, because it is based on a proper understanding of the personal nature of reality - that includes both the Science and Scientist. Thus our publication bears this name. http://scienceandscientist.org

In conclusion, we have to consider this one point: Is Reality personal or impersonal?

We look out around us and we see substantial things: mountains, trees, stones, bodies, etc. The naive view of the world sees only objects or bodies. Basically, it sees only the World. But, as we have already mentioned in previous post [1], what about the seer? The subjective seer is also part of the picture; he/she is also part of the world. The substantial world is not the only reality. There is also the subjective knower, the soul, who is a vital part of reality, and not only ourselves, but all the other subjective beings in the world, including man, animal, and other living creatures.

Here the importance of understanding that Darwin is right or wrong comes in the picture. If Darwin is accepted, then Reality is impersonal because all life is reduced to matter according to that theory. If Darwin is wrong, then Life is an irreducible principle of reality, and reality itself is subjective Life, as much as objective substance or matter.

So whether Darwin is right or wrong will determine our most fundamental understanding of Reality: is it Personal or Impersonal.

If Reality is fundamentally Personal, then Life is an irreducible feature of Reality. Where there is Life there is consciousness, thought and personality or person. This elemental consciousness may appear covered or revealed to more or less degree, leading to the display or manifestation of the various life forms or creatures in creation.

The infinitesimal consciousness of the living entities, or souls, implies that they must exist in a universal consciousness, which we may call Brahman or God, or the spiritual side of Reality. There is also a science corresponding to that spiritual side of Reality, and there we can learn about the differentiation within the spiritual world, and the more exact understanding of the Personality of Godhead as described by the saints and sages of the Vedas, etc. The science of God must also be learned, and the suggestion that we make a systematic study of the Bhagavad-gita, and other basic scriptures is essential. But this does not mean that we can neglect the negative side that is covering the personalistic nature of Reality that leads to a scientific understanding of God.

So the basic principles are laid out here:

1. We must answer the question: Is Reality personal or impersonal or both?

2. We observe both subjects and objects in the world, and they must exist within a super-subject or God.

3. Therefore, Reality consists not only of the world, but also souls, or conscious observers, and God. Thus Reality is both personal and impersonal.

4. The universal Person or God is the foundation and source of the World and souls.

5. Thus all matter and life comes from God.

6. How matter or the world comes from God has to be understood through scientific and philosophical thought - i.e. diving deep into reality. In this way one has to search out the source and ground upon which everything depends - the Divine Personality of Godhead.

References

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