God’s relationship with matter

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
His relationship with matter.
That itself is a complicated subject. And you know many times you may have read in the prayers in Krishna book some devotees saying to the Lord My dear Lord you are the material cause of this cosmic manifestation. You are the efficient cause of this cosmic manifestation.
So I always had this question what is this efficient cause? What is this material cause? So actually in philosophy this relationship of God with matter if God is there what is this relationship with nature? That is discussed. So Prabhupada uses those terms assuming that the audience already knows what those terms mean. So actually in the western tradition before Christians there were the Romans and before them were the Greeks.
So the Greeks some of them were at least philosophical. So there was Socrates and Plato. So Plato said that if this world has to exist there has to be this the world has to come into existence there has to be these four causes, four kinds of causes.
So basically these four are just an expansion of the design argument. But expanding it helps us to understand how the Vedic literature uses the theorist understanding. So for example if a building has to be built so another building to be built requires four kinds of causes.
One is the material cause or the ingredient cause. The building has to be made of some matter. So to make the building we need to get cement, we need to get water, we need to get maybe slabs or tiles or whatever.
So the material cause, that means the ingredient cause of the building is the constituents that comprise it. Then apart from the material the material doesn’t just form a building by itself. Here the word formal now when we use the word formal it is just a formality.
Don’t be so formal. So we use the word formal in the sense of when a person does certain acts of etiquette which are done as a matter of ritual or as a matter of formality. That means when there are certain forms which are observed between the interactions of two human beings, forms of behaviour, forms of culture and it is unnecessary.
So that is this is with the form. So the word formality comes from the word of observation of external forms of culture. So here the word formal means that that which gives, the cause which gives the form to the particular object that is designed.
So the material cause comprises it. But the cement itself does not make the building. There has to be a formal cause.
Now what is the formal cause? The formal cause is the blueprint. You know when the architect makes a blueprint, what do you call a blueprint only? Technical word is there. Anyway, they may have it.
For example, we may make a template or a blueprint or we may make a software programme based on which things will expand. So the technical term may be different for different cases. But the idea is that the form which is going to be manifest later there has to be a cause for that.
So the architect’s blueprint is the cause for it. Now the efficient cause, now generally we use the word efficiency in terms of what? Somebody is able to get things done quickly or properly. Efficiently means properly and quickly.
But effica means to bring about the effect. So efficient cause means that which brings about the effect, that which causes the change. Ok, the blueprint is there.
The material is there. But then somebody has to implement it. So the construction crew will comprise the efficient cause.
The construction crew, so they take the material and they make the wall of this height, make this particular window at this dimensions. That is the efficient cause. And then there is the final cause.
The final cause is in one sense the objective which is to be achieved by it. So somebody may want to make a small house, somebody may want a big house. Somebody may want to make the structure to be not a house but a commercial complex.
And depending on the objective, the form will change. So the architect in one sense makes the blueprint. But the architect doesn’t decide the blueprint.
The blueprint is decided by the builder or the owner. Ok, I want this kind of house. Ok, I want a house rather big.
If we are going to make a voice, we will say we want a big temple hall and we want lots of bathrooms and toilets and then we want a place where it will seclude and we can do a lot of things. So the technical aspect of the design, the formal design will be done by the architect. But what is wanted? So that is the final cause.
So if you see, there is a lot that goes into a design of any material object. Now, if we look at the western intellectual tradition, the understanding is limited. There is a simplistic understanding that God said, let there be sun and there was the sun.
Let there be water and there was water. Now again, you know, how do we understand the different scriptures of this world? In general, Prabhupada says that scriptures should be taken literally. It is right.
Jyotindra Chakravart also says that Swata Pramana Veda Artha Yai, Lakshana Karele Swata Pramana Swata Pramana Veda Artha Yai He says that Swata Pramana, self-evident. The meaning of the scriptures is self-evident. But when we do Lakshana Karela, so there Lakshana Vritti or Gauna Vritti, when we use secondary interpretation of that, that Swata Pramana Veda Artha Yai, the literal meaning is lost.
Basically, when we use secondary meaning, or you know, there is Vritti Vritti and Gauna Vritti. Abhidha Vritti and Lakshana Vritti. So, secondary meaning when it is used, then the secondary meaning causes the self-evidence of the scriptures to be lost.
So, yesterday, we were talking about Shankaracharya using the upper level, lower level. So, what happens by his strategy is, actually, Ramacharya strongly condemned that strategy for two main reasons. First, he says is that you know, where is this two-tier mentioned in the scriptures? First of all, we are saying that this is the way scriptures should be understood, but where is this mentioned? That some part of scripture is Parmarthik, some part of it is Devaharika.
No. All of scripture is meant for one unified purpose. And secondly, by this, what happens is, most of scripture has to be related to Devaharika.
And a few statements talk about Parmarthika. Because, oneness is talked about, but it is not extensively talked about. Extensively, the scripture does not have a pastime described.
And in the pastime, there is a spiritual duality. There is a devotee and there is a lord. So, we don’t reject the Gaunavrtti entirely.
The Gaunavrtti is required in certain places. But when is the Gaunavrtti required? Only when, by Mukhyamrtti, we cannot understand anything. A simple example is, in the Ishopanishad, Mantra 3 it is said, that that those who are the killers of the soul, whoever they may be, will enter into the darkest regions of hell.
And known as the planets for the demoniac. Now, here, the word comes Atmanojanaha. Atmano means killers of the soul.
Now, a foundational principle in Vedic philosophy is that the soul is immortal. So now, that this is clearly said in the scripture, then when the word Atmanojanaha comes, killer of the soul, then, defining properly the soul is that it cannot be killed, then when you say the killer of the soul, then you have to understand that the killer of the soul cannot be taken literally. It has to be taken metaphorically.
So, there the literal meaning doesn’t make sense. Only then the metaphorical meaning has to be taken. And the metaphorical meaning also has to be based on scripture.
That’s why Prabhupada, in the Purport of the Ishopanishad course, he was from the Bhagavatam, where he says that So, Atmanojanaha, one who has got this human body, which is like a very convenient boat, well-shaped boat, and Guru is, the word Karanadhar means what? We simply translate as captain. But Sanskrit words are filled with meaning. Karanadhar means one who catches the year.
Karanadhar, he corrects us. That is what a captain is supposed to do, actually. So, Guru is supposed to catch the year of the disciple and correct him.
Guru Karanadharam. And there is this scripture which I have given is the favourable wind. And after having a captain, after having a boat, after having favourable wind, if somebody doesn’t cross over the ocean of eternal existence, such a person is Atmanojanaha.
So, here, even if we say Atmanojanaha refers to one who kills the spiritual opportunity of the soul. The opportunity of the soul for spiritual advancement. The opportunity of the soul for liberation.
Then, such a person is called as a killer of the soul. So, therefore, this taking the Atmanojanaha metaphorically is also based on scripture. It’s not that we just… Because, when we start saying that this is Gauna Bhakti, this statement has to be taken by primary meaning, this has to be taken by secondary meaning, then basically what are we doing? We are doing Anuman.
We are doing logical inference. And then, that means, if I have to interpret Shabda by Anuman, then Anuman becomes greater than Shabda. If Anuman becomes greater than Shabda, then what is the authority of Shabda? Then the ultimate authority becomes Anuman, not Shabda.
Therefore, when can we use Anuman? We use Anuman only when Shabda by its direct meaning doesn’t make sense. But that doesn’t mean that Anuman is higher than Shabda. We are using Anuman according to other statements given in Shabda.
So, basically, scriptures only say that Shabda is, sorry, scriptures say that the soul is invincible. So, when there are two contradictory statements, apparently contradictory statements, then we use Anuman to reconcile these two. But that Anuman is not like the mental speculation.
It is philosophical speculation. So, what is the difference between mental speculation and philosophical speculation? So, there are three differences. The first difference is it starts from Krishna.
Starts from the ultimate cause. That means it reasons to the ultimate cause. And third is it is in accordance with scripture.
So, the scripture, what does it mean? It starts from Krishna and ends in Krishna. That is, reasons to the cause. Sorry, this is the ultimate.
So, basically, Krishna says, So, here, Yuga Swami in the Tattvasandharva, this verse is very important. He says two things. Scripture is coming from Krishna.
Krishna has manifested all the scriptures. So, scripture is coming from Krishna and scripture is meant to take us to Krishna. So, when there is Anuman, that is starting with Krishna as the origin, cause of all causes.
And that is meant to take us towards Krishna. And that is according to scripture. So, when these three are not there, it is called as Anuman.
When these three are there, it is called as Vichar. Vichar is actually philosophical speculation. Anuman is mental speculation.
So, now, for example, in the Tattvasandharva, Jiva Goswami extensively analyses how there are different scriptures and he establishes how Srimad Bhagavatam is the highest praman. That means, all the scriptures are valid. All the scriptures are bona fide pramanas.
But among them, their highest scripture is Srimad Bhagavatam. So, actually, he says that, he uses two words over there. There is, can I write by this? He says there is Niranayak Shastra and Niranayatara Shastra.
What does this mean? Niranayak means deciding. Niranayak. And there is Niranayatara.
To be decided. So, deciding and to be decided. That means, Niranayak and Niranayatara Shastra.
So, for example, if we take the Indian Constitution, you know, somewhere it may be said that, you know, if anybody kills anyone else, then the punishment for that, he should be liable to prison or should be killed. But then, there may be another statement, if a woman is about to be raped, she kills the person who is raping her. That is not a crime.
So, now, if you see, there are two statements. Both are actually talking about killing. Killing is involved.
But, actually, this statement, among these two, if there is a situation where somebody has been killed, then, which of these two statements will be more important? Yes, there is killing, but what is the circumstance of the killing? Isn’t it? Circumstance is important. Circumstance such that a person is killed for self-defence or the defence of one’s own chastity. Then, there is an extenuating circumstance.
That means, the person should not be punished over that time. Or should be minimally punished if at all there is to be punishment. So, you know, sometimes people think that there are contradictions in scriptures.
But, contradictions are inevitable because the material life is itself unlimitedly complicated. Even if we have ordinary law code, then every law will be there and there will be extenuating exceptions for that. The general principle holds that if somebody is killed, then he should be punished.
But, what circumstances are there? Like Prabhupada gives a standard example. If a soldier kills on the battlefield, then that killing is not punishable. That is rewarded.
So, you see that if just somebody takes this part over here and this part over here, what is the law of this contradiction? No, the law has an ultimate purpose. The ultimate purpose is that there should be justice offered to the people. So, once that ultimate purpose is understood, then the apparent contradictions can be reconciled.
But, what happens is, in the modern scholars, academic scholars study scripture, they don’t think that scripture has any unifying ultimate purpose. They say, actually, sometime the Vedas came, then later the Upanishads came, later the Puranas came, and later the other scriptures came, and all of them are discrete. And all of them are independent and historically differentiated schools of thought.
And they say, ok, this is all over here, this is all over here, this is all contradictory. No, it’s one scripture. And there is one purpose.
What is the ultimate purpose? The ultimate purpose is to lead all the souls back to Krishna. And that may be done in different levels at different speeds. So, at different levels, for Tamoguna, somebody does the worship of Shiva by offering animals, that is for the people in Tamoguna, and they will be elevated, but they will be elevated to a minimal level, and a very gradual level.
It will be gradual and minimal. But, on the other hand, somebody may be in Tamoguna only, like the Hippies were in Tamoguna, but if they could take the instruction of a pure devotee, then there is rapid advancement. So, once the goal is clear, we were talking earlier about when there is thinking, logical thinking, done according to the understanding that all scripture comes from Krishna, and all scripture has one purpose, to take people back to Krishna.
Then, that Vichar is called as Vichar. And this Vichar is essential to be able to understand scripture and apply scripture. So, when we say that God created in the Bible and said, let there be sun, and there was sun.
So, now, if we look at the Bhagavatam, the Bhagavatam is the highest Pramana. Jiva Goswami’s Tapasandarva applies to other Vedic scriptures. But we can apply that to non-Vedic scriptures also.
So, to the extent other scriptures agree with Bhagavatam, we accept them as literal. To the extent they don’t agree with Bhagavatam, we say they are contextual or non-literal. Because Bhagavatam is the highest Pramana.
So, now, did God create the world like that? Let there be a sun, let there be moon? No, the Bhagavatam gives a elaborate process of creation. So, in principle, that is correct. What is it? Iccha Nrupam, yes, is Keshtateja.
By the Iccha of the Lord, the material energy acts. But it’s not like blowing a magic wand. The way the Christian understanding of creation is that God blows a magic wand, and suddenly everything appears out of nothing.
So, the technical term used for the Christian idea of creation is called as Creation Ex Nihilo. Ex Nihilo means out of nothing. Nihilo is nothing.
Nihilism. Nothing. So, Ex Nihilo is out of nothing.
Creation is out of nothing. That means there was no matter, it’s only God’s desire, and matter was created. So, the argument against this is very strong.
Because, if we say, God is the cause of everything. Like we say, Sarva Karana Karana. If God is the cause of everything, then everything also includes God.
So, then what happens? If God is the cause of everything, everything includes God, then the question comes up, what is the cause of God? So, it leads to a problematic hermeneutics. What is the problem over here? The problem is that, according to the Christian idea, matter was not existing, and matter came into existence. And, who caused that matter? God caused that matter.
And you go backwards, and who caused God? No, no, no. God did not cause that matter. It was only there.
So, if you are going to take the causal chain backwards, why stop at God? Why stop at God? One substance is producing another substance, and the second substance is producing the third substance. But then, why do you stop at a particular point? So, of course, we have to stop at a particular point. Atheists meticulously stop at matter.
They say, matter was the original cause of matter, it was what originally existed. And from matter, everything came about. Now, this seems reasonable, because matter is what we see existing in this world.
So, why do you have to imagine that some spirit is there, some God is there. You see, matter was the cause of everything. But the problem with this idea is that, matter does not organise itself on its own.
If you, you have such a beautiful voice over here, but if all of you go away for six months, and you come back, it’s not the voice that will become more beautiful. Actually, it will become more dirty. There will be cracks in the wall, there will be cobwebs.
So, if we leave matter to itself, it does not organise. It disorganises itself. Whatever organisation is there, that organisation degenerates.
If matter is left to itself. So, that’s why Darwin came up with the idea of natural selection. By natural selection, he proposed that matter organises itself.
But there is no experience of matter organising itself. Matter disorganises itself. It’s left to itself.
Even a human body, as long as there is a person, soul living, even if you don’t accept the soul over there, as long as there is somebody taking care of the body, the matter in the body is organised. And as soon as the life force goes away, even if you don’t consider life force to be soul, as soon as somebody stops taking care of the body, the body degenerates. So, matter by itself does not organise.
Matter disorganises. So, the materialists argue that the material cause is itself the ultimate cause. But that is a very incomplete understanding.
But the Christian idea is that in the absolute truth, their idea of absolute truth, whatever it is, God or whatever, there is no matter there. Because in spiritual realm, there is no matter. And then when the creation is made, God like blows a magic wand, and matter comes into existence.
So, how can that happen? If you are going to go backwards, stop and call. Why do you stop and call? Go behind God. So, then you can’t go behind God.
But the problem over there is that their understanding of matter is that matter is something which comes into existence. And not only matter comes into existence, their idea of soul is also soul comes into existence. So, their idea, you know, if you look at the Christians, they define eternal as having no end.
Not as having no beginning. They only say having no end. Not as having no beginning.
So, they say every time, you know, man and woman come together, soul is created. And the soul continues to exist. How it continues to exist? After he dies, then he goes back to, either he goes to, actually, either he goes to hell, or he goes to purgatory, or he goes to hell.
Purgatory is a temporary place of performation. So, of course, purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible. Because what happened is, the Christian idea was that only one life time.
That’s the current idea. You go to heaven or you go to hell. But then, the logical question comes, why is God so restrictive? Isn’t it? That means, you know, somebody is born in a place where he never hears about Jesus.
He gets a chance to go back to heaven and he goes to hell forever. So, why is God so cruel? So, their idea is that, God is not so cruel. You know, if your relative did not get a chance to become Christian, you become a Christian and you pray for him and you will go back to God.
So, that is a creation, that is not actually mentioned in the Bible. They created that idea of purgatory because otherwise it appears very unreasonable. If there is only one chance, and in that one chance you never get a chance to go back to God, then what happens? You go to hell forever for no fault of your family.
Because they don’t even have the idea of past life karma. So, there is no past life karma and there is no this life chance. You are forced to go to hell.
This is very unsaid. So, they say that, OK, you will not go to hell, you will go to purgatory. But they have to do a lot of intellectual rationalisation to try to explain their philosophy.
But the point here is that, the basic understanding is that, OK, I will complete this point. Actually, their idea that only one life leads to a lot of problems. Why? Because if you say that we all go back to God, then even if somebody is a Christian, he dies and he goes back to God, and somehow they have the idea, we will come to this in the last part, that somehow they think the body and the soul are one only.
There is a soul and there is a body, but body and soul are somehow one. That’s why they have confidence in which they preserve the body. Why? Because they think the body will be rescued.
Obviously, within three months the body is gone. Not in three months, within three weeks also it is gone, practically speaking. But somehow they say that we should do what we can to preserve the body.
But the problem is that the body is going to be preserved. When a person dies at the age of 80, is he going to have an 80-year-old body in paradise? I never want an 80-year-old body. Better I will go to hell, not have an 80-year-old body.
But if not an 80-year-old body, then what is it? Then you say, oh, he may have a young body, a 16-year-old body. But then, if somebody dies at the age of 5, he never had a 16-year-old body. So which body would he have? Because it is a serious problem.
And then, again, if somebody gets aborted, then what happens to the aborted person? He never got a chance to choose to take shelter of Jesus. So, once I had come to Bangalore, the same thing happened. One Christian, young person, he came and started talking.
He had the idea that I am going to go to hell because I am worshipping a pagan god. Their idea is very demoniac. Demoniac in the sense that it is very exclusivist.
See, we may say that there is one god, Jehovah, Krishna, or whatever, Allah. But neither Muslims nor Christians consider like that. They say there is only one god, that is Allah.
And all the other ideas of god, they are actually the guards taken by the devil to lure people away from god. That is why, many times, if you give this prasad to Christians, they don’t take prasad. Why? Because they think that it is the remnants of the devil.
So, they don’t take it. So, they don’t have such a broad idea. That’s why, you know, there was a secret temple.
You know, what happened was, you know, did you know that India is the biggest exporter of hair? Hair. And how is it? Tirupati Balaji. All the people come there and cut their hair.
And it’s all sold and exported. And it’s used to make wigs. In the west, people want to wear wigs when they grow old.
So, so, you know, Balaji, actually, Balaji makes a lot of money through wigs. So, when this was presented to GVD, they thought that all our brahmacharis are also shaving. She collected all.
But, you know, it’s not so many. Balaji, thousands of people come. We have thousands of brahmacharis and then we make a business out of that.
But, so, what happened was that in Israel, so, a lot of Israelis, they were taking these wigs from India, this hair, and they were making it into wigs. So, when they came to know that this is actually the remnants of idolatry, they said, we cannot touch it. And, you know, the chief rabbi of Israel, he passed an ordinance that anybody who makes wigs that have come from hair from this heathen worship, heathen Hindu worship, that person will not be allowed to come to the synagogue.
So, everybody has to check what is your wig made about. And if your wig is made from hair coming from India, you will not be allowed to enter. So, they are so fanatical.
They are so fanatical that actually this is a product of the worship of the idol. So, their idea is very exclusivistic. So, then this person, he had this idea that I am going to go to hell because I am worshipping a false god.
He thought he will come and save me. So, he started talking. So, I started to prove a standard argument.
Thou shalt not kill. So, he said, but that does not apply to humans. That applies only to humans, not to animals.
He said, that is not said over there. Kill literally means, as you can tell, there is life beyond that. He realised that is the problem over there.
He said, okay, if you are so concerned about killing, then why don’t you stop the killing of the embryos in the womb? So, he was basically trying to evade. So, he said, fine. Oh, that means you are also against abortion? Actually, that is one good thing.
The Catholic Church and Pope John Paul, they are strongly against abortion. And some Protestants also. But some churches are legalised, but not many.
So, then he said, oh, you are against abortion? He said, yes. So, I then asked him, okay, if the child is aborted, what is the end result? Where does the child go? You know, he never had a chance to surrender to Jesus. He said that actually, if the child is aborted, because he never comes to any sinful activities, so, God will take him back to paradise.
I said, okay. Then, what is the goal of life? He said, to go back to God. Why not abort everyone? Everyone will go back to God.
So, he said, no, no, no, that is not good. Why is it not good? He said, the goal of life is to go back to God. If the child comes out of the womb, then he may be not born in a Christian family and never get a chance to become a Christian.
Or he may be born in a Christian family and he may go away from Christianity. You can avoid all these dangers just abort him in the womb. So, he had no answer.
So, you know, we have the highest respect for Jesus Christ, because he was a servant of God. But then, we have to point out that the revelation that he has given is not complete from philosophical point of view. Somehow, their whole concept is very problematic.
What is the soul and what is the body? So, they think that the body and soul are somehow together. And what is material itself is spiritual. So, their idea is that actually, when they, when actually, they say that there is going to be second coming of Jesus.
Second coming of Christ. That means, at that time, the kingdom of God will be established in this world. So, and they say that till then there is grace available to you.
So, at that time, those who have surrendered to Jesus, they will be living eternally in the kingdom of God. And those who have not surrendered, they will go to hell forever. So, till then you have the chance to surrender.
Surrender completely. And you know, you have witnessed they are among the more hardcore of Christians. So, they, you know, they said 1985 is going to be the day when there is going to be the second coming of Jesus.
1985 is going to be a whole issue of our life. Everything is going to be destroyed. And only those who are faithful, they are going to be saved.
So, 1985 came and went. Nothing happened. And they said, Oh! Jesus is so merciful.
He is giving you fresh time. 1987 is the only time it is going to happen. 1987 came and nothing happened.
So, 10 carriages come and gone now. So, because of their idea that religion, that destruction is going to happen at a particular time, they made, especially in the West, religion into a laughing stock. So, actually no rational person will say, you promise this is the day when destruction is going to happen.
It doesn’t happen. So, God is giving some like mercy to that person. So, what they decided now, they came around and they decided that we will not assign any date.
Whenever God wants, we will do it. So, anyway, the problem with this whole idea is that their idea is, if the second coming takes place, this material world itself will become spiritual. That means, here only there will be kingdom of God.
Here only there will be no more death. There will be forever life. But that is not possible.
In fact, you know, Francis Bacon and other Christians, these are popular Christians. So, they thought, when science was being developed, they thought science is a gift of God. They thought that Christ will spiritually redeem mankind and science will materially redeem mankind.
But there is no material redemption of mankind. Materially, there is only going to be destruction. So, the difference between matter and spirit is not at all clear in Christian theology.
In fact, even in Vedic theology, you know, Kavindra Sarupul writes that, I have heard so much, so many times, Aham Brahmasmi, Aham Brahmasmi, so many teachers, so many Indian teachers have told me Aham Brahmasmi. Whereas Prabhupada, for the first time, he told me the practical implication of it. If I am Aham Brahmasmi, if I am spirit, that means I am not the body.
And that means I have to give up self-realisation. Nobody told me that. So, yes, if you are spiritual, then if you want to experience spiritual happiness, you have to disconnect the process of material happiness.
So, again, in the Vedic teachers also, the practical implication of Aham Brahmasmi is not explained. And that’s why people are not able to make tangible spiritual advancement. Because they think material also, material enjoyment also is okay.
We can continue with that. Anyway, the point which we are discussing here is, it’s all related, that their understanding is, there is no matter in the spiritual world. Some matter inexplicably has converted into spirit or something like that.
So, when the world is to be created, matter is ex nihilo, nothing created. But the Vedic understanding is that the absolute truth consists of Ishwara, Jiva, Prakriti and Kala. So, all these three, all these four out of these five tatva, only karma is not eternal.
But rather all four are eternal. That means, it’s not that matter is created. Matter is also eternal.
Spirit is also eternal. And God is also eternal. And time is also eternal.
So, now, you see, Prabhupada translates Kala as eternal time. You notice that in Bhagavad Gita, Prabhupada translates it as eternal time. You wonder, what is this eternal time? So, when we use the word Kala in a philosophical sense, that is different from Kala in a practical sense.
In a practical sense, when we say time, you’ll ask, what is the time? The time is now 6.50. But that is not actually Kala. When we say this is the time, that is not actually Kala in a philosophical sense. That is the effect of Kala.
Kala is the force which brings about change. Kala is the Lokakshayakut Prabhudho. So, the force which brings about change is eternal.
And that is why it is called eternal time. So, to differentiate the practical understanding of Kala from the philosophical understanding of Kala, Prabhupada adds the word. So, eternal time means that force which eternally brings about change.
So, now, the change has three components. It has creation, maintenance and destruction. Now, when we say maintenance, there is no such thing as maintenance.
What is maintenance actually? When creation and destruction are equi-balanced, that is what we call maintenance. Just like in our body, cells are always dying, but when cells are also being created, it is equi-balanced. But when the destruction becomes greater than the creation, then there is deterioration and there is death.
Eventually. So, actually, change is always happening in the material world. So, Jiva, Ishwara, Kala, Karma.
Jiva, Ishwara, Prakriti and Kala. These four, according to Vedic philosophy, are eternal. And all four are actually manifestations of God.
Kala is the impersonal energy of God. Jiva is the spiritual energy of God. And Prakriti is the material energy of God.
So, all four are eternal. So, when we say that Krishna is the source of Jiva and Prakriti, it is not the source of existence. It is the source of activation.
The soul is also eternal. The soul is eternal, that means the soul never comes into existence. So, in what sense is the soul coming from Krishna? The activation of the soul comes from Krishna.
The activation of Prakriti comes from Krishna. The activation means when one starts doing activity. So, how does that happen? In the material realm, it is Saha Aikshitaha, when the Lord glances.
So, in the Brahma Samhita commentary, Jaya Goswami describes, Saha Aikshitaha, so what does He do at that time? So, actually, through His glance, the Lord sends Kala into Prakriti. Through His glance, what does He send? He sends two things. One is He sends the Jivas.
Those Jivas who want to enjoy in the material world. He sends them. But along with that, He also sends Kala.
So, actually, Kala is sent. And when Kala comes in contact with Prakriti, then Prakriti starts changing. It’s like, if you want to make a chicken, if there is fire, and there is the ingredients, what are the ingredients? The ingredients are rice and some dal and some spices, some water.
So, now, if you take a stove, you take rice, dal, some spices, some water, put it. Does it produce a Khichadi? Kala has to go through it. The Khichadi has to be there for some time.
If Kala doesn’t flow, then the transformation won’t take place. So, what causes transformation is not the fire. The fire has to be there.
The fire alone does not cause the transformation. Transformation is caused by when there is passage of Kala. So, Kala is the source of stimulation.
And the source of stimulation is also eternal. So, because the source of stimulation is eternal, therefore, actually, eternality and causation, both can be reconciled. Because causation is this is caused by this, this is caused by this, why not stop over there? So, yes, when we say the stop, what is caused? It’s change.
When we say creation, there is no new Tatva that is created. Tatva is always eternal. So, when we talk about Krishna as the cause of all causes, He is the cause.
What are you talking about? Causation is only about change. There is no creation anywhere in the whole of existence. All that happens is change.
And Krishna is the cause of change. So, we don’t talk about the causal change going backward, backward, backward, backward, because backward you go, backward there is creation, maintenance, destruction. Creation, maintenance, destruction.
There are cycles of this going on eternally. And that is caused by Kala, which is eternal. And there is nothing which is created at any time.
So, when we talk about the causal change backward, that is with respect to the change. And with respect to existence, with respect to Tatva, with respect to substance, there is no causality over there because all of them are eternal. That’s why that infinite regress, the problem of infinite regress does not trouble the Vedic philosophy.
Because the infinite regress is there, if one substance is created by another substance, it might stop at a particular substance. But all the substances are eternal. So, all that happens when we say creation is there is change.
And the cause of that change is also eternal. So, if you have not understood it, don’t worry about it. But the point is that there is profound, there are many problems which plague western philosophy and there are profound answers to all of them in Vedic philosophy.
So, anyway, the material causes was prakriti. But prakriti is the energy of Krishna. Then, what is the formal cause? How does the form of this word come about? That comes about by Brahmaji.
But Brahmaji is a demigod serving Krishna. He is also energy of Krishna. And what is the efficient cause? That is the Kaal.
The Kaal is also an energy of Krishna. So, what causes change? Brahmaji cannot cause change. Brahmaji actually, it is described that when he says aham bija prabhavita so that bija does not just refer to the souls.
In one way, it refers to souls. But bija also refers to the templates. So, when you see the 8.4 million species, so the blueprint for these forms are already eternally existing.
So, when Mahakrishna withdraws, at that time, what all withdraws? The whole material cosmos goes to him. And the bijas are already there. And what Brahmaji does is actually he takes the bijas and he develops it himself or he empowers others to develop it.
So, the forms in that sense are also eternal. The forms are eternal. They are sometimes manifested and sometimes not manifested.
And what is the final cause? This was the most problematic part for the western philosophy. What is the final cause? See, there are many examples of what scientists call as bad design. They call it as dis-teleology.
Teleology means design. And dis-teleology means bad design. And bad design was one of the main arguments which Darwin gave against design argument.
And he said, for example, I cannot believe that a compassionate God would create animals who would delight in ripping apart other animals and feasting on their bodies. He said, a deer is designed to run away from a tiger. A tiger is designed to catch a deer.
So, on whose side is the design? On whose side is the design? So, there is so much cruelty clearly present in nature and the cruelty is designed in nature. A tiger is designed to be able to brutally rip apart the body of a deer and kill and eat it. So, I cannot believe that a benevolent designer would create tools for such cruelty.
And therefore, that cannot be a benevolent design. So now, the Christian idea of God was that God is a good designer. And there was a Christian theologian called Paley.
He came up with the idea of a clock. Now, he said, a clock is clearly required to be designed. But, when a clock is designed When will we say a clock is well designed? For example, if the dial is so small that you can’t see it only from here.
That’s a bad design. Or, if it’s too bright and you don’t have a glare, it’s a bad design. So now, the goodness of the design of the clock is based on the user’s judgement.
That means, implicit in the clock analogy is that the clock is meant for the satisfaction of the user. So, this was the Christian idea of creation. The Christian idea of creation is that this creation is meant for our pleasure.
Of course, their idea of pleasure was more satisfying. What is the idea of pleasure? The prudent and the long-term pursuit of happiness. What is the purpose of creation? But, if this is the idea of the purpose of creation, then the creation doesn’t fulfil that purpose.
For example, if we say, God gives so much water. Without God, there would be no clouds, there would be no rains. God is so kind that he has provided me water.
But then, that same God causes shortage of water and causes famine. That same God gives water and causes floods. So, where is the kindness of God? So, if we think that the final cause is what? The final cause is, what is the voice meant for? The voice is meant for a particular purpose.
With that purpose in mind, everything is designed. So, the final cause of creation is unknown, is unclear in Christian theology. And their idea was that God has made this world good for us.
And good for us, because there is no clear difference between spirit and matter. So, good for material pleasure. And if you look at it, this world is not good for material pleasure.
It’s not designed. Our bodies are prone. Our bodies are sources of enjoyment for us, but also sources of disease.
And the enjoyment is so little that is available from the body. So, the creation, the design argument has to be very clearly understood in terms of the ultimate purpose, the final cause. For example, now, if I have a laptop.
The key, some devotees have palm tops, it’s very small. But the keyboard there is so small. So, what a bad design, the keyboard is so small.
But you have to see the complete purpose. What is the final, what is the most important purpose over there? For that small palm top, it’s portability. Now, for portability to be accommodated, the keyboard has to be small.
The screen has to be small. So, if we are going to see design, only the perfection of design, without the purpose of design. The design also has a purpose.
Even a palm top is designed, a desktop is designed, a mainframe computer is designed. All of them are designed. But the purpose of design of all of them are different.
So, if the purpose is not known, then any design can be faulty. Any design, whatever design may be, you can find faults in the design. So, when the purpose of the world is not known, then you can find so many faults in the design of this world.
So, now I was giving the example, I was giving the starting argument of on whose side is the designer? Is it either the tiger or is it either the deer? No, but the point is, just because there are two creators who are created with contradictory or conflicting attributes, that does not prove that there is no designer. Simple example is, there are video games. In the video game, there is a police and there is a thief.
Now, in the video game, the thief has all the skills. He can run like this, run like that, go here, go there. The thief is equipped to run away from the police.
And the police is equipped to catch the thief. Now, on whose side is the video game designer? He’s not on the side of either of them. The video game is designed for what? For the pleasure of the video game player.
So, if we are going to see the design of the video games without the ultimate purpose of the video game, then you will say, what is this? You have designed the thief to run away, you have designed the police to catch. On whose side are you? He’s not on the side of the police, he’s not on the side of the thief. He’s on the side of the player of the game.
Isn’t it? So, like that, there may seem to be a defective design. But the design defect appears only as long as one doesn’t do the purpose. So, yes.
Now, is Krishna on the side of the tiger or on the side of the deer? He’s on nobody’s side. mamai mamso jeeva loke jeeva bhuta sanatana manah shashtani indriyani prakriti sthani karshati There is struggle for existence. There is struggle for the deer and there is struggle for the tiger also.
So, the design on the part of the tiger is meant to create struggle for the deer. The design on the part of the deer is meant to create struggle for the tiger. Now, why is there struggle for everyone? The struggle is there to help both to understand that this is not my natural place.
Prabhupada writes, the miseries, in Aishwarya’s purpose, the miseries of our existence indirectly serve to remind us of our incompatibility with matter. So, the miseries are there undoubtedly in this world and the miseries are meant for a purpose. What is the purpose? The purpose is to remind us you don’t belong here.
Get out of here. Out of here. So, there is the evidence of design which is undeniable in this world.
And there is the evidence of suffering. That is also undeniable in this world. There are two things which are undeniable.
Design, you cannot deny it. The human body is well designed. But, suffering, there are so many diseases.
You can’t deny that also. So, is there any model of design where is there any model of any system or any structure where there is design and there is suffering both? Yes, there is. That is a precedent.
So, the Christian idea of the world is it is a home. Darwin’s idea of the world is it is a jungle. You know.
It is. What is might is right. Survival of the fittest.
But the correct understanding is this world is not a home. This is not a jungle. This is a prison.
So, in a prison, there is design. You know, you will get food at morning, afternoon, evening. You will get some place to sleep.
You will get some place to respond to nature and all that. But none of that will be comfortable. And a lot of uncomfortable work also to do.
So, we see a model in this world where there is design also and there is suffering also. There is a prison. So, our understanding is this world is like a prison.
This world is like a prison. So, the design argument applies. But the final cause of this world is not to enjoy this world but to get out of this world.
And the world is designed in such a way not to provide for our mental comforts but to provide for also suffering which will impel us to get out of this world. So, now we have shakha chandra nyaya over here. Shakha chandra nyaya, you know that? That means the moon is in between two branches.
So, child cannot see the moon. So, mother says, can you see this tree? Can you see this branch? Can you see that branch? Can you see the moon? Yes, it is in between. Oh, yes, yes, yes.
That’s correct. Now I understand. So, that’s how we see the moon.
So, now the exact nature of the world cannot be captured by any one analogy. So, all the analogies are like shakhas. And the chandra is actually in between.
A simple example of this is, we say, the car driver analogy. The soul is like the driver and the body like the car. But then you go further in the chariot-body analogy.
In the chariot-body analogy, the soul is not the driver, it is the passenger. So, what is it actually? And there the activator seems to be the intelligence. It is not the charioteer, it is not the body, that is not the soul, it is the intelligence.
And then you go further, you will find, actually, the source of activity is not the soul, it is the super-soul. Isn’t it? The super-soul is actually activating the body. It is not the soul.
So, no analogy can completely describe the interaction between matter and spirit. But every analogy is meant to convey a particular purpose. So, the car-body analogy is meant to convey that, actually, activation does not come from matter, it comes from spirit.
The chariot-body analogy is meant to convey a certain mechanism of how the senses, mind, intelligence and soul, all are interacting. So, different analogies convey different things. So, the aspect of this world being like a prison explains that we are here for our reformation.
So, we are not here for enjoyment, we are here for reformation. We are here for reformation. We have to change our desires, purify our desires, and this world is meant for that purpose.
But, the prison analogy tells clearly what we are supposed to do. We are meant to reform ourselves. But the prison analogy does not convey the compassionate aspect of God.
Because who is God? God is the jail warden. Jail warden is not very compassionate. Isn’t it? So, the world is not exactly like a prison.
There is another place where there is desire and there is suffering. That is a hospital. In a hospital, everything is well designed.
Everything is well designed. But also, everybody is suffering in the hospital. Isn’t it? The patients are suffering because they have disease, the doctors are suffering because they have to cure all the diseases.
So, the hospital analogy conveys the compassion of God. That God is the doctor. God is not just the jail warden who is inflicting the punishment.
God is the doctor who is curing the punishment. So, what is the actual nature of this world? It is in between. You cannot say that one shakha is the prison and the other shakha is the hospital.
And, the shakha Chandranath says that actually the reality is something deeper. So, the final purpose is this world is well designed. But it is well designed for what? It is well designed to frustrate us.
It is well designed to frustrate us in our material ambitions and material desires. And it is well designed to nourish us in our spiritual desires and spiritual ambitions. So, this final cause when we understand, then we see the complete strength of the design of the world.
But if the final cause is not clear, then we cannot see the design of this world. I conclude with one short incident. You know, Maharaj’s new book, Yoga of Love, he basically talks about, he introduces bhakti as the unifying essence of all teachings.
And he says how bhakti helps one to deal with even the practical problems of life in a much more natural way. So, he tells many personal experiences and other observations. He talks about Bhakti Desh Maharaj in the book.
He talks about Siddharth Maharaj. And he also talks about one of his own disciples, Vishwaroop Prabhu. So, Vishwaroop Prabhu, you know, he is a congregation counsellor, one of the doctors at Bhakti Yantra Hospital.
So, about 6-7 years ago, he had a second daughter. And when that daughter was born, at that time, there were a lot of problems in the pregnancy. And she was born with a lot of physical handicaps.
And again, later on, after 3 months, she had almost like a heart failure, brain failure. She survived, but she can’t walk, she can’t eat properly, she can’t speak. And most of the time, she is constantly crying.
And the brain is damaged because of all that happened during the birth. And in such situations, the doctors just tell that, you know, do euthanasia. Because there is no hope for the child to ever become normal.
As long as the child is going to live, the child will suffer. And eventually, he is going to die. Both of them are husband and wife, they are very good teachers and counsellors.
And this completely disrupted their whole life. Then, they met Maharaj. Maharaj came to meet me.
And Maharaj told them, you have two choices. One is to think that this world is just operating by chance. And you have just got the bad side of chance, by getting this child.
And the other is that this world is operating by Krishna’s plan, and there is some special purpose for which Krishna has sent this child in your life. So, Vishwa Rupa said that, you know, Maharaj, I believe that Krishna will come through. But I just can’t understand, what could be the plan for this? So then Maharaj said, I prayed to Krishna for guidance.
Then I told him that our ultimate goal is we want to serve Krishna selflessly. But all the service that we do in this world is teached by selfishness. When I am going to preach, you want to see that I am a clever person.
When we do counselling, oh, I am writing. Everything that we do is teached by selfishness. But Krishna has sent this child into your life to teach you the value of selfless service.
Even when parents take care of the children, they have the selfishness. My child will grow and spread the glory of my dynasty. Spread my glory, basically.
He says, by serving this child, you will get nothing in return. But by serving this child, you will learn selfless service. You should see that every single thing that you do for this child, right from taking care of her medicine, it is all being personally accepted by Krishna.
He had come to Pune. I was talking with him. He said, that just one meeting with Maharaj changed our whole perspective.
Rather than seeing that child as an unnecessary burden, we started seeing the child as a precious opportunity. And then as we were praying for the child more and more, we started seeing that this child is special. Because everybody was praying for this child and this child, as long as she lives, she is not going to do any further karma.
She can’t do any karma. And whatever karma she is doing, that is very exhausting for this girl. So we have the opportunity by giving as much Krishna consciousness information as possible to this child, to help the child to go back home, back to Godhead.
And not only that, she had an earlier older sister also. That older sister, she was thinking, I will have a small child and I will play with her. But then she realised that this child has come in our life not for my enjoyment, but for my service.
She found that a small baby would always be crying. Because she would always be crying and the only time she would hear some birds chirping, at that time, that child would become very peaceful. So this older sister, she went to the nearby park, every morning she would go and she would hear the sounds of the birds.
And she learned to imitate the chirping of a parrot, the chirping of a cuckoo. And she came back and started singing like that. For the pleasure of the little girl.
And the little girl would be peaceful. And the result of that was that the older sister, she developed a beautiful voice and she is one of the prominent Matari singers in the Chowpatty congregation. You know, they have ten chanters groups, they have a musical group for promoting Maharaj’s book.
So she is the singer for that. So, we said we should come to Pune, and Krishna, I was talking with him, he said that actually, this child has brought us, all of us, so much closer together. And he said we have to take shelter of Krishna, but Krishna has put us in a situation where we have to take shelter of him.
Because medically we are helpless, we can’t do anything for the child. And he had come to Pune to give a Radhashtami lecture, and this is the last speech in engagement I have accepted. Because it’s only 2-3 months remaining now.
But he said that, what he said, that Krishna Consciousness offers shelter even in the most hopeless situations. He said, it’s not that my life is cosy. Everyday something is going wrong.
Some medical competition is happening, something is going wrong. I can see without Krishna’s shelter, either my wife would have committed suicide, or I would have gone mad, or anything would have happened. But, in this situation, although the situation is difficult, you can see that Krishna is offering shelter.
And, because of that, he is able to face the situation. So, you see that the ultimate purpose that a devotee holds. When a devotee tells that purpose, then the material life makes sense.
Otherwise, everything in material life can appear chaotic. And that’s why, when you talk about design, it’s not just theoretical, it’s practical. As the devotee advances more and more, he starts seeing that everything that is happening in my life has a purpose.
But, when will we understand the purpose? We will not know that. That’s like, if you see a movie, sometimes in a movie, the hero may be getting beaten up. You say, what a bog of foolish director, what kind of movie he is making.
And, if you just walk out of the movie at that time. But, at the end, you will see the hero wins. And then, you will see the hero getting beaten up, adds to the spice of the movie.
Adds to the spice of the movie. So, we have to wait till the movie gets over. But, the difference is that you don’t have to just wait to watch the movie.
We may be the hero getting beaten up also. So, we have to wait on. Like, if you see Raham Narayan’s book, Journey Home, he tells at the end, when he met Prabhupada, he says, now I could see there was a beautiful plan of the Lord that was orchestrated in the movie.
So, all the things that were happening in my life were a part of a pattern. But, you know, we have to be patient till the final pattern is revealed. If Maharaj came to Vrindavan and there he met a guru who is homosexual, abused him, then what kind of spiritual strategies goes back? He will himself not have got the truth and you will not have got the truth.
So, there may be very difficult situations. But, there is a final purpose. And that final purpose, it cannot be understood till you come to the final moment.
But, then we have to survive to the final moment. And, for that survival, often we need the guidance and the wisdom of devotees. And they will not be able to tell us what is the plan.
Because, even the devotee is not the Paramatma. But, by seeing examples like this and by understanding philosophically the purpose of this world, we understand that there is a final wonderful plan of Krishna. And therefore, no matter how much difficulties I am facing, if I just persevere, then in the end I will understand how everything was for my good.
And the difficulty also, may the ultimate good be better. Thank you very much.