Chandraayana – India’s Moon Mission: A Bhagavad-Gita perspective

Podcast:

Hare Krishna What is the Bhagavad Gita perspective on India's moon mission Chandrayaan I will analyze this from four angles using four D's First D is discovery We human beings have an innate eagerness, longing to know, to inquire, to explore to discover to push boundaries and bring into the domain of the knowable and attainable that which is not normally knowable and attainable and this is reflected in the excitement and ambition associated with, in general, humanity's exploration of space and this longing to know comes from the Bhagavad Gita's perspective from our spiritual core the soul the soul is means it is conscious, it is cognizant, it is curious it longs to know more and more if we were just biological creatures, biological machines designed for survival and reproduction then what would account for the curiosity that defines humanity curiosity for things beyond what is necessary for our survival so it is this curiosity for discovery that has inspired human beings to develop science and technology, to develop philosophy, to develop art in fact Einstein said that science, arts and religions are all fruits of the same tree of human cognition of human knowledge so this longing for discovery to push boundaries it ultimately points to our spirituality where we wish to know that which exists beyond our human limitations and ultimately this longing for discovery is meant to point us toward our spirituality which exists beyond all material limitations second D is development it is because of this discovery that longing to know when we translate into action we long to have something better to improve some things and it is that through that that we as human beings have developed in science and technology and we have made our outer world so much more comfortable as compared to the recent past recorded past, we have so many facilities utilities available these are all because of the human urge to improve, to develop and again this points to something deep in our core because we are not satisfied with the existence we have at present animals can keep eating the same food cows can keep eating the same grass birds can keep eating the same grains constantly we humans constantly want something more something better and thus we try to work on improving our externals and this capacity for development when it leads to some dazzling developments the ability underlying that that actually comes from the divine from Krishna Rishu Krishna says I am the ability the ability to endeavor our longing for thrill adventure as we explore uncharted territories whether it be on the earth or in the space that sense of thrill and adventure that comes from the divine and the results of such development when they are captivating Krishna says they are a manifestation of his divine splendor that they are in 1041 he said and in this list which Krishna gives there are natural manifestations and there are human accomplishments developed with through people who have extraordinary skills as their defining abilities they are also opulences so the longing to develop is rooted in our spirituality and ultimately it comes from divinity at the same time where is it meant to take us that brings us to third point B is distraction that the Bhagavad Gita says that in this world or in this universe in the entire material existence wherever we go this satisfaction will always dog us just like a tail follows a dog just as a shadow follows a person these examples are given by the bhakti tradition not the Bhagavad Gita but the point is the Bhagavad Gita says that old age disease death these are distresses that characterize every place in the material existence so whether we move from India to America move from a rural place to urban place or whether we move from earth to some other place ultimately our bodies are going to go old get diseased and die our minds tend to go towards negatives our mind tend to crave for the things that we don't have and does keep us dissatisfied so while we can work for improving things externally if we truly want meaning and fulfillment in life that is not going to come simply by material development yes that India is getting in a big way into the space race is natural and compatible with the overall ascendance of India on the world geopolitical stage and in the future the space will also be a territory where there will be increasing competition and so in that sense India's endeavor to develop and all the scientists hard work in making this endeavor is laudable at the same time India has something distinctive something unique to contribute to the world and that is its spiritual wisdom it is that which we should not forget in the excitement and the hype and the hope over the space mission let us not get distracted from what India can offer uniquely while India can successfully imitate what has been done by other countries and it may be necessary from a geopolitical perspective for us to create our space in the space race for Indians to do that but India let India not lose what is its unique contribution in trying to do what others are doing this was Shila Prabhupada's mood when he commented on issues like these.

Shila Prabhupada for example he said that human life is meant primarily for endeavoring for spiritual elevation not for material elevation so in the introduction to Bhagavad Gita as it is modern man has struggled very hard to reach the moon but he has not tried very hard to elevate himself spiritually. If one has 50 years of life ahead of him, he should engage that brief time in cultivating this practice of remembering the supreme personality of Godhead so beyond the entire material existence is the highest reality that is divinity and linking with the divinity brings the highest meaning and the highest fulfillment to our life that is what the Bhagavad Gita offered Arjuna and that is what the Gita stands ready to offer everyone and that brings us to the last point direction that the world is moving forward in various ways and at the same time there is an increasing crisis of meaning Martin Luther King put his finger on this more than half a century ago when he said we have guided missiles and misguided men our scientific power has outrun our technology, our spiritual power so we need holistic development and the direction for development while it can be material and scientific but let it not distract us from that which will bring the deepest fulfillment to us as humans that which will be the unique contribution of India as a spiritual wisdom, as a source of spiritual wisdom for the world and that which will address a great need for humanity with all our technological advancements we have remarkable facilities and yet there is so much distraction that there is so much depression, there is so much addiction there is so much self destruction even to the point of suicide we need inner development science can help us improve outer things whereas spirituality can help us to improve our inner world and let while the endeavor for improving the outer world, for reaching domains of the outer world that have not been reached before while those are continuing vigorously let at least a fraction of that vigor be devoted to our internal growth also. So to summarize this the urge for discovery comes from our spirituality the first is that Atma is conscious and curious the development the aspiration for development, the activity for development, it points to the ability in human being that has been given by divinity, it is the sense of adventure that is the manifestation of divinity and it is the results of that are the beauty of the Lord.

Then distraction the world will always be characterized by distress. No matter what we do, those are associated with our physical bodies and our physical minds and we humans can best direct our urge for discovery and development when we grow internally spiritually so that brings us to the last part direction. While material development will go on let us not be distracted let us keep the direction of spiritual development also.

Just as we are investing energy for exploring the outer space let us invest energy for exploring the inner space and that could be India's unique contribution to the world. Hare Krishna.