Intellectual Humility
Krishna Keshava Dasa
Many issues in philosophy, theology, and science are controversial, and we know that others reject our views. If we believe a question has one correct answer, and accept one answer, we must impute error to our disputants: perhaps they missed evidence or have a bias. I call this dogmatism. Seeing others as in error is a natural reaction to disagreement, but it can be uncomfortable. Dogmatism calls us to view disputants as flawed, but it's often implausible to regard them as appreciably different than we are. As a result, we may react to controversy in a different way: by doubting that anyone has given reasonable answers, and regarding truth-seeking with pessimism. This sort of skepticism can undermine investigation.
Humility may help us resist both dogmatic self-assurance and skeptical detachment. It suggests we should often greatly reduce confidence in our controversial views while also being sincerely committed to investigation. [...]"
:: Nathan Ballantyne describes his grant project funded by the Templeton Foundation, Epistemic Humility as a Solution to the Problem of Disagreement
Princeton Bhakti Vedanta Institute
NYIKOS, PETER
Sent: Saturday, January 23, 2021 8:44 AM
To: Online_Sa...@googlegroups.com <Online_Sa...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Sadhu Sanga] Intellectual Humility
Many issues in philosophy, theology, and science are controversial, and we know that others reject our views. If we believe a question has one correct answer, and accept one answer, we must impute error to our disputants: perhaps they missed evidence or have a bias. I call this dogmatism. Seeing others as in error is a natural reaction to disagreement, but it can be uncomfortable. Dogmatism calls us to view disputants as flawed, but it's often implausible to regard them as appreciably different than we are.
Humility may help us resist both dogmatic self-assurance and skeptical detachment. It suggests we should often greatly reduce confidence in our controversial views while also being sincerely committed to investigation. [...]"
:: Nathan Ballantyne describes his grant project funded by the Templeton Foundation, Epistemic Humility as a Solution to the Problem of Disagreement
Princeton Bhakti Vedanta Institute
----------------------------
Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality
https://www.amazon.in/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
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David Marjanovic
Is Nathan Ballantyne being paid to reinvent the wheel...?
Krishna Keshava Dasa
It is nice to hear from you. Bhakti Madhava Puri has mentioned the analogy of the blind leading the blind many times on this forum. If a certain individual is using another individual's isolated mental concoctions, in order to "improve" or "correct" their own isolated mental concoction, then this is just foolishness. If a man is drowning in the ocean, and he grabs for another drowning man to pull him out, then they will both drown faster.
The author is pointing out that "If we believe a question has one correct answer, and accept one answer, we must impute error to our disputants: perhaps they missed evidence or have a bias" to say that it leads to "dogmatic self-assurance." If we can adopt a humble attitude, which helps us to see the inherent connection between ourselves, others, the environment, and beyond, then we may mature as living beings which will positively impact our scientific contribution.
As you say, "The easiest person to fool is yourself." When we adopt humility and see the interconnection of things, we may realize that the deficiencies which we ascribe to others or the environment may actually be reflections of our own nature.
--
----------------------------
Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality
https://www.amazon.com/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
https://www.amazon.in/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
8th International Conference
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Krishna Keshava Dasa
Namaste. Your response is greatly appreciated. You say that,
"I disagree with the bracketed bit, unless 'speak about' does not come close to meaning 'speak about with certainty.'"
The premise of Vedic knowledge is that it descends from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, to those individuals who are qualified to know it and invest their free will in living its teachings in order to attain the highest fulfillment of life. The key here is that those qualified individuals have no ability to seize realization of the Absolute by their own abilities or power. Knowledge of the Absolute may only come by the will of the Absolute. If we know God, the Absolute, to be infinite, then surely the infinite has the capacity to reveal itself to the finite. This descending revelation is actually the conceptual framework behind all scriptures of the world's religions, yet the descent of Vedic knowledge is of a very particular type.
The purest conception of Vedic knowledge preserves the personal aspect of the Absolute, which is known to be higher then the all-pervasive (immanent) aspect of God, or His impersonal effulgence known as Brahman. This preservation of the Absolute's personal nature manifests in the dynamic descending revelation known as parampara, the chain of Guru to disciple, Guru to disciple.
An individual claiming to have received some spontaneous download of divine revelation, who has otherwise had no intimate association with saintly and virtuous people, is only exhibiting symptoms of worshipping their own mind and considering themself in the position of Absolute. The practical process of surrendering to a will which is beyond your own is necessary - this is the role of Guru. So, the neophyte who seeks Vedic knowledge must possess the qualities of humility, tolerance, and giving honor to others without expecting it in return. This nurtures the neophyte to be more likely to embrace the process of surrender to a qualified living person, Guru, which is necessary to truly transcend the influence of the false-ego and other qualities which are not conducive to realization of the Absolute. A qualified Guru is one who has followed this same path and surrendered to their Guru, and so on. A qualified Guru continues to nurture humility, tolerance, giving respect, and surrendering to the will of their predecessors. Through this process, genuinely sincere individuals may become qualified to actually speak, with certainty, about the Absolute Truth. The words they speak are not mundane, these words are not a product of mental concoction, material desire, or egoic assertions. These words are a transcendental result of the finite surrendering to the Infinite, thus attracting the Infinite to reveal Itself.
brahma-bhutah prasannatma, na sochati na kanksatisamah sarvesu bhutesu, mad-bhaktim labhate param (BG 18.54)
bhaktya mam abhijanati, yavan yas chasmi tattvatahtato mam tattvato jnatva, visate tad-anantaram (BG 18.55)
The joyful-hearted, enlightened soul who has attained his divine nature neither sorrows nor desires. Seeing all beings equally, he comes to attain transcendental loving devotion for Me.
Through devotion, he realizes that I am the Lord of all potencies and the Sweet Absolute. Then, realizing his divine relationship with Me, he enters the company of My intimate associates who are non-different from My very Self.
Of course this concept may seem quite unconventional and completely foreign to the modern mind, and perhaps it appears too fantastic for some. But it is rational. It is the ultimate fulfillment of Aristotle's teleology, the movement of Reason of which Kant was concerned with, and which Hegel caught a glimpse of as described in his Phenomenology of Spirit and throughout his Encyclopedia. It is following this line of thought that we can approach a holistic assessment of what life and consciousness actually are, which may serve as a necessary course correction for the paradigm which modern science has nurtured.
Peter, you say that "The world is full of people who are appreciably different from ourselves."
There is no doubt that inherent differentiation exists among all living beings, however there is simultaneously a unity which cannot be ignored. Bhagavad-Gita reminds us that,
vidya-vinaya-sampanne, brahmane gavi hastinisuni chaiva svapake cha, panditah sama-darsinah (BG 5.18)
The enlightened souls see transcendence within all living beings, whether the humble and learned brahmana, the cow, the elephant, the dog, or the dog-eater. Therefore, they are to be known as pandita - men of true wisdom.
The differences that we perceive among people in respect to worldly affairs are often quite superficial and relative; these differences are dependent upon the material nature (whether a person is situated in goodness, passion, or ignorance) and karma (the results of past actions). But we have much more in common then you may realize. From the material perspective, "Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes. The ashes of an Oak in the Chimney, are no epitaph of that Oak, to tell me how high or how large that was; It tells me not what flocks it sheltered while it stood, nor what men It hurt when it fell" (John Donne [1572-1631], LXXX Sermons). More importantly, all living beings share a deeper and more fundamental commonality - our spiritual nature and identity. In regard to the article, it seems that the author is referencing this deeper commonality which makes it "implausible to regard them as appreciably different than we are." Recognizing this serves to abandon dogmatism and embrace humility, tolerance, and always giving respect to others without expecting it in return. In this way we may be able to realize the truth of reality, and come to understand how everything participates in that truth.
Sincere and kind regards,
--
----------------------------
Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality
https://www.amazon.com/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
https://www.amazon.in/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
8th International Conference
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Harmonizer: http://scienceandscientist.org/harmonizer
Darwin Under Siege: http://scienceandscientist.org/Darwin
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David Marjanovic
Gesendet: Sonntag, 24. Januar 2021 um 14:13 Uhr
Von: "Krishna Keshava Dasa" <krishna.ke...@gmail.com>
> The premise of Vedic knowledge is that it descends from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, to those individuals who are qualified to know it and invest their free will in living its teachings in order to attain the highest fulfillment of life.
"I have been taught by people who had access to Absolute Truth" is not a humble attitude.
"I have studied teachings that ultimately come from people who had access to Absolute Truth" is not a humble attitude.
Here's a humble attitude:
“Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. I have only begun to learn content and peace of mind since I have resolved at all risks to do this.”
– Thomas Henry Huxley, "Darwin's Bulldog", in a letter to Charles Kingsley (September 23, 1860)
The closest thing here to a premise is the concept of "fact". It is not necessary to assume that there even is such a thing as Absolute Truth, let alone that it is (or has) a personality, or that anybody is qualified to know it, or that knowing it will produce any fulfillment. Science theory really starts at the bottom.
> surely the infinite has the capacity to reveal itself to the finite.
If I have a revelation, I cannot simply believe it was a revelation. That would not be humble enough; it would be epistemically unsound – intellectually dishonest. If possible, I need to test it (i.e. if the revelation contains testable predictions). If not, I have to apply the principle of parsimony, which leads to the conclusion that I was probably mistaken somehow.
> An individual claiming to have received some spontaneous download of divine revelation, who has otherwise had no intimate association with saintly and virtuous people, is only exhibiting symptoms of worshipping their own mind and considering themself in the position of Absolute.
> The practical process of surrendering to a will which is beyond your own is necessary - this is the role of Guru. So, the neophyte who seeks Vedic knowledge must possess the qualities of humility, tolerance, and giving honor to others without expecting it in return. This nurtures the neophyte to be more likely to embrace the process of surrender to a qualified living person, Guru, which is necessary to truly transcend the influence of the false-ego and other qualities which are not conducive to realization of the Absolute. A qualified Guru is one who has followed this same path and surrendered to their Guru, and so on. A qualified Guru continues to nurture humility, tolerance, giving respect, and surrendering to the will of their predecessors.
Compare and contrast the practical process in science. The relationship of graduate student and thesis supervisor is not entirely unlike that of disciple and Guru – up to a point: the student is expected to question and challenge the supervisor's teachings, and the supervisor is expected to explain why the teaching is right or else to accept that it is wrong. Naturally, most of the time, the supervisor's teachings are actually right, and the student comes to realize that "surprisingly, my supervisor really seems to be right about this". But it does occur that the supervisor learns something in the process, and it does occur that supervisors change their minds as a result. The ultimate arbiter is not the supervisor's knowledge, but the facts themselves and the principle of parsimony itself.
> Through this process, genuinely sincere individuals may become qualified to actually speak, with certainty, about the Absolute Truth. The words they speak are not mundane, these words are not a product of mental concoction, material desire, or egoic assertions. These words are a transcendental result of the finite surrendering to the Infinite, thus attracting the Infinite to reveal Itself.
> brahma-bhutah prasannatma, na sochati na kanksati
> samah sarvesu bhutesu, mad-bhaktim labhate param (BG 18.54)
> bhaktya mam abhijanati, yavan yas chasmi tattvatah
> tato mam tattvato jnatva, visate tad-anantaram (BG 18.55)
> The joyful-hearted, enlightened soul who has attained his divine nature neither sorrows nor desires. Seeing all beings equally, he comes to attain transcendental loving devotion for Me. Through devotion, he realizes that I am the Lord of all potencies and the Sweet Absolute. Then, realizing his divine relationship with Me, he enters the company of My intimate associates who are non-different from My very Self.
>
> Of course this concept may seem quite unconventional and completely foreign to the modern mind, and perhaps it appears too fantastic for some.
> But it is rational. It is the ultimate fulfillment of Aristotle's teleology, the movement of Reason of which Kant was concerned with, and which Hegel caught a glimpse of as described in his Phenomenology of Spirit and throughout his Encyclopedia. It is following this line of thought that we can approach a holistic assessment of what life and consciousness actually are, which may serve as a necessary course correction for the paradigm which modern science has nurtured.
Krishna Keshava Das
The key here is that those qualified individuals have no ability to seize realization of the Absolute by their own abilities or power. Knowledge of the Absolute may only come by the will of the Absolute.
The following commentary is given by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakura, a teacher in the line of pure devotion:The Lord said: O Partha, hear from Me how, with mind attached to Me, the Supreme Lord, linking your consciousness with Me and taking refuge in Me alone, you will without doubt be able to know Me, My holy abode, My opulences, and My associates.Now I shall reveal to you this knowledge of My absolute power as well as the realization of My sweetness, knowing which, nothing will remain to be known, here on this supreme path.Of countless souls, few reach the human form; of thousands of human beings, very few may try to realize the soul and the Supersoul; and of thousands who have attained such realization, hardly one can actually know Me, Syamasundara.Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and ego are the eight divisions of My illusory potency in this world.
David, the "humble" attitude you quote from Thomas Huxley is an example of irrational dogmatism. He suggests to, "follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing." So, the only way to learn about the truth of nature is to first accept that nature is an abyss? Really?In this verse, it is expressed that jnana, or knowledge, in the true sense of the word and in accordance with the precepts of devotion, is actually bhagavad-aisvarya-jnana, or knowledge of the supremacy of the Lord. The general seekers of knowledge may consider realization of the soul—as distinct from the body and material elements—to be enlightenment, but this does not constitute ultimate knowledge. [...]
This is one-sided humility. This process does not remind the Guru to be humble.
"A qualified Guru is one who has followed this same path and surrendered to their Guru, and so on [who has surrendered to a qualified Guru, who has surrendered to a qualified Guru...]. A qualified Guru continues to nurture [within themselves] humility, tolerance, giving respect, and surrendering to the will of their predecessors."
Through this process, genuinely sincere individuals may become qualified to actually speak, with certainty, about the Absolute Truth. The words they speak are not mundane, these words are not a product of mental concoction, material desire, or egoic assertions. These words are a transcendental result of the finite surrendering to the Infinite, thus attracting the Infinite to reveal Itself.
I was elated to read this as it exemplifies the spirit of a true scientist. It is the very same question that Bhakti Madhava Puri asked in 1970, while working in D.C. as a postdoc at the National Bureau of Standards, after having encountered devotees who told him that the practice of bhakti yoga (cultivating love for God through devotional service) results in awakening to eternity, transcendental knowledge, and ecstatic bliss, or sat-cit-ananda.
----------------------------
Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality
https://www.amazon.com/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
https://www.amazon.in/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
8th International Conference
Science & Scientist 2020: Understanding the Subject/Object, Mind/Body Unity
December 20-22, 2020
4:30 pm - 8:30 pm IST
https://scienceandscientist.org/conference/2020
Support Our Services: http://scienceandscientist.org/donate
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Why Biology is Beyond Physical Sciences?: http://dx.doi.org/10.5923/j.als.20160601.03
Life and consciousness – The Vedāntic view: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2015.1085138
Harmonizer: http://scienceandscientist.org/harmonizer
Darwin Under Siege: http://scienceandscientist.org/Darwin
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Krishna Keshava Das
"Sometimes we are practising and serving emotionally. That means we are blindly following our mind’s idea of what is good and bad. Sometimes our mind tells us something is good and we follow that idea of our mind. Acting in that way we do many things emotionally, but those activities may only be śubha-karma (pious acts). They will not be actual devotion. [...]In the primary stage we do not consider these things and only think that our own activity will take us to a higher position. We do not consider how and why the advice of Guru–Vaiṣṇava is coming to us. [...]A proper Guru or Vaiṣṇava has no self-interest or self-satisfying tendency. Such a real devotee has no interest in being served. Rather he is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. If we follow the service-order and guidance of a proper Vaiṣṇava to engage in service of Kṛṣṇa or His devotees, then our action will enter the category of devotion through that proper Vaiṣṇava’s qualification."
Date: Sun, Jan 24, 2021 at 7:46 PM
Subject: Your reply on Sadhu Sangha.
To: Krishna Keshava Dasa <krishna.ke...@gmail.com>
David Marjanovic
Just so you know, I received your HTML message just fine, but the webmail interface I'm stuck with gives me very limited options for editing HTML; that's why I reply in plain text.
Gesendet: Dienstag, 26. Januar 2021 um 19:47 Uhr
Von: "'Krishna Keshava Das' via Sadhu-Sanga Under the holy association of Spd. B.M. Puri Maharaja, Ph.D." <Online_Sa...@googlegroups.com>
> The Absolute Truth is synonymous with God -
> also referred to as the Supreme Being (Brahman) and the higher conception of the Supreme Personality (Bhagavan).
> You are correct, of course we don't have access to Absolute Truth. Our egoic conception of self, characterized by framing things in reference to "I" and "mine" or "I have...," cannot fathom God. This is because self-centered consciousness is a delusion. In this delusional consciousness, we see ourselves as independent wholes.
> This means that those rare individuals who are qualified to know the Absolute Truth have a God-centered consciousness. [...]
All that makes perfect sense if, and only if, we accept the premise.
> David, the "humble" attitude you quote from Thomas Huxley is an example of irrational dogmatism. He suggests to, "follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing." So, the only way to learn about the truth of nature is to first accept that nature is an abyss? Really?
Two modern manifestations of what he was warning against are "truthiness" ("it doesn't have to be true, it only has to _feel_ true") and "trumpiness" ("it doesn't even have to feel _true_, it only has to feel _good_"). Both of them are part of human nature (to some extent), so any seeker of understanding has to be constantly on guard against them.
Truthiness: https://www.cc.com/video/63ite2/the-colbert-report-the-word-truthiness
Trumpiness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqOTxl3Bsbw
> You said that
> > This is one-sided humility. This process does not remind the Guru to be humble.
>
> It seems that you did not catch the last two sentences of the excerpt you quoted from me, or perhaps I was not clear enough about referencing how the Guru continues to maintain his/her own spiritual life. I said that
>
> > > "A qualified Guru is one who has followed this same path and surrendered to their Guru, and so on [who has surrendered to a qualified Guru, who has surrendered to a qualified Guru...]. A qualified Guru continues to nurture [within themselves] humility, tolerance, giving respect, and surrendering to the will of their predecessors."
My concern remains that surrendering to a person is much more dangerous than surrendering to repeatably observable facts and the principle of parsimony directly. It only works under the premises that the Guru is never in error about anything important, and that the disciple has correctly identified such a Guru. There have been plenty of people who believed the sun moves around the Earth out of genuine reverence to their teachers.
> B. M. Puri decided to test the hypothesis by "putting himself in the test tube." He decided to engage in the practice of bhakti yoga, to embrace the philosophy, without discarding his rationality. The result of his experiment speaks for itself.
Andris Heks
Sent: Thursday, 28 January 2021 6:56 AM
To: Online_Sa...@googlegroups.com <Online_Sa...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Sadhu Sanga] Intellectual Humility
----------------------------
Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality
https://www.amazon.com/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
https://www.amazon.in/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
8th International Conference
Science & Scientist 2020: Understanding the Subject/Object, Mind/Body Unity
December 20-22, 2020
4:30 pm - 8:30 pm IST
https://scienceandscientist.org/conference/2020
Support Our Services: http://scienceandscientist.org/donate
Report Archives: http://bviscs.org/reports
Why Biology is Beyond Physical Sciences?: http://dx.doi.org/10.5923/j.als.20160601.03
Life and consciousness – The Vedāntic view: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2015.1085138
Harmonizer: http://scienceandscientist.org/harmonizer
Darwin Under Siege: http://scienceandscientist.org/Darwin
Princeton Bhakti Vedanta Institute: http://bviscs.org
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Institute: http://scsiscs.org
Sadhu-Sanga Blog: http://mahaprabhu.net/satsanga
Contact Us: http://scsiscs.org/contact
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Krishna Keshava Dasa
Dear David and Andris,
Your continued dialogue is quite encouraging for me - thank you.
David, I am more agreeable with your interpretation of Huxley, although his direct statement comes across differently.
You advise to "Follow the evidence [...] and if you don't like where it leads, too bad." I agree with the commitment to unbiasedly following evidence which results from a robust systematic, rational, and holistic process, which seeks to realize the true nature of reality and further seeks to understand what that implies about the existence of animate living beings and the inanimate world. However, the "evidence" that your statement refers to will only lead to relative conclusions which are limited by the particular scope of modern science's method of questioning. Werner Heisenberg reminds us that “we cannot disregard the fact that natural science is formed by men. Natural science does not simply describe and explain nature; it is part of the interplay between nature and ourselves; it describes nature as exposed to our method of questioning. This was a possibility of which Descartes could not have thought…”
Modern science's method of questioning is hindered by its commitment to reductionism and its strictly empirical approach, which can be traced back to the Cartesian partition. Descartes asserted that mind (res cogitans) and matter (res extensa) are two different substances which are not connected. This has led to modern science only studying and considering matter which is extended in space. The role of mind has been completely neglected. This lack of holistic vision is contrary to our direct experience of mind and body (matter) being integrated parts of a whole. For example, we think about raising our hand before we do so. Heisenberg assures us that "There is a fundamental error in separating the parts from the whole, the mistake of atomizing what should not be atomized. Unity and complementarity constitute reality."
The ontology described by Spinoza is more appropriate; he states that mind and matter are two attributes of the one infinite substance (God). He elaborates that this singular infinite substance possesses infinite attributes (a oneness in difference, as opposed to a homogenous Eleatic one) however the limited capacity of humans only perceives mind and matter.
So, if modern science can progress beyond its current limitation and embrace the role of mind within a robust systematic, rational, and holistic process, which seeks to realize the true nature of reality and further seeks to understand what that implies about the existence of animate living beings and the inanimate world, then we may embrace your advice in unbiasedly "Follow[ing] the evidence," no matter where it leads. As a matter of fact, this process of embracing the role of mind and unbiasedly following where the evidence leads is exactly what Nobel laureate George Wald did after his transformational interactions with Bhakti Madhava Puri and the Bhaktivedanta Institute in the early 1980's onwards. If you look at his Cosmology of Life and Mind
(https://permalink.lanl.gov/object/tr?what=info:lanl-repo/lareport/LA-UR-88-1000-01) published in 1988, nine years before his passing on, you will easily see the transformation he has made as a scientist.
Keeping all of this in mind, we must reevaluate how to approach the idea of the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Being, the Supreme Personality, the Organic Whole - God. You say that referring to God as the Absolute Truth is a premise which is really a "hypothesis that [has] yet to be tested." But can you accept a method of testing which lies beyond your comfort zone? Using our rational faculties to try and approach God will not get us very far, but they can get us somewhere. In light of this, I would humbly like to consider systems.
We observe that all systems, both natural and man-made, are ultimately dependent on something outside of them. This is to say that both closed-systems and isolated-systems are neither truly closed nor truly isolated. The internet is a system which depends on humans. Humans are biological systems who depend and are part of an ecosystem, (perhaps there is an intermediate system here), which is dependent on the Earth, which is dependent on the sun and solar system, which depends on the galaxy, and so on. At first glance, some may assume that this continues ad infinitum - but that is absurd. There must be an independent entity upon which this chain of systems rests. Since systems are relative upon something outside of them, an endless chain of systems is absurd, i.e. an endless chain of relativity is irrational since that which is relative is "considered in relation or in proportion to something else” (Oxford Languages).
That independent entity upon which all systems rely on and are parts of, is God, the Organic Whole. The Organic Whole is the infinite Absolute and it contains all finite relative relations. The Organic Whole is by and for itself; It is self-caused. Spinoza knows this to be causa sui, and Hegel embraces this rational conclusion in his philosophy of dialectics.
isvarah paramah krsnah saccidananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govinda sarvva-karana-karanam
The Supreme Lord, the Embodiment of Truth, Consciousness and Joy, is Govinda Krishna. He is beginningless, the Origin of all that be, and the Cause of all causes.
Brahma-Samhita verse 1 (http://scsmathinternational.com/library/Scriptures/SriBrahmaSamhita/SriSriBrahmaSamhita.php)
Additionally, God is more than just the first cause in the series of cause and effects which occur within the boundaries of time; He is the Absolute Truth, the reason which transcends time and is immanent within everything. A system is "a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done" (Oxford Languages). The ends which a system achieves are the purpose for which the system was created. Any system appearing in nature, whether it is mechanical, chemical, or biological, is thus purposeful. These variegated phenomenal instances of purpose participate in the universal purpose. This follows the logic which applies to all concepts and their reality. A pear which I find in the grocery store is an individual instance of the particular idea of pear. We refer to this particular idea when we say “pears are good.” We are not referencing any individual pear in such a comment; we are referring to the particular idea of pear in which all individual pears participate. This particular idea of pear is an instance of the universal concept of fruit. Fruit-ness is the essence of pears and all other fruit. If you take pear out of fruit, then you are still left with a substantial concept (many other individual fruits to choose from in the grocery store), but if you remove fruit-ness from pear, then the idea of pear is meaningless. Thus, universals are not just mental concepts that describe relations, as some contend, but the universal is the essence of the individual phenomenal objects we encounter in nature. This logical analysis of how concepts manifest as a cohesive system of individual-particular-universal is given by G.W.F. Hegel. So, the individual instances of purpose we observe in nature, as mechanical, chemical, and biological systems, are all participating in the universal purpose. The entirety of this purposeful system, individual-particular-universal, is God. God is immanent throughout the phenomenal manifestations as the essence of all individuals, i.e. the Supreme Being, and God is transcendent as the universal whole in which all individuals participate.
The Absolute Truth is simultaneously the foundation and highest realization of any true body of knowledge, or epistemology. Oxford Languages defines epistemology as "the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion." The scope of an epistemology which seeks the Absolute Truth must consider that the entire reality is an Organic Whole. Its validity may be judged upon its capacity to harmonize the innumerable contradictions which manifest in every aspect of our experienced reality, and the extent to which such an epistemology’s claims remain true despite the constant flux of relative considerations. The methods must embrace not only empirical observation of extended bodies, but also the capacity and effects of the movement of mind/consciousness. An epistemology which seeks the Absolute Truth must recognize that it is already a part of that Truth, and that the ends of such epistemology actually lie in realizing itself. This is similar to the progression of Spirit coming to know itself as Spirit in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. This process entails the overcoming of self-centered consciousness, where one considers everything in relation to their relative position, and the embracing of God-centered consciousness, where one considers everything (including themself) in relation to the Organic Whole, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Before I conclude, I would humbly like to attempt to clarify some of the glorious results of Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja’s experiment of “putting himself in the test tube” of bhakti yoga, as David seems to have been unable to recognize them. B. M. Puri’s experiment was that of surrender to something which spoke to his inconceivably beautiful heart. Although he was born with an incredibly sharp intellect, he chose to ultimately follow his heart. This was done with the utmost sincerity and hankering for truth, no matter where it led. This led B. M. Puri to genuine teachers whose life and soul was dedicated to the Absolute Truth. His gurus, Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhara Maharaja selflessly gave everything to the service of their guru, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada. The line of pure devotion, pure loving service, which extends beyond Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada, illuminates the entire creation.
Sripad Bhakti Madhava Puri Maharaja’s service life has manifested in many ways which I could never fully encapsulate. I will try to mention a few things.
I have already mentioned the profound catalyzing effect B. M. Puri had on George Wald and his development as a scientist towards the end of Wald’s life. In addition, B. M. Puri has been involved in consciousness studies since the 1970's. Some of his earlier work can be seen in the Bhaktivedanta Institute Bulletin series (1980-1982 - https://bviscs.org/bi-bulletin/). Other work can be seen on www.bviscs.org under "Publications". He is the inspiration behind this Sadhu-Sanga Google Group which has been an active forum for the discussion of consciousness studies among many scientists and academics since 2008, as well as the mind behind the Science and Scientist international conference series since 2013 (https://www.scienceandscientist.org/). B. M. Puri has inspired other sincere seekers such as Bhakti Niskama Shanta and Bhakti Vijnana Muni, who are themselves leading very inspiring lives of devotional service in relation to consciousness studies and the synthesis of science and religion. Most recently, he has published the book Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality, which I hope we can discuss more seriously on this forum.
In conclusion, David, you sincerely admit that
“My concern remains that surrendering to a person is much more dangerous than surrendering to repeatedly observable facts and the principle of parsimony directly. It only works under the premises that the Guru is never in error about anything important, and that the disciple has correctly identified such a Guru.”
If you mean parsimony to mean that the simplest explanation is the correct one, then I agree. However, relying solely on our own perception and input of imperfect senses, is not simple, but foolish. There are many simple optical illusions, among other things, which display this. I think that the following is more simple: life and matter come from life. This wisdom has been handed down from those who ardently practice being humbler then grass, more tolerant than a tree, and giving all respects to others without expecting any in return. Additionally, it perfectly corresponds to our observed experienced reality. So, if life comes from life, then who is the first life? That is God, that is Krishna.
Ultimately, only properly directed faith can begin to reveal these things within our hearts.
Hare Krishna
Sincerely and respectfully,
Krishna Keshava Das
Serving Assistant
Princeton Bhakti Vedanta Institute
of Spiritual Culture and Science
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Idols of the Mind vs. True Reality
https://www.amazon.com/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
https://www.amazon.in/Idols-Mind-vs-True-Reality/dp/1734908955
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Subject: Re: [Sadhu Sanga] Intellectual Humility