Dr Harish Chandra's article in Vedoday2050 November 2010
Vedoday2050
Vedoday2050
Volume II, Number 10, November 2010
Since March 2010, we have been discussing the faculty of knowledge within the three-dimensional human pursuits, called Prasthana-Trayi (Jnana, Karma and Upasana – Knowledge, Karma and Communion with God). In this closing article related to knowledge, we want to stress the necessity of intellectual scrutiny to ascertain the truthfulness of any statement. This is where the Vedic tradition establishes its supremacy that the Philosophy of Logic is an integral part of it. Maharshi Gautama’s Nyaya Darshana (a treatise on Logic) is one of the Six Books of Vedic Philosophy whereas all religions born in the period of human decline include one dogmatic idea or another.
Atharvaveda (8.4.12) states:
Suvijnanam cikituse janaya saccasacca vacasi pasprdhate
Tayoryatsatyam yataradrjiyastaditsomo-vati hantyasat
A wise person knows that the truth and untruth compete at the same moment. Out of them, the truth is straightforward and that needs to be protected whereas the untruth ought to be destroyed.
One who leads a life of purity and pious readily knows that truth and falsehood compete in everyone’s mind in any given circumstance. But, he knows that the truth is simple and straightforward whereas the falsehood needs to be supported by concocted stories. Despite temptations of lust, greed, ego, etc. he must favour truth and destroy the tendencies of falsehood.
Today’s world is grossly filled with all kinds of falsehoods. Its origin is in religions on the one side and in materialistic lifestyle on the other side – Vedas preach Dharma, the universal religion. God is misunderstood in almost all religions as if He ‘has the only son’, ‘sends prophets’, ‘sends the last prophet’, ‘incarnates in human and non-human forms’ and so on. Many people react to such false ideas and become atheists. This is what the majority of the human population today is. Truth must prevail and we, a small microscopic minority aware of the Vedic message, must find a role to function and must make sacrifices in this direction. This is a two-fold task: to propagate the truth and to argue against the false ideas.
- Dr Harish Chandra
B. Tech. (IIT Kanpur)
Ph. D. (Princeton, USA)
Vedoday2050 News
1. Meditation Sessions for Stress-Free Living in the UK in November: We are pleased to inform that the sessions on 'Science of Yoga: PatanjaliMeditation' for stress-free living are taking place:
a) at Birmingham every
Wednesday morning, Contact 0121 359 7727
b) at Birmingham every Wednesday evening, Contact 0121 359 7727
c) at Walsall every Monday & Tuesday evening, Contact 0121 357 8957
2. Talk on Vegetarianism: Dr Harish Chandra is scheduled to speak on “We Are Vegetarians, Naturally!” at the monthly meeting of Birmingham Vegetarians and Vegans (BVV) Tuesday, 23rd November, 7:30 pm at Carrs Lane Church, Opposite Birmingham Moor Street railway station. BVV has informed us that they will collect an entry fee of £2.50 to offset rental charges for the venue.
3. Previous Vedoday2050 articles: Dr Harish Chandra's previous Vedoday2050 articles may be seen at: http://groups.google.com/group/vedoday2050?lnk=srg&pli=1