Monthly Archive for July, 2005

The Divine Text

Published on July 17, 2005 in Spirituality. 0 Comments

In a lecture delivered by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda on October 6, 1969, at Conway Hall, London, England, he states that “the conditioned state of our knowledge is subjected to many deficiencies.” These deficiencies being the following,

  1. All human beings commit mistakes.

  2. All human beings are deceived by illusion.

  3. All humans are dishonest.

  4. Human senses are imperfect.

It is by virtue of these deficiencies that he justifies the unquestioned acceptance of the Vedas as Kŗşņa itself handed down these teachings to the original human being.

I find this conclusion to be rather illogical. My finding is not that the four deficiencies are incorrect or invalid. I think that most thinking people would take these to be self-evident. It is the acceptance of the four deficiencies that requires me to question the divinity of any written or even spoken teaching.

If a person comes to me and says, “I present to you the absolute true teachings of God in the form of this book.” The four deficiencies dictate that the person who presents it to me could be making a mistake and also I might be mistaken in taking what this person says as true. The very experience itself is actually an illusion, the reality of which cannot conclusively be proven. I know that I have made promises that I have not been able to keep, whether it was intentional or not. And both my senses and the senses of the presenter are suspect.

How then can I accept that the “divine teachings” presented to me in this case are “real”?

For a seeker such as myself, this is a difficult dilemma. The four deficiencies, once accepted, create a paradox that traps the will and immobilizes one’s ability to act upon the desire for experience of the “Absolute Truth”.

Is there a solution to this dilemma?

Well, for the first deficiency, I would assume that though it is true, it is not always true that human beings make mistakes. As a seeker, I must accept the fact that I will usually be mistaken in any conclusion that I come to. I must remain humble in my perceptions of my ideas and concepts. It is very likely that I am mistaken. Yet it is those moments that I am correct that I seek. I will never be deterred by error because I have faith that correctness exists and I can, and do experience it. I must however, test my concepts for self-consistency both internally and externally.

Illusion, this is perhaps much simpler. It actually gives great power. By recognizing the illusory nature of my experience, I am able to transcend any effect that my experience may have upon me. After all, why concern myself with something that is not real? My goal is to find and experience that which is real, the “Ultimate Reality” if you will.

Dishonesty. This one is quite difficult. It can easily lead to paranoia J. However, I must realize that the source of dishonesty seems most likely a result of mistake and illusion. It is a mistake to think that I know enough about any situation to be able to make a promise of what will happen in the future. Though one might not intentionally lie, a broken promise is as good as a lie to the one the promise was made. Every parent has likely experienced this, promising his or her child something and then that event or thing not materializing. The disappointment ultimately leads to the disillusionment of adolescence, which is a part of life, but no less painful for the parent or the child.

I cannot understand for myself the logic of lying intentionally. I learned long ago that it only leads to pain and suffering in the long run. I am aware that most people feel that it is necessary though (see deficiency 1). This could only be an illusion though since one could never know enough to be sure that the lie is successful.

I have learned through my experience and scientific study, that human senses are quite fallible. Therefore, I would conclude that the logical place to seek the Absolute Truth is outside of the realm of human senses. Basically, meditation and contemplation are the means by which the truth may be known. The source of that truth cannot be found in books, in this web log or indeed anywhere but within our own heart and soul.

Only within ourselves will we find Kŗşņa and, when we do, the Vedas shall be presented directly.

I have faith that I shall find what I seek.

Spirituality vs. Materialism

Published on July 11, 2005 in Spirituality. 0 Comments

I just finished reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”. This is a great book. I loved what it has to say about taking personal responsibility for one’s financial experience.

In thinking about this book, I began to look into myself and think about what motivates me. I realize that I came so close to falling into the trap of the “Rat Race”. One thing that I find difficult in avoiding the trap though is reconciling spirituality and materialism.

How do we deal with “greed”? In the book, the author prefers to use the milder term of “desire”, however, Buddhist philosophy teaches in the second (Samudaya) of the four noble truths that “There is a cause of suffering, which is attachment or desire (tanha).” If this is so, then the suffering that one feels in poverty is a result of one’s attachment to things that we do have and our desire for that which we do not. Interestingly enough, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” teaches that one must master one’s desires in order to gain the discipline needed to achieve wealth, and in achieving wealth, one no longer is in a place of unfulfilled desire.

I must admit that I have been very foolish when it comes to the accumulation of wealth, or more properly, the lack of accumulation of wealth. It is not that I have not had the intelligence or the information to make the appropriate choices. It may seem trite to state that I knew that Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Amazon, Yahoo and others were good buys or I knew when was the best time to sell Cisco or Sun. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say. I could rightfully claim that it was fear that kept me on the side lines at some point or even laziness, but I feel that the greatest obstacle that I have had has been my desire for “things”, for the nice car or the great home theater system or the latest, most powerful computer. As I write this I’m sitting between two 15 year old speakers that cost $1500 a piece. I have to ask myself if that $3000 would have been better spent on Microsoft stock. I suppose that the answer is obvious.

With all of the things that I have accumulated over the years, there is really very little left. This is not just the result of a bad ten-year period in my life (though one could easily blame it on that). None of those things ever really had any value in the first place. Honestly, who wants a ten-year-old car anyway? It’s not new enough to be cool and not old enough to be a classic. I do not own a car now and I don’t really see the “need” for one. I would love to own a 1970 Chevelle SS, but that would be as much an investment as anything else.

Some how, I just don’t have the same desire for things that I once had, and yet I still want to accumulate wealth. The question for me is, is this greed? Is this an aspect of Samudya? I realize that there are differnt ways to be a wealthy person. One way is to live as the Real People of the indigenous culture of Australia do as depicted in “Mutant Message Down Under”. These people live in a world where every need is fulfilled. Yet they own nothing. Come to think of it. This would be true of any wealthy person. What does it matter if you own anything? Owning something does nothing more than enslave you to it.

Perhaps what I seek is true freedom, freedom from the suffering of Dukkha and the elimination of Samudya. I seek Nirodha. Perhaps the noble eightfold path of Marga is not inconsistent with the true meaning of wealth since, for me, wealth and nirvana are one in the same. The attainment of spiritual enlightenment is achieved through the mastery of attachment and material desire.

All truths are universal.