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,
- All human beings commit mistakes.
- All human beings are deceived by illusion.
- All humans are dishonest.
- 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.
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