“The Supreme Lord said, The indestructible, transcendental living entity is called Brahman, and his eternal nature is called the self. Action pertaining to the development of these material bodies is called karma, or fruitive activities.” (Bhagavad-gita, 8.3)

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श्री-भगवान् उवाच
अक्षरं ब्रह्म परमं
स्वभावो ऽध्यात्मम् उच्यते
भूत-भावोद्भव-करो
विसर्गः कर्म-संज्ञितः

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
akṣaraṁ brahma paramaṁ
svabhāvo ‘dhyātmam ucyate
bhūta-bhāvodbhava-karo
visargaḥ karma-saṁjñitaḥ

1. The sun to rise in the morning

“Wow, I can’t believe the sun is gone. It just dropped from the sky. We went to the beach and observed its gradual descent. The view was extraordinary. I captured the moment on camera. I can show you later on, but the primary concern is for the future.

“How will we survive without the sun? How will we get it back? Is there some expedition we can take? Perhaps find a really long rope. Lasso it around the sun and pull it back into the sky. I don’t think we can survive with perpetual darkness.”

2. The winter to arrive in a few months

“Oh, the weather where I live is amazing. Bright, sunny skies. Day after day. It rains sometimes, but the average temperatures remain steady. We have central air conditioning in the home, so we don’t have to keep a constant eye on the conditions outside.

“Nevertheless, the temperatures don’t vary much. You ask if I have a heating system. Why would I need that? It is too warm most of the time. That’s why we cool the house. Yes, it is currently the month of September. Why do you ask? I am not sure what you are insinuating. Anyway, you should consider moving here; the weather is great.”

3. The newborn to grow up to be a fully functioning, independent adult

“Your child is amazing. So cute. Just adorable in every way. I like the questions they ask of you. They have a saintly nature; I can tell. You must be so excited to interact on a daily basis.

“Why are you worried about college? I thought you already graduated. You don’t need to go again, do you? Then why exactly are you saving up money? How will your child attend college if they aren’t even tall enough to see above the steering wheel in the driver’s seat of the car? You are confusing me with this.”

4. The pain-relief medication to work

“My headache is so bad, I can’t properly explain it to you. It’s like there is a war going on up there. One side pitted against the other. If I should overly exert myself in a particular activity, the throbbing gets worse. This is intense.

“You want me to take this pill? What is that going to do? How will it make its way up into my head? This doesn’t make any sense. I am not hungry. There is nothing wrong with my mouth. The pain is in my head; don’t you remember?”

5. The mouthwash to sting

“Yes, one of the ingredients listed on the label of the mouthwash is alcohol. What difference does it make? You mean I will be forced to spit the liquid out after thirty seconds? Why can’t I keep it in there for a minute? That will make my mouth cleaner. I think you are crazy. It’s washing the inside of my mouth. It’s not like a chemical reaction will take place that forces me to spit out the substance sooner than I want.”

…

The Vedic tradition presents concepts in spirituality like karma, Brahman, the living entities, time, the Supreme Controller, and the different elements of nature. According to this science, everything works together to create what we see around us. This is in terms of both the still picture, a snapshot in time, and the constant evolution.

In other words, the coming and going of living beings, the cycle of birth and death, has intelligence behind it. This is one way to understand God. To the person who is staunchly against what they label as dogmatic insistence or blind allegiance to a tradition lacking intelligence, there is still a way to connect with something higher.

The aforementioned expectations would be absent in a controller-less environment. Science and medicine simply would not exist. Without God in the background, there would be randomness everywhere. No rational explanation for anything.

In Bhagavad-gita, Shri Krishna explains that karma is the work that leads to the development of material bodies. Every action is karma, in a sense. Good or bad, there is a future consequence. Those results may not be seen immediately, and they may not remain manifest for a long time, but there is always a cause.

अदृष्टगुणदोषाणामध्रुवाणां तु कर्मणाम्
नान्तरेण क्रियां तेषां फलमिष्टं प्रवर्तते

adṛṣṭaguṇadoṣāṇāmadhruvāṇāṃ tu karmaṇām
nāntareṇa kriyāṃ teṣāṃ phalamiṣṭaṃ pravartate

“Unseen and indefinite are the good and bad reactions of fruitive work. And without taking action, the desired fruits of such work cannot manifest.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 66.17)

As there is a cause to every consequence, there is a way to ascend the chain of causation. When you have reached the cause of all causes, you have found God. This is another way to understand Him. He is sarva-karana-karanam.

In Closing:

Not on randomness depend,
The chain of causes ascend.

Until the origin to reach,
One way God to teach.

That karma originally behind,
For every consequence to find.

Intelligence for this purpose gifted,
That into spiritual awareness lifted.

Categories: the five

Tags: evolution, god, hare krishna, nature, poem, poems, poetry, science