Five Questions For The Person Relying Only On Dogmatic Insistence

“Nature is said to be the cause of all material activities and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.21)

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कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतु: प्रकृतिरुच्यते
पुरुष: सुखदु:खानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते

kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛtve
hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate
puruṣaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ
bhoktṛtve hetur ucyate

Sanatana-dharma means that the way of life to follow, the genuine religion, applies in all time periods, in all circumstances, and to all individuals. There is nothing dogmatic to the proposal. Rather, on the complete opposite side of blind allegiance, there is the appeal to the intellect. Think rationally. Consider the matter over. Deliberate fully, as Shri Krishna recommended to Arjuna.

इति ते ज्ञानम् आख्यातं
गुह्याद् गुह्यतरं मया
विमृश्यैतद् अशेषेण
यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु

iti te jñānam ākhyātaṁ
guhyād guhyataraṁ mayā
vimṛśyaitad aśeṣeṇa
yathecchasi tathā kuru

“Thus I have explained to you the most confidential of all knowledge. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad­-gita, 18.63)

What can be more appealing to the intellect than scientific principles? These are explanations for the mysteries that we witness. The world in which we live, with its complexities, its predictability, and also its constant flow, like a stream headed in a certain direction, can be explained to some degree through Sanskrit words.

For instance, there is the word karana. This refers to a cause. This word can then be used to understand the higher concept of the Almighty. Without introducing any specific deity, any object of worship, or any visual depiction, we can understand the Supreme Lord as the cause of all causes, sarva karana-karanam.

When we speak of a cause, it is essentially the beginning of a chain of reactions. Cause leads to an effect. The effect may not be manifest for a long time. The effect may only appear after the passage of a significant duration. Nevertheless, it is the cause which led to the effect.

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)

The culture of sanatana-dharma delves into the nature of cause and how the effects only manifest temporarily, while the individual inside maintains a steady position. This is one way to understand the concept of transmigration of the soul, or reincarnation. That constant change is already taking place; we already have the evidence. The change simply continues into the future, beyond the current lifetime.

देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

Outside the sphere of sanatana-dharma, the information on these grounds is lacking. The followers of a specific religious system are left to take refuge of faith. They are promised a better future, one that is eternal. But that future can only be experienced at the end of life. And every person within society must adhere to the stricture, the edict, the commandment, if you will. If they fail to follow, they are doomed forever.

To highlight the gaps in such a proposal, to reveal the lack of a true philosophy at the foundation, there are several questions we can ask. These relate to truths of the living experience, as we have personally witnessed. It is a requirement to address these issues, especially if someone is claiming high authority in commanding knowledge of the afterlife.

1. What is the incentive for man to do good?

If there is no transmigration of the soul, then what is the point of doing anything good? Honesty. Compassion. Cleanliness. Austerity. Why should these be held in high regard? Is there a specific result to holding these qualities and exhibiting them through behavior? Or is everything simply left to faith, that if you believe then you are saved?

2. What is the cause of one man’s suffering?

If there is no such thing as transmigration of the soul, then what is the reason behind the variety to the conditions of living? Why does one person take birth in a poor country? They can barely expect to get food and water on a given day. They suffer one horror after another. It was this way since birth, and so no one can lay blame on any egregious violations of etiquette or propriety.

3. What is the cause of another man’s happiness?

On the flip side, why is someone else born into prosperity? Their biggest dilemma in adult life is the size of the yacht for their next big party. They have not done anything special. They are considered lucky, but how does that happen? Why did they get lucky?

4. Where were you before?

With the dogmatic insistence, everything is about the future. We must repent now. We must admit that we are sinners. We must align with a particular faith. Otherwise, we are doomed. Okay, but what happened in the past? Where were we prior to birth? Why and how did our existence suddenly begin at the time of conception?

5. What happens to the person whose life is cut short?

Adults have choices. They may have a difficult time thinking clearly. Their decisions aren’t always rational. They fall on hard times, through addiction to drugs and alcohol. In fact, it seems that the preachers with the most fire in their presentations are the ones with the most embarrassing histories. They have checkered pasts, and they use their previous experiences to present what is known as a testimony.

Okay, that is nice. For the time being, we will skip over thinking about what happens with those who didn’t need to hit rock bottom in order to see the light. We will not judge between the different paths that led to the salvation. But what happens to those people who never get to make a choice? They are killed in the womb. One of the many experimental injections forced upon them during childhood causes severe brain damage. They meet an ill fate through an accident. Through no fault of their own they never get the opportunity to surrender, in the manner recommended to everyone.

These questions and more cannot be answered satisfactorily in the absence of a true philosophy. There must be scientific principles to explain the differences. Otherwise, there is no basis upon which to act. The highest controller, who is also the ultimate coordinator, must use certain factors to effect outcomes. If not personally, then there must be some rules within his grand institution, in the manner that the law-abiding in society can roam the streets freely while the criminals experience incarceration.

In the eternally relevant and applicable philosophy serving as the foundation of sanatana-dharma, there are explanations to these questions. Cause leads to the effect. The individual makes choices, which are the cause. The effect happens through the modes of nature. The system of total cause and effect, with choice at the beginning, is known as karma.

Karma is the reason to do good. Karma is the reason to avoid bad. Karma is the reason for the discrepancies in living conditions. Karma is what fuels the constantly churning engine that is the material universe. Moreover, it is the very elimination of karma which translates to liberation. True salvation is using choice in the direction of the Almighty, for His pleasure, exclusively, such that karma will no longer cause a material effect.

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यम्
एवं यो वेत्ति तत्त्वतः
त्यक्त्वा देहं पुनर् जन्म
नैति माम् एति सो ऽर्जुन

janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna

“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.9)

In Closing:

How discrepancies to explain?
That this person prosperity to attain.

And another destitute and poor,
How differences accounted for?

Karma like the engine moving,
Started through action choosing.

To stop the cycle is liberation real,
Sanatana-dharma’s ultimate appeal.