“One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 14.26)

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मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते
स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते

māṁ ca yo ’vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate

Imagine a situation where the immediate priority, the task at hand, is root cause analysis. A person or a group of people are trying to decipher the specific cause for a reaction. They posit different theories. They compare and contrast against known problem scopes. They consult the available published literature. They theorize and then try to further develop those theories based on observation and experiment.

Imagine that throughout this endeavor there is someone nearby who has the solution. They know the root cause to the problem. It is rather simple. There need not be extensive research conducted on the matter. Extended inquiry is not necessary. This single cause will explain the situation, in every case, both from the past and any repeat occurrences in the future.

The person with the solution is not keeping it a secret. They are freely sharing the solution. They are ready to share the knowledge. The more time that goes by, the more eager they become to let others know. The issue is that the other individuals refuse to accept. They will not even acknowledge that area as a possible root cause. They will try every which way to proceed in their conjecture.

As a last resort, they will say that they are trying to simplify the problem scope. They are eliminating the complexities and focusing on the more basic issues. Of course, even this approach will not work. Since they are missing the actual cause, they will never find a workaround to their discovery endeavor.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that this is the same defect involved with the modern scientific approach. They study and they study. They posit this theory and that. They publish volumes of literature. They are enamored by the many complexities of the vast creation, both at the macro level and within every nuance.

At the same time, they do not reach any proper conclusion. They attempt to simplify things, but this is merely sour grapes. Since they cannot acknowledge the truth, the existence of the spirit soul, its transcendental nature, and the same applying to the entire universe, they say that there is no God. There is no soul. This is their simplification.

When the truth is that there is an active principle. We are already made aware of the truth through works of authority such as Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam. The living being is the active principle. This is what determines life. When the active principle leaves, the body turns from living to dead. This is a simple fact that any honest person will acknowledge.

The active principle is meant to serve. This is the constitutional nature of spirit. When realizing this truth, when actually hearing and acknowledging the root cause behind an existence, a person has the opportunity to reenter their eternal engagement.

As Shri Krishna explains in Bhagavad-gita, such an individual reaches the level of Brahman. They are Brahman the entire time, but they have forgotten. They have so deeply fallen into illusion that they cannot acknowledge something so plainly evident before them. They will make every excuse in the book to avoid accepting the truth of the necessity of spirit for the presence of life.

तद् विद्धि प्रणिपातेन
परिप्रश्नेन सेवया
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं
ज्ञानिनस् तत्त्व-दर्शिनः

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

Life comes from life. The origin of all life is one way to explain God. To stay with the origin of all life is the ideal engagement, in every period of time, and in every circumstance. The study of the active principle is the basis of genuine science. Any person interested in the real science will accept the wisdom of the ages passed down in shastra. They will accept the knowledge in a humble manner. They will inquire submissively and deliberate for themselves to see if the principles align with common sense and reasoning.

In Closing:

Umm, guys can you hear me?
It’s like you don’t even see me.

Rather than in wild chase to go,
The answer I already know.

No reason in sour grapes to pout,
Acting as if hope without.

Spirit soul the active principle involved,
Blessed now to this human form evolved.

Categories: science

Tags: dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion, science