“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.15)

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सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो
मत्तः स्मृतिर् ज्ञानम् अपोहनं च
वेदैश् च सर्वैर् अहम् एव वेद्यो
वेदान्त-कृद् वेद-विद् एव चाहम्

sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham

1. The car starting

“Bro, it was magic. I have no other way to describe it to you. I was sitting there, behind the wheel. I had no idea what to do. I decided to press this button I saw. It had the word ‘Start’ written on it. Not sure what that means. Why would someone write that?

“Anyway, I needed to put my leg somewhere. I was getting really tired so I rested my leg on this thing on the floor. I think some people call it the brake. I was so bored after a while and so hot that I started hitting any button I could see. I hit that ‘Start’ button again and everything changed. The car started. I have no idea how. Isn’t that crazy?”

2. The spouse yelling

“Bro, when I tell you she was upset, I mean it. She really went nuts. I was just sitting there, minding my own business. I had the game on the television when she entered the room. She was not happy. It started off in a normal tone of voice, but as I kept sitting there, she started yelling more and more. The volume gradually increased.

“I thought she was ready to kill me. She kept saying something about paying a bill that came in the mail. She had left something on the table and she was blaming me for throwing it in the trash. I don’t know what she is talking about. I always clear out the table before dinner. That is according to her orders. Now she is suddenly mad about it? Who acts like that? She has turned into a crazy person.”

3. The weather changing

“Bro, if you come over today, leave your jacket at home. I am telling you, it is seriously hot. I have no idea what happened. Someone told me it has to do with the month of the year. What does that even mean? It took me some time to realize the change. I had my jacket on the whole day at first. I now regret that decision.”

4. The furniture falling apart

“Bro, I was just sitting there, like usual. I was pretty tired after a long day at work. Suddenly, the whole thing collapsed. I could hear stuff break. Can you believe that? What kind of sofa is this? I built it myself only a few weeks ago. I remember something was messed up because I had a few extra screws and bolts lying around at the end. What kind of manufacturer gives you extra stuff and doesn’t tell you what to do with it? And then their cheap product falls apart so quickly. I should sue them.”

5. The ripened fruit

“Bro, that apple tasted amazing. It was just there. I found it in my yard. I have no idea where it came from. You want to know if it was ripe. What does that even mean? It was an apple. It was red. Was there a tree nearby? I don’t know. I wasn’t investigating a crime scene or anything. You want me to bring out the yellow caution tape and make a chalk outline? Get it? Anyway, what’s with the third degree?”

…

यथा फलानां पक्वानां नान्यत्र पतनाद्भयम्
एवं नरस्य जातस्य नान्यत्र मरणाद्भयम्

yathā phalānāṃ pakvānāṃ nānyatra patanādbhayam
evaṃ narasya jātasya nānyatra maraṇādbhayam

“As a ripe fruit has no other fear than to fall, so a man who is born has no other fear than death.” (Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 105.17)

While academic credentials and association with prestigious institutions may help in lending credibility to the presentation, we see from the above examples that to understand the presence, existence, persistence, and supremacy of God is not difficult. We simply have to research into the cause of results. When there is some result that we can expect, that we can count on, that we can explain, it means the cause must have the same features.

The result in each case has intelligence. The car does not emerge from a womb, fully intact and ready to be driven off a lot, with its steadily depreciating value. The fruit took time to emerge. Sometimes the result manifests a long time after the cause. The result may only remain manifest for but a brief moment. Blink and you might miss it.

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)

Nevertheless, there is a result. As that result has intelligence, so the cause must involve intelligence. To call something an accident is to simply give up in pursuing a cause. If the outcomes are known, then how can the cause be unknown? For instance, I know that planting the seed will one day yield fruit. The seeds might be so similar in appearance that it is impossible to tell the difference. Still, the one seed will produce a tree with certain kinds of fruit and the other seed will only produce the other fruit. Nothing can be done to change the reality.

This is because of the intelligence embedded within the cause, which in this case is the seed. We can study the entire universe in the same way. Both at the macro level and at the individual. The living entity has intelligence from the time of birth. That is how we can expect the infant to one day turn over, crawl, walk, and talk.

एक-देश-स्थितस्याग्नेर्
ज्योत्स्ना विस्तारिणी यथा
परस्य ब्रह्मणः शक्तिस्
तथेदम् अखिलं जगत्

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

“Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy.” (Vishnu Purana, 1.22.52)

The entire universe is like the byproduct of the initial cause known as God. He is like the original fire distributing its potency at a level inconceivable. That fire goes both wide and deep. Since He is the origin of the distribution, it is like the entire universe represents His body. In this way, we are always living with God. We are a member of His expansive community.

सर्व-योनिषु कौन्तेय
मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः
तासां ब्रह्म महद् योनिर्
अहं बीज-प्रदः पिता

sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya
mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ
tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir
ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

“It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 14.4)

Genuine spiritual life is for acknowledging this cause of all causes. It is for connecting with that first cause, sarva karana-karanam. In this way, we will have a better understanding of the world around us and our ideal role while living in it.

In Closing:

While in this world living,
For proper context giving.

The original cause to seek,
For predictable outcome each.

Like the fruit appearing from the seed,
Way entire universe to proceed.

That origin the Supreme to call,
To results the first cause of all.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, life, poem, poems, poetry, science