“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)

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

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

1. I already feel like I am in hell

“You are telling me that unless I accept this specific savior, I am forever doomed. I must proclaim my faith out in the open, where there are other witnesses. I must attend a formal gathering, once a week, otherwise I will be considered fallen? Like landing on the ‘naughty’ list for the old man with the white beard? He will skip over my chimney when delivering presents, because you think that I am not a believer for failing to show up and pay allegiance to your institution?

“I don’t know, man. I think I am already in hell. For one, I have to put up with illogical nonsense like from this discussion. I will never get these five minutes of my life back. I already suffer so much, starting from the time of birth. My parents are no longer in this world. What can be worse than that? It is a hole in my life that will never be filled. Why should I fear anything else? Is that your best appeal for religion, for people to be scared into it? You might want to rethink your tactics.”

2. What about people from the past?

“You say that I must follow this way, which is the only way, but what about people from the past? Specifically those who were living in this world prior to the advent of your savior. What happened to them? Were they doomed? They never knew the personality you describe. They lived in quite a similar world, if you think about it. Birth, death, and everything in between. Attachment to friends and family. Sadness at separation. Swinging on the pendulum of attraction and aversion. Attention to right and wrong.

“You mean to tell me that those people were doomed? They were condemned to a hellish existence without any choice in the matter. By definition, they did not get to choose in favor of the book you are describing to me, since that book did not yet exist. What happened to those people? I would like to know.”

3. What about the people who never get to choose?

“You are telling me that I must choose, right now. Today, without sparing time for deliberation, consideration, contemplation, argument, or experimentation. There is no laboratory upon which to test the principles. I have to simply put faith that everything will work itself out in the afterlife, after we are gone. There is no guaranteed transformation prior to that. I will not necessarily be elevated to a higher mode of thinking, to a superior standard of consciousness.

“Let’s presume that you are correct. For argument’s sake, I will go along. But what about people who never get to make that choice? Those killed within the womb. Those who suffer from critical illnesses during childhood. The ones who are unfortunate in never having the chance to submit to your strong-arm tactics. They never got to fear since they were never informed about this hellish existence in their destiny. What happens to such people?”

4. Why does the sun shine on everyone?

“You say that only people of a certain faith get to make it to heaven. Okay, but what about aspects of nature that we all experience at the moment? If God is the Supreme Divine Being, then certainly the sun is a partial representation of His greatness. Last I checked, the magnificent sun shines its light on both saint and sinner, alike. Both believer and nonbeliever. People within your faith and those outside of it.

“If people can experience the sun without requiring religious affiliation, why would there suddenly be a barrier created in the afterlife? Why is that place completely different? Do people of other faiths experience satisfaction at eating? Do they quench their thirst with beverages? The science of living appears to be exactly the same, universally applicable, but somehow for the issue of God, which would encompass all of science, the scientific properties apply only to those aligning with a specific faith. That doesn’t make sense.”

5. Why would God be so petty and vindictive?

“Let me get this straight. I have only this one chance. No other opportunities? You mean that God would be so mean and petty as to hold this one offense against me for the rest of eternity? That would make Him meaner than the wickedest people who have ever roamed this earth. Even the cruel eventually give in, from time to time. They have forgetfulness at their disposal, too. God never forgets, so He must be completely miserable in holding on to these offenses from the population of creatures. Those offenses are as steady as the changing of seasons. I would feel bad for a person in that condition.”

…

A case can be made that the presentation based on fear and threats has its place. We see this play out in the field of education. Some students simply will not listen until the teacher gets stern. The same teacher might be lenient on the good students, the ones who follow the rules and complete their assignments on time. But even that disparity in treatment has a scientific basis; there is a way to explain it.

यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके
तावान्सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः

yāvān artha uda-pāne
sarvataḥ samplutodake
tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu
brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

“All purposes that are served by the small pond can at once be served by the great reservoirs of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served to one who knows the purpose behind them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.46)

Bhagavad-gita describes the difference between having a large body of water and smaller ponds. The large body of water takes care of whatever is needed from the small ponds. In other words, if you have the complete whole, you do not need the individual parts. In the classroom, the good students understand the purpose to the individual rules. They do not necessarily have to be scolded or threatened. They “get” what the teacher is teaching.

With respect to religion or spiritual life, the “fundamentalist” sell is less effective on those who understand the bigger picture, who think of time in relation to the creation itself, which goes through cycles of manifestation and dissolution. Indeed, time is one of the five principal topics discussed in Bhagavad-gita. The vidah-janah, or the people in the know, view time at the macro level.

सहस्र-युग-पर्यन्तम्
अहर् यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः
रात्रिं युग-सहस्रान्तां
ते ऽहो-रात्र-विदो जनाः

sahasra-yuga-paryantam
ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ
rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ
te ‘ho-rātra-vido janāḥ

“By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma’s one day. And such also is the duration of his night.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.17)

Bhagavad-gita appeals to the intelligent person. The person familiar with this work can spot the holes in the argument of dogmatic insistence. If God is to be followed, there should be sufficient justification, which is also rational in nature. If I choose after carefully deliberating, then my choice will have meaning.

There is a corresponding Sanskrit term: dridha-vratah. This refers to a vow that is strong. Shri Krishna describes that true devotion, allegiance to the Almighty, begins after sin has been exhausted. Instead of being threatened with the label of “sinner”, the person who has exhausted their interest in the temporary, in exploiting the manifest realm, has the best chance at following God without any need for extra support or justification from a regulatory body.

Their vow is strong because of intelligence. They know things as they are. They have carefully considered the matter. They have weighed the different options. They understand in truth that the Supreme Lord is the kindest of all. He is the most forgiving and the most merciful. He is always wishing well to the living entities, whether they believe in Him or not. He is waiting to welcome them all back home, should they choose to return.

In Closing:

Thanks for your presentation,
I admire your determination.

But prescription based on fear,
That lacking intelligence clear.

Rather of Krishna’s teachings fond,
In trying to gather every pond.

Such that time known at grandest scale,
And determined in vow never to fail.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, life, poem, poems, poetry, religion