“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.4)

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मया ततम् इदं सर्वं
जगद् अव्यक्त-मूर्तिना
मत्-स्थानि सर्व-भूतानि
न चाहं तेष्व् अवस्थितः

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ
jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni
na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ

“As we are smack dab in the middle of the social media era, where the one constant is more and more people sharing opinions, you notice that there are arguments about practically every topic. The most divisive seems to be politics. It doesn’t matter the country. It doesn’t matter the ethnicity of the people. It doesn’t matter the exact labels. As soon as you mention anything about any politician, wherein you show their picture, there is bound to be disagreement. The arguments might reach a level of boiling over into violence, which is never good.

“But the arguments cover religion and faith, as well. One thing I have noticed is people claiming that the sanatana-dharma culture is inclusive. They feel the need to mention that it is open-minded. It does not coerce. There is no such thing as a conversion, in the true sense. Now, the people within that culture might fall into two camps. One that believes you must be born into the culture. Another which says that people can enter the different classes, provided they have the requisite gunas, or qualities, and follow the proper karma, or work.

“This open-mindedness is heralded, mentioned as a way to stand out from the more stringent requirements of other religions. But have you thought about the other side of the argument? Why is sanatana-dharma so inclusive? Why is that inclusiveness a good thing? Why isn’t there more of a push to convert others?

“If you have a religion that is legitimate, valid, and capable of rescuing others, why not insist that every person follow? How is this lack of dogmatic insistence benefitting anyone? Should we not wish well for others? If we know that following a certain way of life will do the most good for them, why are we not insisting upon it?”

The general parameters of such a discussion stay within the realm of religion. Of faith. Of spiritual life. If we got all the different kinds of believers together, we could compare and contrast the different rules, regulations, beliefs, and objects of worship. But consider for a moment the plight of the nonbelievers.

For the purposes of this discussion, we will refer to them as “atheists.” That term could apply to a variety of viewpoints, but most often the core of the affiliation is this dismissal of the concept of God. The atheist thinks there is no God. They do not follow religion. This is a conscious decision. They have thought the matter over and decided against worshiping a heavenly figure.

The aforementioned open-mindedness of the followers of sanatana-dharma extends to the atheist class, as well. This would appear to be an egregious violation of a vow to look upon the world with compassion and kindness. How could any intelligent person tolerate the rise of atheism? How is that acceptable?

Of course, this does not mean the wise person will remain silent. They will still try to convince others to worship the source of both the material and spiritual worlds, if asked. They will ask others to inquire into the nature of intelligence, in how that intelligence is embedded within every aspect of living. But at the same time, the wise person understands that everyone is following God already; even the atheists. To help illustrate the principle, we cover a few areas that generally lack controversy, where the atheist will not object. In other words, they believe in these things. Their belief is so strong that they think it is madness to ever question the matter.

1. The sun

“You are asking me if the sun exists? Of course it does. It is shining bright in the sky right now. I have to pull the curtains across the window so that I can see clearly ahead. The sun is right in my face, so to speak. I am not sure why you are asking such a silly question.”

2. Human beings

“You are asking me if human beings exist? Of course they do. I am standing before you at this moment. Do you think I am some hologram? I am an image projected from a machine? Stop being silly. And yes, other human beings exist, also. That is why they call it civilization.”

3. Other species

“You are asking me if other species exist? Of course they do. Do you not see how much I love my dog? I take it for a walk every morning. It sleeps in the same bed as me. It loves me so much. The dog exists; it is real. So is the cat. Why are you asking such silly questions?”

4. The flow from seed to fruit

“You want to know where the fruit comes from? It is a seed. The seed goes into the ground. Give that seed water at appropriate intervals. Some sunlight from that large body in the sky. The sun exists and so does the seed. The fruit exists, as well. The fruit is from the seed. No one will ever deny this. Yes, only that specific seed will produce that specific fruit. There is no way around this law of nature. Who made that law? I have no idea, but I doubt it was some old guy with a beard, situated high above the clouds.”

5. The sum collection of everything

“What exactly are you asking here? You want me to visualize the entire collective. All the people. All the animals. All the plants. All the planets, even? Okay, let me try to do that. Now you want me to acknowledge that this massive collection exists. Of course it does. What a silly question?”

…

The above review proves that even the atheist believes in God. Their understanding of God is limited, though. They only know Him through His energies. The sum collection of matter, as conceived by the limited human mind, is one representation of those energies. The atheist interacts with such an energy, which the wise describe as maya or prakriti.

That interaction has consequences. There is action and reaction. There is right and wrong in the sense of intended destinations, in wanting to progress and avoid punishment. The atheist and the believer both operate within this system. They are always connected to Divinity, whether they acknowledge a central controller or not.

विद्या-विनय-सम्पन्ने
ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि
शुनि चैव श्व-पाके च
पण्डिताः सम-दर्शिनः

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

“The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 5.18)

In this respect, the only conversion is realization of the complete picture. Understanding that there is a source to the impersonal, that all energies are due to a single individual. That individual is like you and me, in the spark of animation seen in both the human being and the dog. But that individual is also different, since the entire universe is like His body. We are like temporary residents along different sections of that body, which is practically infinite in its reach.

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 lack of insistence in sanatana-dharma is due to the requirement for deliberation. Deliberation starts with choice. The individual must choose to think higher. They must make a choice for going beyond the bright light of the impersonal energy. If they should happen to make that choice, there is endless information to deliberate upon. There is enough knowledge to keep an individual occupied, satisfied, enthusiastic, and blissful, from beginning to end.

प्रीति प्रतीति सुरीति सों राम राम जपु राम
तुलसी तेरो है भलो आदि मध्य परिनाम

prīti pratīti surīti soṃ rāma rāma japu rāma
tulasī tero hai bhalo ādi madhya parināma

“Chanting Shri Rama’s holy name with love, faith and according to regulative principles will be beneficial for you from beginning to end, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 23)

In Closing:

Confirmation through nature receiving,
So even the atheist believing.

In God through impersonal way,
Despite vehement protests to say.

Benefit having picture complete when,
Endless contemplation then.

On principles and explanations to extend,
Chance for bliss from beginning to end.

Categories: the five

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