Ratha Yatra Festival in Melbourne, Australia (Album of photos)
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Ratha Yatra Festival in Melbourne, Australia (Album of photos)
Bhakta Dasa: Ratha Yatra and Vedic Village 2020 was a huge success with thousands of people receiving the Lord’s mercy one way or another. On behalf of the Ratha Yatra management team, a BIG THANK YOU to all those sincere and hard-working devotees that contributed in so many ways.

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Are jnana and karma complementary instead of hierarchical?
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From Promila Mataji:

I’ve understood the following points about KY and JnY. However, i am still not clear why Jnana Yoga is considered superior to Karma Yoga in hierarchy (Yoga ladder) when Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga are actually complementary?

1. Karma Yoga (action in devotion) is superior to Jnana Yoga (renunciation of action due to adaption of knowledge) because KY is easier compared to JnY.

2. In the yoga ladder or hierarchy, JnY is superior and yet in practice KY is superior.

3. Karmas performed without transcendental knowledge are materialistic in nature. So it’s transcendental knowledge that imparts the spiritual qualities to Karmas.

4. Without the application of knowledge (TK, not dry philosophical knowledge), knowledge makes one Mithyacharana, as Krishna warns Arjuna.

Considering these points, it seems more appropriate to call them complementary yogas rather than one being superior in hierarchy and the other though superior in hierarchy, is inferior in practice.

Answer Podcast:

Download by “right-click and save content”

Transcriber: Sharan Shetty

Edited by: Keshavgopal Das

Transcription :

Question: Are jnana and karma complementary instead of hierarchical?

Answer: Karma and jnana can broadly refer to action and intellectual analysis whereas karma yoga and jnana yoga are specific processes. Beyond these two, there is the path of bhakti yoga.

Karma yoga and jnana yoga, as yoga sadhanas, are not complimentary. They are mutually exclusive, and it is not that karma yogi’s practice is incomplete without jnana yoga or vice versa. Both are two distinct processes of yoga and if a person is practicing karma yoga then he cannot be practicing jnana yoga which requires renunciation of action. Their essential methodologies involve opposite courses of action because karma yoga involves action and jnana yoga involves inaction.

With respect to their intention, in the Fifth Chapter, Lord Krishna talks about their common goal. The analysis of Third and Fifth Chapter is same but in the Fifth Chapter, Krishna goes deeper into certain subjects. In Bhagavad-gita 5.4 and 5.5, Krishna says,

sankhya-yogau prthag balah pravadanti na panditah
ekam apy asthitah samyag ubhayor vindate phalam
“Only the ignorant speak of devotional service [karma-yoga] as being different from the analytical study of the material world [sankhya]. Those who are actually learned say that he who applies himself well to one of these paths achieves the results of both.”

yat sankhyaih prapyate sthanam tad yogair api gamyate
ekam sankhyam ca yogam ca yaḥ pasyati sa pasyati
“One who knows that the position reached by means of analytical study can also be attained by devotional service, and who therefore sees analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are.”

Therefore, it is clear from the above two verses that those who think that the paths of sankhya and yoga are two different paths have a childish mentality and Krishna further states that actually if one who attains perfection in one process then one attains the destination that is intended from both the processes. Ultimately, both are meant to take us towards transcendence which is explained by Lord Krishna in Gita 5.2, sannyasaḥ karma-yogas ca niḥsreyasa-karav ubhau (The Personality of Godhead replied – The renunciation of work and work in devotion are both good for liberation).

The important point to recognise here is that when Krishna is saying both paths lead to the same ultimate destination; he is not combining the two processes. He is not saying that one is dependent on the other. Ultimately, in terms of their own sadhanas, both lead to transcendence.

The process of bhakti yoga integrates and synergises the strengths of both these processes by leaving out their weaknesses. What bhakti yoga does is, it adopts activity as a means to offer service, thus allowing to use our natural ability to act but in a detached way. Bhakti yoga accommodates activity which is a natural element of karma yoga. The advantage of jnana yoga is that it is not entangling because due to absence of fruitive activities, the practitioner does not get entangled. Bhakti yoga incorporates the contemplative and non-reactive aspect of jnana by its process of internal remembrance of Krishna. That means, within bhakti, the aspects of karma yoga and jnana yoga are subordinated and harmonised in a complimentary sense. Srila Prabhupada’s use of the word “devotional service” as the translation for bhakti indicates this particular point.

The process of karma and jnana are themselves not to be given up. It is stated in Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu 01.01.11, anyabhilaṣita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavṛtam (One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krishna favourably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation).

In the definition of bhakti, it is stated, jnana and karma are uncovered. This covering is of selfish desires. When the covering is removed, then jnana and karma become purified and harmonised towards the service of Krishna, in the process of bhakti.

To get a simplistic yet broad understanding of these three, consider our hands, our head and our heart where karma yoga co-relates with the hands, jnana yoga with the head and bhakti yoga with the heart. But bhakti does not co-relate only with the heart because the heart directs the head and the hands.

Similarly, bhakti incorporates and integrates everything. We have an intellectual rational side and we also have a practical action-oriented side. We would be incomplete without either. That is why, within our bhakti, if we just contemplate, it would be very difficult for us to sustain. Similarly, if we just run around doing things without thinking about the goal, Krishna, then that would reduce our bhakti to just karma. The synthesis of action and contemplation which is done in bhakti brings about the complementarity of karma and jnana.

End of transcription.

The post Are jnana and karma complementary instead of hierarchical? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

A selection of helpful verses from Srila Prabhupada’s books
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A selection of helpful verses from Srila Prabhupada’s books.
“In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa there is the following statement about self-surrender: ‘My dear Lord, a person who has surrendered himself unto You, who is in firm conviction that he is Yours, and who actually acts in that way by his body, mind and words, can actually relish transcendental bliss.’”

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Harinam and food distribution in a poor African Township outside Durban (Album of photos)
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Harinam and food distribution in a poor African Township outside of Durban (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: After two months of recuperating from my illness here in South Africa, I am ready to start traveling again. To test my wings I went with devotees on harinam and food distribution in a poor African Township outside of Durban. Once again I witnessed the astounding glories of the holy names and all the merciful nature of Krsna’s prasadam. Good to be “home” again.

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Grand Sankirtan procession through the town of Vrindavan (Album of photos)
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Grand Sankirtan procession through the town of Vrindavan (Album of photos)
On the occasion of Sriman Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance day, we took part in a grand Sankirtan procession through the town of Vrindavan starting from Sringar Vat. That place is also known as Nityananda Vat as that was His residing place in Vrndavan. We joined with the other Vaishnavas and relished the bliss of the Holy Name.

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A police officer from Durban becomes a devotee of Krishna
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A police officer from Durban becomes a devotee of Krishna.
Indradyumna Swami: The photo on the left is from several years ago. We were in Harinam on the Durban beachfront. This police officer on horse stopped me and asked what it was all about. We talked for quite some time as he became more and more inquisitive. Before parting, I gifted him a large size Bhagavad Gita.

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Open Letter to Licypriya Kangujam
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By Paramadayala Nityananda Dasa

Because of your outstanding, selfless, activism, at a young age you have been awarded the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Children Award, a World Children Peace Prize, and an Indian Peace Prize. You have the potential to do unfathomable good for the planet in your lifetime. We believe your potential could be magnified by researching the wisdom found in the Vedic Scriptures. Continue reading "Open Letter to Licypriya Kangujam
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Dealings In Divine Discourses
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By Gauranga Darshan Das

Srimad Bhagavatam is a literary masterpiece like no other. It is rich with sacred wisdom and is presented as an amalgamation of intriguing spiritual conversations. Thus, Srimad Bhagavatam reigns supreme in genres of spirituality, philosophy and devotion. While Sukadeva Gosvami is the foremost speaker of the Bhagavatam, Pariksit Maharaja is its foremost hearer. Their conversation, the Srimad Bhagavatam, was presented by Suta Gosvami to the sages headed by Saunaka, at a forest called Naimisaranya. As the sages asked questions about various spiritual subjects including philosophy of life, purpose of creation, nature of reality, God and His incarnations, humanity’s quest for happiness and so on, Suta Gosvami answered their inquiries based on what he had heard from his guru Sukadeva Gosvami. Continue reading "Dealings In Divine Discourses
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Krishna told Arjuna to kill but Narada told Mrigari to not kill?
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Answer Podcast

 

Transcription :

Transcriber: Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Keshavgopal das

Question: Krishna told Arjuna to kill but Narada told Mrigari to not kill?

Answer: There are different kinds of dharmas. Mrigari would not kill the animals directly but would instead slit their throats and leave them half-alive, to die a painful death. Killing, in itself, is painful but half killing is much-much more painful and Mrigari was causing such unnecessary pain to the animals.

As far as dharma is concerned, we need to understand that the word dharma has different meanings in different contexts. Some duties are essential for the maintenance of society. For example – sometimes the military kills because that is required to keep aggressors under control which is essential for the maintenance of the society. Arjuna was a kshatriya who are the marshall guardian of the society, so for him, it was essential to kill the aggressors.

Duryodhana was such a brutal person that he tried to disrobe Draupadi publicly in the royal assembly. Even today when some sex crime is committed against women, it creates a big furore in the media. Usually when some animalistic person violates a woman, he will probably abduct her, drag her somewhere in private and do something with her. However, if somebody tries to molest and violate a woman in public, in front of everyone, that person is certainly brazen. What to speak if such horrible act is done in a police station or a court. That would mean that the person has no fear of law at all. Duryodhana was an example of such kind of a person. He never expressed any remorse for his act. If at all he had any regret, it was because he could not humiliate Draupadi.

If such a person is given unrestricted power over a kingdom, then one can imagine what kind of havoc he could have created. Although he ruled around thirteen years when the Pandavas were in exile, but he was always afraid that one day the Pandavas might come back. Therefore, he was at his best trying to win over the citizens. If there was no danger to the Pandavas then he would have been brutal to everyone. Hence, a person like Duryodhana had to be punished. The Pandavas tried everything possible to avoid war and when all other alternatives had failed, finally war was chosen.

Before the war, Krishna himself went to Duryodhana as a peace messenger on behalf of the Pandavas. The position of Krishna in the Mahabharata was the greatest and he was offered the first respects at the great rajasuya sacrifice, yet he went as a peace messenger to Duryodhana. It is like, if India and Pakistan have some tension and to mitigate those tensions, the Prime Minister of India goes to Pakistan as a peace envoy. The highest person going to the opposite camp like this shows how seriously he considered peace. However, imagine Pakistan tries to arrest the Indian Prime Minister. The whole of India would erupt in fury saying how dare they do this. Similarly, Krishna went as the peace messenger but Duryodhana tried to arrest Krishna. This showed that he had no remorse, no interest in reconciliation and hence, when all options failed then war was fought. In this case, the person was brutal and not reform able at all. Hence, there was no option but war because it was essential for society’s well-being.

In the case of Mrigari, it is very different. He was causing unnecessary pain but importantly, sometimes people might get caught in some situations that they are involved in doing something bad just to run their living. For example, I met an Indian in New Zealand who had started a hotel there and he was primarily selling non-vegetarian food but later became a devotee and decided to give up meat eating (even onion and garlic). Eventually he felt what should I do now. He thought of turning it into a vegetarian hotel but somehow that was a place where there were not many vegetarians. Gradually he decided to shift to a new place and start something new and eventually rented out his shop to somebody else. Sometimes circumstantially we are put in a profession where we are doing something wrong, but we cannot say that this is my duty and I will have to do it. Of course, we might not be able to give it up immediately since we have other responsibilities which we cannot neglect but we need to come out gradually. We cannot say that since we have been doing this as a source of livelihood, we will be immune from the consequences. We also need to see the ethical aspect of what we are doing as well.

Hence, in the case of Mrigari, he became a devotee by the mercy of Narada Muni and eventually people provided for him and that is how he was able to deal with the situation. So, the two situations are not at all analogous, they are very different.

End of transcription.

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The power of Prasad
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Death toll in China rises to 563 as lockdown enters second week.

The death toll and number of infections continued to soar in China, officials said Thursday.

It has been two weeks since the authorities in Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, declared that the city would be locked down as they tried to contain the virus’s spread. The cordon that was first imposed around the city of 11 million quickly expanded to encircle roughly 50 million people in the province of Hubei. The lockdown is unprecedented in scale.

Health officials said that 563 people had died from the virus, up from nearly 500 people the day before, and that 28,018 cases had been confirmed. On Monday, the number of confirmed cases was put at 20,438, meaning the number increased more than 35 percent in just a few days.Many doctors believe that the number of deaths and infections are undercounted because hospitals and laboratories are under severe strain to test for the virus.Those uinfected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city, which also sold live and newly slaughtered animals.

Lord Krishna gives the solution  in Bhagavad Gita:

Chapter 17: The Divisions of Faith

TEXT 8-10ayuh-sattva-balarogya-
sukha-priti-vivardhanah
rasyah snigdhah sthira hrdya
aharah sattvika-priyah
katv-amla-lavanaty-usna-
tiksna-ruksa-vidahinah
ahara rajasasyesta
duhkha-sokamaya-pradah
yata-yamam gata-rasam
puti paryusitam ca yat
ucchistam api camedhyam
bhojanam tamasa-priyam


SYNONYM: Sayuh—duration of life; sattva—existence; bala—strength; arogya—health; sukha—happiness; priti—and satisfaction; vivardhanah—increasing; rasyah—juicy; snigdhah—fatty; sthirah—enduring; hrdyah—pleasing to the heart; aharah—food; sattvika—to one in goodness; priyah—palatable.

TRANSLATION: Foods in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such nourishing foods are sweet, juicy, fattening and palatable. Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, pungent, dry and hot, are liked by people in the modes of passion. Such foods cause pain, distress, and disease. Food cooked more than three hours before being eaten, which is tasteless, stale, putrid, decomposed and unclean, is food liked by people in the mode of ignorance.
Purport:Therefore to make food antiseptic, eatable and palatable for all persons, one should offer food to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

My two cents: We could offer all our satvic food to Lord Krishna, eat delicious Prasad and leave the poor bats and animals alone.And start to realise that we are all eternal spirit souls, with a direct connect to Lord Krishna. 

ISKCON’s first full stone temple
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By Rama-mohana Dasa

With traditional architecture- pillars and stone carvings, ISKCON Salem’s granite temple promises its name in history for centuries! For the past several years devotees have been working on the temple’s construction, which is coming out magnificently. A 108 ft tall towering shikar is being built, which would instill the grandness of this place of worship. The soaring shikar would be further decorated with 28 gopi carvings. Sri Sri Radha-Gokulananda and Lord Chaitanya are the presiding deities of the temple. Continue reading "ISKCON’s first full stone temple
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Crossing the desert of austerity
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 28 May 2019, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Srimad Bhagavatam 6.11.25)

There is an oasis in the middle of a desert, and in this oasis, there are many people living. It is an oasis of sense gratification in the middle of the desert of material existence. In this oasis, there are a lot of things to enjoy. There is camel milk and there are dates, and with these two, the people can make camel milk dates shake. The people can make camel milk dates barfi and all other kinds of camel milk dates preparations. There is a huge variety of preparations that are possible. But after a while, everyone is thinking, “Do we want a camel milk shake? Hmm, but with what? Oh, with dates? Nah, that is okay. We had that last week already…” So at some point, the people start to realise that it is always the same thing in the oasis of sense gratification; the same thing again and again. The other people ask if you want to come join them in the oasis, “Do you want to come? Come on! It will be fun!” But then you say that, “No, I just want to stay home.” The other people go, “What?! What is wrong with you?” And you tell them how you feel, “I don’t know. I am just bored of it.” So, that is the situation in this material world.

But one day, a stranger comes in the desert, enters the oasis, and he brings fruits. He brings mangoes of the best quality! The people go, “Wooo! This is good! We have never had this before! Where did you get this?” The stranger replies that it comes from a place far away, from a green land where everything is lush and beautiful, unlike this desert. He describes this place of how there are rivers there and waterfalls and other beautiful things. The people of the oasis do not believe the stranger. They go, “Oh come on now! There is no land like that. I mean, you are just making up stories now.” So most of the people do not believe the stranger. But some of the people have faith. These people are ready to join the stranger to go to the green land.

So eventually, these people start on a journey. They leave the oasis of sense gratification and go back into the desert. There, they experience the hot sun burning on their head and for some it got too much. Some of these people went crazy, some went back to the oasis of sense gratification and some just ran off into the desert never to be seen again. But for the ones who survive, they see a horizon of water. The see the oasis of goodness. They made it! So in this way, we must take to spiritual life, however we must cross the desert of austerity first. In the beginning in the oasis of sense gratification, we are enjoying material life, but now we are enjoying spiritual life.

We are enjoying this spiritual life very much, “Oh it is a very nice spiritual life. I enjoy it so much! Everything is so nice that we even give maha water to the plants. Even our cat is a vegetarian. Everything is nice in our happy little Krsna house. It is so sweet. We will just stay in this house forever because life is goody good! Now we are enjoying the mode of goodness. We can just stay here in this oasis forever!” But then the stranger says to the people that they cannot stay here forever, “We must go back out into the desert; to save all those people who got lost in the desert. We must go back for them! There will be more austerity, more hot sun, no water and what not. But this time, we must go back to not enjoy ourselves but to deliver the conditioned souls.” So in this way, we can see how our spiritual life evolves.

Therefore, the mode of goodness is not good enough because there is still that enjoying spirit. We must therefore strive to be completely on the transcendental platform, where we see ourselves as eternal spirit souls in an eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord; that is all we must care about! We must only want the transcendental opportunities because all other opportunities are really for sense gratification.

The article " Crossing the desert of austerity " was published on KKSBlog.

Booking for Jaladuta Cruise Open Now!
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Visiting Sri Mayapur for Gaura Purnima Festival 2020? Don’t miss out the bliss of travelling in Jaladuta Cruise! The bookings for Jaladuta boat service from Kolkata to Mayapur has started now! No more bumpy & risky roads & pollution, enjoy the relaxing cruise, passing through villages & countryside beautiful scenery around, fresh air and a […]

The post Booking for Jaladuta Cruise Open Now! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

If time is relative, what about space?
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By Caitanya Chandra dasa

The Vedic literature explains that what is one year for us, is just one day for the demigods in swargaloka. It's not that they just have longer days: they really perceive the time differently. Similarly, what is 4.3 billion years for us, is just a day for the inhabitants of Brahmaloka. Their lifespan equals trillions of years of our time. Continue reading "If time is relative, what about space?
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Sun Love Feast – Feb 9th 2020 – Vedic discourse by Her Grace Jai Rasheshwari Mataji
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Chant: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare 

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare 

And Be Happy!!

ayur harati vai pumsam
udyann astam ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-ksano nita
uttama-sloka-vartaya

Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one
who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.
 ~ Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.17




11.00 - 11.15      Tulsi Puja
11.15  - 11.30     Guru Puja
11:30 - 11:55     Aarti & Kirtan
11.55  - 12.00    Sri Nrsingadeva Prayers
12.00 - 12:55    Vedic discourse
  1.00 - 1.30      Closing Kirtan
  1.30 - 2.00     Sanctified Free Vegetarian Feast

COMING UP AHEAD

Vijaya Ekadasi
Fasting.....................on Tue Feb 18th, 2020
Breakfast................  on Wed 19th Feb, 2020 b/w 7:11am – 10:45am

Every fortnight, we observe Ekadasi, a day of prayer and meditation. On this day we fast (or
simplify our meals and abstain from grains and beans), and spend extra time reading the scriptures
and chanting the auspicious Hare Krishna mantra.By constantly ‘exercising’ our minds through
regular japa we can train our senses to push the threshold of contentment.
English audio glorification of all Ekadasis is available here 


Brahma Samhita Course from March 7th. Please note that there's a prerequisite for joining the course. Registration can be done on:
http://bit.ly/397v3li 
For further information, please contact HG Prema Gaurangi Devi Dasi @ premagaurangi.jps@hotmail.com


ONGOING PROGRAMS

Adult Education At The Temple
ISKCON Brampton offers various courses and Seminars for adults. The courses take a personal approach to learning. It encourages the student not only to study thoroughly the contents of Srila Prabhupada’s books but also to clearly understand the philosophy and practically apply it. The course focuses on behaviour and character, nurturing students in appropriate Vaishnava values.
Professionally designed and presented, it draws on the principles of Krishna consciousness
and the best of progressive education. In this way, it is true to ISKCON’s heritage and at the
same time relevant to its mission in contemporary society.

For further information, please contact HG Prema Gaurangi Devi Dasi @ premagaurangi.jps@hotmail.com


Sunday School

To register,contact us
Email:sundayschool108@gmail.com
Call:647.893.9363

The Sunday School provides fun filled strategies through the medium of music, drama, debates,
quizzes and games that present Vedic Culture to children. However the syllabus is also designed
to simultaneously teach them to always remember Krishna and never forget Him.
The Sunday School follows the curriculum provided by the Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture (BCEC).


Monthly sankirtan Festival(MSF)
“One who has life can preach, and one who preaches gets life.”(Previous Acaryas)
Every member of ISKCON should have the opportunity to make advancement in Krishna
consciousness by preaching.We encourage everyone to come out and participate and make
Srila Prabhupada happy.

Please contact:
Dharma Dasa- dharandev58@gmail.com-647.892.0739(Mississauga and Brampton regions)


The Mentorship Program

Please note that registration in the Mentorship System is now a mandatory requirement for all initiation requests at ISKCON Brampton.It

1.Facilitates  and nurtures devotees aspiring for first and second Initiation.
2.One-on-One personal follow up on a regular basis.
3.Systematic training to devotees in matters of Philosophy, Sadhna, Vaishnava behavior, etiquette, Lifestyle and attitudes.

To find details please click here


Gift Shop

Are you looking for some amazing gift items which are less expensive and more beautiful for your
loved ones for festivals or many other occasions??
Our boutique is stocked with an excellent range of products, perfect for gifts or as souvenirs of your
visit. It offers textiles, jewelry, incense, devotional articles, musical instruments, books, and CDs
inspired by Indian culture.We're open on all Sundays and celebrations marked in our annual calendar.

Is there any scientific proof of the existence of higher and lower planetary systems?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

 

Transcription :

Transcriber: Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Raji Nachiappan

Question: Is there any scientific proof of the existence of higher and lower planetary systems?

Answer: There are different models of reality. Science is basically a map of reality and that map is meant for a particular perspective. For example, you are in place A and you want to go to place B to meet a friend. Someone gives you a map to get to place B. As the directions shown on the map turns out to be right at every step, your faith in the map starts increasing. Finally, when you reach the address and find your friend, you will not look into the map to check if it shows your friend. Also, you do not say to your friend that since he is not shown on the map, he does not exist.

Therefore, the map is a very powerful tool for navigating reality but the map is not a comprehensive guide to reality. There are many things that do not exist inside the map. People do not exist inside the map but people do exist. Similarly, science is a map and this map is for a primary purpose. When science commenced, the pioneers of the scientific methods from Galileo, Newton, Francis, Bacon and others, decided that reality will be divided into two sets of properties, i.e. primary and secondary. Primary properties are those which are measurable or quantifiable such as mass, density, velocity, viscosity etc. Secondary properties are taste, colour, smell, beauty, love, kindness etc. Science focussed on the primary properties.

In our day to day experience, what science considers as primary, is secondary for us. For example, if we tell our friends that we met a very interesting person, and they ask us to describe that person, we do not say that the person was five feet and three inches tall and weighs one fifty pounds. While this may well be a description of the person, it does not actually tell us much about the person. If we have to describe a great meal, we do not say that we had eight hundred calories weighing 250 grams. These are aspects of the meal; however, they are not the primary aspects. When we talk about people, we talk about their personalities, their qualities, their nature and when we talk about food, we talk about taste, texture, flavour and its visual appeal. The point is that what we in our day to day life consider as primary, science considers it secondary.

Science is the map of reality and on that map, subtler realities do not exist. The higher and lower planetary systems and then the spiritual world are all subtler realities. They do not exist on the map of science. However, that does not mean they do not exist in reality. If say for example, your friend invites you to his house for a chat. You, however, say that first your friend has to prove based on the map that he exists and that only then will you come. This will be absurd. In the same way, to ask for scientific proof for spiritual realities is like asking your friend, to prove based on the map that he exists. The map is a tool, and a very valuable and an indispensable tool, but it is still a tool. It does not describe reality completely.

To ask for scientific proof of subtler or spiritual realities, is to misunderstand science as well as spirituality. Science is a tool and it cannot tell us about spiritual truths directly, but we can use inference. How do we know that higher planets exist? Well, scripture talks about the whole world and if we consider the whole universe, it is ultimately meant as a facility, for us to fulfil our various desires for enjoying and then to evolve to a higher understanding. Different people have different desires and they go to different places using different resources to fulfil their various desires. Therefore, higher and lower planets are simply places just like the Earth, where we fulfil our desires. Similarly, there can be other places which can be venues for the soul to experiment with various objects of enjoyment.

This way within the philosophical world view, we can reasonably postulate the existence of higher planets. However, science itself is a tool which cannot tell anything about higher planets, just as we cannot use a thermometer to measure weight. Thermometer may be valuable tool but you cannot ask someone to prove their weight using a thermometer reading. Every tool, has its purpose and every tool has its limitation. Science is a tool, it has its purpose but has its limitations too.

End of transcription.

The post Is there any scientific proof of the existence of higher and lower planetary systems? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

One devotee left the body and two others injured in a fire at a hotel of Los Angeles.
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One devotee, Gaura Priya dasi and her son were there. Gaura Priya was injured but will be ok, her son is also ok. Sad to say that another devotee, Punyatama Prabhu was in the building and he did not survive. We are so sad to hear this news. Please pray for him today on Lord Nityananda’s appearance day.

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