Category: Reflections

Reflections of Mahabhagavat Das SDA

Randomness is a Myth

Randomness is a myth. Randomness does not exist. But we can learn to free ourselves from the complexities of what appears to be random

You heard that right! Yes. Randomness is another one of those things that doesn’t exist, just like nothingness. Nothing is ever random. Randomness is one of these (or a variant) in every single case:

  1. A figment of imagination
  2. A sign of ignorance
  3. A device, tool, a starting point

Randomness as Imagination – it is very tempting, for someone who wants to pretend that their actions have no consequences, or someone who does not want to take responsibility for their actions, to pretend that the Universe is random. But of course, imagination goes only so far – it is not true.

Randomness as Ignorance – If I gave you an extremely complex mathematical formula, and asked you to show someone else the results of that formula with different hidden inputs, those results can very well appear to be random. But they are not random to someone who knows the equation and the inputs, in this case, you and me. So the outputs simply appear random, they are not so.

Randomness as a tool, a starting point – In many mathematical and scientific disciplines, just like the square root of -1, “i“, to pretend that the space is populated with random values helps to “seed” certain algorithms. This process implicitly acknowledges that randomness is simply a tool, a starting point to reach a model or understanding that is not random.

So if everything is not random, then why does it appear to be? Complexity. The laws of material nature, which are anything but random, are the creation of God, who is above the laws of material nature. The laws themselves are quite simple, but when the laws interact with themselves over and over again, the complexity they generate is mind-boggling.

Take a simple example of me planting one apple seed, just one seed. Not all seeds sprout but if/when this one does, it brings forth a seedling. Not all seedlings grow to be a tree, but if/when this one does, it bears flowers. Not all flowers turn to fruit, but some do. Not all fruits have seeds in them, but most of them do. When these seeds disperse, many sprout, give rise to trees, and this process endlessly continues, as long as the material circumstances are favourable.

After just a few decades, it will be impossible for a person who didn’t witness me planting the first apple seed to detect which apple tree was the first one. It will be impossible, even for me, to tell which tree an apple came from… or to tell for sure which specific seed caused which specific tree to grow.

Which brings us to the oft-heard saying, humans can count the fruits in a tree or the seeds in a fruit, but only God knows how many trees there are inside one seed. God is infinite, and therefore, it is possible for God to know all the permutations, with vision undisturbed by time.

Karma, the law of action and reaction has been described in the Vedic scriptures many millenia ago. A more recent rediscovery of the principles of Karma is by Isaac Newton “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction“. Sometimes, people say “what goes around, comes around“.

I heard that Lord Buddha said that if one were to stack the skeletons of all the bodies one soul has inhabited, those bones will block out the sun! Every soul inhabiting the material world has had many many actions (seeds), giving rise to many many beginning to sprout (seedlings), with many different resultant symptoms (flowers and fruits). It is hard to take one particular symptom of one’s life today and try to ascertain what specific action caused it. But just because it is hard doesn’t mean that randomness is the answer.

So what is the solution? How does one get out of the dense forest of karmic actions and reactions? The Bhagavad Gita defines a particular type of action and classifies it as “akarma” – “inaction”. This inaction is not some sort of inert “do nothing / sit still / renounce all action” practiced by the immature spiritualists or lazy materialists, but it is those actions that are spiritual in nature – that which serve to reconnect spirit to the Supreme Spirit, God.

“The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.” BG 4.17

There is no randomness, everything is actually quite ordered and structured, it is simply a matter of the choices we have made in the past. And just as our present circumstances may appear complex, we can unravel and simplify just as someone pieces together a jumbled up jigsaw puzzle, with time, patience, and determination.

aprarabdha-phalam papam
kutam bijam phalonmukham
kramenaiva praliyeta
vishnu-bhakti-ratatmanam
 
Persons who are completely engaged in the devotional service of the Lord Vishnu the Personality of Godhead—becomes completely extinct from all sorts of vicious reactions which either potential, germinating, seedling or current by a gradual process. (from Padma Purana)
 
असत्यमप्रतिष्ठं ते जगदाहुरनीश्वरम् ।
अपरस्परसंभूतं किमन्यत्कामहैतुकम् ॥ १६.८ ॥
asatyam apratiṣṭhaṁ te
jagad āhur anīśvaram
aparaspara-sambhūtaṁ
kim anyat kāma-haitukam
 
They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control. They say it is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust. BG 16.8 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/16/8/
 
कर्मणो ह्यपि बोद्धव्यं बोद्धव्यं च विकर्मणः ।
अकर्मणश्च बोद्धव्यं गहना कर्मणो गतिः ॥ ४.१७ ॥
karmaṇo hy api boddhavyaṁ
boddhavyaṁ ca vikarmaṇaḥ
akarmaṇaś ca boddhavyaṁ
gahanā karmaṇo gatiḥ
 

The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is. BG 4.17 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/4/17/

 
BG 4.17:
The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is and what inaction is.
BG 4.18:
One who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is intelligent among men, and he is in the transcendental position, although engaged in all sorts of activities.

What could possibly be unknown to You, O master? With vision undisturbed by time, You witness the minds of all living beings. Nevertheless, on Your order I will speak. SB 10.64.11 https://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/10/64/11

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Which religion do you belong to?

We are not these bodies. To think we are these bodies, or to treat someone else as if they are a body is idiotic.

I often get asked that question, especially when dressed in traditional Vaishnava attire, the answer in the words of my spiritual master Sankarshan Das Adhikari, “Religion is one, to know yourself, and be yourself. To know God and to love God”, and he continues “Religion, singular, is one. Religions, plural, is politics.”.

Indeed, it is true that religion in its form as politics has been used for all sorts of terrible goals, subjugation, division, domination, control, politics, and so much more. But then, again, in the words of my spiritual master’s spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, “It is something like that, that a man in the market, he has been cheated simply by counterfeit currency. He is disappointed that there is no real money. But actually that is not a fact. The government is there, and the currency is there, the real currency.”

So yes, there is real religion, and that real religion is beyond all material designations.

I often say “I’m past the labels, I’m all about – Do you knwo who God is? Do you really love God, or do you just want God to be your order supplier? Do you serve God’s creation or do you hanker for the Universe to serve you?”

Religion, the word, comes from the Latin “re-ligio”, to reconnect. “re-connect”, that means we were once connected and are now disconnected. And for a connection, there must be two connection points and some sort of mechanism to connect. And this is the essence of religion, and these are some tests I use to determine if I am on the right path or if I got side-tracked…

  • Do I care about material sense gratification less or more than before?
  • Do I feel upset that someone doesn’t agree with me?
  • Am I equipoised in honour, dishonour, wealth, poverty, health, sickness, happiness, distress?
  • When I discuss God with someone, is it about serving them or is it about feeding my own ego?
  • Do I know better now than before who I am? Do I act accordingly?
  • Do I know more about the identity and nature of God than before?
  • Do I really love God? I mean, do I really LOVE God?
  • Am I serving more or better than before?

In the Bhagavad Gita, the divisions of faith are clearly discussed, and there are different means of attaining to pure Love of God according to one’s current position. But no matter which genuine tradition of religion you pursue, the effects of the Pure Love of God are the same.

From Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 12, Bhakti Yoga
TEXTS 6-7:
But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pṛthā – for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.
TEXT 8:
Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.
TEXT 9:
My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.
TEXT 10:
If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage.
TEXT 11:
If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated.
TEXT 12:
If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.
TEXTS 13-14:
One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me – such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.
TEXT 15:
He by whom no one is put into difficulty and who is not disturbed by anyone, who is equipoised in happiness and distress, fear and anxiety, is very dear to Me.
TEXT 16:
My devotee who is not dependent on the ordinary course of activities, who is pure, expert, without cares, free from all pains, and not striving for some result, is very dear to Me.
TEXT 17:
One who neither rejoices nor grieves, who neither laments nor desires, and who renounces both auspicious and inauspicious things – such a devotee is very dear to Me.
TEXTS 18-19:
One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, fame and infamy, who is always free from contaminating association, always silent and satisfied with anything, who doesn’t care for any residence, who is fixed in knowledge and who is engaged in devotional service – such a person is very dear to Me.
TEXT 20:
Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me.

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Are you a man? Are you a woman? What are you?

We are not these bodies. To think we are these bodies, or to treat someone else as if they are a body is idiotic.

Recently I met a very intelligent lady on the street, who was very receptive to the spiritual message, but asked me “I am wary of religion, especially organized religion, because of the way they treat women. What is your view on women?”

I said to her that anyone who thinks they are a man or a woman is an idiot. We are all eternally spiritual beings, part-and-parcel of the Supreme. These temporary material identities are merely clothes we’re wearing, according to conditioning acquired over millions of lifetimes. A man today can be a woman tomorrow, and a woman today can be a man tomorrow, or for that matter, a dog, cat, or a worm or a tree.

To know and respect every living entity as a spirit soul, part-and-parcel of God, different only in the present quality of their covered consciousness, is the primary duty of a spiritualist. Anyone who does not do so is not really a spiritualist, but really a materialist in religious disguise.

In fact, this mistreatment of souls over hundreds and thousands of years has resulted in an exponential growth of the terrible, but fortunately curable disease known as atheism. Souls may not necessarily have anything against God to start with, but many can’t stand to be around self-absorbed holier-than-thou religious snobs.

In my journey as a recovering atheist, I am praying to be released of that kind of external material vision. I am praying to see every soul as a temple of God, where, the soul, and God in His expansion as the Supersoul or “Paramatma” reside. The tiny soul may or may not be directly feel connected to their Best Friend sitting next to them in their heart, but certainly the Supersoul, localized expansion of the Supreme Absolute Truth always sees the soul as His. Through sickness or health, through wealth or poverty, through atheism, materialistic religion, or true spirituality, the soul is always His.

If I am striving to purely love God, then I must also love the soul who is His. I am inviting spiritualists from all traditions to please recognize this “vector” of spreading either atheism or God consciousness – if you love me, love my dog. If you Love God, then Love His souls also. And no one can fake it. Every soul has an in-built lie-detector, a fakeness indicator. If a soul perceives that I do not appreciate them, then I can never be successful in reconnecting that soul to God.

विद्याविनयसंपन्ने ब्राह्मणे गवि हस्तिनि ।
शुनि चैव श्वपाके च पण्डिताः समदर्शिनः ॥ ५.१८ ॥
 
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
 

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]. BG 5.18 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/5/18/

ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः ।
मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ॥ १५.७ ॥
 
mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke
jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi
prakṛti-sthāni karṣati
 

The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind. https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/15/7/

 
ईश्वरः सर्वभूतानां हृद्देशेऽर्जुन तिष्ठति ।
भ्रामयन्सर्वभूतानि यन्त्रारूढानि मायया ॥ १८.६१ ॥
 
īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā
 
The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy. https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/18/61/

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Nothingness does not exist

We’re supposed to believe that everything originally came from nothing. Nothing existed before, and suddenly for no reason whatsoever there was an explosion, or “singularity”, and out of this nothingness, all of everything came. In other words, we’re all just a “random” meaningless accident. BTW, randomness does not exist also, but that’s topic for another day.

As if this absurdity from the scientific community wasn’t enough, certain pseudo-spiritual traditions even attempt to focus their efforts on dissolving into nothingness.

But actually nothingness does not exist. Let’s say we had empty space with no molecules or light or radiation of any sort in it… what would we have, nothing, right? Wrong! Space still exists, and cannot be created by any material means. Space cannot be taken for granted. In space, everything material happens, physical phenomena, chemical reactions, biological interactions, electromagnetic radiation, everything happens in space, and no material scientist has ever created space or shown it being created materially. So where does space come from? No periodic table of elements even lists space as a material element! Actually the periodic table of material elements is sorely incomplete, but again, topic for another day.

Let’s examine “nothingness” as a concept. Yes, the concept of nothingness exists, it is something, but by its very existence, it negates the reality of nothingness. So even the existence of the concept of nothingness means that nothingness does not actually exist.

Nothingness has never existed, and never shall exist.

Let’s leave these absurdities like nothingness aside and focus on matters of substance, total substance, perfectly substantial, the Supreme Substantial Whole, showing nothingness as paltry, as it should be for all of us.

oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate

“The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” https://vedabase.io/en/library/iso/invocation/

…The completeness of human life can be realized only when one engages in the service of the Complete Whole. All services in this world – whether social, political, communal, international or even interplanetary – will remain incomplete until they are dovetailed with the Complete Whole. When everything is dovetailed with the Complete Whole, the attached parts and parcels also become complete in themselves.

eko ‘py asau racayituṁ jagad-aṇḍa-koṭiṁ
yac-chaktir asti jagad-aṇḍa-cayā yad-antaḥ
aṇḍāntara-stha-paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham-
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

He is an undifferentiated entity as there is no distinction between potency and the possessor thereof. In His work of creation of millions of worlds, His potency remains inseparable. All the universes exist in Him and He is present in His fullness in every one of the atoms that are scattered throughout the universe, at one and the same time. Such is the primeval Lord whom I adore. https://www.vedabase.com/en/bs/5/35

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Surf’s Up!

In my recent travels, I’ve been to the coastal regions of Southern California quite a bit. There, I had a chance to witness surfers in action. My personal experience with them, (when they’re not far out on the water) is that they’re insightful. I feel a connection with surfer dudes and dudettes. They’re certainly out there seriously looking to catch the next big wave, and so are all of us.

There are different types of oceans to surf on. There are the traders who surf the waves of the markets, and the emergency medical staff who surf the waves of calm, accidents, and disasters, there are the surfers of corporate politics, and of course, among the most skillful surfers in the material world, politicians of various kinds… But all these oceans are material in nature.

Eventually one becomes too weak to be able to surf materially at all (old age, death, and disease), and then one has to eventually give up this body, and give up all the assets, relationships, privileges, and all identity associated with the present body left behind. The ocean of material existence is ultimately exhausting, all that effort and we go nowhere. And once all the waves I’ve earned are “caught”, there are no more left, until I strive hard to earn more, start from scratch. Such a waste. A bad deal.

I do have to surf a few different waves of material nature yet, but for the last couple of decades, had the great good fortune to first dip my toes, and then dive headlong into, the unlimited ocean of spiritual nectar. Those waves are sweet and refreshing, never-endingly adventurous, and one never tires of them. And one can go on surfing for all of eternity. These waves of spiritual bliss take one higher and higher, and there is no hankering, each wave is simply delicious!

It’s a matter of my previous actions and resulting reactions that I still have anything to do with the waves of material nature, but there will surely be a day when I will never leave the ocean of spiritual bliss.

While I do not yet have a personal experience of what Rupa Goswami writes below, I pray to never leave the waves of the oceans of nectar generated by the vibration of the syllables “krish-na”. Spiritual assets, relationships, privileges, and identity are guaranteed, I do take them all with me to any new destination.

tuṇḍe tāṇḍavinī ratiṁ vitanute tuṇḍāvalī-labdhaye
karṇa-kroḍa-kaḍambinī ghaṭayate karṇārbudebhyaḥ spṛhām
cetaḥ-prāṅgaṇa-saṅginī vijayate sarvendriyāṇāṁ kṛtiṁ
no jāne janitā kiyadbhir amṛtaiḥ kṛṣṇeti varṇa-dvayī

“I do not know how much nectar the two syllables ‘Kṛṣ-ṇa’ have produced. When the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of ears. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert.” https://www.vedabase.com/cc/antya/1/99

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Guard of Honour

When a dignitary, such as a Prime Minister or President of a foreign nation visits, it is customary to offer them a “Guard of Honour”, a formation of military personnel in their ceremonial regalia, offering honour in the form of a salute or other such rituals meant to receive, with respect, the visiting dignitary.

The visitor, along with a suitable equal from the host country, reviews the Guard of Honour, and accepts their offerings of respects.

Just as no entity exists without a controller, whether it be a court, a corporation, or a government, and no machine operates without an operator, this Universal arrangement also has such an overseer.

Explosions don’t create order, and if they do, don’t show me a theoretical equation full of assumptions. I’d need to see something tangible, like this Universe, a nice house built with the construction mechanism of a random explosion that no one designed or set off. Innocent children can believe that a machine can operate “magically” or “by accident” or even in “random chance”, but as they grow up, they realize there is a mechanism, and someone made that mechanism, and it has been designed to operate in a certain way according to the designer and operator.

In this Universe, when the Supreme Controller appears, a similar guard of honour is offered by the presiding officials of various planets and planetary systems. This Universal Controller visits different Universes on His schedule.

In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that His appearance, birth and activities are all transcendental and that one who understands them factually becomes immediately eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord’s appearance or birth is not like that of an ordinary man, who is forced to accept a material body according to his past deeds. The Lord’s appearance is explained in the Second Chapter: He appears out of His own sweet pleasure. When the time was mature for the appearance of the Lord, the constellations became very auspicious. The astrological influence of the star known as Rohiṇī was predominant. This star is considered to be very auspicious and is under the direct supervision of Brahmā. According to the astrological conclusion, besides the proper situation of the stars, there are auspicious and inauspicious moments due to the different situations of the different planetary systems. At the time of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious.

At that time, in all directions—east, west, south, north, everywhere—there was an atmosphere of peace and prosperity. There were auspicious stars visible in the sky, and on the surface in all towns and villages and pasturing grounds and within the minds of everyone there were signs of good fortune. The rivers were flowing full of waters, and lakes were beautifully decorated with lotus flowers. The forests were full with beautiful birds and peacocks. All the birds within the forests began to sing with sweet voices, and the peacocks began to dance along with their consorts. The wind blew very pleasantly, carrying the aroma of different flowers, and the sensation of bodily touch was very pleasing. At home, the brāhmaṇas, who were accustomed to offering sacrifices in the fire, found their homes very pleasant for offerings. Due to disturbances created by the demoniac kings, the sacrificial fire had been almost stopped in the houses of brāhmaṇas, but now they could find the opportunity to start the fire peacefully. Being forbidden to offer sacrifices, the brāhmaṇas had been very much distressed in mind, intelligence and activities, but just on the point of Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, automatically their minds became full of joy because they could hear transcendental vibrations in the sky proclaiming the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. https://www.vedabase.com/en/kb/3

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About souls in the material realm

In the material realm, souls are here for various reasons. Some souls are here because they are atheists, competing against God, trying to kill God, trying to be God, or merge with God, or even dissolve into nothingness themselves. Some others, the spiritual guides, genuine gurus, great liberated teachers, are here to rescue those atheists from their own foolishness. And yet some others are in between, the recovering atheists. I am a recovering atheist myself. I know well that I am not God, will never be God.

I invite you to join me on a spiritual journey.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura sings:

jīvera kalyāṇa-sādhana-kāma
jagate āsi’ e madhura nāma
avidyā-timira-tāpana-rūpe
hṛd-gagane virāje

“The holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa descends into the darkness of the material world just to benedict the conditioned souls. The holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa is just like the sun that rises in the clear sky of the heart of the devotees.” Such brilliant knowledge cannot be understood by those who are trying, in the name of either piety or atheism, to exploit the material creation of the Lord. One must become a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and then his knowledge will illuminate everything in all directions: kasmin nu bhagavo vijñāte sarvam idaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavatīti (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.3). – from purport to SB 11.7.51

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