“The devotees of the Lord, while delivering speeches and describing the transcendental attributes of the Lord, do not think that they can do anything independently. They think that they can speak only what they are induced to speak by the Supreme Lord, the master of the senses. The senses of the individual being are not his own; the devotee knows that such senses belong to the Supreme Lord and that they can be properly used when they are employed for the service of the Lord. The senses are instruments, and elements are ingredients, all endowed by the Lord; therefore whatever an individual can do, speak, see, etc., is under the direction of the Lord only. The Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) confirms this: sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. No one is free to act freely and independently, and as such, one should always seek the permission of the Lord to act or eat or speak, ,and by the blessing of the Lord everything done by a devotee is beyond the principles of the four defects typical of the conditioned soul.” Srimad Bhagavatam 2.4.11 purport by Srila Prabhupada
Thank you NityanandaChandra Prabhu,
I believe there is a critical need to emphasize the rational foundation of Krishna Consciousness within ISKCON. That is, people have imperfect senses and limited experience. There is no possibility of certain knowledge by independent material means; however perfect knowledge is available through the Veda’s via the words of the Acharya’s.
Some members of ISKCON say that modern science (and not Srila Prabhupada’s ) should be seen as the most reliable source of information. This is actually an anti-intellectual argument. Even an average person can see that there is a limited amount of empirical data on any given subject- from this data source “authorities” select a portion, and then expect others to accept their conclusion. But there is the possibility of, bias, mistakes, and outright cheating, at each step in the formation of “scientific” conclusions. An educated person SHOULD be even more aware of the subjectivity involved in empirical research and subsequent viewpoints.
I have experience of a devotee sending a “scientific study shows” type of newspaper article throughout ISKCON. If the evidence of the study was conclusive it would mean certain ancient traditional practices observed regularly in ISKCON would be damaging to devotees health. I looked up the actual study and found it was inconclusive and done in a situation incomparable to anything in ISKCON. I mentioned this to the individual publicizing the newspaper article and got no response. I than sent the individual seven direct research papers which showed the practice had numerous positive effects on people’s health. I was told by his secretary he did not have time to read research papers. Several months later the same devotee had another article showing “possible” health risks sent to various Temples. This shows an individual using data selectively to put forwarded their own agenda in the guise of scientific studies. It is noteworthy that this same individual is outspokenly in favor of seeing modern sciences as more reliable than Srila Prabhupada.
In other words when a person claims some of the statements of the Acharya’s are fallable they are, invariable, covertly, appointing themselves the ultimate authority. The atmosphere in ISKCON should such that the real position of such individuals is conspicuous. The veracity of scientific data is to be judged by the degree it conforms to words of the Acharya’s
“The devotees of the Lord, while delivering speeches and describing the transcendental attributes of the Lord, do not think that they can do anything independently. They think that they can speak only what they are induced to speak by the Supreme Lord, the master of the senses. The senses of the individual being are not his own; the devotee knows that such senses belong to the Supreme Lord and that they can be properly used when they are employed for the service of the Lord. The senses are instruments, and elements are ingredients, all endowed by the Lord; therefore whatever an individual can do, speak, see, etc., is under the direction of the Lord only. The Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) confirms this: sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. No one is free to act freely and independently, and as such, one should always seek the permission of the Lord to act or eat or speak, ,and by the blessing of the Lord everything done by a devotee is beyond the principles of the four defects typical of the conditioned soul.” Srimad Bhagavatam 2.4.11 purport by Srila Prabhupada
Thank you NityanandaChandra Prabhu,
I believe there is a critical need to emphasize the rational foundation of Krishna Consciousness within ISKCON. That is, people have imperfect senses and limited experience. There is no possibility of certain knowledge by independent material means; however perfect knowledge is available through the Veda’s via the words of the Acharya’s.
Some members of ISKCON say that modern science (and not Srila Prabhupada’s ) should be seen as the most reliable source of information. This is actually an anti-intellectual argument. Even an average person can see that there is a limited amount of empirical data on any given subject- from this data source “authorities” select a portion, and then expect others to accept their conclusion. But there is the possibility of, bias, mistakes, and outright cheating, at each step in the formation of “scientific” conclusions. An educated person SHOULD be even more aware of the subjectivity involved in empirical research and subsequent viewpoints.
I have experience of a devotee sending a “scientific study shows” type of newspaper article throughout ISKCON. If the evidence of the study was conclusive it would mean certain ancient traditional practices observed regularly in ISKCON would be damaging to devotees health. I looked up the actual study and found it was inconclusive and done in a situation incomparable to anything in ISKCON. I mentioned this to the individual publicizing the newspaper article and got no response. I than sent the individual seven direct research papers which showed the practice had numerous positive effects on people’s health. I was told by his secretary he did not have time to read research papers. Several months later the same devotee had another article showing “possible” health risks sent to various Temples. This shows an individual using data selectively to put forwarded their own agenda in the guise of scientific studies. It is noteworthy that this same individual is outspokenly in favor of seeing modern sciences as more reliable than Srila Prabhupada.
In other words when a person claims some of the statements of the Acharya’s are fallable they are, invariable, covertly, appointing themselves the ultimate authority. The atmosphere in ISKCON should such that the real position of such individuals is conspicuous. The veracity of scientific data is to be judged by the degree it conforms to words of the Acharya’s