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spiritual force is the creator, and by this spiritual principle only,
transformation, transition and development take place.
Life is definitely not generated simply by a material reaction like a
chemical combination, as many foolish men claim. Material interaction
is set in motion by a superior being who creates a favorable circumstance
to accommodate the spiritual living force. The superior energy handles
matter in an appropriate way as determined by the free will of the
spiritual being. For example, building materials do not automatically
react and suddenly assume the shape of a residential house. The living
spiritual being handles matter appropriately by his free will and thus
constructs his house. Similarly, matter is the ingredient only, but the
spirit is the creator. Only a man with a poor fund of knowledge avoids
this conclusion. The creator may remain unseen in the background, but
that does not mean that there is no creator. One should not be
illusioned simply by the gigantic form of the material universe. Rather,
one should learn to discern the existence of supreme intelligence behind
all these material manifestations. The Supreme Being, who is the
supreme intelligence, is the ultimate creator, the all-attractive Personality
of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa. Although one may not be aware of this, there is
definite information of the creator given in Vedic literatures such as the
Bhagavad-gétä and especially the Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
When a satellite is thrown into outer space, a child may not understand
that there are scientific brains behind it, but an intelligent adult realizes
that scientific brains on earth are controlling the satellite. Similarly, less
intelligent persons do not have information of the creator and His
eternal abode in the spiritual world, which is far beyond our range of
visibility, but in actuality there is a spiritual sky, and spiritual planets
which are more spacious and greater in number than planets in the
material sky. From the Bhagavad-gétä we receive information that the
material universe only constitutes a fraction (one fourth) of the
creation. Such information is extensively available in the Çrémad-
Bhägavatam and in other Vedic literatures.
Copyright © 1998 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Int'l. All Rights Reserved.
31
If living energy can be generated in the scientist s laboratory by the
interaction of certain physical and chemical combinations, then why
haven t the boastful material scientists been able to manufacture life?
They should know definitely that spiritual force is distinct from matter
and that such energy is not possible to produce by any amount of
material adjustment. At present Russians and Americans are
undoubtedly very much advanced in many departments of technological
science, but they are still ignorant of the spiritual science. They will
have to learn from superior intelligence in order to make a perfect and
progressive human society.
The Russians are unaware that in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam the socialist
philosophy is most perfectly described. The Bhägavatam instructs that
whatever wealth exists all natural resources (agricultural, mining,
etc.) is created by the ultimate creator, and therefore every living
being has a right to take part of them. It is further said that a man
should only possess as much wealth as is sufficient to maintain his body,
and that if he desires more than that, or if he takes more than his share,
he is subject to punishment. It is also stated that animals should be
treated as one s own children.
We believe that no nation on earth can describe socialism as well as the
Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Living beings other than humans can be treated as
brothers and children only when one has a full conception of the creator
and the actual constitution of the living being.
Man s desire to be deathless is realized only in the spiritual world. As
stated at the beginning of this essay, a desire for eternal life is a sign of
dormant spiritual life. The aim of human civilization should be targeted
to that end. It is possible for every human being to transfer himself to
that spiritual realm by the process of bhakti-yoga, as described herein. It
is a great science, and India has produced many scientific literatures by
which the perfection of life may be realized.
Bhakti-yoga is the eternal religion of man. At a time when material
science predominates all subjects including the tenets of religion it
would be enlivening to see the principles of the eternal religion of man
from the viewpoint of the modern scientist.
Even Dr. S. Radhakrishnan admitted at a world religion conference that
religion will not be accepted in modern civilization if it is not accepted
Copyright © 1998 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Int'l. All Rights Reserved.
32
from a scientific point of view. In reply, we are glad to announce to the
lovers of the truth that bhakti-yoga is the eternal religion of the world
and is intended for all living beings, who are all eternally related with
the Supreme Lord.
Çrépäda Rämänujäcärya defines the word sanätana, or eternal, as that
which has neither beginning nor end. When we speak of sanätana-
dharma, eternal religion, we take this definition for granted. That which
has neither beginning nor end is unlike anything sectarian, which has
limits and boundaries. In the light of modern science it will be possible
for us to see sanätana-dharma as the main occupation of all the people of
the world nay, of all living entities of the universe. Non-sanätana
religious faith may have some beginning in the annals of man, but there
is no historic origin of sanätana-dharma because it eternally remains
with the living entities.
When a man professes to belong to a particular faith Hindu, Muslim,
Christian, Buddhist or any other sect and when he refers to a
particular time and circumstance of birth, such designations are called
non-sanätana-dharma. A Hindu may become a Muslim or a Muslim may
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