Thank you for reading this text. At the outset it is important to ask the following questions: Who is reading this text? And who are you? What are you? How old are you really? Where were you before the birth of your current body? Where will you go after this body dies? Where are you now? What is this world in which you live with the ground beneath your feet and the sun, moon and stars in the sky?
In a world where we do not even know the answers to these fundamental questions we are taught about the origins of the human race and of this universe in school from a very young age. We are taught concepts that form a worldview before we can even reason for ourselves. Someone older than us stands at the blackboard and teaches that long ago there was a great explosion in dark empty space and that from this explosion planets and life came shooting out. We are told that Earth just ‘happens to have’ the right conditions for life and that we are the very symptoms of this accidental life that survived. There is no God in control. Our world is spinning, rotating and careening through space with no foundation. This is what we learn as children: We were told this is called “science”.
And yet, why does this “science” offer us such limited knowledge– inferences made after collecting data with our five limited senses? What about knowledge that goes beyond mental speculation and limited senses? Are we not conscious human beings? Are we not conscious of this very fact of our self-awareness? Is not our conscious nature operating at a meta-level above these other factors like the senses and the mind? Indeed, the enlightened sages of ancient India clearly address all of the existential questions raised here.
There exist such persons who have actually seen the truth and can speak from a platform of personal realization. Their wisdom is recorded in the Vedas and summarized in books like Bhagavad-Gita As It Is and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In contrast to this transmission of ancient Vedic knowledge, the current empirical, materialistic, physicalist “science” provides only a limited set of information and does not actually properly serve the PURPOSE of science:
“The primary purpose of science is to gain a deeper understanding of the natural world through systematic investigation, observation, and experimentation. It aims to explain phenomena, discover new knowledge, and develop technologies that can benefit society” –Google AI Overview
How can we benefit society, if our fundamental understanding of its constituent beings is that they are temporary, accidental, material constructions? Is not the conscious self ignored in such a treatment? If we exist eternally–ever-existing prior to this body and after this body–why would conclusions developed by unenlightened empiricists provide any benefit whatsoever? Won’t the blind man simply lead us into the ditch?
On the contrary, the true Science and the true goal of any knowledge-gathering process is to understand ourselves. The self who reads this book was not accidentally assembled in a fictitious primordial explosion. The self who reads this passage yearns for an eternal existence beyond this realm of rebirth and suffering. Why does modern science relegate the self to a side-show while placing the random motions and impersonal forces center stage? Without the self-conscious living being, precisely who is asking questions or caring about the answers?
“Because foolish people have no information of the soul and how it is beyond the purview of the body and mind, they are not satisfied in the performance of their occupational duties. The question of the satisfaction of the self is raised herein. The self is beyond the gross body and subtle mind. He is the potent active principle of the body and mind. Without knowing the need of the dormant soul, one cannot be happy simply with emolument of the body and mind. The body and the mind are but superfluous outer coverings of the spirit soul. The spirit soul’s needs must be fulfilled. Simply by cleansing the cage of the bird, one does not satisfy the bird. One must actually know the needs of the bird himself.
The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. ” (SB 1.2.8 purport)
The “science”–that tells us that we are insignificant, accidental and primarily material–is an imposter. It not only lies to us but is also harmful. On the other hand, the true Science, the Science of self realization, teaches us the truth about ourselves and gives us the greatest gift by re-acquainting us with our true self; reconnecting us with our true Source, the Supreme Spirit, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
“O my Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmājī, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditate upon Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth.” (SB 1.1.1)
Those who pretend to teach us about “this physical world”–who are themselves ignorant of their own true nature–are cheaters in the marketplace of knowledge. They are dishonest brokers who peddle untruth in the service of known and unknown vested interests. How can a man who is in illusion about his own existence teach us about the world around us and our place in it?
Here I will attempt to turn the current scenario on its head by distinguishing the truly beneficial Science of Self Realization from the false “science” that offers only the promise of temporary sense gratification within the bounds of birth and death of the material body. I guarantee that I will not promote illusion here. Because I am re-presenting the faultless teachings of perfected sages who have passed on the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is not my guarantee, it is ultimately theirs.
“Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.” (SB 1.1.2)
We have been sold lies about “the truth”. Especially harmful is the lie that “there is no absolute truth.” Notice the absolute nature of this claim in the negative. Absolute truth exists and in fact, we are an essential component of it! We also provide evidence of it!
As living spirit souls we are the conscious force that has experiences, moves our bodies, and creates effects within this world. In the same way, the Supreme Spirit is the source of all beings and the Soul of the Universe. Materialistic “science” will ever promote it’s benefits of sense gratification until the very end of this body, but what is being sold simply won’t satisfy. We are not a material entity that requires only material solutions to our problems: We are spiritual beings who will never be satiated by any amount of material gratification. Only Spirit will satisfy spirit, just as a fish on dry sand can only be satisfied when it is put back into the water.
Science must serve to help us understand ourselves at the deepest level for ultimate happiness. Beginning from understanding ourselves as purely spiritual beings, we can progress to understand the universe on the same basis by hearing from enlightened sages, and even from the Lord of the Universe Himself. What could be more scientific than this? What science could be more perfect than this?
By hearing directly from the seers of the truth, we are blessed to understand the nature of the universe. This understanding is free from the defects of the empirical process. The empirical process of knowledge-gathering is limited by the data available to our five senses. The enlightened sages give perfect information from the Vedas that transcends these imperfections. The 5th Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam provides the perfect ‘download’ of knowledge regarding the nature and form of this universe in as much detail as we are able to comprehend. This knowledge is given to those of us who are thirsty to satisfy such questions, but the intention of the learning is for our ultimate benefit: To develop our appreciation and love for Krishna, the source of all Creation. We are not given such knowledge for purposes of creating weapons of war for domination and aggression. We are not given such knowledge to divide, conquer and enslave our fellow man. The nature of the information given in the 5th Canto is such that it engenders love for all of the beings within creation and compassion for the ignorant. Knowledge is often said to be power, but in the case of Bhagavatam it is a different literary creation, to wit:
“On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.” (SB 1.5.11)
Trying to understand this world without understanding the nature of spirit is like making an arithmetic mistake at the beginning of a long formula. If I begin with 2+2=5, then the end result is the wrong answer. The solution to our desire for knowledge begins with understanding ourselves as spiritual beings. Based on this good spiritual math, we can know everything perfectly by hearing from perfect sources.
“The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead. There is a dormant affection for God within everyone; spiritual existence is manifested through the gross body and mind in the form of perverted affection for gross and subtle matter. Therefore we have to engage ourselves in occupational engagements that will evoke our divine consciousness. This is possible only by hearing and chanting the divine activities of the Supreme Lord, and any occupational activity which does not help one to achieve attachment for hearing and chanting the transcendental message of Godhead is said herein to be simply a waste of time. This is because other occupational duties (whatever ism they may belong to) cannot give liberation to the soul.” (SB 1.2.8 purport)
VEDASONIC 