a.c. bhaktivedanta swami
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| Prabhupada Letters :: 1975 a.c. bhaktivedanta swami |
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17 December 2008 17 December, 1975 Bombay My Dear Svarupa Damodara dasa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated November 29, 1975. I have noted the contents carefully. Your book is selling very nicely in south India, people are appreciating it very much. This scientific book should be done very carefully, so that people in general may not be mislead by the over intelligent scientists. There are so many contradictory things, but we have our authority and they have their authority. Our knowledge is from Vedic scriptures which we accept as definite and without any mistake. A modern scientist believes that there was no civilization before 3,000 years, our Bhagavatam was spoken by Sukadeva Goswami 5,000 years ago and he is explaining "as I have heard it from authority," so we have got parampara system for millions of years. If there was no civilization before 3,000 years, then how this subject matter of knowledge could be discussed? How could it be received through the param-para system? So there is contradiction certainly. But the statement that there was no civilization 3,000 years ago can be adjusted by the conviction that there was civilization, millions and millions of years ago. For more information regarding Vedic astronomy you can consult any learned astronomer, there are many in Calcutta, my Guru Maharaja was also very learned in this field. My point is life comes from life. They say life has come from chemicals, so how these things can be adjusted? Besides that the scientists change their theories after some years, this proves that they have no perfect knowledge, otherwise where is the necessity of changing? That is the basic point of our argument. Perfect knowledge is never changeable. If we can prove that life comes from life, or the soul is from the supper soul, then all other things can be brought into serious consideration. So you try to prove that chemical combination can never bring about life, this is our main argument. If we can prove this particular subject matter, that the soul cannot be manufactured by combination of chemicals, then gradually we can prove that Vedic knowledge is perfect, while other sources of knowledge by speculation and imagination are all wrong. The other day I was talking on the morning walk about the sun globe. They say because it is fiery there cannot be any life there, but sometimes we see a big iron factory is full of flames from the chimney at a long distance, but does it mean there is no life in the factory? Fire is one of the five material elements, and Bhagavad-gita says that the soul is never burnt by fire. So in the sun globe globe if the living entities have a fiery body, just as fish have body suitable for living in the water, so how is it that there is no living entity in the sun globe if they have a body suitable to live in the sun globe? In the Vedic literatures it is said that there are germs (agni pok) within the fire. There are so many contradictions, but we have our own defense. Why should we blindly accept imperfect scientists, they are imperfect because they are changing their position in the name of progress. The word progress is used when there is imperfection at the beginning. So this regular changing of standard knowledge in the name of progress proves that they are always imperfect. It is a fact that they are imperfect, because they gather knowledge with imperfect senses. At any rate we cannot deviate from Vedic knowledge. Regarding coming to Mayapur festival, you must come, because after that we are going to Manipur. I will send your corrections to the editors. Thank you. I hope this letter finds you well. Your ever well wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/hda Labels: Atlanta, scientists, Vedic letters | 01:44 |24 October 2008 Friday, 24 October, 1975 Mauritius My dear Svarupa Damodara das, Please accept my blessings. Since a long time I have not heard from you. About a week before when I was in passing from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, I saw several factories for preparing chickens. The modern scientist, they say, from chemical life has come, or life from matter. So, I suggested that a little chemical composition may be made by the scientists with some yellow color, and why not put this artificial egg in an incubator and get more and more chickens. If they cannot produce even a chicken or even an egg of chicken, how can we believe their very big, big talks. In the words of Bhagavad-gita, they are described as mudhah, mayaya-apahrta jnana. Besides that, can you tell me what is the scientific opinion of the days being consecutively Sunday then Monday, then Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and last Saturday? What is the history of this set-up? (from Sunday to Saturday). According to our sastra, sun is first, then moon, then Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, like that. In other words, from Bhagavatam we understand that the moon is 1,600,000 miles above the sun. If that is true, then is it possible to go to the moon planet by persons who can never imagine to go the distance to the sun planet? Under the circumstances, if we say that they have never gone to the moon planet, is it exaggeration? You are a scientist, I hope you will reply these 2 points scientifically. If the moon planet is actually far away from the sun planet, how they can go there and publish in the paper that the moon planet is the nearest planet. Enclosed you will find one form for application to a new professorship that has opened up in the big university here in Durban, South Africa. It is a university only for Indian students, and the rector there is very much impressed and eager to have one of our men with the educational qualifications to come and take the seat of professor there. The rector wants an experienced teacher for Vedic Culture. The whole Vedic Culture is discuss in our books. I think that you shall be able to do this job very well. Please fill out the form enclosed and return to the Johannesburg Temple, 59 Muller Street, Yeoville, Johannesburg, South Africa. When mentioning your qualifications, you can also mention that you are a Bhakti-sastri from (ISKCON). I hope that this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Labels: astrology, Atlanta, scientists letters | 03:08 |18 June 2008 Wednesday, 18 June, 1975 Honolulu My dear Dr. Wolf-Rottkay, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated June 14, 1975 and have noted the contents. Biological evolution is taking place on account of the soul's desire. It takes place because of infection. If a man has smallpox virus, then he is subjected to smallpox. It is not that everyone is infected and everyone is attacked with smallpox disease. Only the person who is infected, he is attacked. In this connection Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita, purusah prakrti-stho hi bhunkte prakrti-jan gunan karanam guna sango'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu [Bg. 13.22] Purusa means the living entity, or the soul. He is subjected to be infected by the modes of material nature. There are 3 modes of material nature, sattva-guna, raja-guna, tama-guna. And when they are mixed up, they become 3 x 3 = 9, and 9 x 9 = 81, and in each quality, there are millions of forms. Therefore the total number of forms is 8,400,000. So, the diseases are there and the forms of disease are also there. Material form means diseased form. Therefore, one has to change this form--death. And he carries with him the infection and he develops another disease. In this way, the soul although part and parcel of God in diseased condition, they are forced to change body. That is transmigration of the soul from one body to another. To be more clear, the disease is there. Just as the Small-pox disease is there. One has to become diseased, being infected. Similarly, the forms of the body are there. One has to infect the form and it develops, "karanam guna sango'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu." Because he is infecting different diseased forms, therefore he is developing different forms of body. There is no such case of Small-pox changing into Malaria. Small-pox is Small-pox, and Malaria is Malaria. By the desire of the living entity, he becomes infected with a certain disease or body. Krishna Consciousness is the vaccine for all the diseases (different forms of material bodies). Krishna says, mam ca yo 'vyabhicarena bhakti-yogena sevate sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26] Brahma-bhuyaya is the immune stage or Krishna Conscious stage when one is always fixed in Krishna. When one reaches this perfectional stage he no longer has to accept these different types of diseases, or bodies. Regarding the German translation work, if you feel difficulty because there is no good scholar there in Germany in our temple, then do whatever you can. Do not feel pressured. Whatever you can do is very much appreciated by me. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/ps Labels: evolution, Los Angeles, scientists letters | 05:51 |10 June 2008 10 June, 1975 Honolulu My dear Mr. Van den Tak, Please accept my greetings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 1-6-75 and have noted the contents. Your endeavor to prove scientifically the existence of re-incarnation is not very practical. It is like bringing a cannon to kill a mosquito. It is not required to bring a cannon to kill a mosquito, similarly any sane man can understand the principle of re-incarnation. There is no need of giving some long so-called scientific explanation. Explanation is already given in the Bhagavad-gita, as it is. Krishna, the Supreme Authority has already explained, and you should accept and understand His explanation and then try to make others understand. You should visit our temple in Sydney. The address is: Corner Wrights Rd. and Drummoyne Ave., Drummoyne N.S.W. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/ps Labels: Bhagavad-gita, scientists, Sydney letters | 03:47 |8 June 2008 Sunday, 8 June, 1975 Honolulu My dear Dr. Wolf-Rottkay, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated June 1, 1975 along with your elaboration of the word LIFE. It is very interesting. Regarding your question at the end, yes, the soul is eternal and it is transmigrating from one body to another. Therefore the body is undergoing evolution, not the soul. Just like if I come to the USA from India, I have to change my residence. I personally do not have to change, but my residence changes. So, the soul travels from one body to another and always remains the same. I shall be looking forward to your elaboration of the word MATTER. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami ACBS/ps Labels: scientists letters | 03:45 |14 March 2008 14 March, 1975 Tehran My dear Vaikunthanatha and Bahulasva, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters dated March 1, 1975 and have noted the contents, along with the newspaper article. Thank you very much for sending this article. It is very good news. It appears that this scientist has become very intelligent. Yes, try to meet with them somehow and make arrangement for them to meet with me when I come for the San Francisco Rathayatra. That will be very nice. Such persons should be given the chance to study our books very carefully. In this way they will actually understand what is science. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Svami ACBS/ps Labels: San Francisco, scientists letters | 13:57 |15 February 2008 15 February, 1975 Mexico City My dear Svarupa Damodara dasa, Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated Jan. 20th, 1975 and have noted the contents. I was very glad to receive your letter and to hear that you are feeling very happy in Krishna's service. I will be coming to Atlanta around the first week of March. Rupanuga prabhu has informed me that he will call a meeting of all the scientists in the movement at that time in Atlanta. So I will be seeing all of you there. I hope this meets you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Svami ACBS/ps Labels: Atlanta, scientists letters | 18:44 | |
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