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dattaswami

The Spiritual Knowledge and Logic

The spiritual knowledge or philosophy (Vedanta) is generally based on logic (Tarka). God is certainly above the logic and thus logic cannot touch Him (Naisha Tarkena -Veda). Nobody can show God by the indicating finger. Veda clearly states that God is beyond words, mind, intelligence and logic and the best way of explanation is silence about God. If that is so, there is no necessity of spiritual knowledge, because God cannot be known or imagined. Then what is the use of all these scriptures? Why are there so many discussions and debates?

Lord Yama says in Veda that angels and sages are still discussing about God and have concluded that God is unknowable. Here unknowable means unimaginable even to the logic. They have not conducted such long discussions to know simply that God is unknowable because it is not the object as my friend says! If God is said to be unimaginable, what is the subject of discussions? The answer is that the logic used in long discussions is not about God but about the Non-God entities (items of creation). Certainly, we cannot know God by logic or by any other means, but we can use the logic to reject a Non-God item projected as God. When you say that awareness is God, we will use the logic and see whether awareness is an item of creation.

If it is an item of creation, certainly it can be analyzed by logic. If logic fails to analyze it, certainly we will accept it as God. Similarly we shall apply the logic to several entities rejected as God and see whether any item is beyond logic.

The logic is the analytical faculty supported by practical examples, which stands as experimental verification. The ancient Indian logic was developed based on practical examples like mud pot etc. The advancement in logic took place from time to time and the logic was more and more sharpened. The authoritative parameters (Pramanas) have improved in number and therefore the schools of Nyaya, Vaiseshika and Vedanta differed in the subject of logic. The number of Pramanas increased from 2 to 4 and finally became 6 in Vedanta. This shows the improvement of logic in course of time. Today science is the most advanced logic since the experimental verification was improved. Therefore if I am explaining the philosophy based on science, it means that the philosophy is more and more clear due to the advanced logic. I told you already that the logic (science) is only useful to refuse any item of creation as not God.

The creator cannot be any item of the creation. If creator becomes creation, there must be some other creator for this creator to become the creation. Ad-infinitum (Anavastha) results. Science disproved some conclusions of the earlier logic and this should not be misunderstood as refusing God. God is in no way touched because the earlier logic also was dealing with only the analysis of created items. Tarka means the analysis of the items of creation, which are indicated and understood by their corresponding names or words (Tarkyante Padarthah Asminniti….). God is beyond all the words and cannot be the understood meaning of any word and therefore, logic cannot touch God.

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

Anil Antony

Universal Spirituality
Universal Spirituality for World Peace

marcus

God and Logic? First of all if God is Creator than He created logic. The question is can we come to understanding of God existence based on the logic with no reliance on any Scriptures?

Those are traditional arguments of Natural Theology:

Cosmological -Everything we know is causes by something else, it must be uncaused cause, and this is God.
Teleological - There is orderliness or apparent purpose in the universe, it must come from designer, God.
Anthropological - Aspects of human nature such as moral order and longing for Higher being requires the existence of God
Ontological -God is the greatest of all conceivable beings, therefore it must be God.

There are people who are disputing all of those. It seems that based using the logic you can't prove or disprove God. But if you ask how do I have a logic to begin with than it may give the answers to God's existence.

dattaswami

Whenever the direction to God was twisted by misinterpretations, I came several times to this earth through human bodies to remove the misinterpretations and restore the correct direction. I communicated the truth according to the then existing standards of logic and analysis (Science). I could not go beyond a certain level of logic because the receivers could never digest and appreciate it. But today the development of science is so tremendous that the capability of logic is in its climax. Therefore, I have used the present standards of logic in communicating the spiritual knowledge. Of course, God is beyond logic and logic cannot show God directly. But based on this fact, you should not reject the logic (Tarkaapratishthaanaat…Brahma Sutra). Even though the logic cannot indicate the unimaginable God directly, the logic can eliminate the non-God items which are established as God by misinterpretations.

For example, with the help of the advanced logic (Science), I could easily eliminate the soul from the position of God. By removing the fungus, and impurities the water becomes clear and there is no need of any direct purification of water. Similarly by removing the misinterpretations through the powerful logic of today, God becomes clear by this indirect way. When all the imaginable items are eliminated, the unimaginable God is inferred. God can be inferred indirectly but cannot be perceived directly and therefore God remains unimaginable always. However, God gives the experience of His existence in a specific medium by entering it, pervading all over it and identifying Himself with it like current in the alive wire. Through Science you can infer the existence of unimaginable God, whereas through the medium you can experience the existence of the same unimaginable God. Do not mistake that experience means understanding the nature of God. You have only experienced the existence of unimaginable God, which was already inferred by you through Science.