Post by vkaul1 on Jun 20, 2011 14:46:21 GMT -6
Friends,
The comments by Sri PKS are thought provoking and welcome. The traditional scholastic thinking of refutation of the other vedanta schools, particularly Advaita, perhaps is no longer adequate or even appropriate in the changed circumstances today. The real adverseries for Tatvavada today are the following:
1. Science
2. Materialism
3. Buddhism
4. The modern approach to life's problems and solutions.
Let me try to present the problems briefly here one by one - many have no solutions known at present.
1. Science : The theory of evolution founded by Charles Darwin virtually negates the need of a intelligent creator for the universe, and by inference, supports the materialistic philosophy of existence. Though arguments have been offered against complete acceptance of this theory, there is strong evidence accepted by most scientists that it is essentially true. All the theories of creation offered in the past have to be given up or an illogical belief sustained in them, which will weaken our faith. Conventional orthodox scholars do not have answers, however learned they are or exalted in their knowledge of scriptures or elevated into Peethas.
The picture of the Universe emerging from science is far grander than the picturusque and imaginative pictures described in Bhagavata etc. Instead of the earth-centric universe, with the 14 lokas above and below, clustered around the mount Meru, the earth that we know of directly is only a planet revolving round an average star of a Galaxy which we call our Home galaxy. There are a hundred billion stars inhabiting our Home galaxy, and a hundred billion galaxies which are estimated to be there in the visible part of the Universe. Please look at the website - www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/index.htm for more details. Thus the "creator" of the Universe of science is unimaginably powerful as compared to all previous ideas and estmates of His greatness. The wonder and variety of the inhabitants of this Universe of science as far as can be derived or conjectured from available observations are immense. In any case, many of our traditional beliefs such as the chariot of the Sun traversing the sky from East to West and reversing back to the East during the night, existence of the 7 nether worlds - all consequences of a Flat earth theory - have lost most adherents already. There is credible photographic evidence to prove the roundness of the earth, existence of the other planets in comparable or larger sizes, existence of other satellites for them etc which can not be just dismissed as "Asura-mohanartha".
The relativity theory, which is least understood by most of us, creates the concept of an universal time impossible to conceive except to some body outside the framework. The concept of time itself - beginningless, unchanging with reference to any other entity, and endless is no longer so clear to understand and visualise.
To put it shortly, therefore, science if true, negates many of the fundamental concepts based on which our philosophies have been structured and we have to either modify one or the other.
I will continue my posting trying to cover the modern challenges to Tatvavada after ascertaining the reactions to these comments from all of you.
NAPSRao
The comments by Sri PKS are thought provoking and welcome. The traditional scholastic thinking of refutation of the other vedanta schools, particularly Advaita, perhaps is no longer adequate or even appropriate in the changed circumstances today. The real adverseries for Tatvavada today are the following:
1. Science
2. Materialism
3. Buddhism
4. The modern approach to life's problems and solutions.
Let me try to present the problems briefly here one by one - many have no solutions known at present.
1. Science : The theory of evolution founded by Charles Darwin virtually negates the need of a intelligent creator for the universe, and by inference, supports the materialistic philosophy of existence. Though arguments have been offered against complete acceptance of this theory, there is strong evidence accepted by most scientists that it is essentially true. All the theories of creation offered in the past have to be given up or an illogical belief sustained in them, which will weaken our faith. Conventional orthodox scholars do not have answers, however learned they are or exalted in their knowledge of scriptures or elevated into Peethas.
The picture of the Universe emerging from science is far grander than the picturusque and imaginative pictures described in Bhagavata etc. Instead of the earth-centric universe, with the 14 lokas above and below, clustered around the mount Meru, the earth that we know of directly is only a planet revolving round an average star of a Galaxy which we call our Home galaxy. There are a hundred billion stars inhabiting our Home galaxy, and a hundred billion galaxies which are estimated to be there in the visible part of the Universe. Please look at the website - www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/index.htm for more details. Thus the "creator" of the Universe of science is unimaginably powerful as compared to all previous ideas and estmates of His greatness. The wonder and variety of the inhabitants of this Universe of science as far as can be derived or conjectured from available observations are immense. In any case, many of our traditional beliefs such as the chariot of the Sun traversing the sky from East to West and reversing back to the East during the night, existence of the 7 nether worlds - all consequences of a Flat earth theory - have lost most adherents already. There is credible photographic evidence to prove the roundness of the earth, existence of the other planets in comparable or larger sizes, existence of other satellites for them etc which can not be just dismissed as "Asura-mohanartha".
The relativity theory, which is least understood by most of us, creates the concept of an universal time impossible to conceive except to some body outside the framework. The concept of time itself - beginningless, unchanging with reference to any other entity, and endless is no longer so clear to understand and visualise.
To put it shortly, therefore, science if true, negates many of the fundamental concepts based on which our philosophies have been structured and we have to either modify one or the other.
I will continue my posting trying to cover the modern challenges to Tatvavada after ascertaining the reactions to these comments from all of you.
NAPSRao
