“The Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, is always the benefactor of the surrendered souls. His activities are always enacted through His internal potency, Rama, or the goddess of fortune. I pray only to engage in His service in the creation of the material world, and I pray that I not be materially affected by my works, for thus I may be able to give up the false prestige of being the creator.” (Lord Brahma, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.9.23)
In analyzing the smartphone, would we ever think that the pieces just came together randomly? Would we ever think that a collision occurred that caused the device to be generated, both with respect to hardware and software? Would we ever think then that a random movement caused the exact same unique item to be mass generated and sold? Obviously such thinking is silly, and yet when trying to explain the infinitely more complex nature, such theories are given credence.
And mind you, the invention and subsequent manufacture of the smartphone is included in the definition of the creation. When we talk about what created the earth, the sun, the planets, and the massive bodies of water, we’re also talking about what created the various nuances within each object. The smartphone is created within the earth, so if we were to discuss what went into making the earth, whatever conclusion we would reach would then apply to the creation of the smartphone as well.
The smartphone begins with hardware. There is the specific collection of glass and metal. The design isn’t random, either. It is chosen specifically due to someone’s desires. Perhaps there was input from others and then a consensus reached, but still someone had to dream up what the phone would look like. They had to think of the color, the size and the shape. They had to say what materials would be used. They took into consideration cost and durability. They took into consideration availability as well. It would be cool to have a phone made of gold, but how are you going to get so much gold to produce millions of these phones?
The phone is merely a brick until it can actually do something. Here is where the software comes into play. What will the phone do? How will it do it? What will make it unique? Such questions are answered before the operating system is made. Then there are applications written for that operating system. The applications will do various things, like make phone calls, send and receive text messages, browse the internet, check the weather, report on the current local time, and play music and video.
Just using these phones for a little while can give someone a great appreciation for what went into the manufacturing process. Now imagine if the same appreciation were applied to the creation as a whole. You look at the beautiful lotus flower and wonder how any brain could imagine something like it. You look at the dark raincloud, about to pour down water, and marvel at its unique color. You get a view from the clouds when on an airplane and become mesmerized by how large the earth really is. You never get an idea of the size because you’re always on the ground, and your visibility is limited.
Devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead appreciate such things on a daily basis. They know that He is responsible for everything. The lotus flower is the unique item of beauty, and it was created by the smartest brain. The sun is vital for the maintenance of life. It is so hot that no one can approach it. And yet from so far away it burns strong enough to keep us warm, allow us to grow food, and give us light. The sun is so vital that we feel depressed when we can’t see it so well. We know that it is there on the cloudy days because of the daylight, but still we’d like to see it better.
Like the smartphone, the sun, the earth, and the various elements work off intelligence. Their movements are not random. When it gets dark at night, we don’t have to worry about it staying that way for weeks on end. We know that in a few short hours we will have light again. The term “day” is derived from the patterns of the sun. The day is so predictable that we use it as a measurement of time. Thus the sun determines age, which we consider to be very important, though it really isn’t.
“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.20)
A random collision of chemicals could never create such objects with intelligence because we’ve never experienced anything of the sort. Could materials collide to create the smartphone? The material nature acts perfectly, while even the smartphone has flaws. The lock button could stop working after a while. The battery could start draining even faster. There are so many issues that updates to the operating system have to constantly be released. The sun is not like this. Neither is earth, water, or fire. Sometimes we may not like the effect the sun has on us, but this is due to our changing situations. Fire is fire. Depending on how we use it, it can cause us harm or do us good.
In bhakti-yoga, one appreciates the original creator. They try to think of Him all the time because that is what makes them happiest. It is actually what makes everyone most happy. In all spheres of life, we see that individuals take great pleasure in praising others, in pointing out their good characteristics. Even the most honored person feels it necessary to deflect some of the attention towards others who helped them.
Bhakti-yoga takes this attitude and increases its scope of applicability. It is applied on a daily basis to someone whose glories never exhaust. The appreciation of His creation is just one way to extend this loving attitude. The appreciation then extends further to those who are devoted to Him, like those who always chant His names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
The many faiths may refer to this person with different names, but the worshiped individual is still one. Since He is all-attractive, the name Krishna suits Him well. Krishna is a scientific name; it is a description of a fixed attribute within an individual. Thus bhakti-yoga is more than just faith; it is a practical realization and appreciation for the creator of everything in this world. It appreciates a person who has the most intelligence to use in His creating abilities, abilities which He kindly passes on to a degree to other powerful personalities, like Lord Brahma. And these personalities never forget from where their abilities came.
In Closing:
Smartphone to make our life better,
But how did it all come together?
With software in hardware to reside,
Did all elements just randomly collide?
Created only after with intelligence a try,
Same concept to universe’s creation apply.
The sun burning forever and never tired,
Constant update to fix not required.
Intelligence for everything from God does come,
Many names from faiths but still He is only one.
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