Not An Accident

“If everything is directed by chance, why do people send their children to school? Why not let them grow up by chance? Suppose I break a law. If I say, ‘Well, it just happened by chance,’ will I be excused?” (Shrila Prabhupada, Life Comes From Life, Ch 9)

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Each spiritual tradition has their own explanation for the origin of the creation. Anytime the issue of origin comes up, the time factor must be considered. The beginning of something is the start, but since time is infinite in both directions, there is always a beginning before the beginning. Also, there is an end succeeding the end of something. For this reason spiritualists attribute the creation to God, who is infinite in His existence. Only His brain can grasp the endlessness of time and space. Our brains are limited by time, as the brain is a product of the temporary body.

In the Vedic tradition the infinite nature of time is accounted for in the explanation of the creation. It is said that the realm we live in constantly goes through cycles of manifestation and dissolution. Like the changing of seasons and the pendulum of night and day, the creation at large has the same cycles. In fact, the time between the origin and the end within one cycle is referred to as a day. This day belongs to a higher power, and so its measurement is a little different.

The day to us is the difference in time between two sunrises. The sunrise isn’t always at the same time, but we know that the earth’s year takes a certain amount of time. The day is a division of that year. The day to the human being is twenty four hours, whereas the day to the fly is much shorter. Some flies live for only one human day, so that is their lifetime. The lifetime divided into years and days for them makes the same measurements much smaller.

For the higher being, the one day is billions of human years. Then the night is the same period, and so the one year is beyond comprehension. And this is only for one cycle of creation, which falls into a larger cycle, applying to other planets and universes. The Vedic version resembles the Big Bang Theory, as everything emanates from a single source. Through an exhalation by a single being, all the planets manifest. Then there is a devastating fire at the end which destroys everything.

If one ignores the “being” responsible for all of this, they must attribute everything to randomness. Of course there is little randomness to the results of the explosion. The sun is as predictable as ever. It has burned since the beginning of known time and doesn’t seem to be slowing down in the least. The human being can’t create something like it, even in the size of a golf ball, so how would they ever understand it? The sun is just one aspect of nature, and there are so many others that operate with predictability and are impossible to recreate.

Let’s try applying the random collision theory to other aspects of life and see if the theory is given any credence. After all, the creation is just the result of the purported collision. The original being is ignored. A being means a spirit soul. Spirit animates matter. Matter by itself is dull and lifeless. Something that is lifeless is without spirit. The lifeless cannot create life. That is the whole point. If you think the opposite way and apply your thinking to any aspect of life outside of the topic of creation, you’re not taken very seriously.

“Hello officer, what seems to be the problem? Yes, I most certainly did go into that person’s home and take their television, microwave, jewelry and computer. However, it just happened randomly. You can’t blame me. I had no idea what I was doing. It was like a force that I couldn’t control. It was an accident. Umm, yes I did pick the lock. Yes, I can see how you think that requires intelligence, but I swear man, it was all an accident. It wasn’t who I really am. Just as the universe was created through a random collision of material elements, so too my entry into that person’s home occurred without intelligence.”

“Why are you praising me for the victory? You say that I played well under pressure, but there wasn’t any intelligence involved. It was all random. I won by accident. I don’t even remember what happened now. You say that I adjusted to the opponent’s style of play, but I don’t see it that way. Just as the universe with its many stars and planets and their various atmospheres that can be observed by scientific instruments came into being through an accidental collision of chemicals, so too my victory today was dumb luck.”

“Why are you angry at me for those harsh words I used against you? Words are merely sound vibrations. Your brain then processes those vibrations, looking them up against the database of known sounds. After that lookup, you deemed that those sounds were offensive. However, sound emanates from the body that was generated through random acts. There is no intelligence to this world; as it was created through a random collision of chemicals. If the sun, which we rely on for life to continue, came into being through randomness, how can you blame me for some sounds that came out of my mouth? It was an accident.”

Of course in none of these instances will the “it was an accident” mea culpa fly. The judicial system considers intent with various actions. Intent means intelligence, and since a puny living being who is powerless against the giant material nature can have intelligence, why should it be absent in the origin of the creation in which said puny person lives?

These basic truths the sober person can understand, and so the spiritual science recommends more than just acquiring esoteric knowledge. Spiritual life is a culture, and intelligence is a key part of it. There is also renunciation, which helps to clear the mind to think rationally, to question nonsense put forward by those who either deny the spiritual science or remain ignorant of it.

There is a benefit to knowing that an original being created everything. Just as we praise someone for doing something good, we can give credit to the creator of this universe. He acted with intelligence, and though we see so many bad things happen to us and to others, we should know that the results are concomitant with the granting of freedom. If there could only be positive results, then there is no such thing as freedom. Fate is then sealed; which means no way out. With freedom there has to be the opportunity for failure, which manifests in different miserable conditions.

Real success is exit from the temporary land, reaching a place where no one is concerned with the origin of the creation. There only the original being is served constantly, affording endless opportunities for renewed happiness and pleasure. The knowledgeable go to that realm, since with their knowledge they choose not to have anything to do with creation and destruction, happiness and sadness, victory and defeat in a temporary realm designated for the challengers of God.

In Closing:

If to ignore God you choose,

Try accident explanation to use.

 

“Sorry, not my fault for what I did,

Though I knew my lock picking splendid.

 

Why in animosity against me you’re bent?

From randomness my harsh words to you went.”

 

Reject such nonsense would any man sane,

Man’s intelligence in creator resembling the same.