How To Win The Game Of Dogmatic Insistence

“Ishvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entity), prakriti (nature), eternal time and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Out of these five, the Lord, the living entities, material nature and time are eternal.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Introduction)

Download this episode (right click and save)

Friend1: If someone were to say to you that Vedic culture is satanic, that it is a mark of the devil, what would your response be?

Friend2: Laugh in their face.

Friend1: It is something the itinerant preacher faces. Strong opposition. People who are firmly entrenched in their position.

Friend2: Dogmatic insistence. That is the term used by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. I love it.

Friend1: But the people making the argument don’t think it is dogma.

Friend2: Consider it this way. Any person can pick up a book, read it, like it, and then declare any other person who doesn’t follow that book to be a heathen.

“You are going to hell unless you follow me. What is my justification, you ask? Well, I have my book. What do you have?”

Friend1: I could have my own book, I guess. My own savior.

Friend2: There you go. Then it is a competition amongst preference. It is like debating which sports team is better.

Friend1: Which has no resolution.

Friend2: Because it is rooted in duality. We should be on the same team here, so to speak. God is not the exclusive property of any single group, ethnicity, country, gender, etc.

Friend1: Because God is all-pervading. He is the Almighty for every single person.

Friend2: The other side offers no explanation as to the fate of the people who never get the opportunity to make a conscious decision.

Friend1: What do you mean?

Friend2: A small child, the one who has yet to learn to read. They can’t choose in favor of that particular book. They don’t know what books are. What if life ends prematurely, before that decision can be made?

Friend1: I don’t know.

Friend2: Well, are they condemned to hell? After all, they didn’t accept the savior.

Friend1: I wish I had an explanation for you. I’m sure people speculate as to a destination, but they are more or less guessing.

Friend2: Moreover, why did the child end up in that position to begin with? Why weren’t they allowed to make the choice?

Friend1: You mean, why do some people live a long time and others do not? Those are great questions.

Friend2: Yes, and so you dare call some other tradition satanic? What does that say about your intelligence?

Friend1: I am not here to judge. I am just reporting on what occurs out in the field, so to speak.

Friend2: That supposedly satanic tradition is older than anything else. The original language, Sanskrit, is preserved. Every type of material analysis into history agrees that Sanskrit is the first language of this world.

Friend1: That’s true.

Friend2: There are too many sacred texts to count. The voluminous nature is accounted for, since the Almighty is unlimited. You could glorify Him until the end of time, and the number of recorded impressions would only increase.

Friend1: Okay, but people do have certain texts that they hold on to as most dear, like Bhagavad-gita.

Friend2: And what does that text teach?

Friend1: It is the spoken word of God, directly. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna.

Friend2: More than that. From that supposedly satanic culture you will learn who you are, where you stand in relation to the Almighty, how material nature operates, the influence of time, and the science behind action and reaction.

Friend1: You mean karma?

Friend2: Yes. Can anyone else offer a comparable level of understanding?

Friend1: Oh, there is no dispute here. The others are completely lacking. They likely wouldn’t even ponder such questions. They are not allowed to dig too deep.

Friend2: Then why is man gifted with the ability to think? Why would God give us enhanced intelligence? To torture us? To keep us in the dark?

Friend1: I don’t know. Doesn’t make sense to me.

Friend2: Yes, then sit back and listen to people who do make sense. Arrive on the playing field with some answers; otherwise better to keep quiet and rethink what is actually satanic, like the killing of innocent animals in the slaughterhouses, the erosion of the marriage institution, and the total suppression of rational thought and genuine inquiry into higher topics.

In Closing:

That Vedas as satanic to claim,
Insisting their tradition not the same.

Better now the savior to accept,
Or eternal hell in afterlife expect.

But of variety in life no explanation forthcoming,
Why differences in stay of going and coming?

Bhagavad-gita with answers and more,
Providing most understanding sure.