Revealed Scripture
Tue, 01/29/2008 - 20:16 — admin
TEACHER: One can receive this knowledge through three principle mediums: shastra, guru, and Paramatma.
Shastra means revealed scripture. The Vedic shastras are ancient books of wisdom which contain information about the spiritual world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead which has not come from this world, but from the Supreme Person Himself. The Vedic literatures are much more than mere compilations of human knowledge. Vedic knowledge is transcendental; it is beyond this universe.8
To better understand the position of the Vedas, let us compare the spiritual world to a foreign country. If you want to know all about that country and the president of that country, you cannot do so by reading books which are written in your own country by persons who have never been to the place you want to learn about. Authoritative literatures which have come from that foreign land, and which tell all about it, will be very helpful to read, however. The Vedas can therefore be compared to the books imported from a foreign country, in that the wisdom and descriptions contained within them have not been compiled by material personalities, or residents of the material world. Rather, they are coming from the Supreme Person and are bringing information about the Supreme Person.
MICHAEL: What about books like the Bible and the Koran-are these also scriptures?
TEACHER: Yes, they are also authoritative scriptures, but not so detailed or complete as the Vedic literature. The writings of great lovers of God-both Eastern and Western-should also be accepted as scripture.
AM I GOD?Revealed Scripture
The impersonalist “I am God”ist Swami Muktananda advised his students:
Meditate on your Self. Honor and worship your own Self. Kneel to your Self, because the supreme reality, the highest truth lives within you as you.*
Obviously, such an “I am God”ist or impersonalist can be very dangerous to others and society. Many of these “I am God”ists end up as the most extreme of all hedonists—having illicit sex with their disciples, drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking, eating meat, and engaging in all kinds of debauchery. They declare that they can do so without being contaminated karmically because they are so “spiritually advanced.” At the moment, the Western world (as well as India) is crawling with such charlatans.
Science of Identity Foundation – Siddhaswarupananda
*Swami Muktananda, Getting Rid of What You Haven’t Got (Oakland: S.Y.D.A. Foundation, 1978), p. 43.
TEACHER: One can receive this knowledge through three principle mediums: shastra, guru, and Paramatma.
Shastra means revealed scripture. The Vedic shastras are ancient books of wisdom which contain information about the spiritual world and the Supreme Personality of Godhead which has not come from this world, but from the Supreme Person Himself. The Vedic literatures are much more than mere compilations of human knowledge. Vedic knowledge is transcendental; it is beyond this universe.8
To better understand the position of the Vedas, let us compare the spiritual world to a foreign country. If you want to know all about that country and the president of that country, you cannot do so by reading books which are written in your own country by persons who have never been to the place you want to learn about. Authoritative literatures which have come from that foreign land, and which tell all about it, will be very helpful to read, however. The Vedas can therefore be compared to the books imported from a foreign country, in that the wisdom and descriptions contained within them have not been compiled by material personalities, or residents of the material world. Rather, they are coming from the Supreme Person and are bringing information about the Supreme Person.
MICHAEL: What about books like the Bible and the Koran-are these also scriptures?
TEACHER: Yes, they are also authoritative scriptures, but not so detailed or complete as the Vedic literature. The writings of great lovers of God-both Eastern and Western-should also be accepted as scripture.