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Jaganath.Bharadwaj_at_nrecatao.nreca.org
Date: Thu Dec 14 1995 - 20:19:44 PST
I agree with Murli that there is no reason for followers of Ramanuja and His illustrious successors to even waste time and energy pondering over works of "modern scholars" with regard to time and dates. The entire current scientific process is to prove a theory by taking all evidence that support that theory and ignoring evidence that oppose those theories. About a decade ago when I was in England I watched a "scientific presentation" where the scientist showed evidence about instinctive behaviour in the case of bees and selected birds and concluded that all animals including dogs, dolphins etc act only by instinct. He totally ignored evidence of how dogs have saved their owners from fires, storms, blizzards etc and in which case the behavioral pattern is very different from instinctive behaviour. All this goes back to the example of mistaking a rope for a snake episodes quoted (I believe from the Chandogya Upanishad) in reference to evidence of conclusion based on the external senses. It is accepted unanimously by all schools of Vedanta philosophy (this includes Advaita, Visisthadvaita and Dwaita) that evidence based on inference of what can be perceived by the bodily senses are prone to inaccuracies. In order to lead us out of this world of Samsara Sriman Narayana has sent his trusted aides in the form of Acharyas who are no more controlled by material nature than is Narayana. It is only their word that we should trust. Jaganath.