Darwin: Eclipsing the Sun and the Soul

Sri Krishna

In 1980 I was in Paris talking with a co-worker, a  young accountant named Didier.

“Evolution has never been proved,” I said.

“Yes it has,” said Didier.

“What is that proof?”  I asked.

“I don’t know,” said Didier.

“How do you know it’s  been proved if you don’t know what the proof is?” I asked.

“I just know,” he said.

“Where can you find that proof?” I asked.

“In a book,” he said.

“What book?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Do some research.”

Who Proved Evolution?

Look for a proof I knew did not exist? Why not look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

I had already had learned about evolution from two devotee scientists, Sadaputa Das (Richard Thompson) and Drutakarma Das (Michael Cremo).   Evolution never been proved, they told me, and the geological evidence refutes it.

But why does the world blindly follow a theory of a godless cosmology, a helter-skelter big-bang universe where we are also accidental.

If you believe in evolution, why not believe in the pot of gold? It’s the same. Everyone has heard of it, but no one has ever seen it, nor can anyone show it to you.

All right. Then why don’t I say the same thing about Vedic knowledge? I’ll tell you why. Because the scriptures offer you a way to see it all:

Only unto one who has unflinching devotion to the Lord and to the spiritual master does transcendental knowledge become automatically revealed.(Svetasvatara Upanisad)

But how do I know the statement is true? Well, it’s certainly worth a try, isn’t it? Nothing to lose by trying, and everything to gain.

But most people aren’t interested. Krishna says, in fact, that out of thousands of people, maybe one will look for truth:

Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.

So it’s no wonder that devotees meet opposition when they describe the universe according to the Bhagavad Gita:

O [descendant] of Bharata [Arjuna], “as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.” ⁓Krishna

In simpler terms, we could say “As the soul lights up the whole body so  the sun lights up the whole universe.”

As the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness. ⁓Bhagavad Gita 13.34  Note: Although this beautiful painting shows the light of the soul as emanating from the head, it actually emanates from the heart, where the soul and the Lord live side by side. (Photo: Okan Caliskan/ Pixabay)

The Moon and the Stars Are the Same

But the moon  also makes the skeptic turn red in the face and stamp his foot: “Among the stars I am the moon, ” says Krishna. The stars, then, are like the moon. They reflect the sunlight as it radiates past the earth,  far into the sky, all the way to the most distant reaches of the cosmos.

The moon also lights up the whole universe.   As Srila Prabhupada points out in a lecture:

Is there any land within this universe where there is no moonshine, sunshine? Everywhere.

“Not possible,” says the skeptic with a wave of his hand. “The Vedas must be talking about a different moon, not the one we see.”

But if we cannot see this moon, how can we say there is no land where it cannot be seen?

How Many Suns and Moons?

Prabhupada gives the answer:

There are innumerable universes, and each universe contains one Brahma, one Shiva, one sun, one moon…

“Hooray!” says the skeptic, “That’s it!  ‘One sun, one moon’ means our nine-planet solar system. The stars we see are not in our own universe but in another one. Ha Ha!”

Again the Vedas give the answer: Our own universe contains not only the nine planets but also everything else we see. Each universe is covered  by a layer so thick that no outside light can enter, not even the surrounding brahma-jyoti, the light of the eternal spiritual world.

The universe was dark until Krishna lit it up from inside with the same brahma-jyoti, reflected, as it were, by the one sun and re‑reflected from the sun onto the one moon and the millions of stars.

The sunlight is a reflection of the brahma-jyoti, the light of the spiritual world. It shines throughout the universe. (Photo: ros dagos / Unsplash)

 A cosmology of chaos

By foisting their picture of a chaotic and jumbled universe on humanity, the scientists rip away the peace that comes from real knowledge. Our universe is purposeful and planned and  we have been put here for a reason though this is not our eternal home.

(For more on this topic, see my  post “I Am The Moon.”)

Eternally touching my head to the lotus feet of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada,
⁓Umapati Swami, September 15, 2018

Photo top: Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy (Jishnu Das)>

Srila Prabhupada

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the teacher who brought Krishna Consciousness from India to the West and then to the rest of the world. He is the founder of  the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement as well as the author and compiler of many works of Vedic knowledge. He left this world in 1977.

Umapati Swami

One of the first American devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement, he became Srila Prabhupada’s disciple in 1966. Since then, he has preached Krishna Consciousness in many countries and is the author of “My Days with Prabhupada,” available from Amazon. Now 84 years old, he has started this blog to share what he has learned.