[Advaita-l] Apoureshyatva - Faith or Logic?

[Sudhakar Kabra]

--- On Mon, 6/25/12, Rajaram Venkataramani <rajaramvenk at gmail.com> wrote:

RV  :BTW, if sastras are not right (from scientific perspective) about the
origin of life or universe, how can they be right about god, dharma or
atma? 

SK:Why the sastra has to be verifiable from scientific perspective?Why not the other way around?So far even the scientific perspective has not been able to come out with a unified theory of creation. All the theories proposed have some flaws/ faults or other. So from which scientific perspective verification need to be done. 
Since there are many scientific theories same way there are many philosophical theories.


RV:  If I am not right on verifiable topics, how can I be considered
reliable on those that cannot be verified? 
SK: How did panchabhutas evolve? How did ahankara come about?One who takes birth and thereafter tries to analyze the origin which is prior to it is not verifiable as per sastras because it will always be tainted by the vasanas/experiences of that person. Hence sastras say: Vigyataram are ken vijaniyat

RV:  I know there are traditional views that sastras are an authority on supersensuous. But what to do when sastras contradict scientific facts (realm of pratyaksha)?
SK: Sastras are not verifiable by pratyaksha because it then come into the realm of indriyas. That is why it requires sabd pramanas. Sastra say it is atindriya as you yourself have said in other thread.

RV:  I know that there are statements such as 1000 upanishadic statements cannot make fire cold or a pot in to a cloth. But does mimamsa allow us to explicitly reject
sastras as incorrect if it contradicts direct experience or inference? I
dont think so but would like to know what learned members think. 
SK: Mimamsakas talk of karma to achieve a fruit mainly designed for people who are looking for a result -karma phala. It could be immediate or at a later time like swarga. 
Vedanta talk of no phala and teaches us to realize our original nature which is ever present.


RV: The notion of evolution (albeit with room for god) is there in vaiseshika world view but it was not acceptable to other Vedic traditions. Please note that the theory of evolution does not accept intelligent design, where god guides evolution, because the evolutionary process seems to be highly error prone and random.

SK: If you see a constructed house, immediately a thought of a creator comes into mind. So if you see a world out there, immediately a thought of a creator comes to mind. this is the nyaya theory.
How vedanta comes over it can be seen by refutations and question answers between nyaya acharya and vedantin. It can be found in many comparative philosophy books. (Sarva darshan sangraha )
Best regardsSudhakar kabra