Dialectical Spiritualism: Blaise Pascal, Part Two

BY: SUN STAFF

Conversations wtih HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, excerpted from  Dialectical Spiritualism: A Vedic View of Western Philosophy.

V – RATIONALISM 
Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1666)

Hayagriva dasa: Pascal writes: "If we submit everything to reason, our religion will have no mysterious and supernatural element. If we offend the principles of reason, our religion will be absurd and ridiculous."

Srila Prabhupada: Yes that is a fact. The orders of God constitute religion, and if we carry out these orders, we are religious. Pseudo-religions, religions that cheat, are condemned in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Any religious system which has no conception of God and which annually changes its resolutions is not a religion but a farce.

Hayagriva dasa: Pascal seems to be saying that we should not accept our faith blindly, but at the same time we should not expect everything to be comprehensible to our understanding.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. A father may tell his child to do something, although the child may not comprehend it. In any case, we understand that the father's plans are complete and good for the son. If the son says, "No, I don't wish to do this," he may fall down. God's orders constitute religion, but there is no question of blind following. We must understand God's nature and realize that He is all perfect. In this way, we can understand that whatever He says is also perfect and that we should therefore accept it. If we apply our finite reasoning and try to change God's instructions according to our whims, we will suffer.

Syamasundara dasa: Pascal claims that by faith we have to make a forced option, or what he calls a religious wager. We either have to cast our lot on the side of God — in which case we have nothing to lose in this life and everything to gain in the next — or we deny God and jeopardize our eternal position.

Srila Prabhupada: That is our argument. If there are two people, and neither has experience of God, one may say that there is no God, and the other may say that there is God. So both must be given a chance. The one who says that there is no God dismisses the whole case, but the one who says that there is a God must become cautious. He cannot work irresponsibly. If there is a God, he cannot run risks. Actually, both are taking risks because neither knows for certain that there is a God. However, it is preferable that one believe.

Syamasundara dasa: Pascal says that there is a fifty-fifty chance.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, so take the fifty percent chance in favor.

Syamasundara dasa: Pascal also advocated that. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. We also advise people to chant Hare Krsna. Since you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, why not chant?

Syamasundara dasa: Pascal's religious wager rests upon the assumption that God will punish the individual who refuses to believe in Him, and reward the one who believes.

Srila Prabhupada: Well, God is the Supreme Person who rewards and punishes. Lord Visnu has four hands holding four symbolic objects. Two hands are for punishment, and two for protection. The conch shell and lotus give protection to the devotees, and the club and disc punish the nondevotees.

Hayagriva dasa: Pascal writes: "Man is great in that he knows himself to be miserable. A tree does not know itself to be miserable These miseries prove man's greatness. They are the miseries of a great lord, a deposed king."

Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Srimad-Bhagavatam points out that we are trying to live long, but a tree lives longer. Does this mean that the tree has attained perfection? Does perfection mean longevity? We may analyze life's conditions in this way in order to understand that perfection means coming to God consciousness and understanding God and our relationship with Him.

Hayagriva dasa: For Pascal, knowledge can be attained only by curbing the passions, submitting to God, and accepting God's revelation. He considered himself a Christian.

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, without religion, one is an animal. Amongst animals, there is no discussion of God and no sense of religion. Presently, society is becoming degraded because governments are forbidding the discussion of God in schools and colleges. This causes increased suffering.

Hayagriva dasa: Although Pascal was considered a great philosopher, he concluded that philosophy in itself only leads to skepticism. Faith is needed. "Hear God" was his favorite motto.

Srila Prabhupada: Philosophy means understanding the truth. Sometimes philosophers spend their time speculating about sex and thus become degraded. Sex is present in animals as well as man. Sex is not life itself; it is only a symptom of life. If we emphasize only this symptom, the results are not philosophy. Philosophy means finding out the Absolute Truth. The real subject of philosophy is Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan.