DEIVATHIN KURAL # 206 (Vol #3) Dated 03 April 2010.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 206 (Vol #3) Dated 03 April 2010.

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the third para on page 960 of Vol 3 of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too, mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com constantly updated.)

CAN THE NATURE OPERATE WITHOUT A GOD?

1. Now I am sitting on this woodden platform. By looking at it, do not you easily deduce that, there must have been someone, a carpenter, who must have made this? There that branch of a tree, not just made of wood but fallen from a tree, you notice! When you look at it, you do not think of a carpenter. Because it is not neat, rectangular, polished, and varnished. A plain board has been given some artistic finish and given four studs to raise it from the surface of the ground and keep the ants and insects off. All this indicates that there has to be someone who, must have taken a piece of dead wood and given all the finish that I have spoken about! He has taken the necessary actions to make it suitable for human use. The dead wood could not have achieved all this on its own!
2. That piece of wood lying there is all twists and turns of irregular surface. The order that is there in the wooden platform, is not there in that piece of wood. It does not seemingly fulfill any purpose. So, while looking at it we do not think of the ability and intelligence of the maker.
3. Under that tree, if some immature pieces of small of the mango (called 'maavadu' in Tamil), are lying scattered about, we do not come to the conclusion that they have been dropped there at random by some human being. Let us say that we note that, instead of being scattered at random, they are collected at one place say by using a broom. When there is the order of collection, we would immediately know that this must have been done, either for taking them home or for sale in the market place or for free distribution.
4. There could be purpose without the order. In a house (which is in order), if the clothes, books and materials are all lying helter-skelter, we would know that the house has been robbed by thieves or searched by the Police! In total, once there is order or purpose, we infer that some intelligent life form must have done that, which cannot be done by, 'Jadam', that is, all the things in the world, which are seemingly 'lifeless'!
5. Now let us consider that wood which does not seemingly look as though it has been made by any intelligent being and through that, let us consider about all the plants collectively known as 'sthavara', (meaning that, they are fixed on ground and so immobile), or what is known as flora! In that piece of wood, that is a branch of a tree, there are minute vessels, like our blood circulation system, that are capable of sucking water with nutrients from the ground, with a remarkable level of order and purpose existing! They were functioning till the other day, when they fell off from the tree (or made to seperate from the tree). They were in working order for the purpose of the trees growth!
6. Within that piece of wood, there is order. There are water and nourishment distribution system, breathing system and surprisingly, reproductive system. If You put the broken end under the surface of the ground and water it, it will send out roots under the earth and sprout with new leaves and tendrils! From that knobby and bends of a piece of wood, there could be a beautiful, soft and fragrant flower too!
7. Amongst plant life, we know of fruit trees and flowering bushes or trees. Flowering plants may not bear fruits. But fruit trees do have flowers to start with, which later become fruits. In the case of the fig and jack fruit, they skip the flowering and directly go to bearing fruits!
8. If you observe as to how these flowering plants and fruit trees reproduce their next kind, you will be surprised by their cleverness. Flowering plants bloom and there is so much order and purpose, in their design, shape and colour. To please the human sense of aesthetics is the main purpose. It is their beauty that attracts the bee to come and partake the nectar. The purpose of feeding the bee is also served in the process. In the process, another personal purpose of reproduction of the species is also served, which is the ulterior motive in the bargain! Thus, there is a highly intelligent trick in this, that is just not within the capability of inanimate objects.
9. There is another trick too. There are some flowers without much fragrance and colourful design; but to attract the bee, they have intense fragrance. Flowers like the Jasmine, Makizham, Champangi, Manoranjitam and such do not have much colour. Flowers like Kanakambaram, Chamandi and Cacti are much colourful; but do not have much fragrance! It is as though, to attract the bee, either colour or fragrance will do; both are not required; thus economising the effort too! Rose is an exception to this, as it is colourful as well as fragrant; but it has thorns for some other purpose of deterring the animals from eating it!? Is all this within the capability of inanimate objects?
10. There is one more remarkable fact. Nature abounds in variety. We can clearly detect the sense of catering for everybody's choices and preferences! Similar to the difference between colourful and fragrant flowers; we find that some flowers cater to the insects in the morning & day time and some for the evenings & night time. These flowers basically are off white, the colour which is easily seen, even with limited light. For example, a variety of Jasmines, Panneer Poo, Rama BaaNam, Nila Sampangi and such.
11. In an Atom, we find that there are further smaller particles which are orbiting the central nuecleus, exactly similar to the planets in the Solar system and or the Galaxies in the Milky Way. While so much similarity is there, there is also so much variety. There is order, similar but various! Each variety has order of its own; but with exceptions too! (Like the fruit trees without flowers, that I quoted earlier!) What is proved is that, the Nature is not random chaos, but seems so only to an idiot.! To an analytical mind, it is clear that, behind all this, is super power of intelligence that takes pleasure in intricate arrangements. Do not You agree?
12. I told you as to how smart is the species of flowering plants. Let me talk about the fruit trees. Human beings get the tasty fruits to eat. There is an ulterior purpose in this. We wish that the same fruit should be available for our own kith and kin. So we take pains to plant the seed of the tree and take care of its growth. In the bargain, the selfish purpose of the plant is also automatically served. Thus the immobile (sthavara) part of Nature makes use of the mobile (jungama) part of Nature, that is human beings, animals, birds and insects!
13. Now think! Can a purely inanimate material, afford to be able to create and cater for such extremely intricate and inter connected systems of order and purpose? If the sight of a chair or foot board can cause you think of the carpenter, can you think of Nature with all its variety, order, purpose, mutual dependance and exceptions to the rules; without thinking of God?
14. If there should be a carpenter for this piece of wood, there has to be a bigger, greater, sensible, intelligent and capable carpenter for this tree, far far superior to human carpenters! What ever we do, we demonstrate making a lot of noice,seeking publicity. But that supremely more capable power or what ever, does all its wonders so quietly sans tom-tom. More over, while displaying its art, dexterity and wide range of capabilities of beauty and aestheitics, hides its own identity from us all, making a fool of us and our worth!
15. If there is fruit of the Neem tree that human beings do not like to partake, he connects the Crow species with it. Since that Crow will never be able to plant those seeds of the Neem, He arranges their distribution and propogation, through its excreta! If man breathes air taking the oxygen, He enables the plants to breath-in the carbon-di-oxide, that human beings exhale! Thus He interconnects all flora and fauna, sthavara and jungama life forms, for mutual dependance, usefulness and assistance.
16. Thus, we are all connected from a particle of sand on the sea shore to the ice flakes in the Himalayas, to the glaziers in the polar regions, including all seemingly inanimate things and animate life forms! So are connected, the earth, planets, sun, moon and stars and galaxies, from the micro to the macro dimension of the cosmos! How can we be stupid enough, not to see the fact that what we think of as the lifeless-brainless Nature is, actually the play of Easwara the Lord!
Sambhomahadeva.