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Relative knowledge

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

So this knowledge, anyone who has knowledge, not only this knowledge, absolute knowledge as well as relative knowledge, such class of men is called the brāhmaṇas, the most intelligent class.
Lecture on BG 2.9 -- Auckland, February 21, 1973:

So the brāhmaṇas' duty is to give education, intelligence, up to the understanding of the Supreme Absolute Truth, Brahman. The Absolute Truth is called Brahman. So one who knows Brahman or the Absolute Truth... Knowledge means the end of knowledge should be up to the understanding of the Absolute Truth, the original source of everything. Absolute. Not relative. Relative truth, everyone knows, but when one comes to the point of understanding the Absolute Truth, the original source of everything... There must be original source of everything. That is Brahman. Those who have read the Vedānta philosophy... The Vedānta philosophy describes Brahman. The first aphorism in the Vedānta philosophy is called athāto brahma jijñāsā. The Vedānta philosophy says that this human form of life is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth. One must be... Human being must be interested to know the Absolute Truth. That is perfection of human life. Because in the cats' and dogs' life... Unfortunately, at the present moment, people do not know what is the distinction between cats and dogs and a human being. That is another defect of the modern education. The distinction between cats and dogs... They are also living beings. Of course, in some quarter they say that the cats and dogs and lower animals, they have no soul. No. That is not the fact. Everyone has got soul, but the cats and dogs and animals, they are not advanced in consciousness. As soon as there is soul, there must be consciousness. These things are described in the Bhagavad-gītā, and you can perceive also. I am existing in this body; you are existing in your body—how it is known? By the consciousness. If I pinch your body, you feel pain. You pinch my body; I feel pain. Similarly, cats and dogs, they also feel pain or pleasure. So that is the proof of existence of the soul even in cats and dogs and human beings. The only difference is in the human form of life the consciousness is developed. So developed consciousness means to understand the Absolute Truth. That is the special function of the human being. Therefore the Vedānta-sūtra says, "Now this human form of life is meant for understanding the Absolute Truth, what is the original cause of everything." Because there must be some cause. That is education. Just like your appearance is caused by your father. Your father's appearance is caused by his father. Similarly you go on researching, his father, his father, his father... Then ultimately you will come to the original father, whom you call God, Kṛṣṇa, or whatever you call. There must be some original father. So the Vedānta-sūtra explains when the question is that what is the original cause of everything... What is Brahman? What is the Absolute Truth? Athāto brahma jijñāsā: "Now this human form of life is meant for inquiring about the Absolute Truth." What is that Absolute Truth? The next answer is janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1), means "The Absolute Truth is that from whom everything emanates," or "The Absolute Truth is the original cause of all causes." This is the... So this knowledge, anyone who has knowledge, not only this knowledge, absolute knowledge as well as relative knowledge, such class of men is called the brāhmaṇas, the most intelligent class.

Here everything is duality, relative knowledge, relative world, but in the absolute world everything is one, spirit.
Lecture on BG 7.1 -- Auckland, April 15, 1972:

So here everything is duality, relative knowledge, relative world, but in the absolute world everything is one, spirit. Here... because here we have got experience two energies, spiritual energy and material energy, working. The material energies are the physical elements, bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ: (BG 7.4) earth, water, fire, air, sky, and, in subtle form, mind, intelligence, ego. They are all material. Mind is also material, intelligence is also material, but they are subtle forms. And spiritual existence is the living entity, as we are. These things are very nicely explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Apareyam itas tu viddhi me prakṛtiṁ parām. The material, physical elements, they are inferior quality of, inferior quality, energy, of Kṛṣṇa. But the superior quality of energy we are, living entities. Jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat (BG 7.5).

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Whatever knowledge we are getting, they're all relative knowledge.
Lecture on SB 2.9.4-8 -- Tokyo, April 23, 1972:

Similarly you cannot understand what is the form of God. You say, "Oh, God is false." But from the śāstra we can understand. Here it is said that rūpaṁ sa ādi-devo jagatāṁ paro guruḥ. Brahmaṇe darśayan rūpam. So if God has no form, how He showed His form to Brahmā? He has form. Brahmā has attained the perfection to see the form of God, and the rascals who have no such perfection, they say "No form." That is the position. They, with their imperfect senses, all rascal theories, they are thinking that they have become perfect. But they are not perfect. First thing is that the senses with which you are studying, they are imperfect. What is the value of our eyes? Unless there is sunlight, you cannot see. So how can you say that "Our seeing is absolute"? It is relative. So whatever knowledge we are getting, they're all relative knowledge. Relative means according to my power I am studying, "This is this. This is this." But they are all wrong. You do not know what is actually the position. Therefore the conclusion is that we have to take knowledge from the perfect. Śāstra-cakṣusā. Your eyes should be... Actually we are doing that. Now, directly we are seeing the sun. We see just like the disk. But when you go through scientific books, geographic and other authorit..., astronomy, they, "No, the sun is fourteen hundred thousand times bigger than this planet." So actually we are understanding about the sun not by our direct eyes but through the authoritative knowledge, through the śāstra, through the books.

If you know white, you should know what is black. Otherwise the knowledge is not... Relative.
Lecture on SB 6.1.37 -- San Francisco, July 19, 1975:

Knowledge means you should know both things, not one side. You must know what is religious system and what is not religious system. Simply one side is not full knowledge. Upayaṁ ca cintayet prajñā, apayaṁ ca cintayet(?). Just like if you want to do some business, you have calculated that "I shall invest so much money, and I shall get so much profit. So let us do this business. It is very nice." But śāstra says, "No, you have simply calculated the profit, and you also calculate no profit, not one-sided." Similarly, to know dharma, you must know adharma also, the opposite side. If you know white, you should know what is black. Otherwise the knowledge is not... Relative. This world is... If you know the father, then you must know the son. Or if you know the son, then you must know the father. So in the religious system, if one knows the son, the further improvement is to know the father. That is required. Otherwise incomplete. If you simply know the son of God, then it is incomplete. If you know the father of the son of God, then it is complete.

Philosophy Discussions

Prabhupāda: And actually, according to modern scientists, the law of relativity, so everyone speaks with his relative knowledge. It is not perfect. Everyone speaks to his relative knowledge, that's all.
Philosophy Discussion on Charles Darwin:

Prabhupāda: We can rather believe the Bhagavad-gītā, who gives a description of one, twelve hours duration of life, millions of years. So we can believe such authority. You can actually gain...

Śyāmasundara: Just like when you are dreaming, you may think it's millions of years, and it's only five minutes. You wake up and you've only been asleep five minutes. even though it seems like millions of years.

Prabhupāda: And actually, according to modern scientists, the law of relativity, so everyone speaks with his relative knowledge. It is not perfect. Everyone speaks to his relative knowledge, that's all. Therefore we should accept knowledge from a person who is not within this relativity.

Prabhupāda: Relative knowledge, because we cannot know beyond 180 degrees according to your geometrical calculation. But your calculation, everything is imperfect because you are imperfect.
Philosophy Discussion on Ludwig Wittgenstein:

Prabhupāda: Abstract or concrete, it doesn't matter. What is abstract for you is concrete for other. (break) ...Kṛṣṇa is concrete. Paraṁ satya, actually that is the only truth. So this idea, abstract and concrete, that is relative.

Śyāmasundara: Just like the idea, "The sum of the angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees."

Prabhupāda: This is calculation.

Śyāmasundara: It is calculation, but there's no...

Prabhupāda: Relative knowledge, because we cannot know beyond 180 degrees according to your geometrical calculation. But your calculation, everything is imperfect because you are imperfect. So because it is going on, for our purpose we take it as truth. That's all.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

So time is eternal, and past, present, future is calculation of relative knowledge.
Room Conversation with Mr. & Mrs. Wax, Writer and Editing Manager of Playboy Magazine -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:

Prabhupāda: So far Kṛṣṇa consciousness is concerned, you can take it: since five thousand years, when Kṛṣṇa was present, He gave this instruction. But it existed before Kṛṣṇa's instruction. About forty millions of years ago He gave this instruction to the sun-god. That is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā:

imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave 'bravīt
(BG 4.1)

So if we take up the statement of Bhagavad-gītā, then five thousand years ago this was spoken for the second time, and first time it was spoken forty millions of years ago. Therefore it is permanent, not that something new. It is existing eternally. Sometimes we are missing, and sometimes we are accepting, but it is existing eternally. You cannot trace out the history. Our calculation of history means we are trying to make the eternal time relatively limited with our life. But the time is eternal. We are changing our forms of life many, many million times, but the time is there. So the calculation of past, present, future is relative according to the duration of my life. An ant's past, present, future is not the same past, present, future as of human being. The past, present, future is relative according to the duration of life and body. So Brahma's past, present, future and our past and present, future is not the same. So time is eternal, and past, present, future is calculation of relative knowledge.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- April 16, 1976, Bombay:

Dr. Patel: What is ignorance and what is knowledge is very difficult to say. It is a relative terminology.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Jñānaṁ jñeyaṁ jñāna-gamyam.

Dr. Patel: That's right so far as the spiritual knowledge is concerned, but in the relative knowledge, after all...

Prabhupāda: Relative knowledge is also...

Dr. Patel: Aparā-vidyā, what is real knowledge, we don't know.

Prabhupāda: No? Why not?

Dr. Patel: Because every time we change our opinion...

Prabhupāda: We know from Kṛṣṇa.

Page Title:Relative knowledge
Compiler:Labangalatika, Lavanga Manjari
Created:20 of Aug, 2009
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=6, Con=2, Let=0
No. of Quotes:8