dadwok

"The day man can wrap the sky around his midriff like a bath towl will be the day when he'll no longer need God"

I received this joke today, which seems to be a westernized purport of Shwetashwataropanishad 6-20. The joke:

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.

The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're at the point where we can clone people and do a number of miraculous things, so thanks for everything, but we can take over from here."

God listened very patiently. After the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this? Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "Okay, great!"

But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."

The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.

God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"

"God did directly make the dirt by transforming God-self into quadrillions of intercooperative living beings that created the conditions (including that dirt) so that more living things (like us) could develop and thrive."

Even Krishna has to attempt a 'definition' of Brahma in this manner in 13-13 - after admitting in 13-12 that a determination cannot be made.

"Everywhere Brahma has hands and feet, and ears everywhere, too; also everywhere (this creature) has eyes, heads and mouth; finally Brahma exisits after all is engulfed and covered by Brahma-self."

But good Hindoos, like Krishna, also know that there are domains farther than that of Brahma (8-16), domains that, unlike Brahma's, are timeless.

I recall a person reduced the East-West difference very simply. He said "They say 'all are one' - Out of many, one (e pluribus unum). We say 'all is one' - out of one, many.

Hindooism is the best insurance against a life in a padded cell......... As a temporary and pragmatic fence-sitter, I'll rest by saying, "It depends"