The Kalam argument is a probabilistic philosophical approach that argues for God's existence by examining the likelihood of creation having a creator versus arising spontaneously. The argument proceeds through several probabilistic choices: (1) Creation is more likely to have a creator than not, as uncreated things cannot arise spontaneously; (2) The creator is more likely to be conscious than unconscious, since consciousness has been imbued in human beings; (3) The universe is more likely to have a governor than not, given its immense complexity and intricate organization; (4) The creator and governor are the same entity, as a creator who does not govern would have no purpose. This argument does not provide absolute proof but demonstrates that the probability heavily favors the existence of a conscious, omniscient creator who is both the instrumental and material cause of the universe.
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Fri May 8, 2026: Stories from ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’ by Swami YogatmanandaAdded:
Oo mangisham.
M Honey, anch Om shanty shanty shanty.
May all my limbs attain strength.
May the body, the mind, all the sensory and motor organs become efficient, perfected.
All is very the one without second ever blissful and conscious existence itself called Brahman.
May I never deny Brahman.
May the Brahman never reject me either.
I am aware that to experience Brahman require embibing of many virtues spoken by the scriptures.
May all those virtues come in my life.
Peace. Peace.
Peace.
Let us try to feel the oneness of the whole existence.
our socalled separateness and its repercussions are thus very illusory.
If we see this truth of oneness, let us imagine the ocean.
Look at it constantly.
Millions and millions of waves are rising and falling.
Each of them seem to have its individuality.
Some are small, but they have their pride, too.
saying small is beautiful.
There are some gigantic and proud of their strength.
Some are connected to other waves with different relationships formed like parents, children, siblings, friends and so forth.
Are they really different?
Just the same water.
The appearances keep on changing.
So let us reflect that truth on our life.
Each one of us is like the waves.
A wave that identify as I.
Other waves are identified as you or he or she or it.
The differences just vanish.
As we see this truth, the life becomes free of all miseries, becomes free of all restlessness.
One can see the ultimate bliss and peace reing everywhere.
Peace.
Peace.
Peace. Peace.
So dear friends, let us begin our today's this class on Shrimat Bhagwatam.
A great text bringing the highest truths of Vanta or say highest truths about what I am and what this world is about.
All that is brought to us not through intricate philosophy but through a beautiful stories and the enhancement of devotion.
For most of us devotion is the way.
Uh it is good to you know think and philosophize.
It has its value.
But most of us need emphatic devotional connection with the ideal.
And therefore such text like Bhagwatam they emphasize on devotion to God the reality of the whole universe. So let us begin with the beginning. Please recite this opening chant as loudly as you can.
heart.
That from whom creation.
sustenance and dissolution of the universe take place. Who is both the instrumental and material cause of it?
Who is omnisient is the only one having selfmastery being the one independent entity who illumin the mind of Brahma with the vic revelation whose wisdom is the wonder of even the greatest sages in whom the world of the three gads subsist.
Just as the combination of materials like fire, water and earth subsist in their causes without changing their elemental nature.
In whose consciousness there is nothing false on that truth supreme we meditate.
See uh you probably have noticed this wording in the translation that that from whom uh that whom is the word used for uh persons human beings otherwise it would say from what whom means it is a conscious entity whom who uh these This is speciality in English language that there is a different expression for uh the that which is conscious and that which doesn't show the expression of consciousness.
So for that we use the word it or say what we don't use the word he or she there who is omnisient it is is the only one having selfmastery these are all the beautiful appetites of the absolute divine being So uh there is in philosophy uh the regular textbook for philosophy uh uh of God. So there are certain arguments to prove the existence of God.
One of the arguments is called kalam argument.
uh it is uh used uh in the Islamic text that uh you choose you know what is what has higher probability everything is we think about you know in probabilistic term whether to invest here or invest there we think of the probability which is likely to be more durable and will yield more returns. We choose that. So uh let us see what is much better uh in choice. You have the choice God is or God is not.
So uh let us begin this discussion that uh should the creation have a creator or not have a creator?
Let us begin there. creation. You see that if you see creation, what is more likely uh to have a creator or not to have creator?
So the choice would rest on in most cases creator. There is more likelihood of a creator being there. uh we do not uh get the idea that without creator something how can it be created even simple things uh like somebody is say uh that cooking rice rice does not automatically get into water that into water and not that the pot automatically gets on fire and then at the right time The pot is taken off the fire or the fire is extinguished and you get the rice cooked. So there is a cook or not a cook.
Obviously people say yes it is cooked.
It is not an accident. Uh it is not that by accident the rice got cooked. There was somebody who cooked it. Uh so similarly you know this creation uh there must be some creator that stands more to reason than not to have creator. What Charlie you seem to differ?
>> No. Yeah.
>> At one time.
>> At one time you would have. Okay. So now you have reason to the idea that yes creator it is so better to have the this probability that there is a creator. You can never prove you know that there is a creator. But looking around the probability uh of having uh to accept a creator is much more the scales you know where that scale will tilt uh that to have a creator.
Now there is now again whether the creator is conscious or unconscious.
You have a choice either the creator is unconscious or the creator is conscious.
What will you choose?
What will you choose? What will you choose?
Conscious. Yeah. the how the so we are all having consciousness the creator must have consciousness that got imbued in us. So uh obviously you know the uh the scales are tilted in favor of a conscious creator.
Then the next thing is uh does the universe either has a governor or no governor?
Uh what would you prefer?
There is again this argument one good thing about it is uh it does not rest on an absolute proof as such. But what is probable as you know all physical science has been shown uh in the beginning of the 20th century is all probabilistic.
There is no absolute measurement of anything. Uh it is because the it is all probable. This is this is there is as the great Heisenberg's principle is that there is always uncertainty uh about how much exactly the measure is and that is not a matter of skill of measuring. The very process of measurement uh is like that.
It is this is not the time but you can see this that how the principle is that the very process of measurement disturbs the object to be measured. And so what you measure is not what you set out to measure.
Like you measure say uh sometimes uh that when you are making yogurt here uh that the yogurt making person sees the temperature of that milk. There is a thermometer. So that thermometer is dipped so that you see that it is neither too hot nor too cold. That temperature about 110 to 115 fah. M so it is you put the thermometer in it. Now that is the mercury uh that rises or whatever you know uh that expands and for that it takes some heat and to that extent the temperature has already reduced compared to what you set out to measure.
Every measuring process is like that. It disturbs uh what is being measured and so it is all probabilistic.
So kalam argument has this element. It doesn't give any absolute proof. But what is more probable?
So is there a governor of the universe more probable or not governor is more probable? Uh so the overwhelming uh tilting will be well there is a governor. Uh even a small town like Providence requires a mayor and a governing uh mechanism. So this whole universe imagine the scale unimaginable really it is so huge so intricate so many different beings uh their movements their interactions so intricate. Our Danny is architect you know an architect has to study you know how all these uh like if you have to design something like an airport busy airport then you have to see how the electric supply would be there how uh see about a thousand uh these restrooms will be there uh so where how they would be situated uh how the supply of everything small small things would be calculated how there will be the genators closet their way for that uh and how the the planes will be landing how they will take off uh so many details are to be done in the university far more than that this and yet can you believe it is all not governed by anybody.
It would be a chaos but there is a governance. You therefore accept that there is somebody who is governing it. Some conscious being is governing it.
So now the question is is the creator one and the governor somebody else.
Now if that is the case there would be you know a the a kind of problem that what will then the creator be doing if the creator is not governing he cannot be making another universe.
So uh it is the creator is same as the governor that is more probabilistic.
So thus you get the idea of God. So this is how from whom creation, sustenance and dissolution of the universe take place.
Who is both the instrumental and material cause of it? Who is omnisient?
Imagine you know even to uh create and manage a very small distinct like the sound system here our Ashotosh is uh you know working with that. So you require the knowledge which knob is to be turned to what ext to what extent and so forth.
So you require knowledge.
So to uh govern this whole universe, create and govern this very intricate universe, will you not require uh knowledge? It has to be required. And dissolution is a great aspect. You know that God does not dissolve the universe.
uh in everything you know the seeds are preserved as holy mother used to say that it is uh everything as uh it goes to destruction like the gardener somebody you know in our garden used to at the end would you know preserve the seeds to be planted next year. So uh as the dissolution of the universe takes place things are kept properly in the proper place so that you know it can be again restarted creation would get restarted.
We had lot of that water damage and then uh the team uh who took everything they even now you can see those boxes very well labeled every shelf uh those things were kept.
So now you have no problem about you know rekeeping them. But then certain things were not done like that and so many things are find difficult where it is gone because it was never kept properly and dissolution requires you know proper mechanism so that things uh they come back to again the same state.
So that is why there is the idea of kalpas all that dissolves with that plan is still remaining there from that plan again the universe springs up. So that is called dissolution.
uh and then there is absolute dissolution that comes with knowledge that it is all really just a play. It is all done.
So uh who illumin the mind of Brahma that is the creator with Vic revelation whose wisdom is the wonder of even the greatest ages in whom the world of the three gonas subsist just as the combination of the materials like fire, water and earth subsist in their causes without changing their elemental nature in whose consciousness There is nothing false on that truth supreme we meditate.
So while uh we are discussing these some of the now uh events in the that period uh and as they are described here it appears all miraculous difficult to understand and the purposes of that detailed discussion on that is to make us feel that these things uh are as such real that really happened. So they give the genealogy that yes from this this thing came from this that other came from that this uh other lineage came and they are you know sometimes from our present understanding very strange uh because the we know only certain processes uh by you by which human beings are born. But uh there are many other ways of it also.
So and it is shown here that many were born in very funny ways. They have many different abilities. Uh last time we were discussing about you know this the stories about how uh Shantano became the king and uh from Shantano how the lineage uh proceeded. So there comes in that uh in both Mahabharata uh it comes in more details uh in uh here in Bhagwatam uh these things are just uh summarily presented here but it will be interesting to see some of the stories.
The sage parasara uh the meaning of this word is the one who is enlivener of the dead.
Uh there is a story why that happened like that. Parasara Parasara was uh the story goes here that uh there was the uh sage was her and the wasista had a son named Shi and then Shaki He was devolved by a demon.
Uh and it is in some text it is claimed that those demons were sent by another competing sage you know Vishwamitra.
So there are the stories of competition between Vasra and Vishwamitra and so forth. So uh and so not only this Shaky but other uh the siblings of Shaki, children of Wasishta they also were uh devoured killed by this demon.
Soistra became so dejected.
He and like it happens out of dejection he wanted to commit suicide and high mountain like these days people jump from some bridge. Uh so he jumped from a high mountain but didn't die. It appeared that there was he landed on a very soft and big cotton pile. So he didn't die. Then he tried some similar methods and didn't die. then tried to drown himself in torrential rivers but didn't die.
He different methods he tried but did not die.
committing suicide. You know, like a funny story I had told uh in Indian context or is any other context that a man wanted to commit suicide very dejected and then uh therefore bought poison and consumed the poison.
This is the story about how adulteration is all so pervasive. But because the poison was adulterated, he didn't die. And by that time, you know, his thoughts were changing that, oh, I should not have committed suicide. And so, he became very happy that I really didn't die. and then uh decided to celebrate by eating a lot of these sweets which were adulterated and died because he ate those. So it is you never know how a person would live and die. So it is uh he didn't die and then he saw at that time that his son Shaki's wife was pregnant.
And so uh he took care of her and then took care of the child who was parasara the enlivener of the dead. It is because he was actually dead so many times he tried to commit suicide but then he got a purpose to leave take care of this child. uh parasara.
So he be the grandson of Wasista and since there was no father uh the Wasista uh he took care of Parasara taught him many different sciences and so Parasara is very well-known figure in Indian these scriptures uh parasaraj's uh son is far more illustrious uh but we will come to that his father of viasa you know uh it is parasara gave birth to vasag we'll see that story uh parasara was the many texts are attributed to him a few verses uh or these Hymns in rigida also are attributed to paras. So there is a very well-known smiti text parasiti.
So that is told by parasara and then vishnu purana is also composed by him.
So and another very important text that he had which these texts are available even now that it is the uh uh this breath parasara is considered a foundational text for Hindu astrology.
astrology know that according to that the uh constellations in the skies in the space they affect uh human life and so uh based on that one can predict things and also act accordingly. So that is an astrology. I don't understand it.
I confess but I don't say that it is absolutely false. I don't have that knowledge either. But yes, if you can predict things uh like you predict the weather patterns, so there is some connection. So you see certain things happen with certain star constellation and then that record is maintained. So when you see that kind of constellation again uh you may see that but it is certainly a very very difficult science uh to uh keep the note of the movements of all planets and different stars and connect them to the individual and cosmic incidents. So this is one of the deeply uh studied text that brhat parasara. So this is uh the what is called the uh ha shastra means predictive astrology or predictive astronomy. So it is uh then there is this uh that ruka urveda the science of life of trees one of the earliest texts on boty considered to be the ancient text of Ayurveda.
These were all uh attributed to parasara.
Uh so once parasara uh was going around as a sage you know they go and stop somewhere so uh uh he stopped uh at one fisherman's house. He was the head of that fisherman community. So he said okay you stay for the night. He said next day I have to go to this place on the other shore. There was a river Yamuna. So uh next early morning towards the just it was dawn paras this uh fisherman head told his daughter oh you f this sage across the river where he wants to go and come back. So uh the girl uh she agreed went and as the girl was rowing the boat carrying this parasara parasara saw that star constellation and saw also that and in this special moment uh If this girl can give birth to a child, that child will be tremendously capable, powerful, most brilliant, bright child. So he asked that girl, uh, I can impregnate you. Is it okay?
He naturally said no no no there is only other banks there are people what will uh and then Aparasara said don't worry he created by his powers an island there right in the river and told her to take the boat to that island in that island then uh without anybody knowing he uh impregnated her and then also restored her virginity.
Uh that was her another condition that nobody should know this and uh it is because it becomes a big public slur. So it is nobody should know this and uh so he said I will restore your virginity. Uh he had that power. So uh that is how uh the child was born and parasur took the child with him. That child was Vasa and Vasa's son Shuka he is now telling this Shuka tells Parikit that my father he taught me this Bhagwata.
So it is like that the Vasa the most famous figure you know here you can see the birth of Krishna and Vasa.
Now there is the two different vasas according to some some say no they are only the same. One is the Badayanasa who is credited with the commentary on the Brahma sutras and this is Krishna Dwipay and Vasa. Uh both could be same.
I am not very conversant with all this. It seems strange because the time period is of some thousand years. So how can the same person be living for that long a time?
Uh but this vasa Krishna vasa is credited with the uh organizing the Vedas. Now what we have these days is the four Vedas. four Vedas the whole Vic literature was uh properly organized into these four. Now there are you know the scholars debate about that also uh how four actually it seems there are five because they split into two. So and the two parts do not have much of similarity. So uh it is so but the work is attributed to this uh great Krishna dwipay and vasa Krishna because he had dark complexion and dwipay because you know means an island dwep like sag you went there isn't it prish sag Sagwep this time I also went. So Sagurep in Bengal. So it is Dwep means an island. So since he was born on an island. So Dwipay so Krishna Dwipay Vasa.
So that is how this Vasa had his birth. So it is uh the monument of uh Parasara money is available in Sangi district of Maharashtra.
A cave supposed to be of Parasara is present at that fort. Uh it is called Juna Panhara. So Juna Panhara fort uh in as small town there called Kawte Mahaka.
Uh so near that Kout Mahaka uh this fort is still there and there Parasara cave is still shown where Parasara uh might have or is sure told that did his uh austerities and so forth. So uh this is about parasara and then Krishna dwipay and vasa the greatest Indian sacred text uh greatest name that is no doubt far more than hardly anybody who doesn't who has not heard the name of vasa parasara is not that well known is known but not as well known as vasa Vasa is has composed Mahabharata also. After arranging all the Vedas, he uh wrote the main part of the Mahabharata text. Uh and also uh after doing all this he was still not feeling uh fully satisfied and so he was telling Narada why am I still feeling I divided the Vedas I also uh composed so many different piranhas And still why I am not Mahabharata is such a tremendous text. He composed you know divided all the Vedas and Mahabharata written. So it is a saying in an ancient Sanskrit that everything is in a way you know defiled by vasa means coming out of the mouth of vasa all the knowledge has come out of the mouth of vasa.
So it is said that vasoish.
So this Vasa went uh and sought advice of Narada that what is why I am still not feeling that sense of tremendous peace that we read in Bhagwatami that why and Narada told him that you know you have not adequately glorified sang the glories of God. That is what brings peace to one's mind. And so in spite of your doing all this now I suggest you write a text where the glories of God they are discussed. So that is how this great text of Bhagwatam came about. uh this uh Vasa uh is that wrote that uh Baday and Vasa.
So he Badayana wrote the Brahma Sutras that it is therefore they are also called Vasa Sutras.
uh the it is a very beautiful text as I mentioned uh some saya who did this brahma sutras is different from the one who did this all other text who knows then there is another vasa who has written uh the commentary on Patanjali's yoga forisms uh but uh That being a historical document uh it certainly is not written by any of these two or maybe one vasa. So that viasa is certainly different. So this uh compilation of the uh main doctrines in the upanishads that was a great task.
So uh it is the because it so many in different uh philosophies could come out of it. It would be a chaos unless you properly organize it. So what do you do now? If you uh look at in our you know in any kitchen especially it can be easily seen in kitchen that uh if you have some grain of rice in one pot and some another that pot also has grains of rice three four pots. Now what you do? You put that together in one pot and label it as rice.
Similarly everything like that instead of uh being put in all different places and thus becomes a chaotic situation. Uh all same things are put together and then you put a nice label there. Uh this is rice. Uh this is chili powder. Uh this is oil. This oil that oil. So uh thus things get organized. So the vic texts were organized by vasa especially the upanishadic text the vanta text. So vanta texts were organized uh shankar achara describes it as putting labels you know categorizing and putting labels. So uh this is a text on which all other these great these uh who founded different philosophies they have written commentaries like Shankara and Rammanuja they have commented on Brahma Sutras as Swami Vivean says anybody who wants to start a sect in Hinduism has to write a commentary on uh Bhagat Gita and Bhagwadis Brahma Sutras they are called Vasa Sutras or Vanta sutras. So this Vasa is the forefather of the Kowavas and Pandavas that also is very very interesting story.
I remember I used to keep on listening to that stories uh as a child that that there was this uh Shantanu as we saw this story of Shantanu.
Now Shantano had you know first he fell in love with Ganga uh the reverse soul as it were uh so wanted to marry her.
Ganga said okay but whatever I do you should never object never ask why I will do whatever I want is it okay and when infatuated in that condition you agree to everything later on you get a different thoughts you see so at that time it was all agreed and Then Shantanu and Ganga uh she would come out from the water uh Ganges and be with him again go to Ganges and so forth it went on. She gave birth uh one after another uh seven children were born.
several children and then she just took them drowned them in Ganges. No child was there. So when this Bishma was born is therefore called the son of Ganga Ganga Bishma.
So Shantanu could not contain him. Why you destroy our all children are you killed like that? Don't kill this boy.
Please please uh and the Ganga said okay this is your boy I am gone you objected you broke uh the condition so now I can't be with you anymore and then so this Bishma remained there grew up in the meantime again Shantanu fell in love with that matzah gandha that uh this mother of viasa.
So uh and then uh the father of mats gandha and mats gandha herself. Now there a bargain you know uh the father said well if you like my daughter uh okay I agree that you can have her but uh the kingdom should go to the son of my daughter not your son Bishma he should not Bishma was a person of you know tremendous valor and lot of you know wisdom, knowledge and so everybody took for granted that Bishma will be the next king. He was very capable.
Uh but then because of this condition Bishma came forward to rescue his father from this. He said okay I take the wow that I will and never become a king.
Okay I will not ascend to kingdom.
Uh then satyati said okay maybe your you may not ascend. Agreed but what about your children?
your children will proclaim the kingdom.
So Bishma therefore said okay uh I will not marry at all then I will not marry and so that was then decided and thus Bishma did not marry but uh he got wives for uh that another the child that was born uh of uh uh their two children were born. uh one died early that it is that uh Chitrangada who died early in life at the hands of a Gandha and then Shantanu had uh a younger son named Vichitra.
So actually the Pandavas story Koravas and Pandavas story begins with this Vichitra Vichitra uh so wives have to be found for him.
So uh Bishma uh then went and where the three sisters were getting married in the fashion of those days called Syamara.
So uh Bishma uh defeated everybody there and captured the three girls and brought for the to be married to Vichitra.
Uh now uh the one of them the the three were Amba Ambika and Ambalika.
So uh one of them told Bishma no I already am in love with that another king Shalwa. So Bishma said okay you can go and then the two were there. So uh now uh it is Vichitra uh that it is So uh Vijitra was married to two daughters of the Raja of Kashi named Ambika and Nambalika who were brought by force by Abhishma on the occasion. of their means they choose the groom. So it is at the order of his mother Satyawati uh Badraana raised the issue in the widows because uh Vichra was not capable of producing a child.
So this is a custom that is seen in history and for a long time even in the recent history that was observed that is called sanati means by kind of you know getting some other man if that husband is not capable of producing child Then another man usually the brother of the husband is interested with that. So that is called means in the same ketra means field. So the same field the same womb is used but somebody else has swed the seed. So that is how uh the uh children were born uh in this work uh to Vichitra.
They were considered children of Vichitra.
Uh but they were not produced directly by Vichitra.
So uh we will see that next time how the koravas and pandawas they came about and then how Krishna uh was born and how he got related to these koravas and pandawas.
uh this is the continuation of this story uh that will start in this uh ninth scandanda is going to end soon and the 10th scandanda the 10th book 10th book is only about Krishna so uh it is considered the heart of Bhagwatam the story of Krishna but before that we will be completing ing this uh sometime soon. So let us do this closing chant and then in case if you have questions feel free to ask them.
Oh devotees, qua quaft to intoxication.
This nectar of the fruit of the tree of Vedas flowing from the mouth of the great s shuka and mix with the ambrosia from his words.
Anybody has any question that Raji has a question.
Maharaj.
>> Um so you mentioned that um there are different ways a person can be born like we saw examples in these stories.
>> Yeah.
>> And uh so when you say viasa the Krishna dwipai in a viasa and the bahad in a viasa are different because they are separated so much in time. So just as a person can be born in different ways, why can't a sage of his caliber be living over thousand years or being reborn?
>> Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Uh it is uh again the question is of probability you know uh there may be the same name could be given to two different people or many different people like how many raises are there I at least myself I know about four so so like that the vasa Now vasa is a very well-known last name you know uh in Gujarati and in uh north Indians they get the name vasa so it is more probable like that but it is possible that the same person so but why this two names are used you know like shankarachara in his commentary on A Brahma Sutras uh always refers to this as bad not Vasa.
He does not use the word vasa there.
But in Bhagat Gita commentary there is he uses the word vasa.
So it is who knows whether they are same or different.
You can do research on that. Huh? Right.
Any other question?
Any question upstairs?
So we shall conclude with the closing prayers coming Sunday. Uh Raji will be Rajeshwari Bala Subraman will be giving the Sunday discourse on Sadashi Brahandra. a great sage not too long ago. So, uh it will be good to listen to that.
were going in the B.
Mother, hurry, hurry.
Hurry, hurry.
Hurry, hurry.
Hurry, hurry.
Hurry, hurry.
Krishna Krishna bowl. Krishna Krishna.
Krishna Krishna.
Krishna Krishna.
Mund H.
Mh.
Hurry. Hey boo.
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