The Jiva Question (2)
An addendum to a previous blog.
Supposedly in response to my (scripturally correct) assertion that, according to the Vedic philosophy that Sai Baba claims to represent, souls are never created but have always existed, the same representative of Sai Baba promptly copy-pasted a selection of Biblical verses in support of her position regarding the creation of souls by God.
This representative was kind enough to produce a link that displays various translations of Genesis 1.27. For the sake of brevity, let us just post one of these here:
Whereas I have no fundamental problem with Christianity and it's ideas, this simply serves to illustrate one of the many quandaries into which SB devotees place themselves. Sai Baba, to his credit, does teach that one must have equal respect for all religions and faiths as well as how we should respect the differences as valid so long as they do not extinguish the flame of unity. In this vein SB also declares that one of the primary purposes of his "mission" is to foster the Vedas and Shastras and to protect Sanatana-dharma, and so it would naturally follow that carrying out this task predisposes him to be significantly biased towards the Vedic tradition.
Respecting other religions and their teachings is all very admirable, but what does it mean for his followers when they are faced with theological contradictions such as the one above. Did God create souls or didn't He? Sai Baba is philosophically biased towards the latter position and thus his Christian followers (or other types of followers who would significantly disagree) will have to find a way to reconcile the above contradiction. Simply picking a position and maintaining "respect" towards another conflicting position does not strengthen one's standing in a philosophical discussion or even in personal spiritual contemplation. The theological position relating to the origin of the soul is indeed a momentous issue and cannot be easily dismissed under the excuse of mutual respect.
That this issue constitutes a bona-fide doubt doesn't say much for Sai Baba's claims about the underlying unity of all religions, does it?
Supposedly in response to my (scripturally correct) assertion that, according to the Vedic philosophy that Sai Baba claims to represent, souls are never created but have always existed, the same representative of Sai Baba promptly copy-pasted a selection of Biblical verses in support of her position regarding the creation of souls by God.
This representative was kind enough to produce a link that displays various translations of Genesis 1.27. For the sake of brevity, let us just post one of these here:
God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them.
Whereas I have no fundamental problem with Christianity and it's ideas, this simply serves to illustrate one of the many quandaries into which SB devotees place themselves. Sai Baba, to his credit, does teach that one must have equal respect for all religions and faiths as well as how we should respect the differences as valid so long as they do not extinguish the flame of unity. In this vein SB also declares that one of the primary purposes of his "mission" is to foster the Vedas and Shastras and to protect Sanatana-dharma, and so it would naturally follow that carrying out this task predisposes him to be significantly biased towards the Vedic tradition.
Respecting other religions and their teachings is all very admirable, but what does it mean for his followers when they are faced with theological contradictions such as the one above. Did God create souls or didn't He? Sai Baba is philosophically biased towards the latter position and thus his Christian followers (or other types of followers who would significantly disagree) will have to find a way to reconcile the above contradiction. Simply picking a position and maintaining "respect" towards another conflicting position does not strengthen one's standing in a philosophical discussion or even in personal spiritual contemplation. The theological position relating to the origin of the soul is indeed a momentous issue and cannot be easily dismissed under the excuse of mutual respect.
That this issue constitutes a bona-fide doubt doesn't say much for Sai Baba's claims about the underlying unity of all religions, does it?
Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!
posted by Swami Saiexposedananda at
18:23
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