Acharya Prashant: (Reading out question) "Sir, you are a very logical person, why do you present yourself as a spiritual person?"
Should I answer the question or the assumption? Where do you pick such jewels from, Gaurav (Questioner)? Your assumption is that spirituality or religion is anti-logic or illogical. From where are you getting it? I am not blaming you for asking this question. I am just alarmed. There is some source in your life from where you get a clear idea that spirituality and logic do not go together.
Spirituality is the very zenith of logic, Gaurav. Spirituality and logic go hand-in-hand. It is just that Spirituality is so deeply logical that a point comes when logic cannot keep up with it. So spirituality and logic go hand-in-hand and at some point, logic gets tired and falls down and Spirituality still keeps going. Then you say that spirituality has surpassed logic, transcended logic. But in surpassing logic, spirituality never becomes illogical or anti-logical. There is nothing in spirituality that will be against logic; it can be beyond logic, all right, but never against logic.
Now from where are you getting these ideas? Surely, you are influenced by people who talk of Spirituality or Mysticism in the most illogical ways, or they present illogical assertions, arguments, or conclusions in the name of Spirituality. Sometimes we say, “Oh! There is a lot of pseudoscience being floated in the name of Spirituality.” You know, that is not even pseudoscience. To call it pseudoscience is an affront to science. It is out and out 100% pure superstition. But the problem is when you have powerful forces that are selling pseudoscience, rather superstition, as Spirituality, then the common man gets a very strong and clear message that spirituality means some nonsensical mumbo-jumbo. And therefore, the relationship between spirituality and logic gets badly snapped.
In front of you is someone who has been accepted by you as a spiritual figure whereas he does not deserve to be called spiritual in any sense. Now this fellow is saying “I will raise the dead,” this fellow is talking all kinds of things occult, or you are reading a book that mentions that one fellow is here and the next moment he is London, or he is in London and Calcutta simultaneously. And this has been touted as great spiritual literature.
So obviously, you get the impression that spirituality is not only anti-logic but also against the laws of science. Somebody is saying, “You know, water has memory” somebody is saying that using ‘Rudraksh’ you can figure out whether food is contaminated or not, and things will start happening, and you do not question these things. You do not ever apply your intelligence to these things. You don’t even ask a counter-question. You can be pardoned because usually when all such nonsense is being propagated, counter-questions are not even allowed. Lab experiments are not even allowed because the moment an experiment is conducted in an honest environment in a laboratory, the truth will be out, the godman will be exposed.
So, why will he ever allow any kind of experiment to take place? So much about the godman, I don’t want to talk about such godmen too much. I want to talk about you. Why did you, first of all, accept their nonsensical talk as spirituality? Do you see the clear happening? Because you accepted that what they are talking is spirituality, therefore now you feel that spirituality has to be devoid of logic. Are you getting it?
This is how your mind is functioning. First of all, you take some fellow as spiritual and why have you accepted that fellow or a number of such fellows as spiritual? Those fellows might be alive or dead, those fellows might just be an author of a particular book, that fellow might be a very, very big historical name belonging to the last century. Doesn’t matter who that person is, alive or dead, author or wizard, godman or conman, doesn’t matter. But you have allowed some person to occupy a position that he doesn’t deserve. And you are saying “this fellow is spiritual.” So that is your spirituality now because you have clearly mapped the word spiritual with that kind of a person.
Now, what does that person do? That person talks rubbish of the hyperlative order. But that person is spiritual without a doubt in your eyes, right? So, all that rubbish again becomes spiritual. You see that person has been accepted by you as spiritual, so his rubbish takes the name of spirituality. So now that is spirituality in your eyes, rubbish, illogical, unscientific, mindless, cunning rubbish. That is your spirituality.
So, when you come across somebody like me who is not talking illogical stuff then you are surprised. Then you say, “Oh! How is it possible that you are in the domain of religion and spirituality?” And it really saddens me that religion and spirituality have become dirty words now. Religion and spirituality have become words, not at all associated with logic anymore. It really saddens me.
If you are really logical, you will turn spiritual. You have no option. Spirituality is the natural destiny of logic. All logic concerns things outside of you. Ultimately, if logic is honest it will have to turn towards the logician. Logic will need to ask, “Who is the one applying the logic? Who is the one coming up with the arguments?” Because the arguments cannot be understood without understanding the arguer. A point comes when you clearly see that. When you see that then you realize that logic has reached its highest flowering, its utmost potential. That is the utmost potential of logic. It will bring you to spirituality. And spirituality is not a cult; spirituality is not at all this that you are seeing all around you. Spirituality is not this godman business. Spirituality is not this ‘*Jadu-tona*’ (magical stuff) and all kinds of foolish stuff.
And remember that a really spiritual man can never, never contradict science. Really spiritual men actually went along very nicely with scientists. They never had a bone to pick against scientists. You look at Krishnamurthy’s conversations with David Bohm, for example. Are you getting it?
