The Judgement of Reason

We see that hundreds of factories in big cities are operating with the power of electricity. Railways and trams are running. At dash thousands of bulbs light up instantly. Fans revolve in every borne during the hot weather. These happenings of daily life do not excite feelings of wonder or amazement in us nor do we argue among ourselves as to why those things operate or light up. Why is it so ? It is because we can readily see the wires which transmit power to these bulbs. We know too something about the Power Station which supplies electricity through these wires. We are aware that this Power Station is operated by people. The engineer who supervises the working of dais staff is also familiar to us. The engineer, we know, is trained in the science of producing electricity. He has several types of machines at his disposal. He operates these machines and produces that power whose, splendor is displayed in the effulgence of the electric light, the revolving of fans, in the movement of railways and trams and in the running of mills and factories.

Hence the reason why we do not dispute the existence of electricity when we see it displayed before us is that the entire chain from the production to the use of electricity is part of our awareness and observation. Suppose these electric lights were on, the fans revolved as usual, the railways and trams were running, the cables which transmit the power of electricity to them were hidden from our view. Suppose the Power Station was also beyond the orbit of our comprehension. Suppose we were completely unaware of those who work in the Power House, nor did we know that there was an engineer who operated this Power House by means of his skill and specialized knowledge. Would then we take the splendors of electricity for granted? Would we not argue among ourselves about the sources and nature of these splendors? There is no doubt that your answer to these questions will be `no'. Why? It is because when the causes of manifest things are hidden, when the sources of apparent phenomenon are mysterious, it is quite natural that the hearts should be filled with wonder and curiosity, minds should turn to the exploration of this hidden mystery and that people should enter into speculation and offer various explanations about the unknown phenomenon.

The First Group-The Speculators and the Skeptics

Let us proceed with the discussion on the premises of the same supposition. Let us agree that our supposition is a fact and that the state of the world is as we have supposed. Millions of electric lights are on. Millions of electric fans are revolving. The trains are running The factories are operating; and we have no means of knowing as to what power is working behind them and what is the source of this power? People are aghast with wonder at such splendors. Every man is exercising his wit to discover the causes of these wondrous displays. Some one says these things are luminous or are moving by themselves. There is no extraneous power which is supplying light or dynamic force to them from outside. Some one says that the mass with which these things are made produces light and the moving force in them. Some one avers that there are some gods appointed to rule over the affairs of this material world. One of these gods gives light to the bulbs ; another moves the trains and trains; vet another god revolves the fans and it is a god, too, who operates the factories and mills. There is a group of people who have exhausted their faculty of thinking and are at wits' end. In a hopeless state of mind they say that their minds cannot comprehend the secret of this magic. They know only that which they see or perceive with their senses. More than this, they are unable to comprehend. And they can neither affirm nor refute what is beyond the orbit of their comprehension. All these, groups are locked in disputation, but none of them commands knowledge other than their own suppositions, calculations or personal impressions to support their respective viewpoints or to refute the outlook of their adversaries.

The Second Group-Bearers of Knowledge

At the time when confusion rages; n the world, a man appears and say, "Brothers, I possess the avenues of real knowledge which are not familiar to you. Through these means it has been intimated to me that these electric bulbs, fans, trains, factories arid mills nave secret transmission lines which you cannot perceive. A big Power House supplies force which moves these machines and produces li0ght. This Power House is equipped with gigantic machines which are operated by numberless personnel. These personnel work in subordination to a chief engineer. It is the same engineer whose knowledge and skill has created this entire system. The whole process is being carried out under the direction and supervision of this engineer.

This person proclaims his knowledge with full vigor. People say that his claims are unfounded. All groups join forces to oppose him. They pronounce him as a mad man. They beat him, persecute him, expel him from his home. Yet the man remains true to his aims in spite of all spiritual and physical tortures. He does not amend or alter his word to the slightest degree in the face of any threat or temptation. No hardship can weaken his resolve. Every word spoken by him reveals his firm conviction in the truth of his claims. A second man follows him and he, too, proclaims the same word in the same manner. A third, fourth and fifth man succeeds and repeats the claims of is forerunners. A series of knowledge-bearers follows by rapid succession. The number of these men swells to hundreds and thousands and even more and all proclaim the same word in the same manner. Differences in time and place or circumstances effect no variation in their claim. All of them aver, "We possess means of knowledge with which common people re not familiar". The people declare that every one of them is mad. They are subjected to torture and violent persecution. They are oppressed in every way and forced to recant from their claim. But all of them remain true to their words and no worldly power can force them to relent. Besides this tenacity of purpose and steadfastness the main virtues of these persons are that none of them is a liar or a thief, or a perfidious, wicked, tyrannical or a corrupt person. Even their enemies and adversaries acknowledge their virtues. All of them bear pure morals; they are extremely pious in character and they excel in good manners among other members of their species. There is no trait of insanity in their personalities. On the contrary, they present such teachings and frame such edicts for the refinement of morals, purification of the soul and for the reformation of worldly matters that it is impossible to produce the like of them and what's more, eminent scholars and sages spend whole life spans in trying to comprehend the subtle points of their teachings.

In Time Court of Reason

On one side are the refuters, divided among themselves ; on the other are the plaintiffs who are unanimous in their claim. Their cause is brought before the court of reason. Reason, as judge, is duty-bound to understand its position clearly. Next it should grasp the viewpoints of the two parties in the case. Finally, it should compare the two positions and adjudicate in favor of one or the other party. The position of the judge himself is such that he has no means of ascertaining the fact of the matter.. He possesses no knowledge of the reality. He has before him only the statements of the contending parties,, their arguments, their personal circumstances and the external evidence and observations. He has to subject this material to a careful scrutiny and then judge as to which side is probably right. The judge's ruling cannot decide beyond what is probable, because the mass of evidence contained in the docket makes it difficult for him to be absolutely certain about the fact of the matter. The Judge can do no more than prefer the cause of one party to the cause of another, but he cannot affirm or refute the cause of any party with absolute certainty and exactitude.

The Refuters hold the following Position

1. They hold divergent views about reality and lack unanimity on almost every point. Members of the same group are often at variance with each other.
    

2. They confess that they possess no means of knowledge other than that which the other people possess. Each group among them claims no more than that its suppositions are weightier than the conjectures of other groups. All, however, admit that their claims are based on mere conjectures.
    

3. Their conviction, faith and belief in their suppositions is not inflexible, Instances of their shifting beliefs can be cited out of number.
    
   It has been noticed several times that only yesterday a person from among these people held forth a theory with full conviction but denounced this same theory the next day and propounded an entirely new idea. Their views are often liable to change with advancement in age, wisdom, knowledge and experience.
    

4. They rebut the claim of the plaintiffs on the sole plea that the latter have advanced no certain .proof of the genuineness of their case. They argue that they have not shown to us those mysterious cables which supply power to the electric bulbs and fans. They have yet to prove the existence of the Power Station through the test of experience and observation. They have not taken us around the Power Station, nor have they shown us its machines and implements. They have never provided us with an occasion to meet the personnel of the Power Station, nor indeed have they introduced us face to face with the engineer who runs this station. How then can we believe that their assertions are facts?

The Position of the Plaintiffs is as follows

1. They are unanimous in their assertion. They are in perfect agreement in regard to the fundamentals of their claims.
    

2. With complete unanimity they hold that they possess a certain means of knowledge which is denied to common people.
    

3. None of them has averred that "our claim is based on conjecture or supposition". They have, in fact, with one voice asserted : `We have a special kind of relationship with the engineer, His functionaries pay visits to us. He has shown us around his factory. Whatever we say is based. on personal knowledge and faith ; we do not allege anything on the grounds of our own thought and imagination.
    

4. There is not a single instance of any one of them having altered his statement even to the slightest degree. From the time of laying forth his claim till the end of his life, every one of them has held fast to one and the same truth.
    

5. Their characters are pure and beyond reproach. There is no trait of falsehood, deception, artifice or treachery in their personalities. There is absolutely no reason why these people who are otherwise so truthful and fair-minded in life should unanimously speak falsehood in this particular case.
    

6. There is no evidence that self-interest is their motive in putting forth this claim. On the contrary, there is no denying the fact that several of them have endured severe hardship for the sake of this cause. They suffered physical torture, were incarcerated, beaten up, exiled and some of them were even assassinated. Some were, even cut up with the blade of the saw-mill. Earring few exceptions, none of them lead a prosperous or an easy life. Hence they cannot be accused of having any personal axe to grind. The fact that ,they remained true to their cause furnishes positive proof that they had an unflinching faith in the truth of their case. So unshakeable was their belief that threat to life or limb could not deter them from holding fast to their convictions.
    

7. There is no evidence that any of them was insane or feeble in intellect. They were all exceptionally wise and sensible in dealing with the problems of life. Their adversaries often vouched for their wisdom. How can then we conclude that in this particular case, they all were afflicted with insanity? And what sort of case was it ? It was a case which had become a matter of life and death for them. It was a cause which pitted them against the whole world. They had struggled for years against the combined forces of the world for this cause. It was a cause which was the essence of their whole rational teaching (and even their detractors admitted the rationality of their case).
    

8. They never pronounced, "we can introduce you to the Engineer or His functionaries face to face or that we can show you around the hidden factory or otherwise we can prove our claim through experience or observation". They themselves attribute their knowledge to some `Invisible Power' and invite the people to rely upon their word and admit their evidence.

The Verdict of the Court of Reason

Having considered the respective positions of the two parties, the Court of Reason delivers its verdict. The Court observes that both parties have beheld the same suns and phenomenon and have endeavored to explore their internal causes and reasons. Prima facie the viewpoints of both parties are of a like nature inasmuch as none of them is completely devoid of reason; in other words, according to reason, it cannot be said that the truth of any of these viewpoints is questionable or improbable. Secondly, experience or observation cannot determine the validity of any one of these claims. No group from among the first party can furnish scientific evidence of its theories which may convince every one of the veracity of its claims; nor can the second pasty furnish any such proof; it does not even claim to do that. On further study and consideration some points emerge on the basis of which the Court has determined that the claim of the second party is to be preferred vis-a-vis the representation of the first group.

These points are:

First : No other claim has been pressed unanimously, vigorously and with such deep conviction by so large a number of wise, pious and truthful men.

Secondly, the fact that so large a body of men bearing good character and belonging to different periods and places unanimously declared that they had an uncommon means of receiving true knowledge through which they ascertained the internal causes of the outer phenomenon forces on the conclusion that their claim is justified-significantly, there is no variation in their statements about their knowledge. The knowledge which they hove propounded is not devoid of reason, nor is it contrary to the principles of reason that some persons should be endowed with certain extraordinary powers which are denied to ordinary men.

Thirdly, upon considerations of the external phenomenon it seems probable that the case of the second party is genuine. The electric bulbs, fans, trains and factories are not luminous or moving by themselves, for if it were so, their illumination or locomotion would have been automatic, which, we know, is not the case. Their light or movement is not due to the natural property of the material they are made of, because when they are not luminous or operating their physical material remains the same. It would be incorrect to say that they operate under the control of different forces, because often times when the light goes out the fans also stop revolving, the tram cars come to a stand-still and the factories grind to a halt. Hence all theories interpreting the external phenomenon propounded by the first group are irrational and far-fetched. The truth of the matter is that there is one Power behind all these phenomena and this Power is being wielded by an Omnipotent and Omniscient Being who displays this Power through various phenomena under an organized and well-laid system. As regards the assertion of the doubters that, `we do not understand this and we can neither affirm nor refute what is beyond our comprehension', the Juror (reason) rules that this argument is fallacious. The existence of a phenomenon does not depend on whether the listeners are able to understand it or not. Authentic and permanent evidence is enough to admit the validity of a case. If some reliable men came to us and report that they have observed some men in the land of the West flying in the air on vehicles made of steel and that they, while sitting in London, have listened to songs broadcast from America, we shall have to consider the following questions before we credit their statements:

Are these men liars or jesters? Do they have any personal motive in making such statements? Are they sane? If it is proved that they are not liars, nor jesters, nor mad, neither have they any selfish motive in making these statements, and if we observe further if that the same statements are being made in right earnest, without the slightest variation, by a large body of truthful and wise men, we shall surely give these statements full credit, irrespective of our inability to comprehend the phenomenon of men flying in the air in vehicles of steel or listening to songs broadcast from a distance of thousands of miles without any visible link.

How can you attain Faith

This is the judgment of reason in this case. But the state of attestation and belief which called "Faith" cannot be attained by this judgment. Inspiration is needed to acquire Faith. An inner conviction of the heart is required to attain Faith. For the attainment of Faith a voice from within should arise which purges the spirit of all contradiction, doubt and vacillation and which sounds a clarion call that "the conjectures of the people are false and truth is that which has been revealed by truthful men not on the basis of conjecture but through knowledge and intuition".

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