Question: I feel I have insufficient faith in the Vedas because they may have been composed by fallible persons, and in disciplic succession due to the possibility that these representatives may also be fallible humans. What am I to do, to move forward?
Answer by Romapada Swami:
Thank you very much for your introspective and honest question.
My response has two parts.
One, please find the attached publication by Bhaktivedanta Institue (A Report on the GAUDIYA VAISHNAVA VEDANTA), which addresses the views of a scientist who studied sankhya philosophy from Srimad Bhagavatam, with the assignment to see if there is potential “falsifiability” within sankhya, in light of empiric evidence from the realm of science in today’s world. The conclusion of this scholar was there is no known empiric evidence in modern science to establish its falsifiability. This doesn’t prove the correctness of the Vedas, but it indicates there is merit to considering the Vedas carefully.
The second part of my response has to do with how anyone’s faith may be nurtured.
One of the primary methods of nurturing faith is sadhu sanga or association with elevated souls. By such association, one’s faith will grow.
A related application of this principle is that “When you act on knowledge, faith increases.”
When you get a direct subjective experience of the effect of acting upon genuine knowledge, faith in that knowledge and its source increases.
Through your association with devotees, you will find some points which resonate with you. Those points which -DO- resonate with you, when applied, result in a practical experience or realization.
Just like by the eating process, hunger subsides; similarly by the Bhakti process – when applied – some satisfaction and realization comes from within. This result will increase your faith by practical increments.
Find quality association, and your faith will gradually grow.
Hare Krishna
