Man and Animal

As published in The Harmonist (Sree Sajjanatoshani)
Edited by Paramahamsa Paribrajakacharyya Sri Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaj

FEBRUARY 14, 1935

Man has been defined as a rational animal. There is thus an element of rationality combined with animality in man. Man has a higher nature and lower nature. The common characteristics of man and animal have been shown in the following sloka: Eating, sleeping, fear and sexual intercourse-these are common to human beings and animals. Religion is the differentia of man from animal. All men, however, are not equal. Some are savage, some are civilized; some are intelligent, some foolish; some are rich, some poor; some are high, some very low. If a close study is directed to the nature of man it is noticed that he has a body and a mind. The interests of his body require that he should have sufficient food, sufficient exercise and sufficient rest, so that his body may be in sound health to be able to function properly on the physical plane. Those who are satisfied simply with the interests of the body, do not think it necessary to look to the higher interests of the mind Thus if a number of educated persons, with sufficient aesthetic culture, would go out to visit some beautiful natural scenery, such as a waterfall, from a long distance, by incurring heavy expenditure, rustic people of the locality, who are perhaps seeing the waterfall every day and who do not see anything of special beauty in it, might be astonished to find that those educated persons should take so much trouble to come their out of the way village just to have a sight of the waterfall. But one whose mind has received sufficient culture will feel altogether in a different way. But as both the mind and the body are temporary, their interests also can be only temporary. So when to persons like ourselves, who have considered the body and the mind as everything and who will not believe in the existence of a soul which is of a permanent nature, true religionists speak about anything about the interests of the soul, naturally enough we are astonished and we, with an air of superiority, look down upon them and do not think it necessary or just to give them even a hearing to see how far their statements may be reasonable. No man can reasonably deny that the things of this world, with which we have our transactions, are not at all permanent. They are subject to birth, existence and death. The very existence of temporary things, however, suggests to a rational mind the possibility of permanent things which are existing forever and which are not liable to be destroyed. Our scientific knowledge, derived from our experience of the things of this world are all impermanent, do not help us to have any knowledge of any eternally existing entity. So if there was a permanent Entity, (and rationally we cannot say that there is no possibility of the existence of such an Entity), the way to know Him must be different from that for acquiring any knowledge of the limited things of this world. Here the revealed scriptures come to our help and give us assurance that God, who is the Absolute Truth, can be known, that there are those who have already known Him and that if we are fortunate enough we may also have the knowledge from them and that to know Him is essentially necessary for each one of us, as by such knowledge only we can be free from all imperfection and we can also have the life eternal which is the summum bonum of life. It is man and man alone, as distinguished from other animals, that has the power to think of this higher life, to strive for it and to be blessed with it. So those, who are simply passing the days here in eating, drinking and being merry like animals, cannot be said to be utilizing the higher possibilities of human life. The scriptures have, therefore, declared that human life is so very precious, because it is in this life that one can attain the goal who is no other than God, and who has reached God is never in want of anything and is always in peace.