Illogical

Expressions researched:
"illogic" |"illogical" |"illogically"

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.77.30, Translation:

Such is the account given by some sages, O wise King, but those who speak in this illogical way are contradicting themselves, having forgotten their own previous statements.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 7.95-96, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu never considered the holy name of the Lord to be a material vibration, nor does any pure devotee mistake the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra to be a material musical manifestation. Lord Caitanya never tried to be the master of the holy name; rather He taught us how to be servants of the holy name. If one chants the holy name of the Lord just to make a show, not knowing the secret of success, he may increase his bile secretion, but he will never attain perfection in chanting the holy name. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu presented himself in this way: “I am a great fool and do not have knowledge of right and wrong. In order to understand the real meaning of the Vedānta-sūtra, I never followed the explanation of the Śaṅkara-sampradāya or Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. I’m very much afraid of the illogical arguments of the Māyāvādī philosophers. Therefore I think I have no authority regarding their explanations of the Vedānta-sūtra. I firmly believe that simply chanting the holy name of the Lord can remove all misconceptions of the material world. I believe that simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can attain the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. In this age of quarrel and disagreement, the chanting of the holy names is the only way to liberation from the material clutches.

CC Adi 16.81, Purport:

Unfortunately, atheistic science will not accept that matter comes from life. Scientists insist upon their most illogical and foolish theory that life comes from matter, although this is quite impossible. They cannot prove in their laboratories that matter can produce life, yet there are thousands and thousands of examples illustrating that matter comes from life. Therefore in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says that as soon as one accepts the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no great philosopher or scientist can put forward any thesis to contradict the Lord's power.

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 5, Translation and Purport:

The Supreme Lord walks and does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything.

Here is a description of some of the Supreme Lord's transcendental activities, executed by His inconceivable potencies. The contradictions given here prove the inconceivable potencies of the Lord. "He walks, and He does not walk." Ordinarily, if someone can walk, it is illogical to say he cannot walk. But in reference to God, such a contradiction simply serves to indicate His inconceivable power. With our limited fund of knowledge we cannot accommodate such contradictions, and therefore we conceive of the Lord in terms of our limited powers of understanding. For example, the impersonalist philosophers of the Māyāvāda school accept only the Lord's impersonal activities and reject His personal feature. But the members of the Bhāgavata school, adopting the perfect conception of the Lord, accept His inconceivable potencies and thus understand that He is both personal and impersonal. The bhāgavatas know that without inconceivable potencies there can be no meaning to the words "Supreme Lord."

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.4 -- Rome, May 28, 1974:

So that girl has grown up now nineteen years. At that time she was on the lap of her mother. So I said, "Oh, your daughter has grown up so much." She has changed so many bodies. But that body which I saw in 1955, that does not exist. Where is the illogical? That body is not existing, but the girl is there, and mother, father, "Yes, yes, she is my daughter, that daughter which you saw so little." The body has changed so many times. So similarly, when I shall give up this body, I must have another body. And Kṛṣṇa says tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). This is called saṁsāra. The saṁsāra means repetition of different bodies.

Arrival Addresses and Talks

Arrival Talk in Room -- Mayapur, March 23, 1975:

Paramahaṁsa: They have some completely illogical argument. Just like those people...

Prabhupāda: Unfortunate. Illogical argument means unfortunate. Rascals. Therefore we say plainly, "You are all rascals." That's all. You have no discrimination. Anyone who does not believe as He is, he's a rascal. That's all. He may be happy or sorry. You don't mind. You don't make compromise. At least I do not do. If you have not full faith in Kṛṣṇa, then you are a rascal, that's all, whatever you may be. The Dr. Patel does not like this, but he does not protest to me. As others say, he protests by that. It is a fact. We have no difficulty to understand Kṛṣṇa and thus make our life successful. But we unnecessarily bring arguments, impediments to understand Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we are unfortunate, envious of Kṛṣṇa.

Philosophy Discussions

Philosophy Discussion on David Hume:

Hayagrīva: This is the conclusion of Hume. He felt that one must first be a philosophical skeptic before accepting the revealed truths of religion. Ultimately Hume maintains that these truths can only be accepted on faith, not experience or reason.

Prabhupāda: No, and why not reason? If we think that everything has some proprietor, owner, so it is quite reasonable to think that this vast land, vast sky, vast water, nature, they must have some proprietor. What is the fault in this logic? Why they conclude that there was a chunk, there was some gas, there was something like that? So why they think like that? Is that very reasonable? Wherefrom the chunk came? Wherefrom the gas came? Wherefrom the fire came? So this is reasonable. So there is a proprietor, as it is described in this Bhagavad-gītā, mayādhyakṣeṇa (BG 9.10), aham ādir hi sarveṣām. So there must be some proprietor. That is logical. That is, that is philosophy. How one can..., one thing can exist without the owner or proprietor? So this is not like, that there is no proprietor. This is illogical, or without any philosophy. But think that there is a proprietor, this is completely logical.

Philosophy Discussion on Soren Aabye Kierkegaard:

Prabhupāda: In America. (break) ...as soon as I cut with knife, the same blood is coming. Here also the same blood is coming. He is also crying, he is also crying. All these things are (indistinct). Then how do you say that this man has got soul and this animal has not got soul? Where is analogy? And points of similarities are there. Analogy means points of similarity. So the points of similarity, while killing either a man or animal, are all the same, then how are you bringing this analogy that he has got soul, he hasn't got soul? Where is his logic?

Devotee: (indistinct) illogic is the fact that they'll go out and (indistinct)

Philosophy Discussion on Ludwig Wittgenstein:

Śyāmasundara: By language, that our structure of language must be logically complete and that it must also be able to be seen or it cannot be said. Whatever cannot be shown cannot be said either.

Prabhupāda: Then logically complete... Suppose I have my father, I've seen my father, or I've seen my grandfather, or I've seen my great-grandfather, but because I cannot see the father of great-grandfather does not mean that there was no great-grandfather. Logically it is real, that the father of my great-grandfather was also a human being, he had two hands, two legs, and one head. That is logical, even though I have not seen. What is illogical? So it does not mean that things which we sometimes do not see, it is not logical. You cannot say like that. Because they are not seen, that is also logical.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- September 2, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Asmin dehe, as there is the soul, there is the soul, asmin dehe, and he's having different types of bodies, kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā. He's changing body from childhood, boyhood, boyhood to youth-hood, youth-hood to another state. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. Where is the illogical presentation? This is scientific. For an intelligent man, this is scientific. And if he's still dull-headed, then what can be done? Kṛṣṇa gives example. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ. As the soul is changing body, from babyhood to childhood, childhood to boyhood, boyhood to youth-hood, like that. Similarly, after finishing this body, it may be invisible to you, but the subtle body is there.

Room Conversation -- September 2, 1973, London:

Prabhupāda: Why should you be bad qualified? (Bengali) Logic, it is logical. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Where is the illogic. You have passed your childhood body, you have passed your youth-hood body, you are in a different body. Although you are in a different body, you are existing. What better logic you can discover? You cannot discover any better logic than this. Don't accuse that we are illogical, don't accuse. We are logical, completely logical. But we have got brain to understand. Yes. Logic, you can put forward, but one must have the brain to understand it. If one is dull like stone, how he can understand logic? This is very clear logic. Tathā dehāntara-prāptir dhīras tatra na... (BG 2.13), dhīraḥ, one who is sober, coolheaded, he understands. "Yes, it is all right."

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Conversation with Devotees on Theology -- April 1, 1975, Mayapur:

Prabhupāda: So "logy" means logic.

Acyutānanda: If you say what you are..., your own theory, cannot be done, that's illogical.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Acyutānanda: If you propose a theory and say, "It can exist," then that's an illogical presentation. A rabbit's horn. (break) It can't exist. Sky-flower. Doesn't...

Garden Conversation with Professors -- June 24, 1975, Los Angeles:

Prabhupāda: And theology is science of God. So what is that science? You are trying to understand God, or you know God; you are going to abide by God's dictation. First of all, two things: you do not know God; you are trying to find out God. I think this is not theology; it is theosophy. Those who are trying to find out God by speculation, they are theosophist. And theologist means one who knows God and abides by his order. Just like we know government and we accept the government's law and abide by it. That is good citizenship. And those who have no government, they are trying to find out some good system of government, and that is another thing. So what is your position? You know God or you are trying to find out God? What is the theologician's position? That is my question.

Dr. Crossley: It's both.

Prabhupāda: No, both cannot be.

Dr. Crossley: Some seek...

Prabhupāda: No, both cannot be. That is illogical. If you know God, there is no use of finding Him out. You know already who is God.