Prabhupāda: One religion may accept; one may . . . that is not our purpose. We are talking on the point of that if the owner of the body is permanent in spite of different change of the body, then what is the difficulty to understand that when this body will be changed, the owner of the body will have another body?
Prof. Kotovsky: Yes, another approach is that there is no separate own . . . there is no separate . . . no two phenomena, owner of the body and body.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prof. Kotovsky: This body and owner of the body is the same.
Prabhupāda: No.
Prof. Kotovsky: When body dies, this owner also dies.
Prabhupāda: No.
Prof. Kotovsky: There is no separate . . .
Prabhupāda: That . . . why? Why there is no department of knowledge in the university to study this fact scientifically? That is my proposition.
Prof. Kotovsky: Yes.
Prabhupāda: So that means they are lacking. It may be as you say, or it may be as I say, but there must be a department of knowledge, what is the . . . Now, recently one cardiologist, a doctor, he has accepted that there is soul—in Montreal and Toronto. I had some correspondence with him. And he is strongly in belief that there is soul. So that is another point of view.
But we accept knowledge from authority. Authority. Just like this statement is given by Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the authority by all the ācāryas, in the Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is studied amongst the scholarly circle and philosophical circle still, all over the world. And this statement is given by Kṛṣṇa:
- dehino 'smin yathā dehe
- kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
- tathā dehāntara-prāptir
- dhīras tatra na muhyati
- (BG 2.13)
So dehāntaram prāpti . . . just like the childhood, now, giving up the childhood body, the soul is coming to the boyhood body; from boyhood, youth . . . similarly, the soul, giving up this body, he accepts another body. This statement is given by Kṛṣṇa, the greatest authority according to our tradition of knowledge.
Prof. Kotovsky: Yes, I know.
Prabhupāda: So suppose we accept such statement without any argument. That is the way of Vedic understanding. Vedic understanding means you have to accept whatever is stated in the Vedas without any argument.
Prof. Kotovsky: So forget about Vedas. Our approach is we don't believe in anything without argument. We can believe only on anything based on argument.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that . . .
Prof. Kotovsky: Here is the basic . . .
Prabhupāda: No, no, that is allowed.
Prof. Kotovsky: . . . projecting.
Prabhupāda: That is allowed. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena, paripraśnena sevayā (BG 4.34). Paripraṣna, argument, is allowed, but not with a challenging spirit. With a spirit to rightly understand. Praṇipātena paripraśnena. That . . . argument is not denied. But so far Vedic statements are there, they are infallible, infallible, and the followers of the Vedas, they accept in that way. For example, just like cow dung.
Prof. Kotovsky: Yes.
Prabhupāda: It is the stool of an animal. Now, in the Vedic statement there is: As soon as you touch the stool of any animal, you are impure. You have to purify yourself by taking bath. Even in your own stool . . . according to Hindu system, if you go to evacuate, after coming you have to take bath.
Prof. Kotovsky: This is quite intact with modern medicine knowledge . . .
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Guest (Indian man): . . . that you must clean yourself.
Prabhupāda: Now . . .
Prof. Kotovsky: Yes, that's right.
Prabhupāda: . . . this is . . . but another place it is stated that "Cow dung, although it is the stool of an animal, it is pure." Even if you apply in an impure place, it becomes purified. Now, this is superficially contradictory. In one place it is said that "The stool of an animal is impure. As soon as you touch, you have to be purified," and another place it is said that "Cow dung is pure." So according to our knowledge, this is contradictory.
Prof. Kotovsky: Yes.
Prabhupāda: But those who are followers of the Vedas, they are accepting. Is it not, cow dung, pure? Cow dung pure, is it not accepted by the followers of Vedas?
Guest: That is.
Prabhupāda: And if you analyze chemically, you'll find the cow dung contains all antiseptic properties.
Prof. Kotovsky: This I don't know.
Prabhupāda: You do not know, but there is a . . .
Prof. Kotovsky: I have to test. This I do not know, but . . .
Guest: Yes, one must try to realize it . . .
Prabhupāda: Yes, that . . . that . . . one Dr. Ghosh, professor of medical college, Lal Mohan Ghosh, he . . . I was medically connected in my previous life. So that Lal Mohan Ghosh analyzed it, and it is his statement, it is full of, I mean to say, antiseptic properties. So Vedic statements, even sometimes you find it is contradictory, but if you analyze scrutinizingly, you'll find it is correct.
Prof. Kotovsky: But maybe . . .
Prabhupāda: There may be some exceptions, but, I mean to say, just like the cow dung is stool—this is an exception—but why this exception is accepted: that if you scientifically examine, analyze, you'll find it is correct?
Prof. Kotovsky: That is due to analyze. That's right. That's from common sense point of view.
Prabhupāda: Similarly, another, another instance is there, just like conchshell. Conchshell is the bone of an animal. So according to Vedic instruction, if you touch the bone of an animal, you become impure. You have to take bath. You become impure. But this conchshell is kept in the deity room because it's accepted as pure by the Vedas.
So my point is that we accept Vedic laws in such a way, without argument, accept because it is stated in the Veda, and that is the principle followed by scholars. If you can substantiate your statement by quoting from the Vedas, then it is accepted. You do not require to substantiate in other ways if you prove by Vedic quotation. Śruti-pramāṇa. It is called śruti-pramāṇa.
There are different kinds of pramāṇa, evidences. Just like in the legal court if you can give quotation from the law books, your statements is accepted, similarly, all statements which you give, if they are supported by śruti-pramāṇa . . . I think you know, the Vedas are known as Śrutis.