Another scholarly book discusses the tussle between the ‘authority and anxiety’ of the canon of scriptures. Though scholars accepted as authorities in their respective fields help us understand the authority versus anxiety of the Vedic canon in Hinduism, one can easily realize the same dichotomy in the scriptures of any faith. This book is not an easy read; one has to deeply engage with the authors to understand their viewpoints. Despite benefiting immensely from this book, it overwhelmed me, exposing my superficial understanding of every scripture. Particularly, Anantanand Rambachan’s analysis of Keshub Chandra Sen’s ‘Triumph of Intuition,’ which later became the foundation for the doctrine of ‘experience is the evidence’ (especially by Swami Vivekananda), impressed me:
“Events alone, according to Sen, are inspired and revealed. In this sense, both the Old and New Testaments and the leading figures of its drama are inspired.” [Redefining the Authority of Scripture: The Rejection of Vedic Infallibility by the Brahmo Samaj, pp. 253-279, in Lauri L. Patton, ed. Authority, Anxiety, and Canon: Essays in Vedic Interpretation, Albany, State University Press, 1994]
Events alone, according to Sen, are inspired and revealed. In this sense, both the Old and New Testaments and the leading figures of its drama are inspired. By revelation, he means:,
The living history not the dead narrative; the fresh events as they occurred, not the lifeless traditions recorded on paper. The letter killeth. Convert a saint into a beautiful picture on canvas, convert living apostles into antiquated doctrines, transform living events into lifeless ceremonies, and burning enthusiasm into the cold dogmatism of books and creeds, and you kill inspiration. What you read in the Bible was inspired. It would be incorrect to say (p. 268) that the Bible is inspired. Inspiration dwells in the fact-Bible not in the book-Bible, in the living Gospel, not in the letter of the book. {Sen, New Dispensation or Religion of Harmony, 34-35, Calcutta: Bidhan Press, 1903, (This particular work is a compilation of his writings of May-December 1881)}. –ibid. Rambachan, 268-69
Rambachan concludes that there is a fallacy ‘when individual intuition is upheld as sacrosanct’:
…When scripture was upheld as an authoritative source of knowledge, reason had a valued and integral function in clarifying, interpreting, (p.272) and applying the claims of the canon. When individual intuition is upheld as sacrosanct, reasoning and intellectual processes become more obstructive in character and scholarship is divorced from spirituality. Exegesis becomes an indulgence.79….With the triumph of intuition, the Vedas were no longer seen as an immediate source of liberating knowledge; the poverty of exegesis in modern Hinduism is a direct consequence….The [Brahmo] Samaj itself completed a full paradoxical circle. Founded in the name of rationalism, it ended up with a denial of the role of reason and the intellect in the religious quest and the upholding of individual experience as supreme.—pp. 272-73
79 For a detailed treatment of the implications of the authority of intuition on the status of scripture, reason, and exegesis, see Anantanand Rambachan, The Limits of Scripture (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, forthcoming) [Later this book was published Sri Satguru Publications A Division of Indian Books Centre, Delhi., 1995—db]
After closing my reading for the day, I sat calmly for meditation, and the first line of this song [BT 1141] came to my mind. As these words echoed in my mind and spirit, I wrote this song, inspired by how the Lord helped me understand my need and, through that, helped me understand God. For me, our search for God should begin not with the question ‘Who is God?’ but ‘Why do I need Him and how can I know Him and be known by Him?’
Another scholarly book discusses the tussle between the ‘authority and anxiety’ of the canon of scriptures. Though scholars accepted as authorities in their respective fields help us understand the authority versus anxiety of the Vedic canon in Hinduism, one can easily realize the same dichotomy in the scriptures of any faith. This book is not an easy read; one has to deeply engage with the authors to understand their viewpoints. Despite benefiting immensely from this book, it overwhelmed me, exposing my superficial understanding of every scripture. Particularly, Anantanand Rambachan’s analysis of Keshub Chandra Sen’s ‘Triumph of Intuition,’ which later became the foundation for the doctrine of ‘experience is the evidence’ (especially by Swami Vivekananda), impressed me:
“Events alone, according to Sen, are inspired and revealed. In this sense, both the Old and New Testaments and the leading figures of its drama are inspired.” [Redefining the Authority of Scripture: The Rejection of Vedic Infallibility by the Brahmo Samaj, pp. 253-279, in Lauri L. Patton, ed. Authority, Anxiety, and Canon: Essays in Vedic Interpretation, Albany, State University Press, 1994]
Events alone, according to Sen, are inspired and revealed. In this sense, both the Old and New Testaments and the leading figures of its drama are inspired. By revelation, he means:,
The living history not the dead narrative; the fresh events as they occurred, not the lifeless traditions recorded on paper. The letter killeth. Convert a saint into a beautiful picture on canvas, convert living apostles into antiquated doctrines, transform living events into lifeless ceremonies, and burning enthusiasm into the cold dogmatism of books and creeds, and you kill inspiration. What you read in the Bible was inspired. It would be incorrect to say (p. 268) that the Bible is inspired. Inspiration dwells in the fact-Bible not in the book-Bible, in the living Gospel, not in the letter of the book. {Sen, New Dispensation or Religion of Harmony, 34-35, Calcutta: Bidhan Press, 1903, (This particular work is a compilation of his writings of May-December 1881)}. –ibid. Rambachan, 268-69
Rambachan concludes that there is a fallacy ‘when individual intuition is upheld as sacrosanct’:
…When scripture was upheld as an authoritative source of knowledge, reason had a valued and integral function in clarifying, interpreting, (p.272) and applying the claims of the canon. When individual intuition is upheld as sacrosanct, reasoning and intellectual processes become more obstructive in character and scholarship is divorced from spirituality. Exegesis becomes an indulgence.79….With the triumph of intuition, the Vedas were no longer seen as an immediate source of liberating knowledge; the poverty of exegesis in modern Hinduism is a direct consequence….The [Brahmo] Samaj itself completed a full paradoxical circle. Founded in the name of rationalism, it ended up with a denial of the role of reason and the intellect in the religious quest and the upholding of individual experience as supreme.—pp. 272-73
79 For a detailed treatment of the implications of the authority of intuition on the status of scripture, reason, and exegesis, see Anantanand Rambachan, The Limits of Scripture (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, forthcoming) [Later this book was published Sri Satguru Publications A Division of Indian Books Centre, Delhi., 1995—db]
After closing my reading for the day, I sat calmly for meditation, and the first line of this song [BT 1141] came to my mind. As these words echoed in my mind and spirit, I wrote this song, inspired by how the Lord helped me understand my need and, through that, helped me understand God. For me, our search for God should begin not with the question ‘Who is God?’ but ‘Why do I need Him and how can I know Him and be known by Him?’
Revised, 2-7-2024, Gurukulam
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