Meditation 365
Scripture vs. Reality
To open a discussion on this article, please use the contact page to provide your comments.
I was forwarded a long article,[1] which I decided I would not publish in Talk Back, claiming that the 1969 moon landing was a hoax. And how did the author know it was a hoax? It was contrary to Vedic scripture.
Why do you accept the popular version of the manned moon landing? Because you believe the authority of the scientists, the journalists, and the politicians who propagate that version. When we cite the Vedic scriptures, which state that the "astronauts" could not have gone to the moon, we are simply favoring another authority. In both cases, it is a matter of accepting an authority and believing what it says.
I do admit that I do accept the authority of scientists, journalists, and technicians in this matter. I give these people far greater weight than texts written about 2,500 years ago. The prime reason is verifiability. If there was a legitimate reason to question the reality of the moon landing, other qualified scientists, journalists, and technicians would have raised the issue. Also, given the world situation throughout the period of the "space race," the USSR would have immediately challenged the moon landing if it had not happened and would have presented evidence to the contrary. However, the only ones who have challenged the reality of the moon landings are cranks who have been unable to present valid evidence.
The Vedic account of our planetary system is already researched, concluded, and perfect. The Vedas state that the moon is 800,000 miles farther from the earth than the sun. Therefore, even if we accept the modern calculation of 93 million miles as the distance from the earth to the sun, how could the "astronauts" have traveled to the moon--a distance of almost 94 million miles--in only 91 hours (the alleged elapsed time of the Apollo 11 moon trip)? This would require an average speed of more than one million miles per hour for the spacecraft, a patently impossible feat by even the space scientists' calculations.
Most of us have experienced at least a partial solar eclipse when the moon has passed in front of the sun. Thus, we know from personal observation the moon is closer to earth than the sun - we don't even have to turn to science to be aware of this fact. And as to the distance of the moon from the Earth, that was established to a respectable degree of accuracy by Greek astronomers within a couple of centuries of the Vedic scriptures coming up with their erroneous conclusion. And while ancient Greek technology was not up to determining the sun's accurate distance, it was good enough to place it several million miles further away than the moon.
Another important reason why the manned moon landing must be a hoax is that, according to the Vedas, each planet has its particular standard of living and atmosphere, and no one can transfer from one planet to another without becoming properly qualified. This means that if someone wants to go to Mars, for instance, he has to give up his present gross material body and acquire another one suitable for life on that particular planet.
I guess the Vedas did not take into account that astronauts would be able to take their "standard of living and atmosphere" with them. I won't quibble over whether our Moon is a planet or a moon.
As you can see, asserting scriptural authority over verifiable reality is not a disease which affects only literalist Christians. But the argument for accepting scripture as literal truth is fundamentally the same, regardless of which scripture.
Now, why do we believe the Vedic scriptures rather than the material scientists? Because the Vedic scriptures differ from the conclusions of material science in that they are not based on imperfect sensory investigation, but are apaurusa i.e., they emanate from God, who is beyond the material world. In other words, Vedic evidence stands above the defects of conditioned souls within the material world. Thus, when it comes to real scientific knowledge, the standard of Vedic authority is perfect because it originates directly from the all-perfect, omniscient Personality of Godhead.
Isn't it strange that the "all-perfect, omniscient Personality of Godhead" gave so many different authoritative accounts?
Footnote:
- Man On The Moon--A Colossal Hoax that Cost Billions of Dollars, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami