Who Carved the Grand Canyon?

2022-12-05 heyumapati  Hare Krishna

Sri Krishna 施瑞·奎师那

Would you ever imagine that a harmless article on MSN about  scientists climbing up and down the Grand Canyon would start a debate?
你能想象 MSN 上一篇科学家攀登大峡谷的无伤大雅的文章会引发一场辩论吗？（翻译者注：MSN 是微软公司提供的一项网络服务）

But it did.
但它确实发生了。

Here’s what started it: At the bottom of the canyon, said the article, flows the Colorado River. But millions of years ago, the river flowed along the mountain tops as it carved a deeper and deeper path for itself.
事情是这样开始的：文章说，科罗拉多河在峡谷底部流过。但数百万年前，这条河沿着山顶流淌，为自己开辟了一条越来越深的道路。

Well, sounds OK, doesn’t it?
听起来没什么问题，对吗？

But not everyone agrees. Someone wrote in that no river can produce a canyon. Only God can do that. Otherwise, why doesn’t the Mississippi have canyons?
但并不是每个人都同意。有人这样写道，没有一条河能自己产生峡谷，只有神能做到。不然的话，为什么密西西比河就没有峡谷呢？

It’s geology, someone answered. The Colorado flows through mountains. The Mississippi flows through plains.
有人回答说，这是地质问题。科罗拉多河流经山脉，密西西比河流经平原。

Actually, the Mississippi, as I saw in a recent article,  does the opposite. Instead of digging canyons, it carries dirt down from the north and piles it up around New Orleans at the southern end.
事实上，正如我在最近的一篇文章中看到的那样，密西西比河的情况恰恰相反，它非但没有挖掘峡谷，而是在流淌的过程中，将泥土从北方带到最南方的新奥尔良，并将其堆积到那附近。

Or it used to. The people of New Orleans built walls to keep the Mississippi from flooding the city. So now all the dirt washes away into the Gulf of Mexico.
或者它曾经是这样。当时新奥尔良的人们还修建了城墙，以防止密西西比河淹没这座城市。所以现在所有的泥土都被冲到了墨西哥湾。

And poor old New Orleans? Slowly sinking into the mud. Yep. Southern accent, jazz clubs, Mardi Gras— all of it.
可怜的新奥尔良？慢慢的沉入泥土。没错。南方口音，爵士俱乐部，狂欢节——所有这一切。

New Orleans Mardi Gras  parade
(Photo: Pixabay)
新奥尔良的狂欢节游行（照片来源: Pixabay 网站）

But do we need to ask about God? Someone else wrote in that the Catholics, the Anglicans, the Methodists, the Lutherans, and  the Presbyterians accepted evolution long ago.
但是我们是否需要问问上帝呢？有人写道，天主教徒、圣公会教徒、卫理公会教徒、路德会教徒和长老会教徒很久以前就接受了进化论。

I leaned back in my chair, cupped my chin in my right hand, and nodded. “Big talk,” I thought. “Does this guy know that’s why they’re losing people left and right?”
我往后靠在椅子上，用右手托着下巴，点了点头。“吹牛吧”我想。“这个家伙清不清楚，这就是为什么有这么多人离开他们的原因？”

Fewer and fewer Americans identify with a church now. Who wants to get out of a comfy bed on Sunday morning, staggger into the shower, dress up, and sit for hours  just to listen to the same talk they hear in school and read in the news?
现在越来越少的美国人认同教会了。谁愿意星期天早上从舒适的床上起来，踉踉跄跄地走进浴室，穿好衣服，坐上几个小时只是为了听他们在学校里听到的和在新闻中读到的同样的话？

No thanks.
不了谢谢。

Didn’t somebody once say, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light”? I used to think it was Jesus. Now it’s Darwin.
不是有人曾经说过，“我是道路、真理和光明”吗？我以前以为是耶稣，现在是达尔文。

Bringing Darwin into your church? Might as well hire a fox to guard your chickens.
把达尔文带到教堂里？还不如雇一只狐狸来保护你的鸡。

And the two sides debated, finally hurling insults to prove their points.
双方进行了辩论，最后以互相侮辱来证明自己的观点。

The answer? Both sides are right. Both are wrong.
答案是什么呢？双方都是对的，也都是错的。

Here’s the problem: As one reader said, “Science and religion cannot go together.”
问题是：正如一位读者说的，“科学和宗教不能共存。”

Or so he thinks. Of course, that may be true for what passes for science and religion today.
或者至少他是这么认为的。当然，今天的科学和宗教可能确实是这样。

So let’s  go back to the original science and the original religion. They work together in the original scriptures, the Vedas.
所以让我们回到最原始的科学和宗教，他们共存于原始的经典——《韦达经》中。

Why do we picture God as an old man sitting on a throne while he creates the universe?  The Bible doesn’t say it. The scripture known as Srimad Bhagavatam tells us something else: The youthful Krishna creates our world, and what’s more, he does it lying down.
为什么我们把创造世界的上帝想象成一个坐在宝座上的老人呢？《圣经》中并没有这样说。被称为《圣典博伽瓦谭》的经典告诉我们一些不一样的事：年轻的奎师那创造了我们的世界，并且他是躺着完成的。

Yes. It is Krishna, the personal form of the Absolute Truth, who creates the  elements as he lies on the sea known as the Causal Ocean.
是的。奎师那，绝对真理的人格形式，他躺在被称为原因之洋的海洋上创造了元素。

The scientists have the facts upside-down. The first element Krishna creates is the intellect, also known as the Great Truth (Mahat Tatttva). Intelligence, then, is the beginning of creation, not the latest arrival.
科学家们歪曲了事实。奎师那创造的第一个元素是智性，也被称为伟大的真理（玛哈特·塔特瓦 Mahat Tatttva）。因此，智性是创造的开始，而不是最后。

Then Krishna creates all the other elements simply by looking at the Great Truth.
并且奎师那仅仅通过看伟大的真理就创造了所有其他的元素。

OK, but where does science come in? Well science must include the following:
the study of creation (It’s the scientists who theorized the big bang) and
the study of nature.
好，但科学从何而来呢？科学应该包括以下内容：对创造的研究（是科学家提出了大爆炸理论）和对自然的研究。

And just as the Absolute Truth is a person, so is nature, known in the Bhagavad-Gita as the goddess Durga, and known in the West as Mother Nature.
正如绝对真理是一个人一样，大自然也是，在《博伽梵歌》中被称为杜尔嘎女神，在西方被称为大自然母亲。

Krishna  impregnates Goddess Durga with all of the souls to be born in  this universe. And how does he impregnate her? Simply by looking at her.
奎师那让杜尔嘎女神在宇宙孕育了所有的灵魂，那他是怎么让她受孕的呢？仅仅是看她一眼就行了。

No joke. Krishna is all-powerful. Any part of him has all the power of any other part. He spoke the Vedas just by breathing. He can eat just by hearing the devotee offering prayers. He impregnates Goddess Durga just by looking at her:
不是开玩笑。奎师那是全能的。他的任何部分都拥有其他部分的全部力量。他仅仅通过呼吸就说出了《韦达经》。他可以通过听到奉献者的祈祷来吃东西。仅仅通过看杜尔嘎女神一眼，就让她怀孕了：

“It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti [Arjuna], are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.(Bhagavad-Gita 14.4)
“琨缇之子[阿尔诸纳]啊！你要明白，各种各类的生命在这个物质自然中诞生，始能存在，而我就是播下种子的父亲。”（《博伽梵歌》14.4）

Darwin based his theory of evolution on the idea that Mother Nature produces the living entities. But he left out Krishna, the impregnator.
达尔文的进化论建立在大自然母亲产生生命实体的基础之上。但他忽略了奎师那，那个使其怀孕的人。

Krishna also explains:
奎师那也解释道：

“This material nature, which is one of My energies, is working under My direction, O son of Kunti, producing all moving and nonmoving beings. Under its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again.(Bhagavad-Gita 9.10)
“琨缇之子啊！这物质自然是我的能量之一，在我的指挥下运作，产生了所有动和不动的一切，在它的控制之下，这个展示再三创造，再三毁灭。”（《博伽梵歌》9.10）

And from a lecture by my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada*:
来自我的灵性导师——施瑞拉·帕布帕德的一次讲课：

“She is so powerful, Durga, that she can create [a] universe. Just as Krishna can create [by himself], Krishna also creates through her [Durga’s] agency. As it is stated, na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate [Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.8].He does not do anything directly, but as soon as He desires, ‘Let there… sa aiksata sa asrjata.’ These are the statements of the Vedas.
“她是如此强大，杜尔嘎，她甚至能创造出[一个]宇宙。就像奎师那可以[自己]创造一样，他也可以通过他的代理[杜尔嘎]创造。正如《施维塔施瓦塔茹阿·乌帕尼沙德》（《至尊奥义书》）6.8 所说，na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate。他不直接做任何事，但是只要他要，‘让他… Sa aiksata sa asrjata.’ 这些是《韦达经》的陈述。

In the Bible also it is said, ‘God desired: Let there be creation.’ Is it not like that?
在《圣经》里也说，‘上帝想要：让那被创造吧’跟这个说法是不是很像？

‘And there was creation.’ Yes. The modern man cannot understand.
“然后有创造。”是的，现代人无法理解这个。

‘Eh! What is this? [the modern man asks.] If somebody says “Let there be creation,” and immediately [the creation] is ready? And He hasn’t got to do it? These things are simply exaggeration.’
“嗯！这是什么？”[现代的人问。] “如果一个人说“让这个被创造吧，”立刻就被创造了？而他还不用亲自动手做这件事？这也太夸张了吧。”

But no, that is the fact. God does not do anything by Himself. He’s so powerful. Simply by His will. There are so many agents, and they are so powerful that immediately they can do it. The foolish people, they cannot see [how] the hand of God is working everywhere.  (lecture Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.31, Oct. 11, 1974, Mayapur, slightly edited for readability)
“一点都不夸张，这就是事实，上帝不会亲自动手做任何事。他是如此强大，只是通过他的意愿，就可以做任何事。而有如此多的代理人，他们都如此强大，可以立刻完成神的意愿。有些愚人不能看见万事万物都被神的手控制。”（《圣典博伽瓦谭》1.8.31, 时间：1974.10.11，玛雅普，为了可读性做了简单的编辑）

So is the Grand Canyon the work of God or of Mother Nature? Well, you could say it is the work of God accomplished through his agent Mother Nature. Or you could say it is the work of Mother Nature accomplished on behalf of God.
所以，大峡谷是上帝还是大自然母亲的杰作呢？你可以说是上帝通过他的代理大自然母亲完成的。也可以说大自然母亲代表上帝完成的工作。

When you deal with the original science and the original religion, you find no contradiction.
当你研究原始的科学和原始的宗教的时候，你会发现没有矛盾。

Eternally touching my head to the floor at the lotus feet of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, for showing me all this.
永恒的顶拜我的灵性导师施瑞拉·帕布帕德的莲花足，是他向我揭示了这一切。

~Umapati Swami, December 6, 2022
~乌玛帕提·斯瓦米 2022.12.6

Photo top: Naughty Krishna holding a piece of candy (Jishnu Das)

(Note: The opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of any organization or any other person.)
（注：此文章所表达的观点仅代表我个人，不代表其他任何组织和个人。）

Write to me: hoswami@yahoo.com

© Umapati Swami 2022
Scriptural passages and lecture © Bhaktivedanta Book Trust

Srila Prabhupada

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the teacher who brought Krishna Consciousness from India to the West and then to the rest of the world. He is the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement as well as the author and compiler of many works of Vedic knowledge. He left this world in 1977.

Umapati Swami

One of the first American devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement, he became Srila Prabhupada’s disciple in 1966. Since then, he has preached Krishna Consciousness in many countries and is the author of “My Days with Prabhupada,” available from Amazon. Now 85 years old, he has started this blog to share what he has learned.