As I was giving a Bhagavatam Class sometime in the previous month, one of the very initial unplanned statements that I spoke struck me deeply. The Chapter was entitled, “Srimad Bhagavatam is the answer to all questions.”
I said, “If Srimad Bhagavatam is the answer to all questions, we should refer to Bhagavatam rather than ChatGPT for answers.”
Technology is definitely nice when it helps us accomplish more in a lesser time. AI is surely brilliant when it aids us in reaching the pinnacle of success which we would have never attained otherwise. Yet, overdependence, or, getting mesmerized by it to the extent that we forget our real goal in life is not advisable.
Here are some thoughts:
Are all our Questions to ChatGPT Relevant?
Prabhupada mentions in a purport about “Questions and Answers.” Here is what Shrila Prabhupada beautifully writes.
“The whole world is full of questions and answers. The birds, beasts and men are all busy in the matter of perpetual questions and answers. In the morning the birds in the nest become busy with questions and answers, and in the evening also the same birds come back and again become busy with questions and answers. The human being, unless he is fast asleep at night, is busy with questions and answers. The businessmen in the market are busy with questions and answers, and so also the lawyers in the court and the students in the schools and colleges. The legislators in the parliament are also busy with questions and answers, and the politicians and the press representatives are all busy with questions and answers. Although they go on making such questions and answers for their whole lives, they are not at all satisfied. Satisfaction of the soul can only be obtained by questions and answers on the subject of Kṛṣṇa.”
“Kṛṣṇa is our most intimate master, friend, father or son and object of conjugal love. Forgetting Kṛṣṇa, we have created so many objects of questions and answers, but none of them are able to give us complete satisfaction. All things—but Kṛṣṇa—give temporary satisfaction only, so if we are to have complete satisfaction we must take to the questions and answers about Kṛṣṇa. We cannot live for a moment without being questioned or without giving answers. Because the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam deals with questions and answers that are related to Kṛṣṇa, we can derive the highest satisfaction only by reading and hearing this transcendental literature.”
We are already busy with Q and A, and AI is making us more busy in the same old things. If we ask questions about Krishna, or some things relevant to our growth to AI, then it is understandable. Else, the questions we ask can bind us to the cycle of birth and death by expanding our material desires.
Can ChatGPT help develop faith in Krishna?
ChatGPT doesn’t fall in the 64 limbs as mentioned by Rupa Goswami. ChatGPT cannot, per se, aide in developing faith in Krishna. But, the core principles of hearing, reading, chanting, prayers etc. can definitively help a soul come closer to Krishna. Association of devotees can help one gain faith in the process of Krishna Consciousness. Srimad Bhagavatam can answer all the questions of our life, and beyond life.
Srimad Bhagavatam – The Perfect Place for Questions and Answers
Incidentally, Srimad Bhagavatam is also a book of questions and answers. Pariksit Maharaja asked questions and Sukadeva answered. Vidura questioned and Maitreya answered. Saunakadi rishis inquired and Suta Goswami replied.
These devotees’ questions and answers have helped millions of souls attain perfection in life. These questions and answers have removed the illusion of countless souls, and offered them a fulfilling goal to live for. These questions and answers have the potential to inspire genuine devotion, thus enabling one to become dear to Krishna.
Saunakadi Rsis’ six questions form the basis of the First Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. In that, they ask about the essence of scriptures, the goal of life, the purpose of the Lord’s descent, the various incarnations of the Lord, and the shelter of dharma after Krishna’s disappearance. Suta mentions Srimad Bhagavatam, brilliant like the sun, as the shelter of dharma in Kali Yuga. This is another reason to approach Srimad Bhagavatam. Why to scroll endlessly through mind boggling books or websites or AI, to search for dharma? Everything that is needed is there in the Srimad Bhagavatam.
Furthermore, the two questions that Pariksit asks forms the basis of Second Canto. He asks what should not be heard, chanted, glorified and remembered, and what should be heard, chanted, glorified and remembered, for people those who are living, and those who are about to die. These two questions are a superset of all questions that we may yearn to ask. And whichever subject matters don’t fall in this category are worthless to inquire about.
Therefore, why not approach Srimad Bhagavatam for our life’s queries than wasting our valuable time in inquiries that result in naught?
