Category:Ascending Process
Theme Analysis
In Vedic epistemology, there are two distinct methods for acquiring knowledge: the ascending process (āroha-panthā) and the descending process (avaroha-panthā). Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly defines the ascending process as the inductive method. It is the attempt to understand the highest spiritual truths by utilizing one's own intellectual power, logic, and mental speculation, moving from a lower status of ignorance toward the higher status of the Absolute Truth. Those who adopt this path proudly declare that they do not need authoritative books or a spiritual master, believing they can figure out God through independent meditation and philosophy.
Śrīla Prabhupāda vigorously defeats the ascending process by pointing out the fundamental flaw of the conditioned soul: imperfect senses. Because our senses and minds are materially contaminated, any knowledge produced by them is inherently flawed. Śrīla Prabhupāda cites the Brahma-saṁhitā to illustrate that even if a philosopher speculates at the speed of the mind or the wind for millions of years, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will remain completely inconceivable to them. At best, the ascending process can only yield a partial, impersonal understanding of the Absolute Truth, which is why it is the favored method of Māyāvādī and Western philosophers. True Vedic knowledge, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, must be acquired through the descending process. The Absolute Truth can only be known when it descends from the absolute platform through the paramparā (disciplic succession). A genuine mahātmā abandons all manufactured, ascending methods and simply accepts the perfect, deductive knowledge coming directly from Kṛṣṇa.
- The Inductive Illusion: The ascending process (āroha-panthā) relies on mental speculation and independent research, falsely assuming the finite mind can conquer the infinite.
- The Barrier of Imperfection: Because material senses are inherently defective, no amount of speculative endeavor or intellectual gymnastics can ever reach the Absolute Truth.
- The Trap of Impersonalism: Māyāvādī and Western philosophers champion the ascending process, but this method only leads to an incomplete, impersonal conception of the Supreme.
- The Vedic Alternative: The only authorized way to understand God is the descending process (avaroha-panthā)—receiving deductive knowledge submissively from the disciplic succession.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Ascending Process - The Futility of Mental Speculation.
Pages in category "Ascending Process"
The following 34 pages are in this category, out of 34 total.
A
- A mahatma never tries to approach Godhead by any invented method, any inductive, ascending process. Rather, he accepts the standard, deductive, descending process - that is, the method that comes down directly from the Supreme Lord
- Absolute Truth is vision from three angles of vision. Those who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth by the ascending process, they can reach up to the impersonal Brahman. Those who are trying to find out the Absolute Truth within himself
- According to Brahma-samhita there are two ways of acquiring knowledge - the ascending process and the descending process
- Aroha-pantha means inductive process: to know from here, from the lower status to the higher status, speculative method, or ascending process
- Ascending and descending
- Ascending process - my endeavor, what is called inductive process
- Ascending process and descending process. So by ascending process, we can never come to the real knowledge. That is not possible, because our senses are imperfect
- Ascending process is not recommended in the Vedic process of knowledge. Vedic way of receiving knowledge - by aural reception, by submissive aural reception from the spiritual master to the student. This is the way
B
- Brahma-samhita states that if one takes to the ascending process and travels at the speed of mind and wind for millions of years, he will still end up not knowing
- By the ascending process one is elevated by knowledge acquired by himself. In this way one thinks - I don't care for any authorities or books. I will attain knowledge myself by meditation, philosophy, etc. In this way I will understand God
- By the ascending process, if anyone makes progress with the speed of mind and speed of air . . . you, you know the speed of mind, how it is powerful. You are sitting here, and you can think of thousands and thousands of miles away immediately
- By the ascending process, no one can reach the Lord, even by a long-term endeavor of many, many years. What is obtained by this ascending process, however, is imperfect, partial, impersonal knowledge, liable to be deviant from the Absolute Truth
O
- One is called ascending process, or inductive logic, and another process is descending process, or deductive logic. So ascending process is based on speculation, and descending process is based on fact
- Our process is avaroha pantha, descending process, and the Mayavadi philosopher's policy or system is ascending policy. I want to understand the Absolute Truth by exercising my mental power - that is called ascending process, or inductive process
- Our process is descending process. We are not trying to understand by the ascending process. Inductive or deductive. We accept the statements of the Vedas. Therefore we haven't got to make much effort to understand the thing
S
- Speculation is an improper way to understand the Absolute Truth. Generally Western philosophers try to understand the Absolute Truth by the ascending process of mental speculation. This is the process of inductive logic
- Studying Vedanta-sutra by one's own efforts (the ascending process of knowledge) is another sign of foolishness
T
- The Absolute Truth must descend from the absolute platform. He is not to be understood by the ascending process
- The Absolute Truth remains above the philosophers and their acquired knowledge. The conception of the Absolute is never perfectly attained by such an ascending process, because of its being born of imperfect, material senses
- The cause of all causes, the Absolute Truth, can be known from the Absolute Truth Himself, and not by our ascending process to reach Him
- The truth of these mysteries (of Krsna's uncommon acts and attributes) was revealed to Brahma by the descending process, without the help of the ascending one
- There are two kinds of processes to receive knowledge. The Vedic process says avaroha-pantha, descending process. And the material process is aroha-pantha, ascending process, research
- There are two processes of understanding the Absolute Truth. One is called ascending process, or inductive logic, and another process is descending process, or deductive logic
- This is the way of understanding. It is called descending process. And there is another process, which is called ascending process. In Sanskrit it is called aroha-pantha, avaroha-pantha