The most asked question.... - Page 2

Originally posted by: JanakiRaghunath

Just an offhand question....what do you guys think of agnostics? Do you believe they too are confused, or do you think they are less confused than atheists?

Someone told me that people who are agnostics almost always turn into atheists sometime in thier life...but could the other not be true also? Do you think an agnostic can turn into a theist?

Originally posted by: lola610

Great segway, Janu! I think an agnostic certainly can turn into a thiest - when you get further into SK, you'll see that Akrur is shown as a perfect example. What you usually hear from agnostics is something like, "I'm not too sure what I think about God but I don't think it really matters, as long as I am a good person". So, if nothing else, they are certain about the doctrine of karma, and they can be classified as imperfect karm-yogis - imperfect because as per the Gita, it gets perfect when devotion is injected into it - you act, and you offer the act to God. And that devotion only comes through some sort of experience - most often contact with a merciful guru, but in some rare cases something direct like a darshan or a miracle. Though we might think that our devotion has been a part of us since we were born and we didn't need such an experience/contact, that's usually because it happened in a past life and we just don't remember. In Akrur's case, he got that underwater vision of Shri Krishna (you'll love this scene when you get to it) and it was that experience that converted him from an imperfect yogi to a perfect one - one who is also a bhakt - and in our terms, an agnostic to a theist. The potential for a guru/experience exists for all, and so all agnostics do have the potential to become theists.