Relevant Inquiries
Again in the old tabloid Back to Godhead, this time dated April 20, 1960,
Svila Prabhupdda talks about the science of the soul: “... since a human
being is a rational animal, he is born to make inquiries and questions. The
greater the number of questions, the greater the advancement of knowledge
and science. ... The most intelligent man, however, inquires about what hap-
pens after death....”

A small child walking with his father goes on inquiring constantly. He
asks his father so many odd things, and the father has to satisfy him with
proper answers. When I was a young father in my householder life, I was
overflooded with hundreds of questions from my second son, who was
my constant companion. One day it so happened that a bridegroom’s
party was passing our tramcar, and the four-year-old boy, as usual, in-
quired what the big procession was. He was given all possible answers to
his thousand and one questions regarding the marriage party, and finally :
he asked whether his own father was married! This question gave rise to
loud laughter from all the elderly gentlemen present, although the boy
was perplexed as to why we were laughing. Anyway, the boy was some-
how satisfied by his married father.

The lesson from this incident is that since a human being is a rational
animal, he is born to make inquiries. The greater the number of ques-
tions, the greater the advancement of knowledge and science. The whole
of material civilization is based on this originally large volume of ques-.
tions put by young men to their elders. When elderly persons give the .
proper answers to the questions of the youngsters, civilization makes
progress, one step after another. The most intelligent man, however, in-
quires about what happens after death. The less intelligent make lesser
inquiries, but the questions of those who are more intelligent go higher
and still higher.

Among the most intelligent of men was Maharaja Pariksit, the great
king of the entire world, who was accidently cursed by a brdhmana to
meet death from the bite of a serpent within seven days. The brdhmana

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