Scientists Find Skeleton of Timingila Fish
According to an Associated Press news release dated 30 June, 2010, scientists in Peru recently unearthed the skull of a gigantic whale-eating fish, probably a timingila. Ignorant of its place in scientific Sanskrit historical literature, the mental speculators named the “newly-discovered” species leviathan melvillei after Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick.
Shrila Prabhupada was never much impressed with the slow, tedious and imperfect process relied upon by empirical science, which he called the ascending process. Our process, he emphasized, is the descending process; that is, acceptance of shastra as it comes down through the great chain of disciplc succession. Often, shastras reveal facts that lie beyond the purview of our conditioned reason and imperfect analysis. Such shastric wisdom becomes the realized domain of the faithful devotee; this is knowledge that is not meant for the faithless materialists.
The structure of the Universe, as discussed in the previous article, is one such example. Further eye-openers are flying mountains, gigantic eagles that fly from planet to planet and timingila fish that can eat whales. Acceptance of these scriptural truths rests upon the disciple’s faith. The timingila fish is described throughout the shastras. The historical epic Mahabharata compares the great generals of Kurukshetra--like Karna, Bhishma, Drona, Arjuna and others--to these giant aquatics.
Shrila Prabhupada was particularly unimpressed paleontologists who excavate fossils for clues to life’s origins. He once compared such “scientists” to “dogs digging for bones”. From a conversation recorded in Bombay on 9 Jan 1975, Shrila Prabhupada describes timingila whale-eaters:
“There are nine lakh species of fish in the water. Who knows it? The shastra says. One who has seen. Who has seen how many varieties of fishes are there? But there are many, many varieties. From the shastra we get information of the whale fish, timi. And there is another fish which is called timingila. Timingila means he is so big that he swallows up this timi, whale fish, like a small... (makes gulping sound) Finished. (laughter) They are called timingila. So you have not seen. We have not seen. But the shastra says.
“Therefore we have seen because we are shastra chakshusa. You should see through the shastra. Otherwise what can you see with your tiny eyes? You cannot see, say, three yards more than that. Imperfect. Each one of your senses is imperfect. You cannot see. You are seeing the Sun, but what are you seeing? You are seeing it to be just like a disc. But it is fourteen thousand times bigger than this planet. So your naked sense perception has no value. Don't try to gather knowledge through these naked senses. Try to gather knowledge about how creation is made. And that is stated here by the authorities, such as Kapiladeva. And if you take it, then your knowledge is perfect.”
The timingila fish are also described in the Shrimad Bhagavatam (8.7.18):
“The fish, sharks, tortoises and snakes were most agitated and perturbed. The entire ocean became turbulent, and even the large aquatic animals like whales, water elephants, crocodiles and timingila fish [large whales that can swallow small whales] came to the surface. While the ocean was being churned in this way, it first produced a fiercely dangerous poison called haalahala.”
It should be noted that Shrila Prabhupada disputes the “scientific assumption” that the timingila or other such creatures are “extinct.”
Shrila Prabhupada was never much impressed with the slow, tedious and imperfect process relied upon by empirical science, which he called the ascending process. Our process, he emphasized, is the descending process; that is, acceptance of shastra as it comes down through the great chain of disciplc succession. Often, shastras reveal facts that lie beyond the purview of our conditioned reason and imperfect analysis. Such shastric wisdom becomes the realized domain of the faithful devotee; this is knowledge that is not meant for the faithless materialists.
The structure of the Universe, as discussed in the previous article, is one such example. Further eye-openers are flying mountains, gigantic eagles that fly from planet to planet and timingila fish that can eat whales. Acceptance of these scriptural truths rests upon the disciple’s faith. The timingila fish is described throughout the shastras. The historical epic Mahabharata compares the great generals of Kurukshetra--like Karna, Bhishma, Drona, Arjuna and others--to these giant aquatics.
Shrila Prabhupada was particularly unimpressed paleontologists who excavate fossils for clues to life’s origins. He once compared such “scientists” to “dogs digging for bones”. From a conversation recorded in Bombay on 9 Jan 1975, Shrila Prabhupada describes timingila whale-eaters:
“There are nine lakh species of fish in the water. Who knows it? The shastra says. One who has seen. Who has seen how many varieties of fishes are there? But there are many, many varieties. From the shastra we get information of the whale fish, timi. And there is another fish which is called timingila. Timingila means he is so big that he swallows up this timi, whale fish, like a small... (makes gulping sound) Finished. (laughter) They are called timingila. So you have not seen. We have not seen. But the shastra says.
“Therefore we have seen because we are shastra chakshusa. You should see through the shastra. Otherwise what can you see with your tiny eyes? You cannot see, say, three yards more than that. Imperfect. Each one of your senses is imperfect. You cannot see. You are seeing the Sun, but what are you seeing? You are seeing it to be just like a disc. But it is fourteen thousand times bigger than this planet. So your naked sense perception has no value. Don't try to gather knowledge through these naked senses. Try to gather knowledge about how creation is made. And that is stated here by the authorities, such as Kapiladeva. And if you take it, then your knowledge is perfect.”
The timingila fish are also described in the Shrimad Bhagavatam (8.7.18):
“The fish, sharks, tortoises and snakes were most agitated and perturbed. The entire ocean became turbulent, and even the large aquatic animals like whales, water elephants, crocodiles and timingila fish [large whales that can swallow small whales] came to the surface. While the ocean was being churned in this way, it first produced a fiercely dangerous poison called haalahala.”
It should be noted that Shrila Prabhupada disputes the “scientific assumption” that the timingila or other such creatures are “extinct.”
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