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(This discussion took place in the morning of 07.12.2022, Shri Datta Jayanti)
[Shri J.S.R. Prasad asked:- Sashtanga Pranams Swami. May I request You to please correlate the following Vedic statements – A. Asdvā idamagra āsīt tato vai sadajāyata, B. Brahma vā idamagra āsīt, tadātmānamavet, Ahaṃ Brahmāsmīti (Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad), C. Sadeva Saumyedamagra āsīt (Taittirīyopaniṣad)...
Dr. J.S.R. Prasad asked:- Sashtanga Pranams Swami. How can You say that dream is real? In the dream, I saw a lion. Compared to awaken state, I never saw a lion in this real world. Therefore, only awaken state is real while the dream state is unreal. Please comment on these remarks. - At Your Holy Divine Lotus Feet
Swami Replied:- Why should you compare awaken state with dream state? In that case, you can compare awaken state with deep-sleep state also and say that deep-sleep is also unreal. Unreal can never be experienced. You have experienced...
Dr. J.S.R. Prasad asked:- Sashtanga Pranamas Swami. Sometimes in dream state, we are finding some items, which are impossible in the awaken state of the world. Then, can we say that at least, such items are unreal? - At Your Holy Divine Lotus Feet
Swami Replied:- Even though an impossible animal with eight legs and two tails in awaken state of the world is not seen, it appears in the dream state. In dream state, the individual soul exists with its brain-activity. Even though such animal...
[A question by Shri J.S.R. Prasad]
Swami Replied:- Ancient scholars divided the items of this creation into two types:- i) Having form (rūpavat), ii) Having no form (arūpavat). Form here means visibility of the item by the naked eyes without the help of any instrument like microscope. Another limitation is that the item should exist in its natural state. There are five elements, which are space, air, fire, water and solid earth. Out of these, space (subtle energy) and air (gaseous state...
1. Is God dimensionally constrained by the imaginable creation?
[Shri Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami, The unimaginable God is surrounding the imaginable universe; in such a case, God is formed into a geometrical dimension having imaginable core as the universe (assuming the universe is like a sphere, God is surrounding the sphere like a wrap). Thus, God is dimensionally constrained by the imaginable creation. Kindly please answer this point. At Your Divine Lotus Feet-anil]
Swami replied: When space is absent in God, we cannot say that the unimaginable God surrounded the imaginable sphere of universe like an external sphere. To say like that, we are provoked from the point of our faculty of understanding. Actually, this means that the unimaginable God exists everywhere around us in an unimaginable way. It is a mode of our assumption to represent like that for the sake...
Satsanga with Swami on 22-04-2022 attended by Shri Phani, Smt. Bhagya and Srivatsa Datta. Following are the remarks of Swami during the Satsanga.
1. The Veda says that the Lord appeared in different forms with the help of His various types of the unimaginable power called Maayaa (Indro māyābhiḥ pururūpa īyate). Here, in all types of the unimaginable power, the unimaginable nature is common and all types are different forms of the same unimaginable power. For example, ‘Aṇimā’ is to become very small and ‘Garimā’ is to become very big. Both are essentially unimaginable power...
[A question by Shri G. Lakshman]
Swami Replied:- Vrutti means thought or mental impression or a pulse of awareness. If meditation is in deep sleep state, then there is no Vrutti. Except the state of deep sleep, Vrutti exists always. In waken state and dream state Vrutti exists. If Vrutti does not exist, it is certainly the state of deep sleep only. If you give meditation as an alternative name for the state of deep sleep, we can say that Vrutti...
Continued from Part-1...
[Shri Phani asked:- Swami! You said that Vritti or impression is also relative reality like the world in the view of the unimaginable God. Please explain this in detail.]
Swami replied:- Impression means a mode of awareness. Impression of a pot (Ghaṭa vṛtti) means the mind taking the shape of the pot (Ghaṭākāra-ākārita-antaḥkaraṇa vṛttiḥ - Ghaṭavṛttiḥ). The pot is the external object, which is made of inert matter and inert energy. The inert matter is also a form of inert energy only. Hence, the pot is inert energy only. The mind is its mode or impression like gold...
Shri Lakshman asked: Padanamaskarams Swami. The below extract is from the 7th shloka of the 18th chapter of Trailokya Gita. “In Advaita philosophy the original God is the unimaginable God, Who can never be concentrated upon as said in the Gītā (avyaktā hi gatir duḥkham). For this reason, only, Patanjali said that the concentration shall be done on the first energetic incarnation called as ‘Īśvara or Datta’. This God Datta exists in human incarnation as hidden inner item. The impression of human forms is coming in the mind...
Smt. Priyanka asked: Pādanamaskāram Swami, In the recent discourse, You said that in Aparāprakṛti, there are 8 fold components, comprising of the five elements and mind, intelligence, and ego. In another older discourse on Śrī Cakra and its real meaning, You had mentioned the following.
"The first five Cakras represent the five elements, the constituent materials of the creation. Attraction is the process of mind representing the Sixth ‘Ājñā Cakra’ and the four functional faculties (mind, intelligence, ego, and memory) at this level are called the four internal instruments (Anthaḥkaraṇams). The five elements and the four Antaḥkaraṇams...
[Dr. Nikhil asked: Padanamaskarams Swamiji, I feel the following two verses from the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (3.10–3.11) clearly indicate that awareness is not the ultimate God.
indriyebhyaḥ parā hyarthā arthebhyaśca paraṃ manaḥ .
manasastu parā buddhirbuddherātmā mahān paraḥ .. 10..
mahataḥ paramavyaktamavyaktātpuruṣaḥ paraḥ...
Dr. Nikhil asked: Is it impossible to prove that consciousness is absent in deep sleep, on the basis of both experience and logic? A famous teacher of Advaita Vedānta claims in his video that it is an error to say that consciousness is absent in deep sleep. I have tried to put together some of the main arguments made by him below. 1Q:- As per Advaita, only the mind is absent in deep sleep, whereas, consciousness continues to exist. The inability to distinguish between consciousness and mind leads to this erroneous conclusion that consciousness is absent in deep sleep.
Swāmi Replied:- Anybody can distinguish consciousness or awareness from mind. Consciousness is the special work form of basic energy and it is called as awareness. Based on its functions, awareness is classified into 4 categories called internal instruments: 1) Mind or Manas...
Part 9: Clarifications
Swāmi continued:- The three divine preachers called Śaṇkara, Rāmānuja and Madhva representing Śiva, Viṣṇu and Brahmā represent the single God Datta, who does destruction, maintenance and creation of this world respectively. God Datta is not only the single God (Ekamevādvitīyam... Veda) doing these three works, but also the single spiritual preacher, who established Advaita, Viśiṣṭa advaita and Dvaita philosophies for the sake of devotees in this world. These three philosophies can be applied to practical situations in the worldly life by devotees to come out of worldly ...
Part 8: Conclusions
1) Unimaginable God is absolutely real by Himself and world by itself is absolutely unreal. But, world also becomes absolutely real because God grants His absolute reality (Paramārtha sattā) to the world so that the absolutely real world gives absolutely real entertainment to God. The world being absolutely unreal by itself and being shinning due to borrowed absolute reality from unimaginable God is called as relative reality (Vyavahāra sattā)...
Part 7: Comparing the Soul with God and the Incarnation
Swāmi continued:- When we say that fire is burning some material, fire is the subject (Pramātā), the flames are the instrument used for burning (Pramāṇam), the burning is the result (Pramā) and the burnt material is the object (prameya). The subject is knower, the mind is the instrument used to know, the knowledge is the result and the knowable item is the object. Here, except the external knowable object the other three (subject, instrument and result) are awareness only. Sometimes, the object may be internal like the thought of an item. In such case, all the four are awareness only. Even the knowledge...
Śrī Bharath Krishna asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmi, please answer the following questions of mine. Thank you so much for giving wonderful answers to all of my questions. From Your knowledge I have understood that Śrī Ādi Śaṇkarācārya gave the Advaita philosophy for atheists existing in His time so that they become theists. Although Ādi Śaṇkaracārya made His followers believe that they themselves are God, His actual intention was to gradually reveal the complete truth over time. Now You revealed the complete truth that no soul is God ...
Part 6: Interpreting Scripture
Swami continued: Some people have criticized Śaṅkara saying that He presents His own concept first and then quotes the scripture. Thus, He makes the scripture follow His concept by the force of His scholastic ability. This criticism is not justified. Generally, people expect that the scripture should be quoted first and that the concept should be drawn from it through analysis. But Śaṅkara’s path is correct in this matter. This is because, one should not seek to merely interpret the scripture. Instead, one should seek to correctly interpret the scripture. We must believe that the scripture is written by...
Shri Anil asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmi! In Your recent message You preached “The Veda says that God crosses boredom with the help of His self-ignorance (avidyā) and gains His original nature by realisation (vidyā), whenever necessary to perform a miracle (Avidyayā mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā, vidyayā'mṛtamaśnute…—Veda)”. In this context I would like to ask You; while Human incarnation of God preaches the divine knowledge, what will be His state: ‘avidyā’ or ‘vidyā?...
Swami has said that the difference between the imaginary world of a soul and the external world created by God is that the imaginary world does not appear as real as this external world appears to God.
Śrī Lakshman commented: I also think that there is another difference. The imaginary world of a soul is not as continuous as this external world is. Yet another difference is that God can multiply Himself in His creation, which is imaginary to Him. He can simultaneously exist as many Human Incarnations of God. But a soul cannot do so...
[Kum. Laxmi Thrylokya asked: The Veda says “Ātmanaḥ ākāśaḥ sambhūtaḥ…”, which means that space arose from (was created by) Ātman. This creates a doubt whether space arose from God or the soul, since the word Ātman can refer to either God or the soul. If the Veda would have used the word Parabrahman instead, there would not have been any doubt.]
Swāmi replied: Ātman means the mediated God in this context. The unimaginable God has no form, nature or address. So, one cannot refer to Him directly. If we try to refer to the unimaginable God, there is every danger of the the souls receving the knowledge misunderstanding the statement. Since the unimaginable God cannot be known or even imagined, they might think...
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