Background of Prayers and Worship Should be Understood

Shri Ramanaiah, a devotee, asked “Swami! Shall I go for an operation to my eye?”

Shri Swami told him to wait for some time. Devotees present around asked Shri Swami for the reason of this advice. Shri Swami explained the background enlightening very important concept. The explanation given by Shri Swami is like this:

Some time back, this devotee underwent severe financial problem. I told him to pray Lord Hanuman. He did so. Recently, the financial problem is solved. But, the problem in the eye started. If he undergoes the operation to the eye, the financial problem will revert back. Between these two problems, suffering due to lack of clear eye sight is more convenient than the financial worry. If you analyze the basic background, you must know that every human being must undergo the punishments for his sins. Any punishment will have alternative channels like fine of Rs.1,000/- or six months imprisonment. These two channels are the two types of punishment for the same sin. If the sinner is a rich man, payment of Rs.1,000/- is very much convenient and six months imprisonment is very much inconvenient for him since he will be away from all his activities of businesses. For a poor man, six months-imprisonment is vey much convenient since he gets food in the jail. For him payment of Rs.1,000/- is very much inconvenient since he does not have even one rupee with him. Now, you may say that let the convenient punishments be given to rich and poor persons accordingly. In such case, the punishment is meaningless since the person does not suffer at all. Punishment must give suffering so that there will be at least temporary transformation of the soul. Hence, both these persons are given inconvenient punishments only so that the suffering will give at least temporary transformation. The thief beaten in the police station will not steal, at least, for some time. The punishment is only to bring some transformation at least so that the repetition of sin is suppressed for some period. Some people pray God to give strength to them to face the punishment of the sin. This is ridiculous because if punishment is boldly faced without undergoing any suffering, it is not a punishment at all.

The basic concept of punishment is that there are the following ways to punish a sin: 1) To punish in severe way for a short time. 2) To punish mildly for a long time 3) To postpone the punishment for future in which the punishment is added with interest. Let us understand this with the help of an example of a room filled with dirty water. There are two outlets of which one is more convenient and the other is lesser convenient. The more convenient way is opened in the case of a soft person. The lesser convenient way is opened for a hard person. The third way to postpone the disposal of dirty water by closing both the outlets is ruled out unless you are very rigid to force the God to get total relief, which is limited for today only. God is the divine Father of all the human beings as said in the Gita (Ahambijapradah…). The father always does the best possible arrangements for his children. Closing both the outlets or opening lesser convenient outlet (in the case of undeserving person) involve more suffering in future. God has already opened the best possible outlet for you expressing His maximum love for the child. Now, the ignorant child prays God to close both the outlets to get total relief temporarily. God will not agree to do this because you have to suffer more in future due to its increasing interest. He wants to dispose your sin today itself through the maximum possible convenient way. Therefore, your prayer to God is not at all necessary in the light of already maximum fruit given by Him to you. Hence, you need not pray God for doing better to you since He had already done the best to you even before your prayer based on His maximum love to His children. Your prayer to God must be only to express your gratefulness to Him for giving already the best possible fruit to you. The best fruit given by Him may involve some suffering to you. The suffering given by Him is like the sour medicine that brings good health to you, which is the transformation of the soul.

The human being always prays or worships God with a false idea that God will be pleased by his prayer or worship and will totally cancel the punishment of the sin. If such thing is done, the deity of justice is insulted by which the foundation of the divine administration is totally cracked. Moreover, such foolish act will not bring any transformation of the soul, resulting in permanent damage of the soul, which is not acceptable to the divine Father. In certain special cases of deserving devotees, God may undergo the punishment for their sake. But, this again is a temporary solution only because the devotee again accumulates the sins and consequently the punishments. Now, the final question is: Is there no way to cancel all the punishments of sins forever in single stroke? The beautiful answer for this is: Yes. There is a divine way to cancel all the sins. In this divine way, you must realize the actual aim of the punishment for the sin. The final aim of the punishment is not vengeance but the transformation of the soul. Unfortunately, the punishment cannot bring the complete transformation in the line of any sin, which means that the soul is transformed for sometime only. As soon as the soul returns from the hell and takes birth as the child on this earth, it behaves well in the childhood. You will be impressed to say that any child is God. But, you do not know that as the child grows more and more to become adult, the incomplete transformation ends and the original nature is again exhibited. The transformation must be complete and also must be total. Total transformation means to change yourself with respect to all types of sins. Complete transformation means the permanent transformation. The practical sign of this total and compete transformation is that you should not repeat any type of sin in your rest [of the] period of life. This can be achieved only by the divine knowledge. The source of practical sin is wrong knowledge (wrong thoughts). If the source is smashed, the practical sin will not appear again. Since the source is wrong knowledge (thoughts), it can be destroyed only by the right knowledge (thoughts). A diamond is cut by another diamond only. A thought is destroyed by another thought only. You cannot destroy the thought by a knife or fire. This is only the way to cancel all your pending punishments of sins (Jnanaagnih... Gita). If the soul is totally and completely transformed by the right knowledge, there is no meaning to apply the punishment again since the final aim is already attained. Except this one way, there is no other way to escape the punishments of all sins. Therefore, people should understand this background of their prayer and worship. If you insist God to give total relief from all the punishments, it is given, but, you must know that you have to pay principle and interest in future. This is the reason why the scholars always pray God not to postpone their enjoyments of the fruits for the future.

Astrology is not different from the philosophy or spiritual knowledge. The nine planets are the secretaries of the divine administration of God carrying on this process of implementation of punishments and award of good fruits by changing their intensities and using the alternate channels according to the necessity in order to achieve the total transformation of the soul. The planets are only the unimaginable powers of the unimaginable God. The unimaginable way of control of the fruits by a planet indicates the existence of unimaginable God. Thus, the astrology cannot be isolated from the spiritual knowledge of God as you cannot isolate sunlight from Sun. Unfortunately, the ignorant behaviour of the astrologers to foretell the future by suggesting the remedies to escape the problems without touching the main point of the total transformation of the soul and the concept of God, must be criticized as was done by the Holy Jesus. They simply forecast the coming problems and suggest the remedies like doing businesses with the secretaries of the present administration. Neither transformation of soul nor the devotion to God exists in the way of the dealings done by the astrologer. These astrologers exploit the minds of human beings by creating advance tension of future problems and suggest the remedies in advance to escape those problems without understanding the divine plan in the punishment (problem). For doing this, they charge you and earn money by twisting the right direction of astrology and philosophy in to wrong way just for the sake of earning the money and fame. I told this devotee (Ramanaiah) to worship Hanuman to pacify Saturn existing in the second place from His first zodiate (Taurus). The second place always represents finance and eyes as per astrology. The sin of the devotee is going through the channel of finance. Due to his prayers, He became soft and his sin is diverted from the channel of finance to the channel of his eyes. Now, he wants to get rid of the suffering of the eyes through operation. In such case, the punishment will be retorted back to the financial channel, which is more inconvenient. Hence, I advised him to suffer with the eyes for some more time. The total background of the complete spiritual knowledge is very essential in astrology.

Pushkarams

The priests also are similar to the astrologers. You see the recent event of the deaths of several people in the sudden rush during the first day of the Pushkaram of the Godavari River. Similar incidents happened in the case of Kumbha Mela of Ganga River. These priests propagate that the bath in the river on the first day itself will wash all the sins. Can the bath in a river wash the sins, without the total and complete transformation of the soul? The Ganga or Godavari is not the river directly. Ganga or Godavari is the presiding deity of the corresponding river. The deity is energetic form of angel possessing some unimaginable powers granted by the unimaginable God. When you say that this river is the deity Ganga, it only means that this river is under the control of such deity. This is the rule of Sanskrit grammar, which says that if you say that this is that, it can mean that this is under the control of that (Tadadhina Prathamaa...). When you say that this world is God (Sarvamkhalvidam... Veda), it means that this world is under the control of God. The bath in the river used to give some freshness to the human being, which is the first step to concentrate on God and finally to get rid of all the sins with the help of His divine knowledge leading to total and complete transformation of soul. The first step is always linked with the final result in order to encourage the soul. People say that if you join this medical college, you are sure to become the best doctor. This does not mean that you will become the best doctor just by joining that college. You must study sincerely and then only you will achieve the result. Today, in the case of the bath in the river, even the first step is spoiled. In the olden days, the river running from its source was very pure with all the merits of the association of minerals and medicinal plants. Such a running river was always better than the stagnant well. Today, the rivers are polluted with drainage water and industrial waste. Today, the well water is far better than the river water. These priests propagate that by dipping in such a polluted river in a particular area (Desha) and at a particular time (Kala) will remove all the sins. This is totally wrong because even the initial freshness is not attained, not to speak of wash of all sins. The priests also know this. If they are true about this concept only, they should say that by dipping you will get rid of all sins. But, these clever priests say that after the dip (Snana), you should give donation (dana) to them. So, all this is commercial trick to cheat the people and earn the money. Such earned money will never give happiness. Thus, the subject is always twisted to achieve the selfish ends and finally the innocent and ignorant humanity is damaged. As per scripture, you should always say the truth in sweet way and say neither the truth in harsh way nor the lie in sweet way (Satyam bruyat Priyam...).

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