17 Feb 2024
Sutras 1-57 58-63 64-65 66-70 71-82 83-90 91-94
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,
(Questions from Smt. Chhandaa and answers from Shri Datta Swami in the form of aphorisms. Questions are given in square brackets.)
Narāntima janma puruṣa iti cet na, tribandhamātrāt. |1|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- About the salvation of Vivekananda, I am feeling that it is not mandatory for the soul to be born as female in the last birth.]
Swami replied:- When all the three strongest bonds are tested, the final birth shall be of female because Daareshanaa can be tested only when the devotee is a married female. Arjuna was Sage Nara and Sage Nara was always a liberated soul from the three strongest bonds. The tests of Arjuna were regarding the faith of Arjuna on the contemporary human incarnation. He was born as a hunter, severely worshipping God Shiva, the energetic incarnation. As Arjuna, he did a lot of penance for God Shiva. Then, he was born as Vivekananda, who came close to the contemporary human incarnation called Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. There also, he developed full faith on the human incarnation only at the end of the life of Ramakrishna and got fully liberated. In the case of the Gopikas, they had full faith on the contemporary human incarnation, God Krishna and hence, they became fully liberated once the three strongest bonds were dropped for the sake of God. Final female birth means the birth in which the three strongest bonds are tested.
Śiśūnāṃ kathamiti cet na bhedāt pratīkāt satyāvakāśāt ca. |2|
[If a child doesn't know anything about the human incarnation, still how can he/she be longing for it?]
Swami replied:- The child is an independent soul, having its own spiritual thoughts developed from several births. The child is born to the parents due to binding of loan, which means that the parent-souls took loan from this child-soul in the previous birth so that the child will collect the loan along with interest from the parents in this birth. Hence, the bondage between parents and child is totally based on a different ground, which is not spiritual. However, parents become interested in the spiritual welfare of their child. Worshipping idols in the initial stage to develop theoretical devotion is not a wrong step. If the parents are matured in the spiritual journey, they can also introduce the contemporary human incarnation. If the previous birth – spiritual thoughts (Samskaaraas) are strong, even the child can grasp the thought of the contemporary human incarnation. It all depends finally on the quality and strength of the samskaaraas of the child.
Pratīke 'pyanāsaktiriti cet na, Sadguru sādhyāt. |3|
[When mother wants to concentrate at least on idol worship and the child is not getting any interest, is it correct?]
Swami replied:- As I already told you, the individual samskaaraas of the child that are solidified in the child take over the final decision. Of course, the influence of the atmosphere is also strong even though it is secondary. If the influencing preacher is the Sadguru (contemporary human incarnation of God), even such solidified samskaaraas also will change.
January 27, 2024
Mokṣa ssarvata iti cet na, bandha nirdeśāt. |4|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- From the 1st answer, I get another doubt. How come a liberated soul has to develop faith in the contemporary human incarnation? Does he not already have the faith? If Arjuna was already a liberated soul, why was he liberated again? So far, my thinking was that the liberated souls always have full faith in contemporary human incarnation except some cases like Miirabai. Am I not, correct?]
Swami replied:- You yourself have shown Miirabai as exceptional case, which means that the word ‘Liberation’ means simply relief and does not specify the bond from which the liberation happened. Liberation might have been obtained from one type of ignorance and that might not have been from another type of ignorance. If liberation is from all types of ignorance, it should be mentioned as salvation from all types of ignorant bonds. A liberated soul does not mean the soul liberated from all types of ignorant bonds. Salvation from the three strongest worldly bonds means salvation from all worldly bonds. The bond with the contemporary human incarnation does not come under worldly bonds. It is a type of bond with a specific form of God. If the devotees belong to earth, the bond with the contemporary human incarnation is very essential for which the basis is recognition of the contemporary human incarnation.
January 28, 2024
Ekasyobhayamiti cet na, dvividha bandha vikarṣaṇāt. |5|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- Arjuna was liberated but Swami Vivekananda was salvated. Is it correct Swami? Then again, my confusion is how and when the three strongest bonds (esanatrayam) were tested? Please explain in detail.]
Swami replied:- Liberation and salvation have the same meaning and both words require the item from which liberation or salvation is obtained. Of course, salvation is the word used in the spiritual field. Liberation is a general word. Arjuna and Vivekananda were one and the same soul. Sage Nara was born as Arjuna. Hence, this soul born as Arjuna became liberated from the three strongest worldly bonds in the previous birth and due to this salvation from the three strongest worldly bonds, this soul became Sage Nara to be in the association with Sage Narayana. Sage Narayana was the very first energetic incarnation, called God Datta. Due to this association with the energetic incarnation, Sage Nara developed very much devotion towards the energetic form of God. Since Sage Nara was also an energetic being, their association was quite relevant and Sage Nara crossed the repulsion between common energetic media. When Sage Narayana was born as Krishna, Sage Nara was born as Arjuna. Sage Narayana wanted to remove the repulsion between common human media from Sage Nara or Arjuna. Sage Nara could cross this repulsion between common human media in three subsequent human births.
Taijasāt mokṣa iti cet na, tat tat bhaktayoḥ tat tat bandhāt. |6|
[If a soul can get salvation through energetic incarnation, then how will devotees be attracted to the human incarnation?]
Swami replied:- A soul can be energetic being or human being. Energetic incarnation is relevant to energetic beings and the human incarnation is relevant to human beings. In both cases, the same God exists in both incarnations. A human being has no chance to become a direct devotee of an energetic incarnation and hence, the human devotee gets salvation through the human incarnation only.
Mānuṣa eva mokṣada iti cet na tāvubhāvapi yat. |7|
[Am I not correct if I say that it is only the human incarnation who can give salvation to any soul as He can only test him/her?]
Swami replied:- The human incarnation tests a soul existing as a human being and the energetic incarnation tests a soul existing as an energetic being (Angel). Worldly bonds are common to both human beings and energetic beings.
Mānuṣāya śiśoḥ ko yatna iti cet na, yanna vayaḥ saṃskāre. |8|
[If a child wants God in human form, what kind of efforts he/she can put?]
Swami replied:- A soul aspiring for salvation existing in human body or energetic body is the main point here. The age of the body of the soul has no relevance. It is the samskaara of previous births that provokes the soul towards salvation.
Śiśorajñāna miti cet na, tat bhakti bhāvāt. |9|
[If a child thinks everybody wants God for some materialistic thing but it wants only God and in its mind, it feels sorry for God. It expresses in front of the statue that in its absence who will take care of God when no one is there. Is it correct as this thinking itself is wrong? If so, how?]
Swami replied:- Even though the child is wrong in spiritual knowledge, this feeling of the child belonging to emotional devotion is appreciated by God.
Ajñānāt avagatiḥ kathamiti cet na, garbhastha prahlādāt. |10|
[If a child gets different divine dreams and is not able to follow what they meant, how will it move ahead in the spiritual line specially when nobody around it can explain them and it is not in contact with the Sadguru?]
Swami replied:- The administration of spiritual journey of a devotee in different states of age is taken care by God. I already told that the samskaara of the soul is important and not the age of the body of the soul. A great devotee like Prahlaada learnt the spiritual knowledge from Sage Naarada while he was in the womb of his mother.
Śamaḥ kathamiti cet na, Daivamūlya pratyayāt. |11|
[How to keep patience from childhood to the moment of meeting God in human form if someone has spiritual inclination as it could be a long process?]
Swami replied:- The recognition of the value of God will easily bring patience to wait for a long time. If the devotee has not understood the value of God, such a devotee will feel the time of the journey as long.
Divyasvapna jñānnaṃ neti cet na, bhāvi spaṣṭa bodhāt. |12|
[Long back, I saw a dream in which Swami Vivekananda was discussing spiritual knowledge with me for a long time. But unfortunately, I don't remember even a single word from that discussion. Why is it so as this is the only incident, and I am not able to recollect anything? Is it because of less devotion? I was encouraged to have Vivekananda in my dream but at the same time was very disappointed for not remembering anything.]
Swami replied:- You need not feel for not hearing the whole discussion because now you are hearing all that discussion with complete clarity. For the sake of full clarity only, the discussion was erased from your dream. God interfered with your dream for this purpose only. Divine dreams will never go to waste.
Saṃśayāt nāśa iti cet na, tad viṣaya sattvāt. |13|
[Padanamaskaram Swami, this refers Your answer to "How to overcome the fear of rejection?" by Shri Anil Antony. You said that if a soul has doubt of rejection, then the fear of rejection will come naturally. Does it mean that finally because of this doubt only, the soul will be rejected? At Your divine lotus feet always 🙏🏻]
Swami replied:- When there is a doubt of fear, there must have been some real matter that is responsible for such fear. You must analyse the subject matter that caused the doubt and rectify it. You should not simply take it as a doubt without matter and stop doubting.
January 29, 2024
Bhedābhedāviti cet na, yadubhayatrāpyabhedaḥ. |14|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- There is difference between the departed human souls existing in energetic bodies temporarily and angels existing in energetic bodies permanently. Similarly, is there a difference between human and energetic incarnations?]
Swami replied:- Angels are permanent residents of upper energetic worlds (like citizens of USA) and hence, they always exist in energetic bodies. Their relevant forms of God are energetic incarnations only. Similarly, the human souls after death reach upper worlds in energetic bodies (like Non-Immigrant visa holders of USA). As long as these human souls exist in temporary energetic bodies, they are treated on par with angel souls existing in permanent energetic bodies. The reason is that both are souls only and God is God whether He is in energetic incarnation or human incarnation. The energetic incarnation, God Narayana protected the human soul Prahlaada on earth. Similarly, God Krishna, the human incarnation excused and protected god Indra, who is a permanent energetic being. Hence, there is no difference between an energetic being and a human being and there is also no difference between energetic incarnation and human incarnation in the spiritual field. From the angle of Pravrutti, there is a difference between the permanent energetic being (Angel) and the temporary energetic being (human soul after death).
Vyatyayo Nara Nārāyaṇayo riti cet na, bhedāt. |15|
[If You compare Sage Nara and Sage Narayana, Nara could cross the repulsion between common energetic media. The same Nara born as Arjuna took three births to cross the repulsion between common human media. Why is this difference?]
Swami replied:- Sage Nara and Sage Narayana were always in close association immersed in penance. Sage Narayana also did penance to encourage Sage Nara in the penance. Such everlasting closest association between Nara and Narayana made Nara to cross the repulsion between common energetic media. But, when Narayana and Nara are born as Krishna and Arjuna, such closest association was not there. Krishna was living in Madhura or Dwaraka and Arjuna was residing in Indraprastha or the forests. Both were meeting once in a while and the association was close but not the closest. Due to this reason, the realisation of the truth by Arjuna took three human births.
Nare paro'pi kimevamiti cet na, bhakti mātra bandhutvāt. |16|
[In the place of Sage Nara, if another devotee is present, will God help the soul in the same way?]
Swami replied:- If the other devoted soul as energetic being is also very closely associated with God Narayana like Sage Nara, God Narayana will help that devotee also in a similar manner. After all, Arjuna is not a close relative and the other devotee is not a far relative. The relationship with God is only through true devotion only and not by any other means.
Karmabhogau parīkṣāyāmiti cet na, sandarbha bhedāt. |17|
[You told that deeds are done on the earth only and hence, this is called Karmaloka. The upper worlds are called Bhogalokas because the fruits of the deeds done here are enjoyed there by souls. In such a case, if an energetic incarnation performs practical tests in Karma Yoga, the above rule is broken. How can You explain this?]
Swami replied:- This rule is in the context of souls performing merits and sins on the earth. If the fruits are also given here, the mental peace of the soul gets disturbed so that the soul will not have a fresh mind to absorb the spiritual knowledge of the Sadguru. If the energetic incarnation tests the human soul present in the energetic body in upper worlds in practical Karma Yoga, this general rule cannot apply in that context. Moreover, when God wants to test a soul, can rules bind Him?
January 30, 2024
Ko bhedaḥ tayoḥ ityatra śakti bhedaḥ. |18|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- You told that from the angle of Pravrutti, there is difference between a permanent energetic being (Angel) and a temporary energetic being (human soul after death). What is that difference?]
Swami replied:- Once a human soul enters the energetic body leaving the gross body, it attains very little miraculous powers. We can observe this from ghosts, which are the human souls entering energetic bodies after leaving their gross bodies. The souls present in permanent energetic bodies have more miraculous powers with more intensity. This is the difference between the human souls temporarily present in energetic bodies and angels. This is a point of natural arrangement of creation done by God and hence, we say that there is a difference between both these souls from the angle of Pravrutti. As far as Nivrutti (spiritual life) is concerned, God treats both types of souls in an equal manner and then, the difference is only based on their spiritual thoughts and subsequent spiritual actions.
Kaḥ tapo hetuḥ ityatra sādhya sāmānyam. |19|
[Why has Sage Narayana to do penance to encourage Sage Nara as He Himself is the ultimate one and without penance also, He could have done it?]
Swami replied:- For the sake of human souls, God will do the same actions of human souls so that He can mix with them in a friendly manner. If God does actions beyond the range of human souls, the human souls get excited and cannot mix with God in a friendly manner. Regarding Sage Narayana and Sage Nara, the devotion between them is the type of friendship devotion, which is called Sakhyam (sakhya mātma nivedanam). Sage Nara born as human being, called Arjuna also maintained the same type of friendship with God. God can grant anything just by His will, but, in such a case, the value of spiritual effort (sadhana) is not realized by the soul. Hence, Karma Yoga or practical devotion is to be practiced by the devotees with free will. Then only, real love towards God can be identified because such service or sacrifice is not done by the will of God. When a devotee shows practical devotion with free will, then only God is pleased since such devotion is real.
Sānnidhya mityatra jñāna mātrāt. |20|
[When Krishna and Arjuna were staying far away from each other, the closest association was lost. Does it not mean that distance matters a lot? You only say that for the devotees who are far away, intensity of devotion is more for them. Here, it seems to be like distance is a hindrance to mental devotion. Is it correct?]
Swami replied:- Devotion certainly increases as the distance between God and devotees is prominent. The best example for this is the Gopikas staying far from Krishna in Brindavanam after Krishna left Brindavanam. This point is correct as far as the devotion is concerned. Continuous association of God and devotees brings negligence towards God. Rukmini always stayed close to Krishna and Krishna did not become red hot even though Rukmini was drinking hot milk. Radha used to come to Dwaraka now and then. Once, Radha drank the same hot milk given by Rukmini. On that day, Krishna appeared red-hot saying that He lived in the heart of Radha due to which the hot milk drank by Radha made Him become red-hot. Rukmini understood that continuous close association brings repulsion (ati paricayāt avajñā bhavati). All this is applicable to devotion towards God called Bhakti Yoga. But, when Jnaana Yoga is concerned, this point becomes the reverse. In continuous contact, the devotee can clarify several doubts continuously that brings true spiritual knowledge. The repulsion between God and devotee due to ego and jealousy can be removed by spiritual knowledge and not by devotion. Hence, due to rare meetings between God Krishna and Arjuna, Arjuna could not get the complete spiritual knowledge from God Krishna due to which Arjuna could not cross the repulsion between common human media. Both Krishna and Arjuna were in human bodies and this caused the repulsion between two common human media. Hence, a long time was taken by Arjuna to realize God in human form. Of course, there was no phone facility during the time of Krishna and Arjuna. At present, such facility exists and devotees can continuously clear their doubts from the Sadguru through phone conversations. Close and continuous physical association is not necessary in this Kali age.
Parasya karuṇetyatra niṣpakṣapātāt. |21|
[Can I say, if Arjuna had to overcome the common media repulsion by his own effort, more than three births would be required? Only due to Sage Narayana’s love towards His devotee, He made it possible. Is it correct?]
Swami replied:- The grace of God is constant on every devotee. The grace of God comes from the spiritual effort put by the devotee. The grace of God is impartial in all cases like Max Planck’s constant (you will understand this simile in a better way since you studied physics). Hence, the only reason for success in spiritual field is one’s own effort and not God’s grace. The grace of God comes on the devotee proportionally as per the intensity of the effort of the devotee. Sage Nara was in the energetic form, which is rajas. Sage Narayana is the embodiment of spiritual knowledge or sattvam. Arjuna was in materialized human body, which is tamas. Rajas is very subtle and sharp and is closer to sattvam than tamas. Hence, rajas can get the realization in a faster way than tamas. On this basis, we can understand the delay of tamas in getting realization.
Dussādhya mityatra vajra mūlya jñānāt. |22|
[If Arjuna's case is this difficult, how will other ordinary souls like us get motivated?]
Swami replied:- Spiritual field is not a business to formulate motivations for sales! The worldly fields include these types of tricks, which are like a huge number of valueless gravel stones. The spiritual field is very very rare like the Kohinoor diamond. Sage Narada was going to the abode of God. One sage doing penance told Sage Narada to enquire from God regarding the future number of births to be taken by him to get salvation. Another mad devotee dancing while singing the fame of God also asked Sage Narada regarding the same question. Narada while returning back from the abode of God replied to the sage that he will take four more births to get salvation. The sage replied with pain, “Four more births! Oh God”. Sage Narada told the other mad devotee that he requires a million births to get salvation. The mad devotee danced with extreme happiness saying, “Just one million of births? Is it so early!” God immediately announced from the sky to the mad dancing devotee, “You are granted salvation at this very moment”. What is the reason here? The sage underestimated the value of salvation whereas the devotee estimated the value of salvation correctly. This is the story told by Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in a spiritual meeting with devotees. Shankara also says that patience is the first required spiritual quality (śama damādi sādhana guṇa sampattiḥ). Shiridi Sai Baba also says that both concentration on God and patience are required (nishthaa sabuuri). Motivation can be attained by reading the life histories of great devotees and by hearing the true spiritual knowledge from the Sadguru. Devotees search for the spiritual field and not vice-versa.
February 01, 2024
Śāpāt nātiśaya iti cet na, pūrva tyāgāt. |23|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- O Lord of the Universe! In reply to Smt. Swathi's answer today, I have the following doubts. Please clarify them. Does it not look like Radha's devotion is being diluted in comparison to the other Gopikas?]
Swami replied:- Radha did not allow Ayanaghosha (her husband) to touch her even once (due to her mad love for God Krishna). Ayanaghosha planned to meet with her by force. But during that time, due to some mistake made by Ayanaghosha, Sage Durvaasa cursed him that if he touched his wife, he would die immediately. Since Radha did not allow Ayanaghosha to touch her even before the curse, she excelled the other Gopikas, who were married and got issues.
Triparīkṣā samatvam iti cet na, pūrvatyāgādhikyāt. |24|
[Radha is the only candidate who passed Krishna's tests without any grace mark unlike others. But from Your explanation, it looks to be a little contradictory. If my doubt is valid then, please clarify this by justifying these two? Can we then say that other Gopikas should have been passed without grace mark whereas Radha should have been given the grace mark?]
Swami replied:- Since Radha did not get issues from her husband, who was abandoned by her, she excels all other married Gopikas, who also got issues. Hence, Radha was made the queen of Goloka. Passing of all the three tests is common for Radha and the other Gopikas. All the other Gopikas, who reached Goloka are almost equal to Radha in their pure love for God Krishna.
Tāsāṃ kaṣṭataram iti cet na, samatvāt. |25|
[Can we not then say that the tests conducted by Lord Krishna were more difficult for the other Gopikas compared to Radha?]
Swami replied:- The same three tests were conducted for both Radha and the other married Gopikas.
Anuttīrṇakleśa iti cet na, svātmabodhāt. |26|
[O Lord Krishna! Please see the following questions and suggest me how to make them proper as You already know what I mean to say through these. Does a devotee really bother about testing or not?]
Swami replied:- Devotee is always tested in a natural way without any notice of the test. If the devotee comes to know about the test, the devotee will be more attentive and careful so that artificial behaviour comes out and therefore, passing the test becomes unnatural and easy. Hence, the devotee need not bother about the tests because there is no chance for the devotee to express his/her artificial attentive behaviour to pass the test. A devotee failing in the test is immediately cautioned by his/her consciousness so that the rectification side can be concentrated upon.
Asāmānyalakṣaṇam iti cet na, sahajatvāt. |27|
[While testing a devotee, does the devotee feel anything different from other normal moments? How will he/she realise that he/she had undergone the test?]
Swami replied:- As I told, the test will be conducted in a natural way so that the devotee does not become attentive and therefore, any unnatural care to pass the test is completely avoided. Hence, any devotee cannot recognise the test.
Kathamabhijñeti cet na, vinode tasyāpyabhāvāt. |28|
[How can a devotee not recognise You (God) when You (God) are present there along with him/her?]
Swami replied:- A devotee may or may not recognise the contemporary human incarnation of God based on the knowledge or ignorance respectively. Ignorance is so powerful that it even makes God to forget everything about Himself for the sake of entertainment.
Kathaṃ sahavāsa iti cet Bhagavat saṃskārāt. |29|
[What shall be the approach of a devotee who wants to feel the presence of God in his/her life?]
Swami replied:- It is the Samskaara (strong thought) of the devotee towards God from several births, which makes God to approach the devotee in his/her real life. The strong theoretical devotion must be proved by practical devotion.
Bhaktyā prāptiḥ iti cet na, Karmayogayutāyāḥ. |30|
[It is told that if somebody really loves God, God Himself will approach him/her. I know that it is true. Please explain, how someone can practically realise it?]
Swami replied:- Love should be theoretical (Bhakti Yoga) as well as practical (Karma Yoga). Both together will lead the devotee to success.
February 03, 2024
Tat kāmo mokṣa iti cet na, tasmāt bandha mokṣāt. |31|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- Does wanting God mean wanting salvation?]
Swami replied:- Wanting God is the love to God. Wanting worldly bonds means the love to worldly bonds. The liberation from all worldly bonds is called salvation. Salvation is the result of love to God. When the love to God reaches its climax level, worldly bonds are dropped by themselves without any effort. Such spontaneous salvation without any effort for salvation is real salvation. Mere dropout of worldly bonds is not salvation. A person may be very much attracted to a prostitute and in his case also, all the worldly bonds may be dropped by themselves without any effort due to extreme love to the prostitute. Such liberation from worldly bonds can’t be called as salvation. If worldly bonds are dropped out due to excess love to God, such dropout of the worldly bonds is only called as salvation. To be with family is justified Pravrutti. To be with a prostitute is unjust Dushpravrutti. To be with God is Nivrutti.
Mokṣāt bhaktiriti cet na, vyatyayāt. |32|
[Does it mean that the devotee has crossed all the bonds when God has entered into one’s life?]
Swami replied:- Entry is a qualitative word, which should be expressed quantitatively. The percentage of entry gives the percentage of salvation from worldly bonds. Actually, the reverse of this concept is more correct. The liberation from worldly bonds need not indicate the attachment to God. Even the attachment to a prostitute may result in the liberation from worldly bonds. The correct statement will be–due to the attachment to God, liberation or salvation from the worldly bonds shall happen spontaneously without any effort.
Sadguru bhāvābhāvayoḥ ko bheda ityatra dīpādāpa prayāṇavat. |33|
[What is the difference between a devotee having Sadguru and a devotee not having Sadguru?]
Swami replied:- The devotee having Sadguru is like the journey in darkness possessing a torchlight. The devotee not having Sadguru is like the journey in darkness without a torchlight. Sadguru guides the devotee at every step during the spiritual journey.
Alābhe’ pyaakṛṣṭa iti cet na, sadbhakte na lābha dṛṣṭeh. |34|
[God is always in loss while dealing with a devotee. In such case, why is He interested in the devotee?]
Swami replied:- Such a devotion which is based on profit and loss is business devotion in which there is no true love. In business, there is equality of the fruits exchanged and there is no real devotion since it is based on the aspiration of some fruit in return from God. When this equality of exchanged items is disturbed, profit or loss may appear on any side. If practical sacrifice is present on both sides, business devotion can result. Similarly, if theoretical knowledge and theoretical devotion are offered to God, God also exchanges His theoretical knowledge and theoretical love with the devotee. The Veda says that God is the reflection of the devotee (Rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo babhūva…). The Gita says that God approaches you in the same path in which the devotee approached God (Ye yathā mām…). God will not undergo any loss at the intellectual level. Of course, God will certainly undergo loss at the level of true love. God is a million times more intelligent than the devotee and God is also having a million times more true love than the devotee. There is no loss to God in the intellectual path and there is a terrible loss in the path of true love. God is always interested in the devotee following the path of true love and God is not interested in the devotee following the path of intelligence exploiting God. Normal devotees get the fruits of their past meritorious deeds, which may look as if God is interested in the devotee by doing undue favour. If the devotee is trying to exploit God, God will exploit the devotee by postponing the sins with increased interest and bringing back the fruits of merits to be enjoyed in future with reduced values. If the devotee is real with true love to God, God will suffer the punishments of sins of such devotee and also grants boons by using special power which is also justified in the case of such a sincere devotee.
Balavat sevā ityatra parā hi kāṣṭhā sā. |35|
[If a devotee does service and sacrifice even after repeated denial of the Sadguru, what will be Your opinion?]
Swami replied:- i) Some devotees try to exploit God by doing theoretical devotion through prayers and songs to get practical boons from God. Some Gopikas praised Krishna and danced with Him, but, complained to Yashoda when He stole butter from their houses. This is the worst type of devotion, called prostitution devotion.
ii) Some devotees try to do business with God, which is called business devotion. Some Gopikas did not complain to Yashoda even though Krishna stole butter from their houses, thinking that God Krishna may do some good favours to their families. These are the middle type of devotees.
iii) Some devotees try to do more service and sacrifice to God even though God advises them not to do. Some Gopikas, in spite of not complaining to Yashoda, they also searched for Krishna while going to Mathura city and fed Him with butter forcibly even though He was denying to eat.
The devotees referred by you in your question belong to the third type. Mother Yashoda also belongs to the third type of devotion. Of course, this cannot be called as devotion because such love is naturally expected in the case of every mother to her issues. The case of Gopikas referred above in the 3rd type is completely different since they are not biologically related to God Krishna.
Kṛchhra tara miti cet na, Rādhā sāhasāt. |36|
[In reply to Your answer in suutram 25, I would like to put the question in a different way. Can we not say that passing the tests of Lord Krishna for the other Gopikas was more difficult than Radha? As they had to overcome more difficulties including towards their issues?]
Swami replied:- The other Gopikas might have had more difficulties in reaching God Krishna and due to this reason, the Gopikas did not go to Dwaraka. After Krishna left Brundaavanam, they only met Krishna once on the sea shore near Dwaraka since every villager of Brundaavanam went to sea to have a bath on that day of sun-eclipse. Here also, special effort to go to Dwaraka was not done by any Gopika. Radha was very courageous to go against the then existing strict social conditions in Dwapara age for the sake of God Krishna. She overcame even the strong fascination to have children and family, which is very natural in the case of any woman. However, there is only a very narrow marginal difference between Radha and the Gopikas as far as the climax mad love for God Krishna is concerned. Hence, there is no need for such a strong fight in this issue.
February 10, 2024
Toyoḥ viparīta miti cet na, sandarbha samanvayāt |37|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- Paadanamaskaram, Oh Yogiishwara! Please clarify the following doubts of this soul. You say that God is the reflection of the soul. You also say that soul is the reflection of God. Please clarify.]
Swami replied:- There are two different contexts. In one context, soul is the reflection of God (Bimba Pratibimba Vāda). When I say that soul is the reflection of God, it means that the idea in the mind of God is materialized as soul. This context is regarding the generation of the soul from God. In another context, God is the reflection of the soul (Rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo babhūva…- Veda, Ye yathā mām… - Gita). In this context, the already formed soul will get the fruit from God, as per its practical or theoretical devotion. This means that you will get a theoretical fruit if your devotion is theoretical. If your devotion is practical devotion, you will get a practical boon from God. Hence, the fruit from God, is a reflection of your spiritual effort.
Ānanda priya miti cet na, rāja dṛṣṭāntāt |38|
[Is it possible for any devotee to really give ananda to God when He is always in the state of infinite bliss? Please explain how?]
Swami replied:- A king is already very rich. If somebody sees the king and presents a gift representing his love to the king, will the king not be pleased? Similarly, God is pleased with your true devotion when it is proved practically.
Na bādhā sparśa iti cet na, śāstrāṅīkārāt |39|
[Similarly, is it possible for God to get pain due to some devotee whom He loves very much? Can pain ever touch You, my Lord? Please explain.]
Swami replied:- In this context, God gets the pain and suffers with it. If God does not suffer with the taken punishment, it means that He is cheating the deity of justice. Therefore, when God takes the punishment of the sin of His real devotee, He should suffer in reality. This agreement happened between God and the deity of justice while framing the divine constitution by God.
Sarvārpaṇam kathamiti cet atra svātma śravaṇam |40|
[Can a devotee ever understand whether it has surrendered to God fully or not? What should be the approach of the devotee if it has got the answer as yes/no?]
Swami replied:- The consciousness of the devotee will always speak the truth since consciousness is always the mike for God. In this way, one can know the truth about his/her total surrender to God.
kālo mukhya ityatra siddhānta prādhānyam |41|
[You say that time is secondary relative item. It is with respect to the absolute God and is perfectly true. But for us, the souls, time is so important and it seems to be running like anything. So in what way, souls will treat this time in the direction of spirituality?]
Swami replied:- Sometimes, a secondary item may become more important than the primary item. But, this does not mean that the secondary is primary and primary is secondary. For a good student, study is primary and cinema is secondary. But for a bad student, cinema may be primary and study may be secondary. The importance of the secondary relative time is also appreciable because one should concentrate on God as early as possible since human lifetime is short. In deciding primary and secondary relative items, the theory of relativity is important and not its personal importance.
Kāla cakram kathamityatra tasyaiva punarāvṛttiḥ |42|
[How will You define the kaalachakra in terms of distance then in view of this new definition of time?]
Swami replied:- The kaala cakra (time wheel) is the continuous circulation of time. Yesterday, the time was measured by the distance between two events in the space. Again, tomorrow also, the same procedure is adopted. This continues every day. Such a continuous repetition of the same incidents is the time wheel. The fundamental of measuring time by the distance between two events in space is never changed.
Nivṛttasya pravṛttiḥ kathamityatra pūrṇe saṅgābhāvaḥ |43|
[When a devotee approaches Nivritti life, how will its approach towards family/world change?]
Swami replied:- It depends on the intensity of Nivritti. If the intensity is in climax, the devotee will never turn to Pravritti. Even if the devotee turns to Pravritti in such a state, the devotee is completely detached internally from Pravritti.
February 11, 2024
Anūhyāt ūhyam ityatra dvayasya hetuḥ |44|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- Paadanamaskaram Swami, please clear my following doubts. How can the first item of creation be the wish of God to create the world? Is this wish also not unimaginable? Once the creation is created, then only it can be considered as the item of creation. Please clear my mind.]
Swami replied:- The unimaginable God can do both unimaginable things and imaginable things. Hence, the will of the unimaginable God as the first item can be imaginable.
Na ramate duḥkhāt iti cet na, dvayorapi modāt |45|
[Swami, in a discussion, the following point again came. Please clarify. How can we say that before creating this creation, God was bored? Other than boring, can there really be no other mood?]
Swami replied:- It is not actually boring, which is a cheap word indicating misery. The king is happy in the palace. He wants to go to the forest for hunting so that he wants a change of variety of entertainment. He is happy in the palace and also happy in the forest while hunting. There is no misery either in the palace or in the forest.
Ajñāta śaktirityatra sarvamanūhya parabrahmaṇaḥ |46|
[I was attending a lecture on "The future of the Universe" by famous physicist Prof. Ashoke Sen. He said that dark energy has the main role in the expansion of the universe. By definition, this dark energy is that energy which is still unknown. Swami, can I say this dark energy as the subtle energy or the omnipotence of God?]
Swami replied:- The dark energy is the energy present in darkness, which means that it is beyond our human knowledge. It is the power of the unimaginable God. As per the wish of the unimaginable God, His unimaginable power acts. Everything depends on dark energy means that everything depends on its possessor, called unimaginable God or Parabrahman.
Antya budbuda mityatra tadichhā lakṣaṇayaa |47|
[In terms of physics, it is said that when the Killer bubble will come, the whole universe will be destroyed. Please explain this in spiritual line. Always at Your divine lotus feet, Chhandaa]
Swami replied:- Killer bubble means the will of God to destroy the world. The killer bubble is a figure of speech.
February 14, 2024
Bimba pratibimba mityatra jagat jīva sṛṣṭiḥ māyayā |48|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- Paadanamaskaram Swami, please clarify the following doubts. In the Sutram no. 37, You said, "When I say that soul is the reflection of God, it means that the idea in the mind of God is materialized as soul. This context is regarding the generation of the soul from God." Please explain it in an elaborated way. How can the soul be a reflection even before its generation.]
Swami replied:- The generation of the soul in the creation itself is told as reflection. In fact, this entire creation generated from God is also a big reflection in which a small reflection, called soul is created. The entire creation including souls is the thought of God and such thought is materialized truly for the sake of the real entertainment of God. God gave His absolute reality as a gift to the creation. In this way, the creation and souls in the creation – both are reflections of the thoughts of God. The word ‘reflection’ shall be taken in a poetic sense and not in the sense of physics where an object exists before the mirror. Here, the object is the thought of God and the reflections are the materialized world and soul. The unimaginable power of God, called Maya can be taken as mirror. Mirror is also a part of the figure of speech.
Ūhyaḥ katha mityatra dvayoḥ bhāvāt |49|
[With respect to Your answer in Sutram number 44, I can understand that everything is possible for the unimaginable God. But I am still not clear how this wish can be imaginable. Please explain in more detail. Always at Your divine lotus feet, Chhanda]
Swami replied:- There are two angles. In one angle, God’s wish is imaginable because just like your wish in your brain, God’s will to create the world is also a wish. But in the second angle, this wish is the unimaginable power of the omnipotent unmediated–unimaginable God. The reason is that such wish is generated without awareness in God. If you see the generation of awareness, it needs inert energy produced from digestion of food and a functioning materialized nervous system. Before the creation of the world, both inert energy and nervous system were absent. In the absence of both these items, awareness cannot be produced. Without awareness, thought cannot come. All this is worldly logic. Thought cannot appear in the stone due to the absence of both inert energy and nervous system. But, the unimaginable God is omnipotent and thought comes to Him without awareness due to omnipotence. Hence, due to His inherent omnipotence, thought comes to unimaginable God without the presence of awareness. In this way, the wish of God is imaginable in one angle and unimaginable in another angle.
February 15, 2024
Vidhi ravaśya miti cet na, vaikalpikatvāt |50|
[Smt. Chhandaa asked:- O Lord of the universe! Please answer the following to clear my mind. It is said that God can be achieved only through Parabhakti. And this Parabhakti comes only by the grace of God. But before this comes Vaidhi bhakti, which is not stable but it's very necessary. Are these two steps common for all? And how to turn this Vaidhi bhakti into Parabhakti?]
Swami replied:- Vaidhi Bhakti means worshipping God with prescribed rituals in scriptures. If a soul has completed Vaidhi Bhakti in the previous births, there is no need of repetition of it in this present birth. For example, Prahlada was born with Paraabhakti straight in this birth. While discharging worship as per scriptures, spontaneous Paraabhakti may arise or not. Shri Ramakrishna was a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali, doing the worship as per the scriptures and developed Paraabhakti. Paraabhakti depends on the samskaaras (strong thoughts) that accompany the soul from previous births. Paraabhakti is beyond the rules and regulations of scriptures.
Kathaṃ bhaya mityatra śraddhātiśayaḥ. |51|
[In the comment 'God is pleased by the practical devotion when it is associated with theoretical devotion like love, respect, fear, shyness, etc.', I am not able to fit fear with other feelings. Swami, where there is love, respect, how can fear come into picture? Please explain a little more.]
Swami replied:- Here, fear shall be taken in a positive sense and not in a negative sense. You fear seeing a demon and such fear is negative fear. When you reach God, due to excess excitation, the over-respect comes in the form of positive fear so that you will be very careful in dealing with the utmost Almighty.
Sugandhaḥ kuta ityatra tat prema praveśaḥ. |52|
[How can a devotee come to know that God wants to enter in its life? Can a miracle like getting some divine fragrance be an indication for that? If the devotee is not able to catch it, how will it come to know? Please explain.]
Swami replied:- When God is highly pleased with the devotee, the fragrance of God is miraculously generated so that the devotee can recognize it as the grace of God. In the life of a climax devotee, God will certainly enter because such a devotee prayed God for closest association. God incarnates on earth for which the main purpose is to please the devotee, who prayed Him to get close contact.
Bhāva nivṛttiḥ pravṛttā vityatra svārtha kāmaḥ. |53|
[Swami, You said in one place that 'You can keep Nivrutti as theoretical goal to achieve practical success in Pravrutti'. Will this goal not be a selfish goal only?]
Swami replied:- Pravrutti itself means the selfishness, in which you pray God for the welfare of yourself, your spouse and your children. The love shown towards God is only instrumental devotion (God is an instrument to achieve your worldly desire.) and not goal devotion (God is the entire goal of your devotion and there is no trace of any worldly desire in this.) In such a case, Nivrutti remains as a theoretical goal only and not the practical goal standing for true love to God. Both the theist of Pravrutti and the atheist are selfish with worldly desires. The theist depends on God for fulfilling the selfish worldly desires whereas the atheist believes in his efforts for the same. Nivrutti, which is selfless devotion to God, is absent in the theist and hence, such devotee can keep Nivrutti as a theoretical goal only and not as a practical goal.
Tāvubhau bhinnāviti cet na, triguṇa bhedāt. |54|
[In one discourse, You said that Rama is the incarnation of Vishnu and Krishna is the incarnation of Datta. Hence, we can find the activities of rajas and tamas also in Krishna. But, we all know that Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu. But, ultimately, both of them are the incarnations of Lord Datta only. Then, why is this specification for Krishna?]
Swami replied:- The specification in any incarnation comes from the different quantities of the qualities of the root incarnation that became the energetic or human incarnation. The three qualities (Sattvam, Rajas and Tamas) always exist together, and a single isolated quality never exists anywhere. Rama is the embodiment of Sattvam of God Vishnu with traces of Rajas and Tamas (Rajas is seen in His anger to Ravana, sage Jaabaali, etc., and Tamas is seen in His ignorance in blindly running after the golden deer following the ignorant desire of Sita). God Datta is having all the three qualities in equal balanced proportions, and you can very easily see each quality in abundance in the actions of Krishna. Both Rama and Krishna are fundamentally the incarnations of God Datta only.
Datta vimarśa iti cet na, triguṇa sādhana khelanāt. |55|
[If a devotee criticizes someone, does it give any bad impression about its Sadguru?]
Swami replied:- Sadguru is not affected by any type of criticism and especially the incarnation of God Datta is often misunderstood by several devotees. The three fundamental qualities are only His playing tools and do not touch Him in any way. If one wears a red shirt or a black shirt, his inherent colour of skin need not be red or black. God created this world for His entertainment as said in the Veda. God plays different games using these three qualities as playing tools and entertains Himself. God or Sadguru is the embodiment of true love and in the case of the Gopikas, He allowed their sins to honour their true love and at the same time, He underwent the punishment of the sins of the Gopikas. He maintained both justice and true love simultaneously in a highly talented way.
Kaiścit agrāhya iti cet na, sarvajña sarva śaktimattvāt. |56|
[If God is giving indication of His presence to a devotee in its life and the devotee is not able to recognise due to it’s immature spiritual knowledge, how will God take it? Will He give any other chance so that the devotee finally recognises Him? Or will He keep silent till the right moment comes?]
Swami replied:- God gives His indication only when the devotee is capable of receiving it. God giving indication and devotee not recognizing it – this can never happen because God is omniscient. Such thing may happen in the case of human beings having limited knowledge and limited power.
Anabhijñā sakāmasyāpī tyatra tat kāma balābhāvāt. |57|
[If a devotee repents for not recognising God in proper time, what shall be its approach then if it really wants God?]
Swami replied:- You say that the devotee wants God and is unable to recognize God. This is possible only when the devotee does not strongly want God. If the desire of the devotee for God is strong, the recognition of God by such devotee will be spontaneous. If the devotion is not very strong, the devotee shall improve the devotion to God in course of time so that the devotee will recognize God when the devotion gets ripened.
Sutras 1-57 58-63 64-65 66-70 71-82 83-90 91-94
(To be contd...)
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