22 Jul 2017
Shri G. Lakshman: Padamanamaskarams to Swami!!
I put forth my humble question to you.
1) Does all the souls in the upper world able to identify the human incarnation on the planet Earth or is it only the Bramharakshasas able to identify (referring to the Bramharakshas who directed Vishnudatta to the Lord).
Does the spirits that live on the earth also able to identify and chase the Human Incarnation for their upliftment.
At the lotus feet of Sri Dattaswami, Regards, Lakshman
Swami Replied: Living being in the upper world is made of sattvam (awareness) and rajas (inert energy) along with a trace of inertia (tamas) associated with energy. Any living being has all the three qualities associated with each other. Sattvam (awareness) always needs an inert container, which means rajas and tamas (inert energy and matter). The body of a living being other than human being is made of rajas, but, it also contains a trace of tamas (inertia). In the human being, the body is made of rajas (inert energy) and tamas (inert matter). Hence, there can’t be existence of one pure quality or even two pure qualities together in a living being, in which always three qualities co-exist. Hence, in a living being no single quality or two qualities exist. Always, all the three qualities shall co-exist together.
When you consider the classification of all these three qualities, which are related to awareness, every quality is extrapolated as non-inert property also by all scholars. If you consider the word quality to be just a property of non-inert or inert entity, the classification of these three qualities will be in two angles:-
i) Inert and non-inert: Inert consists of energy (rajas) and matter (tamas). If the item indicates a living being of earth or upper world, the awareness (sattvam) must be essentially present, which must need a container made of rajas and tamas. If the item is non-living being (inert), it should always contain rajas (energy) and tamas (inertia or matter) together without awareness. In this angle, wherever rajas and tamas co-exist, sattvam need not exist. For example, in any non-living item like a stone, rajas and tamas only co-exist and not sattvam. But, in a living being, sattvam must exist and along with it rajas and tamas co-exist as container. In this angle, the classification is in the sense of division between three fundamental substances, which are the basic components of the creation i.e., sattvam (awareness), rajas (inert energy) and tamas (inertia of energy or matter).
ii) Non-inert only: Here the word quality is confined to the property of awareness influenced by the three fundamental substances. The non-inert item here means a living being of earth or upper world containing all the three substances together. The influence of these three substances on the properties or qualities of awareness are only considered here.
Let us consider pure awareness (Shuddha Sattvam) only. This is impossible in any living being because, the container made of rajas and tamas is essentially associated to influence the awareness always. The pure awareness is possible to exist as medium in the case of God (Eshwara) only due to His omnipotence (shuddha sattvopaadhireeshwarah). Hence, leaving the case of God or Eeshwara or Datta, who is the unimaginable God or Parabrahman mediated with pure awareness and external energetic body, influence of rajas or tamas or sattvam is inevitable. This special case of God includes human incarnation also. Eeshwara or Datta also contains the external energetic body, which is made of rajas and trace of tamas. But, the rajas and tamas will not influence the inner sattvam if God wishes so. But, if God wishes to have the influence of external rajas and tamas on sattvam for entertainment, the influence is possible. In the case of any soul, be it angel or ghost, pure sattvam without influence of rajas and tamas can’t exist. Any living being must contain the non-inert qualities influenced by rajas and tamas.
The most important point is to understand the dual sense of the word guna or quality or property. The word ‘guna’ is specifically used in the case of non-inert quality only. Dharma is the word used to mean the quality or property of inert substance. Hence, it is better to use the word quality or guna in the case of non-inert item only, ex:- charity is the quality of pure sattvam of a good person. Greediness is the quality of pure sattvam of an ignorant person. Similarly, it is better to use the word dharma or property in the case inert item, ex:- heat is the property of fire and cold is the property of snow or water. If this distinction between guna (quality) and dharma (property) is maintained, concepts are clear.
Confusion arises when the word quality is also used for the property. As per the above clarification, quality (guna) is confined to awareness only and property (dharma) is confined to inert items only. The word quality (guna) is also used for inert items based on a specific part of concept, which is dravya (substratum) or the substance and guna (quality) or the property of the basic substance. The lotus flower is dravya and its blue color is its guna. Here the word guna is used even though the lotus flower and blue color are inert items. In this path, the word guna stands for quality of awareness or property of inert item also. God is taken as dravya and the creation is taken as His guna. God is the basic independent substratum and the entire creation is a quality or property depending on existence of God. When we say, God is nirguna (without attribute or quality) the sense is the unimaginable God without creation. When we say God as saguna (with attribute or quality or property) the sense is the unimaginable God associated with creation for entertainment. The entire concept stands for the word guna irrespective of inert and non-inert difference, since the creation contains both inert and non-inert items. Hence, one should be very careful in taking the sense of the word guna as per the context since this word stands for the quality of awareness as well as for the property of inert item.
With this careful analytical background, we shall understand that except the state of God or Eeshwara, pure sattvam or 100% goodness or 100% true knowledge is not possible in the case of any living being, be it on earth or in upper world. Therefore, a soul of upper world is containing awareness influenced by rajas and trace of tamas always. Based on the influence of rajas and tamas, an angel can be bad (like Indra becoming bad on some occasions) or a demon can become good (like the Brahmarakshasa guiding the devotee Vishnudatta becomes good). It is not necessary that any living being having energetic body must be always good and any living being having materialized body made of rajas and tamas (container) must be bad. Indra, the lord of angels became bad and ignorant to cause rain for seven days. Krishna, a human being containing God, did not retort with offence against Indra, but, protected devotees for seven days by lifting the hill through defensive way. Offence is the quality of rajas and tamas. Defence is the quality of pure sattvam. Same Lord Krishna used offensive method in killing Naraka-demon using the influence of rajas and tamas on awareness. Rajas is the anger against demon and tamas is the ignorance forgetting that the demon was His son only. Hence, God alone can control the influence of rajas and tamas on sattvam. No living being in this creation has such control on these three qualities.
These three qualities related to awareness are called as Maaya and these three qualities related to the three inert substances (awareness influenced by rajas and tamas, inert energy and inert matter) are called as Prakruti (here the awareness in the creation is always influenced by rajas and tamas and hence gets the nature of inertia and such awareness with inertia can be treated as inert substance. Hence, from this point, the awareness in the creation is also included as one of the inert triad). In view of the soul, Maaya and Prakruti are different. But, in view of God both these are one and the same since His ideas materialize simultaneously (Maayaantu prakrutim… Gita). Hence, from the view of God, the word Guna can stand for both non-inert and inert items. Hence, the medium of God or Eshwara is called as vidya or pure knowledge without the influence of rajas and tamas. Hence, the spiritual knowledge given by God through energetic or human medium is always without any error. The medium of any living being is always influenced by rajas and tamas only called as avidya or ignorance and hence the knowledge given by any human being is always has the compulsory risk of error and therefore should be analysed perfectly before acceptance. If the error is in trace, it can be accepted as pure knowledge. Hence, the pure knowledge given by a human being means the knowledge having a trace of error always. Pure knowledge without any trace of error is possible only for God. Even the knowledge given by God shall be subjected to the fire test of sharp analysis because the true knowledge given by God is always polluted with misinterpretations. The sharp analysis will reject all the misinterpretations and ends in the conclusion of true interpretation or true knowledge. We are not doubting God and we are not analyzing His statement. The statement of God given with certain true interpretation is not available in its pure sense about which analysis is not required at all. But, the statement of God is polluted with misinterpretations and hence analysis is required to filter these misinterpretations. Therefore, even if it is the preserved original statement of God, analysis is needed to filter the misinterpretations given by false followers for that original statement. Another additional danger is insertions of wrong statements by the followers since the audio video recording of God dictating the true knowledge is not available! Even if it is available, misinterpretations are always possible.
Due to problems of recording the knowledge on palm leaves, a brief original text was only dictated by God since the followers in that time were not giving misinterpretations. But, in course of time, the minds of followers got polluted and misinterpretations were given by the followers. Today, God Datta possessed by Me is not only giving the original brief text, but also is giving elaborate interpretation of His original text also. For this purpose, the problems of recording were removed by blessing paper technology and subsequent computer science. This is the reason for Lord Krishna stressing on the field of sharp analysis in the beginning (second chapter called as buddhi yoga) and in the ending final word also (vimrushyaitat...) of the Gita. The Veda may be the pure text of God since it was preserved by oral recitation. Such preservation can avoid the infection of insertions, but, can’t avoid the infection of misinterpretations and hence scholars said that even the Veda has contradictions from the point of misinterpretations (shrutirvibhinnaa).
Hence, you should not give any importance to the medium of the soul. You should not accept the interpretation of an angel appearing before you in energetic body and you shall not reject the interpretation of a soul present in human body. The medium (energy or matter) is only the external shirt. Will you accept the statement of a person wearing silk shirt (energetic body) and reject the statement of a soul appearing in materialized human body (cotton shirt)? Similarly, you shall accept the statement of God present in energetic body or silk shirt (Vishnu) or God present in materialized human body or cotton shirt (Krishna). If you use the fire test of sharp analysis, the statement of God stands as pure gold and the statement of a human being always stands showing a trace of ignorance as gold containing trace of copper. Recognition of God through analysis, irrespective of the external medium is very essential and such incarnation is called as Satguru (‘Sat’ means God and ‘guru’ means energetic or human being). Through the same analysis, you can find the error in the knowledge given by guru, who is only a human being without God. The importance of recognition of correct guide or Satguru is the fundamental step in which your effort is very important. Shankara says that one can merge with God through true knowledge that can be obtained from satguru only (jnanaadevatu kaivalyam). If the fundamental step is correct, the subsequent steps are always correct and need not be analysed. The demon, who advised the devotee Vishnudatta, became good since he was present on the tree before his house hearing all his preaching to followers. Vishnudatta analysed his advice and found it correct. He did not blindly accept it because it was given by an unusual energetic living being appearing before the eyes. In the place of Vishnudatta, if any one of us is present, we shall believe in the advice given by the radiating energetic living being blindly without analysis! If the same advice is given by a human being similar to us, we will reject it blindly since the repulsion between common media affects our minds.
Hence, the final advice is that you should accept any advice from anybody only after perfect analysis done by your intelligence and also followed by debates with other intellectual beings. Intellectual analysis or yukti (sadasat viveka) supported by experience (anubhava) shall be the real interpretation of any scripture. Mere analysis without experience is dry and meaningless logic. Experience without analysis may also be wrong like the experience of two moons in the sky by the person having defective eyes.
Kishore asked:
2) My friend Shri Subhash went to a foreign country and ate egg under inevitable circumstances. Is it a sin?
3) Even God Krishna ate food like butter with hunger. Will God have hunger?
Swami replied: 2) Egg, able to give birth to issue, involves a trace of sin only. Egg unable to give birth to an issue does not involve any sin. If the circumstances are really inevitable, even this trace of sin disappears as sin in emergency to save the life is justified. The living material in the egg receives very negligible pain and hence much worry need not be entertained since the circumstances are also inevitable as reported by you.
3) Krishna is human incarnation, which is a two component (God and human being) system in single phase (human being only). God is invisible and unimaginable and is known only by inference through His unimaginable events like miracles and miraculous knowledge. Miracles are useful to establish faith in the existence of God. Miraculous knowledge is useful in giving the unique details of the personality of God so that devotion can be developed on getting the information from such knowledge. The human being-component maintains all its properties, which are not disturbed in any way due to the presence of God in human incarnation. The red color and lean ductile nature of the copper wire is not disturbed due to the stream of current flowing in it. Hence, the human incarnation has all the natural properties like hunger, thirst, sleep, pain by illness etc. The remedies of illness of human being component are natural and general as in the case of all human beings. If a human being is affected by illness, medicines are used to remove the illness. The human incarnation or a great devotee of God also takes medicines for the illness of human body. God is covered by the soul and the soul is covered by external gross body, which alone is effected by illness. A great devotee also feels shy to take medicines for the disease because he feels that the spectators will feel his devotion as lower because higher devotion to God will cure the disease without medicines. Even the human incarnation, who is capable of curing the disease without the medicine, will not use the special divine power to cure the disease or even to prevent the disease. Disease is the inherent characteristic of external gross body of human incarnation, which is as good as any other human body. To cure the disease, the knowledge of medicines is given by God to humanity as medical science. When such a general provision is existing, what is the need of a special provision to cure the curable disease by spiritual power? When a general provision of pacification of hunger by food and thirst by water is established by God, what is the necessity of invoking special power to cure these natural symptoms? If a devotee is deserving and such a deserving devotee is effected by incurable disease, the human incarnation cures such disease by using the special divine power in order to help the devotee in the spiritual path by granting peace and health. A normal disease of any human being including Himself (His human body) can be cured by medicines blessed by God (Himself) only. Similarly, other symptoms can be cured in general way. The human incarnation also can cure these symptoms using the general provision established by God for all human beings including the human being-component of human incarnation. If special divine power is used for the sake of such symptom that can be cured by general provision, it only shows the specialty of self or ego. Similarly, devotees with hypocrisy do not like to use medicines for their illness before public! They take medicines secretly and say to public that their illness disappeared due to the special grace of God on them! All this is hypocrisy only. The human incarnation never exhibits such hypocrisy and begs for food to satisfy the hunger, asks for water to pacify the thirst and purchases medicines to cure illness following the general provision, which is also divine being blessed by God. Once, this Datta Swami was taking food in the house of a devotee. This Swami took some tablets while eating the food as usual. A highly spiritual saint was also dining along with this Swami. He felt in his mind like this – “This Swami cured the incurable disease like coma of the wife of the deserving devotee, Ajay. But, why is He taking these tablets meant for normal illness like sugar etc?” Then, this Datta Swami (God Datta spoke actually) said all the above points through the throat of this Swami. Swami represents human being component and Datta Swami represents human incarnation. The spiritual saint (a doctor turned to be a saint) immediately fell on the feet of this Swami for giving a correct answer to the question that was not expressed by him orally! This Swami replied that God Datta is omniscient! A house holder invited all his friends to hear the preaching of a saint in his house. All the friends came and washed their feet outside with water provided by the house holder in a small tank. The chief guest (saint) also arrived and he can wash his feet by the water from the same tank. If the saint says that he is a special invitee and hence, can’t wash his feet by the water from the same tank, which was a general provision and asks for separate water to be brought by the householder, the saint is egoistic and foolish. The water provided in the tank or brought by him specially are one and the same since both are provided by the same house holder only!
Shri Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami!
4) Is polygamy a sin? Kindly please analyze 2 cases: 1) Draupadi married to 5 pandavas and 2) Holy Mohammad married to several women (13 wives).
Swami replied: This issue is related to pravrutti or justice and injustice involved in worldly life. Following justice and avoiding injustice are also the commandments of God and hence the background basis of pravrutti is nivrutti only. The justice is made clear by certain positive rules (Vidhi Dharma) and the injustice is negated by certain negative rules (Nishedha Dharma). To speak truth is positive and not to speak a lie is negative rule. Apart from these two types, there is a third type of justice, which is called as dharmasukhshma (application of rule on analysis). If a rule is applied in emergency to save your life, it is called as exception in emergency (apatdharma). In this way, the rule varies within the marginal boundaries of justice from place to place, from time to time and from occasion to occasion. To speak a lie to protect the life of a good person is justice and in such occasion if speaking truth results in the killing of a good person, speaking truth is injustice and a sin.
Following justice (dharma) in earnings (artha) and in sex (kama) gives salvation (moksha) to any soul (apyarthakamou…dharmaayaiva). Your question is related to the justice in the sex. As already told, justice varies from time to time, place to place and situation to situation provided the change is within the marginal boundaries of the zone of justice. The change should not enter the zone of injustice. The bus can change its route within margins of a road depending on the direction of opposite vehicle, but, should not cross the margins and run into houses!
The Veda says that in doing sacrifice called Atiratra, the performer shall see the planet called Shodashi. The same Veda says in another statement that the performer need not see such planet (atiraatre shodashinam…, naatiraatre…). This means variation of the rule by moving to exact opposite side is prescribed by the same scripture. Justice (dharma) is activity (karma) and hence can vary. God (Bramha) is an entity and will never vary as said by scripture (kriyaayaam vikalpah natuvastuni). Here, variation to the extent of exact opposite side is allowed since seeing the planet is not very important since by it no injustice is done resulting in the pain and violence of a living being.
In the case of the function of marriage between a male and a female, justified points are to be observed:-
i) The couple is swearing in the name of God, that none shall deviate from the other in the sexual activity (Naaticharaami).
ii) There shall be no mental agony for anyone of the couple due to such deviation because violence is the highest injustice.
iii) The main aim of the marriage is to extend humanity (prajaayai gruhamedhinaam, prajaatantum maa...).
iv) This shall not mean that re-marriage is allowed if no issues are born. It depends on the level of the mind of the couple. If the couple is totally devoted to God (nivrutti), it is never worried about the issues because the Veda clearly says that one cannot reach God by issues (na prajayaa). If the level of the mind of the couple is of the level of lower pravrutti only, re-marriage was allowed in the ancient time provided both come to understanding without any pain. In the present time, artificial insemination, incubation etc., are available in the place of re-marriage for the sake of issues. Based on some other circumstances also re-marriage was allowed provided both consult mutually without a trace of pain and there is total lack of cheating and violence.
v) This again does not mean that having sex with others (wife or husband) is justified provided the other partner is ignorant of this illegal activity because due to ignorance pain is always absent. This becomes a sin because the person has broken the swearing done in marriage before God and God is pained for breaking the promise done before Him as witness.
vi) Re-marriage in certain special situations is allowed provided the other partner has full consent without any force. In the present law also, re-marriage is allowed if the first wife gives in writing that she is constantly ill and somebody is needed for her service, mental illness of the life partner, change of religion etc. The scriptures say that one shall re-marry if the issues are not found for ten years (aprajaam dashame varshe). The scripture also says that the re-marriage for a lady is allowed in five situations (death, sainthood, neutrality of gender, missed and never found and becoming immoral – panchasvaapatsu…patiranyovidheeyate). Such a re-marriage for man or woman is allowed provided the mental state is in need of desire for sex or issues. Sex is a biological need like hunger, thirst, sleep etc. Instead of remaining unmarried for external hypocrisy, it is better to re-marry and keep limitation.
vii) Polygamy or a polyandry is justified based on the special factors involved in a specific situation. Consent of the other life partner without any pain is the most important point since such point alone gives the birth of a sin. However, illegal sex in secrecy is also a sin, since it gives pain to God, who happened to be the witness of the marriage. Hence, re-marriage in public (open atmosphere) without any secrecy is justified provided such re-marriage has the support of the first life partner and logically acceptable factors agreed by God. Such an open re-marriage without hurting the life partner supported by specific conditions of the situation is also agreeable to God and can’t be treated as a sin. Draupadi did not have illegal and secret sex with the other brothers after marrying Dharmaraja. Mohammed also married again openly and did not have illegal sex secretly with others. He must have definitely taken the consent of already married wives and other acceptable supporting factors. The author of the constitution of such a great religion can’t do injustice.
viii) The scripture allows re-marriages in the case of a king in view of the inter-continental peace through relationship that avoids wars between kingdoms (raajaanobahuvallabhaah). Non-violence of the entire society than an individual is the highest justice in this concept.
ix) Even illegal sex without marriage was allowed to be justified provided such activity is with the consent of all scholarly elders. Sage Vyasa had illegal sex with the widows called as Ambika and Ambalika to extend the race of the dynasty of king Kuru. The mother-in-law of the widows and the mother of sage Vyasa requested sage Vyasa for this on the advice of scholars of ethics. This is not the usual secret sex with widows.
x) Lord Krishna has secret sex with married Gopikas in the midnights in Brundavanam forest for two years. This cannot be justified on the single point that the husbands of Gopikas were ignorant of this due to deep sleep in midnights. This single point cannot make this secret affair justified because it is against the commandment of God, who is Krishna Himself! Krishna killed Shishupala and the last allegation against Shishupala was that Shishupala had illegal sex with the wife of king Babhru. After leaving Brundavanam in His 18th year (infact blooming youth starts from 18th year), He never had such illegal sex with any other girl or lady. As a king and based on special circumstances, He had sex with girls married by Him only throughout His life. Some devotees desired married life with God in the previous births and God fulfilled their desire by these marriages. If He had sex with Gopikas based on lust due to youth, He should have continued such activity in the later part of His life also (especially in the blooming youth after 18th year) and should not have killed Shishupala on such allegation. This total background is totally different from pravrutti. All these Gopikas were sages doing penance for God in their previous millions of births. Their attachment to God is judged by the detachment from worldly bonds appeared subsequently and spontaneously. The three strongest worldly bonds (eshanas) are money, issues and life partner. Donating butter allotted for their children to Krishna speaks about the detachment from money and issues. Attachment to God through dance neglecting their life partners speaks about the detachment of bond with life partners. Hence, this is only a test conducted by God before giving the certificate of degree, which is greater than even the highest degree in the spiritual path. The highest degree is becoming one with God (equality with God) by becoming Human Incarnation. But, Gopikas became the masters of God placed in Goloka above His abode or Brahmaloka. This has no influence of external physical factors because Gopikas were black and were also not beautiful. This shall be understood as pure nivrutti and there is no trace of pravrutti in this topic. Understanding the Bhagavatam in right sense is the test for spiritual scholars (vidyavataam bhaagavate parikshaa). Rama is the perfect example for pravrutti, who confined to Sita alone throughout His life. Sita is a similar character confining to Rama throughout her life. Krishna stands as the perfect example for Nivrutti also, Who is beyond justice and injustice (pravrutti) indicating the spiritual path of single and total attachment to God (sarvadharmaan… Gita). Leaving this one special situation of Gopikas, Krishna behaved exactly like Rama only in the rest of entire life. Hence, Krishna supported pravrutti like Rama as the general rule for any soul (voting for justice against injustice) after showing the most rarest example of nivrutti in the case of Gopikas (voting for God against even justice).
Shri Gunadarsana asked: My dear Swami,
5) Swami said that something is better than nothing. But the killing of animal is still happening. Is that mean we in bali get sins, although we do for tradition? Please
thanks you, my salutation on your lotus feet]
Swami replied: The sin varies in percentage and subsequently its related punishment also varies depending on the percentage of the intensity of sin. We see the judge giving one year imprisonment or five-year imprisonment or 10-year imprisonment or even lifelong imprisonment based on the intensity of the sin. Though there is no variation in the quality of the sin (since the sin is of same type like killing soft natured animals), there is variation in the quantity (killing cows and all other animals or killing all other animals except cows) that decides the intensity of the punishment. There may be one beating by belt or 10 beatings by belt or 100 beatings by belt. There may be stay in the hell for one day or for one month or for one year or even lifelong. Quantitative reduction in the same type of sin is essential before avoiding the total sin. Hence, slaughter of animals is prohibited on holy festival days. This is initial step. Final step is prohibition of slaughter of animals on all the days. This is quantitative reduction of one type (one qualitative) of sin. Similar procedure is to be followed in other types of sins also. Avoiding corruption in the case of poor people is initial step. In the second step, avoiding the personal expenditure of the money earned by corruption with respect to rich people is advised. Avoiding total corruption is advised in the final step. The second step can also be treated as the final step provided the rich man corrupted by you is also corrupt and provided the earned money by you by corruption is donated for good purpose. Like this, lot of analysis is required in deciding the intensity of the sin and its related punishment. Nothing can be blindly generalized. Various occasions involve various factors. Non-violence is the highest justice (ahimsaa paramo dharmah). This justice varies with occasions and factors. Non-violence with respect to a good person is justice. Non-violence with respect to a bad person is injustice. Hence, justice is to protect good people and to punish bad people (paritraanaaya… Gita). The rule varies from case to case depending on the specific factors involved in a specific case. The variation shall be within the boundaries of justice and not to enter the boundaries of injustice. Violence to good people and non-violence to bad people is the zone of injustice. Non-violence to good people and violence to bad people is the zone of justice. Any clause has exceptions. The exception should not enter the domain of injustice. For example, killing animals in sacrifice can’t be told as justice because here killing of animal means only killing the animal-nature by the sword of spiritual knowledge. Hence, the torch light of analysis should be always radiating before any decision in pravrutti or nivrutti.
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