19 Dec 2022
1. Why is it that we shouldn't buy a house around temples?
[Shri Sathi Reddy asked:- Paadanamaskaram Swami, why is it said that we shouldn't buy a house or a land around temples?]
Swami replied:- A temple is meant for Satsanga or spiritual discussions. In the future, the area of the temple may need expansion as the number of participants increases.
2. Money is spent to attract the opposite gender but we are not sure whether the other person is committed to us. How to overcome this fear?
[In marriage or in worldly love, people spend their time, money and energy to attract the opposite gender. Even after spending so much, we fear that the other person may not be committed to us. How to overcome this fear, Swamiji?]
Swami replied:- Spending and trying to attract the opposite gender based on that is trying to put up a show of his/her position of wealth. Such attractions are very mean and do not give good impressions. One must expose his/her inherent qualities so that the opposite gender may like those qualities and may get attraction. If you spend much, the opposite gender may think that you are a spendthrift. She may fear that you will burn her earnings also in a very short time. Wealth shall never be exposed and it must be known by the opposite gender itself through enquiries. You must appear very simple and of high thinking. That will develop a permanent attraction.
3. Do the saaligramaas have unimaginable power?
[People having Saaligramaas in their houses were affected with problems when they did not worship it properly. Does it mean that saaligramaas have unimaginable power?]
Swami replied:- Saalagraama is a stone having holes in which an insect that can live in water resides. Hence, Saalagraama is always kept in water stored in a bowl. This is the precaution taken by the elder people in ancient days. Saalagraama is only a representative model of God and does not have any power by itself.
4. How should the parents see God when He is born as their child?
[Swamiji, the bond with one’s child is the strongest. When God (Human Incarnation) is born as a child and suppose the parents have two children, one is the human Incarnation of God and another is a normal soul, how should the parents see that child?]
Swami replied:- If the parents identify the human incarnation, they shall look at the boy as God and develop devotion so that all other worldly bonds are cut. After realization as God, the child must be viewed as God alone and not as the child.
5. I believe everybody like a goat. How should I get rid of this?
[Swamiji, I see some intelligent souls who won't believe anybody even though they received help from them. When they are in need, they believe only themselves. But I am believing everybody like a goat. How should I get rid of this problem, Swamiji?]
Swami replied:- The problem is very clear to your intelligence. One does not find a solution to the problem if the problem is not understood. You have understood the problem very well and so the answer must have become clear to you by your intelligence itself. The solution is that you should stop behaving like an ignorant goat because you have the full knowledge of the problem.
6. Is there any action (karma) on this earth (Karma Loka) that happens by chance and does not fall under the Karma Chakra?
Swami replied:- When you are walking on the road, an ant dies accidentally under your feet and this does not come under the cycle of deeds and fruits (Karma Chakra) because there is no intention in you to kill the ant. Always intention is linked with the fruit of action and the mere inert action is not linked with the fruit.
7. What is the spiritual significance of the incident in which Bhima is poisoned, but he drinks nectar and becomes very powerful?
[Shri Sathi Reddy asked:- In the Mahabharata, the Kauravas gave poison to Bheema Sena and threw him in the lake. But he was bitten by a snake and became normal. He drank some nectar and became very powerful. Swamiji, please explain the spiritual significance of this incident?]
Swami replied:- Bhimasena is born by the grace of the angel Vaayu. All Pandavaas are angels only and all Kauravaas are demons only. God always protects angels and human beings who are like angels. God destroys demons and human beings who are like demons. Human beings are mixtures of good and bad. There is no 100% good human being and a 100% bad human being. Angels are 100% good and demons are 100% bad. A human being may behave good in some situations and behaves bad in some other situations. Hence, human beings will go to both heaven and hell. If good is more and bad is less, they will go to hell first and then to heaven. If bad is more and good is less, they will go to heaven first and then to hell. When Dharma Raja went to the upper worlds, he found his brothers in hell and the Kauravaas in heaven. Since Pandavaas are born angels, God Krishna protected them every minute. This clearly means that God always likes justice and dislikes injustice. Hence, in Pravrutti, this principle should be always followed in order to please God. In Nivrutti, sometimes even injustice pleases God because God competes with justice and the devotee has to vote for God against justice (Sarva dharmān parityajya… Gita). Pandavaas also had some negligible minor mistakes because of the influence of human birth.
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