10 Dec 2024
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God
[Smt. Chhanda asked:-]
1. What is the primary aim of the creation of God?
[Smt. Chhanda asked: Paadanamaskaaram my Lord! Please throw Your light on the following ignorance of mine. Swami, is it the uplifting of individual souls or entertainment through liilaas, the primary aim of the creation of God? Is it not that He enjoys the entertainment that comes along with the process of upliftment itself?]
Swami replied:- The primary aim means the aim before creation. Before creation, the souls don’t exist and hence, their upliftment is not relevant. The primary aim is entertainment for God.
2. Is pralaya a climax state of mind when a person is confused by an excess of sorrow and happiness?
[Swami, is pralaya a climax state of mind when a person is confused by the excesses of sorrow and happiness and does not understand what he should do? Please explain.]
Swami replied:- What you told may be correct in the case of a soul, but in the case of soul, pralaya or final dissolution of the world is impossible. It is possible only in the case of God. When God wants to have an interval as in the case of a cinema, pralaya happens, which is transition of world from gross state to subtle state.
3. Is it true that the worldly bonds are selected by the soul only and not by God?
[The worldly bonds are selected by the soul only and not by God. Is it really true? If we only are choosing these bonds, it means they are coming back to us (maybe in another relationship). Then how are they not true? It was already there and again coming back and also will come back due to our choice only. Does this continue for eternity? Swami, I know it is wrong but not able to analyze it with proper logic. Please enlighten me.]
Swami replied:- Worldly bonds are desired by both soul and God. Soul is fascinated to the worldly bonds whereas God is not actually fascinated by worldly bonds even though He appears to have been fascinated by the worldly bonds. Worldly bonds in general are permanent for God also since the entertainment is continuous even though some intervals appear. In the case of soul also, the worldly bonds are permanent in general. In the case of specific worldly bonds, they are not permanent, but, the soul feels them as permanent due to illusion. Bonding is the nature of mind, which is a faculty of awareness. The mind aspires bonding with something else and also wishes to take rest in intervals. But, the mind is in constant illusion that the bonded item is permanent. In the case of God, He always knows that the bonded items are unreal and knows that He alone is the absolute reality.
4. What is the difference between (a) a sadhu and a samnyasi and (b) a disciple and a devotee?
Swami replied: - I don’t find any difference.
5. When somebody is agitated in the separation from God, is the expenditure of energy useful or not?
[When somebody is agitated in the sorrow of separation from God, the expenditure of the energy in that agitation is useful but definitely not wasteful. Can this thinking be correct?]
Swami replied:- This is not correct because spending energy in sorrow is always wastage of energy only. Sorrow is not going to give any fruitful and useful result. In separation, the devotee must spend the time in propagating spiritual knowledge and devotion, which are very useful to the souls by which God will be extremely pleased. I am sorry to differ.
6. How to answer the following comment on Radha?
[Swami, someone put this comment ‘Radha being the incarnation of Lord Shiva, it is easy for her to sacrifice everything for the sake of Lord Krishna and hence, she will easily lead others. But for Gopikas, it was more difficult.’ How to answer this properly?]
Swami replied:- Radha is helping Gopikas by standing as an ideal example. God also comes as a devotee for this purpose like Hanuman, Radha etc. Even every incarnation behaves like an ideal devotee to stand as the guiding example for other devotees while behaving like goal in some relevant contexts.
7. Whom can we call durjan? A may be durjan to B, but the same A may not be durjan to C. Is this term not relative?
Swami replied:- The term may be taken as relative for the convenience of certain clever human beings. But, the soul, who is bad in the eyes of God is a standard bad soul. Similarly, the soul, who is good in the eyes of God is standard good soul. The ethical scripture (Dharma Shastra) is that eyesight of God.
8. Why do You say not to do Karma Phala Tyaaga to some devotees?
[Swami, You said that there is no problem in doing Karma Phala Tyaaga upto any extent unlike theoretical devotion. But in some cases, You also stop to do Karma Phala Tyaaga even though the devotee wants to do it lovingly. Why is it so?]
Swami replied:- The love of an ordinary soul on some other ordinary soul is blind at least some times. In such case, the omniscient God may advise the devoted soul not to err in such unjust love. In the case of God, God may sometimes object the charity since the devotee is doing that sacrifice with some aspiration for fruit in return. God knows the truth better than you. You only see the external love whereas God sees the internal reason for such external love. In some cases, God may object if the devotee is doing sacrifice beyond his/her capacity. Both capacity and devotion shall be considered and the charity should be as per ‘whichever is minimum’.
9. How to be sincere while You speak, as our limited minds can’t understand the importance of Your words?
[It is told that when contemporary human incarnation is saying something, we must be attentive. We have to be even more attentive when He speaks something in a humorous way. We have ample proofs for this in case of past incarnations when devotees took them lightly. Similarly, we also commit the same mistake. How to rectify ourselves as our limited minds can’t understand the importance of Your words?]
Swami replied:- Since you have known this concept, always be careful while listening to the human incarnation. If the concept is not known to you and you err, I can help you by telling the correct concept. If you know the correct concept and still fail in practice, what can I do except breaking My head! If you constantly try to practice the concept without minding your failures, you can become perfect in practice after sometime (Abhyāsena tu Kaunteya…- Gita).
10. What are the characteristics of Bhagawad Prema?
[Many people have said many things about the characteristics (lakshana) of Bhagwat Prema. Many times, I don’t understand the stages as well as their meanings. Will You please describe them as my contemporary human incarnation?]
Swami replied:- The love or devotion to God is said to be of nine types:- Shravanam (hearing the details of God), Kiirtanam (praising God), Smaranam (remembering God again and again), Paadasevanam (pressing the feet of God, which means that God is contemporary human incarnation), Arcanam (worshipping God), Vandanam (saluting God), Daasyam (doing personal service of God), Sakhyam (becoming close friend to God) and Aatma Nivedanam (total surrender of self to God). These can be treated as nine steps of devotion to God. Hearing the details of God is very important, which is about His stories, about His divine qualities and about His divine spiritual knowledge.
11. Please explain the meaning of “All paths lead to Me” - by Lord Krishna in the Gita.
Swami replied:- Since the God presented by all religions is one and the same God (unimaginable God or Parabrahman), all different paths proposed by various religions must be the paths leading to the same one God.
12. What is the difference between pure inert energy and pure awareness?
[Swami, in one of Your discourses You told ‘Soul is the pure inert energy and pure individual soul is pure awareness. Pure awareness is a specific work form of pure inert energy.’ – I am not able to understand the difference between the pure inert energy and pure awareness. Please clear my mind.]
Swami replied:- The difference between pure inert energy and pure awareness is that pure inert energy can’t have awareness whereas pure awareness is itself awareness. In pure awareness, all thoughts disappear and only self-awareness exists. Except this one difference, both are one and the same because awareness is a specific work form of inert energy only.
13. Can You kindly elaborate on the similarity between the soul and the pure individual soul and the reasons?
[Swami, recently, in reply to Ajay sir’s question on ‘Unimaginable God and Imaginable Soul’, You said “The similarity between soul and pure individual soul is lack of doer-ship (kartaa) and enjoyer-ship (bhoktaa) in both even though reasons are different. The reason for the soul is inertness and for the pure individual soul is thoughtlessness.” Can I request You to kindly elaborate this similarity as well as the different reasons?]
Swami replied:- The inert energy or soul has no doer-ship or enjoyer-ship because the inert energy is inert. The individual soul or awareness with thoughts also can get rid of doer-ship and enjoyer-ship if it becomes thoughtless. Both become similar in this way, but still maintain one difference, which is that inert energy or soul is inert whereas individual soul in thoughtless state also is having self-awareness.
14. Does true love mean to talk without intention?
[Swami, Lord Krishna told in Gita that the spirit of true love is ‘To love without condition, to talk without intention, to give without reason, care without expectation’. If it is really so, then how is it possible to talk without intention? There must not be any selfish intention. Isn’t it? Please clarify.]
Swami replied:- All these words like condition, intention, reason and expectation mean only selfishness. This means that the true love is without expectation of any fruit in return.
15. Can we consider the following as the reflection of Swami?
[“If you come to doubt, I will give you every reason to doubt. If you come suspicious, I’ll give every reason to be suspicious. But if you come seeking love, I’ll show you more love than you’ve ever known.”- is it the reflection of ‘Ye yathā māṃ prapadyante’ Swami? Does God behave in the above way because of the nature/samskaras of the soul?]
Swami replied:- This verse means that God is a reflection of your basis. If your basis is only theoretical, the fruits given by God are also theoretical and if your basis is practical, the fruits given by God are also practical. If your procedure is cheating (you know that you are cheating God), you will be cheated in such a way that you never know that you are cheated by God. This verse is a reflection of the Vedic statement that God becomes reflection of everything (Rūpaṃ rūpaṃ pratirūpo babhūva).
16. Is it true that once we love God, we will love everything in His creation?
[Is it true that once we love God, we will love everything in His creation including the persons with whom we really have very bad practical experiences?]
Swami replied:- If it is so, there is a demon destroying the creation of God and an atheist saying that there is no God, will you love the demon and the atheist?
17. Will You please explain the different contexts of ‘Vaasana, Samskaara and Guna’ and ‘Aavarana, Vikshepa, Mala’?
[Swami, You said that Vaasana, Sanskaara and Guna are related to Aavarana, Vikshepa, Mala only from the point of view of strength. But their contexts are different. Will You please throw some light on these different contexts as we are finding some confusion?]
Swami replied:- Vaasana is desire in the beginning state, which is like subtle gas that is a weak state like water vapour. Samskaara is a stronger state like liquid water. Guna is the strongest solid state like ice. Aavarana is the ignorance that covers the truth like you are unable to find the true rope in the twilight. Vikshepa is the projection of a false item like serpent on the rope in twilight. Mala is the strongest impression of Vikshepa remaining for a long time like shivering with fear even though the true rope is realized (even though theoretical Aavarana has disappeared, the practical influence of the Aavarana standing for a long time is not disappearing).
18. What is the difference between nirvikalpa samadhi and bhava samadhi?
[Swami, what is the difference between nirvikalpa samadhi and bhava samadhi? Are the origins of these two different? Is nirvikalpa samadhi attained by knowledge and bhava samadhi by bhakti?]
Swami replied:- Samadhi means the decision of total surrender to God. It is Nirvikalpa if such decision is permanent and practical. It is Savikalpa if the decision is temporary and theoretical. Spiritual knowledge and devotion cannot be separated as you said above. In any type of Samadhi, both spiritual knowledge and devotion exist. In Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the spiritual knowledge and devotion are very strong. In Savikalpa Samadhi, the spiritual knowledge and devotion are very weak.
19a. Why did Ramakrishna say “Give up knowledge and reasoning; accept bhakti, bhakti alone is the essence”?
[Following are a few doubts related to Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s preachings. Please remove my ignorance by clearing these them: “Give up knowledge and reasoning; accept bhakti, bhakti alone is the essence” - Why did Ramakrishna say this when He always favoured knowledge so much?]
Swami replied:- He told this statement referring to scholars, in whom the devotion is not generated even after studying so much of spiritual knowledge. Such a scholar is like rocky soil that is unable to generate a sprout from the seed.
b. Do we always need to be firm in telling the truth while leading a household life?
[“You must always be firm in telling the truth while leading a household life. You can, indeed, realize Bhagavan (God) simply by being truthful.” Is it true for all the circumstances, Swami, as we experience different results in different times just by telling the truth (as per our thinking)?]
Swami replied:- A householder has to lead the worldly life with a lot of talent in expressing the truth without committing any sin at the same time.
c. Ramakrishna told that a Jnaani may fear Maaya but a devotee will never fear Maaya. Why is it so Swami?
Swami replied:- Jnaani following the path of knowledge is not immersed in God’s love so that he can become insensitive to any type of fear. The devotee is not fearing since he is immersed in the devotion like a drunkard.
d. What is the meaning of the following statement?
[Once Shri Paramahamsa said, “At the end of ‘neti neti’ analysis only, Brahmajnana is achieved. After that, whatever you had sacrificed, you will receive again.” What does it mean?]
Swami replied:- If one recognizes that all the imaginable items are not God and that God is unimaginable, all the contradictions get solved so that one need not sacrifice the truth any more in any direction.
e. What are the meanings of the words ‘Jnaani’ and ‘Vijnaani’?
[Swami, Ramakrishna told that His nature is not that of a Jnaanii as a Jnaanii always sees himself as great. Divine Mother always keeps Him in the form of a devotee, who is having a nature of a Vijnaanii. He gave an example of Naarada, who accepted devotion after Brahmajnaana and that is what is Vijnaanii. Are these Jnaanii and Vijnaanii different from our regular understanding? Please enlighten me.]
Swami replied:- Jnaanii means a scholar in spiritual knowledge and Vijnaanii means scholar in scientific logical analysis. Jnaanii is also Vijnaanii and Vijnaanii need not be Jnaanii.
f. What did Paramahamsa want to say by His following statement?
[Shri Paramahamsa said that whoever has attained God, his/her nature will be that of a 5 years old child as God’s nature is like that only. What exactly did He want to say by this, Swami?]
Swami replied:- A devotee, who attained God is very pure like a small child. He will never cheat anybody because by cheating others, ill intentions will enter the human mind. In the case of God, God may cheat others without any ill intention and He cheats with good intention only to do good to devotees. A human being can’t control the process of cheating whereas cheating is under the control of God.
20. Can we say that the number of devotees in Goloka is also the highest?
[Paadanamaskaaram Swami! Swami, very recently, You disclosed that Goloka is the biggest world among all the 14 worlds, which is totally a new idea to all of us I suppose. You also say that Goloka is higher than the highest. So, from these two statements, can we conclude that the number of devotees in Goloka is also the highest? If it is so, then why is it told that the number of such climax devotees are countable in fingers? Please answer if this question makes any sense spiritually. At Your divine lotus feet always, Chhanda.]
Swami replied:- I told that Gopikas are countable on fingers and that they are confined to one region of Goloka. The area is very big and the number of devotees in any region of Goloka is very small. There is no problem of population because issues are not generated in Goloka. Every area is very beautiful with trees, plants, flowers, fruits, hills, lakes and rivers. The birds and non-violent animals shine with colors of gold and gems.
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