08 Jun 2021
1. Is Love Jihad really a threat to Hinduism?
[Śrī Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami! Please grace us with Your response to this question raised in an internet discussion forum. At Your Lotus Divine Feet-anil]
Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! Jihad means establishing justice, using force if necessary. It is not the establishment of a religion through force. All religions preach the same concepts.
2. Why did Jesus go to India after His resurrection?
Swami replied: You say that God created this earth and this entire humanity. That God Himself came as Jesus. Then, will He discriminate between different countries on earth? This applies to every Human Incarnation, irrespective of religion.
3. Did Jesus really rise from the dead, or was it just a plot to make Him look like God?
Swami replied: If you believe that Jesus raised a dead person, what is the problem in believing that He Himself rose after His crucifixion?
4. Does the Yajur Veda (40:12) prohibit idolatry, as claimed by the Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik?
Swami replied: It is not a prohibition at all. All spiritual beginners need idol worship. Will you prohibit kindergarten classes for children?
5. Did Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva also have past lives like Nārada?
[A question from an internet discussion forum brought to Swami by Śrī Anil:
I have heard that sage Nārada had a past life and because of his good deeds (puṇya), he was born as the mind-born son of God Brahmā (Brahma-manasa-putra). Do Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva also have past lives? On what basis are they selected for those roles?]
Swami replied: Nārada had a previous birth, as told in the story. But it does not mean that Brahmā also had a previous birth. No such thing is told in that story.
6. How can a soul be contacted now if it has already taken rebirth?
Swami replied: First tell Me how you can contact a person who is dead. When this itself is impossible, how can you contact a person, who had died and who has also been reborn?
7. Was Jesus’ resurrected body spiritual or physical and what difference would it make to a Christian?
Swami replied: The resurrected body can be spiritual or physical because God is omnipotent and nothing is impossible for Him.
8. What is the contribution of Sanskrit books like the Vedas and the Upaniṣads to the scientific world?
Swami replied: The contribution depends upon the contents and not on the language.
9. Are there any examples of resurrections in the Mahābhārata?
Swami replied: Parīkṣit died and was brought back to life by Lord Kṛṣṇa. The son of sage Sāndīpani, who had died long back, was also brought back to life by God Kriṣṇa.
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