21 Jul 2021
[Shri Anil asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmi, some questions raised in internet discussion forum is presented below. Please grace Your response to the same. At Your Lotus Divine Feet-anil]
1. How is Jesus sitting at the right hand of God if He is God?
Swāmi Replied:- I have already told you several times that God has unimaginable power. I gave an unimaginable example for God by saying that a 2 kg lump of mud is used to generate a 2 kg mud pot and at the same time the 2 kg lump of mud remains as it is.
2. What does Jesus mean by “Enter through the narrow gate”?
Swāmi Replied:- This means that the human incarnation is one or two only in a generation. The gate means the incarnation through which (through His true knowledge) only one can reach God. The way is also the incarnation (I am the path.). The way is also said to be narrow with thorns, which means that the way is narrow since very few devotees only reach God. The broad gate and the broad way with roses indicate the false knowledge spoken by several worldly selfish preachers and the path to hell is very easy in which many travel entering together the broad gate.
3. What is meant by the statement of Jesus: “And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.”
Swāmi Replied:- Carrying cross means the most difficult path of selfless sacrifice, which is Nivṛtti or the true Spiritual line.
4. Is it true that Mohammad was one of the incarnations of Hindu God Lord Viṣṇu?
[Do Hindus accept that the prophet Mohammad is like their Ṛṣis and Yogis? Is it true that Mohammed was one of the incarnations of Hindu God Lord Viṣṇu? Some people claim that Prophet Muhammad was Lord Viṣṇu's final incarnation as Kalki. What is the relevant evidence behind that theory?]
Swāmi Replied:- The background of all these interpretations is that the unimaginable God is one only, who appears in different forms. You may have two types of sweets, but the sweet material in all the types of sweets is one and the same.
5. Kindly clarify about the following verses from Quran?
[Why does the Quran 98:6 say non-Muslims are the worst of creatures? (Ref: Q: 98.6 Surely those who disbelieve (after the Clear Evidence has come to them) –from among the People of the Book and from among the polytheists– will be in the fire of Hell (a seed of which they bear in their hearts), abiding therein. They are the worst of creatures.). Another verse (Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:51) says:- Believers! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for your allies. They are the allies of each other. And among you he who takes them for allies, shall be regarded as one of them. Allah does not guide the wrong-doers.
Why it is said to not ally with Jews and Christians in Quran? Were these verses applicable only for situation and circumstances then existed?
These verses create lot of friction between religions. Some Muslims take these verses literally and hate other religions. Kindly clarify.]
Swāmi Replied:- Non-Muslims means those few people confined to a small region, who were fighting mutually having their own specific gods and everyone was thinking that his own specific god is the ultimate God. The Prophet Muhammad established the religion, which says that the ultimate God is one only and such religion is meant by the word Muslim. Non-Muslim does not refer to the other religions, which are not fighting with each other in a horrible way. If any Muslim is hating other religions taking wrong meaning for the word Non-Muslim, he has not understood the Prophet in right angle.
6. Did Prophet Muhammad mention in Bhaviṣya Purāṇa?
[Is Prophet Muhammad mentioned in Bhaviṣya Purāṇa? Why is Islam and Prophet Muhammad strictly against idol worship? Is Mecca and Medina a Lord Śiva's temple and does it house Śivaliṅga?]
Swāmi Replied:- There is no need of such interpretations because the original absolute unimaginable God is only one and the various external forms of God are only relatively real like the world. If this fundamental fact is understood, there is no need of such efforts.
7. If I cursed God, will I go to hell?
Swāmi Replied:- You will go to hell only when you do a sin. God is not a petty personality, who becomes happy by praise and who becomes unhappy by abuses. Sometimes, when He gets bored by praises, He likes abuses! God Kṛṣṇa liked Śiśupāla for abusing Him and gave him salvation!
8. Did God really talk to Buddha? If Buddha is God, which God did He get Nirvāṇa from?
Swāmi Replied:- You please see the answer given for the 1st question.
9. A person asked: In Bhagavad Gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa said that your mind only creates problems, so what's your take on it?
Swāmi Replied:- Mind is responsible for everything. It is said that the mind is the reason for bonding as well as for salvation (Mana eva manuṣyāṇām, kāraṇaṃ bandha mokṣayoḥ…). It is the mind that desires bonding with the world and it is the same mind that desires bonding with God. Salvation does not mean liberation from all bonds including bond with God. True salvation means bonding with God due to which all other worldly bonds are dropped.
10. Is Lord Yama Raj Sura (demi-god) or Asura (demon)?
Swāmi Replied:- Yamarāja is actually called as Yamadharmarāja, who punishes the souls for at least temporary reformation so that the soul in the fresh birth will have some inner fear at least for excess of sin. Every soul feels fear, which is nothing but the fear developed in the hell while undergoing the severe punishments. This experience is truly coming to every soul in the consciousness while doing sin. Hence, god Yama is one of the angels through whom God functions.
11. As per the Bible, is it wrong to marry a Hindu boy, as I am a Christian girl?
Swāmi Replied:- In the divine view it is not wrong. But, our society is not developed so much up to such high divine level. Hence, you shall think about the social problems to be faced by you. Even Śaṅkara modified the concept of true Spiritual knowledge by saying that every soul is God. This means that He modified Himself for the sake of wrong surroundings. If the absolute reality is strongest, the relative reality is also strong and stronger.
12. How can a mere human like Goddess Pārvatī marry Lord Śiva?
Swāmi Replied:- When the grace of God selects a specific devoted human being to become God (incarnation), what is there to be surprised if God marries a specific devoted human being like Pārvatī?
13. Please respond to the following question.
[13. A person asked: Can someone who is well versed in Vedas, Upaniṣads also Bhagavat Gītā & Śrīmad Bhāghavatam confirm if BG & SB are really summaries of all other Sanātana Scriptures? Since I only find contradictions, even though all are composed by Vedavyāsa ji only.]
Swāmi Replied:- You must mention those contradictions. I will answer all those contradictions.
14. If Kṛṣṇa is the supreme personality of Godhead, how can He be lesser in Mādhurya Bhāva compared to Rādhā? Isn't that a Śākta philosophy?
Swāmi Replied:- You have forgotten that Rādhā is also the incarnation of God Śiva as Kṛṣṇa is the incarnation of God Viṣṇu. The Veda says that Viṣṇu and Śiva are one and the same (Śivaśca Nārāyaṇaḥ…). Suppose you are acting in two roles in a cinema and one role becomes greater than another role, does it mean that your greatness is decreased? Mohinī was the incarnation of God Viṣṇu, who shall be also told to have more sweetness of love. If the female is having more sweet love than male, in one case, God Śiva (Rādhā) and in another case, God Viṣṇu (Mohinī) is having more sweet love. What is the result? Both God Śiva and God Viṣṇu are having more sweet love. Since Viṣṇu and Śiva are one only, it means that God alone is having more love!
15. Did God know that man would fall before He created him?
Swāmi Replied:- God is omniscient and knows everything in past, present and future. But, He also forgets everything behaving like an ordinary human being to enjoy the creation, which is created for the entertainment. If you know the story of the cinema you see before seeing the cinema itself, you will not be entertained. Unless you forget the story of the cinema, you can’t enjoy it. We, the petty human beings can’t maintain both knowledge and ignorance side by side at the same time. But, the unimaginable God can maintain full knowledge and full ignorance side by side. The unimaginable God can also get rid of the boredom by His unimaginable power. The ultimate aim of God is not mere getting rid of boredom, but, to enjoy the selfless true devotion (love) of the true devotee and this is the main aim of creation.
16. Is the Goddess Pārvatī infinitely merciful?
Swāmi Replied:- Goddess Pārvatī is a true devoted soul and God Śiva is the God in energetic form. But, God Śiva became Ardhanārīśvara showing that God made Her equal to Him. Hence, both are God and God is always merciful.
17. Is cheating in exam grave sin according to Vedas and scriptures or Hindu gurus?
Swāmi Replied:- Cheating a cheater is not a sin, but, cheating a justified system like examination is a sin. Why should you get a doubt on this?
18. When were the Vedas first written down? Where can I find the most authentic copy of Vedas? Do the Vedas really mention some serious physics?
Swāmi Replied:- The beginning of creation is unknown. Any unknown thing can be told as beginningless (Anādi). The word Anādi is explained in two ways:- 1) That which has no end (Na ādi yasya tat). 2) That, the end of which is unknown (Yasya ādi na Jñāyate tat). Hence, it is better to say that the Vedas have no beginning. The school of Vedānta has agreed that 6 items are beginningless in the 2nd way (Ṣaḍasmākam anādayaḥ). Actually, in the 1st way only God is beginningless. If you want to get an authentic copy of the Veda, you must analyse its knowledge with sharp logical analysis and if you find that the knowledge of the entire Veda that is available today is true by withstanding the sharp logical questions, the present available Veda is the authentic copy. You should not believe anything as authentic reference unless you are convinced with the sharp logic.
19. Is it ok to accept dowry or demand it?
Swāmi Replied:- Dowry shall not be demanded, which is a crime even according to the present law. Actually, dowry is the right of the property of the girl in the ancestral property of the family since daughter has equal right in the property like son. Dowry is taken by the father-in-law or by the husband and this is totally wrong. It should be given to the girl following the base of love and the base of ethics. It should be owned by the girl and should not be touched by either the husband or by the in-laws.
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