13 Mar 2022
[Questions from internet forum]
1. Should we have a photo of God Ram on our currencies in place of Mahatma Gandhi?
Swami replied:- Mahatma Gandhi was a very strong devotee of God Ram uttering the name of Ram even in the last minute of death. God always likes to give credit to His devotees than to Himself.
2. Why did Buddha fast?
Swami replied:- Fasting brings high alertness of brain and makes it very bright in the field of spiritual knowledge. But, everything in extreme is bad. Buddha realized the defect of extreme fasting and rectified His defect in course of time. Extreme fasting will even take away one’s life. Buddha became like a skeleton and became unconscious due to over fasting. He realized His mistake and rectified it. Both over eating and over fasting are the two undesirable extremities like flood and drought. Fasting means taking little food and not avoiding food completely. It is told by a poet called Vemana that on fasting day, the rectum digests the remains of excretion for attaining energy necessary for all the activities of the body and this means that on the day of fasting, one is eating his own excretion instead of precious food from outside!!!
3. What is the main reason for a person’s angry nature?
Swami replied:- The Gita says that desire is the reason for anger (Kāmāt krodho'bhijāyate). When you desire something and when you don’t get it, you will become angry.
4. While on the cross why did Jesus say, “I thirst”?
[While on the cross why did Jesus say, “I thirst,”? According to the Bible, Jesus makes this clear: “If anyone thirsts, let Him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (Jn. 7:37–38).]
Swami replied:- The living water is the spiritual knowledge and devotion to God is its sweet taste. The people, who crucified Jesus are really in thirst (i.e. in need) of the devotional spiritual knowledge. Such thirst is represented by Jesus while saying “I Thirst”.
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