Posted on: 05 Oct 2022
1. Why people around me don't support but criticize even though they know that I am in the right path?
[Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya K asked: Pada namaskaram Swami, You said 3 stages in human life are knowledge, devotion and practice (service). Then why everyone around us including parents, family members, relatives, friends don't support, criticize, scold, even try to drag us back. I want to satisfy them even though they know I am not in a wrong path, they also walk in spiritual path on their will but don't understand. I also do things as per my own will, only after I met Phani Swami, they are not criticising at my face. Pada namaskaram Swami.]
Swami replied:- The opposing persons are also active due to the will of God only. He creates several hurdles in the path of spiritual life. These hurdles act like culverts in the path of water canals. The water will stop if its force of flow is less and the same water will jump over the culvert with reinforced speed due to the presence of the culvert itself. Hence, the hurdle stops the journey if the devotee is weak and at the same time helps the devotee to increase the speed of the journey. You shall take this in a positive sense and not in a negative sense.
2. I would like to share my Divine experience.
[Smt. lakshmi lavanya asked: Pada namaskaram Swami I also want to share my experiences. 1) Two years ago my father and I went to a hospital for cataract check-up of my father, then his age was 75 years, doctor scolded us for coming too late, doctors feared to do surgery to the right eye and did surgery for the left eye. My father also feared that he may become blind after the surgery. After the surgery, I dropped my father off at my sister's home, there I met Phani Swami for the first time and requested him to show me the way to get a permanent relationship with GOD. After 3 months, doctors suggested to us that it is better to undergo surgery for the right eye also as early as possible, so we went for surgery in peak time of the coronavirus pandemic, but the doctors didn't dare to do the surgery because they felt the operation may fail.
For the first check-up, we were attended to by one doctor, the second time, the check-up was taken up by another doctor, finally, the operation was handled by another doctor. During the time of the operation for 3 hours, Phani Swami sat in my sister's home and announced the operation was handled by God Datta. After this, my father started to trust me that I would be able to take care of him even though I was leading a spiritual life and started to support me in my spiritual journey.]
Swami replied:- Devotion to God will always give good fruits not only in this world but also in the upper world because God is the ultimate controller of the entire creation. The success in this worldly life and success in spiritual life-both are in the hands of God only. People misunderstand that the spiritual life will spoil the worldly life. This is utter nonsense. The same God is Lord for both lives and is the Lord for all the worlds and all the souls. If you are pleasing God through spiritual line, both salvation and success in this world are certainly after you. God is omniscient as well as omnipotent, people say that God Datta is the destroyer (Dattaṃ chinnam). This statement does not say what is destroyed by Him. Real scholars will say that misery in this worldly life as well as misery in the upper worlds (like going to hell) is destroyed, false scholars say that the worldly life is destroyed. Why do they say so? They are egoistic and do not tolerate the happiness of a devotee granted by God Datta here as well as there since they are jealous about the true devotee of God Datta. They want to pull back the legs of the devotee through such additional statements. Hence, the devotee must not be emotional only but also should have sharp logic based spiritual knowledge.
3. My another divine experience.
[Two months ago, I felt a severe pain at the elbow of my right hand like my bone was broken. I wanted to bear the pain because Datta Swami has said that desireless love is true love and I felt I would gain health because of His grace only but not by doctors. I started to do all my work with my left hand. I am a maths teacher, while I was teaching and writing on the board I forgot about my pain, I didn't experience it. From then I started to observe, when there was a need to use my right hand, I felt no pain, in the remaining time, I experienced severe pain, I started to enjoy this and started to love God more and more, after some days my father came to stay with me for some days. Then, I had worked with two hands in order to arrange everything for him and to attend school on time. Then I felt pain only after boarding the bus only. I enjoyed this situation for one month after which my pain was gone completely. Thank You Swami for Your grace.
Another one experience also happened. I don't know if to share this is right or wrong, but I can't control myself with joy. Yesterday in school, the daughter of my colleague (of 3 years age) called me 'Shanukha Priya' three times, this is the first time for me to listen to this name in life. I am helpless to control my happiness. I have tried to imagine this is not true just accidental, but I failed. Yesterday morning I felt sad that I have to go home to stay with my father in Dasara holidays and to deal with worldly matters to satisfy him, but You filled my holidays with Your blessings. Pada namaskaram Swami. I can't read it because I became emotional.]
Swami replied:- You need not analyse every routine matter of the worldly life because some aspects do not yield any fruitful results.
4. Please explain to me how to do the Manasika Yajnam?
[Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya K asked: Pada namaskaram Swami. Sri Ganapathi Sachhidananda Swami said "Manasika Yagnam is the best, this is only for them who want to become servants of God" in His pravachanam on the occasion of Dasara. Please explain how to do this.]
Swami replied:- Body, word and mind are the three instruments through which the soul can serve God. In the early age, the body is strong and the other two are not matured. In the middle age, word is strong while the other two are weak. In old age, mind is matured and the other two are not strong. The devotee can serve God effectively with the strong instruments only.
5. Why did Parikshit try to save himself but did not surrender to God?
[It is said “After listening to the Bhagavatam, Parikshittu maharaj made alternate arrangements to escape his death (snake bite of Thakshaka), arranged doctors to get treatment after snake bite, but did not surrender to God, he failed there although he got moksham.” Please explain this. Pada namaskaram Swami.]
Swami replied:- King Parikshit surrendered to God Krishna since he was specially attached to Him because he was made alive by God Krishna when he was born dead. Sage Shuka also delivered the analysis of the divine personality of Krishna.