Swami answers the questions by Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya
1. I want to share a miracle that happened in our family.
[Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya K asked: Pada namaskaram swami. I want to share miracles that happened in our family. 9 years back my brother abandoned our family because of love marriage, then we motivated our parents to spend time by praying God, reading Bhagavatam, Bharatam etc, my mother expired 4 years back...[Click here to read the detailed question→]
We have a temple of God Datta opposite to our house built by Sri Brahmananda Teerdha Swami who is a disciple of Sri Vasudevananda Saraswathi Swami, we used to do service there. Sri Chandra Mouli Sasthri garu who is a disciple of Sri Chandra Sekhara Saraswathi Swami comes there every year to attend Datta Jayanti and tells spiritual knowledge to all of us. Many people have taken upadesam from him, all people who are participating in maintaining the temple of God Datta are blessed with good jobs and wealth. In the last summer holidays, they all built a new temple of Lord Siva, they also invited Sri Chandra mouli Sasthri garu, they all spent their time in Bhajan, gramosthavam, worshipping Shiva lingam, we didn't go there but they ignored Sri Chandra mouli Sasthri garu and didn't invite him at the time of prathishta of the sivalingam. He is 90 years old and he can't eat all foods, they didn't enquire what should they offer to him in lunch. He suffered with hunger the whole day, we come to know the situation because he was staying in our house. We felt it was an opportunity given by You to us to serve You and offered meals to him and his disciples for two days. In the evening satsanga, he told to me " I am worrying about you so much that who will take care of you, so you should concentrate totally on God, you should act here as you are satisfying people but your goal should be only God", I felt like You are talking to me through him. After completion of the programme, my father told them (who built sivalayam) about the situation but they got angry on us that we were finding faults in them, they are suffering with so many health problems and mental worries although they are worshipping the statue of God Datta, but we are all with perfect health and learning spiritual knowledge directly from God Datta. We are blessed with theoretical and practical devotion also, they all neglected a devotee after inviting him themselves and worshipped the statue but we worshipped a real devotee and did real yajnam as told by You and got Your blessings. This is all happened only because of Your grace. Thank You swami.]
Swami replied:- You are correct in your analysis. But, I request you to write brief questions.
2. Please bless me more and more so that I can understand Your infinite Divine qualities?
[Pada namaskaram Swami, in previous answers, You told "Japam means only repetition of the qualities of the divine personality, The devotion develops by the divine personality shining in several angles." [Click here to read the detailed question→]
This means that we have to think, analyse and understand about divine qualities of God, I also read from Narada Bhakti Sutra that one who wants to become a devotee should live in a lonely manner, detach from all people and things, always praise infinite the Divine qualities of God, Then I tried to read books of Lalitha, Vishnu, Siva sahasra Nama etc, but I can't understand, experience anything, I have read Sundarakanda book many times in my education time because I can imagine every incident as a movie while reading, I can feel Hanuman as my brother , enjoy the devotion of Him towards Rama, get motivation that I must become like Hanuman and I should put my Guru in my heart like him. In the same way I am motivated by Chandra mouli Sasthri garu (guru of my mother) he leads very simple life, he read many scriptures but he treats all people equally, if we ask any doubt in knowledge, he explains patiently in midnight also, now in the same way I can imagine day and night about you, your knowledge, your love, you don't need our love but you love us always, even parents can't tolerate us always, but you are tolerating and uplifting us. Like this I can think of you always. There is no need of chanting your name for this, but I don't know the personalities of other gods, I don't experience their love, I don't see them in human form, so I want to know only about You more and more so that I can understand the infinite Divine qualities of You. Please bless me. Pada namaskaram Swami.]
Swami replied:- I bless you as per your request.
3. How can we do practical service to You?
[Pada namaskaram Swami, in previous answers You told "Practical devotion is the proof of theoretical devotion, I always recommend practical devotion only after hearing the entire spiritual knowledge". So many people want to participate in Your practical service as per their knowledge and devotion. So many of us not get a chance to do Your personal service because we don't have that much devotion to You, but we also want to participate in Your service (atleast to satisfy ourselves that we are also trying to please You), so I request You to please tell me. 1. How can we do practical service to You who are in a starting position?]
Swami replied:- You do the practical service in whatever way you have full interest.
4. How many ways are there for practical devotion? What are they?
Swami replied:- Practical devotion is a proof of theoretical devotion. Donating physical energy is service. Donating materialistic wealth is sacrifice. Of course, hard earned money is the best because the soul has strongest bond with it and if such strongest bond is defeated before the bond with God, then, the bond with God becomes the strongest. House holders must do both service and sacrifice. A saint can do only service but not sacrifice.
[What do You suggest for us who can't meet You, can't have a chance to talk to You directly, can't pose questions to You directly because of fear, but want to participate in Your service as per their capacity.]
Swami replied:- Your question contains the answer for your question. One can participate in the service of propagating the spiritual knowledge and devotion as per his/her capacity.
5. What do You advise those who are unable to contribute money to You?
[What do You advise them who can’t donate their own money as guru dakshina to You because of family members don't allow them, but want to participate in Your service.]
Swami replied:- They can participate in propagating spiritual knowledge and devotion in the world as per their convenience and capacity.
6. What advice do You have for people who don't understand Your knowledge?
[You said we can learn spiritual knowledge based on intelligence, if we have low level intelligence can't understand Your knowledge fast and get a spiritual growth. What do You suggest for them.]
Swami replied:- The knowledge explained by Me does not require any intelligence to understand because My explanation is very elaborate in a simple language.
[I want to come for Your darsan, I can come only to Kachiguda railway station (I have direct train from vinukonda to Kachiguda), please suggest me a way. Pada namaskaram Swami.]
Swami replied:- You can contact Ms. Thrylokya. She will guide you to Me.
7. How should I behave every second as per Your inner intention?
[Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya K asked: Pada namaskaram swami, if God gives me a chance to live with him as a family member, then advise me on how should I behave...[Click here to read the detailed question→]
I have read in many books that closeness leads to negligence. We respect our family members in inner heart, care about them but we don't show it in our daily behaviour, we fight, laugh with them, cry for them, make them angry, like this we share all types of emotions with them. Is it become a sin if we behave with God in the same way, or we have to be alert with Him every second by remembering that He is God, you said wives of Sri Krishna neglected Him because of daily attachment, gopikas never neglected because they are detached from Krishna physically. I wish to be Your lovable family member with devotion of gopikas. Should I remember every second that I am living with God, there should be no restrictions, conditions, limits between us? Should I behave every second as per Your inner intention. Please enlighten me, Pada namaskaram Swami.]
Swami replied:- There is no possibility for you to become My family member because you are already My family member. This creation is My family and every soul is My family member.
8. What will be the punishment in the following cases?
[Pada namaskaram Swami, in Your discourse I have read Sita got different punishments for abusing Rama and Lakshmana although it is divine drama to kill Ravana. I request You to tell, if any normal person who is trying to learn knowledge from You...[Click here to read the detailed question→]
1. abuses family members who are disturbing she/he with frustration
2. Criticizes other devotees unknowingly,
3. Abuses guru of other people intentionally with ego and jealousy
4. Criticized their own guru because of irritation due to family pressures
5 acting in public that you are their guru, but not devoted to you in inner heart.
Then what will be the punishment in above cases, do You consider all above cases are sins.]
Swami replied:- A sin is prominent when one soul hurts the other soul. A soul hurting God has no punishment. Hirnyakashipu was punished by God not for abusing Him, but, for abusing a devoted soul like Prahlaada. God is like space and nobody can cut the space with any sword.
[For anyone trying to do japam of mantras given by You daily as per Your instructions and can't complete because of family pressures, then is trying itself okay to You, what do You suggest for them? Pada namaskaram Swami.]
Swami replied:- There is no question of completing because number is immaterial. Repeating it with interest and concentration in a natural way yields good fruits.
9. Please explain the meaning of my dream.
[Pada namaskaram Swami. When I started my spiritual journey, my parents didn't agree, but I couldn't value their opinions because of my inner motivation, I always kept silent before them whatever they talked because I think they also doing this because of love for me but they didn't know this is my real happiness, my mother also accepted Chandra Mouli Sasthri garu as her guru, took upadesam and worshipped Goddess Lalitha...[Click here to read the detailed question→]
One day she specially wanted to abuse my previous guru before me, then I went to another room to escape the situation, but she caught my hand and told me you have to sit here and listen to me, then I said Sasthri Garu is your guru in the same way I have my Guru, then she replied in angry that he is not her Guru and abused my Guru for 2 hours, I prayed Baba that she is remembering you in this way and I couldn't escape situation. I told myself she couldn't scold me because of love towards me, so she was doing like this, I didn't take anything to heart because I couldn't focus on my Sadhana if I concentrate on that. After my mother was expired, one day Sasthri Garu appeared in my dream and asked me "what do you think of your mother, what are you going to do (మీ అమ్మ గూర్చి ఏమి ఆలోచించావు)". I couldn't understand the meaning of this dream. Till now many people scolded me, criticized me, harassed me for selecting this path, but I always think they are all saying all these because they love me, but they don't know which is really good for me, God loves me infinite times more than them. So I can say I don't have any negative opinion in my heart about my mother. I request You to tell me. 1. Meaning of my dream. 2. how do guru take care of his disciples, devotees after death. 3.how do You react for above mistakes. Pada namaskaram Swami.]
Swami replied:- The dream means the competition between your bond with your mother and your bond with God. God takes care of His devotees as He is taking care while alive. After death is reflection of before death. Mistakes done to the other souls are not excusable. Mistakes done to God are not counted at all. Voting for God against the worldly bonds is the essence of the tests of God Datta.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★