17 Nov 2020
[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on October 24, 2020, in which several devotees participated. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]
[Śrī Surya asked: Swāmi, You have said that karma yoga is the final step and that there is only peace after that (Tyāgāt śāntiranantaram…—Gītā). Why is it that prāṇeṣanā (the bond with life) is not mentioned as one of the wordly bonds and why is the sacrifice of the same not suggested along with the sacrifice of the other three wordly bonds?
Śrī Anil asked: Swāmi, Jesus said that unless one is ready to sacrifice (hate) oneself, one cannot achieve Him (Jesus). Here, is Jesus not clearly talking about the sacrifice of oneself?
Śrī Surya asked: Swāmi, You said that Satan may also come to us as an energetic form and ask us to die. We might mistake him to be God conducting a test for us. Here my doubt is, what if God Himself comes to a devotee and asks a devotee to leave his or her life for God? Will God test any devotee in that manner?]
Swāmi replied: Often, our visions of energetic forms are not true and they are only illusory. Of course, there are some true visions of energetic forms of God. But believing an illusory energetic form to be a true vision of God, if one sacrifices one’s life, it becomes suicide, which is the greatest sin! God Kṛṣṇa said in the Gītā that His true devotees are prepared to even sacrifice their lives for His sake (Macchittā madgataprāņāḥ…—Gītā). However, in the context of sacrificing the strongest worldly bonds, only three bonds are mentioned. They are the bonds with money, issues (children) and life partner. The bond with one’s life is not mentioned for the above-said reason. Once life is sacrificed, it cannot be regained like money, issues or life-partner. When Hanumān could not find Sītā in Laṅkā, in spite of a long search, He was about to commit suicide, due to His love for the service of God. But God controlled Him from inside His consciousness.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★