Posted on: 29 Jul 2018
Shri Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami,
Following questions were asked in Quora forum. Kindly give Your answer to it. At Your Holy Feet, Anil
1) If Allah is omnipotent, can Allah have sex?
Swami replied:- If I say that Allah can have sex, I know that your next question will be ‘Can Allah generate issues without sex? If so, why Allah is having sex?’ Omnipotence does not mean that everything is done by God. It only means that He can do anything, but, He does something only, which is appropriate, logical and justified. If He does everything without logic and justice, immediately you will put the question ‘Can’t Allah do things, which are logical and justified?’ Remember one thing that Allah, Jehovah and Parabrahman are one and the same in the meaning.
2) Why are dogs considered unclean and cats clean in Islam?
Swami replied:- Such questions are not related to the spiritual knowledge. If the cat is dipped in mud pond and if the dog is bathed with detergents, which is considered as clean? Cleanliness is an external factor.
3) Why hasn't anyone answered the question asked by Karunanidhi - 'Where did Lord Rama study how to build bridges'?
Swami replied:- Some questions are not worthy to be answered. The answer for this question is that by the grace of God Rama only, people have developed the scientific technology to build the bridges. Even he became the chief minister by the will of God Rama only!
4) Is there any mention of hell in Rigveda or any other Veda where you would be boiled in boiling water or something like that? Someone told me that it was not mentioned in Vedas and the concept came from the West.
Swami replied:- The Veda says that the sinner shall die and re-born due to the severe punishments in the third place, called as hell (Jaayasva mriyasva..., Taamste pretya...). The first place is heaven for good people, the second place is Pitruloka for neutral people and the third place is the hell or Naraka loka, which is the third sub-world of Bhuuloka. The sinner is surely punished in this world as well as in the upper world for temporary reformation only and not for revenge. The Garuda Puraana mentions boiling the sinner in boiling oil, which is more severe than boiling water!
5) As a Hindu, why should I respect Muslims when they demand hell fire for idol worshipers like me?
Swami replied:- You may dislike some Muslims, who speak like that. Idol worship is essential for the beginners, who can’t accept the human form of God due to ego and jealousy. Of course, neither idol is God nor God is in the idol. The idol is only a representative model of God like the national flag representing the country. The Veda says that God is not in the idol (Na tasya pratimaa...). The Hindu scripture also says that idol worship is meant for beginners having little intellectual analysis (Pratimaahyalpabuddhiinaam). But, it should not be discarded for the beginners. LKG class is meant for beginners and the only expected thing is that one should not sit in the LKG class throughout his life. You can ask the mockers of idol worship ‘are you not having photo albums of your kith and kin, who are staying far from you?’ The idol worship certainly develops the theoretical devotion, which is the mother of practice of sacrifice and service to God. If the person doing idol worship has to go to hell, the LKG students as well as possessors of photo albums also have to go to hell. If some people of a religion talk ignorantly, don’t generalize your dislike to all the people of religion and to the original founders of the religion. You must respect every religion in this world viewing the original state of the religion neglecting the adulterations done by certain ignorant followers.
6) Is sleep really the closest feeling to death?
Swami replied:- The state of deep sleep can be compared to the death, which of course is not really death. A person doesn’t wake up from death, but, a person having deep sleep can wake up from it since all the other systems of the body are functioning except nervous system and brain. In the deep sleep (Sushupti), the awareness totally disappears, but, appears again since the nervous system starts functioning again. Even in the deep sleep, all the systems of the body are functioning continuously except the nervous system, which takes rest. Rest is totally different from death.
7) How can Islam be a religion of love and peace if it teaches us to hate homosexuality?
Swami replied:- Heterosex has two sides. One is pacification of emotional blindness of lust and the other is generation of issues to extend the humanity. The second good side neutralizes the blind vulgarity of the first side. In homosex, only the first side exists. Now, I leave to your wisdom to think about the value of homosex.