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Shri Phani asked: “You said that the Veda says that God created this (Tat) and God entered this (Tat). ‘This’ (Tat) means this entire world. The same word (Tat) is again used. This means God created this entire world and also entered this entire world. Therefore, all this world is God as stated in the Veda (Sarvam Khalvidam..., Eeshaavaasyamidam...).”
Swami replied: If somebody says that you have entered a house, does it mean that you have entered all the 100 rooms of the house? After entering the house, you may sit in one room. People will say that you have entered the house and are present in the house. Nobody says that you have entered...
[Vijayadashami Day] Shri Ajay asked: “Lord Shiva is said to be the husband of Goddess Durga, Who is the primordial power (Adi Shakti) and from Whom Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Parvati emerged out. Again, Lord Shiva is said to be the husband of Goddess Parvati only. How to reconcile this concept?”
Swami replied: This is a good question, which is relevant to Vijayadashami the festival of today related to Goddess Durga. We can understand anything perfectly provided you know the essential meanings for which these personified names stand. Adi Shakti means the first item of the creation...
Dr. Nikhil asked: “In the state of deep sleep, Advaita Philosophers feel that awareness is aware of itself only and is unaware of anything else. This state makes the soul to be called ‘Praajna’ meaning the highest intellectual state. In such case, how the total non-awareness is presented in this state?”
Shri Swami: In this state, total ignorance is experienced and nobody has even a trace of awareness. This is the experience of all the human beings and not a few, which may be discarded on the basis of defects...
Shri Ajay: God is said to be the truth. This does not give any specific information about God. In such case, the statement is useless since the word Truth also does not give any specific information.
Shri Swami: ‘Truth’ or ‘existence’ is a verbal noun that can be projected as subject as per requirement of the statement. If you say ‘he walks’, the word ‘he’ is the subject and the word ‘walks’ is the verb. The verb always needs a subject...
Shri Phani: The Gita says that the soul is not different from the living thoughts of awareness and also is beyond the thoughts meaning that the soul is the basic inert energy (Nanyam Gunebhyah Kartaaram…). In such case, the soul is said to be non-inert and inert, which is a self-contradiction. What is Your explanation here?
Shri Swami: The word Atman used for the soul means that which pervades all the items (Atati iti Atmaa). If all the items indicate this entire world, the infinite cosmic inert energy is referred by the word Atman. In such case, the inert cosmic energy is the cause...
Shri Surya: You told previously that Apara Prakriti is a category containing five elements and three internal instruments (Antahkaranams) i.e., mind, intelligence and ego. The left over fourth internal instrument is memory (Chitta), which can be taken as general awareness (Chit)...
Shri Swami: Whatever already said by Me was the version of misconstrued Advaita Philosophy, which says that Para Prakriti is general awareness (Chit) and this general awareness maintains this entire...
Imaginary World, Sole Cause of Worldly Problems: Shankara told that the soul is the absolute God and the world is imaginary and unreal. But, neither the soul is God nor is the world imaginary and unreal. God is omnipotent and is the Creator of this real world. God is the unique controller of this real world. Finally, this real world dissolves in God and disappears. None of these points is applicable to the soul. The soul has limited power and cannot create even an atom of this real world. The soul is unable to control even any system of its body like heart, kidney etc. Even an atom of the real world does not...
Generally, people think that Shri Ramana Maharshi is a follower of Advaita. If this is correct, Shri Ramana should have told that the meaning of ‘I’ is God. According to the followers of Advaita, the ‘I’ is God (Aham Brahma Asmi). But, Shri Ramana always told that you should search for the source of ‘I’. If ‘I’ is God, there cannot be the source of ‘I’ since God is the ultimate source of this whole creation. The ‘I’ stands for the human soul. In Advaita, the soul is said to be God. Shri Ramana told that everybody should search for the source of ‘I’ and never told that anything...
[Shri Phani asked “I feel bored staying at home continuously and I feel like visiting different places. What is the reason for this feeling?”. Given below is Shri Swami’s reply.]
The mind always feels happy in change. If you are in a busy place, you will feel happy by going to an isolated place. But, if you are in an isolated place, you will feel happy by going to a busy place. Therefore, the happiness is not in any place or external atmosphere. The happiness lies only in the change of the state, which is totally related to your mind...
he unimaginable God enters a human being to become human incarnation in order to give direction mainly in pravrutti to the majority of the humanity and to give direction to a few human beings in spiritual line, which is nivrutti. His main concentration is on pravrutti only to maintain the balance in the society and offers heaven as the reward to those, who followed His instructions in pravrutti. Those, who do not follow His instructions, will be punished in hell. Thus hell and heaven are related to pravrutti...
[Evening Message] There are three statements in the Gita. i) The world is in Me, ii) I am not in the world and iii) The world is also not in Me (Matsthani sarva bhutani, na chaham teshvavasthitah, na cha matsthani bhutaani, nattvaham teshu te mayi...). God happens to be the unimaginable boundary of the imaginary world on all sides. [Example:] The area of the room is within the four walls. It is not beyond the four walls. It means it is in the control of the boundary wall. Though the area is within the boundary wall...
The single truth will appear in different ways with different concepts simultaneously correct according to different receivers. The same lady appears as wife, sister and mother simultaneously to her husband, brother and son. Similarly, the same truth is taken as monism, qualified monism and dualism by different levels of devotees, which are represented by Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva respectively. The truth or the object is the human incarnation about which different devotees have different levels of views...
[This message is the reply of Shri Datta Swami to the question posed by a person with the username ‘Human Excellency’ on the Speaking Tree forum (http://www.speakingtree.in/public/wall-updates/9131992). Human Excellency asked about the need for the existence of God and why devotees of God cheat the public. He also questioned why the miraculous power of God, is not used to reform the minds of present politicians.]
Since the behaviour of devotees is bad, you need not negate the existence of God. If the son is wrong, you may say that the father is also wrong but you should not say that father does not exist. The existence of God need not be known from the scriptures...
The word ‘Vishwarupadarshanam’ is understood as seeing the infinite space with infinite matter and energy as planets and radiations based on the Lord by Arjuna. This is not the correct understanding the correct sense of this word. The word ‘darshanam’ means a physical work of seeing something with the eyes. In Sanskrit grammar, it is told that all the verbs meant for physical actions or works like walking, seeing etc., indicate the sense of knowing something (Gatyarthaanaam dhaatunaam jnanaarthakatvaat)...
You must carefully understand the meaning of the three words: smiling, weeping and enjoying. These three words are totally different from each other and have independent status of meaning. Generally, people misunderstand that smiling means enjoying and weeping means not enjoying. This is not correct. Smiling and weeping are external phenomena, whereas enjoying is an internal phenomenon. While eating the sweet, you smile. While eating a hot dish, you almost weep since your tongue and lips vibrate and eyes shower...
The first action of the original-absolute-unimaginable God is a thought, which is the process of thinking. Except this thought, no other action is known to us before such thought. Such thought was to create this world constituted by many items. The reason for many items is that a single item will bore, resulting in non-enjoyment. Therefore, God alone could not enjoy and there is requirement of many items also for continuous enjoyment. Thought is the process of thinking and that is awareness itself. Awareness is knowledge, which is the process of...
[Evening Discourse] God does not become imaginable since His existence, which is the inherent characteristic, is known. No doubt, the existence of an item is its inherent characteristic. But, this inherent characteristic is common to all the existing items. It is only a general inherent characteristic, which is common to all the existing items. It is not specific and hence, the knowledge of such general inherent characteristic does not isolate that item from other items. It does not give any specific information about the item by which you...
[This is a continuation of the question and answer session on Guru Purnima.]
7. Recently, scientists say that they have discovered the God-particle, which is the cause for the universe. Does this not eliminate the need for God?
Scientists are investigating the cause for mass of the fundamental particle of matter. This is only the research pertaining to the conversion of energy into matter. The word Universe used by scientists is the materialized phase. Before the production of such Universe, the cosmic energy exists. Therefore, it is related only to the materialization of the particles of matter from the energy. The word Universe in the spiritual knowledge...
[This is a continuation of the question and answer session on Guru Purnima.]
6. The three philosophies of Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva differ from each other as we see the disputes and arguments among their followers. How to bring unity among these three main philosophies?
The aim of the preacher is not only the exposure of truth but also upliftment of the people from their existing levels. If exposure of truth alone is the aim, there is no difference between these three preachers. The final 100th step is the absolute common goal for all the preachers. When Shankara came, people were standing on the ground and Shankara will not show the 100th step seeing which all the people will be discouraged
[On the day of Guru Purnima, Shri Swami answered the questions posed by the devotees, which are presented here.] 1. In spite of being the most intelligent among all living beings, why is the human being the most disturbed and without peace and happiness?
A runner is very capable in the process of running. But, he is running in the opposite direction. Will he reach the goal? Therefore, the direction is important, which decides the goal. If the goal is right, which is the right aim in the beginning, the process of running becomes fruitful. If the goal is wrong, the aim and direction become...
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