Posted on: 25 Nov 2020
[Ms. Thrylokya asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmi! Some people help others to get settled in life. Later on, they expect the other people to always stay grateful and obedient to them, throughout their lifes. Is it correct to expect gratitude from others for the help we have done to them? - Your servant, Thrylokya]
Swāmi replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! Gratitude is a good quality for the person who has received the help, but it should not be the expectation of the helper. If a person expects the expression of gratitude, such a donor is said to be rājasic. These are people who donate expecting some help or praise in return (Yattu pratyupakārārtham...—Gītā). A sāttvik person donates or provides help without expecting anything in return (Dīyate’nupakāriṇe...—Gītā). But the receiver also should at least express his gratefulness in words, even if not in action by helping in return (Kṛte ca pratikartavyam...—Rāmāyaṇam).
[Ms. Thrylokya asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmi! Swāmi! You have said that God is omnipotent and hence, He can change the past, present and the future. If God can change the past, then we should accept that parallel worlds are possible. Is it one world that is existing or are there infinite parallel worlds at the same time? - Your servant, Thrylokya]
Swāmi replied: Only God has the omnipotence to change time. No soul has that power. Different worlds indeed exist simultaneously, in parallel with each other. But they are hidden from each other by the will of the unimaginable God. For example, on the globe of the moon, the world called Pitṛ Loka exists. Pitṛ Loka is actually a sub-world of Earth (Bhu Loka). Departed souls, whose actions are mostly neutral—neither sinful nor meritorious—live in that world. Even if we visit the moon, like an astronaut, we will not be able to see that sub-world. It can only be seen by some souls who have been blessed by God.
[Amudha Sambath asked: Om Śrī Datta Swāmi! Thank You Swāmi for always pouring unconditional love on us. The Lord who protects His child every second; I am thankful for all Your grace. The giver of all creation, who is full of love. Everything from an atom, soul, food, job, shelter, scientific theories, the whole creation to the unimaginable; it is all Yours. Thank You for allowing us to live here in this world.
My understanding and assumption is that in order to make God happy, one should learn, analyze and practically implement the true spiritual knowledge and refrain from illegitimate sex, anger, greed, wasting of food and violence. Is it right? At Your divine lotus feet.]
Swāmi replied: You have given the correct answer for your own question!
[Amudha Sambath asked: The Lord will suffer for the sins of sincere devotees. But what care can devotees take to avoid such a situation? Jai Guru Datta!]
Swāmi replied: If the Lord wants to do something, can you stop it, even if you take the utmost care to avoid it? When the devotee makes serious efforts to stop God from suffering the punishments of real devotees, he or she will certainly fail. But even though the devotee fails to stop God, the sincere effort of the devotee to stop God from suffering reveals the true love of the devotee for God. God suffers the punishments of His real devotees very easily, without making any effort to hide from them and this shows the true love of God towards His real devotee. Here, the failure or success of the efforts is not at all the point. The point is about the real love existing between God and the true devotee.
[Śrī Bharath Krishna asked: Swāmi, while singing the bhajan You wrote on Lord Vīrabhadra, I have got one doubt. In that bhajan, it is said that Lord Vīrabhadra put off the fire lit for the sake of a yajñam by just spitting into it. I have learned from You that offering the food prepared with ghee to the Sadguru Himself is the correct way of doing yajñam. In that yajña ritual, which was being performed by Dakṣa, Lord Viṣṇu and Lord Brahmā, were both present. They are Incarnations of the Paramātmā Himself. Then why was a fire lit in that ritual? Was it just for cooking food or for worship? Swāmi, I do not know if I am asking a stupid question. I got this question and I am offering it to You, seeking clarification. Thank You for clarifying all my doubts, Swāmiji. One of Your servants, - Bharath Krishna.]
Swāmi replied: You yourself have answered your question. The fire lit in a yajña is always meant for cooking the food alone and not to burn the food in it. The food is always to be burnt in the hunger-fire of the hungry guests. Such a physical fire lit on that occasion was put out by Lord Vīrabhadra.
[Ms. Thrylokya asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmi! We have generally learnt that being grateful is a good quality. We are supposed to stand by the people who have supported us in our time of need. Although they have some bad qualities, they have supported us, when we were facing a bad time. So, we stick to them as our duty because we remember their help. From Your knowledge, I have learnt that we should always associate ourselves with satsaṅga to avoid sin and to progress on the spiritual path. Can we leave someone because they are bad, although they had helped us in the past? - Your Servant, Thrylokya.]
Swāmi replied: You can associate even with bad people taking care about the possibility of you developing some attachment towards them. You can be good to them, express gratefulness through words or helping deeds and act as a friend to them. But you should not be influenced by their opinions, which will turn you bad. You can hear their words with one ear and leave them immediately through the other ear. Since they have helped you, you should not be harsh to them. The only point here is that with your firm decision, you should protect yourself from getting influenced by their expressed thoughts. If such people are not very rigid and egoistic, you can advise them about the correct path for the sake of their welfare.
[A question by Śrī Anil]
Swāmi replied: Such a fanatic preacher is appreciated for his sincerity about his selected divine path. But his defect is in saying that his path alone is the correct path. Further sin is accumulated in saying that all other religious paths are wrong. There is nothing wrong in having the strongest faith in your selected path. Such strongest faith is also essential for proceeding on that path practically. Up to this point, the picture is very good. But the other part of the picture, which is denying and criticizing other paths, is totally wrong.
Ms. Bhanu Samykya asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmi! Expressing hatred has become more common nowadays. People are orally expressing and spreading hatred against people whom they do not like, especially through social media. If we do not like something or someone who has not committed bad deeds in his present life, we can just ignore them. But some people baselessly show hatred and feel happy by humiliating other people who they do not like. This creates a toxic environment around. Should we ignore them thinking that it may be our bad karma or should we try to stop or counter them? How to deal with receiving massive hatred when it easily hurts and leads to depression in the moment we face them. - At Your Divine Lotus Feet, Bhanu Samykya.
Swāmi replied: It is your bound duty, if you are a devotee of God travelling on spiritual path, to try to change them through your logical knowledge. The presentation of your knowledge must be powerful in meaning and must be sweet in words. Many people will change with this approach. Some people may not change and in that case, you should leave them for God to handle them.
[Śrī Bharath Krishna asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swāmi! Are bliss and love one and the same? If not, please explain how they are different. I feel that the basis of bliss is the love for God and the service done to Him. If that love is absent, bliss is also absent. Generally, my friends who believe in Advaita, feel that attaining bliss is the goal of life. - One of Your imperfect servants, Bharath Krishna.]
Swami replied: Bliss is the fruit of true love. True love towards the true God gives infinite bliss. Love is the ripened mango fruit and eating it is bliss.
[Kum. Mohini asked: When we celebrate functions like marriages and so on in my hometown, people do not invite widows. Newly married couples also do not take the blessings of widows. If we perform pūjās and bhajans, my parents do not allow widows into my house; they have to sit out side. Some widows are kind-hearted and good devotees. But people still do not respect them. Is this correct? Is there any reason behind this?]
Swāmi replied: If a widow is to be excluded from social activities like this, then a widower (a man who has lost his wife) should also be excluded in the same way. If the life-partner of a person has left this world, what is the fault of the person? The purity of a person’s thoughts and the person’s qualities including devotion should be the criteria for giving respect to the person and not such ignorant criteria. Such traditions are totally blind and are to be totally opposed and discarded.