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Shri Datta Swami

Posted on: 18 Jun 2021

               

Swami Answers Shri Anil's Questions

1. Why do Muslims label Christians as sinners, when Allah has commanded that they should not even ridicule others?

[Śrī Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami! Could You kindly grace us with Your response to this question raised in an internet discussion forum?

The questioner asked: Allah commands Muslims to not ridicule others (Quran 49:11) as per the following: “O ye who believe! Do not ridicule others, perhaps they may be better than you. And do not insult one another, nor call each other by offensive names. Lewdness is surely ill-seeming, and those who do not desist are indeed wrongdoers.”

Are Muslims engaging in something more damaging than ridicule when they assert that worshippers of Jesus are sinners and Christianity is a wrong belief?]

Swami replied: On one hand you are saying that Allah advised people not to ridicule others while on the other hand you yourself are ridiculing Muslims! Human psychology is such that people are always fond of finding faults with others even while the same faults exist in them in plenty! If you find a fault in others, criticize the fault with powerful logic, so that the logic in your argument convinces others to realize their faults and change.

2. What should one do when the wrath of God is upon them?

Swami replied: One should first recognize the sin done by oneself. That realization should be followed by sincere repentance and most importantly, by its non-repetition in the future. If you succeed at these three steps of realizing the sin, repenting for it and never repeating it throughout your life, God will immediately shower grace on you.

3. Was Jesus actually a real person, even if God is not real?

[Śrī Anil said: An online questioner asked the following:

Was Jesus actually a real person even if God is not real? Would Jesus just be some normal dude who came up with Christianity and pulled some stunts to make it seem like He was a deity?]

Swami replied: I blame My fate for making Me face this most horrible question posed by you!

4. If something travels at light speed, will it become eternal?

Swami replied: Nothing other than God is eternal. Every item, which is part of creation, disappears as soon as God withdraws the reality given by Him to that item.

5. Do the Vedas mention Jesus or any signs that indicate Him?

Swami replied: When according to Me, the Bible is another Veda, your question seems meaningless. The Veda simply means divine knowledge, which includes the Bible too!

6. Why was Kṛṣṇa absent at the time of the game of dice?

Swami replied: God does not control any soul because He has granted free-will to all souls. God also does not interfere with the fruit of the sin. The punishment, which is the fruit of the soul’s sin itself is a strong preacher for the soul.

7. Why is death so difficult to comprehend?

Swami replied: The attachment with a set of worldly bonds, which has grown to the climax suddenly disappears during death. This attachment brings agony at the time of death.

8. Has the Catholic belief in the temporary hell-like Purgatory come from the Jewish Gehenna?

[Śrī Anil said: An online questioner asked the following:

Does the Catholic belief in the Purgatory come from the Jewish belief in the hell called Gehenna? Both are temporary places in the afterlife that give a soul painful cleansing before they go to heaven.]

Swami replied: Hell induces temporary reformation in the soul through fear. Heaven gives temporary encouragement to the soul to do good deeds. Something is always better than nothing.

9. How do I know if I am being punished by God?

Swami replied: You need not know that God has punished you. But you should certainly realize that your own sins have brought the punishment upon you. The main aim of the punishment is that you must fear sin. That much is sufficient for God. He never desires that you should recognize His existence and that you should be devoted to Him. He just wants peace in His creation.

10. Does the ritual of baptism wash away the original sin?

[Śrī Anil said: An online questioner asked the following:

Does the ritual of baptism wash away the original sin, which was committed by Adam and which entered in to human beings by birth?]

Swami replied: There are several psychological treatments given in every religion. You need not worry about the background truth of these beliefs. You should only appreciate the resulting fruit. The mother says to the child that if it eats the entire food in its plate, the moon will come down. You should not mock at the mother for telling such utter lies. You should appreciate the mother for the good result of telling that lie, which is that the child eats the food and grows well.

11. Why did God not save the 12 disciples after Jesus’ death?

Swami replied: God wanted to see the firmness in their devotion towards their divine preacher. No disciple was harmed. Only Judas, the disciple who helped the priests in arresting Jesus killed himself by the will of God. Is this not God’s protection of devotees and the punishment of the sinner?

 
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