Posted on: 13 Oct 2021
1. What is the meaning of being born of water and the Spirit here?
[Shri Anil asked: Padanamaskararam Swami! Kindly answer the following questions. At Your Lotus Feet-anil
Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again". "How can someone be born when they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit." John 3:3–5.
Question: Swami, is the above explanation found in Bible similar to the concept of Dvija (who is a reborn person in which all the vaasanas (activities of awareness) are related to God)? What is meaning of born of water and the Spirit here?]
Swami replied:- The concept exactly means the concept of Dvija giving rebirth through Upanayanam, which means becoming closer to God. Rebirth means taking birth in the spiritual field after dying in materialistic field at least after attaining stability about the minimum basic needs.
2. Is Christianity the only religion where you don't need to do anything physical work to be approved by God?
[Shri Anil asked: After reading Your knowledge on the oneness of God and Universal religion concept, a Christian devotee commented in the following way. “But I don’t believe all religions are same and one God came to all the religions in different forms, it would have been nice but God was very different in all religions. Christianity is the only religion where you don't need to do anything physical work to be approved by God. God already loves you and He knows what you want we have to trust His process. Other religions like Muslims, Hindus want you to do certain works like pray 5 times a day or go to temple etc., to go to heaven and be approved by God. This is just one of many points. Let me know Your thoughts on this”. Swami, please give a reply to this.]
Swami replied:- The methods of bringing spiritual interest vary with the different psychologies of different people. Do you think that everybody in this world is having the same psychology as you have? You are ignorant in thinking that everybody in the world is like you and in thinking that the methodology suitable to your psychology alone shall be the universal psychology. Same God is the divine Father of all different souls and adopts different methods to do good to all His children having different psychologies. This does not mean plurality of Father and it means only plurality of issues due to different psychologies. Are we not finding the same father behaving in different ways giving different advises to different issues in the world?
3. What was the purpose of Jesus not knowing the day nor the hour of His return?
[The following questions are raised in internet discussion forums.]
Swami replied:- Jesus did not expect a more intelligent person like you in the future and hence did not mention the day and time of His return! He told that He will come again, which means that He will come whenever it is necessary.
4. Would it be a sin to surgically castrate myself for the Kingdom of God?
Swami replied:- Please consult a psychiatrist immediately.
5. Did Jesus refer to God as His "Father" simply because the population around Him used this term to reference God?
Swami replied:- The preacher shall preach with reference to the people surrounding Him.
6. Was the forbidden fruit a metaphor for sex?
[In the Bible, was the forbidden fruit a metaphor for sex? And by saying Adam was tempted by Eve to eat the fruit - was it referring to Adam having sex with Eve?]
Swami replied:- It need not be sex. It can be worldly bondage with love to co-soul neglecting the love to God.
7. What can I tell my Christian friend who says that the verses from the Bhagavad Gita are copied from the Bible?
Swami replied:- I think that he needs immediate surgery of his brain by an efficient neuro-surgeon.
8. My Bible teacher said that God accelerated the formation of the earth to make it look like 4.5 billion years old. How can I refute that claim?
Swami replied:- It is simply a case of mental derailment.
9. Was the prophet Mohammed a Christian before He joined Islam?
Swami replied:- Why should you bother about all such useless points, which do not help you in your spiritual progress. Mohammad and Jesus are the incarnations of same God.
10. Why do some people think calling oneself a God is blasphemy?
Swami replied:- The human incarnation is God because it is the wish of God. Every human being is not God because it is the wish of every human being to become God!
11. Is "Time" worshipped as God in any religion? If not, why?
Swami replied:- God is beyond space and time.
12. Why does James who wrote one of the Christian scriptures tell us to confess our sins to one another?
Swami replied:- The publicity of sins can have some psychological effect in the process of control of sin.
13. Does changing our religion and belief of a different God change our afterlife and where we end up after being dead?
Swami replied:- Change of religion and belief of a specific form of God are not necessary because the same God came in different forms in different religions to preach the same spiritual knowledge.
14. Why does the Bible mention everything from the creation of the Earth, to its end, but it doesn't mention the dinosaurs?
Swami replied:- The Bible is confined to spiritual knowledge of God with pure innocence. You are very big genius and God is very innocent before your intellectual personality!
15. Why would God create other planets when there are no beings on them to test?
Swami replied:- The beings on other planets are invisible to the human eye.