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Mrs. Lavanya asked: Namaskāram Swami! Is there any significance in the dress code or the colour of the dress of Sadgurus? We see Śrī Satya Sai Bāba wearing orange robes, while Śrī Ramaṇa Maharṣi and Śrī Rāmakriṣṇa Paramahaṃsa wore white. As per the rules of the saṃnyāsa āśrama (sainthood), they should also constantly move from place to place and get their food in the form of bhikṣā (begging). But these Sadgurus were confined to one particular place, even though they visited a few places occasionally. This question was raised by my husband and he told me to ask You, Swami.
Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! Dress code is not at all important because the dress code is only the code of the body, which itself is the dress for the soul (Vāsāṃsi jīrṇāni...—Gītā). The body contains the brain and the nervous system...
[Reply to a question by Shri Kartik] Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! There is a saying that unless a person’s madness is cured, his marriage will not happen and unless his marriage happens, his madness will not be cured. In such a situation, both should take place simultaneously, so that there is a gradual improvement or a slow, step by step cure. The attraction to the knowledge of the Sadguru, who is the contemporary Human Incarnation, must develop, so that our consciousness...
[Reply to a question by Shri Kartik] Swami replied: If seeing the Sadguru is also associated with conversation, involving the clarification of one’s doubts, then seeing is also important. Merely seeing the Sadguru, without the conversation is not at all effective...
[Reply to a question by Shri Kartik] Swami replied: Both are equally important. On studying the knowledge, no doubt might come to your mind immediately. But after discussing with fellow-devotees and after hearing some doubt raised by another devotee, you might also appreciate...
[Reply to a question by Kum. Mohini] Swami replied: There are several common points and several points of difference also. Unless you have a sharp intelligence and you follow a deep analytical procedure, you can easily mistake one for the other. Today, science is well-developed and hence, practical analysis has become very strong, unlike in the past, when logic was confined to the intellect alone, without any experimental proof. One person wanted to test Shri Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsa to find out whether He was a Sadguru or not. The person secretly kept a one rupee coin under the bed of Paramahaṃsa. When Paramahaṃsa sat...
Shri Vijay asked: Greetings! My name is Vijay and I am from Madurai (India), which is two hours from Palani. Did Swamiji visit Madurai during the late 80s and early 90s? I have seen Him doing meditation inside the Meenakshi Amma Temple inside the sactum sanctorium. The only thing that I do not remember is whether it was inside the Meenakshi sannidhi or Lord Śiva’s sannidhi. Can you please confirm whether Swamiji was there? Also, Lord Muruga...
Mohini asked: I am Mohini and I am Your devotee. I am reading Your divine knowledge and have reached the eight volume of the Divine Discourses. But I cannot understand some of the topics clearly and I am not feeling very good. I get very little time and my concentration keeps changing. Sometimes, I get confused about what I want and I feel like stuyding books related to my career. So, please tell me how to improve my concentration...
Shri Ramakrishna Haran asked: Namaskārams Swamiji! I am a 50 year old male from Bangalore. I work in the government. Since my marriage in 2002, there has been no harmony or understanding. On the third day of our marriage, I and my spouse met with a life-threatening accident. Somehow, only by divine grace, we survived. I have a 16-year-old son. We are Tamil Brahmins. Both my wife and son do not speak to me at all. They hate the ground...
Shri Anil asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swami! There is a misunderstanding among parents that if their children follow the spiritual path, their materialistic life will get spoiled. Due to this, the majority of parents are reluctant to allow their children to follow the spiritual path, especially under the guidance of a living Satguru like You. Swami, kindly grace us with Your response to this kind of thinking. At Your Lotus Feet – Anil
Swami replied: People do not know what is really good and what is really bad. They often mistake one for the other. God blesses souls, balancing...
Shri Anil asked: My question is related to John 17:25-26, where Jesus says: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. 26 I have made You known to them (disciples), and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.”
Swami replied: Here, the word Father referred by Jesus means the Father of heaven or the first Energetic Incarnation and not the unimaginable God. The unimaginable God alone can know Himself. No soul can know Him because He is beyond the concept of space. The Father of heaven is the first energetic form with which the unimaginable God has merged forever and hence, there is no trace of difference...
[Shri Anil asked: This question is related to the Gospel of John 14: 7 If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” 8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” 9Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Swami in Your knowledge, You have enlightened us with the concept of the contemporary Human Incarnation...
Swami replied: There are only two components: (a) the non-mediated unimaginable God and (b) The energetic or the human medium with which the unimaginable God merges homogeneously to become an Incarnation. The Father of heaven is an Energetic Incarnation and the son of God is the Human Incarnation. Since the same unimaginable God exists in both, there is no any trace of any difference between...
[Shri Anil asked: The prominent disciple of Jesus, Peter told that “I will lay down my life for You.” Jesus replied. “Truly, truly, I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Subsequently, when Jesus was arrested by the soldiers, after an initial brief protest by cutting the ear of a soldier, Peter ran away. Further at three places he rejected Jesus saying he never knew Him, when some of the people questioned him about his association with Jesus, though, he later repented about this and came back. I have learnt from Your knowledge that the Human Incarnation alone guides the devotees by giving right knowledge. He never forces it on the devotee. The devotee has...
[Ishita Iyyer asked: Swamiji, how does one become aware of one’s true purpose in life? Why are humans entangled in the same cycle like animals, where we eat, drink, sleep and live our life immersed in material problems. How does a soul attain liberation from all this? - Ishita Iyyer]
Swami replied: The difference between animals and human beings is only that human beings have the facility of a greater intelligence, which can be applied in their family life as well as in their spiritual life. Regarding the enjoyment of materialistic life, both categories have common aspects like eating, drinking, sleeping etc. One must please God in worldly life as well as in spiritual life. For animals, spiritual...
[Reply to a question by Ms. Bhanu Samykya] Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! If you start thinking about God, all these psychological problems will spontaneously get resolved. The continuous mental...
[Ms. Laxmi Thrylokya asked: Pādanamaskāram Swami! Sometimes, I feel that I am a sinless person. I know that every soul has committed a mountain of sins and You are hiding them for now. But I am not able to remember that constantly. Please help me.]
Swami replied: You should not worry about the sins already committed because there is no use of the analysis of the past. The past is past and nothing can be done about the past. One should always think and act actively in the present. Thinking about the future is essential for the sake of making decisions in the present...
[Ms. Laxmi Thrylokya asked: Swami, You asked us to see the good in others, as big as a mountain and see our own mistakes as small as a rat. Should we do the same even when the other person is violent towards us?]
Swami replied: It is said by Bhartṛhari that you should see an ant of good in another person as an elephant and an elephant of bad as an ant. On the other hand, you should see an elephant of good in yourself as an ant and an ant of bad as an elephant. This is what I had explained. By this, you will avoid quarrels with others. Violence and anger are good qualities, provided you do not exhibit them on good people...
[Ms. Laxmi Thrylokya asked: Swami, a person said to me that experience gained from life is more real and better than the knowledge gained from reading spiritual books. If the person is very happy with his life of pravṛtti i.e. earning in a justified way, maintaining the family and doing what he likes in his free time, should we share Your Divine Knowledge with him or wait until he comes forward and asks questions? At Your service, Thrylokya.]
Swami replied: The knowledge preached by preachers through books is indeed the knowledge attained through their long experience in their lives. It is not necessary to test it practically in your life. If it is told that fire burns...
[Ms. Bhanu Samykya asked: Pādanamaskāram Swami! Swami, I have read from Your discourses that the system of marriage is devised by God for the smooth running of society. It also helps to bring new souls on earth which contributes to the divine entertainment of God. But by looking at the current scenario of overpopulation, I feel that adopting a child is better than giving birth to a new soul. Please enlighten me. At Your Divine Lotus Feet, - Bhanu Samykya.]
Swami replied: Overpopulation is balanced by God through births, deaths and natural calamities. It is the administration-problem of God. Why do you worry about it? God has created this world so that you can enjoy all the aspects of the creation created by Him. All souls are created by God, as said in the Gītā (Ahaṃ bījapradaḥ pitā) and so, He is the Father of all souls. God, the Father, will be happy if His issues...
[Shri Anil asked: Pādanamaskāraṃ Swami! Please grace us with Your response to the following question. I read in the following verses from the Quran that the universe was not created for play: “And We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them without purpose! That is the consideration of those who disbelieve! Then woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire! (Saad 38:27). We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them for a (mere) play (al-Anbiya’ 21:16)”...
Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! It is certainly true that God did not create this world for the play of human beings. So, human beings are not supposed to behave as they like, using their free will. They have to lead their lives in full discipline, as per the instructions given by God in the ethical scriptures. They should not play as they like in their lives. Instead, they should lead their lives...
[Shri Anil asked: The Quran says that charity can wipe out sins, as per the following verses: “Charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire. Allāh will expiate your sins by virtue of your charity. Fear Allāh wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed, it will wipe it out.” Swami, as per Your preaching, no good deed can cancel a bad deed and only the realization of the sin, repentance and its non-repetition can cancel the sin. How can these two views be reconciled?]
Swami replied: The charity mentioned in the Quran is to be understood to be practical devotion, which is the offering of the fruit of one’s work. It is the most important ultimate step in the spiritual effort. Who will do such practical charity? The person who does not have any selfishness alone, can do practical charity. Every sin is based on selfishness. When a person does not repeat the sin, it means that his selfishness has vanished. Only then can he do practical...
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