Filters for Discourses
The devotee interested in the spiritual line should study more about the successful devotees. The study of God is not so important as the study of the personality of a true devotee. You should concentrate more on Prahlada, who could succeed in pleasing the Lord and your concentration on Lord Narasimha is not so important. You should always examine the personality of Hanuman in the spiritual line because God is extensively pleased with Him, which can be seen in the awarded fruit. Hanuman is made the future creator of this universe and this is the highest fruit, which means that God is extensively pleased with Him. Hanuman is famous...
The Gita says that you should totally surrender to God (Tvameva Sharanam…). After your prayer and worship to God, you need not ask Him for anything even in the mind because He is omniscient. You are treating Him as an ordinary human being having limited knowledge. You should follow this principle even in the case of the human incarnation. The external human form misleads you to think that He is an ordinary human being. But, when you worship the photos and statues of energetic forms like Vishnu, etc., you should have the sense of omniscient God...
[Shri Ramanaiah asked “Why does God always want to remain unimaginable? Does it not leave the devotee ever dissatisfied that it is impossible to know God?” Shri Swami replied as follows.]
[Message on Naga Panchami day] The actual reason is that the intelligence of the devotee can imagine anything, which has the spatial dimensions (length, breadth and height). Anything, which does not have the spatial dimensions, becomes logically unimaginable. You can test this point by closing your eyes and constantly try to imagine anything, which is not having spatial dimensions. Even the minutest particle that you can imagine must have some least measurable or atleast spatial dimensions...
[Shri Ajay asked “Generally people are worried about death and what will happen after death. Please enlighten us on this topic.”]
Scientists and atheists feel that death is a simple phenomenon of nature like stopping of a non-functioning old machine. The digestive system along with the respiratory system is like the non-functioning battery unable to generate the current. The oxygen from the respiratory system oxidizes the digested food in the digestive system generating the inert energy, which is supplied to different systems of the body like brain, heart, kidneys etc., The inert energy is transformed...
[Shri Surya asked “How to purify one’s devotion so that it can really reflect in practice?”. Shri Swami replied as follows.]
For the projection of a tree, seed, water and fertilizer are necessary. Similarly, for the practical implementation of pure devotion, the knowledge of concept, intensification of concept by theoretical means and practice are necessary. First you must have the correct concept that can be received from Sadguru. The concept gains strength when you preach and discuss with others. The concept existing in your mind can be implemented in practice to little extent at least...
[Shri Anil Antony asked “Why are the lives of devotees always full of difficulties and miseries? Does this mean that God is always associated with misery and not bliss?” Shri Swami replied as follows.]
God is always associated with bliss. Everybody approaches God to get that bliss just like you approach the fire to get the heat. You love God only to get happiness, benefits and protection from God. Such love is instrumental love and not the ultimate love. Instrumental love means...
[Deepaavali Message] Buddha kept silent about God indicating that God is unimaginable. This means that the existence of God is accepted but the imaginable possibility is not accepted. But, the followers of Buddha took that the existence of God is also not accepted. The reason is that anything exists if it is imaginable only. That which is unimaginable does not exist. This is the norm of the psychology of general public. Buddha also propagated that the creation does not exist with respect to God...
[Deepaavali Evening Message] The Advaita philosophers believe that this world is unreal for them also and that God alone is real. This is absolutely correct with respect to the angle of God. In the angle of the souls, the world is absolutely reality because the soul is always absolutely real for itself since the soul is part and parcel of the world. The soul cannot grasp God, who is beyond this world since God is the ultimate absolute reality...
The energetic incarnation like Vishnu, Shiva etc., is energetic body charged by the unimaginable God. It is like a letter delivered in Bombay from USA. But, you are in Hyderabad and therefore, that letter delivered to the citizen in Bombay is irrelevant to you. Of course, you are attracted to the special envelop of USA, which is externally different from the Indian envelop since it is made of costly paper. The same letter comes to you in the Indian envelop and this is the human incarnation of the same unimaginable God. The human form is mostly...
God is unimaginable and hence, cannot be imagined by even sharp intelligence. Therefore, there is no possibility of any kind of interaction with God. God knows all of us, but, we can never know God. Hence, the interaction with unimaginable God is one sided only. But, we like to have an interaction, which is on both sides. We like to know, see, talk, touch and live with God. We like to serve God because service is the practical proof of love or devotion to God. For this purpose, God comes down in the same medium in which we exist. Hence, God comes in human form...
Guru Purnima indicates the divine guide, who guides not only the spiritual life but also the materialistic life. In fact, the spiritual life is always mixed with the materialistic life. Pleasing God is spiritual life. The materialistic life is not to annoy God by not going against His commands (Dharma) given in the divine scripture (Veda). First, you must not annoy God. Then only, you can please God. Following justice and opposing injustice will satisfy God. Unless you satisfy God through dharma or pravrutti, you cannot please God by nivrutti...
The true Advaita of Shankara is only in the aspect of enjoying this creation by a soul just as God enjoys it. The following analogy is given to understand this concept. The director-cum-producer of a cinema, after producing the cinema, himself sits in the audience to watch and enjoy it. His helper also sits along with him and enjoys the cinema. In this aspect of enjoying the cinema as spectators, there is no difference between the two. Of course, this similarity does not make the helper identical...
Recently there is a criticism that the photo of Goddesses Lakshmi was carved on the wodden chappals (Padukas) of Shri Baba and this hurts the feelings of Hindus. Sometime back, some foreigners have also done the same in some foreign country and Hindus were hurt. The first question in this issue is whether Baba Himself ordered for such padukas or some devotees presented those padukas with such a decoration. If there is any proof that Baba Himself ordered for the preparation of such padukas, we can easily say that Baba is not the human incarnation...
The Gita gives two types of classifications. 1)The first classification is Purusha and prakruti. It is a classification of two items. Purusha stands for the unimaginable creator and prakruti stands for the imaginable creation. In this classification, Purusha stands for the invisible and unimaginable God. The prakruti stands for both invisible-imaginable-energetic soul and the visible-imaginable-materialized gross body. The Gita itself says...
[Shri G Lakshman asked about the significance of fasting on the days of rituals and for the sake of God. Shri Swami replied as given below.]
Pravrutti is the subject that is related to the human beings with respect to other living beings in this world. The rules of Pravrutti are called as dharma. The basic rule is that you should not hurt any living being including yourself. As long as this basic rule is not violated, the rules can be changed in any manner you like as per the need. God becomes angry and will grant you the hell provided you violate the basic rule...
It is true that a few people exploited the concept of God for personal benefits. But, based on the few exceptions, you should not remove the basic system itself. A few railway accidents happen and due to such accidents, you should not cancel all the trains. You should concentrate to avoid the accidents. Similarly, some students might have copied in the examinations. Try to catch, such students. But, do not remove the system of examination itself. The system serves majority, doing a lot of good. You forget the vast positive side of the system based on the minor negative side...
[Dr. Nikhil asked “You said that God will start loving you if your selfishness is completely eradicated. But the concept of the self is most basic and even while earning one’s livelihood the self stands as the basis. Effort for livelihood is the natural instinct of any living being” Could You please clarify. Given below is Shri Swami’s clarification.]
To retain the identity of self is fundamental and is not wrong. It is also the basic requirement in the absence of which you may be misled to think that you are God. There are devotees who have even forgotten the livelihood in the context of God. If you are interested in some topic, you will forget taking meals. To remove the selfishness completely...
A human being is a mixture of the two imaginable items viz., the soul and body. The soul being energy is invisible. The body being matter is visible. Matter is the condensed product of energy. We understand the process of condensation. Therefore, the process of modification of energy into matter is imaginable. The link between two imaginable items is always imaginable. The soul pervades all over the body and hence, the body can be taken as the soul. Such superimposition becomes convenient since the soul is invisible and hence, the visible body...
The word Dattatreya is combination of two words i.e., Datta and Aatreya. Datta means the unimaginable God given to devotees through the human incarnation, which is the human form with which God is identified. By this process, the unimaginable God becomes imaginable and visible human being with whom all the spiritual aspirants can clarify their doubts. The word Aatreya comes from Atri meaning that God is not three entities. The three entities are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva...
Shri Satya Sai Baba established the four pillars which are truth, Justice, peace and love in the context of Pravrutti. The truth and justice result in eradication of corruption. Peace and love result in non-violence. Therefore, anti-corruption and non-violence are the two concluding words for the four pillars. If truth and justice are perfectly established, peace and love are the natural consequences. The government officials and the political heads swallow almost all the funds. There are no funds to help the poor and the needy...
Filters for Discourses