Posted on: 24 Feb 2016
Questions from Shri Anil
1) If Jesus was God, why did he say in John 20:17: "I'm ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God"?
Shri Swami Replied: A human incarnation is a two component system appearing in single phase. Sometimes God directly speaks and sometimes the human being component speaks directly. Both the speeches are expressed through the voice of the human being only. Hence, you cannot distinguish the speaker through His inherent and characteristic voice. You have to differentiate the two speakers by the context of the statement only. When Jesus said that He is truth and light, such statement is directly said by God. When Jesus said statements like “O God why did you leave me?”, “Let thy will be done”, “I'm ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God"? (Such statements are to be considered as the direct statements of the human being component called Jesus. It is something like two-in-one or dual personality (a mental disease). Of course, the case of human incarnation is not the case of any mental disease since it came to cure our mental disease due to the madness of these worldly bonds. I have given the case of such mental disease as a simile only so that the concept can be better understood. It is like the dual nature of electron acting as wave as well as particle. If you examine the Bhagavat Gita, it is directly sung by the God in human form and the singer is God (Bhagavan) and not the human being component (Krishna). Hence, it is called as the Bhagavat Gita and not Krishna Gita. The sage Vyasa, who recorded the song, gave this name so that the reader will easily understand the speaker and need not do the complicated analysis to identify the speaker. Since it is a long song, such identification is also easy. A proof was also given in the song: God says that He preached this knowledge in the beginning of creation to Sun and Arjuna thought that the song was sung by Krishna and hence questions God about such possibility since Krishna was born in his time span only. Krishna replies that He was the creator and knows all the past. By this, the speaker is indicating that He is the birthless God and not Krishna, who was born in that time.
God enters a specific human devotee of His family or inner most circle and becomes human incarnation to give right direction for the entire humanity (Pravrutti) and also right direction to the very serious rare spiritual aspirants trying to enter the family of God. Jesus belongs to His family as His beloved son. The word ‘son’ does not indicate that God had some wife to generate this son, which is our worldly sense only. All these worldly bonds are unreal and superimposed on the single real bond of any soul with God, which is servant and master only. God sent Jesus to this world for a specific divine programme, in to whom God entered and merged with Him homogeneously (Antarbahishcha— Veda) like one metal entering the other metal to form a homogenous mixture called alloy or solid solution. You must remember that the product is only mixture in which both the metals keep separate identities and at the same time behave as a single item being mixed homogenously. The alloy appears as a single metal, but, when observed through powerful microscope, the atoms of both metals appear individually with their specific atomic numbers. The atom of one metal did not change its atomic number to become atom of other metal. Since it is a mixture, God can leave it at any time, if the human being component is affected by ego. This point should not be in the minds of the devotees of human incarnation, which is expressed only to pacify the jealousy that develops in the minds of devotees sometime or other since human mind is never constant. The main purpose of the human incarnation is only to give the right knowledge to humanity in view of several scholar—preachers distorting the truth. While giving the identity mark of human incarnation, the Veda uses two adjectives for its knowledge (Truth and infinite) and the first adjective is truth. Knowledge in which truth is distorted to please human beings is the wrong knowledge by which the right goal is never achieved. In spite of this primary purpose, the secondary purpose that does not affect primary purpose is the desire of God to enjoy the world by entertainment as equally real. The basic problem is that God is absolute reality and the world is a relative reality like the imaginary world in the daydream. At least, if it is a night dream, the dreamer can enjoy the dream as equal reality. In the day dream, the world is experienced as imaginary only and no real enjoyment is possible without self-ignorance. In the night dream, the self-ignorance makes the imaginary world to become real world. Beware, this is the concept of God and world and not of the soul and world. Such enjoyment of the world as real, does not affect the preaching of true knowledge in anyway. A professor attending a seminar in Mumbai, purchases a sari for his wife in the gap of time between the end of seminar and reaching the Railway station for return journey and this should not be criticized at all.
Therefore, even during the statements of human being component, God is not separated from the human being component so that we say that the separated human being component in this time alone is speaking his own ideas. Even during such time of the speech of human being component, God exists in human being component by pervading it entirely, since God is enjoying the real world by identifying Himself with the human being component attaining full self-ignorance. Here, the quantity of self-ignorance is directly proportional to the quantity of experience of the reality of the world and subsequent enjoyment also. Therefore, whatever may be statement of Jesus (whether Jesus speaks or God speaks) Jesus and God are one and the same in all the times of the whole life period of Jesus (provided God does not leave the human being component, due to ego if developed). Such concept may again bring jealousy towards Jesus in the minds of devotees, which is natural and inevitable and no devotee should feel bad about this, except making a trial to throw it out with effort. In such case, the helping statement is that both God and Jesus maintain separate identities in the mixture at the deepest level and both are not exactly one and the same. In the case of human incarnation, the separate identity of God is also not recognized at all since God is unimaginable and you can grasp the human being component only. Neither God is transformed in to devotee (Avyaktam... Gita) nor vice-versa and this point should be kept in mind while thinking that Jesus is God when He stated that He is the truth and light. It only means that unimaginable God is merged with Him and all characteristics of God apply to Him only. Lack of sharp analysis of such statements only misled the surrounding ignorant public to mistake Jesus and crucify Him. The ignorant public thought (especially the ignorant, egoistic and jealous priests in that time, who misled the public thinking that a human being born and eating food like everybody in the name ‘Jesus’ is telling that He Himself is God) in wrong way.
Entire Spiritual Effort to Eradicate Jealousy & Ego to Co-human beings Before Serving Incarnation
Later on, Mohammad removed this concept totally since it is very complicated and ordinary public cannot understand it, even understood correctly, will not digest it due to jealousy to co-human beings. But, this is the most useful concept even though its background is most complicated. Are we not using T.Vs, computers and so many electronic instruments in which the background technology is very much complicated? The only difference is that such instruments are inert and do not raise jealousy in us like co-human beings. Therefore, the entire spiritual effort is to eradicate jealousy and ego to your co-human beings before identifying, accepting and serving your contemporary human incarnation. The very ‘I’ is a spark of fire for which a specific boundary is drawn around your body. The jealousy-air blowing on it turns the spark into large ego-fire. Hence, Jesus crossed the very basic spark ‘I’ by passing on the credit of every piece of His knowledge and miracles to God called by him as Father.
When the mixture of God and human being component says that it is reaching God, it can be taken as the individual statement of human being component or can be taken as God acting in the role of devotee and speaking this with reference to the role and not as the actor. Hanuman is the incarnation of Lord Shiva in a role of a devoted servant, who came to preach the devotees, how a devotee should serve the God. In the context of the role, Hanuman, the actor-God always spoke like a servant only and not as God. In this way also, you can take the statement of Jesus-God in the role of a devotee to preach the humanity, how a devotee should be dedicated to God.
The Veda says that father is expressing Himself as the son (Aatmaa vai putranaamaasi). This does not mean that the shape of the son is exactly the same as that of father. It is not seen so. You cannot also say that the qualities of father are inherited by son. It is also wrong because gene theory says that only some mannerisms enter issues from parents. The son of Lord Krishna called Samba mocked the sages and got curse. This is a proof to show that the son need not get the qualities from father. Here, the word ‘son’ (putra) does not mean the issue in male gender only because the word putra stands for son and daughter as per Ekashesha sutra in Sanskrit grammar. Even the word ‘Purusha’ indicates the soul lying in the body and not the specific male gender. The Gita says that Vaasudeva controls the entire creation (Vaasudevah sarvam...). Vaasudeva means the son of God or Vasudeva. Vasudeva can mean the unimaginable God playing with His wealth or world (Vasuna divyati iti). Hence, Vaasudeva is the son of God in Hinduism like Jesus in Christianity. Concept is one and the same in the both the religions.
2) What happens after a person attains moksha? Does the soul live permanently in heaven with the gods after attaining moksha? What karma does the soul perform after attaining moksha?
Shri Swami replied: Moksha means salvation or liberation from worldly bonds. The liberation of worldly bonds becomes real and eternal only when a new bond with God is formed and as result of that all the old worldly bonds subsequently drop out. Without the attachment to God or devotion (Bhakti), detachment from the worldly bonds (Bhakti) is impossible and meaningless. Such a detachment results in the state of a stone without any bond whether old or new. Detachment from the world is a naturally sub-sequential state of the attachment to God. Mind needs attachment with either God or world and cannot remain constantly without any attachment like in the state of deep sleep. Hence, salvation indirectly means attachment to God and as a result of it, the soul takes part in the divine service of preaching the spiritual knowledge either in the upper world or in the lower world. It depends on the required programme that is essential in the upper world or in the lower world. The soul after salvation is at the wish of the Lord to participate in His service wherever God feels necessary, feeling that His service itself is the salary given by Him.
Q3) Regarding “same spiritual knowledge exists in the all religions” a person commented like below
[Your example is invalid. If Telegu quantum mechanics taught me that gravity is blockable? Or that below absolute zero is possible? Your entire argument isn't, but your example is.
Science is usually universal. Sciences only disagree on minute details while religions disagree on almost everything.
The classic Christian belief is that Jesus Christ is God’s son. But Islam states that God has no family.
I do not understand why Islam disagrees with Judaism so much, because I know next to nothing about that religion.
Hinduism believes is poly theism, Abrahamic religions believe in mono theism. The entirety of these religions is based on mono theism.
Weather the name is Allah(Arabic is 'Al+Illah' meaning 'The God'), God or Yahweh. All these religions worship the same god.
Hinduism worships many gods and gives them different names and looks. These are rather big differences, don't you think?]
Shri Swami Replied: Unity in diversity and vice-versa is in this creation itself. Science feels that energy is the primary entity, which appears in various forms. Energy (Unity) exists in all forms of the world and all these forms exist in energy. Why don’t you question science for this problem? You question only the spiritual knowledge! The diversity in unity already exists and is experienced by all leading to splits in humanity. It is time for us to find the unity in diversity to avoid these splits in humanity so that unity may be developed more and more. What I said was that the subject of any scientific topic, be it quantum mechanics or wave mechanics or thermodynamics or any other topic, is one and the same taught in different languages. Remember that I worked as professor in science teaching topics of science! Languages are different, but, the subject is one and the same. Even a lay man will agree to this point. You have to understand the differences in the concepts based on the then existing atmosphere. You have shown the difference between Christianity and Islam by saying that Jesus, the son of God, was not agreed by Islam. Are you not finding the clear development of atmosphere from Jesus to Mohammad? Jesus was crucified by the ignorant and emotional public enraged by the blind and egoistic priests. To avoid such revolt from public on the human incarnation or son of God, Mohammad removed this concept for that region and for that period of time, even though He Himself was son of God or human incarnation. Such atmosphere never existed in India and hence, Hinduism did not face such problem. The Gita of Hinduism clearly says that whenever God comes to the earth to preach humanity, He comes only in the human form (Manusheemtanum...). In the same context, the Gita said further that such human incarnation will be insulted by ignorant fools (Avajaananti...). The reason is that the human body of God having same characteristics like birth, death, hunger, thirst, sleep etc., is repelled by other human bodies of human beings and hence the very recognition becomes very difficult.
The ego provoked by jealousy will result in negative reaction and may lead to even killing (crucifixion)! You must study the reason for the difference in the philosophies with reference a particular period of time and to a particular type of psychology existing in the human beings in a particular region. Without studying the background and understanding the practical problems to be solved before preaching the spiritual knowledge, focus on the differences of religions is not justified in any way. The cultures of religions like performing festivals based on some divine events may differ from each other, but the underlying stream of spiritual knowledge in all the religions like speaking truth, not harming others, not stealing money or wealth of others, character in sexual life etc., are one and the same in any religion. In Hinduism, the concept of one God was clearly established in scriptures and diversity is only in various forms of media of incarnations. The unity in diversity in Hinduism is a guiding light for the same concept in all the religions of the world to establish love and peace in the entire universe by identifying the spiritual unity.
4) Please advise regarding drinking of alcohol in view of spirituality.
Shri Swami Replied: Your enquiry shows that you are not watching serials in T.V., since you are always immersed in thinking about God! In the serials, whenever a scene comes, showing drinking alcohol, a warning is written that drinking alcohol is injurious to health and takes away one’s life. It spoils the liver leading to death. Whatever amount of alcohol is good for health, it is obtained from food items involving fermentation by the will of God. People start taking alcohol in small doses for heath, but, in course of time the quantity increases enormously resulting in serious damage of health. It increases the emotion beyond limits by which the mind loses its balance resulting in committing sins also. Hence, scriptures condemn drinking alcohol.
In spiritual path, emotion (devotion or Bhakti Yoga) is essential to transform the knowledge (Jnana Yoga) in to practice (Karma yoga). But, this emotion need not be brought by drinking alcohol since due to the effect of alcohol, the knowledge itself disappears! In such case, where is its transformation in to action? Even the action cannot be implemented properly because a person drunk shows mad actions like walking in zigzag way!
God Doesn’t Require Your Potentiality for His Service
Shri. Kishore Ram: Hanuman and monkeys expressed their full potentialities in terms of distance that can be crossed over by them. Since maximum potentiality is expressed by everyone, the level of devotion should be same in Hanuman and other monkeys. Sugriva also served the Lord through a contract, which is not good service. Please remove this confusion.
Shri Swami Replied: All the monkeys expressed individually their potentialities in terms of lengths of distances that can be jumped over by them. Hanuman did not express the distance telling that He cannot jump the sea since He was cursed by sages to forget His actual strength whenever some work is to be done. He remembers His strength only on praise from others, as per the curse from sages. Projection of self-capability is ego. No monkey thought that in the service of God, God will give enormous strength provided full faith exists. God does not require your potentiality for His service. He likes only your dedication to His service. A squirrel dropped some sand particles into the sea to help the Lord in constructing the bridge over sea. The intention and making a humble beginning irrespective of potentiality is always appreciated by the Lord. The quality of practical philosophy is liked and not the quantity. Some people try to escape the practical sacrifice in the service of the Lord by expressing very less potentiality, which is inadequate to complete the work! They pose that they could have come forward, had they possessed required potentiality! Their idea is to escape from the service by that pretext and at the same time, they think that the innocent God blesses them recognizing their inadequate potentiality. The squirrel did not make all these calculations. It thought that the work of the Lord will not stop at all and thought that let it contribute its maximum possible potentiality to the service of the Lord. If a monkey having one mile potentiality in jumping, starts crossing the sea to contribute to the Lord whatever it had, the Lord will make it jump all the sea by His will! This is told that the Lord can make even a lame to jump over the hill (Pangum langhayate girim). The Lord patted the back of the squirrel on which the print of three finger lines of His hand appeared forever in its entire race! Such patting was not given to the monkeys.
Sugriva, the son of Surya, who was the first student of God, represents the human psychology in dealing with God. Doing business with God is observed everywhere in this world. All the devotion of all the devotees is directly or indirectly based on business only. Fruits in this world or in the upper world (like protection from hell) are the essential inspirations for the life of devotion. Shankara said that you should not have aspirations for this world or for the upper world (ihaamutraphalaviraagah). The devotion should be based on your attraction to the personality of God only and not on any benefit from Him. We hear that a mad fan burns himself to death when his most liked film-hero or political leader dies. We should pity him since he does not know the real background of such exposed pseudo personality. If the film-hero and politician are replaced by God, that is the climax of devotion! When Krishna expired, Gopikas with true devotion, jumped into fire. Radha walked on the sand in the mid-day of summer and the burning sand was like fire cubes of fire alter. She shivered and fell down in every step singing “O Maadhava! I am falling on your feet”. In one step, she really fell down on the sand and was burnt alive resulting in her death (pratipadamapi nigadati Maadhava tava charane patitaaham— Jayadeva). Jayadeva viewed the last scene of Radha by the grace of Lord Krishna. The Lord even now gets tears on remembering that scene!
You will be astonished to know the behaviour of Sugriva after its fulfilment from the side of the Lord like a politician forgetting his promises after winning the election by the votes polled. Vali was killed by the Lord and the contract was completed from the side of the Lord. Sugriva became king and forgot the Lord, immersed in pleasures. Remember that the Lord did not kill Vali just for the sake of the contract. Vali was the sinner and hence was punished by the Lord as explained by Him to Vali in the last hours of his death.