Posted on: 12 Feb 2024
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1. Can You explain the difference between a trinity and a triad? Is there any significance to these terms?
[Questions from internet forum]
Swami replied:- Triad means three different items co-existing. Ex:- Eshanaatrayam that is the three strongest worldly bonds. Trinity means the same personality appearing in three forms with simultaneous existence. Ex:- God Datta appearing as God Brahma, God Vishnu and God Shiva.
2. If Gautama Buddha is considered to be the ninth avatar of Vishnu, then why is Buddhism a separate religion from Hinduism?
Swami replied:- Buddha is the ninth incarnation of God Vishnu. Buddhism means the misunderstood philosophy of Buddha by His followers. Buddha Himself is God and Buddhists are atheists. The silence of Buddha about God meant that God is beyond words (yato vāco nivartante…– Veda). Hence, He indicated the unimaginable God through silence. This silence was misunderstood by His followers as atheism.
3. If everything is possible for God, can He create a God more powerful than Him?
Swami replied:- Everything is possible for God, but He follows the appropriateness (aucitya). If He does some inappropriate action due to His omnipotence, you will immediately say that He does not have the power of appropriateness. He can do anything provided the thing to be done is appropriate. Your next question will be that if God is omnipotent, can He kill Himself? You may be mad, but God will never be mad.
4. Are there any known mistakes in the Hindu holy book, The Bhagavad Gita, besides from translation errors?
Swami replied:- You must show one error in the Bhagavad Gita and then, you must put this question.
5. When Lord Vishnu descended as Lord Rama, He was sent into exile. Why didn't He fight for His rights?
[In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna makes Arjuna understand that being a Kshatriya, he should fight for his rights and the Kingdom but in contrast to that when Lord Vishnu descended as Lord Rama, He was sent to exile. Why didn't He fight for His rights?]
Swami replied:- God Rama did not fight with His father because father is said to be God in Pravrutti (Pitrudevobhava - Veda) and God Rama incarnated on earth to establish Pravrutti. But, the Pandavas did fight with their cousin brothers for the sake of justified share of the property, which is fight against injustice. Fighting for justice against injustice is also Pravrutti.
6. What was Lord Hanuman doing when Lord Rama and Lakshmana gave away their lives?
Swami replied:- He sat in the meditation of God Rama. When He found that they were in danger, He immediately proceeded and saved them. Hanuman is the incarnation of God Shiva. Nothing will happen unless God Shiva sanctions.
7. How should Hindus respond to the Christian claim that our deities are demons and evil spirits?
Swami replied:- Such people are really demons, who find angels also as demons. A person having red spectacles will find the whole world as red.
8. While Rama and Krishna are both Vishnu's avatar, why didn’t Rama have the Sudarshan chakra with Him?
Swami replied:- God Rama had the bow called Shaarngna and Krishna had the Sudarshan wheel. Both these weapons belong to God Vishnu.
9. Can only Hindus have devotion to Lord Krishna?
[Can only Hindus have devotion to Lord Krishna? I am a Muslim and love Lord Krishna very much. I keep reading and listening to their stories. Is my work correct?]
Swami replied:- Anybody can worship any form of God liked by him/her. In all the divine forms, the unimaginable God is one and the same.
10. How did the previous Kali Yuga end?
Swami replied:- The previous Kali Yuga ended as the future Kaliyuga ends. Lord Kalki will climb a white horse wearing a white electric sword given by God Shiva and will destroy the entire world.
11. Who was the Kuldevi of Lord Shri Krishna?
Swami replied:- Aadiparaashakti was the Kuldevi of Lord Krishna. She is also called Maha Maaya.
12. What is the possibility of India becoming a Hindu nation?
Swami replied:- India was a Hindu nation, is a Hindu nation and will be a Hindu nation. Hindus have the broad mind to accommodate all religions in a country because they are strong believers of universal spirituality. At the same time, the other religions should not trouble Hindus in anyway.
13. When going to a temple, should one visit Shri Ram before Hanuman?
Swami replied:- One should visit Shri Hanuman before visiting Shri Rama just like one shall visit Nandi, the vehicle of God Shiva before visiting God Shiva. Hanuman also used to be the vehicle of Shri Rama in the war by making Rama sit on His shoulders.
14. What are some examples of Lord Rama's divine grace?
Swami replied:- There are several examples about the divine grace of God Rama. One best example is that by grace of God Rama, Hanuman became the future Brahma or Prajapati. The actual Brahma, the actual Vishnu, and the actual Shiva are always permanent simultaneous forms of God Datta. Prajapati, doing the routine work of creation, is also called as Brahma. As such, God Hanuman is the incarnation of Shiva and Shiva is already Brahma and Vishnu.
15. What happened to Lakshman and Urmila after the events of the Mahabharata? What was Hanuman's fate after the Mahabharata?
Swami replied:- It is the Ramayana and not the Mahabharata. Lakshmana became Adishesha even before God Rama became Vishnu. Due to the condition of Yamadharma Raja in the form of a sage that was put to Shri Rama, Lakshmana mingled with Sarayu river even before Rama mingled with Sarayu river. Urmila lead the normal life of a human being. Hanuman is Chiranjeevi (unperishable) as per the boon given by mother Sita.