Posted on: 09 Oct 2023
1. Can You kindly explain how the humans have evolved?
[Shri B Nikhil Sharma asked through Shri Hrushikesh: Dear Swami, I request You to kindly answer the below question asked by B Nikhil Sharma. Can You kindly explain how the humans have evolved? There are many theories about human evolution. One widely accepted theory is theory of evolution by Darwin? Have humans evolved from the monkey? As per Bible God created Adam and Eve, through them all the humans were created? When was the first human being created? As per Bible the humans appeared only 6000 years ago? But some archaeological findings have shown that humans existed from more than few lakhs of years? For How long have been humans inhabiting the earth? Regards, Hrushikesh]
Swami replied:- Is there any trace of use by getting the answers for your questions? Somehow, humans appeared on earth. The present burning problem is how to escape this cycle of deeds and fruits in this world. Is it not foolish to concentrate on unnecessary issues, which are of no use to the present burning problem? Shankara told that it is a foolish work like mashing the already mashed material (Pishta peshanam) if one is discussing such issues. Such issues are discussed by people having no work at all and wishing to kill time somehow. If you are interested in such line, please go to the books of science. Of course, science is very pragmatic and seriously concentrates on helpful issues at least in Pravrutti. But, science bored with such useful research, takes up concentration on such useless issues also for a change.
2. How can You say that the story of Ganesha given in the Vinayaka Vratakalpam book is absurd?
[Shri Hrushikesh asked: Dear Swami, I request You to kindly answer the below questions asked by my cousin daughter and me. 1) Shri Bharath Raja asked:- Swami after reading one of Your discourses on Lord Ganesha Dated 09-Sep-2005. Discourse link:
https://www.universal-spirituality.org/discourses/ganesh-chaturthi--554--1234--ENG
You said in this discourse that “story of Ganesha which is in Vinayaka vratakalpam book itself is absurd because the story says that Lord Shiva cuts the head of Ganapati, who was prepared by Goddess Parvati. It is said that Lord Shiva was ignorant of Ganapati being the son of Parvati. How ignorant is this fabrication! I have a contradict to your point. Contradiction is followed by a story of Mushikasura”.
There is a story of demon called Mushikasura. He got the following boons from God.
1. That one who is born from a female without involvement of the male can only kill him.
2. The one who is dead and who rises from death can only kill him.
3. One with a elephant head and human body can only kill him.
When Mushikasura had to be killed, Lord had to be born as Lord Ganesha to fulfill the above conditions to kill the demon. So, how can You say that this story is absurd? Kindly help me understand the spiritual essence of the above story of Mushikasura and how this story can help me in spiritual progress?]
Swami replied:- The story of Mushikasura itself is absurd. The demon asked the boons from God, which exactly suited to the story of Ganesha. The person, who created the absurd story, created this story also in advance to suit the future story. Anyway, I do not have any objection to your created story of Mushikasura. My objection is only about God Shiva killing Ganesha without knowing that He is the son of His own wife, Goddess Paarvati. How can you impose such intensive ignorance on God Shiva, who is omniscient? By this story, you are trying to say that God Shiva is not omniscient. Of course, I have no objection in creating stories in Puranaas if such stories carry some good advice to the devotees. I am strongly opposing only one point here, which is that God Shiva, who is always omniscient, cannot become so much ignorant to kill His own son due to ignorance of the truth. If you want, you accept and I have no objection, but I cannot accept the ignorance of God Shiva or God Vishnu or God Brahma, who are the incarnations of God Datta. If anybody has little common sense, one can easily find out that the story of Mushikaasura is clearly a fabricated cooked story suiting the future story of Ganapati.
3. Swami kindly explain the meaning of the name "Kleenkari" from Lalitha Sahasranama stotram?
[A question by Kumari Aradhya through Shri Hrushikesh]
Swami replied:- It is a bijaaksharam, which means a letter that stands for certain entity. Just like E stands for energy, M stands for matter and C stands for the velocity of light, these Bijaaksharams represent certain items with brevity and no mystic power exists in such letters as claimed by some ignorant people. All mystic powers exist with God only and is not present in any item other than God.
4. What is the difference between serving Lord based on gratitude and serving God based on attraction to His Divine personality?
[Shri Hrushikesh asked:- What is the difference between serving Lord based on gratitude and serving God based on attraction to His Divine personality? Can You kindly elaborate the word Divine personality of God? What are those special characteristics that are so great about God that over power the human’s characteristics to love Him? At Your Divine Lotus feet, Hrushikesh]
Swami replied:- When you sacrifice something to a person after knowing that the person helped you in sorting out your problem, this is called sacrifice based on gratitude. In such gratitude, there is no true love because you are serving or sacrificing in return for the help done by the other person. If you serve and sacrifice to somebody based on your attraction towards the great personality of somebody without any aspiration in return, such service or sacrifice is true love. This concept can be understood very very clearly in the fan devotion in which the fan loves a cinema hero or a political leader based on the great personality of the hero or leader that was projected externally. The attraction of the fan towards the hero or leader cannot exist if the personality of the fan is equal to the personality of hero or leader. The fan developed true love of madness to the climax level because the fan is feeling that the personality of the hero or leader is far far higher than his/her (fan) personality. Otherwise, such true mad love will not be generated. The entire spiritual knowledge gives only the wonderful and almost unimaginable divine personality of God. The Gita says that on knowing the complete and correct knowledge of the divine personality of God, one devotee is maintaining open eyes with astonishment, another devotee is delivering endless speech on God with wonder, another devotee is hearing about God continuously with boundless surprise and some other devotee’s mind is getting blocked! (Āścaryavat paśyati…—Gita). In short, I cannot present the infinite glory of God to you.