07 Jun 2024
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,
1. What is the true meaning of Anagha? Creation or sinless?
[Smt. Chhanda asked: Paadanamaskaram Swami, please clarify the following doubts: Swami, somewhere I read that Anagha means creation. It represents the form of creation. And You say Anagha means sinless. Is there any contradiction between these two meanings? Please enlighten me.]
Swami replied:- There is no contradiction. The literal sense is that Anagha means sinless. She is sinless because she left justice for the sake of God and not for the sake of any selfish fascination. She, being the best half of God Datta, is the responsible force to create this world as Mahaa Maayaa in causal state and she also represents the creation in the effective state as Prakruti. Gold is the cause for pot and also represents the pot being the material cause.
2. Which one is greater? Participating in Swami's mission or personal service to Swami?
[Participating in Swami's mission is greater than personal service to Swami. Can I say this statement is always true? Can it not vary from time to time depending on the situation? Sometimes, I feel personal service is greater. What is Your comment on this?]
Swami replied:- Personal service to Swami is always the greatest. After all, the mission can be done in a fraction of a second by His omnipotent will. Moreover, the basis of Nivrutti is the true love to God and not the true love to the mission. You are participating in the mission due to your true love to God and not due to your true love to the mission. God Rama tested Hanuman in this concept. The war with Ravana has two angles:- i) Personal angle of Rama to get back Sita and ii) Public mission angle of killing the demon Ravana to save the society from his atrocities. On the first day, God Rama told Ravana “If you give back Sita, I will drop from the war and go back”.
This statement clearly means that God Rama is giving importance to Himself (personal service) rather than service to the divine mission for which God Rama incarnated. On hearing this statement, if Hanuman loved the mission, He should have announced that He would continue the war even if God Rama withdraws from the war to kill Ravana so that the public mission is completed. Hanuman did not announce like this and kept silent to follow whatever God Rama decides because His true love is on God Rama and not on His mission. Jnaana Yoga (knowing the details of God), Bhakti Yoga (getting inspiration on the personality of God) and Karma Yoga (doing sacrifice and service to God) are concentrating on God only and there is no mention of His mission. Does God need your help in His mission? He is making you to participate in His mission for His personal pleasure only. If you serve the mission very sincerely, what is its ultimate aim? Is it that the mission is completed successfully or is it that God is pleased very much by this? It is clear that your service to the mission is only to please Him and not to make the mission successful because the omnipotent God does not require your service even by a trace for the success of the mission. He is only giving an opportunity to you to serve His mission by which ultimately you can please Him. Therefore, the conclusion is that God is totally important and not His mission or anything else other than God. I am telling this very frankly because this is the ultimate truth (Satyaṃ Jñānam Anantaṃ Brahma - Veda).
3. What is the spiritual significance of the following statement by Swami Vivekananda?
[What is the spiritual significance of the following statement by Swami Vivekananda “Like me or hate me, both are in my favour. If you like me, I am in your heart; if you hate me, I am in your mind.”?]
Swami replied:- Liking a person promotes his merit. Disliking or hating (criticizing anybody for his defect) rectifies the defect. Liking to promote the merit is like giving a multivitamin tonic for improving strength. Disliking or criticism on our defects is like giving antibiotics to remove our infection. When antibiotics are given, simultaneously the B Complex tablets are also given by doctors to give strength by removing weakness. Destruction of defects must be followed by the construction of merits. You are destroying an old building only to construct a new building. Between these two items, no item needs to be rejected since both the items are to be welcomed.
4. You said Parashurama killed the innocent kings in a fit of anger. How can this happen in the case of a human incarnation?
[In a recent reply, You told that because of the fault of king Kaartaviiryaarjuna, Parashurama killed all the innocent kings and also it was in fit of anger. This is due to lack of Sattvam and presence of excess Rajas. Swami, in case of a human incarnation, how can this happen? There must be some purpose behind it. Please comment.]
Swami replied:- Even though Parashurama killed the innocent kings in fit of anger, those kings were only innocent in the issue of killing Jamadaagni. But, those kings were very cruel and demonic in other issues. A criminal may not be hanged in one specific case but in other cases, he has to be hanged. When the criminal is hanged, you may say that he should not be hanged in this specific case. Parashurama became angry in this specific case and killed the innocent kings. But this killing, though not justified in His personal case, is justified in other cases. God Vishnu decided to kill all the kings in the view of several other cases. Hence, the personal case of Parashurama and other cases of kings overlapped with each other and brought this confusion. Finally, the conclusion is that no injustice was done in the final concluding judgment.
You are denying the specific case, but you cannot deny the other cases. Hence, this overlap becomes meaningless. If you say that all the innocent kings were killed for the personal case of Parashurama, we say that all the cruel kings were killed for many other sinful cases. There is no ground for you to fight with us in this legal case. Whether God Vishnu is Sattvam or His human incarnation Parashurama is Rajas, the final result is justified and it is better that you close your argument. Even if you say that Parashurama is externally Rajas, He is internally Sattvam to know the final judgement given in other many cases of the kings. God Vishnu also is internally Sattvam to take this judgement and He is also externally Rajas to implement this judgement as Parashurama. Hence, there is no difference between God Vishnu and God Parashurama.
5. What is the path to retain God forever?
[I think the essence of whole sadhana of a devotee is not only to attain God but also to retain Him after attaining. I will request You to please explain, what is the path to retain God forever? Is this path different from the path of attainment? Can a soul ever retain God?]
Swami replied:- The path to attain and to retain God after attainment is only one, which is true love to God, which is neither prostitution devotion nor business devotion. True love expressed theoretically and simultaneously practically is the only path from the beginning to the end. If such true love is maintained without any infection (selfish desires, attraction to name and fame in the world, attraction to become God, negligence on God, ego and jealousy to the incarnation, etc.), God is not only attained but also eternally retained.
6. Swami, if somebody asks for money for renovation work of an old temple, should I contribute or not?
[At Your divine lotus feet always, Chhanda]
Swami replied:- You have to take the decision and if I give the decision, there will be every possibility for misunderstanding Me. I can provide the logic of the argument on this concept and you can fully participate in the discussion. Finally, whatever conclusion drawn is to be followed by everyone including yourself and Myself. The funds of the temple must be spent for two purposes:- i) The poorest beggars must be given food, cloth, shelter and medicine by constructing beggar homes. ii) The funds must be spent on the propagation of true spiritual knowledge so that devotion or at least fear for God is established in the society to avoid sins like corruption, etc. If these two purposes are satisfied by the funds of the temple, any extent of donation is recommended since it pleases God. This attitude is not only to be taken by temples, but also by government and rich people in society. Once the poorest (beggars) are served fully, then you can go ahead to serving the poorer and the poor sections. Without following this policy, if one is serving the poor only, such service is only for collection of votes from people to get to power so that earning by corruption can be done! Along with the poorest beggars, helping (saving from hunger death and disease) all soft natured animals must also be taken up avoiding their killing for non-vegetarian food.
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