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For ScholarsPosted on: 24/12/2008[In the below given discussion, Swami is Defendant, Misconceived Advaitin is the Petitioner and a keen follower of discussion is the Mediator. Shankara used to present the knowledge in this dialogue format.]
Petitioner: God is awareness because the Brahma Sutra (Eekkshateh…) says that God is not any inert item since the Veda says that God wished to create this Universe (Tadaikshataa…). If God is inert, He cannot wish at all.
Defendant: The Brahma Sutra certainly establishes that God is not inert. But, at the same time, the Sutra does not say that God is awareness...
For ScholarsPosted on: 14/11/2008[Crystal Clear Demarcation of three philosophies i.e., Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita] Shankara preached Advaita Philosophy to four disciples directly and those four disciples must have understood His philosophy to the best because they heard Shankara directly. Those four disciples must have become God (Brahman) and should not have served anybody as slaves because God will not serve anybody since He is served by all. But, the four disciples served Shankara like slaves. When Shankara asked Padmapada (one of the four disciples) to bring the washed and dried saffron clothes from the other bank, Padmapada obeyed the order of Shankara more than a slave and walked across the river without fearing death by drowning...
For ScholarsPosted on: 19/08/2008The five parts (Pancha Koshas) are to be analyzed carefully to understand that Awareness is neither the unimaginable God (Mayee) nor His unimaginable power (Maya). The straight reason is that the awareness is an imaginable item. The pure awareness can be easily understood in the state of meditation. When all the thoughts are dissolved, the awareness alone remains and this state is called as self-meditation. In this state, the self or the awareness alone remains. Shankara filtered all the five parts or sheaths (Koshas) and the final filtrate is this pure awareness or self of human beings. In this state, the awareness is aware of itself. The subject (Jnata) and object (Jneya) disappear...
For ScholarsPosted on: 04/08/2008There is only one God as per the Veda (Ekameva Advitiyam Brahma…) but the awareness is in multiple bits called as living beings. There is only one Ajay but the red shirts are several. If there is only one red shirt like one Ajay, the constant association is valid in both directions. It means, wherever there is Ajay, there is red shirt and wherever there is red shirt, Ajay exists there. Similarly, if there is only one bit of awareness like one God, we can draw the logic of saying wherever there is God, there is awareness and wherever there is awareness, there is God. In such case, we can say that God is awareness and awareness is God. But, in practical experience (Anubhava Pramana), the awareness is discontinuous...
For ScholarsPosted on: 03/08/2008Propagation of knowledge is the greatest task and hence, it is done by God only directly. To satisfy an intellectual is very difficult. To convince the greatest genius like Mandana Misra, it requires super-intelligence and so God alone can do it. No intellectual human being can convince another intellectual human being. Therefore, God Himself incarnated in human form as Shankara. To propagate devotion and service, such incarnation of God is not necessary. Developing devotion through praise and songs is easy work. Therefore, Adisesha, the most beloved servant to God, incarnated as Ramanuja. Propagation of service is still easier and hence, another devoted angel, Vayu incarnated as Madhva. Vayu is in constanant...
For ScholarsPosted on: 24/07/2007When the Veda says that God is not body (Akayam), how do you support the Human Incarnation of God?
[Reply to Shri Surya, Mumbai] God is not any medium or body (Akayamavranam… Veda) because God is unimaginable. The body or medium is a part of creation and hence, is imaginable. God is also not modified into the medium or body. God only enters the medium or body. The electric current is not the wire. The current is not modified into the wire. The current has entered the wire. As long as the current exists in the wire, the wire has to be treated as the current. There is no way to experience the current other than this. The wire attains the property of the electric current...
For ScholarsPosted on: 09/07/2007The individual soul (Jeeva) is a bundle of various qualities, which are different proportions of the three basic qualities called as Sattvam, Rajas and Tamas (Nanyam Gunebhyah—Gita). The material of these qualities is awareness or nervous energy called as Chit and this material is known as soul (Atman). The soul is beyond these qualities (Nirgunam) and the same is stated in the Gita (Gunebhyashcha param…). The individual soul always contains the basic material (soul) and hence can be called as Jeevatman [Jeeva + Atman], which is like calling water as waves. Awareness is a special work-form of inert energy and this inert energy is produced by the oxidation of food. The inert energy, on functioning...
For ScholarsPosted on: 15/06/2007[Shri Lakshman asked Swami to explain the reason for the twist given by Shankara in His philosophy because of which alone the differences in the interpretations of the scriptures arose.]
Background-Relevant Preaching: If you understand the background of Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva and also the different atmospheres of devotees that existed over a span of time, the differences in the philosophies can be realized and the unity in the entire program can be perfectly appreciated. Before the arrival of Shankara, the Purva Mimamsakas were very ambitious to get heavenly pleasures...
For ScholarsPosted on: 14/06/2007[This topic is for scientists, philosophers and intellectuals for whom a slow patient reading is recommended. Swami jokes that this topic is a hard topic for digestion and can be considered as a costly vegetarian dish for rich intellectuals. The other easy topics are like easily digestible cheap vegetarian dishes meant for the common man! Mr. Anil Antony asked Swami that a scientist says, “What is the difficulty in explaining the process of creation? The theory of evolution proposed by Darwin explains it very well”].
Limits of the Validity of Evolution: The main aspect in the theory of evolution proposed by Darwin is that any organ is developed to meet a need. Similarly, any organ is suppressed when the need disappears. In the case of a man the tail disappeared because its use was not there anymore due to the improved efficiency of the hands in say driving away flies. Therefore, evolution...
For ScholarsPosted on: 20/03/2007God is always unimaginable and unknowable for any human being and under any circumstances because He is beyond the dimensions of space and time. This is very much stressed in the Veda and the Gita. There is no second thought about this point and Shankara also said the same when He said that God could be understood only in deep sleep. In deep sleep (Sushupti) there is no entity that understands (Jnata) because the process of understanding (Jnanam) disappears. When the process of burning disappears, there is no fire. If you say that the process of knowing itself is the knower, then also the knower is absent because there is no process of knowing in deep sleep. The knower can no more be a knower if the knower loses the process...
For ScholarsPosted on: 05/03/2007Tomorrow Lakshman is leaving for Mumbai. Therefore I shall serve a food item, which is to his taste on this farewell day. I will serve the food item of his liking, which is prepared in a better way or in a proper way so that its original true taste is known to him and his liking for that food item will be reinforced. The food item that he likes is the philosophy of Shri Ramana Maharishi, who is considered to be the human incarnation of Lord Subrahmanya. Lord Subrahmanya is the son of Lord Shiva i.e. He is the incarnation of Shiva. Shri Ramana Maharishi was a follower of the philosophy of Shankara, who is also an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is the incarnation of Lord Datta (Shiva Datta) who is the source of all the three divine forms (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva). When Lord Datta...
For ScholarsPosted on: 04/03/2007Shankara stated that awareness is Brahman irrespective of its association with intelligence or good and bad qualities. This means that birds and animals without intelligence and even cruel wild beings are introduced into the spiritual field since Brahman or God [by Shankara’s definition] exists in all living beings. Of course there is no use of spiritual knowledge for animals. But Shankara included all living beings in the spiritual field because even among human beings, there are some without intelligence and some demons having cruel qualities. Lord Shiva is worshipped even by demons and is said to be the Lord of animals (Pashupati). Angels with great intelligence and good qualities also worship Lord Shiva. Therefore, Shankara embraced...
For ScholarsPosted on: 05/12/2006[Datta Jayanti, Shri Ajay asked: You have said that Maya is unimaginable and Prakruti is imaginable. But, you said that Prakruti should be understood as Maya and you quoted the same from the Gita (Mayamtu Prakrutim Viddhi…). How to correlate these two points because unimaginable is different from imaginable?]
Swami replied: You will understand this concept, when God helps a realized devotee and an ignorant devotee in difficulties. The difficulties giving misery are the best ground to understand this statement of Lord in the Gita. Therefore, love the problems and misery. Hate peace and happiness. But, this should be limited to yourself for the personal spiritual effort and should not be extended to society surrounding you. You are not supposed to disturb the society around you in any way in which case God will be furious...
For ScholarsPosted on: 12/11/2006The knowledge consists of three components (Triputi) 1) The goal; 2) The soul and 3) The path of the soul to please the goal. The knowledge of the world is not dealt separately because the knowledge of the soul itself is the knowledge of the world since the soul is a part of the world. When the devotees criticize the knowledge, they should specify the component of the knowledge. The devotee cannot criticize the goal because the goal is God. The knowledge of God generates the attraction (devotion) to God. This component is spoiled by Advaitins, who say that the soul in every human being is God...
For ScholarsPosted on: 11/11/2006The real Nivrutti (complete detachment from the entire world) comes only when you are attached to the creator existing in the human form in your generation. The attachment to the soul is not at all Nivrutti because the self is with in the world only. Thus the Advaitins are in Pravrutti only by the self-attainment and simultaneous detachment from the world. The other devotees of energetic forms on this earth are in the Nivrutti, no doubt, but cannot attain the highest fruit due to their jealousy and egoism resulting in the repulsion between common...
For ScholarsPosted on: 11/10/2006[Message on Dasara, Day-10] Today, Shiridi Sai Baba left His divine body due to a disease transferred on to Him from His devotee. Such disease is like the poison taken by a person, who commits suicide. Does this mean that Baba committed suicide? It was not the natural death. The death of Himself was executed by Himself. This point should be clarified to the people, who commit suicide in the world. The person committs suicide by the disturbance created by the illness that entered the body or by some other stress in the external world. This disturbance or stress is the fruit of his own sins and he himself is responsible for his own sins through his own samskaras. But, the illness in the body of Baba was not of that type. Sometimes a person may compare...
For ScholarsPosted on: 10/10/2006[Message on Dasara, Day-9] The three qualities are not distinguished in the spiritual path by God as long as the possessor of these three qualities does not disturb the balance of the society, which is the stage for the divine play of the God. Scriptures say that all the three qualities co-exist always and never a single quality can be isolated. For God, all the three qualities are one and the same, which are created by Him only. These three qualities bring variety in the divine play by combining with each other in different proportions causing multi-natured scenes. These are just like three basic colors, which are mixed in various proportions to develop various shades. All the spiritual preachers have predomination of Sattvam...
For ScholarsPosted on: 06/10/2006[Message on Dasara, Day-5] The soul is the weakest form of energy in this creation. The nervous system can be easily burnt by even little heat (fire). The awareness flows in such tender nerves and is therefore, weaker than even a little bit fire. Such weakest form of energy (soul) is imagining itself to be the strongest energy (Brahman; assuming that Brahman is understood as strongest energy), which controls even the sun as per the Veda. Fire, which can burn the nerves very easily, could not burn even a dry grass blade when God did not wish! In that case, I am unable to understand how can this weakest soul do anything without the grace of God! When the soul becomes absolute zero by this knowledge, it will completely surrender to God...
For ScholarsPosted on: 05/10/2006[Message on Dasara,Dasara, Day-4] The Advaitin says that by attaining self, which is just pure awareness, one attains infinite bliss. This is absurd since it contradicts the practical experience. In every living being, the soul (pure awareness) exists but every soul is not blissful. If you say that the impurity in the soul hinders the bliss, one can easily achieve the pure awareness at least temporarily during meditation by little practice...
For ScholarsPosted on: 29/09/2006Observer (O): I cannot understand these discussions. You can give me the final conclusions like this: God is unimaginable and comes down through a human form called human incarnation. The ordinary human soul is not God by itself. What is the use of all these hectic discussions? We shall search for the human incarnation whose sign is the divine knowledge and serve Him to our best to get His grace. This is the essence in nutshell which is sufficient for us.
Respondent (R): If these conclusions are accepted by all without any variation, there is no need of any debate. But several people are deriving conclusions in different ways. Some body says that God is formless like space. Some body says that He is the energetic form. Some body says that He is the ordinary individual soul. We say that the God is unimaginable...
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