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Shri Nikhil asked: This question is with reference to the discussion on the five systems of the human being in the discourse titled “The Knowledge of the Embodied One”, dated July 06, 2020. Since the basic components of creation are inert energy, awareness and matter, will it not be better to have a place for inert energy in the discussion of the five systems of the human being (pañca kośa)? Since prāṇa also means life-energy, vitality or power...
Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! This is very good suggestion to create place for inert energy among the five systems of the human being (pañca kośas). That way, all the three basic components of creation—energy, matter and awareness—find their place in the five systems. In fact, energy is most important...
Dr. Nikhil asked: Padanamaskarams Swamiji, I have been thinking about the term śārīraka in the context of Vedānta as described below. The essential question is: Does the term śārīraka in the context of Vedānta refer to the embodied God or the soul? Vedānta is the philosophy which is the climax or the essence of the Veda. The Prasthāna Traya are the three authoritative scriptures on Vedānta. These three scriptures are the Upaniṣads, the Vedānta Sūtras and the Bhagavad Gītā. Vedānta is also known by other names such as Uttara Mīmāṃsā and Śārīraka Mīmāṃsā. Similarly, the Vedānta Sūtras...
[Shri MRK Sai (hardware engineer, USA) asked: The Gītā says that all the items of this world are based on God just as the beads in a string of beads are strung together with the thread running through the centre of every bead. The Veda also says that God created this world and entered it. Scholars say that God entered this world as the awareness seen as souls. Hence, the soul is God or, at least, God is in the soul, like the thread in the string of beads.]
Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! You are saying that the soul or awareness is the God, who has entered this world after creating it. If this statement were correct, we should find awareness or the soul in all the items of the world. But awareness is confined only to animals or zoological living beings that are scattered here and there. Space exists in between two such living beings, but it does not contain awareness. If the soul or awareness were existing everywhere in the world like the thread in the string of beads...
Dr. Nikhil asked: Padanamaskarams Swamiji! In one of recent online satsangs among Your devotees, an interesting topic came up. It was related to the idea of the Veda being the manifestation of Śabda Brahman—God in the form of sound. The concept of Śabda Brahman is found in the Veda and the Gita (śabda-brahmaṇi niṣṇātaḥ paraṃ brahmādhigacchati—Maitra. Up.6.22; Śabda-brahmāti vartate—Gita VI.44). A concept similar to Śabda Brahman i.e. God in the form of sound (Word); is also seen in the Bible, where it is said “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.—John 1.1”. Given below are some of my thoughts on this topic. I request You to kindly correct me wherever I am wrong and enlighten me with a comprehensive correlation of this theory with Your philosophy...
Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! The Pūrva Mīmāṃsaka idea that sound produces some effects beyond what can be explained scientifically, is not at all valid. It does not matter even if the sound is the sound of the recitation of the Veda. Apart from the scientifically-explainable physical effects of sound, the sound of certain words may produce some effects in human beings, but such effects are based on the human beings...
[Advanced topic meant for intellectuals only] Dr. Nikhil asked: In Your answer to the question “Why did God create the universe through a very slow process of evolution?”, dated March 09, 2020, You have stated the following: “This picture also includes the fourth relative dimension, time, which gives the exact time in terms of distance, at which the accident took place.” Based on it, I would like to know how time can be defined in terms of distance (or space)? As per special relativity, space-time is one continuum and there is no concept of simultaneity. But it does not literally mean that time is defined in terms of space or length.
Swami replied: We hear older people in villages saying to youngsters “Why are you not rising from the bed? The time is now two full hands after sunrise” (Bāredu poddu ekkindi” in Telugu). What is the meaning of two full hands after sunrise? It means that the sun is at a height of two full hands from the point of sunrise (horizon), which is about 10 a.m. Here time is stated in terms of distance. After all, time on earth...
[This is a conversation between Shri J. Prasad, Professor of Sanskrit, Central University, Hyderabad, Dr. Nikhil and Swami. It contains advanced concepts meant for scholars only.]
Dr. J. Prasad: A scholar is debating for the past three months with other scholars on verse 16.8 from the Gita. The second line of the verse is “Aparaspara-sambhūtām, kimanyat kāma haitukam”. Every commentator has interpreted this verse to be referring to a cause-effect relationship. However, this scholar is arguing that no cause-effect relationship is necessary in a continuous process. He quotes the grammarian, Pāṇini who has used the word ‘aparaspara’ with reference to a continuing process. Could You please clarify if all commentrators have erred in assuming a cause-effect relationship for a continuous process?
Swami: Does the scholar think that all the commentators like Śaṅkara had not read Pāṇini and that he is the only one, who has read the grammar of Pāṇini? Pāṇini came first. Thereafter, the commentators like Śaṅkara came second and the present scholar is the third. The knowledge of the first was already present with the second. The third has only come after the second. Pāṇini used this word aparaspara with reference to a continuous process (Avicchinna kriyā sāntatyam). You cannot say that the concept...
This mahā satsaṅga is meant for intellectuals who are familiar with logic.
Dr. Nikhil asked: Once, in a discussion on the use of logic in spirituality, You used the word ‘deduction’ to refer to direct knowledge obtained through perception. You also used the word ‘induction’ to refer to indirect knowledge obtained through inference. But, as per western philosophy, the meanings of the two terms are somewhat different. Deduction involves going from general rules or laws to specific conclusions...
Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! Firstly, you must understand that perception exists even in inference. In fact, perception exists in all the six authorities (pramāṇas) of knowledge discussed in Indian philosophy. This includes even the authority called ‘non-recognition’ (anupalabdhi). For instance, the statement that no pot exists here, is based on the lack of perception of the pot. This shows that ‘non-recognition’ is based on perception...
Swami replied: When the God who pervades the awareness or the body of the Incarnation, is unimaginable, even the mechanism of His pervasion is unimaginable. We are only assuming a certain mechanism of pervasion as if God is a finite imaginable item. Such assumptions are made to explain deep philosophical concepts to people in a manner that is easy to understand. We are not actually sure whether God pervades the awareness (energy) or the body (matter) since we cannot directly perceive the unimaginable God. But, based on what we perceive, we are making inferences regarding the mechanism of pervasion, assuming the pervasion to be an imaginable process. When Krishna lifted the huge hill on His tender little finger, we infer that the unimaginable God...
Shri Anil asked: In the context of Śrī Rāmānuja’s Viśiṣṭādvaita philosophy, You have said that creation is the external body of Īśvara. But You have also rejected the idea that God is all-pervading. Could You kindly resolve the seeming contradiction?
Swami replied: If you are in your house, you do not pervade all over your house. Similarly, the soul, which is main seat of awareness, exists in the body. But it does not pervade all over the body. At any given time, the sun is at one place in the sky. Only its light pervades all over the sky and earth. The lamp is located at one place in the room and only its light pervades all over the room. The soul, which is the main seat of awareness, lies in the body. But some general awareness pervades all over the body. This concept was well-explained by Rāmānuja. All the above examples are imaginable. The unimaginable God need not pervade all over the world in a physical...
Shri Buchholz asked: Is it true that God wants this world to run peacefully? Every thing happens after God’s almighty will. Therefore, things are exactly as God wants them to be. Mokṣa is just liberation from the world of māyā—not from the will of God! In the Śāṇḍilya Upaniṣad (Chapter 3), it is said that Maheśvara, who is black and yellow, reigns with avidyā, mūla prakṛti or Māyā, who is red and black and who coexists with Him. So, Mahāmāyā is a higher form of Pārvatī! It solves māyā up.
Swami replied: The unimaginable God (Parabrahman) becomes the first energetic Incarnation, called Īśvara through mediation, which means, by merging with the first created energetic body. Mahāmāyā is the unimaginable power of the non-mediated Parabrahman. The same unimaginable power or mahāmāyā exists with Īśvara and is called as māyā. Parabrahman and Īśvara are one and the same, after all. Similarly, mahāmāyā and māyā are also one and the same. The difference is only in the possessor of the power in the sense that the non-mediated God, Parabrahman, is unimaginable and invisible...
Shri Phani asked: In Your response given to Smt. Rama Sundari, You have explained that monism between God and an ordinary soul is possible only in the highly limited sense of equal entertainment in happiness and misery. You have clearly stated that, in a strict sense, dualism alone exists between God and an ordinary soul. In that case, how can You correlate the philosophies of the three divine preachers?
Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! In the previous discourse, I gave the example of a highly limited monism between you and friend. This monism is only partial. It is actually negligible and is restricted only to the aspect of equally enjoying the different types of dishes in the meal. Just because you have attained this negligible monism with your friend in this one aspect, you must not forget the dualism that exists between the two of you in the aspects of purchasing the food materials and cooking the food. A movie is playing on the screen...
God-Preacher Shri Datta spoke: 65) Justice and good qualities related to worldly life or pravrutti have been encouraged granting rewards like miraculous powers (vibhūti). These rewards help in maintaining good qualities among people in the world. Samadhi is the final step of the spiritual journey in which the devotee attains a state of firm decision in his devotion. A dualistic devotee is always aware of the form of God in which God exists separate from him. When he attains firm devotion to that form of God, he is said to have attained Samprajnaata Samadhi. The devotee into whom God has merged is in a state of monism with God. As a result, he does not perceive God as separate from himself. He attains Asamprajnaata Samadhi. Both the dualistic devotee and the monistic devotee are indeed Human Incarnations of God. Balarama was a dualistic devotee of God Vishnu, who was actually separate from God. Yet, he is counted as one of the ten important Incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Krishna was an example of monism with God since Lord Vishnu...
God-Preacher Shri Datta spoke: 49) Chaarvaaka said that the living body with awareness itself is the soul. There is no problem with this point because, after all, the soul is only a special work-form of inert energy associated with the material body. Since matter is also another form of energy, all the three phases, matter, energy and awareness, can be considered to be just one item, called creation. None of them is the Creator. Only the schools which treat the soul to be God have a problem with this claim of Chaarvaaka since they treat the soul, which is a created item, as God. The reality is that the unimaginable God alone is the Creator while the imaginable soul is a tiny part of creation. Actually, the soul is a form of energy and is slightly different from the body, which is made of matter. However, this slight difference is not a big problem because matter and energy are only slightly different...
Shri Phani: How do you correlate the vivarta vaada of Shankara with the parinaama vaada of Ramanuja?
Swami: Vivarta means an apparent modification whereas parinaama means an actual modification. Water appearing as a wave is an example of vivarta. Milk getting modified to curd is example of parinaama. In fact, scholars call only parinaama as a modification. In the case of vivarta, the word ‘modification’ cannot actually be used. Standstill water itself appears as a wave when some kinetic energy is imparted to it. There is no actual modification in the water at all! But we can still use the word modification in sense of the different appearance which is the result of the association of the water with kinetic energy. We can define modification in terms of a change of qualities. In the case of water and the wave, the water remains the same, chemically. There is no change in its qualities as in the case of milk turning to curd. But even in the case of milk turning to curd, the change in qualities can be attributed to the association of the unseen bacteria...
Shri Phani asked: Could You kindly give some more clarity on ‘Parama vyoma’?
Swami replied: The unimaginable God is beyond space. Space has three dimensions called length, breadth, and height. Time also is an associated coordinate of space since, without space, time cannot exist. When we take the state of unimaginable God, He is beyond space and time, due to which He is unimaginable. Since He is beyond time, you should not ask Me about the time in which He existed alone without creation. His state, which is beyond the four-dimensional space-time, exists even now and it will exist even in the future. His state continues forever even after the creation of this world and even though He enters the world in the form of Incarnations...
Shri Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami, A person in quora forum asked the following doubt. What is time? Can God exist outside of time? Is it possible for anything to happen without time? at Your Lotus feet, Anil
Swami Replied: Shankara proposed that God is beyond space and time. According to Him space and time are conventional and they are myths (Mithya) with respect to God. Based on this, scholars say that an event (paristhiti) is defined by space (Desha) and time (Kaala) (Desha kaala paristhitih). The same concept is proposed by Einstein, who says that any event in creation can be defined with the four-dimensional model of space-time...
Dr. Nikhil asked: “The term ‘subtle cosmic energy’ has been mentioned several times by You. You have also mentioned another term ‘inert energy’. In what way is the subtle cosmic energy different from inert energy? It would be greatly helpful if the adjectives ‘subtle’, ‘cosmic’ and ‘inert’ are clearly defined. As per physics, there is only ‘energy’; there is nothing such as subtle or gross energy. If the adjective 'inert' is used to indicate that it is not aware, then as per physics, it is unnecessary. Physicists never assume energy to be aware...
Swami Replied: The process of panchiikaranam mentioned in the ancient Indian texts on logic is not accepted by science. Energy when condensed, becomes matter. Matter consists of subatomic particles, which in turn form atoms and molecules. These materialized particles (atoms or molecules) on becoming close appear as gas (air). The same particles upon coming closer appear as liquid (water) and on becoming even closer, appear as solid (earth). Energy with frequencies in the lower visible...
Shri G Lakshman (Mumbai) asked:- You told that God is unimaginable and omnipotent having the power beyond logic. At the same time You say that God does everything with logic for the safety of humanity, which has to proceed based on logical analysis. How do You reconcile both these with more clarified explanation?
Swami replied:- Whenever there is necessity to use the power beyond logic, using that unimaginable power in such appropriate place is also doing an action based on logical analysis. A cruel lion is coming to kill an innocent good baby. You and I will go back to attack the lion because we don’t have the omnipotence to fight...
Kaalaakaasha yugaa datiita parama Brahma hyanuuhyam sthitam,
Yasmaaduuhyamidam babhuuva nabha ityaadikramenaakhilam,
Nohyaaduuhya matiita tarka iti yasyaasti sphuto nishchayo,
Praachyovaastu sa pashchimostu samavit seyam maniishaa mama.
(The unimaginable God is beyond space and time and He remains unimaginable due to this reason only. From the unimaginable God, imaginable space etc., were generated, which form this entire imaginable world. In the worldly logic...
15) Upaadherbhaktimuulyam gananiiyam na tu bhaktaavataarasthitivashyam.
Opponent:- You told that Hanuman and Radha were devotees and never got insulted whereas Parashurama, the human incarnation was insulted since He showed His anger in wrong direction on pious Rama...
Theorist:- Hanuman and Radha were human incarnations, but, always acted as devotees only and never behaved like human incarnations. You have to take their roles only. Parashurama acted...
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