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For Scholars Posted 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...
[Question by Shri Surya, Mumbai.] The concept behind the symbolic story must be understood. The earth represents humanity. The sea represents...
Pundarika was the worst person throughout his life and he became a devotee only later on. Prahlalada was a devotee from birth and is certainly...
Some people criticize that God is enjoying creation and entertaining Himself, while souls are troubled with problems. So they blame God with sadism. The entertainment of God is not sadism at all. Sadism is based on two points: One is that an action can be called sadism if it is exhibited in reality in the world and not in the imaginary world. For God, this world is imaginary and not real. However, sadism in the imaginary world may also show a mental attitude towards sadism. Even that point is ruled out because the second point on which sadism is based is that a sadist enjoys by torturing some innocent person without a justified reason. Here in the case of God, the problems of the soul...
A poor fellow was a disciple of Shri Akkalkot Maharaj. Shri Maharaj took that fellow to a forest and showed an abode of snakes. Shri Maharaj asked him to take two snakes and put them in to his bag. The disciple took two snakes with a lot of fear, put them in his bag and took them to his house. When he opened the bag, both the snakes were found to be two rods of gold. What is the message of this story? Shri Maharaj was the human incarnation of Lord Datta and was called as Samartha Sadguru, which means that He was the capable human form of the Lord appearing as the preacher. Hence, the message must be very capable. The message of Lord Datta in this story is that an excess of money...
For Scholars Posted 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...
[Dr. Nikhil said “My spiritual classmates did not become householders but I became a householder. All of them are lucky to have salvation.” Swami replied “Only you are going to get salvation because you became a householder. Nikhil was astonished and asked for clarification. Swami continued:]
The psychology of people is to get attracted towards things, which are far, and to get detached from things, which are very close. In fact, this is the general psychology of souls and even angels are not exceptions as said in the Veda “Paroksha Priya ivahi devah pratyaksha dvishah”, which means that even angels like any item, which is far, and dislike any item present...
For Scholars Posted 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 Scholars Posted 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...
The unimaginable God requires a medium for expression. When the medium is charged by God, the medium is treated as God directly and service to this medium is the direct service to God. When a wire is charged by electric current, touching the live wire means touching the current itself. But if you touch the picture of a live wire on paper, you are not touching the current. It is only an indirect representative model of the live wire. Service to the charged medium is called as sakshat upasanam, which is direct service. Service to the representative model is called as pratika upasanam, which is only indirect service. Indirect service is a total waste because neither are you experiencing God in the model, nor is God experiencing...
[Shri Phani raised a question “Between sacrifice of work (karma samnyasa) and sacrifice of the fruit of work (karma phala tyaga), which is greater?” Swami said “Tell me your opinion on this”. Phani replied “Certainly sacrifice of the fruit of work is greater than sacrifice of work because the fruit is the essence of work. Cutting the bond with the fruit is very difficult”. Following is Swami’s detailed discourse that followed.]
Certainly sacrifice of the fruit of work is greater than the sacrifice of work in the case of householders, who have the option for doing both. The reason is that the bond with the fruit is very strong. Generally, money or wealth is the fruit of work. Therefore, the Veda says that sacrifice of the money and wealth is the real essence of sacrifice and stands as the proof of real love...
[This morning, Swami composed this song spontaneously in Sanskrit and was singing it. He also explained the meaning of the song.]
Naasadhyamasti kimapi te Datta
Nacha karanamapi karunayaste Datta.
Oh Lord Datta! Nothing is impossible for Your infinite power
And there is no reason for the kindness that You show form me.
Papi shailamuddhartum shaktiraparacha
Ayogyashikharaa yapya karana karunacha
Mahyam dwyamida mavasara bhavyam bhavatihi.
Infinite power is needed to uplift me, the mountain of sins
And reasonless kindness to protect me, the most undeserving
I, in need of these two infinite divine qualities, praise You
In this creation people are running after money thinking that it can solve all problems. But if some incurable disease attacks a person, no amount of money can solve the problem. Therefore, Artha (money) is not a power that is applicable in every place. The next one is kama (sex), which only destroys the person both physically and mentally, and no problem can be solved by it because it is the source of several problems...
When the child cries for milk, the mother does not mistake the child for its desire for milk saying that love should be without desire. The same mother (if wise) will find fault with her grown up daughter asking for her ornaments because ornaments are not basic needs like milk. The wise mother will say that she will give the ornaments to the daughter only after her death. But the same mother will not say that she will give the milk in her breast to the child after her death because the dead body cannot give milk and moreover the child cannot wait for the milk for a long time. Similarly, God will not mistake a pure soul asking for the basic needs of life, especially when the soul is participating in the divine service. For a mother the cry of the child...
God acts as the Father as well as the Teacher (Guru) of any soul. Since God created the soul, He is the Father. But at the same time, He is the teacher who trains every soul to come up in the spiritual path. Generally in the world, the father is different from the teacher. But here, in the case of any soul the real Father and the real Teacher is only one, and that is God. Therefore, God is always kind as the Father and strict and harsh as the Teacher. But the harshness of the Teacher is only apparent and in reality the harshness is kindness alone. Hence, basically God is always kind. God only appears harsh as the Teacher and kind as the Father. Since, the Teacher is basically kind, even in his harsh attitude, God is always kind...
Satguru is the preacher of spiritual knowledge and is the human form of God. God is hidden in Him like electric current in a live wire. God is indicated by the word Hiranya (gold) which means the best and most precious. Hiranyagarbha is the name of Lord Brahma, who is the first spiritual preacher or the first Satguru. He is the energetic form charged by the hidden God, given (Datta) to angels. He is the first energetic human form of God given to the creation for correct spiritual guidance. Today all the false spiritual preachers also deserve the name of Hiranyagarbha. This word also means that gold is hidden in their stomachs. It means that they are simply swallowing money for preaching false spiritual knowledge...
For Scholars Posted 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...
[Shri C.B.K. Murthy asked Swami about the way to conquer the Ahamkara (ego) and Mamakara (attachment to the world). Swami replied as follows.]
The only way to conquer ego is to always keep your self in the Dwaita of Madhva. Always remember Hanuman as your guide and the ghost of ego will run away. Remember that Hanuman always says that He is the servant of Rama (a human form of God) even though He is made the Creator (God). Attachment to the world can never be broken without tasting the attachment to God. In such a case there is no need of any special effort to break the attachment...
[On the occasion of Yugadi or New Year according to the Indian Calendar] The devotion to Lord in the theoretical phase as well as the practical phase should be done by making God as the final goal. Only such devotion is real, and the real devotees are Hanuman and the Gopikas, who should be our guides in the spiritual effort. But very few human beings can attain this level and God says in the Gita that one in millions alone can attain such a state. In this real spiritual path, all items except God are only the means, whereas pleasing God is the final goal. But the majority of human beings is reverse to this real path. Most human beings make God as means to achieve their self-pleasure by crossing the difficulties...
For Scholars Posted 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 Scholars Posted 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...
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