QA in spirituality

Can philosophers help resolve the real problems that people have in their lives?

Moderators: AMod, iMod

Post Reply
dattaswami
Posts: 653
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:42 am

QA in spirituality

Post by dattaswami »

Smt. Priyanka asked: Padanamaskaram Swami, Among the gopikas, why did Lalitha always
support Radha's love to Krishna and chose to keep quiet about her love for Krishna? At Your divine
lotus feet, Priyanka

Swami replied:
The psychologies of devotees are not important because they are souls only. The mind of a soul is always working in unpredictable ways (Vicitrarupaah khalu chitta vruttayah). Perhaps Lalita found the love of Radha to be more pure and intensive than her love.

Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya K asked: Swami, please give me clarity on some points regarding a
discussion with my sister. 1. She says that we should maintain good relations with devotees and
discuss God's divine qualities among us regularly. I feel that although it starts as satsangam, it may
lead to a misunderstanding and disturb us because of our ego and jealousy. So, is it better to
concentrate only on God and maintain relations with one or two people who can help us in the spiritual
line?


Swami replied: Association with many devotees is not good because the quality may escape. You must associate with devotees of very high quality so that you will be always benfitted. If you want to benefit others, you shall associate with devotees of lesser quality also and help them to develop their devotion.

2. She says that we should motivate people around us again and again to follow You irrespective of
their feelings. I say that we should introduce Swami's knowledge only to those who ask us. God is
there to take care of all people. Please comment on this.


Swami replied: we shall try to help any theist. Association with atheists is only dangerous and hence, better to avoid it. If your logical faculty (intelligence) is very strong, you can even associate with atheists and try to change them in to theists. God always likes very much when you try to help other people existing in spiritual line.

3. She says that when we are with You, we should think of Your comfort. I feel that I should focus
on the knowledge given by You and You are the one who takes care of us. Please comment on this.


Swami replied: Both of you are correct in your own angles. Seeing the
comfort means doing service to Sadguru. Focus shall be put on the knowledge preached by Sadguru because it alone helps you in the spiritual
line.

4. Whenever I discuss knowledge with others, she says that I should consider their spiritual stage and
then talk since they might fear otherwise. I feel that God is the only source of knowledge and I am
only mike. How can I know the spiritual stage of another person? Pada namaskaram Swami


Swami replied: You can have broad distinction of the stages of spiritual
progress. Atheists are one type. Theists interested in the benefits of the worldly life with the help of God form the second type. The third type are
the real spiritual devotees, who are very much interested in God due to attraction towards His divine personality. According to these categories, you
can divert the line of your spiritual preaching to them.

Ms. Bhanu Samykya asked: Paadanamaskaaram Swami, Is it a sin to perform medical experiments
on animals? - At Your Divine Lotus Feet, Bhanu Samykya.


Swami replied: It is not a sin provided you don’t kill the animal.

Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya K asked: Questions asked by my sister and colleague. 1. Great saints like
Buddha, Ramanujacharya left their families for propagation of divine knowledge. Is it prarabdham of
family members? Did God take care of them (their families), what about their suffering. Why didn't
they start propagation from their family members?


Swami replied: Even in the case of ordinary families, which are not connected to spiritual line such separations are taking place due to their past deeds. If you can take the cases of families of spiritual people also, you can apply the same cycle of deeds and fruits. Whatever may be the purpose of the person leaving the family, the person leftover is enjoying the fruits of past bad deeds only. In such case, why should you worry about the spiritual reasons of the person, who left the family? In fact, if the person, who left the family is doing so for the sake of God, God will certainly help the family and all the credit goes to that person, who left the family for the sake of God.

2. You always say fan devotion is best, recently you said propagation of divine knowledge is best
rather than suicide. Please clarify.


Swami replied: You must take the fan devotion as the climax of divine love provided the matter of suicide is avoided since suicide is described as the
worst sin by God Himself in the divine constitution called Dharma Shastra. Propagation of divine knowledge is always the best because God likes it
very much. Even suicide is objected from this point of view only. Even an atheist shall not attempt for suicide because the atheist is also trying to
contribute to developments in worldly life.

3. Please explain following verse న ۰క ۨత (फతంऴతం) తߤ ऴతం వࣆफతద ऴపࠪށకం త޳ ړం
ࣃङ ޠ.... 177 వ ࣇऴతం, ࡆగ దరजనం.

Please explain the 177 Sutra or 16th Sutra in Kaivalya Paada.

Swami replied: If a person is very much emotional about a religion like Nagarjuna’s Shunya vaada (which says that world is non-existent) and does not see the world, does it mean that the world becomes really non-existent for all other people? If few people experience the world to be non-existent, it does not make all the other people to have the same experience.

The creation is originally non-existent, but, the creation became absolute real due to the God gifted absolute reality. Here, the original inherent
characteristic disappeared completely, and the acquired characteristic gifted by God becomes the experience of all the people having mental normalcy. This world becomes non-existent at any time if God wishes so, but, this point is irrelevant from the point of all the normal souls.

Shri Satthireddy asked: Paadanamaskararam Swamiji,

1. Many preachers say that their God is true God. Can we say that Lord Datta is only true God present in all the incarnations? Can we install idol
of Lord Datta in every temple, church and mosque? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in question
itself please forgive this beggar satthireddy

Swami replied: Your concept is correct theoretically but not practically possible. Moreover, the original God is unimaginable, who is present in every incarnation. God Datta also acquired the unimaginable power of unimaginable God and looks like any form that was imagined by any religion. How to fix the universal common form of God Datta.

Datta means only God given through a medium having unimaginable powers due to which the form of God Datta appears in any way as liked by the devotees of a religion. Therefore, this concept must be understood intellectually and no specific form of God Datta shall be selected by any religion. The incarnations of God Datta of all religions are visible, but the inner form of God Datta can’t be specified with any single form. You can take any form you like for God Datta and one of such forms taken by Hindu religion is having three heads and six hands. Hence, we can try to apply this concept to various sub-religions of Hinduism.

2. Since there is no difference between Unimaginable God, Energetic Incarnation or Human
Incarnation of God can we say that any soul can become God by the will of Human incarnation?


Swamiji if any mistakes are there in question itself please forgive this beggar
satthireddy


Swami replied: If I allow this question, tomorrow, you will say that you are alone God Datta and day after tomorrow, you may say that you are the unimaginable God and next day, day after tomorrow you will say that no incarnation is God except yourself! The unimaginable God and God Datta are exactly one and the sam except one difference that the former is without medium and the latter is with media. Any soul can become God if God Datta wishes so. No soul becomes God by it’s own will.

3. Swamiji, Bhiishma wanted to die in the hands of Lord Krishna, but it didn't happen. Although
Hiranyakashipu, putana, Shishupala had only bad intentions towards Lord Krishna, they died in His
hands and got salvation. How should we understand this? Does every soul which dies in the hands of
God gets salvation or atleast some reformation Swamiji? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in question
itself please forgive this beggar satthireddy


Swami replied: Bhiishma is a complicated soul even though he is a good person. The other demons were straight forward souls even though they are bad. Bhishma supported injustice for the sake of the oath taken by him with ignorance and ego. A straight forward villain is better than a curved hero.

4. Swamiji, what is the internal meaning of Ahalya turning into stone? how could she do penance for
such long years being a stone? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in question itself please forgive this
beggar satthireddy


Swami replied: Stone means not an inert item existing in the world. A teacher scolds the ignorant student ‘your head is inert like a rock’. This does not mean that the head is really inert like a stone. Ahalya was alive like a plant having respiration, but having no active brain like a human being. The soul was undergoing lot of agony. She committed the sin of doing illegal sex with Indra. She was not cheated by Indra even though Indra came in the form of her husband. She recognized him as Indra and met with him.

For this sin, her husband gave the curse. Now, here you may raise a doubt that the miraculous power of Rama is not exhibited since a real stone was not turned to Ahalya. If a person in coma is made normal just by the touch of the foot, is it not a miracle? There is no difference between a real stone and Ahalya because she was in coma state. This can be stated as a miracle in which a stone is converted in to an alive intellectual lady.

5. Swamiji, everybody advises us to be a Sthitaprajna. But in case of true devotees like Radha, we
see extreme emotions and lack of patience when it comes to love for God. She left her body when
She heard the demise of God Krishna. how to understand this Swamiji? Swamiji if any mistakes are
there in question itself please forgive this beggar satthireddy


Swami replied: She did not commit suicide. She died due to shock of the news of Krishna’s death. Sthitaprajna is balance of mind in worldly life. Emotion in spiritual life is far better than balance of mind in worldly life. Loss of money in educating the son or daughter is better than earning money through sinful deeds. Such loss is real benefit and such real benefit is the real loss if you find the future results of such deeds.

Ms. Bhanu Samykya asked: Padanamaskaram Swami, Is it correct to think that I should pass the
test of God? Should we concentrate only on learning knowledge without any thought about tests of
God? - At Your Divine Lotus Feet, Bhanu Samykya.


Swami replied: You should learn the knowledge without any such ideas that cause emotion and disturbance if the learning is real and if the knowledge is really digested, passing the tests of God Datta is very easy.

Shri Anil asked: Padanamaskaram Swami. Kindly please grace Your answers to the following
questions-at Your Lotus Feet-anil. 1. Why dream state is only made up of inter energy and matter?
Even in dream state, during the dream, we are seeing items which are made of matter like tiger, hill
etc. Kindly clarify this.


Swami replied: The dream state is made of energy and awareness. The hill in the dream is also made of inert energy and not the matter. If the hill in the dream is really made of matter, the dreamer will die! Tiger is an item of inert energy and awareness. Hill is only item inert energy.

2. Souls do not exist in deep sleep state. How for God, even deep sleep state is real, even though God
never goes into deep sleep state? Is God also experiences deep sleep?


Swami replied: The items of the world have become absolutely real due to the God-gifted absolute reality. The horn of a rabbit is unreal and hence, the unreality of that item is absolutely real, which means the horn of the object does not exist really. In the deep sleep, awareness is non-existent and hence the non-existence of awareness is absolutely real. God does not have even dream state, not to speak of deep sleep. He is always in awaken state and His awareness is unimaginable awareness due to absence of inert energy and materialized nervous system in the background.

3. Padanamaskaram Swami: You have given an excellent clarification on the question by Shri Ajay
on Dvaita and Advaita (Divine message date: 26/11/2022). I have a small doubt. I felt that the Advaita
philosopher is referring Dvaita as a state in which soul believe God existing separately out side of
him (which they treat as ignorance) and Advaita means soul itself is God. He is not referring the state
of God before and after creation. My observations may fully wrong. Kindly correct me.


Swami replied: When soul is God as per advaita philosophy, the soul is expected to be eternal. Whatever is the state of God before and after creation, the same state exists for the soul also because God is always the soul only. God or soul gifted His absolute reality to the creation to make it absolutely real as per advaita. Actually, this applies to God only and not to the soul because soul is a part of the creation only (Paraa Prakruti) as said in Gita.

Smt. Priyanka asked: Padanamaskaram Swami, A) Gopikas arrived at the conclusion that whatever
pleases God is punyam and whatever displeased God is paapam. Therefore, they must have known
that ending their life doesn't please God. Hence, did they jump into the fire only due to excess
emotion?


Swami replied: Yes. They have jumped due to excess of emotion. In fact, Krishna told them many a time that suicide is a very serious sin. But, their love to Krishna made them blind at that moment.

B) You said that gopikas made a choice to even accept hell for the sake of Lord Krishna. So, can we
say that gopikas knowingly accepted the punishment for the sin of committing suicide for ending
their lives?


Swami replied: In the situation of excess of emotion, the memory is lost. Their brains did not work at all.

C) Lord Krishna's 8 wives also jumped into the fire at the end. Is it a sin in their case as well? Was
Lord Krishna displeased?


Swami replied: Except Satyabhama, who went to forest for doing penance, all other wives jumped in to fire, which was the serious sin and accordingly they underwent the punishments. Punishment is only for the reformation of the soul so that non-repetition of the sin is prevented. Due to the excess of their emotion, they forgot that Krishna is God and left His gross body without a trace of any pain just like a person changing the dress.

D) A lot of Kshatriya women in India used to volunteer to sit on their husband's funeral pyre to protect
their honor, etc. Was it sinful for those wives to end their lives as well? At Your divine
lotus feet, Priyanka


Swami replied: Certainly, it is very serious sin because God has given this human life to proceed with spiritual efforts and propagation of His true spiritual knowledge in this world. Suicide is against the will of God.

Shri Satthireddy asked: Padanamaskaram Swamiji, 1. Swamiji, it is said that space is expanding.
Does it happen in horizontal or vertical direction? In Datta Veda Sutram, it is mentioned that space
is also bending. can You please explain this concept? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in the
question itself please teach to this beggar satthireddy

Swami replied: Space is bending along the boundary of an object and this is a scientific concept. Space is expanding only when a soul like an angel
tries to touch the boundary of the universe. Then, the universe or space expands so that the soul can never touch the boundary of the universe. If the boundary is touched, the unimaginable God is touched. Unimaginable God can’t be touched even by imagination. The universe is finite for God, which becomes infinite for the soul through expansion.

2. Swamiji, how understand the concept that the size of Unimaginable God remains unchanged
although space is expanding? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in the question itself please teach to
this beggar satthireddy


Swami replied: When you said that God is unimaginable, will He have any size? Size involves spatial dimensions and the unimaginable God is beyond space.

3. Unimaginable God exists in Human Incarnation or Sadguru but is invisible to us. The same
unimaginable God may exist every in the imaginable creation also and be invisible to us as always.
Hence, can we say that Unimaginable God exists every where in the creation? Swamiji if
any mistakes are there in the question itself please teach to this beggar satthireddy


Swami replied: Unimaginable God is beyond space or universe and this means that unimaginable God is not in the creation. He is around the creation (Sarvamaavrutya tishthati – Gita). Unimaginable God entered the ultimate divine space (Parama Vyoma) and merged with first energetic form to become Lord Datta and this is the permanent residential address of unimaginable God or Parabrahman. Lord Datta enters the universe and merges with a selected human form to become human incarnation to preach true spiritual knowledge to the humanity. Therefore, unimaginable God is not present in the universe except the contemporary human incarnation.

4.Swamiji, I am able to see some future incidents in my dreams by Your divine grace. but I am unable
to change it because i recollect the dream only after it happens in reality. why i am getting those
dreams Swamiji? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in the question itself please teach to this beggar
satthireddy


Swami replied: You don’t care much about these points. Sometimes, the ideas of previous births also come in the dream in the form of some incidents. If these incidents are becoming true in this physical world, it indicates God’s grace.

5. Swamiji, many converted Christians say that they have found true God in God Jesus only even
without giving a trail of reading their previous religious scriptures. What is the true meaning of
identification of Human Incarnation of God? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in the question itself
please teach to this beggar satthireddy


Swami replied: Jesus was also a human incarnation of God. God comes as incarnation in every human generation. Identifying the contemporary human incarnation is a wise thing of spiritual intellectuals.

6. Sage Bilhana was advised to love God Krishna in place of his girlfriend. he successfully replaced
God Krishna in place of his girlfriend and became a great devotee. But how can soul see God as
female when God is the supreme male? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in the question itself please
teach to this beggar satthireddy


Swami replied: Replacing the girlfriend by Krishna does not mean the homosexual affair. Love need not be always connected to sex only. Draupadi as sister of Krishna defeated all the wives and darlings of Krishna by her sacrifice in which all the sweet devotees got defeated. Love actually means service and sacrifice. You take the case of Radha. Even though she was married to Ayanaghosha, she remained chasty in the love of Krishna. She sacrificed her parents and relatives in this affair before the love to Krishna.

This sacrifice is the love and love does not mean her sexual affairs with Krishna. Sex is only one way of the expression of love whereas several
other ways of sacrifice also exist as expressions of love. When Krishna’s finger was cut and severely bleeding, His sister Draupadi tore her new sari
to use the torn piece of sari as bandage for the finger immediately. All the sweet darlings and wives, who were having sex with Krishna could not tore their saris just for small piece of cloth to be used for their darling Krishna! Sacrifice of Draupadi surpassed the love of all the sex-mates of Krishna. Love is a big tree with several branches and one branch is the way of sex.

7. Swamiji, did Lord Dattaatreya (who was born to Sage Atri and Anasuya) have a Sadguru for
Himself? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in the question itself please teach to this beggar
satthireddy


Swami replied: Is there a planet to cause shining for the sun?

8. Swamiji, you have kindly revealed us that the Unimaginable God exists beyond the border of this
Universe(creation). But there can be possibility of multiverse also. Does Unimaginable God still
exists also? Swamiji if any mistakes are there in the question itself please teach to this beggar
satthireddy


Swami replied: Beyond the boundary of Multiverse or multi-space only the unimaginable God exists.

Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya K asked: 1. Who are our relatives?

Swami replied: All your co-devotees helping your spiritual progress are your real relatives. They only accompany in future births as per the will of God to develop your spiritual progress. All others are only money lenders. You were a money lender to your parents and you are born to them to get the loan cleared. Your life partner and your issues are money lenders to you and came to clear your loan to them. After this birth, the loans are cleared and he will go as free bird to the next birth. Only your co-devotees accompany you and hence, only they are your real relatives.

2. How the co-devotees should be connected?

Swami replied: You should love them maximum and be united with them.

3. One type of devotees are in regular contact with You and are stable minded. Others do not have
such chance. How these two types can be connected?


Swami replied: Whoever devoted soul comes in to your contact, you shall have true friendship with such soul and no difference shall be shown based on contacts.

4. A devotee has a specific bond with God. Can another devotee interfere with it?

Swami replied: Where is the question of interference. All shall be united as a group helping each other in the spiritual progress neglecting the worldly matters.

5. When there is no chance to share knowledge, how such devotees can be connected?

Swami replied: When there is no sharing of knowledge, how such soul can be called as a devotee?

6. Some devotees are helping me a lot and I can be free with them. Is it wrong to give preference to them?


Swami replied: Any devotee helps you by the will of God only. You must give preference to God only.

7. When You share Your knowledge with me, shall I grasp for myself or shall I grasp for others also?

Swami replied: You should grasp in both ways. God is very much pleased if you help other devotees of low level.

1. Sometimes, I feel to be with You alone without the presence of this world. Then, I get lot of pain.
How shall I balance my mind?

Swami replied: Emotion and balance of mind do not travel in the same way side by side. All these are theoretical dances, which fail before the divine dance of practical devotion, which is like Lord Shiva.

Smt. Priyanka asked: Padanamaskaram Swami, In the bhajan 'Shri Datta Brahma Gayatri', there is
a verse - "sṛṣṭi kramavada puruṣasūktaṃ trisvarabaddhaṃ pāvanārtham।"

In the translation it said that sages recite with the three holy Vedic accents, the Vedic Purusha Suktam, which reveals the process of creation. Can You please explain what the three Vedic accents mean? At Your divine lotus feet, Priyanka

Swami replied: The Vedic accents are just musical modes to increase the
pleasantness in the recitation. Udatta is downward sound. Anudatta means upward sound. Svarita means the upwards long stretched sound.

Srivatsa Datta asked: While doing practical service to You, I feel that there are some defects in my
ideas. Is it proper Swami?


Swami replied: Jnana yoga is studying the true spiritual knowledge. This is the causal step. The effect or the product of this cause is either aspiration based-devotion, a Brass chain or aspiration free-devotion, a golden chain. Hence, basing on the material of the chain, we can decide whether the cause is true spiritual knowledge (Gold) or false spiritual knowledge (Brass). The former devotion means Brass since there is aspiration for some fruit in return from God. The latter devotion means Gold since there is no aspiration for any fruit in return from God. In the initial stage the earning or learning is weak and hence, Brass ornaments or former devotion is inevitable because every beginning is surrounded by defects like the ignited fire is covered by smoke in the early stage. As the earning or learning becomes stronger and stronger, Golden ornaments or the latter devotion results just like the ignited fire in advanced stage shines with bright flames without smoke.

Shri Ganesh asked: 1) Padanamskaram Swamiji, Why are Brahma Sūtrās known as Nyāya
Prasthāna? At your divine feet, Ganesh V


2) Padanamskaram Swamiji, Why are the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras important for
theists to prove the existence of God? Aren't genuine miracles enough? At your divine feet, Ganesh
V


Swami replied: 1) The various statements in the Upnishads appear to be contradicting each other. Through Brahma Sutras Sage Vyasa gave the logical analysis to remove these apparent contradictions and correlate them. Nyaya is another word for logic. Hence, Brahma Sutras are known as Nyaya Prasthana.

2) There should be some theoretical background with logical analysis as we find both theory and experiments in science, engineering and medicine etc. These three Prasthanas are the text books of theoretical side.
Iwannaplato
Posts: 6592
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:55 pm

Re: QA in spirituality

Post by Iwannaplato »

dattaswami wrote:
I have the courage to ......
I have the broad mind to...
Do you have the courage to consider that the way you are approaching people here is disrespectful?
To wonder if perhaps lecturing people and starting dozens of threads, often in subforums where they do not belong, might be rude and even counterproductive for your own goals?
Do you have a broad enough mind to consider that your own psychological needs might be determining how you approach people and even seem to not really care about their reactions and interests?
Do you have the courage to focus on discussing your ideas rather than vomiting them out, especially given that this is a discussion forum and not a blog?
How did you decide you had courage?
How did you decide you have a broad mind?
Have you decided that you have courage and a broad mind and will never reevaluate?
Can you take feedback and criticism into account and perhaps adjust or even more deeply change your approach to other people?
Is it possible that you think you are sharing good and lovely truths, but actually for you psychologically it is a way for you to feel special and even dominate others?
Could both be true?
What might be a better way to interact with people, one that would show them that you consider them at least potential equals not just receipients of your knowledge?
Post Reply