Q & A from Hinduism

Questions And Answers

Swami Premanandaji Saraswati.

Q. I have tried several times to get out of this illusory world, but am getting deeper into it and ever new difficulties arise. Why it is so?

Ans. God’s plans are always for the good. His munificence flows fast. Get into the current and establish identity with His Will. That will save you from drowning. Pleasure and pain are the two sides of the coin of life. Do not be undone in sorrow and do not forget Him in happiness. Those who go against His Will, have to suffer. But unless you destroy the ego, it is difficult to understand His Will. So far as ego persists, He cannot reveal Himself. '

Q. I find it impossible to follow the path of Truth and sadhana in spite of my earnest desire. What is the way out?

Ans. You would not have raised this question, if it were not possible for you to do sadhana. Analyse your thoughts. Avoid duplicity and deceit. Be simple, be content, and have faith in God. Work without attachment and pray to God with a child’s heart. You are sure to succeed. In the path of God-realisation there are three obstacles—wealth, sex and name and fame. Avoid them.

Q. Many People believe—eat, drink and be merry, Comment.

Ans. On the other hand I believe that the aim of human life is to renounce desire, serve others, worship God, and consider everybody as equal. The contact of senses with their objects does appear to give happiness, but it is not real happiness as it does not last. It only gives a fleeting sense of pleasure.

Q. I am very sad; how to get rid of it?

Ans. It is a serious question, but you have not come out openly. The root of all sorrow in this world is attachment—mamata, expressed in a variety of ways. If a person to whom we are attached, does not listen to us, we are annoyed; or if another person opposes, we consider that man our enemy. Also, if we are attached to a person, place or event, and it is taken away or destroyed, we feel very sad. To get rid of such sorrows, one should try to understand the real nature of persons, places and events. And that is; everything in this world is subject to change and destruction, which is beyond our control. Our own body is constantly undergoing change, and we have no control over it. If this situation is well understood you will have less attachment with the body and concentrate more on performing your duty. It will strengthen renunciation and faith in God’s will. Whenever the presence of God is felt, there is no sorrow. There are two ways of feeling the presence of God; through one’s efforts, and through faith in God’s Mercy. The former path is hard to tread. Therefore, have faith in God and be happy in whatever condition. Pray to Him with your entire being. Very soon you will see Light, and wherever light, darkness is is dissolved and man rises above the duality of pleasure and pain.

Q. I do good to others and they return good with evil. Is this the way of the world?

Ans. To begin with, root out pride of doing good, rather thank God. He has enabled you to help, and never expect that they should be grateful to you. You should be humble to those whom you serve. Moreover, it may be only suspicion that people return good with evil, therefore banish this idea.

Nobody can harm you. The cause of your present troubles may be the result of your past actions. The present is the fruit of the past. Remember, you will not suffer without sufficient cause. Laws of Nature dictate that effect cannot precede the cause. Whatever misfortune is, this is the result of one’s actions. It is only to relieve you of past actions that God in His Mercy has devised the present chain of events. A spiritual person and devotee of God should only think that the person causing pain is only an agent, and therefore to be pitied, not hated. To be annoyed with him, to wish ill of him is not the right approach—Pray like Jesus Christ for his good. A person who returns good with evil is despicable, who returns evil with evil belongs to a low category, who returns good with good is of average category, and the one who returns evil with good deserves God-realisation.

Q. What are the impediments in God-realisation?

Ans. The biggest obstacle is ego which involves him in the worldly pains of opposites. View each person, place or event in an unattached way—that will lead to salvation. A devotee always tries to cleanse his consciousness by strengthening living faith in God. It is only non-attachment that can annihilate duality and hate, and manifest love for God. An intense urge for God, removes all impediments. I have no faith in artificial means. Fill your heart with love, worship of God will follow.

Q. How to improve the falling standards of society, of government, of the world?

Ans. The whole plan of the world is being worked out according to God’s will. We view certain events as favourable or unfavourable due to our own limited egoistic approach. We do not want to understand the real nature of things, nor do we meditate on this reality. Think deeply, the world does not belong to anybody. As to the shortcomings or the attainments of the society in which we live, that is also due to our own approach because each one of us constitutes a unit of that society. It is not material attainments, cars, skyscrapers, aero planes, wealth and weapons that count in society. A society is to be judged on the basis of noble actions of individuals. We are fond of talking of an ideal society but we do not care to become ideal individuals. If all of us behave well, the society will automatically take care of itself; the government will become better. Finding fault in others doesn’t help a society or a government. A disease can be uprooted only when we diagnose its cause. A religious person should be a man of character. A society or a government composed of such persons will only do good to the people, the country, and world. It is wrong to think that the progress of one country lies in the fall of another. We should not neglect any part or any person of this world. Our scriptures always speak of the good and welfare of the entire universe.

Q. Which is the greatest illusion of the world?

Ans. The greatest illusion is to believe in what I am not and not to believe in what I am. I am not this body and this body is not mine: to realise this reality is the way to get rid of the illusion. You are wearing a shirt and a watch but you are NOT the shirt or the watch. So also you say my hand, my feet, my body, and so on. The ‘I’ is different than all these. By change in appearances, the reality does not change. It is so obvious but we are unable to appreciate it. Our entire behaviour centres round the body. To realise the reality requires prolonged sadhana. Now the strange thing is that you have no control or authority over the body which you call your own. In the case of your shirt, your watch, you can give those to somebody, sell them, throw them, and destroy them. Please think, whether you have the same authority on your body? You do not want your head to ache, your body to grow old, or die. But you can’t stop it. Even the wealthiest man cannot put off death. The body therefore is not yours. But not only you call your body as your own; you regard other bodies and things as your own. There can be no greater illusion than this.

Q. How to realise God?

Ans. You can meet God if just you want to, but you should pine for Him. It does not require hard work; it requires Grace-A God who manifests Himself on account of devotee’s sadhana, hard work, may also disappear instantaneously. It may be mere mental perception. God is said to be Omnipresent Omniconscience, Omnipotent, Attributeless, Sat-Chidanand.

Q. If God cannot be realised through sadhana, then why waste time in sadhana? (Why not just wait for his Grace?)

Ans. Sadhana should concentrate on purification of heart. Its objective should be God-realisation. The Grace of God shall reveal itself according to the devotee’s conception. Since God is not a distant goal He is Omnipresent. Therefore He is not to be seen through making efforts. The more desires you have the more distant is He. The moment you are without desire and just pine for Him, He will be there in front of you and the entire world of desire shall run after you. With our back to the Sun we see the shadow cast before us, and the faster we run after it, equally fast it moves away. Face the Sun and the shadow shall tamely follow you. Turn your face towards God, that will lead to chitta-shuddhi. We have to do sadhana to realise what IS, by understanding the reality of what IS NOT.

Q. There is a lot of hullabaloo in the name of religion, why?

Ans. Wherever there are fights in the name of religion there is no religion, no dharma, there is adharma. Differences are created due to our short-sightedness and lack of understanding. Religion and politics are declared poles apart by selfish people. Secularism doesn’t mean being irreligious, but to have faith and respect for all religions. Being fanatic is not the same as being religious; it is a strange type of blind faith, an illusion. A handful of persons indulge in such behaviour due to their own selfish motives by dragging politics into religion. They couldn’t care less for the welfare of the society of the world, and then the honest and simple suffer the most. The greatest religion is universal brotherhood. By neglecting humanity you make demons of men who serve only themselves in the name of God. Every religion preaches service, love, renunciation and salvation. By being religious, a man’s life, his emotions and actions, are purified. That is the way to the progress of mankind. In the United States every coin and note carries the legend, ‘In God We Trust’. But do they practise it in daily life? I am not sure. The motto of our constitution is, ‘Satyameva Jayate’ or ‘Truth Triumphs’, but we and our Government do not believe in practising it.

Q. Is democracy good and appropriate for India?

Ans. I am not a politician, and your question has a political ring. In my opinion all rules and regulations are framed for the solution of certain problems. If these are followed firmly and faithfully then these should result in good of the community. The cornerstone of democracy is the principle that it is ‘of the people, for the people, by the people’. In practice, ‘of’ is substituted by ‘off’, ‘for’ by ‘far’ and ‘by’ by ‘buy’. The line therefore reads, ‘off the people, far the people, buy the people.’ The principle is right, but the practice is wrong. We had been under foreign domination for long; that has brought about a change in our religion, culture and way of life. Actually we were not really fit for freedom; it is due to the patriotism and sacrifice of some great souls that we got freedom. Power went to the head of some people and they went astray. We will have to make more sacrifices to make democracy real and establish Ramrajya. In my view democracy is better suited to this country than other forms of government. But whatever the form, it can only succeed when precept and practice are the same.

Q. I try my best to understand the nature of mind, intellect, consciousness and ego, I philosophically analyze the real nature of my body and the world on the strength of scriptures and the words of great saints. But neither physical attachment nor the futility of the world is really understood; how to get rid of this attachment?

Ans. Most revered Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj laid great emphasis on “Serve, Love, Give, Purify, Meditate, Realise.” The quintessences of his teachings are summed up in “Be Good, Do Good”. Most revered Swami Sharnanandaji Maharaj with whom I had long contacts and am greatly influenced by his teachings—also emphasised service, love and renunciation. In my view it is extremely necessary to serve the community, to perform our duty to them. Service and performance of duty are genuine only when done unattached. To expect returns from the family or the community is to get involved in the world. To be a sadhaka means not to give up action, or to become lazy, or not to perform one’s duties. To be a sadhaka means to serve, to get rid of attachment. The ties of attachment are never snapped with japa and worship alone, nor Asana. Pranayama can remove body-attachment. Service helps in purifying the heart, so does pure love. Affection, attachment, desire, or lust is not love. In love also—love everybody alike—all selfish motives have to be given up. Give unselfishly unto others with a feeling that whatever you have is not yours. It is given to you to serve others. Selfless Dhaan has a high place in our culture. It is improper to keep more than what you need; it is also called aparigraha. But Dhaan often breeds pride, therefore it should be practised anonymously. So if you practise service, love, charity, honesty, and leave the rest to God, you will automatically rise higher, and higher.

Q. We have always seen you laughing, never angry. Don’t you get angry?

Ans. I also get annoyed but it is being automatically controlled. Sometimes I deign fake anger; but when at times I am really angry, I punish myself later, Passion, whatever its form, is harmful. Iron discipline is required. Anger only betrays your ignorance. It smacks of your desire for your pound of flesh.

Q. Is it improper to pull up children when they commit mistakes so as to train them properly?

Ans. In my opinion anger never helps anybody; it only harms you and others. Anger causes tension, aggressiveness and other evils—which adversely affect the body and mind. Instead of getting angry, or punishing the children, divert their attention from something wrong to something right and more attractive. Anger is the sign of Dvesh, of duality, of attachment. It is by unselfish love, above attachment, that children are properly trained. By sacrificing your rights and upholding those of others you can conquer anger.

Q. It is said in Sri Ramcharitmanas that the only real thing is the worship of God, the world is a dream. What is its implication?

Ans. The world is in a state of continuous flux. A discriminating analysis shall reveal it is a long dream. We do not see dreams when in deep sleep or awake, these are seen in a state of half sleep. As far as worship (bhajan) is concerned, it manifests itself with satsang, to keep the consciousness of God alive, and awake in the midst of discharging your worldly duties in real worship. This should be practised regularly, morning, evening, by strengthening association with God and dissociation with the temporary self. Instead, we are all the time involved in asserting the ego, having no occasion to examine that there is anything beyond. We can only rise above the little self if we give prominence to satsang. The same idea is expressed by emphasising unattached action and surrendering the fruits thereof to God. Then we do not ‘do’ things as they happen. The feelings of ‘I’ and ego are eliminated, and the God’s presence is always felt. That is the reality, all the rest is unreal, a dream.

Some people oppose idol-worship, what do you say?

Ans. Worship is a means to an end. The body comprises five elements and in worshipping we have to take the help of one element or the other. Some people block other senses and concentrate on hearing sabd which is an attribute of akasa that is these sadhakas take the help of air-element. Others perform yajna with the help of another element—fire; and again some perform various rituals connected with water element. Similarly, some sadhakas take the help of idols of gods and goddesses where the earth-element dominates. It is not the idol that is worshipped but the symbol to God that is worshipped after—according to scriptural injunction. Life is infused (prana-pratishtha) in all the eight limbs of that representation. Therefore, the devotee worships the God Himself who removes his difficulties and lifts him up to a higher plane of God-realisation. If that does not happen then we only worship a piece of stone indeed. The symbol is treated like God Himself and serves as such. In modern times in the life of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa there is a chapter, Ram Lala. Please read it with devotion, it will set your doubts at rest. In the Age of Kali idol worship as explained here yields quicker spiritual results; but then the devotee should have the feel of it.

Q. You had once said that sadhana-bhajan should be done secretly. How will then a devotee achieve progress?

Ans. Sadhana-bhajan should be done secretly until all the shortcomings of a devotee are completely eliminated. I had read somewhere or heard from some great men that, worship should be kept as a guarded secret, as the love of a noble lady with the Czar. If a devotee proclaims his devotion having all the human faults, then that only strengthens his ego, his pride; and ego is the greatest stumbling block in sadhana. If the world comes to know of a person as a great devotee—and he has no real devotion within—that should create a lot of problems for him. Conversely, if a person is over-brimming with the love of God, and people know nothing about it, that is wonderful, Devotees should always examine two things: (a) Whether his shortcomings are being reduced; (b) If his fame is on the increase. Name and fame cause the downfall and if it does come, the sadhaka should try to save him with humility. The sweet poison of fame has brought about the downfall of even great sadhakas. One should always regard his sadhana as incomplete; that is how he progresses—quietly, secretly. It is only after the consciousness is purified that real wisdom dawns and Guru’s and God’s grace is felt.

Q. Some people speak ill of you and levy charges against you. Why don’t you talk it over with them? What is your attitude towards these people?

Ans. The entire world is full of evil and good. It helps me if some people discover bad qualities in me. But I shall be obliged if these gentlemen tell me about them as that would help me to look at myself. If what they think about me is incorrect, I shall have an opportunity to explain the position to them. By the time their charges reach me through a third party the original version is garbled and I am unable to get at the real opinion. Even then the criticism that reaches me serves as a soap to clean a dirty sheet, and it helps. Whenever wrong motives are imputed, I do feel sorry, which I should not, and try not to have bad feelings for such people. I am wide awake not to think ill of anybody and I daily pray to God and Gurudeva that I should never become a vehicle of thinking ill of any person, that I should not harbour a feeling of hate, prejudice, jealousy and tit-for-tat. If by abusing me some people try to tarnish the image of Gurudev or his institution then I am often unable to put up with it. Gurudev Shri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, even served those who abused him. I try to do my humble bit—as an infant tries to trot. Those who talk good of me are generous, others who talk ill are more generous—and I am grateful to them.

Q. How do you feel when people praise you?

Ans. I am a sanyasi sadhaka, not a siddha. A liberated soul would be above abuse and praise, my weakness is that sometimes I am delighted when people shower praise; this is poison to a sadhaka. I try my best not to hear my praise, to adopt an indifferent attitude, but I do not always succeed. Sometimes people flatter hoping I wouldn’t see through it—and that makes me laugh. They may do so to serve selfish ends but by the God’s grace I am seldom fooled. My constant effort is that my heart should brim over with the love of God. The river of life is the pilgrimage of Discipline, Truth is its water, Mercy constitutes its waves, and sobriety is its banks. I try to take dips in this river by annihilating ego; that is real life.

Q. What are the signs of a liberated soul?

Ans. Liberated souls are those who have drunk at the fount of Godhead. Those who are involved in minor miracles like anima, garima and so on are not siddhas. Those who have destroyed their self and realised the Universal Self, are great souls. They do not even accept or bother about bhakti and mukti. It is said in Narada Pancharatra; Siddhis, like salvation and Bhakti are always at the service of Mahadevi Hari Bhakti.

Q. The other day you had mentioned three ways of devotion; kindly repeat.

Ans. I do not now remember all that. The first thing is; there is God, have faith in Him. Then the following three beliefs must be strengthened; Tasya Vahiye—I am His Tavey Vahiye—I am Thine Twamey Vahiye—I am Thou

Q. Those sadhakas who adopt a posture of helplessness, do they not suffer from inferiority complex.

Ans. There is a difference between helplessness (deen) and insignificance (heen). A worldly man sacrifices his self-respect and begs of favours that generates inferiority complex. When a person is assured of his helplessness and surrenders himself to All Powerful, then he gains strength. All persons can do sadhana. If a person conducts his sadhana on wrong lines under the plea he cannot follow the right path, then he is not honest to himself. Most revered Sri Swami Shivanandaji Maharaj used to put it bluntly; A person who does nothing and who does everything will both reach the same goal. Rather, a person who does nothing attains siddhi earlier that the other one. A person who cannot do things rightly is capable. Both attain similar siddhis. But a person who treads the wrong path, only gets sorrow.

Q. Doing everything and doing nothing—how can both mean the same?

Ans. When a helpless man knows his incapability, he calls to God. God answers to his entreaties. But when a man thinks himself capable, he becomes unaware of his helplessness. That is the illusion. He becomes proud of his capabilities that brings about his downfall and he drifts farther and farther away from the Almighty God. But if he is convinced of his helplessness he gets everything. At the time, while Gajendra and Draupadi realised their utter helplessness, God rushed to their rescue.

Q. How man can rise above the world?

Ans. My experience so far is that it is very difficult to rise above the world. But in the light of the assurance given in Gita by the Lord Himself, it should not be considered impossible. Once a person surrenders to God, even the most difficult tasks become easy. Your questions have been answered by the Lord in the 14th verse in the seventh chapter of Gita.

Q. What is most precious in the world?

Ans. Time in my view is the most precious commodity because even a second lost cannot be reclaimed at any cost. Someone has said that a person who respects time can win over death.

Q. Some Hindus are against sleeping with the head towards North. Is it a blind faith?

Ans. I do not think so; there is a scientific explanation for this. While sleeping with head towards North, that is, in the direction of Pole Star, the person loses his vital powers and there is danger of his falling sick. If he persists, his life span is shortened.

Q. If that is so then why at the time of death his head is kept pointing to North?

Ans. It is done so that he is attracted toward Oordha Loka and goes to the higher plane
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Q. Once you talked about five muktis, what are those?

Ans. Salokya, Sarishti, Sameepya, Sarupya and Sayujya, respectively They are for achieving worldly powers like God, name and fame like God, status like God, image like God and oneness with God. A question was put about a quartet of Sri Ramacharitmanas and replied by Swamiji Maharaj purporting to point out that according to Sant Tulsidas, devotion to God is as easy and enjoyable as taking a morsel to the mouth and eating it. Food gives satisfaction and strength and removes hunger. So devotion to God gives contentment and confidence and removes attachment to the world. In the path of jnana, one has to renounce everything. In bhakti, a devotee can progress on the spiritual path without giving up attachment—but the attachment should be to God alone. Once you completely surrender to God, He looks after all your needs.

Q. What is the central point of a man’s approach to life?

Ans. Everybody wants his own good which on account of ignorance turns into his ill. The centre of man’s objectives should be good of others. A person who does not have good of others at heart and his conduct is not according to the precepts of Dharma, he does not deserve to be called a man. Only a man of good conduct will work for the good of others. It is said in Uttar Kand of Manas: parhit saris dharmanahim bhain.

Q. How dharma is turned into adharma?

Ans. It is only due to attachment and jealousy. On account of ignorance man is all along busy in strengthening his ego, and associates that ego with the body. But self, the soul, is different from the body. Becoming egoistic he is involved in the cycle of mine, thine, giving rise to attachment and jealousy, and he is unable to distinguish between dharma and adharma. (Another question involving the correct interpretation of a quartet from Sri Ramcharitmanas)

Q. A dream should be considered real or unreal?

Ans. Dreams do have an interpretation and persons, places and events appear to be real in dream-state. Once a gentleman presented me a beautiful watch,in my dream. On waking up, the watch wasn’t there. Now you tell me whether a dream is real or unreal.

Q. What is purity?

Ans. Purity is getting away from all that is extraneous to your real nature. And for a devotee which takes him away from God.

Q. What are the functions of consciousness?

Ans. Like fire: It illumines objects at a distance. BUT It destroys them on contact.

Q. How to stimulate higher reason?

Ans. If the out-going tendency of the intellect is curbed and the inward-going tendency is encouraged, the lower reason itself is transformed into the Higher Reason.

Source: http://www.dlshq.org/download/spotlights#_VPID_11