Monday, January 18, 2010

27. Order of today's Yoga

Order of today’s Yoga:

Yoga means simply attainment. But attainment of what is important? The Yoga shastra of Patanjali uses this word strictly in the attainment of Eswara (Lord). To render service (practical devotion) to the Lord, mental and physical health is needed. The early five stages (Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama and Pratyahara) concentrate on this attainment of physical and mental health.

Afterwards the other three stages (Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi) deal with the main subject of attainment of the Lord. The preachers are stopping with the early five steps only and limiting their efforts by turning their spiritual workshops in to gymnasiums, hospitals and recreation centers. By this you are preaching the art of peaceful and happy living on this earth. If you stop here, the main goal of Patanjali Yoga is totally lost.

A Boy who is admitted to the school is given fees and good food. He is expected to go to the school and study. But, he goes to the cinema theatre and uses the fees to purchase the ticket for cinema. This is the fate of Yoga today. The Yoga centre teaches all the steps to attain physical health by the first four steps and mental health by the fifth step. The person becomes fully healthy and attains mental peace by the control of thoughts (chittavrutti Nirodhah… Yoga Sutra).


The thought is controlled so that it is diverted from the world to use it in the direction of devotion (Vyavasayatmika… Gita). A horse is controlled by the owner so that it will not have freedom to go as it likes in the wrong directions. Therefore, controlling thoughts to divert the mind to the right path is Pratyahara. It is withdrawal of mind (Kurmonganiva….Gita) but not destruction of mind (Manolaya Yoga).

The preachers are talking about the dissolution of thoughts which is equal to killing the horse. By doing so the horse cannot be used in any direction. The purpose is lost. One medicine to cure the tooth pain was advertised like this: by using this medicine you will never get pain for any tooth because this medicine will remove all the teeth from your mouth! Similarly, if you kill the mind, the problems and all worries have ended once for all. By killing the horse, the problem in controlling it is solved forever!

Such a state in which the thoughts are dissolved and the mind is destroyed results in the state of a stone in human form. You will become the statue of the human being carved in a stone!

Activities at Yoga centres:

In Pravrutti today the dignified statement is that one is working in U.S.A. But, if you go and really see him there, he will be working as a labor! Similarly, in Nivrutti the dignified statement is that one is practicing Yoga. But if you go and really see him in the Yoga centre, he will be doing certain exercises to attain mental and physical health. He has no connection with spiritual field. Yoga is purely spiritual field. Mental and physical health is needed not only for spiritual field but also needed for materialism. It is a general basic requirement of the life of even an atheist.

Hanuman is the top most star in Yoga in all the steps. His physical and mental health is in climax. He did not open a workshop to guide the professional carrier of people on the earth. After attaining the best physical and mental health and after completing the studies of both Pravrutti and Nivrutti from Sun, He realized that meeting the then human incarnation was the real Yoga. He was waiting on the hill of Kishkindha to meet Lord Rama. All His mental and physical health was used completely in the service of Lord Rama. He did not use it in His professional carrier. We will be astonished to see that He dedicated all His vigor in the personal service of Rama to search and get back His wife. He did not use it in His personal service.

Just this is the difference between the present people in Yoga centre who use the results of the preliminary Yoga (Mental and Physical health) for their personal work and Hanuman who used the same results for the personal work of Rama. In this preliminary Yoga, you have to replace yourself and your family by God. Up to the work needed to maintain yourself and your family, which is needed to serve the mission of God there is no sin in using the strength of mental and physical health obtained by preliminary Yoga.

But to use it for unlimited ambition with selfishness is a sin. For such sinners, the only way to enter the spiritual field is to shell down the excess earned by sin in the mission of God on this earth (Karma Phala Tyaga). When a rich man approached Jesus, He suggested such total sacrifice of the sinful money as a pre-requisite to enter the spiritual field.

People want the Yoga up to first five stages only which is just helpful to their materialism. This much is desired even by an atheist. There is no difference between a devotee and an atheist up to this point. If we show the higher three steps related to God, the devotees become certainly interested.

At the lotus feet of Shri Dattaswami
-Durgaprasad

Friday, January 15, 2010

26. How your preaching is contradicting Shri Satya Sai, who is also a Sadguru?

[I am a devotee of Sadguru Shri Bhagavan Sri Satya Sai Baba. He always tells that every human being is God. But you say opposite to this. Then how to reconcile this contradiction because I am treating you also as Sadguru? You have condemned the idol worship. But, Shri Baba says that idol worship should not be condemned also. How [to interpret] this?]

I agree that Shri Baba told that every human being is Brahman. But, did you hear His discourse on 16th June, 2005 (Thursday) in Gemini Television around 6 A.M., His words are "Let the human beings behave like human beings. They are not Brahman and Brahman is also not in them. Brahman is only in one place". Similarly, regarding the idol worship He gave a discourse in T.V. some time back and His words are "Fools criticize idol worship. See this is a flower and this is My index finger. To see the flower My index finger is necessary. But once you saw the flower there is no need of the finger. Similarly, the idol indicates the God. But once you have seen God, idol is not necessary". This is the whole problem. People do not have patience to study completely what the Sadguru says. People censor a portion of the concept, which is convenient for them. When a single sentence is isolated it gives a different meaning. Once, an Indian minister has gone to a foreign country. The press media there wanted to present him badly in the newspapers. They asked him as soon as he got down from the aeroplane "do you want night clubs here"? The minister was astonished and asked them "Are there night clubs here"! Next day the press published the the news in bold letters that "As soon as the minister got down from the aeroplane his first enquiry was, are there night clubs here?” His sentence was ending with an exclamatory mark originally. But in newspapers the same statement ended with a question mark indicating his anxious enquiry. The whole concept is turned 1800 opposite! Therefore, you must study all the concepts patiently given by Sadguru, which are inter-related with each other like a polymer. The entire divine knowledge of Shankara which consists of various inter-linked concepts is like a co-polymer. The polymer consists of several monomers of the same type or of different types inter-linked with each other. If you want to understand Shankara you must read all His commentaries, all the prayers done by Him and all the incidents of His life. You should not simply study what He wrote only. But you should study what He practiced also. You may misunderstand what He wrote. But you will never misunderstand what He practiced. His practice is the correct interpretation of what He wrote. Apart from the commentary you should study the incident in which He swallowed the molten lead and asked His disciples to do the same. You must also study the verse in His prayer in which He stated, "the quantitative difference exists between the Lord and the soul like the difference between the ocean and its wave" (Refer prayer to Lord Jagannatha at Puri by Shankara). You should also understand the significance of the word ‘Kevala’ (only) in the prayer ‘Shivah Kevaloham’. This means that He alone is Shiva and not others. The Advaita scholars are forgetting the word ‘Kevala’ here. Then in His commentary He established that there is no difference between the human being and the Lord. Therefore, the commentary is referring to human incarnations like Himself, Lord Krishna etc., This should not be extended to all the human beings and this point is explained by Him in His prayers and that practical miracle. Therefore, a total observation is necessary to understand the total concept of Shankara.
In the initial stage He [Shankara] might have attracted Buddhists with the theory of monoism i.e., the Lord and human beings are one and the same. After this initial attraction the whole divine knowledge was preached thoroughly. Finally He established the concept of human incarnation and told to a few deserving disciples that He alone is the Lord Shiva. Some disciples who misunderstood extrapolated the concept to them and told ‘Aham Brahma Asmi’. He taught the truth to them through the miracle.
Similarly Sadguru Bhagavan Shri Satya Sai Baba also initially attracted all the people and preached the divine knowledge in depth. Finally He disclosed the truth. This is the tradition of Sadgurus. A doctor hides the injection at his back with one hand and shows chocolate to the boy with other hand. When the boy comes near and is immersed in eating the chocolate, the doctor gives the injection. Therefore, the psychology of teaching is same as you can see in both Shankara and Shri Baba. I am the doctor with the injection in both the hands keeping in front of Me. The boys will never approach Me and only adults will come to Me! I never condemned the idol worship. I only told that the idol worship is a worship of model or representative of God. It is meant for the lower cadre people as said "Pratimahalpa Buddhinaam" and ‘Natasya Pratima’. Since the statue is inert and the inert object is not independent, God who is always independent can never be identified with inert object. If statue is God, God is in your control as the statue. But that is essential for beginners. I cannot condemn the textbook of L.K.G [lower kinder garten] class. I have only advised that you should come to U.K.G. [upper kinder garten] class before this human birth ends. Shri Baba tells the same. The photo of any God is not even a direct photograph. It is only an imaginary picture. If you argue that the pictures of the artists are the results of the divine visions in which the Lord appeared, then there should be uniformity in the faces of atleast one particular God like Lord Krishna. But different artists draw different faces for the same Lord Krishna. When Lord Krishna was alive, all the people saw only one face. Therefore, if all the artists had the real divine vision of Lord Krishna, there must have been the same face in all their visions. But they have drawn different faces for the same Lord Krishna. This clearly proves that they did not have the real visions of Lord Krishna and their pictures are just imaginations. Thus the uniformity of even one form of God like Lord Krishna does not exist in these pictures! Then, not to speak of the uniformity of God in different forms like Lord Krishna, Shiva etc. Thus statues and photos spoil the uniformity of God in different forms. But if you catch the Sadguru, you will treat Him as the single God and you will see all forms of God in Him only. Therefore, the concept of human incarnation is higher divine knowledge and to this higher level one should reach before the end of this human birth.

25. Does the worship of Lord Shiva is inauspicious?

[I was told that worshipping Lord Shiva is inauspicious because He is related to the destruction. Is it true?] The very meaning of the word Shiva is that He is always auspicious. It is stated that Lord Shiva is the first Guru who gives divine knowledge (Jnanam Maheshwaraat). The divine knowledge is said to be very auspicious in the Gita (Nahi Jnanena Sadrusam). He is indicating destruction of the world or the death of a person. One should always remember that this world will be destroyed and is not eternal. By this you must know that death is inevitable for the body and for the body relationships. The old person must be aware of the death that is going to come shortly and must become spiritually alert. Even the young man must think about untimely accidental death and that there is no guarantee of the old age. Thus if one remembers the death constantly, he will be spiritually active. The human being is not turned to spirituality because he thinks that he will live forever. He should constantly remind his mind about the death and thus should become spiritually active. Generally people think that death is inauspicious. But it is the most auspicious Guru that gives knowledge about the temporary existence of the body and makes the human being alert in the spiritual effort. In Mahabharata it is told that one should constantly remember death as if it walks by our side catching hold of our hair. Lord Shiva also appears inauspicious externally. But internally He is the embodiment of the divine knowledge and most auspicious. Lord Shiva represents the quality of Tamas. Any quality turned towards God is always good. Tamas gives rigid firmness in the spiritual path. Prahlada was firm due to Tamas quality only. Kannappa, a hunter who is the embodiment of Tamas attained salvation by donating eyes to Lord Shiva. Even Sattvam when turned towards world is bad. Dhritarashtra was very polite and was a devotee of Lord Krishna. He possesses Sattvam quality. But he never followed the word of Lord Krishna. All his Sattvam quality was diverted towards the world and he was very greedy. The Lord punished him. In Nivritti one has to cross the justice also by using Tamas. Even the Lord crosses the rules of justice to protect His real devotee due to the Tamas quality only. Lord Shiva protected Markandeya in this way. Datta appears as a drunkard and fond of prostitute due to Tamas only. Datta preaches that in Nivritti the devotee shall not leave the Lord even if the Lord harms him. This is like the drunkard, not leaving the harmful wine and the harmful prostitute. At that stage to have such firm desire on the Lord, Tamas is required. Dharmaraja was the embodiment of Sattvam quality. But he was not having firm faith on Lord Krishna. Therefore, even if Lord Krishna forced him to tell a lie he refused. This is due to lack of firmness in the faith and the firmness is always due to Tamas. Thus the importance of Shiva is very much in the spiritual line. Moreover the same Brahman is called Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva based on the association with Sattvam, Rajas and Tamas respectively. The same Lord is in three shirts of different colours. The Lord is not having any colour. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are only the three energetic bodies of the same Lord, which are like three separate coloured shirts. If you scold Shiva, you have scolded Brahma and Vishnu. The Veda says the same (Brahmacha Narayanah, Shivascha Narayanah). The greatest sin is to differentiate Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and to differentiate their corresponding incarnations i.e., Madhva, Ramanuja and Shankara.

24. Scholars say that performing Yajna is important. Can You enlighten on this?

It is correct that Yajna is most important, which is elaborately discussed in first part of the Veda called Karma Kanda. But unfortuntately, the real meaning of Yajna is lost. Foolish people have misinterpreted this. The word Yajna comes from the root word ‘Yaj’ which means worship and to donate. Therefore Yajna means the process of worship with donation. There are three essential Yajnas.
1. Havir Yajna: Any item prepared by ghee should be donated as Tiffin.
2. Soma Yajna: Offering juice of soma, which is nothing but coffee or tea.
3. Paka Yajna: Offering full meals.
Every Yajna must be followed by the offer of guru dakshina without which, the yajna becomes useless (adakshina hato yajnah). The meaning of this is that by offering food, you have donated the primary facility to satisfy the hunger. By offering Dakshina, the other facilities are also donated. Here the context is the occasion to worship the Lord through discussion of divine knowledge and singing devotional songs. It is started in the morning and goes up to noon. Light food must be taken in the beginning so that one remains energetic. One should not fast completely because the body becomes weak and the mind cannot concentrate. At the same time, heavy food must not be taken in the beginning, which gives inactive drowsiness. The Gita says that both extremities should be avoided (natyasna tastu …). At the end the meals must be offered.
Who should be worshipped in the Yajna? God will be first choice, who is called as Brahma. A devotee is the next choice, who is called as Brahmana meaning that he who knows the divine knowledge of Brahma. The last choice is any fellow who is not an atheist and who can be representative of God. This last choice can be a person who simply recited the Vedas without knowing the meaning and who is called as Vipra only and not Brahmana. The human incarnation is directly the God. God pervades all over that human body. The second address of God is the heart of a devotee. Both these are direct worships. The last choice of worship is indirect worship about which also God is pleased. If the representative of the king is honoured, the king is pleased. But, the representative is neither God nor God is present in the representative. The most important point is that the formless God or inert statues cannot be worshipped in Yajna because Yajna is essentially donation of food to a living being. That is the reason why you don’t find any statue near Yajna. God in energetic body also cannot be worshipped because energetic body cannot eat the Tiffin, coffee and the meals. Foolish people, who only recite and do not understand the Veda, have brought the God in energetic body into the Yajna. They thought that Havis means directly ghee, which [actually] means only a food item prepared by ghee. When a doctor says ‘avoid oil’, does it mean avoiding direct drinking of oil? Nobody drinks oil. It means only food prepared by oil. Similarly, a human being with hunger is called as Agni or fire. The Gita calls the hunger as Vaishwanara fire. You have to offer the food to the hunger fire. Fools who do not know Shastras and even the Sanskrit language have misunderstood that fire means the physical fire and ghee means directly ghee. They started pouring ghee in the physical fire (bhowtikagni or loukikagni). Sages used to go to the place of a sage for such worship. Singing devotional songs is recitation of the Saama Veda. Spiritual discussions are the Upanishads, which come under Jnana kanda of the Veda. Yajna is offering food to devotees in such a divine seminar. This is the reason why I condemned the mere recitation of the Vedas without studying Sanskrit and Shastras. Ofcourse My salutations are to ancient scholars who recited the Vedas and protected the pure text without any insertions. But, those scholars studied meanings of the Vedas also. Now the Vedas are recorded in original form and there is no fear of any pollution in the future. Therefore mere recitation of the Vedas is now not necessary.

23. What is the significance of early morning in the worship of God?

Early morning is called Brahma Muhurtham, which means that it is the time to worship God. At that time, all the people are in deep sleep and nobody disturbs you. The atmosphere is sacred because the vibrations of mind involved in worldly matters are not emitted from the people since they are in deep sleep. Mind is also a form of energy. Mind disappears in deep sleep. The atmosphere is not polluted by the radiations of worldly feelings. At that time devotees awake and pray God. Their pure mental rays pervade all over the world and make the time sacred. Thus it becomes congenial and encouraging atmosphere. After sunrise people awake and the materialistic mental radiations are emitted through their physical senses. The atmosphere is polluted. People disturbs you dragging you to materialistic discussions. Even by seeing face, you will be affected. If you see a devotee, you become sacred. The mind and body are inter-related. Since mind is energy and energy is matter, even if you see the body, the mind in that body is emitted out affecting you. Therefore, avoid even the vision of materialistic people, not to say about their touch, conversation and co-living.
After sunrise when you worship God, close your eyes to avoid such people. But, their mental radiations spread all over the cosmos and are inevitable. It is better to walk in the early morning while singing devotional songs. Morning walk is good for health. Apart from this, the mind desires dynamic condition of the body. The body was in static condition all over the night. Mind is always for a change. Satisfy the mind and you should not unnecessarily control the mind when it is not necessary. You can pray God even without bath. The Veda, the Gita and the very first verse of Sandhyavandanam say that God can be worshipped irrespective of physical formalities. After sometime body is tired and the mind needs rest. By that time, sunrise is over. Now you sit at a place and worship God closing your eyes. Thus the time has its own invisible effect on the spiritual effort. Sattvam is prominent in the early morning. Rajas is prominent in the day time. Tamas is prominent in the night. Therefore early morning is the divine time called as Brahma Muhurtham.

22. Are you a saint, since there is cross belt as well as the Saffron clothe in your case?

You know I belong to the tradition of Lord Datta. In the forest of Badari Siddhas put the same question. He told that He belongs to ‘Tureeya Aashrama’ which is beyond all the four Aashramas. Tureeya means the final stage, where there are no rules.

21. Can you explain the ‘Pancha Yajnas’ in view of Sadhana?

The five Yajnas are:
Brahma Yajna: To serve the Lord in Human form who is called Brahma.
Deva Yajna: To serve the devotees of the Lord.
Pitru Yajna: To serve the parents and the family members.
Manushya Yajna: To serve the incapable beggars.
Bhoota Yajna: To serve harmless animals and birds.
The service is called Yajna or sacrifice, which consists of two parts:-
1. To cook the food and donate it and
2. To give Dakshina i.e., money.
The order of deservingness is given in the Veda in the above-mentioned way. The most deserving is Brahma or Sadguru who is the Lord that comes in human form to preach the right knowledge of the scriptures. The Veda describes this sacrifice to a large extent. Sacrifice in practice alone pleases the Lord as said in the Veda (Tyagenaike Amritatvam). Sacrifice or donation is the very meaning of the word Datta. Therefore Yajna is the most sacred, which is the real form of the Lord. The exact opposite enemy to the sacrifice is Moha (Blind love) which is divided into the following:-
1. Dareshana, which is the Moha on the wife and this relates to the gross body (Sthula Shariraa).
2. Putreshana, which is the Moha on the children and this relates to the mind i.e., subtle body (Sukshma Shariraa).
3. Dhaneshana, which is the Moha on money and wealth, which is the root of all the bonds and is the cause body (Karana Shariraa).
Vasishtha told that money is the root of this entire world (Dhanamula Midam Jagat). Unless these three bodies are destroyed, the eligibility to please the Lord is not attained. Sadhana is the constant spiritual effort, which is put up to destroy these three bodies. Unless you do not put up the related effort to achieve the goal, how can you achieve the goal through unrelated efforts? To eat meals, you should procure the materials and cook the food. You cannot eat the meals by singing songs or by collecting flowers. Similarly you cannot please the Lord by praising, meditation, worshipping the idols and statues, which represent Him as models, by going to temples etc. All these efforts are only trying to soap the Lord. Your exercises and gymnastic feats by word and feelings can never please the Lord. All these efforts become waste and will not touch the Lord. Even the logical discussions cannot please the Lord. The Veda says the same (Yato Vacho Nivartante Aprapya Manasasaha, Namethaya). Some are sacrifice money for the sake of the Lord by lighting the lamps and by pouring ghee in fire etc., Such sacrifice is not only a waste but also annoying the Lord due to two reasons.
4. You are burning the money in the inert fire due to your ignorance. The fire should be the hunger present in a living being as told in the above Pancha Yajnas.
5. You are doing this sacrifice with selfish desires for yourself or for your family. But you should not sacrifice anything to the undeserving which is a sin. Instead of doing this sin it is better you enjoy.
Zero is better than Minus. Ofcourse to donate to the deserving is the best which is Plus. Dharma Raja wanted to leave the kingdom to Kauravas who are undeserving. The Lord did not agree to this and encouraged the war. He asked Arjuna to conquer the kingdom and enjoy (Bhokshyase Maheen). Thus He brought them to Zero from Minus. But after conquering the kingdom He advised Dharma Raja to perform Aswametha Sacrifice in which the wealth was donated to the most deserving sages. Thus from Zero He brought them to Plus. Aswametha does not mean killing the horse. It means killing the senses, which are the horses as said in the Veda as well as in the Gita (Indriyani Hayanahuhu). By killing the senses, one gets detached from the self-enjoyment. The Veda says that your desire must be burnt and not the ghee and your ignorance is to be cut and not the animal in a sacrifice (Kama Aajyam, Manyuh Pasuh).

20. Can you explain Sri Chakra clearly?

Sri Chakra means the illusion of money existing in the heart of any human being. Sri means money. Chakra means the whirlpool. This Chakra is considered to be the root of this world. It is true because Vasistha told that money is the root of this world (Dhanamula Midam Jagat). The word Dhanam means money only as per the tradition in the world, which means goddess Lakshmi. You may interpret that word as wealth of knowledge, which is Goddess Saraswati. Health is wealth and health is the power. So you can interpret the word as Goddess Parvati. Therefore this word Dhanam means Shakthi or Prakriti which is also modified as the soul. Goddess Lalitha also means the soul because the word Lalita means the awareness, which is a weak power flowing through the tender nerves. Therefore Sri Chakra represents the Jeeva (Soul). One has to dedicate his wealth (Karma Phala Tyaga), his physical power in doing service (Karma Sanyasa) and his knowledge to the world through propagation (Jnana Prachara). Sri Chakra is of two types. In the first type it is called as Sristhi Chakra-the four triangles of Shiva have their bases turned downward. The Five Shakthi triangles have their bases turned upward. This means the Jnana (Shiva) is based on the material wealth (Shakthi). This is the formation of bond with the wealth. The wealth is controlling his knowledge. The four triangles indicate the four forms of awareness (Manas, Buddhi, Chittam, and Ahankara). The five triangles indicate the five elements in the second type, which is called Samhara Chakra. The two sets of triangles, are reversed which indicate that the wealth is in the control of knowledge. This represents Shiva destroying the world. This second Chakra indicates the destruction of the bond with the wealth. The three circles indicate the three qualities. The four Bhupuras represent Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. The eight petals and the sixteen petals in the first Chakra represent the eight forms of wealth and the sixteen radiations of mind. The same petals in the second Chakra represent the eight super powers and the sixteen incarnations of Datta. Sri Chakra is the most important aspect in the spiritual effort because sacrifice of your wealth for the sake of the Lord proves your real state of spiritual maturity. Your real colour comes out in that aspect only. Therefore the Veda says ‘Dhanena Tyage Naike’ i.e., only by sacrificing the wealth one can attain the grace of the Lord.

19. What is the inner meaning in eclipse and the bath after eclipse?

The Lord distributed the divine nectar in the human form as Mohini. The human incarnation can be male or female. The Sun and Moon are the planets with light, which indicates the knowledge. They gave a hint to the Lord that a demon was taking the divine nectar in disguise. This means that even deities become ignorant. Is there a necessity to give a hint to the Lord who knows everything? When the Lord is in the human form, even the deities think that the Lord does not know everything. This is their ignorance. Such ignorance of knowledge is the eclipse. Rahu and Ketu are called as the planets of Tamas or darkness, which represents the ignorance. Such ignorance is washed away by taking the head bath.

18. Can any one eat the food that is tasted by other?

The Veda says that one should not eat such tasted food (Yaducchistham). But Rama ate the fruits, which were tasted by Sabari. The animals and birds already taste the water and the fruits. The animals and birds are selfless and so such food is pure. Sabari also was selfless. All the human beings are selfish. The money i.e., enjoyed by somebody is also prohibited like the food. In the Vedic practice called ‘Vaiswadeva’ the person should not eat the food of some other person. But today the people who follow that practice take the food grains from another person and cook those grains and eat. This is the misinterpretation of Vaiswadeva, according to which you should not touch the wealth of anyone in this world. Their sins will be transferred to you along with their money. The remains of the food eaten by the Lord are the purest form of food.

17. How can you contradict the age old tradition by your knowledge in a short time?

[From a long time several people have set up this tradition. How can you contradict by your knowledge in such a short time?] Suppose there is a vacant room. Even if hundred people said since one hundred years that the room is filled with pots, it cannot be true. I may be one person and might have told you just ten minutes back that the room is vacant. Which is true? Therefore you analyze what I say and what they said. Then you can know the truth. You must see the room with your own eyes and decide who told the truth. The number of the people and duration of time cannot stand as an authority for truth. Thousand blind people may say that everything is darkness only, even though the Sun is shining. But that cannot be true. The Veda says the same (Andhenaiva). Blind followers lead by blind preachers will fall into the well, which is the hell.

16. Why the sacred water does not remove all sins and diseases of all people?

[Priests say that the sacred water (Teertham) removes all sins and diseases. But all the people are not relieved of their diseases. Why?] The Gita says ‘Nadatte Kasyachit Papam’ which means that the Lord will not take away the sins of any soul. The verse recited by the priests while serving Teertham, says that all the sins will be removed. This contradicts the verse of the Gita. The verse of the Gita is a stronger authority. Another verse says that one has to undergo the results of all his deeds whether good or bad (Avasya manu bhokthavyam). Therefore at the time of taking the sacred water a person might have completed the result of his sin, which is in the form of disease. Others may have to continue with the disease because the sin was not completed. Therefore the theory of the verse of the priests is wrong. We do not doubt the power of the Lord. But we say that the power of the Lord is not in the Theertham. The power of the Lord cannot fail in any case. Even in the cases of Sun and Fire, which are controlled by God, do not fail in their powers. Sun always removes darkness. Fire always removes cold. Ofcourse the incarnations of Lord Datta clearly show the transfer of sins of His devotees on Him and Lord Datta suffers the sins of His real deserving devotees. Therefore neither your worship nor the sacred water is powerful without the will of the Lord. The will of the Lord to undergo the punishment of your sins comes only when you are a real devotee by serving Him practically without aspiring any fruit in return. The Lord gave the judgement and He only gives the results of your deeds. He will not contradict His own judgement. The Dharma deva (Judge) is only His external dress. He is the internal person in all the forms of deities. Therefore He cannot contradict His own judgement in another form of deity. Once in a college a head of the department resigned His headship and the letter was sent to the principal. But the same head was also the principal. The head went to the principal’s office and rejected his own letter!! This incident actually happened in an Engineering College in which I was also serving as a professor. The Lord will not cut such a joke. The present tradition makes the Lord as such a joker.

15. Today some people are doing the rituals with the help of tape recorder. Is it right?

In one angle it is right, because a priest is just like a tape recorder, which utters the hymns without knowing their meaning and without preaching them to the people. Suppose you ask whether you can use a tape recorder in which the hymns are recorded along their meanings also, even then it is not correct in the real angle. The main aim of doing the rituals is not only to know the Vedic knowledge but also to do the sacrifice of the fruit of your work (money) to a deserving person. When you are using a tape recorder the real aim of ritual is not satisfied because the tape recorder cannot take the ‘Gurudakshina’. Whether you use a tape recorder or a priest you must know that burning substances like ghee or oil in the lamp, fume sticks, camphor etc., are not mentioned in the Vedas and are unnecessary. You must also know that the statues or photos worshipped in the rituals indicate the human form of the Lord to which only you have to perform all the sixteen modes of worship called ‘upacharas’, which involve the real sacrifice.

14. How tradition is inheriting the rituals, which are not in the Vedas?

Both sages (rishis) and demons (asuras) existed in humanity and even in the same caste called Brahmins. Ravana and Hiranyakasipu were Brahmins. Atri, Bharadwaja etc. (sages) were also Brahmins. The sages were directed by the knowledge of the Vedas and had sattvam. These sages are called as Devas on the earth (Bhoodeva). In the same caste, demons like Ravana were also present. Both Amrutam and Halahala poison were born from the same Milk Ocean. These demons are with rajas and tamas. By rajas they are very furious and greedy (rajaso lobhayevacha-the Gita) and by tamas they are ignorant. Since they simply recite the Vedas without enquiry of the meaning, there is no question of practice of Vedic knowledge [in their lives]. In every caste such sages and such demons exist. The Gita classified both these in Daiva–Asura sampat vibhaga yoga. The rituals, which are now present in the tradition and which are not mentioned in the Vedas were brought by the demons who were greedy, furious and ignorant. They do not know that such rituals are not connected to the Lord in any way and this is their ignorance. They waste all these materials just for their Gurudakshina due to their greediness. If you tell the true Vedic meaning they become furious. All these three qualities are due to their devil nature. But along with the dynasty of these demons, the dynasty of sages also co-exists. Lord Datta is revealing the true meaning of the Vedas for the dynasty of such sages. Remember that the sage Kasyapa had two wives. The first wife was Aditi, who gave birth to the sages (Devas) and the second wife was Diti, who gave birth to demons (Asuras). Whenever the Lord came and preached the truth, sages followed Him and the demons opposed Him. Kapalikas who were defeated in arguments killed Shankara by black magic. Swami Dayananda was also killed by the food poisoning since He revealed the true meaning of the Vedas. Similarly, Jesus was killed for revealing the real spiritual essence. Wherever there is Krishna, there will be Sisupala. The true knowledge and false ignorance co-exist like day and night.