Questions:Why does sorrow befalls even those who worship God?,.....& Many more...14

Radhe Krishna All, It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman; your caste, name and position are not taken into account. You might belong to any ashrama of life. Devotion is the only thing that is essential to worship me. It is impossible for a person to see me by the merit of sacrifice, austerity, charity or by the study of Vedas or by performing the scriptural rites, if he is devoid of devotion in me. --- Source: Thus Spake Sri.Rama- Sri.Ramakrishna Math ------------------------------------------------ How & when can we see the God ? How the chanting the name of God will help in this process of seeing the God ? Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: When Guru's grace descends upon one, he will see God. Chanting the Name of God continuously will invoke the grace of the Guru. ---------------------------------- Why is our mother considered as God? Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: Not only your mother; your father and Acharya are also considered God. Since you have come from her, she is your creator. So she is the visible God to you. -------------------------------------- How do we differentiate thoughts that emanate from the mind and those that rise from the heart? For example, if I wish to help a beggar, my mind stops me from helping him because he can earn on his own, while my heart goes all out to him. Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: Use your sense of discrimination ('viveka') to distinguish between the two. That will help us come to a conclusion without any bias. -------------------------------------- Krishna was born on Ashtami day and Rama on Navami day. Then why do we believe that Ashtami and Navami days are inauspicious? Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: Those that are applicable to normal men are not necessarily applicable to Gods. It is because of astrological and astronomical factors that these two days are deemed as inauspicious. According to our scriptures, the days are numbered according to the state of the moon. 'Prathamai' is the first day after a full moon day or a new moon day ('prathama' means 'one' in Sanskrit.). 'Dvithiyai' this the second day, 'Truthiyai' is the third day and so on. Thus, 'Ashtami' and 'Navami' are the eighth and the nineth days after the full/new moon day. The number '8' is associated with Saturn which is a planet with 'tamasic' qualities. The number '9' is associated with Mars which is associated with Mars, a ferocious planet. Hence these days are considered as inauspicious for men. Such numerological and astrological factors are limited by time place and person. Hence they are not applicable to Gods. ----------------------------------------- I want to have a Sadguru - but Who? When? Where? Who should I choose as my Sadguru? Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: The human life is said to be the greatest gift of God. In this life, getting the quest for God and the need for a Sadguru is indeed even more rare. When your quest is real, the Lord will automatically bless you with a Sadguru at the right moment. Until then, keep chanting the Mahamantra constantly, taking the Almighty as your Guru. You will soon be blessed with a guru. ------------------------------ If life is a series of experiences based on our karma, where is the doership for anybody? Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: That is true. It is ideal not to have the sense of doership at all. However we forget this very fact due to the veil of Maya and we tend to attach the sense of ownership to each and every act and each and every thing in our life, every moment of our life. That is the reason for all the sufferings. The true realization and experience of this fact will dawn only by the grace of God, which can be invoked easily through chanting the Mahamantra. ------------------------------- Chaitanya Mahaprabhu advocated the Mahamantra as "Hare Krishna…Hare Rama", while you are preaching the Mahamantra as "Hare Rama…Hare Krishna". What is the difference? Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: The Mahamantra "Hare Rama…" is found in the Kali Santarana Upanishad. Upanishads are held sacred and are regarded as the highest form of Jnana. The Shastras say that the Vedas and Upanishads can be learnt and chanted only by a specific sect of people, because of the rigorous tone and intonation involved. Mahaprabhu, a great mahan that he was, did want to liberate the masses from this ocean of Samsara through the Mahamantra, and at the same time not violate the Shastras. Hence he preached it as Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare When repeated continuously, this indeed reads the same way as stated by the Upanishads. There are other Saints and Mahans, like Swami Abhedananda of Tiruvananthapuram and innumerable saints of Brindavan who have, out of their sheer mercy and compassion given the Mahamantra as is from the Upanishads, as in this Kali Yuga where none of the rules laid out in the Shastras can be practically followed in spirit. Thus, irrespective of the way in which it is chanted, it gives the same benefit. ------------------------------- Our scriptures state that there are 14 lokas. Are these lokas real or just conceptual? If they are real, where are these Lokas situated? Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: These lokas are existent. When we look at the sky the stars,sun and the moon seem as small dots. Science also has it that there are innumerable stars that are not even visible to the naked eye. However, when we look through a telescope, we are able to see these far away objects more clearly, aren't we? In the same way, human mind, in its normal state will not be able to perceive the other lokas. When the sensitivity of the mind increases, it will start perceiving the artifacts that are not within its normal limits of perception. This is called 'divya drushti' in Sanskrit. The mind can be made more sensitive by proper spiritual practices. ---------------------------------- We built temples and consecrate idol/Murthy made of stone/metal there. Then, we pray before them and believe that they are responsible for creation, sustenance, dissolution of the universe. How can this be right?      Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji:               We generate electricity and pass the same through Copper cables manufactured by us. Why then, are we on guard, when we are near a live-wire? After all, the electricity and the wires were manufactured by us. Similarly the 'murthy' in the temple may have been sculpted from stones or metal by us. When we consecrate the deities by chanting mantras (Vedic/Agama Pradhishta), they are charged with divinity. Hence, we bow down to the divinity that has been awakened in those deities. ---------------------------------- Why does sorrow befalls even those who worship God? Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji: One person believes in God and another does not. Apart from that, there is no real difference between the two. Like the non believer, majority of the believers continue to lead their lives as before and do not even make an earnest attempt to reach God. Therefore, happiness and sorrow in the lives of such people are determined solely by their karma (effect of past deeds). God intervenes directly only in the lives of those who have captivated him with their sincere will to reach him. ----------------------------------                                               Up Coming Events                   March 21-27: Discourse on "Bhakta Charitram" at Narada Gana Sabha - organized by Narada Gana Sabha Trust, Chennai. Regards & Chant the Maha Mantra: Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Pl visit: http://www.namadwaar.org/home.php      __._,_.___ _._,___