Swamiji, You talk only of Bhakti towards Krishna. Why?
It is possible for everyone to see God.
Even you can talk to him. Great saints like Sri Ramakrishna,
Meera Bai have experienced this. This experience between a Bhaktha
and God is very personal. But their songs (Krithis) and their sayings
are impersonal. With that it is possible for us to understand their proximity with God.
If you want to have darshan of God , your mind should be one-pointed.
If you think of one God , sing and hear his glories only , mingle with
HIS devotees and do service only to him, your mind would attain
one-pointedness effortlessly. This aids in getting the darshan of God easily.
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So , Swamiji, are you doing bhakthi in this way towards Lord Krishna ?
Yes... I am.
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Some philosophers assert that God is formless, while the bhaktas ascribe
a form to him. Who is right?
Both are right and both are true.
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But.... , only one thing can be true. How can both the things be true?
Well.., for instance, say there is a wooden toy lion in a house.
The child sees it as a lion. A carpenter, who sees the toy and sees
that as a object made from high quality teak wood.
The child marvels at the form and image of the toy . Likewise,
a bhakta revels in celebrating God as endowed with great attributes.
The carpenter saw the material and not the form. Likewise,
a Vedanti or a philosopher looks at the essence or the base, and not the form.
So, the difference lies only in the way one perceives depending on his taste.
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Is Salokya Mukthi (attaining permanent proximity to the Lord in his abode)
superior or Nirguna Brahma Shakshadkara (realization of formless aspect of God)
superior?
Both are equally good....I will not say, that one is better than the other.
Both are one and the same..... It purely depends on the taste and attitude
of the individual.
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Is being overly emotional an obstacle to Bhakthi ?
When we are on the right spiritual path, we are moved by deep devotion.
This is in fact, a sign of spiritual progress. But getting swayed away by
each and everything is different. Do not confuse this with that.
People who get swayed away by emotions easily cannot achieve anything great.
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People say that getting the darshan of Lord Krishna is very difficult. Is it so?
Since Sri Krishna is the form of Poorna Brahmam (the Complete and Supreme spirit),
if we have even traces of Maya, we cannot have the vision of Sri Krishna. So, only
those who are totally devoid of ignorance can have the vision of Sri Krishna.
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How do you say that mind is different from the soul ?
By partaking different kinds of food, we find that our mind
reacts sharply to what we take. When one dreams or faints, we find
that the mind, dislodges itself. So we see that the mind is subjected
to change. But our scriptures (Shruthi) say that soul is changeless.
So, mind and soul are different things.
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Swamiji, though you preach that constant chanting of Lord's
name is the only way for liberation at modern times,
you also give lectures about other paths like Athma Vichara,
Raja yoga and Meditation. Which path do you follow?
Though I preach about different paths, the path
I follow is that of Bhakti Marga i.e chanting of Lord's name.
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Since you stress a lot on the path of devotion (Bhakthi)....
What is the greatness of Bhakthi?
If a person says that he is unable to do Yogam (by pranayamam etc.)
or meditation , or self enquiry or Vedic Karma, there is some rationale
in what he says. But nobody can say that he is unable to do Bhakthi.
He can realize God easily , just by chanting one name of God incessantly.
This, is the greatness of Bhakthi.
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