“Let’s analyze this topic completely.”

Let’s analyze this topic completely. Let’s look deep into the roots of rituals - why rituals are created? Why rituals? In ancient time, meditation techniques which are used by Masters to feel the Divine Connection within themself, in course of time, when the meaning is lost, if the idea or concept behind, if the philosophy behind the ritual, if it is not transmitted to the next generation, if only the action is transmitted, not the philosophy is transmitted, then those meditation techniques become rituals. Understand, when the philosophy behind the ritual is not transmitted, only the action – the physical action is transmitted, then meditation techniques become ritual. When you do it with an understanding of the philosophy behind and full of heart, any ritual can become meditation technique. When you do without understanding and without your consciousness, awareness, even meditation technique will become one more ritual. There is no difference between meditation technique and ritual, except your interest in it. That’s all. With your interest, any ritual can become meditation technique. It can put you, it can directly connect you with the Cosmic Energy. It can put you online or in tune with the ultimate energy.

There are so many different kinds of rites and rituals. I think our religion has got at least few millions of rituals, please understand, not few thousands or not few lakhs, few millions of rituals. So many thousands of mudras, so many thousands of types of homa, so many thousands of types of the pujas; millions of rituals. I was telling you the other day, how we worship all the five elements. The whole Existence is made of this five elements. We can relate with the Existence, we can relate to the Cosmic Energy through all this five elements.

When you try to relate to the Cosmic Energy through a stone or a metal idol – it is called puja.

When you try to relate the same Cosmic Energy through the river, through a pond, through a water body, it is called tirtha snan. When you try to do some ritual standing in water or sitting in water and meditating, repeating some mantra, offering some puja to the water - it is called tirtha puja or tirtha snan.

When you try to fall in tune with the Cosmic Energy through fire – it is called homa.

When you try to fall in tune with the Cosmic Energy through air – it is called repetition of mantra. Through repetition of mantra or japa you can fall in tune with the air energy; through chanting the mantra.

When you try to, you can fall in tune with the Cosmic Energy through ether using visualization. That’s what we call mediation. Through meditation we can fall in tune with the ether.

We fall in tune or we connect our self to the Cosmic Energy through all this five methods.

Mainly, we can classify our rituals as rituals done for human beings. When you take birth, when you are given a new name, when you marry, when you are given food first time – they call it anna prasna or when you are given the food, the rituals done for human beings when you die; these are one set of rituals. There is another one set of rituals, done for the Gods, to invoke their Presence in temple and invoking their Presence at the time of puja. There are so many things. Puja is nothing but you receiving a guest with all the respect. Actually what priests do in the temple is nothing but you receiving a guest with all the respect. When a guest comes to your house, very elderly, who is supposed to be respected, we receive a person, give him a chair and give water to wash his feet or wash his hands, you are asking, ‘do you want to use the bathroom’.

Giving him chair is only asanam samarpayami. Please receive the seat.

You ask him, “do you want to use the bathroom, you want towel?” – That’s what they say paadyam samarpayami.

They offer the water to wash the feet. And then, of course, when a person comes you offer the flowers, you offer little flowers as a respect. They give arghyam samarpayami - flowers are offered.

Then naturally arrange for his bath and comfortable stay. That’s what we say snanam samarpayami.

Then naturally you ask him to eat. Food is served – naivedyam samarpayami.

Then you give betel leaf and betel nut – tamboolam samarpayami.

Then the end, the end of the day you put him to rest.

The same thing; that’s why we say, the puja in our system is called seva. It has got one more word – serving the lord, serving the deity. We need to understand this concept of serving. Of course, for a logical person, it is very difficult to understand that energy can be alive in one stone and continuously day in and day out you can serve that energy. All these things are very difficult to understand but I have seen people really feeling, not only feeling, expressing that feeling in the physical world, in physical form. Ramakrishna, when he used to do puja, he says, “Sometimes I used to think whether really Devi is accepting my puja or I am just wasting my time. I used to suspect whether she is really alive here or I am just sitting and wasting my time.” He says, “I used to take a thread out of my cloth and keep near her nose to see whether she is breathing or not, whether she is breathing or not”!! And of course Ramakrishna achieved the peak, achieved the ultimate experience just through rituals.

Let me tell you this one incident. If at all you get a chance you must go to Calcutta and see the Kali temple in which he was doing puja. And don’t miss, of course, you will be allowed very near. In north Bharatn temples you can go very near the deity. You can touch almost in all the temples. Here you can’t touch because they have covered the deity with gold and silver. That’s the reason you can’t touch; lot of gold jewelries and silver jewelries, but you can go very near, almost, almost you can go near one or two feet. In other many temples you can touch the deity and do puja by yourself. When you go, don’t miss an important thing. Let me narrate the incident then you will understand.

In Calcutta they have a habit of offering conch bangles, bangles made out of conch. The conch shell will be cut and they will make bangles out of it. And they will offer that bangles to the deity, to the Devi. Some devotee brought four piece of conch bangles for Devi, Kali’s four hands – the right side will be abhaya and varada, the left side She will be holding sword and head, head of a asura. The sword is removable. So he was able to put the bangle in all the three hands except the hand which was holding the head of the asura. Except that hand, because in that hand the bangle cannot go. All the other three hands he put the bangle.

Some priest was asking, “Why you are not able to put the bangle for the mother, the fourth hand”

He said, “Ohh, that hand is holding the munda or the head of the rakshasa.”

The priest said, “Why you are a great devotee. You can say, mother will open her hands and you can insert the bangle.”

And he is so sincere, you will be surprised, of course, still I am not able to understand, even after seeing, I can only just believe and respect and do namaskar and come out. Really he asked the Mother and She dropped the head, bangle was inserted, again he gave the head to the mothers hand, She is holding!! Neither the statue is broken nor the bangle is broken; it is there in her hands. If you go, please don’t miss, see it.

Of course when I went to the temple I was in one ashram, very famous ashram. I went as a part of the ashramite. So I was allowed to touch that bangle and see. Not only I touched the bangle, I completely rotated that bangle and saw whether it is broken at any point; whether he broke and pasted it. I inspected, I tell you, the bangle is complete, it is not broken and the statue is also full, it is not broken; stone statue. Statue is also there as it is, bangle is also there as it is, but it is there inside. Very difficult to believe and it is not some 300-400 years old; just 130 years, just 130 years ago in 1886 he passed away, only 130 years. I don’t know we have no logical explanation but it is there. That much only we know.

The power of mind, the devotion, can express physically. See you can have the darshan of Devi and if you feel that Devi is here, and all those things are very subjective. You can’t see it in a physical way; it’s a individuals experience. But here, physically it is expressing. We heard lot of stories that Udupi Krishna turned for the sake of Kanakadasa or Vitthal was sitting on a brick for the sake of His devotee. All this stories we hear, but this is something which I have seen with my own eyes; very difficult to believe, but which is there. He has reached such high peak just by rituals, just by rituals.

Vivekananda says beautifully, “If you can create Ramakrishnas, not one idol, have 1000s of idols and start doing rituals.” If you can create Ramakrishna, not one idol, have 1000s of idols, start doing rituals. And there are so many other experience of Ramakrishna related to this rituals but this one is enough to explain the power, the power behind the rituals. Physically he is able to alter the whole structure. Physically he is able to command the murthi or the deity, out of his devotion, out of his power. It is only one incident. There are so many other incidents which you can say. Once he requested a nearby hibiscus plant to give hibiscus in both colors; from same branch two different color hibiscus came out, for the sake of puja. So like this so many incidents he was just able to command; the power, the power of meditation or the power of mind. When we intensely do the rituals, we completely fall in tune with that deity, with that energy, with that murthi. She just listens to you. The vigraha, the murthi, just listens to you.

Of course there are incidents about Madurai; one great enlightened Master came and was staying in Madurai. The Madurai temple has got beautiful elephants, eight big stone elephants in the garbha mandir. Actually the story goes, the eight big elephants are holding the garbha mandir of the Madurai temple. So, a Nawab, he comes and makes fun of these statues, “What is this? Elephants are standing here unnecessarily.” He just makes some comment. Then that Master says, “Don’t think they are stones. They are living elephants. They are here to serve Chokkanatha.” This Nawab laughs, “What are you talking?” Then this enlightened Master, he gives sugarcane and this elephant eats. The story says the elephants eat the sugarcane. Of course these are all story, we don’t know how much they are true or whether they are fact or truth or we don’t know about all these things. But this one thing I myself have seen. The bangle, unbroken bangle in the hands of Devi. All our puja is nothing but receiving and respecting and serving. That’s why we say seva, serving.

And Ramakrishna says, “When I fan the Mother, I feel that She is experiencing the cool air. I could see very clearly She is experiencing the cool air and I could see very clearly She adjusting her sari.” He says I can see She is adjusting her sari. So many beautiful experiences.

All the rituals done to the Gods one side. The other side, rituals or the rites done for human beings. Especially the pitru tarpana. I think that is one of the important ritual. This pitru tarpana is done to give a beautiful farewell or to release the soul from the bondages. When a person dies, let me describe the whole scene what happens. First his soul leaves the physical body, then it moves to the subtle body; they call it sookshma sharira. In sookshma sharira it stays for few kshanas. When I say kshana I don’t mean second. In Vedas we don’t calculate time chronologically. We calculate it psychologically.

Kshana means gap between one thought and the other thought. If you have lived peaceful life, your kshana can be even 100 years, your one kshana can be one hundred years. If you have lived restless life your kshana is not even micro second; less than micro second. That is why they say a person who lived a peaceful life will have a peaceful death because you will be allowed to stay only for three kshanas in your subtle body. The three kshana will be decided based on your life, how you lived your life. How long you can manage without having thoughts. Kshana means gap between one thought and the other thought. In our system we measure time in a totally different way. You need to understand this time concept also.

For example, if you are sitting with a friend whom you like very much or you love, you feel in tune, even if 4-5 hours pass, even if 4-5 hours are over you will not even know. Suddenly you realize “Ohh, 4-5 hours are over. I don’t know how time passed.” If you are sitting with a person who is boring and torturing you, after every ten minutes you tend to see the watch. You see ‘what is happening, why he is not leaving.’ So actually time is more psychological. It is not chronological. Here, if you are in the state of bliss, if you are here and now, you will not know how time passes. If you are restless, if you are continuously moving from past to the future, future to past, time will never move for you.

That is why we say for us one full year is one day for Devathas because they are in higher consciousness; number of thoughts is less for them. They are in more joy and peace. That is why time just flies for them. For us one year is one day for Devathas. That’s why in all Nataraja temples they do only 6 puja per year because they follow the calendar of Devathas, not the human beings. When the number of thoughts come down time just flies. If you are more restless, time never moves. For people who are in the hell, for them our one day must be one full year. That is why we say eternal hell. Hell is always used with the word eternal hell. Hell is not eternal but it feels like eternal, because time never moves. You are continuously waiting, but time never moves. They have too much of restlessness. Actually hell or heaven is only based on your mind. If you have less number of thoughts you are in heaven already. If you have too much restless, if you have too many number of thoughts, you are in hell already. It’s not that you go there. You carry with you. Be very clear, we don’t go to hell or heaven. We just carry our hell or heaven with us. Wherever we go we carry our tent, open it and just stay; same way we carry it with ourselves.

When a person dies, he stays in the sookshma sharira for three kshna. If we have lived restless life we will stay only 3 micro second. In three micro second we will not have time to choose about our next birth. We will just choose in a very haphazard way. Just, whatever comes to our thought; just like that we will choose. If we have lived peaceful life, we will have time to look into our complete samskara structure. We will be able to see how we lived this whole life. One more thing, the moment you leave the body, you will have the capacity or energy to see your complete life; how you lived. You will be able to have a complete overview of your 60-70 years of life. If you have lived peaceful life, if you are leaving the body peacefully, you will be able to see the whole structure. You will be able to see the whole life. Then you can decide whether to take human body or whether to stay without body or whether to become enlightened and relax, liberate yourself, or whether to take any other type of janma; you will be able to choose. Because you have freedom, you are relaxed.

I always tell people, “live peacefully; don’t run continuously.” If you are continuously running, running, running, you will not have VIP lounge when you leave the body. You will be again running. Whatever train comes first, you will be put in that and sent. You will not be able to stay there. If you have lived peacefully, you will be able to relax, you will be able to stay there, you can choose. There are many reminiscence of the Masters. They say even 300-400 years they wait to take the right body, they wait for right parents, they wait for right place. If you have lived peacefully you can wait and choose your parents, the place to take birth and the right body, right social setup. If you have lived in a restless way, naturally you will not be able to wait.

And one more thing, if you have lived restless way means continuously we need, we are dependent on body and mind. You depending on the body and mind is what is restlessness. You are totally dependent on body and mind. So naturally you can’t be without body and mind. So you tend to take some body, you don’t bother, you are not interested in waiting. Let us have some ‘body’ first, later on we will think about it; what we should do and what we can do and all those things later on, first let us catch some ‘body’. So whatever train comes first, you get into that and start your journey. If you have lived a deep peaceful life, you can wait and choose that next body and take birth according to your decision.

Katopanishad beautifully explains the whole process – how we leave the body, how we can choose and how we miss the opportunity. How we miss the opportunity also is very clearly explained in Katopanishad. That is why, whenever a person dies, we always repeat the Katopanishad; even at the time of shraaddha the Katopanishad is repeated. This last rites are done to liberate the soul to give a good farewell. Actually if you are continuously bothering about the person, if you are continuously worrying about the person, that soul also can’t continue its journey. It is a farewell we are giving to that soul – ‘Yes, you lived with us, really great. Now it is time you can carry your life and even though we are not able to digest it, we respect your decision. We are here just to respect you, just to support you in your journey.’ It is a good farewell, it’s a positive farewell we are giving for the departed soul, so that the soul can continue its journey.

In every ritual, again and again Rishis impart their knowledge to us. And one more thing, our Rishis, our Masters, don’t leave even a single opportunity to impart the concepts or the Truths to us. They don’t miss even a single opportunity - whether it is birth or death or naming ceremony or marriage; in every step they give us the knowledge, they give us the wisdom about the life. Even in Sapthapadi – the other day I was telling, in Sanskrit we don’t have equalent word for divorce. We don’t have a word for divorce because the very concept divorce is not existent; it is not there in our system. In Sapthapadi, when you take the vows, till the end, till the death, you decide to be together. You can separate yourself only if you take Sannyas. There is only two chance – either death or Sannyas – no other way, no other permission or no other possibility that you can separate yourself.

There is one more beautiful shloka at the time of marriage they repeat. Of course, I don’t know, in some customs they use this all the mantras, in some customs different way of tradition. But in the Vedic system they use this mantra, they bless, it’s actually a shloka from Tantra Shastra. They say – ‘the 11th year, the end of the 11th year, let you become mother of him, let him become son for you.’ A new dimension of relationship. See the wife is asked, blessed to become mother, the husband is requested to become a son. It’s a very strange thing, very difficult to understand – how can wife become mother. Actually if a real love happens, if real intimacy happens, women reach the state of mother, she flowers into the motherliness.

There are some more deep concepts which Tantra explains, how when you reach the depth of love, you become more motherly, you become more like a Devi; that’s what they say. In the east, women is always called or respected in the form of, only in the name of mother. She is respected more as a mother because we respect the motherly dimension of women. Of course, only when she reaches that dimension she expresses the fulfillment. This is a beautiful statement asking women to reach the state of mother and man to reach the state of child. He needs to come back to the innocence. He needs to achieve his innocence, she needs to achieve the motherhood. That is the purpose of the whole marriage system.

Of course, let me explain the Gurukula system how the whole thing starts. At the age of 7, we are initiated with Gayathri mantra. Between 7 to 14, we have to continuously practice that mantra. By 14 if you achieve the 1st experience, 1st Conscious Experience or Divine Experience, you will be asked to study Brahma Sutra means training for Sannyas, training for spiritual life. If you have not achieved the 1st Divine Experience then you will be asked to study between 14 to 21 the Kamasutra. 14 to 21 the people who have achieved the Divine Experience will study the Brahma Sutra, the others will study the Kamasutra. People who study the Kamasutra will go for the Grihastha life, the Grihastha dharma. The persons who study the Brahma Sutra they will go for Sannyas life. By the time they finish the Brahma Sutra at the age of 21 they are expected to achieve enlightenment. If they achieved enlightenment they will be given Sannyas, they will go for the Sannyas life. If they have not achieved enlightenment, again they will be asked to study Yoga Sutra. They will have to continue their spiritual practice. This is the way our whole structure is created; then each one will take their life. Neither a person who lives the Sannyas life feels he is unfit nor the person who leads the Grihastha life feels he is missing something. Each one takes his own way, his own path.

Of course there is one more chance given for the people who are in the Grihastha life. At any moment, after 10 years of Grihastha life, if he feels he wants to take Sannyas or spiritual life, he wants to enter into spiritual life full time, if the family agrees, he can take initiation called Vanaprastha Dharma – means living towards the eternal life. Vanaprastha is not Sannyasa - it is living towards that eternal life. Then after the Vanaprastha life you can decide to take Sannyasa. Once a person takes Sannyasa he starts running Gurukula or University for next generation kids. This is the way our whole structure is created.

There are so many beautiful things in our rites, in our rituals. We can explore if we have the interest and if we go deep into it, it is a big science, ocean. It is just endless ocean. We can continuously explore, explore, explore.

I think it is time for me to stop. But I will answer your questions; because I don’t think I will be able to explain all the rituals and rites. It’s a big ocean but I can explain, whatever you ask; those few things I will try to explain. You can ask any question about rites; any rites or any ritual. I will try to explain whatever way I understand. You are welcome to put your questions; on this subject of course.

Question:

When we do the final rites, that is, when we do the tarpanas, and people say when we go to Badrinath and if you do that you don’t have to do any more.

Swamiji:

Actually Badrinath is like a center through which we can relate to the Pitruloka. It’s like a runway from where you can take off. It’s just like a runway from where you can take off. You can relate with that pitru loka. Of course what they say is true, but one more thing which I wanted you to understand - continuously doing tarpana, whether it does good for the parents or not, it does good for you. Let me describe how. Till the end of your death some part of your energy, some portion of your energy, represents your father, mother. Now latest studies, few studies, they say if your father or mother dies in a very young age, there’s more chance for you to have paralysis stroke; because one part of your energy is disturbed. One part of your energy is disturbed. One part of your Being is a gift from them. By doing this pinda tarpana and shraaddha regularly, you make that part, that energy, that portion peaceful. You invoke peace in that area. Whether it does good to them or not we don’t know, but it does good to you. So please don’t miss our traditional shraaddha or pinda, all these things.

See, these mantras, vibrations which you create, they heal your energies, they pull you out of depression, they relax, they create a positive vibrations inside your being. So to console our self we can say once you do it in Badri there is no more necessity or you don’t have to do. But from my experience I will recommend even if you have done in Badri, don’t miss; at least once in a year continue to do. That’s why, they do this shraaddha rituals in the amavasya day. See amavasya time when you are facing the low energy. Have you heard the word lunar and lunatic? Why people are called lunatic you know? People whose mind goes up or low along with the lunar is called lunatic. See when in poornima and amavasya days you can see, the ocean will have big waves; especially in poornima days, because of the moon rays. Of course there are lot of scientific explanation. According to our system they say that the moon creates the energy in which that salt water is aggravated. If you see your body is filled 80% with salt water. When that salt water is aggravated, this salt water is also aggravated. That is why people who are this half mad and all these people, they feel aggravated in amavasya and poornima days. Even in very funny way we will say in the house - I think today amavasya that is why too much of sound in the house!! Today is poornima that’s why too much of noise in the house!! People who are having the problem of depression, they feel the depression in amavasya and poornima day. Some way moon is associated with our mental set up. People whose mind goes up or low along with lunar is called lunatic. In amavasya days naturally you will be in the low energies. That’s why you are asked to do that rituals, that shraaddha and tarpana, all those things, so that you can create little peace inside your being, you can pull yourself out of that depression. So better to continue this rituals. Don’t drop; at least repeat those mantras.

Question:

Swamiji I know the pitru tarpana is done by the sons of the house. What if the family doesn’t have a…..

Swamiji:

Ohhh it’s a nice question. Here I have to be little clear. In my system I allow women also to do. I am little open and I feel women are qualified to do because they are more emotionally attached. Attachment of the son is more like a, more professional attachment or a business attachment. But attachment of the daughter is more based on the heart and emotion. I think they should do, they must be allowed to do. At least in our system I am allowing. I am allowing and I am encouraging. I am encouraging women to do all the rituals. You can do.

Similar question arises. The Vanaprastha and Sannyasa is applied to both genders, both men and women?

Swamiji:

Yes sure, yes sure. In our system Maitreyi, Gargi, there are so many women Rishis. And the other day I was reading a book. There is mention about Sulabha, a great enlightened Master who challenged Janaka. Bheeshma tells about the story of this lady Sulabha who challenged Janaka Raja. So there are enough of record. We have enough records about the women Rishis who took Vanaprastha life, Sannyas life, who were even lived unmarried life, who directly taken Sannyas from brahmacharya state - who are called Paramahamsas. There are enough records, women can take Vanaprashtha life, Sannyas life or women can take directly Sannyas from Brahmacharya life. Nowadays in the modern day all Hindu missionaries, all the missions are giving Sannyas to women and it is allowed. Even in the Dasnami Sampradaya, in Aamnaya Paddhathi also, there are very clear mantras to give Sannyas for women; set of rituals are available to give Sannyas.

Question:

Doing pujas in the homes as compared to attending pujas in the temples - what is the difference?

Swamiji:

It’s like you go to beautiful 5 star hotel and eat and you yourself cook and eat in the house. What is the difference between these two? Of course when you can’t go to the 5 star hotel, you can cook and eat. But once in a while go to the hotel also and taste, enjoy the food. When you go to the temples, you can enjoy elaborate, beautiful way. You can see every inch and understand and you can enjoy, but when you can’t go, at least don’t miss the food, eat something in the house; whatever you can cook, cook and eat. That’s all. This is the difference between doing your own and attending the temple rituals.

Question: not clear

Swamiji:

This idea that God is everywhere can become Truth only after your realization. You see God is everywhere only when you reach that state. One more thing, I have seen many people coming and telling me, ‘Swamiji I love the whole world.’ Loving the whole world is very easy, loving your wife is very difficult. Loving the whole world is very easy. You don’t have to do anything. Just make a few statements, ‘ohh I love the whole world. I care for the whole world.’ You don’t have to do anything. First thing, loving your family is a very difficult thing. First create love, then you can love the whole world. Without even creating the idea love, we just say that we love the whole world!! That is the way without even feeling God in one statue, how can you feel in the whole world. First thing you need to do is feel God, feel Divine in one place. Then you can project the same feeling with the whole Universe.

Ramakrishna says a beautiful example – In cow’s body, throughout the body the milk is available. But you can’t get the body [milk] by catching the ears. You catch the ears and try to do whatever you want, you won’t get milk!! Try to catch the horn and do whatever you want, what will you get? You won’t get the milk. You will be able to get the milk only through one source. Same way God maybe available everywhere but you will be able to get his energy, you will be able to get his blessing only through temples. First, try to relate through one source. First achieve, establish that relationship. Then you will be able to project the same feeling, same relationship with the whole world. If you don’t have, if you don’t relate even with one statue, how will you be able to relate with the whole world. So please understand God is everywhere is only concept - Ultimate Truth. It is not the Relative Truth.

There are two kinds of truths – Absolute Truth and Relative Truth. As on now you can’t experience the Absolute Truth. Start with this simple things, then you will be able to experience the Absolute Truth. But till you experience the Absolute Truth, you can’t use the Absolute Truth to escape from your duties. I have seen many people, they use all these big, big words just to satisfy their life or just to satisfy their mind; just to justify what they are doing. We use this big Truths; what for? To justify what we are doing. So please understand, start relating first with the temples. Then you will be able to relate the God who is existing everywhere.

Question:

In this world Swamiji rituals are done mostly for material prosperity…………………….…

Swamiji:

It’s a nice thing. First thing Ramakrishna says beautifully. He says, “Where else you can go even for that?” Asking God for material benefit is not wrong. Its ok; but stopping there itself is seriously wrong. Starting your devotion in the Kaamya Bhakti is nothing wrong but just stopping there itself is something seriously wrong. That’s why I always tell people – ‘When you start praying your religion starts. But when you start giving your gratitude, your spirituality starts.’ With prayer your religion starts. With gratitude your spirituality starts. After sometime you should feel how much He has given you. You should start feeling the gratitude. One more thing, asking is nothing wrong, but forcing is something wrong. You see, why do you pray? Because you believe God has got Shakti to give you what you want. That is perfectly all right. But sometime it goes, “I want this, you have to do.” Why do we force? We believe that he has got Shakti to give what we want but we don’t believe he has got Buddhi also to give when he wants, when it should be given. We believe he has got Shakti but we don’t believe he has got Buddhi. That is where the problem starts. When you believe He has got Shakti you start praying. When you believe He has got Buddhi also, you surrender; the real surrender starts. You reach the peak of devotion. You reach the level of gratitude. So, of course it is good to start, it is a good way to start as a Kaamya Bhakti, but that is not the way to end, that is not the place to stop.

Question:

Swamiji I have a question. You talk about the journey of the soul after death; various phases he goes through. Isn’t this the same thing that happened during meditation……….

Swamiji:

Not only at the time of meditation, at the time of Sannyas also same thing happens. Even at the time of Sannyas we go through a ritual of complete death. You will be asked to drop your past name, everything related to past. You have to live three nights and day without taking food, just like a ghost, to lose your identity. To lose your identity you will be asked to live in smashana for three days without taking any food. You have to only eat through nose; you can smell, that’s all, you can’t eat. Then after that, you will be given a new name, new form or new meditation technique, then this kaavi vastra; all this, all the next rituals will be done. At the time of death, at the time of meditation, at the time of Sannyas - all the three times you undergo the, you go through the same path, you undergo the same transformation. In meditation also practically you die. Mediation is nothing but new birth. You take a new birth.

See, the mother carries you in Bhoo garbha, teacher carries you in hrid garbha; he teaches you all the culture, art, dance or anything. He carries in the hrid garbha. Master carries you in the jnana garbha and gives you the birth of spiritual realization. So you undergo three different way - first thing bhoo garbha, next is hrid garbha, third is jnana garbha. So the meditation is jnana garbha. You really take new birth. You are no more same old person.

Question: not clear

Swamiji:

I don’t know, I have to, but one thing I can be sure, surely the energy of women cannot be imbalanced by a mantra. Surely I don’t think it will happen. I don’t know for what reason he made this comment. What for he told this that I don’t know. But I can be sure all mantras can be chanted, used by everybody. And you see, one thing, mantras comes out of the experience of the Rishis. In that experience state there is no male or female; it is pure Consciousness. It comes from Consciousness, directly it will work on Consciousness. So the body is nowhere related to these mantras. See, the seed by itself has got its own power but when it is processed in some Agriculture University, it grows very quickly. So when a Master gives it is like its processed in the Agriculture University. It will surely grow. The power is more; that’s all. But if you don’t have a Master also, its ok. The very mantra can do miracles on your Being, on your Consciousness.

Question:

Swamiji what is the difference between chanting a Gayatri just by itself and ………...

Swamiji:

These are all different kinds of rituals ma; different ways of repeating. Some people will chant with water, some people will chant with fire, by doing homa, different methods. You can do it in any way but you need to repeat that’s all. That’s an important thing. You need to repeat. Repeat the mantra that’s enough; nothing else is necessary.

Question:

What is the significance of saligrama puja?

Swamiji:

There are special stones which hold energy and radiate it for a long time. It’s like a batteries. See when a, whenever you need, when you don’t get the electricity, you use a battery in place of electricity. Same way, when you are not able to go to temple, when you are not able to visit the energy centers, you can use these batteries in your house to recharge yourself. They are actually techniques, methods to recharge yourself. They are called healing stones. The saligrama and this banalinga, all these things are healing stones; they hold energy and radiate for a long time. I have seen many times, especially these stones which are available in the Omkareshwar, we call it banalinga, if you have knee pain or head ache, back pain, just keep that stone for 2-3 minutes, just the pain will be taken out. I have experimented with 100s of cases; not once or twice. I have brought lot of stones from there to our ashram. I used to give it to people. Just keep that stone, that banalinga, the Omkareshwar stones; the stones which are available in the Omkareshwar River, Narmada River, just keep that stone on the pain area for 2-3 minutes, simply the pain is taken out. Even arthritis, so many arthritis have been healed. Of course I don’t know the mystery behind it, but it does. I don’t know how to explain, but one thing is sure, it works. That much only I can say, it works. So, these stones, somehow they are filled with energy. Maybe because they are continuously flowing in the river, some reason, they are filled with energy. When they are filled with energy, you can use them to heal yourself or to relate with the Higher Energy. That’s the reason we worship Saligrama or all this, banalinga, all this from different rivers we get the stones and worship.

The other day I was talking to you about the ‘Messages From Water’. Did you hear that? How a water responds to the sacred words. If you understand that experiment; one scientist did a beautiful research. He kept 10 different glasses of water - same water, same type of water, same type of glasses in 10 different rooms. He will go to one room and use beautiful words, nice words like peace, silence, bliss, all these words and he will create that type of waves. He will go to next room and shout terrorism, violence, war, this type of words. He will go to the third room and chant some shloka from Dhammapada. Like this he does, then he freezes that water and photographs through microscope. There is beautiful movie released ‘What the bleep do we know?’ In that movie they have beautifully described the whole scene, the whole research they have described. And he says, the amazing findings, he is able to get the amazing results.

The water with which he related very positively - shows like a diamond pictures.

The water with which he related negatively - shows like a devil.

The water with which he related with Dhammapada - that shows like a Buddhist temple, the picture is like a Buddhist temple; appears.

It’s amazing how water can respond to your energy. Understand, an ordinary doctor, 15 minutes, uses some word and water is responding!! 1000s of Rishis and Sannyasis are standing in the Ganga river and continuously repeating so many mantras. What will happen to that river? By now it is a living energy. What will happen to the stones? That is why they get so much charged. Millions of people standing continuously in that river and chanting some mantra, doing some puja, repeating Gods name and offering their prayers. Understand from Gangotri to Gangasagar, every day at least one million people are standing in the banks of Ganga and repeating this mantras. Then understand how much the river will be energized. What will be the energy of the stones? Ordinary, one doctors 15 minute chanting of one word can change the water so much. Millions of people standing and offering their prayers what will happen to that river? It will become a living river; energy. That is why you experience that energy in that water, in that stone, in all those things. It can help you to relate with the higher energy.

And one more thing, this British people. when they come from London, the water which they bring in their ship, it will be spoilt by the time they come half the way, it will be spoilt. But when they go back from Calcutta, the water which they take from Calcutta, it will never be spoilt till they reach London; even after they reaching London it will not be spoilt. Then they started doing research ‘how can this happen?’ Then they understood, the Ganga water, Ganga water only they carry when they go from Calcutta, the Ganga water has got beautiful quality of purifying itself continuously. It has got quality, it has got a special energy to purify itself continuously. So with so much of mantra, so much of worship, not only the river, even the stones have started vibrating with this high energy.

That’s why I say Bharat is a spiritual incubator. So much of holy vibrations, spiritual vibration. It is a spiritual incubator. See, in the other countries, the whole city is developed centered on the, University will be the center and the whole city will be developed. In Bharat all cities are developed around temples. Go to Madurai, the temple will be the center and the whole city is developed. In every city, in Bharat, cities are developed based on temples. Here cities are developed based on Universities. The whole culture is totally different. Our kids receive the fantasies of Markandeya, Prahlada, Dhruva, Kannappa, all these things. These kids receive the fantasies of Tom and Jerry, Mickey Mouse - complete violence. See Tom and Jerry is complete violence and especially these video games - I was shocked. Continuously with rifles, shooting, these video games, what will happen to their heads? What will happen to these kids? Their whole body, whole blood, they will be filled with violence, violent thoughts. From the young age, we teach our kids the stories of Nayanmars, the stories of Meera, stories of Andal, stories of this Prahlada, stories of this Markandeya. At least God saved me; in my life that is what happened. When I was three, my grandfather used to carry me to the Arunachaleshwara temple. He will show me every pillar and tell the stories of the Gods. Still I remember vividly when I heard the Markandeya story, it made such a deep imprint on me that, what can I say, it actually transformed my whole thinking. Of course, that’s why we say punya bhoomi.

Question:

Swamiji I have heard that saints are buried and ordinary human beings are cremated. Why?

Swamiji:

Our bodies are filled with memories. One thing, if you are filled with positive memory you will attract positive energy and radiate it almost like satellite, the relay center. If you are filled with negative energy you will attract and radiate negative energy. Enlightened Masters, their body, they say in tamil jnanam……1:09:20…bhoomi….the land in which the wisdom has grown. So when a Enlightenment has happened in their body, when a spiritual energy has happened in their body, it can continuously attract spiritual energies and radiate. That’s the reason their bodies are buried; because we need them, we need that energies. Ordinary people we just want to get rid of them!! We first wanted to get rid of them, so first finish them, lets get rid of them!!! That’s the reason we burn them and put the ashes in the Ganga. Let them be liberated from the world. Let the world be liberated from them. It is good for both!!

Nice. I think it is time to end the session. The pradosham function is also there. You all have to go and attend. Let us pray to the Ultimate Energy, the Divine Energy, to bless us all with understanding of all this great Truths in our life and the experience of eternal bliss, Nithyananda. Thank you.