Q & A - Answers by HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji

[Rama, Raghupathy]

Dear Friends

Radhe Radhe,

 

Here are some nice, useful Q and A that’s very useful for us. The questions were answered by HH Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji.

 

I am very clear that the Mahamantra can be chanted at any time/ any place. But what are the restrictions to chant the Gayatri Mantra, Aditya Hrudayam, Vishnu Sahasranamam and Lalitha Sahasranamam (if any)?

Sri Sri Swamiji: Gayatri Mantra can be chanted only during Sandhyavandhana times. If you are a Gayatri Upasak, you have to chant it with proper ablutions ('madi'). You should follow proper Asana (sitting postures) and follow instructions / guidance from a Guru who is an Upasaka. Aditya Hrudayam, Vishnu Sahasranamam and Lalitha Sahasranamam can be chanted like other Slokas with at least minimum purity. If you are chanting them for a specific purpose / with a specific prayer in mind, then it has to follow specific restrictions.

 

 

 

I find some attributes in people that leads me to criticise them and I end up developing a sense of hatred on account of the same. How can I overcome this?   Sri Sri Swamiji: The best way to overcome this is to introspect and recall one drawback or flaw in our own personality whenever we feel such hatred towards another individual. Such introspection will help in overcoming hatred towards others.

I have been pursuing japa/ dhyanam very seriously for a long time, but I have not been experiencing any spiritual improvement. What is the reason for this lack of progress?   Sri Sri Swamiji: As long as one thinks that the Swami of his/her meditation is a mere portrait or a murthy there will be no progress. The mind has to firmly develop the attitude that the Swami upon whom one meditates is full of life.

Respected Swamiji, you are advising all to chant the Nama. However my mind always enjoys analyzing things rather than chant the Nama. Why is it so?   Sri Sri Swamiji: It is the natural tendency of the eye to see external objects and be drawn to it. Similarly, it is the tendency of the mind to engage in such intellectual analysis. If we have to progress spiritual that urge should also be overcome.

In one of your responses, you had said that God had created everyone equally in the first birth, and that the individual's greed was responsible for his sins. If God created all of us equally, then what made one seek the wrong path (greed) and thus acquire sins, and what made the other seek the right path?   Sri Sri Swamiji: His ego!

The Shastras say 'Matru-devo bhava' and 'Pitru-devo bhava'. Some say 'my parents don't want me to practice spirituality and since the parents are the first Guru, then following their order is highest Dharma'! Most of the time people use this as excuse to not practice spirituality! Furthermore, when one surrenders to a Guru - they may come across instructions from parents and other 'revered' people in society which may conflict with the orders of the Preceptor. How is one meant to deal with such situations to maintain harmony inside and outside?   Sri Sri Swamiji: The ways of Dharma are subtle. Samanya dharma (common Dharma) shows that Mata and Pitha are to be revered as Deva. The order is Mata and Pitha should lead a child to a Spiritual Guru, who in turn leads him to God. Bhagavatha Dharma (Srimad Bhagavatam) says, a Mata who stops spiritual development of her child is no mother at all, likewise with a father or relatives or even a so called Guru! So Shastras are clear that when it comes to spirituality, a mother is a mother only when she plays the role of the mother in being conducive to spiritual growth of the ward. If you take Prahlada's example, his father told him to drink poison, he did it without asking a question; his father ordered that he be trampled by elephants, he implicitly obeyed, His father asked him not to chant Narayana Nama, - that he did not obey, as even a father has no right to stop spiritual awakening of his child.

 

 

Regards

Kishore

---

This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, notify the sender immediately by return email and delete the message and any attachments from your system.