Answers to common questions

A short visit by Swami Brahmanandaji gave some people the much desired chance to ask questions.

Q: Swamiji, should one do “nirantar sumiran” (continuous remembrance of the Lord)?

A: No, it will be nirantar problem sumiran, because you remember Him only so that He may help solve your problems. Your Japa will be only on your own problems. Only if you are a seeker who sincerely wants nothing but the Lord, then (vismaran) a state of no thoughts happens. In such a pure desire less mind “nirantar sumiran” automatically happens.

Q: Should one discipline oneself to renounce all comforts and live the austere life of a renunciate?

A: “Karathala bhiksha” (partaking only the food that fits the hollow of one’s palms ) , and “stharutala vasa” (living under a tree) does not make a sanyasi. Sanyas is not by dress or address (solitary living). It is a mental climate of detachment from the unreal and attachment to the one Reality. Even a “grihastha” householder can be a sanyasi without accepting the formal order of sanyas, and a sanyasi despite his saffron robes could be writhing in the shackles of attachment.

Q: Any advice against touching a mahatma’s feet as one might transfer bad vibes to the mahatma?

A: You may or may not touch the feet depending on your wish or what the mahatma permits,but you cannot transfer bad vibes to a true mahatma, he is much above and beyond it.

Q: Should one speak the truth even if it causes hurt or insult to another?

A: No. Hinduism makes this great distinction even while it insists on speaking the truth: Satyam bruyath, Priyam bruyath,/Na bruyath Satyam apriyam.

Utter only that truth which is “priyam”. It should be pleasant and should generate love and good feeling. If it hurts others then truth should not be uttered. Silence is a better option at such times.