It is rumoured in certain quarters that friendship with sadhus and sannyasins can do and undo the well-being of a person. If a person hurts the feelings of some God-realized saint, then it is said that the saint may curse and thus herald a bundle of miseries for him. How far is this true?

The company of sadhus and sannyasins is always covetable, provided they are of sterling character. If this singular qualification is traceable in them, they are worthy of adoration and respect. They can never be a source of trouble to anyone.

Contact with sadhus and sannyasins of true worth can never mar the progress or the personal interests of people. The sadhus help people to mould themselves on the right ethical principles. Their blessings are an invaluable asset to the latter. Satsang with sadhus and sannyasins overhauls the vicious samskaras that the worldly-minded people are naturally prone to.

A God-realized saint never curses others even though he is provoked to the extreme, but simply prays to the Almighty - not to protect him from dangers or save him from dishonour - but to bestow jnana, light, purity and illumination on his opponents. He never hurts others even though he is hurt. He simply forgives and forgets. He remains oblivious of any wrong done to him. A true God-realized saint finds his own beloved Deity in the thief, the debauchee, the rogue, the murderer, the assailant, the ant, the dog, the Pariah, the Brahmin, the tree, the stone, the scorpion, in fact, in the entire living and non-living creation. He is at-one with all. When such is the case, when he sees his own Self everywhere, whom can he curse?

Remember that a sadhu or a sannyasin is not God-realized if he curses others for any reason. It is true that the curse of any pious man, not necessarily a sadhu or a sannyasin, readily acts on the person towards whom it is directed under pressure of mental hurt or physical harm.

When the grace of Guru and God is there, why is the mind still not controlled?

There must be purushartha also. Only when you do purushartha, the grace will come. A professor will not answer the questions for you and make you pass. The Gita says, “Uddharet Atman Atmanam”. One should raise oneself. Grace only helps one to raise oneself. Everybody should work out his own salvation. You may ask, “What is grace then?”. If an aspirant gets letters from his preceptor, clearing his doubts, that is grace. If an aspirant comes here, takes Ganges bath and hears the lectures here, that is grace. Many people are thirsting, even croropathis (those who possess crores of rupees) to come and bathe in the Ganges, but all do not get a chance of coming and having their wish fulfilled. If good books are available for swadhyaya (study), it is grace. If one enjoys good health for doing sadhana, that is grace. If God so wishes, He can give mukti to the whole world in an instant; but He does not do so. Grace descends only when there is purushartha.

Why has God created the world?

Ask God why He has created this world! Attain wisdom of the Self. Then you will know why God created the world. You cannot understand it with your intellect. You can understand it only with intuition.

For the sake of sport, God created the world. Lokavattu Lila Kaivalyam. Creation of the world has a purpose. Just as we cannot have a sun without rays, similarly, we cannot have God without the world process. The world is like His rays. It is His swabhava, nature. Just as a juggler produces something and makes it disappear, so also, God produces this world and makes it disappear. God is omnipotent. To ask why He created the world is an Ati-prasna, a transcendental question. We will be only wasting time by discussing it. Before asking about the world, ask about yourself. Know who you are. Then you will know everything.

Is there a remedy for the fall of ethical laws and standards due to the industrial revolution?

The industrial revolution does not compel anyone to lower their moral standards. No doubt, it might have facilitated this fall to some extent. The real mischief was done by the misleaders of mankind who deliberately exalted material values over spiritual values. It is never too late to mend this. Even now, if the heart of man be cleansed of the dross of selfishness and self-aggrandizement, and righteousness enthroned in it, the moral standard can be kept high, in spite of the most spectacular industrial development.

Why does man not remember death and cease forthwith from sinful deeds, keeping the transience of earthly life in view?

Every man has not sprung up all on a sudden as a man. The Jiva, right from the very first ushering into the world, continues to undergo the cycle of births and deaths not in tens, hundreds or thousands, but in lakhs. It actually carries with it the samskaras right from its very first birth up to the birth current, i.e., under enjoyment. The unenjoyed or residual samskaras continue till they are completely fried in toto by Atma Jnana. The very forgetfulness of death by man, though he sees countless deaths daily, indicates the nascence that has developed in him to avoid seeing the face of Truth. The experiences that he has gained thus far, i.e., up to the moment of consideration, are quite insufficient to drag his attention towards the eternal truth which is God. A day will certainly dawn in the life of every individual on this earth, not necessarily in this very birth itself, when he will, by some rare merit, through satsang with Mahatmas, devotion to Guru, or God’s grace, tune in to the Ultimate by gradual evolution.

The sinful deeds which men commit are mainly due to ignorance. When ignorance vanishes once and for all by performance of good and selfless deeds, japa, swadhyaya, etc., or by Guru kripa, the final goal ever remains in view. Commission of vicious deeds indicates that the Jiva is not yet an evolved one and that he is to gain more and more experiences of the world and undergo repeated and continual refinement from grossness. For the disappearance of ignorance and firm remembrance of God, there is no way more powerful than to encounter the kicks, blows and knocks of the world that may greet one unawares.

What standards should be adopted to measure true greatness?

The true greatness of man is to be measured not by the amount of wealth nor by the number of bungalows which are had or by the exercise of personal influence, but by the degree of selflessness, all-embracive outlook, generosity, liberal views, cosmic benefaction, self-sacrifice, egolessness, self-effacing nature, grade of perception of unity in diversity, humanitarian services, etc. A truly great man is pious, spiritually elevated, magnanimous and noble-hearted. He can never have a thought for himself and he ever prefers the welfare of humanity casting aside all petty, selfish and personal interests. He ever prays for the welfare of humanity. Where there is an open, unconstricted, expansive and large heart, there lies true greatness.

Who is a righteous man?

A righteous man is he who is pure in thought, word and deed and who observes Yama and Niyama to the very letter. He never moves astray for the sake of paltry gains and selfish ends. He is ever pious, God-fearing, Self-centered and selfless. He has cosmic vision and a broad outlook. He is equanimous and tolerant towards all. He is a mine of all virtues like charity, nobility, sincerity, humility, renunciation, serenity, simplicity and so on. No egoism, no lust, no greed, no crooked-mindedness, no vanity can find a place in him. The righteous man is ever the object of adoration of all. There will be no enemies to him at all, for he loves all friends and foes equally.

How can a person perpetuate the period of youth?

The Yogic method excels all other methods. It is the best and the cheapest of all prevalent systems of treatment. Take to intense Pranayam and Aasans. Both these help a lot in preserving Veerya (semen) and converting the vital energy into Ojas. Practice Sirshasan, Sarvangasan, Matsyasan, Halasan, Paschimottanasan, Padahastasan and Yoga Mudra coupled with Bhastrik Pranayam. Practice Pranayam till the stage of Kevala Kumbhak is reached. When there is no necessity either to breathe in or to breathe out, Veerya becomes steady; that is, there will be no discharge or emission in any form. The Ayurvedic preparation, Chyavanaprash, is a wonderful one in enabling the regular user to preserve youth for a very long time.