Questions by readers- Answers by The Mother! These answers are in no way definitive; nor do they make any claims to authenticity. These are supposed to answer the seeking. The insights contained in these answers issue from patrons of The Mother, among who are saints, holy men, scholars and advanced seekers. To submit a question, send email to editor.themother@gmail.com. Do not feel disappointed if The Mother does not publish the answer to your questions. The Editorial Board will choose questions to be published in The Mother depending upon its significance and service to the spiritual seekers at large. However, we will strive to answer most queries and personally communicate the answers to those who put forth genuine queries. Editor.

Q.

Are our children, sons and daughters, some kind of debt repayment mechanisms from our previous lives?

Ans.

They sure are… Our children are debt payment mechanisms.
The Shastras mention four types of sons. Rinaubandh Putra, Shatru Putra, Udasin Putra and Sevak Putra. It is not difficult for anyone to find out what is the type of your son based on the descriptions of these.

1. Rinaubandha Son (Debt extracting Son): Rina is debt and bandh is bound, so Rinaubandh son is someone you are bound to by way of a debt. If you have incurred some loan in the previous life and have not been able to repay it, you get to repay it through your son who is none other than your creditor. All the money you spend on your son is actually debt being repaid. So don’t grieve, just keep cutting cheques.

2. Shatru Son (Enemy Son): According to popular belief, if you have inflicted any kind of grief to anyone in any of the previous births and that person wants to seek revenge from you, but he is unable to get it and if he dies in this agony, then surely that person will return to be your son during this birth and get his revenge from you to full satisfaction. So, don’t hate your son, he could be the ones you wronged.

3. Udaasin Son (Indifferent Son). As is evident from the word udaasin, this son will remain indifferent to you, that is to say it would make no difference if you had this son or no, and all your expectations will remain unfulfilled. This son will neither give you happiness nor any grief. He will be kind of a paying guest in your house, minding his own business. No love bonds. It has also been seen that udaasin sons usually separate from their parents when they get married. Hence they maintain their indifference.

4. Sevak Putra (Servant Son): This son is considered to be the best. It is believed that if you have served a person selflessly in the previous birth, with a true heart, without any expectations, then that person will be born to you and serve you to pay what he owes to you.
Though the word used in the above is son, a daughter could also fall under these categories and serve/ disserve the same purpose.

Q.

What is the difference between the Gayatri mantra and the Moola mantra of a particular deity?

Ans.

Actually Gayatri mantra is called Gayatri because Gayatri is a chanda - a format of 24 meters. Any mantra set to this chanda is called a Gayatri. There are individual Gayatri mantras for different deities. For example, Ganesh Gayatri mantra is Aum Ekadantaya Vidmahe, Vakratundaya Dhimahi, Tanno danti prachodayat.

What is commonly known as Gayatri mantra (Om Bhuur Bhuvah Svah Tat Savitur Varennyam | Bhargo Devasya Dhiimahi Dhiyo Yo Nah Pracodayaat ||) is Savitri Mantra (because of the deity Savitur). The rishi for this mantra is Vishvamithra.

सवितृ (Savitṛ), a Sanskrit root ending in the vowel ऋ (ṛ), is one of the names for the “Sun.” Some link Savitar to speed Sa + Vit + Tvar (with + got/having/obtained + speed). Actually, Savitar is one of the 12 adityas (offspring of Goddess Aditi). The sun before sunrise is called Savitr, from sunrise to sunset he is Surya. Period after sunset is Sandhya.

Gayatri is basically a tapasya mantra because tapa is heat which comes from the sun. With this heat we burn all the darkness within us. No matter what spiritual practice you have and which mantra you have, Gayatri mantra is universally done to speed up your sadhana, purify the dross and give you keen divine intelligence which is a blessing of Savitar.

Mool Mantras are different. The basic, root mantra of any deity is mool mantra. For example Namah Shivay is Shiva’s mool mantra, and Om Namo Narayananaya is Vishnu’s mool mantra. These will differ according to your Ishta Devata.

Q.

Is it bad if you visit the Samadhi of a Guru when you already have a Guru?

Ans:

It’s perfectly alright! Samadhi is a place where subtle power of  a holy person is concentrated as a blessing. It is much more than a temple because an enormous amount of goodwill and blessing is intended by the saint - that energy permeates the place and confers its grace irrespective of who comes there, disciple or non-disciple.

As such your Guru is not restricted to the body of your Guru; whatever you learn and from whoever you learnt it, it is actually a manifestation of your Guru’s grace. Guru Tattva is seamless principle that works through a common thread of all the Gurus - present, past and those yet to descend.

Q.

How does one know if kundalini has  awakened in  a person who claims of certain powers but who is yet very egoistic, greedy and jealous?

Ans:

If the person is egoistic, greedy and jealous and claims that he has spiritual powers, you can be sure he has no powers. Nil.

There is absolutely no way you can get to higher levels of spirituality without becoming a good human being.

Spiritual evolution is not a road that goes from outside the boundaries of regular life - it goes straight from within  life. That’s why every saint is super-human (not sub-human or non-human) and displays a host of virtues such as love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, charity, selflessness etc. When one evolves spiritually, the first thing that happens is purification. This purification process results in goodness and righteousness, springing into the bosom of the person quite automatically and abundantly.

God does not confer His powers upon the unworthy. If He wishes to shower His grace upon a seemingly unfit vessel, He first makes the person worthy and then gives His powers. Thus, making one worthy and brim with virtues, is also a part of Grace.

And yet, if you see any possibilities or any powers in the lower beings, they are not divine. Those things are distortions and perversions of a power that will ultimately hurt those who use it undeservingly.