In an article in ‘Siva’s Treasure’ entitled “Are you really qualified?”, you write under Para III, “If a thing is refused to him (the sadhak), he should not aspire for it again”. Does this statement not advocate a false sense of self-satisfaction and a defeatist mentality? Please reconcile the discrepancy and oblige.

“If a thing is refused to him (the sadhak), he should not aspire for it again.”

Read this statement again and again till it suffuses your entire being, till the proper substance of it is totally realized by yourself. Then only you will appreciate the grand truth to imbibe its true spirit. “Neither ask nor reject” should be the motto of an ideal sadhak. He should not have any special craving for any particular object, however dearest and cherished it be. Whatever comes by chance without any self-effort can be had, provided that it does not degrade the individual from the moral standards. He should not develop any attachment to any object lest he should suffer mentally when the object is weaned away from him or refused to him by the will of the Lord. Everything comes and goes as per His sweet will. Whether one strives for an object or not when something is due, it certainly befalls to one’s lot of its own accord. Aspirants should cultivate mental detachment and indifference towards good and evil, happiness and misery, love and hatred and all sorts of pairs of opposites. Such mental equanimity can be acquired by atma-vichara (self-enquiry), study of sacred scriptures, satsang with Mahatmas, etc. Self-sacrifice, self-contentment and self-denial are what are required in the spiritual field for progress. It is no defeatist mentality if the sadhak rests satisfied with his ordained lot without yielding himself even mentally to the temptations which he previously used to enjoy. He is certainly not the “fox that remarked that the grapes were sour when he could not reach to have them”. By voluntary self-denial and dispassion or by keeping equanimity when something pleasing does not fall to one’s share, tremendous will-power accumulates. It is therefore a necessity to keep balance of mind in all states of working consciousness.

What is Nadi Shuddhi in its technical sense? How to feel that one has attained perfect Nadi Shuddhi?

Nadi Shuddhi means purification of Nadis. Nerve is not the correct English term for Nadi. There is no appropriate word for Nadi in English.

Complete fast, preferably without any liquid or solid food, practice of asanas and pranayam, and intense physical exercise - all go a long way in the elimination of fat and other unwanted matters and in the overhauling of the system to confer the benefit of Nadi Shuddhi. Asanas and pranayam can purify the nerves, if done with the correct technique.

When one attains Nadi Shuddhi, the body becomes light. Stool becomes scanty. There is agility in movement and activity in demeanour. No trace of slothfulness or indolence can be detected. While walking, the body appears to be floating in the air. The tone of the voice changes from hoarseness or gruffness to mellifluence. Hopping, jumping and dancing while at work can be observed in one endowed with Nadi Shuddhi. Something inexpressible forces the person to do this and to achieve something grand in his lifetime.

What are the best and the worst methods to retaliate against a wrong done to us for no fault of ours?

Whether a wrong is done on some basis or not, it is not to be retaliated against in any way if one wants real moral and spiritual strength and the Lord’s grace. Calmly bear the wrong done to you without the slightest mental upset or loss of psychic equilibrium. Do good to the man that does harm. Bless that man that curses you. Pray for the well-being of the man that beleaguers you. Study the lives of Jaya Deva, Shams Tabriez, Jesus Christ, Gauranga and other saints. The Lord Himself protects His devotees if they surrender themselves totally unto Him, pouring forth prayers unto Him like Draupadi or Gajendra. Do not degrade yourself by resorting to retaliation in any way. Adherence to violence even in thought just to satisfy the lower mind debases the individual spiritually.

The best method to retaliate against a wrong done without any reasonable ground is by way of offering a spiritual treatise like the Gita or the Ramayana to the opponent and praying for his gaining the knowledge of the Self and avoiding the evil ways which are due to his ignorance of the essential unity of all creation. Observe silence and indifference with heart-moving prayers unto the Lord.

Does the mental equilibrium of an advanced Yogi get affected when attacked by some serious disease? How does he react on such occasions?

Never. If there is any thought of the body or the disease or the bodily affliction or something that cannot be tolerated by the fleshy frame, remember that he is no advanced yogi or saint or sannyasin. He who has no thought of himself or the surroundings or the world, he who is centred in his own Self or his beloved Ishta Devata or gracious Guru, and he who is entirely oblivious of limitations of any sort, and identifies himself with the limitless, disease-less, unconditioned, all-pervasive Brahman, is a true and advanced yogi or bhakta or jnani; and not otherwise.

He can have no match in the whole world in the matter of utter indifference either towards his disease or towards his limited, perishable body or the whole world. He always remains in his own Self and he never loses his balance under any circumstance. He firmly believes that he is the Infinite, the Absolute Brahman. He firmly believes that death awaits all and snatches away everyone at one time or the other and that the six Urmis - Shoka, Moha, Kshut, Pipasa, Jara and Mrityu - are but common to all the jivas, not necessarily mankind, and that he is the deathless, imperishable and eternal Brahman. Hence there can be no mental upset for him even amidst crucial tests.

Was The Bhagawad Gita actually recited by Lord Krishna in the battlefield or is it the imagination of the poet?

Yes. There is no doubt about the Gita having been recited by Lord Krishna in the battlefield. It is not a mere composition of Chiranjivi (eternally living) Vyasa. Recall to mind the following two slokas which can be found in the ‘Gita Mahatmya’:

Gita Sugeeta Kartavya Kimanyaih Sastravistaraih
Ya Svayam Padmanabhasya Mukhapadmadvinissruta

Bharatamritasarvasvam Vishnorvaktradvinissrutam Gitagangodakam Peetva Punarjanma Na Vidyate

The Gita is not a human composition at all. Have the conviction as such, without the usual questioning intellect. Remember all the avatara purushas like Sri Sankara and Sri Ramanuja who have written commentaries on the Gita. Lord Krishna Himself says to one of His lady-devotees named Lilabai that He and the Gita are identical and that worship of the one is adoration of the other. Study Slokas 68 to 71 of the Eighteenth Chapter of the Gita to infuse in yourself the necessary faith and love towards the holy scriptures.

Would you kindly suggest some effective methods for conversion and sublimation of the sexual energy into spiritual energy or Ojas?

Observe strict continence in thought, word and deed. Give up thinking useless and vain thoughts. Keep balance of mind in all conditions and circumstances, contemplating the Divine. Practice Sirshasan, Sarvangasan and Oordhva Padmasan, besides Viparitakarani Mudra. Preserve the energy by constantly repeating the Name of the Lord, doing intense japa and meditation, and study of the Gita, the Bhagawad, the Ramayana and the like. Develop viveka, vairagya and vichara. As dispassion increases, so is the vital energy not allowed to leak out. The greater the Vairagya (non-attachment to worldly objects), the more secure will be the semen. The more the preservation of semen, the greater will be the transmutation into Ojas which means abundant physical, mental, moral and spiritual strength and quick evolution. Pranaayaam helps a lot in gaining control over the physical machinery and the mind. To have control over the mind means to have control over the Prana Sakti and prevent veerya from being let out. To have control over this masculine power means to have abundant Ojas which enables the aspirant to glow spiritually. Intense sadhana, with the desires reduced to the barest minimum, will sublimate the sexual energy into spiritual energy. For further information, go through my book Practice of Brahmacharya. It gives exhaustive details regarding the subject in question.

Can truth be compromised in the sense that telling a lie is sometimes not only inevitable, but also indispensable? Will such a breaking away from truth be justified?

Truth is truth and falsehood is falsehood. They are as wide apart as the terminals of a diameter of a circle or the north and the south poles. He who wants ethical perfection, who loves dharma for the sake of the Supreme, ought to stick to truth however crucial be the circumstances, however tense be the situation. Think of Harischandra, how he stuck to truth even in the face of trials. How his name is to stand, for all time to come, for truth undimmed! Harischandra was truth personified. That is why he is known as Satya Harischandra. This single instance is enough to sustain man’s living on the sound basis of truth, however disastrous and threatening be the crises one has to face. However inevitable and indispensable it be, and however much the situation demands to gain some selfish ends, falsehood should ruthlessly be avoided. Truth and falsehood cannot be linked together. Yoking of the one with the other is awfully absurd. No doubt, in the Bhagawad and other Puranas, a few exceptional instances have been cited, where speaking untruth would be considered appropriate. But they are a matter of exception, they are not applicable to all times and all persons. For illuminating and interesting information in this connection, go through my book, ‘Ethical Teachings’.