Broaden your vision and deepen your roots

Answer: I am not a theologian. I speak from my experience. One of the scriptures that I usually quote from is of course the Gita. I also quote from the Bible. I am not averse to any religious scripture in the world. What I am averse to is fanaticism of any sort. You need to study every religion or scripture before you can come and talk about it. So, since I have not studied all of the disciplines like Bible and Quran, I must spend at least four to five years studying each before speaking about them. Yet the essence of all these scriptures are spiritual values which I think I can very easily find in my life. I can easily speak on the essence of the Bible. That is why I say unless you become like a child, you can’t get so far. This is true because every child has that freedom. The child inside you is alive. You are still that innocence. That is spirituality. It is when you meditate, when there is unity among diversity and oneness with the whole universe.

Answer: Prana is present in everything. In fact, we are floating in an ocean of prana. When the unit of expression varies, it makes a difference. Stones have got one unit of prana. Water has got two units of prana. Fire has got three units of prana. Air has got four units of prana. Plants and Animals have got five - six units of prana. Human beings are capable of holding from seven to 16 units of prana. The expression of prana is the whole universe. When prana is lower than, that’s when you feel depressed. When prana goes further low, then you feel suicidal. When prana is normal, you feel normal. When prana is higher, you feel enthusiastic. When prana is very high, you feel energetic and blissful. That is why when people are depressed, or feeling low just giving counseling doesn’t work, what needs to be done is to raise the level of prana. When prana is high there is joy, vibrancy and understanding. When prana is low, then the mind starts complaining, and depression, lethargy, suicidal tendencies arise. All is play and display of prana. Now how do we increase prana? This is where meditation, practices, Satsang or Kirtan, yoga, Satvic diet etc all come into play.

Answer: We definitely need to adopt certain things from Ayurveda. Lots of thoughts disturb us when there is stomach disorder. When vatta or pitta (Air or Fire elements) in body gets imbalanced, too many thoughts bombard the mind.
There is an ayurvedic medicine, Triphla, which balances the three Imbalances in the body. It is good to take Triphla for 1 – 2 months. You can take 1 – 2 tablets, or a spoon of Triphla churna before going to bed. It increases energy level in body and purifies the system. Vitamin C also provides you immunity.Sometimes allopathic medicines taken for stomach disorders have adverse affects on liver and body.

Then there is Devati which you can take. It is very effective in curing fever also.
Ayurveda has the specialty of correcting disorders and diseases without any side effect, and not only removing the symptoms but uprooting the very seed of the disease. And hence we should adopt Ayurveda. All these are home remedies and one should keep these with oneself. And if at some time, some disease prolongs then one should definitely consult doctor.

Answer: I don’t use the word dispassion much because it has been distorted so much. I have seen so called dispassionate people who have no glow or happiness on their face. Dispassion means absence of any kind of feverishness but a joy is there. Adi Shankaracharya has beautifully said that there is no joy which dispassion cannot give you. Dispassion means - You don’t run after joy but you are joyful from within. When you do actions without feverishness, that is dispassion.

Answer: The sound of ‘Om namah shivaya’ includes all the five elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether. Hinduism is not a religion as such. People have been chanting this for thousands of years. Mantras are those sounds which you hear from deep within during meditation and the aim is to bring one back to the source. During later days, people started putting faces and drawings to these mantras. Mantras have got certain vibrations/ energy. They are universal.
Even in churches in Latin America ‘Marnah nath’ is used. Its translation in Latin and Sanskrit is so close. For ‘Lord’ the word in Latin is nath, and also in Sanskrit the word nath is used to refer to ‘Lord’. So the word marnah nath meaning ‘My lord’, is actually a Sanskrit word.
Sanskrit is the oldest language known to mankind. It has a deep impact on the consciousness. We welcome all songs – Japanese, Korean, Spanish. Any song that you want to sing is welcome. We sing a lot of songs in Spanish and Portuguese in Satsangs in South America. Of course, in India everybody easily connects with ancient mantras. Take any language that you want, but along with it take this also. How many of you feel singing and chanting these mantras creates some vibrations? It’s obvious. In Vedic chanting, many times you don’t know even the meaning but it has some effect. It enriches the subtle.
In the morning we did Rudra Abhishek, this has been practiced for over thousands of years. We use crystal, milk, yoghurt and flowers etc. They all create a certain impact and send out positive vibrations.

Answer: Best pilgrimage is Inward Journey! A pilgrimage is an opportunity for people to come and pray together. As you know, praying together generates more energy, a synergy. But don’t think that God is only in pilgrim centers! God is omnipresent and omniscient. Ancient Saints meditated in some places and put all that energy in some idol there, and the place became a center of pilgrimage. The scriptures talk about God as having no name and no form. There is freedom to worship God in any form or any name. Wisdom from everywhere was acknowledged!

Answer: When there is rise in tamogun* in the body, you become lazy. Lying down in this state may give you a little rest or energy, but if your mind keeps on struggling with desires and feverishness, it doesn’t get complete rest. The rest you get after doing work is the actual rest. When your body gets complete rest, your mind is also joyful. That gives you strength and your positive intentions start getting fulfilled.




Tamo gun: The factor which brings sleep, however, if imbalanced leads to depression and lethargy.

Answer: Evolved scientists surely believe in spirituality. Those who are not yet fully evolved may not. Einstein was startled after reading Bhagwad Geeta. If you hear a quantum physicist talking, you will feel as if the text is being quoted from the scriptures only. ‘What is this?’ is science. 'Who am I?’ is spirituality. Objective analysis is science and subjective understanding is spirituality. And they go hand in hand. In the East, they were never in conflict with each other. It is even said in Bhagvad Geeta –‘Gyan Vigyana triptatma’. You will find fulfillment only when science and spirituality go together. We need both science and spirituality to bring contentment to our soul.

ANSWER: Religion has three components: symbols, customs and traditions, and values. As far as values are concerned, there is no difference, because all talk about oneness. Customs and symbols are all very different; they have to be, this is what makes the world beautiful! Time and again, as per the needs of the people and time, knowledge is revived. Nature has been created with such diversity- so many flowers, animals and people. Diversity is the language of God. In India, God can have any number of names and forms, and they all point to one Divinity.
There is difference in one sense, and in another sense there is unity.
Wise ones celebrate diversity, fools fight over it.

The term ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj’, meaning union; the union of the individual consciousness with the universal consciousness.

Yoga is not merely a form of exercise for the body, but a path towards total harmony of body, mind and spirit. It is an ancient wisdom for a healthier, happier and more peaceful way of living that ultimately leads to self-realization, the union with the Self.

Yoga brings the mind to the present moment, improving clarity, and alertness in the mind. The mind becomes peaceful, and is able to deal with day-to-day stress.

To know more about yoga, click here