Inquiries into the Absolute (A collection of thought provoking & intriguing answers given by His Holiness Romapada Swami for questions raised by devotees on various spiritual topics) Shri Shri Radha Govinda, Brooklyn, NY We invite you to immerse yourself into the transcendental answers given by Srila Romapada Swami! These sublime instructions are certain to break our misconceptions into millions of pieces and to deepen our understanding of various topics in Krishna consciousness. Compilation of weekly digests 1 to 242 (Upto December 2007) His Holiness Srila Romapada Swami Maharaj! Everyone one likes to inquire. Srila Prabhupada writes, "The whole world is full of questions and answers. The birds, beasts and men are all busy in the matter of perpetual questions and answers... Although they go on making such questions and answers for their whole lives, they are not at all satisfied. Satisfaction of the soul can only be obtained by questions and answers on the subject of Krishna." -- Purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.5 "Inquiries into the Absolute" is a wonderful opportunity provided by Srila Romapada Swami to help us fruitfully engage our propensity to inquire and seek answers. Please take advantage! Guide to “Inquiries into the Absolute” om ajïäna-timirändhasya jïänäïjana-çaläkayä cakñur unmélitaà yena tasmai çré-gurave namaù I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge. ‘Inquiries into the Absolute’, is a weekly email digest comprising of thought provoking and sublime answers given by His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaj to the questions raised by devotees on myriad spiritual topics. In addition to his innumerable services, His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaja inaugurated this inspiring service on April 19, 2001 to guide the devotees to advance in their Krishna consciousness. As of December 2007, we have close to 250 digests addressing over 580 questions dealing with various topics. These digests are very comprehensive and thus encompass countless questions which we may encounter often in our devotional life. These questions are already answered wonderfully and elaborately by Srila Romapada Swami. We invite you to immerse yourself into the authoritative, loving, and thought provoking answers given by Srila Romapada Swami. These sublime instructions are certain to break our misconceptions into millions of pieces. Furthermore, these instructions will deepen our understanding of various topics in Krishna consciousness and elevate our consciousness. Moreover, this treasure house contains innumerable practical tips for our spiritual advancement. Any devotee who is serious about their advancement in Krishna consciousness is strongly urged to carefully study this wonderful rendering of Maharaj. The weekly digests were organized as follows:  Topics: The weekly digests were categorized in to 28 major topics and further divided into several related subtopics. o Topics were presented alphabetically in this document.  Subtopics: Subtopics were used when there was significant number of questions dealing with a particular subtopic. However, subtopic was also used for unique and important themes, despite the number of questions available. Questions, which did not have a specific subtopic, were grouped under ‘General questions’. o The subtopics were arranged alphabetically in this document.  Questions/Answers: At the end of each question, the original digest number is given followed by the question number (for instance, digest 2.1 indicates question 1 of digest 2) for easy cross-reference. Due to the nature of some questions, more than one topic was discussed in a particular Q/A. In these cases, questions were placed under the most representative topic/subtopic. o Questions were arranged based on a logical order in most cases, under each subtopic.  Table of contents: Topics, subtopics and the titles of Q/A were provided in the table of contents. |  A model organization, as used in this manuscript, is given as follows: 1. Topic 1.1. Subtopic 1.1.1) Title of the question/answer Question in bold letters (Digest number. question number) Answer by Srila Romapada Swami.  Appendix: For five questions dealing with ‘patience’, ‘Deity worship’, ‘Caitanya Mahaprabhu & Kalki avatar’, ‘humility’, and ‘yoga ladder’, Maharaj had provided supporting documents with elaborate description. These documents were provided in Appendix.  Index: Index, provided at the end of the document, take into account different topics dealt within each question and thus very comprehensive. Index is divided into keywords and sub-keywords. Whenever it was appropriate, cross-reference of related keywords were also provided at the end of each keyword.  Pdf documents: Several versions of the pdf documents were made available at Maharaj’s website. o Offline browsing: For offline browsing, a single pdf document (with all the digests up to December 2007) is provided. o Printing: A two volume set, optimized for printing and binding, is also presented. Comprehensive ‘table of contents’ and ‘index’ were included in both the volumes for easy access. Page margins of these documents were optimized for ‘printing on both the sides’ and binding. o Smaller size document: Smaller size documents are also made available for those who have slower internet connections. Please note that we are currently working on improving the organization of this document. If you come across any mistake, please let us know. Your suggestions for the improvement are highly appreciated. Please forgive us if we made any inadvertent mistakes during our compilation. You are welcome to send in your questions to His Holiness Romapada Swami at [email protected] with the word "Question" included in the subject line. All previous and current digests can be accessed at Maharaj’s official website http://www.romapadaswami.com. Lectures given by Maharaj can be accessed at http://www.caitanya.com. Page | ii Biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaj Srila Romapada Swami appeared in this world on December 27, 1948. He was born in Utica, New York, as the youngest of five children. Although the youngest member of the family, Srila Romapada Swami was respected by the others as the most responsible, the most principle-centered, and the highest achiever amongst them. In course of time, the youngest son of the family would display his unique wisdom and superexcellence in all respects. Coming from a Christian upbringing, he received a strong sense of values, as passed on by his mother and father. As a child, he was deeply thoughtful about his experiences in life. He carefully contemplated the teachings of the Bible that were imparted to him. He would frequently question such things as: "What does it mean to love God with all one's heart, mind and soul? How does one practically live by the principle 'Love thy neighbor as thyself'? What is it like in the Kingdom of God? What do people do when they get there? In search of the answers to these questions, he explored various teachings of transcendental knowledge and was gradually lead to the Bhagavad-Gita. He read seven or eight English translations of Bhagavad-Gita and experimented with meditation. Yet his search was still incomplete. It was as a student at the State University of New York in Buffalo, in 1969, that Srila Romapada Swami finally found the path to the Absolute Truth that he had been searching for. It was there that he had his first introduction to Krsna consciousness when he heard His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada chanting on campus. He squeezed himself into a packed lecture hall and there was Srila Prabhupada and Alan Ginsberg on stage chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Although he did not know it at the time, Srila Romapada Swami had just contacted his eternal spiritual master. His journey into Krsna consciousness had begun. Sometime thereafter, Srila Romapada Swami received a copy of Back to Godhead Magazine and Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-Gita, As It Is, the first translation he read that revealed the transcendental message with clarity. He attained the association of devotees who were participating in the preaching center that formed near campus, headed by one of Srila Prabhupada's senior Page | iii disciples. He became more and more attracted to Krsna consciousness on account of Srila Prabhupada's purity, the perfect philosophy, and the practical life of devotion based upon practices that actually purified. As he took up those principles and practices of Krsna consciousness, a profound realization unfolded that Srila Prabhupada had undergone great personal sacrifice to deliver a divine message that was now changing his life. Thus, Srila Romapada Swami developed a very deep sense of indebtedness to Srila Prabhupada and concluded that he must dedicate himself in full gratitude to the mission of his spiritual master. Srila Romapada Swami was 21 years old and had just been accepted to medical school when he joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. His family had so much confidence and appreciation for his high sense of values and his individual expression of them, that when he decided to live his life in full devotion to Krsna they respected his decision. In fact, after becoming finally accustomed to the fact that his new way of life was not just a passing fling, they privately expressed the fact that they were quite proud of him; although they shared similar ideals, they saw that he was factually living by them. During July of 1971,Srila Romapada Swami received first initiation from Srila Prabhupada at the temple located on Henry Street in Brooklyn, New York. One year later, during the summer of '72, Srila Romapada Swami received second initiation. At the time he was fully engaged as the Sankirtana Leader and the Temple Commander in a temple of 150 devotees. During that same summer, Their Most Beautiful Lordships, Sri Sri Radha Govinda, arrived in New York. Srila Romapada Swami has remained a faithful servant at the lotus feet of Their Lordships ever since. In the summer of 1982, Srila Romapada Swami received initiation into the renounced order of life. After accepting sannyasa, he traveled to many temples throughout the United States and Europe, preaching Krsna consciousness. Yet he always maintained his base at Sri Sri Radha- Govinda Mandir in New York, and continued to orchestrate many local opportunities for college preaching, distributing prasadam and giving the message of Krsna consciousness to others. In March of '92, he was appointed Governing Body Commissioner for New York and New Jersey. In '94 he accepted the same responsibility for the Midwest United States. Under his inspiration and direction many Sunday Schools and congregational development programs have sprouted and flourished. Due to his indebtedness to Srila Prabhupada, and the particular circumstances in which he contacted Krsna consciousness, Srila Romapada Swami remains forever dedicated to college preaching. It is not possible to describe the entire range of his activities in devotional service even in the course of one day, what to speak of one decade, or the course of his entire lifetime thus far. One thing that can be said for certain, however, is that each and every moment of his life Srila Romapada Swami is cent-per-cent absorbed in serving the instructions and the mission of his beloved spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. Page | iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Guide to “Inquiries into the Absolute”…………………….…………i Biography of His Holiness Romapada Swami Maharaj………….iii 1. Animals, animal sacrifice and animal killing ............................... 1 1.1. General questions: Animals, animal sacrifice and animal killing .............................. 1 1.1.1) Animal sacrifices/hunting in vedic times ..............................................................................1 1.1.2) Hunting animals for sports during Lord Krishna‟s time ......................................................1 1.1.3) Killing and karma .....................................................................................................................2 1.1.4) Old testament and animal killing ...........................................................................................2 1.1.5) Can animal killers/meat eaters become devotees? ...........................................................3 1.1.6) Cow slaughtering .....................................................................................................................4 1.1.7) Can animals be allowed inside the temple? ........................................................................4 1.1.8) Keeping dogs for security .......................................................................................................5 2. Chanting ................................................................................................ 6 2.1. Chanting of Maha mantra ................................................................................................ 6 2.1.1) Meaning of Maha mantra .......................................................................................................6 2.1.2) Meaning and the effect of Maha Mantra ..............................................................................6 2.1.3) Significance of the Mahamantra ............................................................................................7 2.1.4) Reference to chanting in Bhagavad-Gita .............................................................................8 2.1.5) „Stages of chanting‟ and „how to measure the purity of chanting?‟............................... 10 2.1.6) Progressive realizations during the „stages of chanting‟ ................................................ 10 2.1.7) Chanting leads to eradication of sins ................................................................................ 12 2.1.8) Chanting leads to purification and self realization ........................................................... 12 2.1.9) Is chanting alone sufficient for spiritual elevation? .......................................................... 13 2.1.10) Afraid to chant because of the destruction of material desires ................................... 13 2.2. Chanting of other mantras ............................................................................................ 14 2.2.1) Difference between „vedic mantra‟ and „Maha mantra‟ .................................................. 14 2.2.2) Difference between the chanting of "Hare Krishna" and "om namah shivaya" ........... 15 2.2.3) Comparison between the chanting of the names of Lord Krishna, Lord Rama and Lord Vishnu ....................................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.4) Qualification for chanting the Gayatri-mantra .................................................................. 17 2.2.5) „Meaning of “OM”‟ and „sacrifices to Lord Vishnu‟ ........................................................... 18 Page | v 2.2.6) Meaning of "Om Tat Sat" ..................................................................................................... 18 2.2.7) Can we make up variations of mantras? .......................................................................... 18 2.3. Effective chanting: practical tips ................................................................................... 20 2.3.1) Making oneself fit to chant: by hearing and attracting the spiritual master‟s mercy ... 20 2.3.2) Surrendering to the Holy name .......................................................................................... 21 2.3.3) Effect of chanting Pancha-tattva mantra before chanting Maha mantra ..................... 22 2.3.4) Role of pronunciation while chanting the Holy names .................................................... 22 2.3.5) How to obtain concentration while chanting? ................................................................... 23 2.3.6) Reason for chanting on beads............................................................................................ 24 2.3.7) Advantages of chanting on beads ...................................................................................... 24 2.3.8) Chanting with or without beads .......................................................................................... 24 2.4. Offenses in chanting ...................................................................................................... 25 2.4.1) Ten offenses in chanting ..................................................................................................... 25 2.4.2) „Offensive chanting‟ and „chanting leads to taste for the Holy Name‟ .......................... 25 2.4.3) Afraid to chant due to the fear of committing offenses ................................................... 26 2.4.4) Reinstating oneself after commiting offenses .................................................................. 27 2.4.5) Is it an offence to chant while still eating meat? .............................................................. 27 2.4.6) Effect of offenseless chanting ............................................................................................. 28 3. Death and transmigration .............................................................. 29 3.1. Death ................................................................................................................................ 29 3.1.1) Remembering Lord Krishna at the time of death ............................................................. 29 3.1.2) Why should we live if there is death? ................................................................................ 30 3.1.3) Bringing life to a dead body ................................................................................................ 31 3.2. Transmigration ................................................................................................................ 32 3.2.1) Is there life after death? ....................................................................................................... 32 3.2.2) What is rebirth? ..................................................................................................................... 32 3.2.3) „Transmigration‟ and „the form of God in the Vedas‟ ....................................................... 32 3.2.4) Purpose of transmigration and the human form of life .................................................... 34 3.2.5) How does karma influences the transmigration of the soul? ......................................... 35 3.2.6) Reincarnation and gender ................................................................................................... 35 3.2.7) Remembering past lives ...................................................................................................... 36 3.2.8) Destination of the killer of the soul ..................................................................................... 36 4. Demigods ............................................................................................ 37 Page | vi 4.1. Demigod and Demigod worship ................................................................................... 37 4.1.1) Are all Hindu gods the same? ............................................................................................ 37 4.1.2) Role of demigods .................................................................................................................. 37 4.1.3) Fate of demigods after their duration of rule .................................................................... 38 4.1.4) Demigod worship .................................................................................................................. 38 4.1.5) „Demigod worship‟ and „worship of Lord Ganesha for removing obstacles‟ ................ 39 4.1.6) Worship of Lord Ganesa vs. Lord Narashinga dev ......................................................... 40 4.1.7) Animal sacrifice for worshipping Durga devi .................................................................... 40 4.1.8) „Arjuna seeking help of Lord Indra‟ & „devotion only to Krishna‟ ................................... 41 4.2. Lord Brahma .................................................................................................................... 42 4.2.1) Lifetime of Lord Brahma - reference .................................................................................. 42 4.2.2) Lord Brahma‟s age ............................................................................................................... 42 4.2.3) Lord Brahma‟s meditation and realization ........................................................................ 42 4.2.4) Will all Lord Brahmas‟ return back to Goloka Vrindavana? ........................................... 43 4.2.5) Worship of Lord Brahma ..................................................................................................... 43 4.3. Lord Siva .......................................................................................................................... 43 4.3.1) Worship of Lord Siva, a pure devotee of Lord Krishna ................................................... 43 4.3.2) Performing parikrama of Lord Siva .................................................................................... 43 4.3.3) Fasting on Siva ratri ............................................................................................................. 44 4.3.4) Fasting on Siva ratri ............................................................................................................. 44 4.3.5) How can Lord Siva be influenced by maya? .................................................................... 44 4.4. Lord Krishna and Demigods ......................................................................................... 45 4.4.1) Understanding the position of various scriptures pointing out different personalities (LordKrishna, Lord Siva & demigods) as the supreme .............................................................. 45 4.4.2) Position of Lord Krishna and Lord Siva in Siva Purana .................................................. 48 4.4.3) „Why are there so many gods mentioned in Vedas?‟ and „why are Hindus biased in accepting Lord Krishna as the Supreme‟ ..................................................................................... 49 4.4.4) Is it correct to consider Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Siva as the trinity? ..... 49 4.4.5) Can Lord Vishnu be classified as a demigod? ................................................................. 50 4.4.6) Understanding the pastime of Lord Ramachandra worshipping Lord Siva ................. 50 5. Devotional service ............................................................................ 52 5.1. Deity worship, Tulasi worship ....................................................................................... 52 5.1.1) Installing Radha Krishna Deities and caring for Them ................................................... 52 5.1.2) Identifying the Deity as Bhagavan ..................................................................................... 52 Page | vii 5.1.3) „Is the Deity, Lord Krsna Himself?‟ or „does Lord Krishna reside in the Deity?‟.......... 53 5.1.4) Deity worship by uninitiated devotees ............................................................................... 54 5.1.5) „Difference in the style of Deity worship in south Indian temples and ISKCON temples‟ and „authenticity of dancing in kirtan‟ ............................................................................ 54 5.1.6) Sri Radha Krishna worship.................................................................................................. 55 5.1.7) Significance of Lord Narashinga dev‟s worship ............................................................... 56 5.1.8) Significance of Lord Narashinga dev‟s worship ............................................................... 56 5.1.9) Significance of Tulasi worship ............................................................................................ 56 5.2. General questions: Devotional service ....................................................................... 57 5.2.1) What is devotional service? ................................................................................................ 57 5.2.2) „Eligibility for devotional service‟ & „Bhagavata-marg vs. vaidic viddhi-marg‟ ............. 57 5.2.3) „Qualification for devotional service‟ and „nine processes of devotional service‟ ....... 58 5.2.4) Is bhakti predestined? .......................................................................................................... 58 5.2.5) When does seed of devotion get implanted? ................................................................... 60 5.2.6) Real happiness can come only by Krishna consciousness ........................................... 60 5.2.7) What is transcendental happiness free of material anxiety? ......................................... 61 5.2.8) „How to experss oneself as part of the Lord?‟ and „how to prepare oneself so that the Lord can accept?‟............................................................................................................................. 62 5.2.9) Revelation of siddha-svarupa (constitutional relationship with Lord Krishna) ............. 62 5.2.10) What is the absolute minimum: chanting, scriptural reading, or devotee association? ............................................................................................................................................................ 63 5.2.11) When, how, and why should we pray? ........................................................................... 63 5.2.12) Keeping faith in great difficulty: Is it OK to pray? ........................................................... 64 5.2.13) Can we directly pray to Krishna, when we have a spiritual master? .......................... 65 5.2.14) Emphasis on sankirtana .................................................................................................... 65 5.2.15) Destination of the devotees with materialistic desires ................................................. 67 5.2.16) Afraid of devotional service due to „testing by Krishna‟ ................................................ 67 5.2.17) Falldown of devotees ......................................................................................................... 68 6. Devotee and non-devotee relationships .................................... 70 6.1. „Dealing with devotees‟ and „devotee association‟ .................................................... 70 6.1.1) How to deal with disliking another devotee ...................................................................... 70 6.1.2) „Are devotees‟really expecting me to be happy, even when I am in a miserable situation?‟ and „developing deep relationship with one or two devotees‟ ............................... 70 Page | viii