Question and Answer Part 2

Dec 12^th 2017

D : Again is it that the mental affirmations of that person which resolved problem and not the tantric rituals.

M : Yes, it is only the mind and the will power that counts in such healings and problems resolutions.

D : Further our family itself was affected by black magic some years ago and we faced many problems because of this. There were many accidents that we faced but nothing fatal. Lot of fighting in the house etc. Hence we had to perform some puja and our problems reduced little and I started doing Sri Chakra puja and over a period of time these problems reduced and  good things started to happen. The question here is Sri Chakra puja is a ritualistic worship and how is that our problems reduced because of the ritual as this should not work. Is it that our affirmation in our mind were so strong that positive things started happening.

M : Yes, it is the combination of your positive thoughts and faith on Sri Chakra that brought about auspiciousness. Had you brought a stone in place Sri Chakra, the same auspiciousness would have happened.

D : I was under the impression that black magic works on mind level where the practitioner performs some rite so that it affects the other person making him to take wrong decisions at crucial time. Which leads to problems in his life. But if these rituals itself does not work then why are people suffering because of this. Again is it the karma playing it's role here or is it that new karma is being generated by doing these negative acts.

M : I do not believe in black magic at all. But I have heard from many that they are under the influence of black magic and some remedial measures worked for them. When someone comes to me with this problem, I ask them to change Narasimha mantra and they are relieved. When someone tells you that you are under the influence of black magic, naturally your mind anticipates worst things to happen. When mind decides negatively, inauspicious things begin to happen. It could be both. We can generate new karmas or we could be experiencing the effect of the existing karmas. We do not know and nobody knows. It is Divine Secret.

D : Then I should without any questions should conclude that be it black magic, tantric rites, or vedic rituals, visiting places, pujas and even performing shraddhas has no purpose and we should enhance our mind and work towards achieving grace of the lord. Uncover the true self within us?

M : Yes, you are absolutely right. But you should have absolute faith in formless Brahman. It is difficult to work with subtleties and it is easier to work with gross forms. Ceremonial rights have no relevance. I have explained this in two series. I do not know whether you have read them. Please read these two articles.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7hF_DO6BMULa1dlTjlWMU9hSk0/edit

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7hF_DO6BMULck1RNWxnaXFfM2s/edit

D : Further my father was an astrologer who used to prescribe remedial measures for many problems.  Especially when it came to marriage related issues he used to tell people to go to Rameshwaram and perform some rituals.  I have seen hundreds of marriages that were not happening earlier were settled within few weeks to months after performing this puja.
So again is it that the intention/affirmations were strong enough to resolve their issues.

M : It is not only the affirmation, it is also the faith they have on your father. This makes things to happen.

D : Again whose intention was strong is it the person who did the puja or is it the person gave the solution.

M : Nobody is wrong, as their intentions are good only. No accrual of karmas here. If money is a predominant factor then karma accrues.

D : If the intention of person is strong then the change results in meddling with karma which cannot happen?

M : Karma is the ultimate. Intention becomes strong only when karma permits. Karma acts in the most subtle way.

D : But how come this has happened to so many people exactly after performing rituals and not before that.

M : This is strange coincidence. Lots of things can be discussed on this.

D : I'm asking same questions again as, I have seen few situations which shows that there were effects of some rituals but the question is how?

M : I have answered earlier.

D : You say that we should not keep idols in houses which are larger than thumb in size. So if one has kept an idol in his house then does that mean that he has to pray to it. Meaning we are told that if saligrama or sri Chakra is in the house everyday we have to offer naivedhyam and puja. Is it necessary to do all these things. Currently my brother has saligrama and sri Chakra with him and he is not doing any puja. Even though this represents duality if we keep yantra in a house we have energise it by doing it? Or is it Ok that you can stop offering puja once you know it is not necessary.  If it is not necessary then what will you do with these yantra and saligrama. Should this be kept in home without doing anything?

M : I don’t think I would have said that idols should be of one’s thumb’s size. I don’t believe in that. But when you have some idols or saligrama or Sri Chakra, you have to at least offer some naivedya. Even water will do. Krishna wants only a leaf, one flower, one fruit and water. You should continue to keep this at home by doing only a simple naivedya of water

D : Though these idols serve as a symbolism for the divine within we would have invested time in doing puja to it and it would have been energised because of this. or is it that idol is not energised but the idol has acted as a medium to energise our self (that is our mind and body has evolved by these practices).

M : These idols are only medium that connects cosmic energy with individual energy. It is only the cause and not the source.

D : When it comes to nadi astrology written by rishis like Agastya,  they provide in the nadi many rituals that one has to perform for resolving their problems. When they know that these will not work why are they providing such methods. If they cater to people who follow dharma shastra these rituals. Does it not lead to false impressions that are created by these rituals.

M : Nadi astrology is absolute fraud.

D : In sabija samadhi we burn our negative impressions in our mind on a continuous basis. By this we are able to clean our mind from all impressions created earlier also this will act as a method to correct personality defects.  So Ideally out mind has the capacity to burn karmic impressions at this stage? Is this possible?

M : No karmas can never be burnt. They have to be experienced. Karma also gives good results and bad results.

Dec 21^st 2017

D: Idols act as a medium between the self and the cosmic (energy) Brahman. So first stage of spiritual path is to find the GOD within us and then in the second stage we see same Brahman in all, so this leads to merger with the Brahman?

M : Idols do not act as a medium between the self and Brahman. Only our breath is the connecting link between cosmic energy and individual soul. There are two steps in Self-realization. One is ritualistic path. This is like pre-schooling. Here we worship idols by performing various rituals including fasting, etc. This attunes our mind to go for formless Brahman. The devotion for a particular form transforms us to seek formless Brahman. Therefore, getting straight into spiritual path without any forms is very difficult and not advisable too.

D : When we do idol worship does to link us to the self within us, meaning when I’m doing abhishekam on an idol. It is the symbolic representation of doing abhishekam to the self within us? Or the abhishekam is for the cosmic Brahman? 

M : First state in spiritual path is to realize the Self within and later on realizing that Brahman pervades everywhere, His omnipresence. When you abhishekam etc, yes it is symbolic representation only. Normally, during external worship, the self within is brought out into the idol. Then idol is worshiped and after the worship is over, this energy is taken back into the body as the Self. Again this is also symbolic.

D : If everything is karma related then what control do we have on our life? If we have freewill, which is beyond the control of karma. When will this come into picture?

M : Not everything is karma. Some of the acts, we create and some acts happen due to karma unfolding. Which actions we create and which actions unfold due to karma is not known to us. There are only two secrets and both of them are called Divine secrets. They are - 1. The amount of karma we have and 2. What is in store for future including time of death? Yes, freewill is surely beyond the clutches of karma and only by using this free will we create either new karmas or expend our existing karmas, as karmas manifest only due to differentiation.