Questions Responded by Swami Haripriya Parivrajika

Preacher at Brahmarishi Mission of Canada

Representing Hinduism

Question 1. Secular laws have trumped religious social values in Canada, e.g. homosexual, abortion rights. What can people of all faiths do to change this reality?

Answer: I’m afraid the only thing we can do is to create awareness among people about the bad impact of these issues on the human race, society and nation. I strongly belief the Law should control this matter. Homosexuality is not new, it has been existing since ancient time, but the only difference is that before it used to be a very private matter and people kept it secret, hiding it from society. So the number was not that high. But now the consent of the Law for homosexuality is increasing this social issue day by day and also creating the danger of reducing the reproduction of the human race. The law should have insight in this matter and try to control homosexuality rather than provoke it. Abortion is a very heinous act and should be considered equal to the crime of killing. According to our scriptures it is considered one of the worst action one can do. Our scriptures say that not only the one who commits abortion is punished by the Nature but the whole society or nation is punished by nature through disasters such as earth quakes, floods, tsunamis etc. In India there are many campaigns who protest and fight to stop abortion. Such campaigns should be taken in consideration here in Canada as well. Creating awareness in people is very important to minimize such actions.

Question 2. Why the ‘gods & goddesses’ forms beyond the one, for curiosity and with respect. Thank you. By Jocelyn

Answer: The Absolute Unmanifest Supreme Brahman is beyond form, time and space. Experiencing the Supreme Brahman in unmanifest state is very difficult and we are not able to relate with the Supreme God. It is just like the all-pervasive fire. The fire element is everywhere in the space but we cannot see that fire. We cannot feel that fire. It doesn’t give any heat or light to us and it is also not available for us to cook with. So what is the use of such fire pervaded in the entire space? Only when the fire is in matter we can use it to cook, to heat our bodies, to create light etc. In the same way manifestation of the Supreme Brahman is very essential. Every human being has different qualities, capabilities, interests and needs. So the many forms are there to fulfill the needs of the devotee. You can compare it with the Government. The Government in itself is an institution and doesn’t serve the people directly. It has several departments to serve the needs of everyone. Likewise the Supreme Brahman has manifested in many forms for the sake of various devotees and their needs, such as wisdom, power, prosperity etc.

Question 3. As a scientist, how do we respect humanity while incorporating ideas like genetic modifications? By Frank T Asheri

Answer: This is not only a question of respecting humanity it is also about respecting the Nature. Whenever people go against Nature it results in disasters in the long run, which causes suffering to the whole humankind. It is a very good thing to do inventions and improve human abilities, but never mess with Nature and God.

Question 4. How can you practice and participate in the Hindu faith as a student in Waterloo region? Why are some Hindues vegetarians? By Vecilan Selvalingan

Answer: Anyone at any place can participate in practices within Sanatan Dharma. As a student the best practice for you would be Yoga. We at Brahmarishi Mission of Canada in Kitchener offer FREE Yoga classes for everyone regardless of religion or origin. You can learn Yoga here and practice at home. We also offer other services and activities you can participate in. Especially for students and youngsters we have a once a month meeting running with interactive discussions on our various scriptures and Philosophy. You can find more information on our website: www.brahmrishimission.org

Why are some Hindus vegetarians? Well that is one of the teachings of Sanatan Dharma and our scriptures. In fact not only Hindu but all human beings should be vegetarian. Within our ecological system the human being is the highest of all creations, equipped with the discriminative faculty we call Wisdom. Food is a very important part in our lives. Food not only nurtures our body but it also nurtures the mind. Our mind develops according to the food we eat through the vibrations in that food. Have not experienced about how delicious our mother’s cooked dishes are? Why? The same food can be cooked by someone else but you will not find such pleasure and satisfaction as your mom’s food. That is because a mother cooks with unconditional love for her child, so the food contains the vibrations of love and nurturing. Can you imagine what type of vibration and energy we get into our body and mind when we eat animals and other living creatures? How would you feel if somebody starts to cut you in order to kill? Can you imagine the fear, anxiety and pain of an animal who is being slaughtered? The vibrations of these negative emotions remains in the meat you eat and effects the mind very badly.

Question 5. How do you practice Hinduism if the only language you speak is English? By Ava Zhu

Answer: Language is not an issue to practice Hinduism/Sanatan Dharma. It is a way of life which can be practiced by anyone regardless of language or origin. Our various scriptures are also translated in English with detailed explanations. We offer Yoga classes and other services at Brahmarishi Mission of Canada, which are conducted in English. Emotions, feelings, devotion and even knowledge has an Universal language understood by all and especially by God.

Question 6. If everyone can be “good”. Why many people cannot become “good” even they do yoga and meditation for whole life? Thanks

Answer: When mind, senses and even object of senses overpower the human intelligence then people engage in wrong or “bad” actions. Selfish desires become so strong that one can do anything to fulfill them. You need to understand what Yoga is. Yoga is not the physical postures we do. Yoga is about realizing the oneness with God. It is about visualizing unity in diversity. There exist only one Supreme Truth residing in everyone and everything. There is no existence of a separate entity besides the Supreme Brahman. When there is no duality emotions such as hatred, jealousy etc. cannot exist, because you need two for that. So those who are practicing Yoga and meditation and cannot become good indicates that the method or theory of the practice is incorrect. When we act in the light of our wisdom our actions will be good. Anything we do driven by ignorance, infatuation or selfish desires results in bad actions.

Question 7. How does “Hindu pantheism” differ from “pantheism”?

Answer: According to pantheism this whole universe is God Himself and there is no separate God beyond the creation. But according to Hindu Pantheism this whole creation is a projection of ¼ part of The Supreme Brahman only (Purusha Sukta Verse 3: Paado Asya Vishwabhutaani – this creation is 1/4th of that Supreme Brahman). So the whole universe with countless galaxies, stars and nebulas is just a part of the Supreme Brahman, not the entire Supreme Brahman. Besides this Hindu pantheism sees this Universe as the projection of the Supreme Brahman, but also accepts the manifestation of the Supreme Brahman in various forms of God and Goddesses.

Question 8. How would you explain about the differences among people (i.e. some poor, some rich, some beautiful some ugly) in regard of God as the creator?

Answer: We are the projections of God and possess all the Divine qualities of God. God is only the Seer. He is not writing any destiny for us, or giving any happiness or sorrow. He has equipped all human beings with equal means which become the source of our strength, abilities, intelligence and creative power. It is up to us how we use these means. It is like if 10 people e.g. would be given an equal amount of money, it would be their own choice how and how much they would spend the money. We are the creators of our own destiny. Our physical structure, all our happiness and sorrow, our success, fame and everything else we ourselves have created in our lives through our own Karma (actions). According to the law of action, every action has a reaction. In other words we can also say “We reap what we sow”. Also according to the law of attraction we ourselves attract everything in our lives according to our thoughts feelings and vibrations we send out in this universe.

Question 9. If God speaks today and one can hear him, any hearing experience?

Answer: God speaks in many ways, but we need the proper ear to hear Him. In fact we all have experienced God talking to us, but without our awareness. The projection of God in ourselves is the Aatma (The Real Self). Many times everyone must have experienced an inner voice guiding you and telling which decisions to take, especially in dilemmas. That inner voice is the voice of our Aatma, in other words it is the voice of
God. Sometimes when we need answers for life changing issues, someone comes up with an answer from nowhere. It is God speaking through that person. In this way God speaks in many ways and we don’t need a voice coming from the sky to hear God speaking.

Question 10. What is the nature of Homo sapiens? From Francis Tuntu Asheri

Answer: According to Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism) man is Divine. Being the projections of God man has all divine qualities. Our real Self is the Aatma and the nature of the Aatma is the same as of the Supreme Brahman, Immortal, Wisdom and Bliss. The Aatma is covered by 5 sheaths, these are the physical sheath, the vital/sensual sheath, the mental sheath, the ego sheath and the intellect sheath. These form three types of body of an Aatma, the physical body, the subtle body (senses, ego and mind) and the causal body (the intellect). At the time of death, the physical body dies, but the subtle body and the causal body remain and together with the Aatma or real man, transmigrate to another physical body to be born again. The four goals for man are sensual enjoyment (Kama), acquisition of earthly riches (Artha), fulfilment of social obligations (Dharma), and the fourth and ultimate goal: liberation (Moksha), the state of fullest manifestation of innate divinity and perfection. In each birth man pursues the three first goals until the last goal of Moksha or Liberation is achieved. (Please note that with man is meant man and woman both)

Question 11. What is the religions attitude towards homosexuality and the gender spectrum? By Azura

Answer: Hindu religious texts do not explicitly mention homosexuality. According to freedom in Sanatan Dharma it is the choice of the individual to engage in such acts just like any other good or bad act. It will not deprive the person’s right to be accepted in the society as well as to pursue for Moksha or liberation. Physiological relation is a biological need which one tries to fulfill either with the opposite gender or the same gender. Usually this biological demand is driven by lust and lust is wrong. Lust prevents the human to reach the ultimate goal. According to the law of action when engaging oneself in homosexuality for the sake of lust, the doer will face the results accordingly. The gender spectrum is also subject to Karma and can be seen as a result of previous Karma.

Question 12. Why is there segregation in casts in Hinduism?

Answer: Cast system in Hinduism is just a classification of the society. Classification of society is found everywhere, in every country and society. In every country or society there are 4 classifications: the scholars, the protectors such as police and army, the business class and the labour class. These four classes are very essential to sustain and maintain any society. In Hinduism we call the scholars Brahmana, the protectors Kshatriya, the business man Vaishya and the Labour Shudra. In society the behaviour towards each of these classes is different, which can be seen everywhere, but the human rights and rights for devotion and emancipation are the same for each of these classes. A shudra has equal right to pursue and achieve Moksha (Emancipation) as a brahmana has.

Question 13. If God is the universe how can be decide on a moral imperative? i.e. is God good, bad or uncaring? By Francis T Asheri

Answer: God is Sat Chid Anand, which means The Truth, Immortal, Wisdom and Bliss. God is the creation and the creation in itself is perfect, beautiful and full of bliss. Everything bad, uncaring or sorrow is created by man. For example imagine yourself with friends and family surrounded by beautiful nature and you are enjoying the peace in the atmosphere, suddenly some guys arrive there with guns and start to shoot at you. What will happen to the peace? You will say peace is gone. But is the peace of that place and the beauty of that nature really gone? No! It was there and will always be there. It is the act of the human ignorance which has disrupted the peace. In fact the existence is only good, everything which is bad is the absence of the good. If you want to describe darkness what would you say, there is no light. Which means darkness in itself has no existence. It is just the absence of light. God is light and where there is light there can never be darkness. Where there is good, bad or evil cannot exist.

Question 14. What is the name of Supreme Brahman? Is it Bhagwan? By Attia

Answer: Supreme Brahman has countless forms and thus countless names. However the first name for that Supreme Brahman is AUM. Bhagwan is the word we use to address the Supreme Brahman and its various forms. Like you would say Lord, we say Bhagwan. So when Supreme Brahman is in the form of Shiva we say Bhagwan Shiva, likewise we say Bhagwan Krishna, Bhagwan Rama etc.

Question 15. Although our understanding of God may differ, are we all looked after and received by the same God?

Answer: Yes of course. When we say God is one, we mean one for all regardless of any cast, creed, color, gender or religion. There is only one Supreme Truth existing you may call by any name whether Allah, Jesus, Ram, Durga, Supreme Brahman or any name you want. Some refer to God as energy. It doesn’t matter how you call God or what your understanding of God is, we are all referring to the one same God. We are all projections of one same God.