Every human being has four debts. One of the foremost among them is one towards his parents. So taking care of the parents will not become a karma that will be carried on to the next birth.
answers and beyonds
On the occasion of Guru Poornima, kindly advise us on how parents can impart good moral values to their children.
In days yonder, joint family system was in vogue. The elders in the house imparted moral values to the younger generation that lived with them and made them spiritually sound. The very family surroundings and the elders provided a good learning environment for the children.
In today’s fast-paced life, the joint-family system is no more prevalent. In such a life-style, there are few opportunities to impart moral values to children. But, whatever is implanted in the hearts of the little ones remain with them until the end. It is the values that are taught to children that keep them on the right path. Even if the surroundings and situations may distract the youth from his right path, he will eventually come back to the right track, thanks to the values he had imbibed in his childhood.
So it is the responsibility of the parents to inculcate good values in the youngsters right from childhood. They should tell them the stories of great Mahans like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharshi, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and so on. They should include them in all the religious and spiritual activities that they conduct and participate in.
They should always pray to the Guru for their children.
I was told that the Shastras do not recommend organ donation after death, as they do not really belong to us. Is organ donation right?
When we take the state of affairs today, we perform so many different deeds and activities against the Shastras towards our selfish ends and personal benefit. When it involves others, we try to find refuge in Shastras to discover a reason for not doing it.
When a deed is done for a social cause with the welfare of the people in mind, one can go ahead and do it.
Is organ donation after death acceptable according to our religion?
Organ donation is done as a social cause, with the welfare of someone in mind. So from this viewpoint, it is acceptable.
Please explain the meaning and description of ‘OM’.
Before all the physical creations came into existence, it is the sound that came first. The primordial sound is the sound of ‘Om’. In general, this ‘shabdha’ signifies welcoming God. It has three syllables – ‘A’ ‘U’ and ‘M’. When the first syllable ‘A’ is pronounced, one has to open his mouth fully. This represents creation. The second syllable ‘U’ represents sustenance or protection. The third syllable ‘M’ (pronouncing which the lips get closed) represents ‘laya’ or dissolution.
This is also called the ‘Pranava Mantra’. Yogis have this ‘dhwani’ (sound) resonating in their body. This is known as ‘anaahatam’.
Sometimes we may have to offer obeisance to elderly people who stay nearby on special occasions like Diwali, Navaratri etc. even though they are not right authorities to offer blessings. What do we do in such cases?
When you prostrate unto them thinking of your Guru or Jagadguru Sri Krishna, the obeisance goes to your Guru or Sri Krishna.
We prostrate to our parents, Guru and God. Everyone does it in a different way. One lays down his whole body flat. Women bend up to their knees. Vaishnavites do it 3 times in one stroke. Some people while prostrating flat cross their legs. What does each one mean? What is the right way to prostrate? What should one think while prostrating?
When someone visits us, we get up and invite them with a smile. To show respect to elders or God, we tie our ‘uttariiyam’ on our hips. Similarly, prostration is a way to show our respect to the Lord or the Guru.
Head is considered a vital part of one’s body. Hence having one’s head touch the feet of the one to whom one prostrates is considered total surrender. Moreover, divine forces radiate from the hands and feet of the Guru and prostration transfers some of these divine forces from the Guru to the disciple.
The Shastras prescribe that a few parts of the woman’s body not touch the ground and hence women prostrate differently. The other ways of prostrations depends purely on the Sampradaya of their elders / Acharyas and don’t have any other inner implication.
When prostrating, one should humbly submit to the Lord with the thought that he is totally surrendering to the Lord and henceforth is His property and that the Lord take care of him.
My friend tells me that performing Nama Kirtan and Bhakti will only take one to another janma or the state where one will start getting into yogic discipline and the study of Vedanta could be undertaken which would eventually lead to liberation. Hence doing Nama Kirtan will only lead to the path of Vedanta Vichara and not grant Moksha. I believe in prapatti and Nama Kirtan. Which is correct?
Existence of God, Janma, papa, punya, life after death — in all these matters, only the Shastras are to be considered the final verdict and not talent, intellect or your friend’s argument. The Shastras clearly say that one can attain the highest state by Nama Kirtan alone. Any amount of other Sadhanas will not give liberation. It is only by Bhagavan Sri Krishna’s grace that it can be attained. One day He will be pleased with the Nama Kirtan and provide us with the highest state of bliss.
It is said that the true form of God is unimaginable and for this reason, a few great spiritual masters (like Kabir, Guru Nanak, Shankaradeva etc.) worshipped Nama alone. Is ‘Nama’ more significant than ‘Rupa’ (form)?
Yes, Nama is definitely more significant than ‘Rupa’.
What is meaning of the word ‘Bhajan’?
Involving body, word and mind in God alone is called bhajan.
