What is the fourth method of worship ?

This is perhaps the crucial part and every aspect of worship known as smaranam. Smarana which is the most important and all other type of worship is aimed to this. Smaranam is remembering the divine power and the guiding force existing in all the 1.6 million type of animals, 4 lakhs type of plants 80, 000 types of trees and one million types of micro organisms. Remembering that we are only tools in the hands of the divine power is smarana. What is the benefit of smarana? When the baby walks holding the hands of his father, his confidence is obvious. When we have the smarana, the confidence is built which is the need of life, especially during crisis. What is the fifth method of worship ? Archanam is the fifth method of worship. Offering the flowers, buds, leaves, fruits, coins, rice, bit by bit etc ( a part of whatever you posses ) to god/ image /idol is archana. Even thinking that you are doing archana is also archana. How is it commonly adopted? It can be adopted individually or as groups in samooha archana /laksharchana etc. Using flowers, coins, rice, leaves or even without anything you can do the archana. The last one is known as manopushpam. Explain in details the sixth method ! Vandanam is the sixth method of worship which is the simplest form of worship. It can be adopted by anyone at any place and by any method. Bowing the head, saluting and doing the namaskara, saluting the scholars/ gurus/ parents/ athithies, etc include under vandana. It can be pradakshina, touching the feet, offering flower. It can be crossing the leg and touching the floor and so many methods can be adopted for this. What is the seventh method? Sevanam is the seventh method of worship. The basis of sevanam is that every living being is the manifestation of divinity. Serving the god means, serving the creations of the god and treating all living beings as family members and implementing the applied spirituality principles of Lokaa: samasthaa: sukhino Bhavanthu is the true method of sevanam. Serving the aged, orphans, sick, both human beings and animals is sevanam. Nara seva is narayana seva says our Rishies. Which is the eighth method of worship? Samarpanam is the eighth method of worship. We offer anything or symbolically everything to god or gods creations. Or whatever we have as our own, offer a part of that to the deserving people or god and that is samarpanam. Samarpanam has to be done with a good intention and selfless vision. The annadaanam, vastra daanam, netra daanam, bhoo daanam, koopa daanam, raktha daanam, and so on are samarpanam . How is the samarpanam practiced in temple ? Offering flowers, oil, ghee, and many things for the maintenance, building and making of the temple is the samarpanam. 1

Why we offer materials or money to temples ? Our offering to temple is not a bribe to god. It is done as a part of the pancha mahayajna. Many people have misunderstood that the offering makes god happy. Remember that the material you are offering also belong to god. How can we expect giving his own property to him makes him happy ?. Then what is the meaning of offering or samarpanam ? Offering is nothing but practicing the thyagam and giving up or building the sacrificing/ relinquishing mentality. Giving up what you posses or part of it to others is offering or samarpanam . Why we offer materials and money to the temples ? Our offering to temples or gods is not giving a fine for our crimes or mistakes. It is the part of the pancha maha yajna towards Deva , Pitru . Rishi, Bhootha and Manushya, which are named as Deva yajna, pitru yajna, rishi yajna, bhootha yajna and manushya yajna. Why are we doing these yajnas in temples? In olden days we used to do all these pancha maha yajnas in our homes, Now we are not doing the same in our home due to many reasons. Hence we are taking part in this pancha mahayanjna by offering a part of the expenses of the day to day rituals conducted in temples. In short , offering to temples means we are taking part in pancha mahayanjna.

Should we offer money to temples? If you can offer materials it is dravya yajna or you can offer the money which is easy and simple for building, maintaining and developing the temples. Should we offer to god with mantras ? The mantras are chanted as part of japa yajna, it can be a prayer, casual chanting, or chanting during pooja or during performing some acharas. It is not offering but practicing for self benefit. What are the mantras and how many types of mantras are there ? The above question has partly been answered earlier. I shall add few more points . Mananena thraayathe iti mantra = The one which protects when repeated chanting is performed is known as manthra. Any chanting can be equated with mantra for getting effect of mantra or it is a music therapy type of effect. What is the effect of mantras? When a manthra is chanted in rhythmic tone/sound with its ups and downs, it creates a melodious musical effect in the brain/ body . This effect may be defined as the neurolinguistic type of effect. This effect could control or normalize the brain waves, heart beat, blood pressure, cholesterol level and adrenalin level in our body. Manthra therapy has become a part of modern psychology.. Should we know the meaning of mantras ? 2

The neurolinguistic effect can be derived even without knowing the meaning of the mantras.. One need not understand the meaning of every vedic or puranic manthra. (Like you can enjoy a song even if you do not know the language) Is it good to know the meaning of mantras, even if it is not a must ? Yes it is good to know the meaning of manthra because if you know the meaning of a manthra, it has got an additional effect/advantage which is known as Neurolinguistic (NLE) + Psycholinguistic effect (PLE). As you know that you can enjoy film songs in your mother tongue better than that sung in other languages because you know the meaning also. Is it true that research work is going on the effect of mantra chanting? Yes it is true that many studies are being conducted world over about the mantra therapy. Many scholars /psychologists are conducting in this subject. A famous (late) professor Dr. T. Temple Tutler, of the Cleveland University, USA has conducted remarkable studies on the understanding and application of the music and manthra in therapeutic purposes. Should we know the meaning of keerthan and prayers ? Yes! It is important to know the meaning of the keerthans and prayers. Because they give psycho linguistic effect (PLE) through psychological factors by knowing the message of the lines chanted as keerthans. For this results, the knowledge of the meaning is important.

Is manthra chanting a religious activity or superstition ? The NLE and PLE effects are due to the production and spreading of curative chemicals (hormones) in the brain. These curative chemicals give smoothening and curing effect in the body. Thus manthra chanting is not a superstition/ or merely religious ritual . But the spiritual content on the ritual makes one chant the mantra regularly. What are the physical abnormalities which can be controlled by mantras ? It has been reported that many psychosomatic diseases can be cured or its intensity can be reduced by mantras. It can reduce the tension and stress in the working place and also at home. It can directly cure the psychological disturbances. World over, in hospitals, workshops, training centers, spiritual centers, working places, production centers of the multinational companies, etc the manthra effect is used, by continuously playing the CDs of Veda mantras.. How manthra can be applied in our day to day life ? It can be listened while driving, working in kitchen, working in the factories. It is commonly used in cancer hospitals, in mental health centers. It is good for pregnant women to get Abhimanyu effect and provide positive effect in children when they play or sleep. Even the mind can be tuned under terrible depression during physiological problems, menopause , during old age, lonely times, harassed or confused situations. Is there any relation between manthra and music ?

Every manthra is directly a music if chanted with sruthi. Hence manthra therapy is in a way music therapy. Mantras are known to improve brain functioning and (mental) analytical caliber. What precaution should be taken for chanting manthra/listening to music ? The music/ song/ manthra should never be hard/ harsh/rough/. The speed of chanting should have a smoothening and melodious effect . For example Gayatri manthra and mruthyunjaya manthra chanting should have a range of 4 - 8 times per minute, range of chanting the Om Namo Narayanaaya is 40 -60 and Om Namassivaaya at 38 68 times per minute and so on. What are the factors to be kept in mind while chanting mantras ? Chanting the mantras systematically at fixed times everyday can fetch better results . In modern science the time, space and observer are the three important factors. Here also the time, space and the (physiology+ mental attitude of the) person chanting/ listening mantras are the three important factors for deriving benefit of mantras. Should there be suddhi/ purity for chanting a manthra ? Sareera suddhi, ahaara suddhi, mana suddhi, vaak suddhi and karma suddhi are essential for deriving the full benefit of chanting the manthra. Also the sthala suddhi. The ideal timings are the prabhata sandhya and saayam sandhya; Morning and evening. Group chanting is very good. No mistake is expected in Veda mantra chanting. Due to health reasons or old age if you are incapable of chanting the mantras, do not worry about it. Mantras are chanted for positive effects. Whether one is chanting the manthra or not chanting should not become a matter for discussion. The ideal sound intensity for manthra chanting can be maintained within a radius of 5 meters. Chanting the Vedas in the Vedic way is not easy so it is advised to chant after learning under the guidance of a guru. Why non Brahmins should not chant mantras ? If anyone knows the perfect chanting method with the sruti, it is not important whether you are a Brahmin or not. If not properly learned and practiced, even if you are a Brahmin, there can be very serious errors. Hence it is advised not to chant Veda mantras without proper training. How many types of mantras are mentioned in our literature ? There are so many types of mantras. They are available in different Vedas, Aranyakas, Upanishads, Puraanas, Itihasas, etc . Generally one can say that there are four types of mantras depending upon their sources. The Vedic mantras are from Vedas. The puranic mantras taken from puraanas. The itihaasa mantras are from two epics Ramayana or Mahabharata. The last one is karma mantra chanted as a part of the karma / prayer /prayaschitta /etc . What is the specialty of Veda mantras ? Veda mantras have ten sruthees/ swaras/ tones known as udaattha, anudaattha, swaritha, repha, hraswa, pracheya, anunaasikaa, kampa, deergha kampa, plutha. It is not easy to get training in the sruthi. Hence can be learned only through a Vedic teacher or guru. 4

Can we learn the Veda through cassettes or CDs ? if not why ? One should not try to learn the Veda sruthi through cassettes or CDs because the difference of chanting in sruthies will not be clear. If one is trained in the wrong way of chanting , then correction becomes impossible. What is the alternative if proper chanting is not known ? Listen to Veda mantras from CDs and cassettes. It can even be downloaded from website for listening . (www.nandanmenon.com). There many other website from where downloading of the veda mantra can be done. IISH has brought out all the Vedas in the digitalized format,. In MP 3 format, comprising 200 hrs of veda chanting all the four + one Vedas. At what age the Veda should be learned ? The Vedas learning should start at the age of five or so. It becomes easy to get the sruthies / swaras at that age. Chanting Veda mantra means chanting with sruthi. We should know that the sruthi and meaning are equally important in veda mantras for getting the positive effects. Why sruthi of manthra is so important ? One should remember that even the meaning of the manthra may change if not properly chanted. Singing a song in a wrong way at a particular raga makes irritation . Same is applicable for Vedas also, How many years will take for learning one Veda ? It may take many years for learning the Vedas. Rigorous customs and rituals (rules) are to be followed during learning. However in modern days the rigidity and strictness have come down. Hence it is possible to learn the Vedas part by part depending upon the time available. Generally advised time duration is 12 years. Does the learning of four Vedas follow the same pathway ? Learning Rig Veda , Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda follow almost the same pathway. Where as learning Sama Veda is difficult because of the special sruthies of Sama Veda.. It may take about five years to learn (by heart) each of the three Vedas mentioned above . Much more is needed for Sama Veda. Learning Vedas is a continuous process. For what type of rituals the Veda mantras are chanted or applied. ? Generally the Vedas are chanted in each and every step in Yaagaas. These mantras are also chanted sometimes in poojas, archanas and prayers. Majority of the mantras chanted in poojas and in temple rituals are not Veda mantras . They are puraana mantras and karma mantras . Who has written Veda manthra? Ancient Rishies whom we call manthra drushtara (more than 200 Rishes names appear in Rigveda) known as Vedic rishies have written the Veda mantras. How we will know the name of the author of each manthra ? Rig Veda is the compilation of more than thousand sookthas. Each sookta is written by Rishies whose names are mentioned with the chandas and the name 5

of the devatha in the beginning of the sooktha. Hence by reading the sooktha or listening to it, one can know the author who composed that sooktha. When was these Vedas written ? Vedas are called anaadi . Hence one cannot give a correct date. Based on the astronomical lines given in Rig Veda and some of the Brahmanas, it is assumed that the last part of Rig Veda might have got composed in the present style during BC 4275 or so. The last part is of later origin and the first part can be of very earlier. So one can presume that Veda mantras were composed many thousand years ago ? Some say it is 20,000 years! Few have the opinion 50,000 years and some are of the opinions that it is only few thousand years ! If the age is not known then how can we follow Vedas ? It is not important when, where, how, who, composed the Veda mantras, if you are not searching for the historical facts. For a common man and for a vedic scholar, the positive effects and the messages are important. Can you give the names of some Veda mantras!/ sookthas? Purusha sookatha, Sreesuktha, Bhaagya sooktha, Rudra, Chamaka, Navagraha sooktha, Gayatri manthra, Mruthyunjaya manthra, etc are few among thousands of the Veda mantra sukthas. What are puraana mantras ? Puraana mantras are those mantras which are present in one or more of the eighteen mahapuraanaas or upapuraanaas. They can generally be chanted by anyone including ladies independent of caste and religion ( even though opinion varies) with sareera sudhi, aahaara sudhi, manasuddhi, vaak suddhi and karma suddhi. What are the sruthies for puraana mantras ? Generally there are no rigid sruthies and rules for chanting purana manthras. One can opt for their own ragas. The rules for learning the puraana mantras is not rigid, but one should have clear voice/sound, devotion and sincerity. Puraana mantras can be chanted for poojas or as prayers. Sometimes even for a time pass it can be chanted. What are the examples of puraana mantras ? Lalitha sahasra naama, devi maahathmya, siva sahasranaama, ganesa sthothras, etc. are puraana mantras. for chanting puraana mantras just read and study by yourself. What are the itihasa mantras ? There are many mantras, prayers and sahasranaamas (like Vishnu sahasranama) coming as the part of Itihasa, which can be chanted like puraana mantras during poojas, prayers, etc. Can everyone chant these purana and itihasas manthras ? Yes ! The only condition for chanting these mantras is that one should have pancha suddhi. Sareera-ahaara-mana-vaak-karma suddhies are essential Women, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Progressives, Leftists, Rightists, Middilists, anyone can chant. 6

Why there is difference of opinion ? Of course there are different opinions about chanting mantras. Initially it might have started based on the suddhi of the individuals. Later on changed to caste lines. However logically everyone can chant these mantras with proper suddhi and knowledge because they are prayers written in Sanskrit language. What will happen if we are not chanting the mantras . ? If we do not chant mantras nothing will happen. Chanting manthra should become a part (Bhaagam) of the life and it should not become a burden (Bhaaram) . If you do not want to chant the manthra , Dont chant. What are the fundamental rules for practicing the acharas ? We have already studied that every Indian customs and rituals is meant for the betterment of ourselves, family, society and nation. But Acharas should not become a burden in our day to day life. It should not confuse us at any time. We need not worry too much about minor issues while performing the rituals. There can be variations in following the Acharas. The variations are permitted. Hence one should only need to have sraddha or concentration for understanding and adopting the acharas in our life .

From where we should take more information on acharas and mantras ? Do not search for knowledge from those who are not experts or from those who pretend that they know the subject. Do not go to fake astrologers or Vaastu experts or pseudo thaantric experts. They may mislead you. You can meet only good and sincere people who are well known in the subject and who has got scientific background. Learn from a good acharya. Quality of the Acharya should be experienced.

What are karma manthras ? Karma manthras are those manthras which are the Sanskrit lines/prayers/ Sanskrit statements/descriptions/ written or composed as poems/verses or as prose. It may also be considered as explanation given in Sanskrit language. Examples of karma mantra ! Deerghaayushman Bhava, hope you know the meaning kaayena vaachaa manasaa indriyairvaa buddhyaathmanaa vaaprakruthe swabhaavaa .(another) ya: pateth priyatho nityam thrisandhyam sraddhayaanvithaa .etc. All the phala sruthies of the manthras, many prayers, many praarthanas ( kaamya and moksha prarthanas) are karma manthras given in books connected with poojas, prayers, sookthas, etc. Some times you can even see the karma mantras in puranas anditihasas. What is Bhakti ? How the Hindu bhakti differs from that of Semetic religion? In Sanathana dharma the prayer is done with bhakti/devotion and in Semitic religion its with bhaya/ fear ( god fearing people) . The concept of god also differst from that of Semitic Religion. The approach towards god/ divine power 7

is the relation between devotee and god which is known in Sanskrit as bhakti. The translation of the word bhakti in English is the sum total of devotion + love + affection + respect. This approach is unique in Indian spirituality . Just like the human relations, the relation with the divine power/ god has also been defined very well, in Hindu dharma.. What is meant by god fearing people ? In the local language it can be defined as daiva bhaya = god fearing. Hence the highly (Semitic) religious people are known as the god fearing people. The fear of god or the punishment given by god is the controlling factor. In India, the divine relation is the guiding factor through bhakti. Can we connect the Bhakti with upadesas for performing acharas ? Updesas are the guidances given with acharas. Bhakti is linked with upadesa and achara like cement is linking the bricks in the building. In Bhagavath geetha the bhakti between Arjuna to Krishna leads to upadesa. What are the major upadesas given to us by Rishies ? So many upadesas are there but still all these can be summarized under Patanjalis ten upadesa. They are known as Yamas and Niyamas which are like ten commandments in Christianity. Can we say them as the Ten Commandments of Sanaathana Dharma ? Yes ! The ten commandments of sanaathana dharma are given by Pathanjali Maharshi, 2400 years ago in Yoga sootra. What are these ten upadesas ? In the Ashtanga Yoga part of the Pathanjali Maharshi as the primary requirement for learning and teaching yoga . First set is known as Yama and second set is Niyama. The Yamaas are 1. ahimsa, 2. satyam, 3. aastheyam, 4. bhramacharyam and 5. aparigraham. The Niyamaas are 6. soucham, 7. santhosha, 8. thapa: 9. swaadhyaaya, 10. eeswara pranidhaanam. Given below is the meaning/message What is ahimsa ? One should not create pain by words or deeds to others. But ahimsa never prevents protecting ourselves, our family, our society, our culture and our country using force or with weapons. Cowardice can never be justified or interpreted as ahimsa. What is the actual meaning of Satyam ? Searching for and understanding the ultimate truth, fact and essence of life. If one follows this aspect in our day today life, many problems can be avoided directly and indirectly. Try to find out the facts and truths on all issues. How many type of truths are there and what are they ? There are two types of truths and facts. One should very specifically know about them. Other wise many of the messages given in our dharma saastra will not be clear. They are Paaramaarthika satyam (ultimate truth) and vyaavahaarika satyam (relative truth). One should understand both these truths and appropriately use them while explaining the sanatha dharma. 8

What is the message given through astheyam ? Stealing is stheyam and non stealing is aastheyam. Taking or grabbing anything like name /fame/ position /money/ material/ is stealing. One should never do that. For spiritual enlightenment, the mind should be free from the craving of others property. So astheyam is an important factor to be practiced in ones life. For a common man what is the real meaning of Brahmacharyam ? Generally people think, brahmcharya is living without sex. But the actual meaning can be interpreted as follows for a common man. Knowing the ultimate aim and meaning of life is brahmacharya. Every one is expected to understand clearly the goal of his/her life and path way to achieve the same. They are expected to understand and follow the pathway through experiment and experience for reaching the ultimate goal envisaged by self or by prakruti (environment). How aparigraham can be defined ? Depending others for anything and everything is parigraham and not doing so is the dharmic way of living, which is aparigraham that is self dependent. Do not beg . In short self reliance and self support are aimed in this message.. What is the Soucham ? Purity/Cleanliness of internal and external body and mind is soucham. A clean mind (mana suddhi) and a clean body (sareera suddhi) are the prime requirements for achieving any goal in the life. Whatever is to be done for maintaining the purity of mind and body? It is to be practiced till that level is attained and then continue to maintain that level, without degrading . What is the Santhosham ? Living a happy life with self respect and dignity. Undertaking any mission happily, doing the work peacefully with a spirit of enjoyment is santhosha. Learning to experience the happiness is also happiness. Is the Thapas meant for Rishies or common man ? Doing the work and undertaking the missions in our life with dedication and a feeling of sacrifice is thapas. This is to be extrapolated to all aspects/works / missions in our life. What is the meaning of Swaadhyaaya ? Acquiring knowledge on every subject in which we have to involve. Apply that knowledge in our official and personal life. We should also learn the sadacharas and the values in our life. Keep away the duracharas and anacharas using the light of science. This is known as swadhyaya. What is the message given to common man from Eeswara pranidhaanam ? Eeswara pranidhanam is thelast of the ten upadesas. Doing our dharma ( duty + responsibility + privilege = dharma) keeping in mind the blessings of the guiding force behind everyone in a saaskshi bhaava (as the witness). That 9

guiding force may be called eeswara/ god/almighty/omnipotent omnipresent power or simply Nature. That power is to be approached with bhakti in sanathana dharma which is known as eeswara pranidhanam.. What are the minimum acharas to be performed? There are acharas to be performed on daily /weekly / monthly / annual basis. They can be defined as prati dina / prati vaara / prati maasa / prati varsh acharas. Examples of the above statements! Acharas performed from morning till night are known as daily acharas. Some of the acharas are performed only on Monday, some on Saturday, some are performed on paksha basis, as full moon or new moon day, some are on vaisakha maasa acharas like this we can give so many examples. What are the daily morning acharas ? And why they are performed ? It is advised to wake up early morning between 5.00 to 5.30 ( In India, Indian time) . This is the ideal time for keeping the re-energized brain cells active for the common man . It can be any time after 3.30 am as the brain is fresh for saadhana of modern and ancient knowledge. After waking up, sit on the bed and pray for 30 seconds . The advise given by Rishies 3000 years ago has also been now given 10 years ago by the experts of WHO. This aachara gives the time gap for balancing the blood pressure and heart function when the body changes its position from horizontal to vertical level. Touching the earth ( bhoo vandana) aimed at releasing the bio static electricity through fingers, for reducing the chance of arthritis in leg, etc. It is advised to avoid bed coffee to prevent the flow of the obnoxious materials from the mouth to the stomach. How to perform the bathing acharas ? After the morning routines, take bath for cleansing the external body. Do not walk in your home before bathing as the body odor spreads. After bath, give a tharpanam saying maathru devo bhava, maathrum tharpayaami for the mother and pitru devo bhava pitrum tharpayaami for your father, if your parents are no more. How to perform the morning prayer as a part of the achara ? Pray for atleast 10 minutes after taking bath for purification of the mind, then pranayama ( deep steady breathing) ten times for cleaning lungs and blood. Do atleast five suryanamaskaras, for smoothening movable skeletal joints without strain to muscles and heart. Why soorya namaskara important ? The suryanamaskara has 7 yoga asanaas in it and when 5 Surya namaskaras are done per day, it is equal to doing 35 yogaasanas. While doing soorya namaskara , blood circulation increases, muscles stretch and all the accumulated decomposed products go to the main blood stream which when filtered through kidneys, becomes clean. How to sit And keep the face while praying ? 10

The prayer/ reading/working etc. may be done by keeping the face towards east It is said that this improves the capacity of the brain functioning. It is said that the magnetic flux of the earth and brain becomes parallel and this improves brain functioning. What should be done after morning prayer and the surya namaskara? Drink two to four glass of tulasi water for cleansing the blood, then only take coffee/ tea. Do not read the newspapers in the early morning because many negative news directly affect the morning fresh mind. The psychologists advice do some other work before reading the news paper. How to chanalize routine work in the morning ? Help your children/ grand children to go to school and bless them when they leave to school, go upto the gate for biding goodbye with a smiling face. Keep punctuality for doing everything. Note down all the work systematically x mark after completing each work for saving time and energy. Pray before the food, preferably a group family prayer to activate the salivary gland and also other digestive glands. How to maintain mind and body relation pleasant ? Always keep a smiling face which will reduce BP, cholesterol and adrenalin in the blood . Never think that the life is always positive. It is a mixture of positives and negatives. Keep this in mind. It will give strength for facing any incidents. Know that the Positives and Negatives are temporary. Go to the office/ school/ work place with positive mind and happy mood. Never do/ talk /think /listen / negatives, even though there are many negatives. Discuss withone or two close friends about your problems, if any or to your family members. What are the acharas to be followed after office hours /evening at home! Return home if possible at correct time, with a smiling face. Fresh up. Sit with your family members and children at least 30 minutes discussing their problems/achievements and motivate them. Do, if possible a group prayer or spend ten minutes for prayer after bath. Take atleast one meal a day with all family members sitting together for strengthening the family relation. Give and take love, affection and respect. Appreciate the achievements of your children/ family members when they sit for studies, particularly late evenings/ night. What are the rules to be followed before going to bed ? Try to go to bed in correct time for bio-punctuality. Never keep your head towards north on the bed to avoid the blood block in brain blood vessel capillaries while lying parallel to the magnetic meridian of earth. It may lead to headache, irritation, loss of memory, etc. It is ideal to keep your head towards east or west, What are the acharas to be followed before going to bed ? Before lying down spend few seconds for prayer sitting on the bed to maintain smooth functioning of the heart as the body changes its position from vertical to horizontal. What are the principles to be followed for a good family life? Use your ears, eyes, tongue and mind for good purposes. Listen good and make others listen good. See good and make others see the good . Talk good 11

and make others talk good. Think good and make others think good. Do good for others and let others also do good for everyone. Make every day a happy day for you, your family members and all those who are associated with you What is spirituality ? What ever is connected with divine power or god is known as spirituality. It varies to different people depending upon their religion. It is wrong to say that the spirituality in all religion is the same. Spirituality is not religion. How can we scientifically explain Indian spirituality ? The Indian spirituality has two branches. The basic or pure spirituality and applied or practical spirituality like chemistry and applied chemistry. The sanathana dharma could stand all the test of times because of the integration of the spirituality and applied spirituality in every cultural traits. What is pure spirituality ? The pure spirituality is defined as the understanding aand experiencing the ultimate satyam (satyam = truth+ fact + essence). This ultimate is defined as the prajnanam Brahma, aham Brahmaasmi, thathwamasi, ayam athma brahma. These four lines are known as mahavaakyaas. Understanding the meaning of the Brahmam is the Brahma jnaanam ,actualization of the same is Brahma saakshaathkaaram, experiencing the Brahmam is Brahmaanandam. How can we relate pure spirituality and ultimate truth ? Brahmam is the ultimate truth which is the paaramaarthika satyam. According to Upanishads this is present in everything from smallest to the biggest and in all living beings. What we are seeing are vyaavahaarika satya which are temporary . So it is said that brahma satyam jagath mithya. Can we further explain it , scientifically ? It is said that Brahma satyam jagath mithya through vedantha darsana. Brahmam is the one which can neither be created nor be destroyed. Where as what we are seeing as existing are generally temporary and not permanent. Hence it is vyavhaariaka satyam/ facts / truths are temporary. If you consider the life of a laddu or a banana or yourself compared to the period of this universe, you will understand the correct meaning of mithya, means temporary or infinitesimally small duration. How could the Rishies understand all these ? When they undertake the deep thapas, saadhana and dhyaana for many years, the mind acts as the laboratory and the saadhana acts as the experimental tool and the experience becomes the scientific observation of the ultimate Brahmam and ultimate truth. They went through the internal pathways, whereas the modern scientists go through the external pathways. How the pure spirituality and Brahmam are related ? This Brahmam is defined as the intrinsic, inherent, self guiding, self motivating, self energizing, awareness (prajnaanam) and consciousness (swabhodham) present in all living and Nonliving beings. Understanding and realizing this is the ultimate point of spirituality or basic (theoretical ) spirituality. 12

How pure spirituality leads to applied spirituality ? Once you know that this Brahmam is present in everything, that realization leads to compassion, sympathy, and all sorts of positive feelings that we are all one and embodiment of the same chaitanya. Or we start realizing that we are all the part of the same chaitanya. If we are all the part of the same Brahmam, then we are all the same family members. So we are one and the same embodiment of the divinity. Where does applied spirituality begin ? Hence we have to exit together, work together, share the result of the work together, eat together , we have to become enlightened together, serve each other as we are all family members. This is known as applied spirituality. This is our prayer saha naa vavatu! lokaa samsthaa..!.Sarve bhavantu! asatho maa! which means we are all one; whether we live in India, Lanka, America, ..or whether we speak different languages, follow different customs, live in different faith..! How , we Indians brought the applied spirituality in our day to day life ? Our acharyas served every living beings without any difference. That is why Indians did not convert people to their religion or to sanathana dharma, nor conquered other people using weapons, nor destroyed others. We can see the symbols of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, with the om karam in Puttparthy, Vallikkavu, Gurujis asram, Sri. Narayana Gurus temples, Chinmaya missionVivekananda mission, Ramakrishnasram and so on. This is because of the mission of our applied spirituality which guides us to feel that we are all one. How Indians applied their spirituality world over ? This is the same applied spiritual force which motivates Indians when they serve the people during Tsunami, hurricanes, and earthquake or natural calamities hit. Let us understand both, the pure spirituality and applied spirituality. Do yourself the exercises. What are the three gunas explained in Indian literature ? There are three gunas in each and every living and non living beings. This has been explained in detail by Lord Krishna in Bhagavath Geetha. These Gunas are Satwa (Satwic) Guna, Rajo (Rajasic) Guna and Thamo Guna (or tamasic). Each and every individual and animal has these three gunas in their behavior and that will get demonstrated depending upon the time and place and variety of incidents. How can we analyze these gunas in individuals ? These gunas will come out in different process of talking, watching, thinking, analyzing, evaluating, understanding, communicating and so on. For those who have predominant level of Satwa Guna, they are known as people of satwic nature. Can we say that pure satwic people are free from other gunas ? It does not mean that satwic people do not have other gunas. It only means that the other gunas are not predominant at that time. Rajo guna people have Rajasic characters prominent but at times other gunas may conquer them 13

also.. Similarly people of thamo guna have those characters predominant in them . Can we classify materials also under these three category ? There are satwic, rajasic and thamasic food, personality, work, music, dance, worship, knowledge, etc. E.g. satwic food, rajasic food and thamasic food which are respectively, good vegetarian food , milk, curd etc are sativic food, meat and animal products + highly pungent food, etc are rajasic and the alcohol/ alcoholic, fermented food, etc are thamasic food. Good explanation is given in Bhagavath gita. Will the guna change with time and place ? Yes it may change. Even for avataras it may change . For a satwic man, depending upon the environment/ surrounding responses, the rajasic and thamasic feeling can arise. Even for a thamasic individual at instances, the satwic feeling can rise up. Hence the upsurge of the gunas depend mainly on ; what you hear-see-talk-feel-think and experience. How controlling the senses affect the gunas in us ? The best method for controlling ourselves is to control our ears-eyes-tongue and mind. Remember even the great Rishies with all their satwic nature can suddenly change to other nature. You know Kumbakarna is the thamasic man. But he advised Ravana in a satwic way against all the latter's misdeeds. When a satwic man takes thamasci food/drinks that influences him. Examples of gunas demonstratable in our life ! The terrorism is nothing but injecting rajasic and thamasic feelings in satwic people. Bribe, murder, fight, sex and theft are combination of rajasic & thamasic qualities (generally) created by circumstances/ friendship and which are based on what you hear/ see/ talk/ experience. Is it necessary to have a particular guna in Us ? Some people are compelled to do Rajasic work by profession. Kings, soldiers and policemen fall under this category. They may even need Rajasic food to maintain their professional qualities. Some people are expected to do thamasic job, as butchers, soldiers and security persons. Raising satwic feelings in them may even prevent them from doing their job efficiently. Can we change our gunas ? what should we do for that ? If we are the inheritors of the thamasic qualities, get ourselves elevated into rajasic first and then to satwic. Try to maintain the satwic character wherever possible. If you get suddenly changed into a lower level due to the influence of the environment try to retain the satwic nature by continuous training and mind control. Keep good friends or a guru for getting good advice to retain the satwic character and temperament. Is Rajasic guna bad for everyone ? Wherever you have to do Rajasic work/job as profession, do not keep yourself away from that or do not give it up. Undertaking any challenge has to have the Rajasic qualities, if it is our swadharma. Knowledge and experience can make 14

you more and more satwic. Mental aberrations can take you to rajasic. Circumstances can take you to thamasic. How to maintain satwic guna? Only you yourself can take you back to satwic. That is what the Vedas, puranas, itihasas tell you. Take good from everywhere, do good, speak good, think good, see good, and become good and that is satwic. Whenever you realize the mistake of doing opposite of what is expected from you, immediately apologize and correct it. What are the wrong interpretation of satwic qualities ? Satwic does not mean over polite, over humble, over patient, over obedient, over devotion, cowards behavior Satwic only means living with self respect, dignity, credibility, dedication, devotion, and so on. In general one has to maintain satwic qualities. For patriotism and self respect follow Rajasic qualities, wherever needed. For suppressing and preventing the anti national activities and terrorism you will have to follow the Thamasic outlook. What is an avathara ? An avathara means, a celestial body which comes down for giving light to the world. It can be in the human form or any other form or forms. Ava means down thaara means celestial body. Why and when avathara comes according Hindu purana ? There are ten avatharas for Mahavishnu, known as dasavatara. In Bhagavath Geetha Lord Krishna has clearly indicated that whenever dharma degrades and adharma triumphs, the dharma will be reinstated by me (the divine power). It means the system will adjust itself in such a way that the dharma never perishes and adharma will never take the position of dharma. I.e. The effect of change from dharma to adharma will be nullified, and the dharma will triumph always. This will happen in each and every individual, family, society and nation. When ever aberrations take place avathara comes or avathara takes place. Why so many avatharas only in Bharatha/ india ? You know that our motherland, India has so many specialties. One among them is that India is known as deva - karma- punya- jnaana- yajna- thyaga-bhoomi. When god sent his son or prophet to other countries that too only once, the same divine power himself/itself came to Bharata varsha directly. That too ten times. It is said that still he/it has to come here through once more as avatara. How avathara comes ? Those ten avataras are coincided with the yugarambha or yuga avasaana. But in between the almighty divine power is continuously coming to this land in different forms as avataras. For any divine avatara, the ultimate aim is to keep lokaa samasthaa sukhino bhavanthu. Let the world be happy ! For the avataras, there are no barriers on religion, language, age, sex, country, or other factors. The avatara works for all through everyone in all countries, at all times. That is the reason for calling them the avataras. 15

Can we say the people in human form size and shape as avatharas ? Bharata is fortunate to have so many avataras. I wan to say there are three avataras at present here in India it maybe called as Avatara Trayam. Three avataras, are living in India now doing the best service for the mankind everywhere in the world, without converting them to Hinduism. These avataras are Sri. Satya Sai Baba known very well to each and everyone in the world as Bhagavan and swamy. Matha Amruthanandamayee Devi, known to everyone as Amma and Sri. Sri. Ravisankar, known world over as Guruji. Why they are called avathara ? So called progressives oppose them. Why? You can see an ocean of people follow them from world over the men and women come without any restrictions and take the blessings. The mission oriented workers serve people with their guidance, wherever they are. They know Nara seva is the Narayana seva. Their supporting hands spread the place where earthquake hits, Tsunami hits, Hurricane and many other natural calamity hit. They do everything for supplying drinking water, food, medicine, education, values to millions. They are successfully implementing the projects, where even the UNO agencies and many Government agencies failed. They integrate science and spirituality. They bring together people from world over. Instead of contradicting they do everything for complementing. They make hospitals, academic institutes, orphanages, homes, AIDS centers, Old age homes, and service centers, world over and echo the glorious Veda mantra of Sarve bhavanthu sukhina:.Saha naa vavatu and so on. They are not bothered for garlands or criticisms. If people come for guidance and blessings , can we say they are avataras? You can see people from almost all countries in a pilgrimage to Puttaparthy, to Vallikkavu, and to Bangalore asram. Millions assembled in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during the 50th Birth anniversary of Amma, Millions assembled for the Silver Jubilee of Art of Living and 50th Birth anniversary of Sri. Guruji. Millions assemble every year for the Birth day of Swamy ! Rarest incidents in the world of great men! In all these places people from the developed countries sit with the people from developing countries. The male female difference is not existing. Rich - poor, literate - illiterate, scholar pauper, leader - follower, Indian non Indian, .differences never exist. Nothing is a barrier for you to come together here. That is what we say in India, everyone is equal in front of the divine power. Everyone is equal in front of these avatara trayam also. That applied message you can see with your own eyes ! This you can see only in India. India is still alive because it is the spiritual capital of the world. The avatara trayam give the messages of the glorious life, from that spiritual capital to all Hindus, Christians and Muslims.. What are the divine messages given by them ? All these avatara trayam give the same message given by our Rishies, thousands of years ago. They bless everyone, they serve everyone. They live for everyone. As our forefathers lived for everyone. Their message was ayam matha pruthvi putroham pruthivyaa krunvantho viswamaaryam.. this earth is my mother and I am the son of the mother earth make this world a glorious place of scholars. What we can do with them ? 16

Avataras are in India again for reinstating and re-establishing the dharma of this punya-karma-jnana-bhoomi of Bharat. Let us work in their mission to serve the people, directly or indirectly. Let us learn how to do the selfless service, without expecting any garlands, bouquet, padmasree, or any other awards,..! Thyaagenaike amruthathwamaanasu: through sacrifice only we can attain immortality. You may like them or dislike them. But it need not stop you working with them. What are the important parameters followed in our acharas ? The space, time and observer are three important parameters in the modern physics . These three parameters are also important for any Indian ritual or custom. In the Maha sankalpa we always chant lines connected with these three parameters. How we follow the parameter : space ? First we explain where we are doing this ritual (space), then we chant the mantra connected with when we are doing this (time), and the last who is performing this ritual (perceiver/observer) and what is the ritual ( the observed). The explanation starts from the Universe -> to this galaxy -> to this solar system -> to earth -> to Asia (jambu dweepa) -> to Bharata varsha -> to southern part of Godavari -> to Parasurama kshetra and -> to Ananthapura desa (if you are in Trivandrum) -> to the temple or house (sannidhi) where you are doing the ritual. ( thus space is made clear) How we follow the parameter of time in our ritual ? The time we specify is from Kalpa -> to Manwanthara -> to Mahayuga -> yuga - > varsha/ year -> ayana - > maasa/ month -> paksha -> thithi samaya/time. This is mentioned here as the 7th Manwanthara, 28th Mahayuga in which the 4th yuga which is the Kaliyuga, and Angirasa samvatsa, which is the 5108th year of this kaliyuga, dakshinayana, maasa, paksha, thithi, then to the time of doing the ritual.(Thus the time is specified). What is the mathematics of this calculation and how scientific is this approach? In this explanation we can see very interesting scientific content. One kalpa is 14 Manwantharas which is equal to one day of Lord Brahma. Starting from 7th Manwantara, 28th Mahayuga in which the 4th yuga which is kaliyuga, the year, the month, the day and the time. Shall we calculate these period ? One Manwanthara = 72 Mahayuga and a Mahayuga = 43,20,000 years. The present Manwanthara is 7th one known as Vaivaswatha Manwanthara that means 6 Manwantharas are over which equals to 6 x 72 x 43,20,000 years ! (=A) In the 7th Manwanthrara, this is the 28th Mahayuga which means 27 Mahayugas are over . So the number of years elapsed after the commencing of this Manwanthara = 27 x 43,20,000 years.! (=B) This is the 28th Mahayuga in which Krutha, Thretha and Dwapara yuga are over. According to which the number of years elapsed in this Mahayuga ( according to one system of counting) = 43,20,000 x ! (=C) 17

The present yuga is kaliyuga and the year is 5108. So the elapsed years is 5107 ! (=D). So the total number of years after the beginning of the day (one day of Brahma is equal one kalpa) of this Kalpa = A + B + C + D Total years after the beginning of the Brahmas day = 6 x 72 x 43,20,000 + 27 x 43,20,000 + 43,20,000 x + 5107 years . This is the time elapsed which is the time used in our Mahasankalpa. (There is another, but little different calculation for the years elapsed after the beginning of the 28th Mahayuga. Because as mentioned earlier three yugas (krutha- thretha- dwapara yuga) are over before the beginning of the kaliyuga. According to another system of calculation the krutha yuga = 4,32,000 x4 years; thretha yuga = 4,32,000 x 3 years ; dwaparayuga = 4,32,000 x 2 years + If all these four put together is E. Then the number of years elapsed after the beginning of this kalpa ( according to the second system of calculation) = 6 x 72 x 43,20,000 + 27 x 43,20,000 + ( (4,32,000 x 4) + (4,32,000 x 3) + (4,32,000 x 2) ) + 5107 years i.e A + B + C + E + 5107 years. How this time agrees with the modern calculations ? This will come approximately 1990 million years ( ~2000 million years). It has been proved that this is the archezoic era, during when the life began on the surface of the globe earth as micro organisms like amoeba, bacteria, etc. Our Mahasankalpa has mentioned the same point as the modern science as far as this period is concerned! That is the scientific India ! Here the ultra modern science integrated with ultra ancient spirituality through the ritual based mahasankalpa How the spirituality connected with values in life ? Whatever gives permanent happiness for yourself, your family members, your society and your motherland are values. How to incorporate values in our life ? Modern knowledge are like the bricks used for building a tower to take it to great heights. Value based knowledge are like cement put in between the bricks, to give strength, beauty and durability for the building of LIFE. When should the values be taught ? Whenever you get opportunity to teach the values, use that opportunity for teaching the values . But do it only after learning the merits of those values. You can teach the values to your children when they are young and in the receptive mood. Give them the values through stories and through experiences in a very positive method. What are the methods to teach and learn the values ? Use your ears properly. You are hearing many voices but listening to very specific messages. So listen to whatever you have to listen and learn from that carefully. The sources are radio, TV, cinema, Cassettes, CDs, advise from elders, relatives, teachers, gurus, and so on. Learn to listen when you are 18

driving car, sitting simply at your home, before going to bed, while cooking in the kitchen, while taking rest, while working in the office, while going for a walk.. you have got enough time to use for learning values. Whatever you are listening, try to make points from that, use these points in your discussions with others. Listen to his comments also if the discussion is constructive and useful. Think more while traveling in the bus or train, or whenever you have spare time. What is the alternative for attending a speech ? Going for listening to a speech a long distance or bringing a good speaker from a long distance are equally cumbersome. But if their cassettes are available use them in the car, kitchen, office, lunch table, club, interval period, etc You can know that one hour cassette will contain minimum 40 points worth learning and implementing in our life. Which are the sources of information and knowledge ? Listen from your mother, father, teacher, supervisor, colleagues for facts worth knowing. What ever you have learned try to practice in your life one by one. When you practice for about 18 days it will become your habit make the habit your culture, by continuously following good practices in your life for more than 41 days. You will change and will become a different person altogether. Sometimes you may slip to your old habit . Do not worry at all, come back immediately to the new position. Can we give more knowledge to youngsters ? The best method for learning about values in younger ages is to listen the news, advise, suggestions, experiences, stories, puranas, itihasas, narrations, good slogans, effective messages, sad stories and experiences of poor / aged/ sick / helpless people living around us. Sit and get the experience of the aged /sick /poor /..people few minutes and listen to their problems. You will know that you are in a much better position than millions who suffer day and night. This will give you the experience of life.. thus listenlisten. What our Vedas / Upanishads say about listening ? Bhadram karnebhi srunuyaama devaa Let us all hear the glorious useful message (for leading a useful and value based life) says upanishad. What is value based education ? Education given to the genration to incorporate the values intheir day to day life is value based education. This is to be given with modern education and it should not be given separately. If the knowledge on every subject is so vast, how much we can learn ? Answer is clear only a minute part of that. Instead of learning everything, learn the most appropriate subjects which are most relevant for making everyday a happy day. We cannot get even this knowledge in full from the teachers or from the text books.. How can we collect knowledge through our eyes ? Our forefathers said: Bhadram pasyema akshabhiryajathraa: Let us all see the glorious things from all over the world . The eyes are the second sensory organ 19

You are seeing many things and also you are watching something. What is the difference between seeing and watching. The second word has involvement of mind also. The first word (seeing) does not have the full involvement of your mind. You are watching the movie, TV, the pictures in the books, but you are seeing many things while traveling in a bus/train. You should learn to watch. Not merely watching but learning from this watching. You can watch a chicken doing its work continuously, a mascot controlling an elephant, a driver driving a bus with full of passengers, so carefully you can watch the pain of a patient, the suffering of an old man, the facial expression and the feeling of a cancer patient, the condition of a beggar, the face of an orphan when you ask the name of her mother and father whom she might not even have heard or seen. The crazy hunger of a poor beggar you can watch and put your mind and analyze your situation and condition and compare with the above. Where do we stand ?

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