QUESTION: What is the goal of life?
ANSWER: Sri Ramakrishna says that realization or experiencing God is the goal of life. Swami Vivekananda says that the manifestation of divinity already in man is the goal of life. Both these refer to one and the same thing.
QUESTION: Why is God not
easily experienced?
ANSWER: To realise God, our scriptures tell, one has to go against one's lower nature. As Swami Vivekananda said, one realizes the inner divinity by the conquest of nature—both internal and external. It is easy to conquer the external nature but it is extremely hard to conquer the internal nature which includes our desires and passions, likes and dislikes and so on. This means a complete transformation of our personality, even of our sub-conscious mind, which cannot be done in a day and with lukewarm effort. It needs sustained efforts.
QUESTION: If realization of truth is the goal of
life, how is it that we are not able to take it seriously in spite of so many
spiritual retreats?
ANSWER: Firstly, we are not fully convinced that God realization
or the realization of truth is the goal of life. To us, it appears very vague
because we are used to think in terms of concrete physical achievable goals
like obtaining a degree, earning money, getting a good job and so on. Sri
Ramakrishna used to say that if a thief is convinced that next to the room in
which he is living, on the other side of the wall, there is enormous wealth kept,
he will not remain idle and will make every effort to break or scale the wall
and get the treasure. But most of us are not convinced that God realization is much
more valuable than getting material wealth, and that it is close by. Hence, we
do not make serious effort.
QUESTION: What is the main purpose of spiritual life—personality
development or realising our own nature?
ANSWER: The purpose of spiritual life is realizing one's own
nature. Personality development is only a by-product. It comes on its own
account in the process of realization of one's own divine nature.
QUESTION: The Yogas like Karma yoga and Bhakti Yoga are easier to
understand. But what exactly is ]nana Yoga? What is its nature?
ANSWER: Jnana Yoga is the yoga of philosophical enquiry just as
Bhakti Yoga is the Yoga of directing our emotions to God. In Bhakti Yoga, our
love is directed towards God whereas in Jnana Yoga, one makes a philosophical enquiry
into the nature of man and God and the relation between the two. It is a search
for Ultimate Truth. We suggest a detailed reading the ]nana Yoga by
Swami Vivekananda (published by Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata).
QUESTION: Is 'Sevayoga' an additional path to Self-realization in addition
to Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga and ]nana yoga?
ANSWER: Service of God in man (as taught by Sri Ramakrishna and
propagated by Swami Vivekananda) is a path in itself separate from traditional
Kanna Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga and can directly lead to the ultimate
goal. As a matter of fact, in this Seva Yoga, all the other yogas are
incorporated.
QUESTION: In what way Patanjali Yoga is connected to Yogasanas? What are restrictions for doing Yogasana?
ANSWER: Yogasana is a part of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga. Yogasanas
(i.e., postures and breathing exercises) must be done under the guidance of an
expert.
QUESTION: Sri Ramakrishna said that Bhakti Yoga is the Yuga Dharma? How do
we then explain the fact that all the yogas are effective in the present age?
ANSWER: Yes. All Yogas are valid paths to God realization. Swami
Vivekananda had specifically told that one can manifest 'divinity within by
one, more or all the four' Yogas, depending
upon individual temperament. Sri Ramakrishna has, however, said that Bhakti Yoga
is easier in modern times. He did not say Bhakti Yoga as Yuga Dharma.
Elsewhere, Sri Ramakrishna has said that Bhakti Yoga too is not so easy as
one might think. No path is easy; one has to struggle.
QUESTION: It has been said in connection with dispassion (vairagya) that in
spite of being detached, subtle attractions or 'rasa' remains. But then how can
we live without a little rasa or subtle enjoyment?
ANSWER: There are various types of rasas or subtle
attractions. Spiritual advancement results in the reduction of the
attraction for sense enjoyments. One then, develops intellectual rasa
and derives joy in intellectual pursuits. As one evolves spiritually,
one starts getting joy in spiritual pursuits. Sri Ramakrishna used
to say that there are three types of anandas or bliss: vishayananda
or sense enjoyment, bhajanananda or joy in singing the name
of God and in spiritual pursuits. Finally there is the brahmananda, the
joy derived by God realization. According to Vedanta, there "are four obstacles to Brahma Jnana. One
of them is rasaswada or enjoying
the bliss of spiritual practice". One must go even beyond this
to attain brahma-jnana or Ultimate Realization.
