Category Archives: FAQs

Selection from previously asked Question and respective Answers

Pranayama, Sandhyavandanam, jerks in body, feeling paralysed etc.

Question: I am a student working for my Ph D at the Indian Institute of Science. I am 29 years old and not married. I have been regularly doing Sandhyavandanam for the past 10 years. As part of this prayer I also do Pranayama. Since the past two weeks I am experiencing some strange things and I am not sure, whether it is spiritual or something else. I will be extremely grateful to you if you can clarify some of my doubts.
1) In the past 14 days, on 3 occasions I have experienced the following: When I am in a semi-sleepy state with eyes closed the whole body becomes paralyzed. The mind is highly alert but I cannot move my body at all. On one occasion if felt that “something” was being sucked out of my face. I am not able to say what this “something” is. It is like my mind is moving into darkness very fast. I tried to get up because of fear but found that the whole body is paralyzed. Then after repeated attempts I could get up. Once I got up I thought it was a dream and put my head on the pillow and closed my eyes. Immediately the same feeling started again. I got up again and decided not to close my eyes for 1/2 hour and kept stating at the night sky. After this I could go to regular sleep. Yesterday the same thing happened with my eyes wide open when I was lying on the bed.
2) During my Sandhyavandanam I experience some kind of a jerk. I am not sure whether this jerk is physical in nature or it is mental. I am not sure where the jerk actually occurred.
3) After Sandhyavandanam my head feels heavy with slight headache.
4) On many occasions when I am reading or concentrating on my research work I experience the same jerk and develop a heavy head. Many a time I feel the heart beat in my head and feel my body is shaking as though I have some nervous disorder. I will be extremely grateful, if you can spend time in answering these queries. I would like to come over to Ulsoor math and talk one-to-one as I have many more questions to ask. I am not sure whether I have to take appointment. I shall call up the math and fix-up an appointment.

Answer: Glad to meet you at the ashrama. In the meanwhile I have also received your e-mail of 28th. Please follow the instructions, I gave you in person. I shall put down the same for your reference.
1. Stop doing ‘Pranayama’. Do as some simple breathing exercise without Kumbhaka (retention). Swami Vivekananda warms the aspirants as to not to do without a proper guide. Besides, this is the 4th stage of Raja Yoga Yama, Niyama, Asana have to be perfected before hand.
2. Continue to do Sandhyavandana with Gayatri Japa. The seat of concentration should be ‘heart’ not the ‘head’ – Sahasrara. Gayatyri Japa is the main thing only in Sandhyavandana.
3. The jerk may be purely physical, connected with nerves. It is advisable to consult a good doctor.
4. Read selections from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda and the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. You can be in touch with me and visit the Ashrama whenever you can.

How to lead a spiritual life? Is sanyasa requirement?

Question: I want to lead a spiritual life. I am unmarried. I do not want to marry. My parents and family do not allow me to take Sannyasa or join any spiritual organization. So can I stay unmarried and lead a spiritual life while working, i.e. doing my job. Can I live without marriage?

Answer: We are glad to know that you have a leaning towards spiritual life. One can lead a spiritual life without taking up Sannyasa. Follow the dictates of your heart. Please do not allow the world to enter into your heart. Keep the heart pure. Be good, do good and lead a most unselfish life. Read Swami Vivekananda’s life and teachings.

Doubts in believing the God

Question: I am having hard time believing in god. Most of the times I believe in god, but some other times I have doubts creeping up. I see these doubts growing then I loose interest in meditation. I would stop doing meditation. When I start again, I have to start from scratch. It happened several times already. I can’t seem to make up my mind.
Please help me.

Answer: Please don’t loose faith in God. Doubts will come like clouds. Pray intensely to the Lord for guidance. Keep on praying and do meditation. Remember him as many times as possible, if not constantly. Be strong and don’t yield to doubts and despair. These are like tests. We should come out successfully. I am sure your faith in God will become stronger and stronger day-by-day.

Hinduism: idol worship

Question: I am a Muslim. I have one doubt. I know about the greatness of Swami Vivekananda. According to Quran, God has no image. Why Hindus are worshipping images. I want to know does god exist in image? Why people are seeing god in images? According to Islam, god is one. He has no partner, but Hindus are saying that god has a partner, he has a wife, he has a son, what all these sir? I want to know who is the real god. I want to see god. In Quran it is saying that who ever has no faith in Allah they will go to hell. What all these sir. Prophet Mohammed says, every one should follow me. Do you love Allah? According to Islam, Jesus is not a god, he is a prophet but Christians are saying he is a god. I have full of doubts regarding gods. Prophet Mohammed says don’t prefer idolism, but people are still doing these things regularly. Please tell me. Please send me answer for my question.

Answer: Sri Ramakrishna says that God is with form, without form and beyond form. As you know our ordinary mind can conceive only finite things. Even infinity is conceived as one without finiteness. So one uses the form to go beyond the form.
Swami Vivekananda once during his wanderings had to make a king understand the same topic of idolatry. He asks the ministers to take down the photo of the king and spit on it. The whole assembly was horrified. Then Swamiji says “why this is just a piece of paper. Since this brings to your mind the king, you respect and worship.” Similarly Hindus worship images. It is not idolatry. Take for example a devout Muslim going to Mekka, going round the rock and kissing it or bow down in a Darga or a Masjid facing the west. Why does he do it? Because, it brings him the memory of Allah.
As per the Hindu philosophy, Purusha the masculine aspect is the potential energy and Prakriti is like kinetic energy. In any action i.e. the creation, preservation and destruction of the world, both aspects come, female aspect as the counterpart of the male.
Different religions are different paths leading towards the same goal God or Allah or whatever you may call. Again Sri Ramakrishna says it is the same water but people calls it differently as water,Aqua,Pani,Jal etc.
All religions are true and same in essence. But the followers quarrel about the certain traditions and practices, doctrines & dogmas, which are secondary details. I shall conclude this with Swamiji’s statement.
Each Soul is potentially divine.
The goal is to manifest this divinity within, by controlling nature, external and internal.
Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control or worship or philosophy – by one or more, or all of these and be free. This is the work of religion.
Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.
Question: Thanks for clarifying my doubt. Actually, Holy Gita and Swami Vivekananda’s complete works only inspired me to read all other religious scriptures like Holy Quran, Holy Bible, Dammapada of Buddhism and many Sufi mystics, scriptures and made me to come out from a particular name and form. I was regularly visiting Sri Venkateswara temple till 7 years before either due to fear or due to some desires to get fulfilled etc. 6 years before, when I had last Darshan in front of that deity, I was having Swami Vivekananda’s book in my hand and meditated on that deity mentally that in future, I don’t want to see you in this form only and get caught up. Your form is Universal which is the un-manifest and manifested form of entire universe, human beings and creatures and came out of that temple. Afterwards, I started practicing Advaitic meditation regularly 3 times a day and self-control and mental discipline. My mother use to say, ‘Since you stopped going to Venkateswara temple something will happen etc., ‘I told my mother,’ nothing will happen. I catch hold of the Master. Even if anything happens, that is not due to what you say. Last month when I talked to my mother, I told,’ anything happened”. She said,” No’. I told her,’ many things will happen in one’s life. If the mind becomes weak, you will try to connect that happening with my not going to that temple.’
By God’s Grace, I am blessed with nearly 80 years old father, 75 years old mother, Spiritual partner who is working as a voluntary teacher in a blind school at Hyderabad, well mannered and disciplined son who had completed his engineering and daughter who had completed her 12th std.
Answer: Glad to you get and note the contents of your e-mail of 20th
May God speed to you and lead you from known to the unknown.
With my prayers to the Divine Supreme and best wishes.

Meditation: Mehda Nadi, Brahmacharya

Question: Does meditation has any role in the formation of Medha Nadi, the astral nerve that gives MEDHA (INTELLIGENCE & MEMORY). How did Swami Vivekananda develop such sharp intelligence & memory ? Brahmacharya is practised by many but all do not develop such sharp intellegence.

Answer: By constant & long meditation, Medha Nadi is developed & felt. Medha Nadi definitely improves intelligence and memory. But, you have to do a long practice for it. Swamiji was an extra ordinary person. He was a born perfect. So, the things were easy for him. Brahmacharya has to be practised not merely physically but it must be also mentally. The mind has to be absolutely pure. Then only the intelligence grows.

Response to above Reply: Thanks for your reply. I have another query :

I have been practising meditation for several weeks. Initially there used to be problem in controlling the mind because other thoughts came into my mind but now there is no such problem as these thoughts no more come.
But the greatest hurdle that I face now is my breath. Every time I exhale there is a slight wavering of the mind and one pointedness cannot be achieved. I consider this the greatest hurdle in my practise. Do people who are competent in meditation hold their breath.
Also I want to know what is the role of Pranayama ? I mean Pranayama is a separate exercise but how does it help in meditation ?
I would be grateful if you reply.
Reply to the Above Response: I appreciate your sincerity in Spiritual Practice. If you are able to control your thoughts without observing the breath, try to do that. Otherwise, continue to observe the breath. Gradually the wavering will stop.
Pranayama helps only to concentrate the mind ultimately. If you are able to do it without it, there is no need for Pranayama. Some practise Pranayama for the awakening of the Kundalini & its observation. But that is not very essential.

Question on meditation

Question: I am trying to practise meditation for some time. I am facing some problems:
1) I imagine the subject of meditation in the heart. I start off by concentrating on the heart but after some time as I go a little deeper in the concentration, I forget about the heart or the body and I imagine in the mind ( just like people day-dream in the mind ). I do it unconsciously but when I become aware that I am supposed to imagine in the heart, my concentration is broken. What should I do at this stage? Is it O.K. to give the control over to the mind or shall I try to revert back to the heart ?
2) Another great hurdle is my breath. When I breathe then there is flickering of my mind (The subject of meditation gets disturbed every time I breathe). This is preventing my furthur advancement in the practise of meditation.I do not practise any Pranayama separately but during meditation, I usually start of with a deep breath, which shortens gradually. Kindly advice soon.

Answer: 1. Continue your meditation, but see that you don’t fall asleep. So long you are alert, it is alright. There is not much difference between heart and the mind. So long you are able to control your thoughts going outside, it is alright.
2. If the breath becomes a problem, try to concentrate your mind on the breath itself. Gradually you will be able to overcome this problem.

Meditation: back pain, seeing colors

Question: When one is meditating and thinking of his oneness with his true self or seeking comunion with God, there occurs a particular kind of pain in the back at a specific location (e.g., middle of the spine). However, this subsides after the pratice of meditation is over in a few minutes.
Also a series of progressive colors (red-green-orange at times, at certain other times, violet-blue) are seen at the centre of the eyebrows. However, the breath isn’t perfectly controlled.
Could you please explain what these happenings imply – isn’t the practitioner on the right track or is he going away?

Answer: The pain may be due to not being habituated to sit in that position. So try to change your position of sitting and experiment.
Don’t give much importance to seeing colours, etc., so that your mind will be more interested in concentration than seeing these things.

What is the exact use of japa?

Question: 1. Swamiji, I have a doubt. What is the exact use of japa?? Is concentration the only outcome of JAPA ?? If suppose I am able to get very good concentration in my work, then does that mean JAPA is not necessary?? (I am discussing purely from materialistic point of view). What does JAPA exactly do ??? The one benefit which I clearly see is concentration.
2. My second question is: What is the speciality of a MANTRA (say, Om Namah Shivaya). Why can’t I say, “ABRACADABRA” and repeat it as a Mantra ? Please explain me the science behind this.

Answer: 1. The efficacy of Japa is to purify the mind. If you are concerned only about materialistic point of view, there is no necessity of Japa at all. By constantly doing Japa, more than concentration, it changes the whole personality internally and makes you a better and better man. You will reach a state where your personality will be – “Be good & do good”. When you reach that state, you will have absolute contentment and happiness.
2. The Mantra is the name of the Lord which has been spiritually charged with power by the Guru.

Meditation related question

Question: I practise meditation mostly during night. My main obstacle is sloth/sleepiness & lack of physical energy. Can you suggest me a remedy/cure.

Answer: Your problem is quite understandable. Try to change the time whichever is convenient to you. It must be before you get totally exhausted.