(John 1:14)

We must note - first of all - that these words mentioned in the Gospel of John are not the words of “Christ,” but rather the words of “John.” Christ did not say such words at all.

Christ never said that He was the Word

With extensive study and knowledge, we will find that they are the words of a Jewish person named (Philo of Alexandria) (20 BC - 40 AD) who lived in the Hellenistic era in Alexandria. He was a philosopher and thinker who was influenced by Greek philosophy.

It is known that John wrote his Gospel after the death of Philo and borrowed the term from him.the Word

Then if the Word is God and the Word became flesh, this means God becoming flesh, and this is a change in God, and their book says 6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. [Malachi 3:6]

https://www.facebook.com/100059866625821/videos/383696820988511

Q & A ~ John 1:1~ In The Beginning Was The Word And The Word Was With God Dr.Zakir Naik #zakirnaik

what is john 1 1

Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam, Allah has imposed on the Muslims in the sixth year Hijri, one of the best works, was asked the Messenger of Allah (: Any business better?

He said: (faith in Allah and His Messenger).

It was said: Then what? He said: (Jihad in the way of Allah).

It was said: Then what? He said: (accepted Hajj (the pilgrimage which was mixed with sin.) _ [Agreed]

And Aisha - may Allah be pleased - said: O Messenger of Allah Jihad see the best work do you not strive? He said: (No, but the best Jihad accepted Hajj) _ [Agreed].

The Hajj is an expiation for sins, he said (: (of Hajj and does not and does not immoral act, he returned the day his mother bore him) _ [Agreed]. He also said: ('umrah to an expiation for them, and accepted Hajj brings no less a reward than Paradise) _ [Agreed] said (: (Amar delegation of pilgrims and God, who goes, and they asked him to them gave He) _ [bazaar].

Hajj and cleanses the soul and restores clarity and fidelity, and that it would be human to be patient and endure, and Hajj implanted in the soul the spirit of bondage full of God, and submission true to the law of God, and the pilgrimage leads a person to God grateful for the blessing of money and blessing of wellness.

Hajj and lead to long relationship with the Muslims, including different colors, languages and home, and feel more strongly the Association of Islamic brotherhood, and helps to spread the call of Islam, as it is a popular conference to address the Muslims and to identify the conditions, and discuss their problems.

The conditions of Hajj being obligatory:

1 - Islam, Hajj is not obligatory on the infidel.

2 - puberty, there must be a boy, even pilgrimage boy before puberty, is not acceptable for duty after puberty, but to perform Hajj once again, for saying (: (Any boy Ag then reached Perjury (age of reference), he should do Hajj again) _ [ Tabarani].

3 - the mind, not on the pilgrimage crazy, but do not correct it.

4 - freedom, Not a slave

5 - Being, so that it is able to withstand the hardship of travel, and that he has enough is enough of having to beg until he returns.

And women, like men in the conditions of Hajj being obligatory but it is essential that accompanied a husband or a mahram, or be with her trustworthy women

The daily fast in Ramadan includes abstaining from all food and drink; not even a sip of water is allowed from dawn to sunset before breaking the fast in a meal known as iftar in Arabic. Those fasting are expected to also refrain from bad deeds, such as gossiping, and increase good deeds.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and begins with the sighting of the crescent moon.

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving and the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Fasting is regarded as an act of worship to attain God-conscious piety and one of submission to God. The devout see benefits such as practicing self-restraint, cultivating gratitude, growing closer to God, and feeling empathy for the poor and hungry.

Muslims typically stream into mosques for congregational prayers and dedicate more time for religious contemplation and the reading of the Quran, the Islamic holy book.

Charity is a hallmark of Ramadan. Among other ways of giving, many seek to provide iftar for the needy, distributing Ramadan boxes filled with pantry staples, handing out warm meals alongside such things as dates and juice or helping hold free communal meals.

Muslims eat a predawn meal, called suhoor, to hydrate and nourish their bodies ahead of the daily fast.

   mesaharati, who roams neighborhoods, calling out to the faithful, sometimes by name, to awake them for the suhoor meal.

Taraweeh Prayers

Muslims perform Taraweeh prayers as special nightly prayers during the month of Ramadan. They consider these prayers highly virtuous and perform them after the obligatory Isha (night) prayer.

The word “Taraweeh” derives from the Arabic word for “rest” or “relaxation,” indicating the breaks taken between sets of prayers. Typically, believers perform these prayers in congregation at mosques, with an Imam leading, involving the recitation of long portions of the Quran.

Taraweeh prayers offer believers an opportunity to engage in additional acts of worship and spiritual reflection during Ramadan. Many Muslims cherish these prayers as a means of seeking forgiveness, drawing closer to Allah, and strengthening their connection to the Quran.Believers deeply ingrain the practice of performing Taraweeh prayers in Islamic tradition, considering it significantly important during the blessed month of Ramadan.

May Allah’s immaculate grace and exceptional wisdom conquer your life as you celebrate this holy month of Ramadan. Have a blessed Ramadan!

Can we say Ramadhaan Kareem? – Dr Zakir Naik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHHKtMhDKZU

 محاضرة رمضان (الجزء الأول) د.ذاكر نايك ورقم خاص للإجابة على أسئلتكم Dr.Zakir Naik Ramadan Lecture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrnURQXuqI8

 محاضرة رمضان (الجزء الثاني) /لا تأكلوا بإفراط!! /د.ذاكر نايك/Dr.Zakir Naik /Ramadan Lecture part (2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8P6pJ2WdqM

Prophet Mohammad, PBUH, said: “purity is half of faith,” reported by Imam Muslim.

Scientists also assert that cleanliness help prevent almost most diseases. When the body remains clean and pure, it gets rid of most of the germs and dust that get stuck with. Such purity prevents several diseases such as skin and mouth diseases.

Moreover, constant cleanliness of the face and the hands entails the decrease of the number of germs that attack the body through the mouth and nose. Hence, the diseases of the respiratory and digestive system are also reduced.

Purity (in body, mind, and heart) is half of faith

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A recent scientific study confirms that having lights on when going to bed impacts the biological processes inside the brain and causes disorders that lead to obesity. Consequently, scientists recommend turning lights off at night to protect the body and brain.

Glory to Allah; this advice, recommended by scientists in the 21st century, was long stated by Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him

14 centuries ago. A sound chain of transmission reported: Prophet Mohammad, PBUH, said: "when you go to bed, put the lamps off." The question is: isn’t this hadith sufficient evidence that Prophet Mohammad, PBUH, speaks nothing but the truth?

لماذا تغضبون عندما تتم الإساءة لنبيكم؟ | محمد علي في حوار مع زوار

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm1_sY2RwX8

سواح أمريكيين: أب وابنته مندهشان من الإسلام

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqQX1_iE2Bo

بطل العالم في الملاكمة تايسون فيوري يعلن إسلامه وسط ترحيب مسلمي أمريكا - Tyson Fury Becomes a Muslim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEvybKzw1cg

The month of Ramadan is almost upon us, and its arrival is very important for all Muslims. He is something they hold dear, as they long for and await His arrival.

They rejoice when it is near and give each other good tidings when it actually arrives, because they know about this great blessed month and the great benefits and unique qualities that are special to this month and set it apart from the other months of the year differentiate.

Whoever Allah grants honor and extends his term and extends his lifetime to reach and meet this noble month, it is a great blessing for  the person  to participate  and reap the fruits of this great and blessed time . This time of obedience, faith and seeking closeness to the god

During Ramadan, healthy Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, but children, the disabled, travellers, and those who are physically or mentally ill or pregnant are exempt. The fast, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, includes abstaining from food, drink, smoking, and sex during daylight hours.

“O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you—as it was for those before you1—so perhaps you will become mindful ˹of Allah” __ Al-Baqarah – Verse 183.

  If you cannot fast, then you can break the fast. You will then have to compensate for the days that you were unable to fast with others of the same number when you are able to fast, by virtue of the verse:

“for days few in number. However, should any one of you be sick or on a journey, then (he should fast) a number of other days (equal to the missed ones); and those who have the strength, (still, they do not opt for fasting,) on them there is a fidyah (compensation), that is, the feeding of a poor person.Then whoever does good voluntarily, that is better for him. However, that you fast is better for you, if you only knew.. » (Quran 2/184).

“Ramaḍân is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance and the standard ˹to distinguish between right and wrong˺. So whoever is present this month, let them fast. But whoever is ill or on a journey, then ˹let them fast˺ an equal number of days ˹after Ramaḍân˺. Allah intends ease for you, not hardship, so that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of Allah for guiding you, and perhaps you will be grateful”. __ Al-Baqarah – Verse 185.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, mentioned the great reward for fasting during Ramadan

Allah’s Messenger  said, “Allah said, ‘All the deeds of Adam’s sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.’ Fasting is a shield or protection from the fire and from committing sins. If one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relation with his wife and quarreling, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, ‘I am fasting.’ By Him in Whose Hands my soul is’ The unpleasant smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord; then he will be pleased because of his fasting.” __ Sahih al-Bukhari

ما فائدة رمضان لغير المسلمين ؟ وما مصيرهم يوم القيامة ؟ - ذاكر نايك Dr Zakir Naik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9QBJE1oJfU

RAMADHAAN - A DATE WITH DR ZAKIR : EPISODE - 01

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBlobaFGESg

RAMADHAAN - A DATE WITH DR. ZAKIR : EPISODE - 02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vYN1e5I74w

RAMADHAAN - A DATE WITH DR. ZAKIR : EPISODE - 03

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hrHgUE8JoU&t=21s

''FBI Is Here! What Have You Done?" - The Story Of An American Missionary Who Converted To Islam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JINrOTvppuU

Allah almighty says about day of resurrection: (Whoever hopes for the Meeting with Allah, then Allah's Term is surely coming and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower * And whosoever strives, he strives only for himself. Verily, Allah stands not in need of any of the 'Âlamîn (mankind, jinn, and all that exists).) (Sûrat Al-' Ankabût-verse 5-6) so that all of us must be ready for that day.

Prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him) said about that day: (day of resurrection will not come before the emergence of trials, lying increases, Convergence of markets and convergence of time) {Narrated by Ahmed}, in this noble Hadith the prophet told his companions about some future events that will happen and these events are signs for the imminence of day of resurrection as he spoke about these events at the time when Islam was weak and the prophet and his companions were striving to spread that religion but he was speaking as if he was living with us and see what is happening.

In that Hadith there are four miracles which represent our reality nowadays:

1. Emergence of trials

Look at what is happening in many Muslim countries: wars, fighting and conflicts on power ..... All of these are happening in Muslim countries, why? Because we became away from principles of Islam and orders of Allah almighty, as a result we see these trials around us.

2. lying increases

Scientists all over the world are working hard to reveal lying and they are spending thousands of millions to invent an effective lying detection machine, also we see a lot of lying in newspapers and TV news around us as lying became an ordinary behavior around us. All of these weren't exist at the time of the prophet.

3. Convergence of markets

Nowadays, in all countries all over the world we see a lot of markets as we can see a market between two markets and this phenomenon wasn't exist at the time of the prophet.

4. convergence of time

in the past message used to take days and months to reach its destination but now we can send a message in a few seconds, also the news are flying between countries of the world in less than a second ... isn't a convergence of time?

Prophet of mercy (peace be upon him) told Muslims 1433 years ago about some future events that really happened today as we see in our life,

At the end we ask a simple question, who told that illiterate man about some future events and who told him that it will happen as he said that it will happen and didn't say it may happen? ... Indeed Allah almighty is the doer.

It is time for atheists to think and make a recalculation for their beliefs as they must understand and realize that Allah almighty is the source of this information as divine evidence that message of Islam is sincere.

الداعيه شمسي يشرح لشاب مسيحي محمد في الانجيل مترحم new

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUE0WIrFxio&t=9s

صبي يعتنق الاسلام مع الداعية شمسي مترجم ||||| الهايد بارك

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nReeloqdKMY&t=109s

Congratulations to the Islamic nation on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan

Allah has prescribed fasting for all the previous communities even if it was different in the way and the time of accomplishing it. Allah  says:

)يا أيها الذين آمنوا كتب عليكم الصيام كما كتب على الذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون( [البقرة: 183]

(183) O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous -

Meaning of the verse:

﴾O believers! You have been prescribed As-Siyam [fasting] as It was prescribed for those who preceded you, so you will attain piety ﴿ [s. Al-Baqara (the Cow): c. 183]

From the second year of the Hegira, Allah عزّ وجلّ definitively prescribed the fasting of the month of Ramadan to humanity. It is an obligation for the adult Muslim. He must do it if he is a resident and not sick. In case he is ill, he is allowed to perform it later. This also applies to women who have given birth or are menstruating. Not sick and traveling, the adult Muslim has the choice of doing it during this month or postponing it to a later period. Allah  has prescribed the fasting of the month of Ramadan from its beginning to its end. Its beginning is clearly fixed by the ocular vision of the lunar crescent of the month of Ramadân, or to complete the month of Sha‘bân (thirty days).

Allah has also determined the beginning of the day of fasting and its end by clearly specified limits,

Fasting during Ramadan means abstinence from all food or drink, including water and chewing gum, from dawn to sunset

لماذا علي أن أدفع الجزية؟ | ش. عثمان بن فاروق في حوار مع نصراني

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw_6vs3tOEc

نقاش مشتعل بين ش.عثمان بن فاروق ومنصرين نصبا كشكهما بجانب الشيخ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubaEuzGSVGQ

😂 ... أخيراً وجده الشيخ عثمان ولكن

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QqM__RAzUg

لا تُصدقي كل ما يُقال لكِ | ش.عثمان بن فاروق في حوار مع أمريكية

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3wpOa53kjg

 This means that their religions should continue and the killing also should continue without end. To bring them to the concept of one God and to avoid the mutual fights and mutual killing, the Prophet went to the last resort of even killing those leaders and rigid followers of various religions so that eternal peace will be established for future generations.

 Hence, orders like ‘fight non-Muslims’, ‘cutting off the hands and feet of those against Allah and His messenger’ etc., were passed in that context and in that specific region in which such worst situation existed. These comments of the Prophet were confined to that time and to that region only where people were fighting and killing with each other based on different religions.

In normal situations same Prophet Mohammad advised the followers to protect anybody in problem and to become the escort up to his/her house. Then, preaching about Allah should be done and to leave him/her without any force. Here, in this context, the world Allah means one God only and not several Gods since He established His religion in the context of rejecting many Gods only. Similarly, Lord Krishna, a human incarnation conducted a mighty war to destroy the injustice completely in a specific region and in a specific old span of time. This does not mean that whenever injustice grows, a mighty war is always inevitable.

 In a specific region and in some span of specific old time, a divine human incarnation preached the required spiritual knowledge to that place and that context of time and underwent crucifixion silently so that the hearts of those people get reformed by repentance. This does not mean that any spiritual preacher of any time in any area should undergo crucifixion silently to reform the hearts of the people. Today, crucifixion is never allowed on the grounds of spiritual knowledge and even on the grounds of political issues.

Today, in all regions of the world all religions co-exist with mutual love and respect to each other. Even if there are differences in religions, situation is limited to some hot discussions and debates or at the maximum abusing each other very rarely. You can’t bring those comments of the divine Prophet confined to that context and that place to the present context and present world. You should not implement those punishments on non-Islamic religions because that situation was very serious and this situation is very normal.

The divine Prophet Mohammad means ONE GOD as the meaning of the world Allah because the entire lifelong context in which He was placed was horrible fights based on religious differences establishing different Gods. The punishments suggested by Him were in the context of forcible suppression of multiplicity of God by even wars to stop mutual killing based on wrong spiritual knowledge.

 Today also, many religions and many Gods based on wrong spiritual knowledge exist, but, the situation is not as worse as that of that time.

 In that context, wars and severe punishments were inevitable and in this context of today, propagation of right spiritual knowledge is sufficient. You should not extend the statement of one context blindly to other different context of the same event also. Today, the solution can come by cutting the wrong arguments with the help of right arguments and hands and feet need not be cut with knives. The whole problem arises by blindly bringing the comments of God made in one context to another different context due to ignorance without little common sense and a trace of analysis!

Similarly, issues of inheriting the property, control of women, concepts of marriage, the status of adopted sons etc., present in that context and in that region were analysed with justified logic and judgements were passed by the divine Prophet Mohammad. Everywhere, every time, we must not miss the basic point that these judgements were specific to those situations only. If the situation is exactly same, anytime, anywhere, you can simply extend and apply the same judgement word to word. But, if situations were different, the same judgement of past different situations should not be applied to the new situations without suitable modifications.

How to tranform a terrorist

Even a terrorist has some logic by which only he is practically behaving in that particular way. By your sharp analysis, you have to change that logic and then only reformation and realization comes even in terrorist. You must enlighten the misinterpretation of the scripture like Jihad, which is the fight for justice in the context of killing each other due to difference in the religions existing in the time of Prophet Mohammad.

 The situation of killing each other can be controlled by fight and sometimes in extreme conditions by removing some limbs like hands, legs etc. Killing can be stopped by fights or such severe punishments. Today when such context of killing is not there, you cannot bring the concept of Jihad to the context of today.

Today, only oral arguments and oral fights are going on between religions. In this context, only perfect rational analysis is sufficient to rectify the situation. Like this, we must understand the word of the Prophet with reference to the then existing context. You should not generalize a specific context to all the times and all the regions. Then only harmony between religions and world peace is possible. You must also remember that the Prophet told to teach about Allah to a human being after helping it and the final decision is left to the free will of the human being.

Shri Datta Swami gives clarification on the some of the controversial verses in Quran

A woman inherits half of what a man inherits: Qur'an 4:11
A woman's witness testimony is half of that of a man's: Qur'an 2:282

Women(Qur'an 4:11, 2:282, Qur'an 4:34): In that old context, women were terribly suppressed in all aspects by the ignorant men. This situation existed in every religion and in every region of the world. When you suppressed by somebody, he/she will react and revenge in silent or open ways. Women couldn’t revolt in open ways due their weaker physical strength compared to men.

 Showing difference by caste and gender is the climax of ignorance and stupidity. Naturally, women revolted in silent ways by becoming more alert and intelligent than men. Women became experts in cold war. They were trying to retort injustice through curved ways called cheating. Men blamed women as cunning liars. This was true in that situation but such retort was not unjust since diamond should be cut by diamond only.

 You cannot blame those women in view of their unjust suppression. Hence, the witness of two women was felt necessary for the truth to come out because of the non-unity of women in those days. Wife being left half of the husband, witness of one man was said to equal to the witness of two women. Suppression of women from education and property made them to become weaker sex.

 The divine Prophet gave equal right of property to the women because wealth or money is the basic strength of the entire world. Even in Hinduism the Veda said (Putrebhyo daayam...) that issues (Putra) should divide the property equally. As per Sanskrit grammar (Ekashesha sutra) the word ‘putra’ means both son and daughter. But, the word putra was misinterpreted by men to have the only meaning ‘son’. Selfish souls always pollute the scripture and analysis is the filter to be used for cleaning.

Discipline of the family is essential and one head of the family should exist, be father or be mother. In the old context father (man) remained as head and the entire family including mother (woman) was obeying the head. In the case of disobedience, the family looses unity and discipline. In such case beating was recommended just to induce fear and control.

In this way, if understood properly, this gives justified colour. If misinterpreted in wrong way, it shows atrocity against women. This topic should be carefully and patiently understood and everywhere misinterpretation drags you to side. Today, there are several families in which the woman is the only earning member and happens to be the head of the family. In such case if the husband or children become disobedient, she, as the head of the family can beat her husband or children. Headship is important and not gender.

In the old context, the head was always male, it is said that a disobedient wife should be controlled even by beating. Here, head controlling others is real focus and man controlling women is misinterpreted false focus. If the discipline comes by punishment, the anger should no more continue and no injustice should be done to anyone in anyway keeping past in mind (‘do not seek a way against them...’).

A man may marry the wife of his adopted son: Qur'an 33:4

Adopted son(: This son is not given by God. This type of son is got by the man only. There is no blood relationship between father and adopted son. The widow wife of such adopted son can be married by the father provided both are willing. This applies to a case of mutual willingness and not force to be applied in every case. Extension of it to all cases is again misinterpretation of selfish people.

Turned into Apes: Qur'an 2:65

Apes: Those who oppose the word of God, become undisciplined criminals to be treated as animals and not at all human beings. Animals have no ethics at all. In the animals also apes are very much unstable in psychology. Hence, such unstable criminals doing various types of sins without ethics are best addressed as apes.

A man can have sex with prisoners of war: Qur'an 33:50

Prisoners: The widows of prisoners are to be supported by providing peaceful family life. Here, wedding means maintenance. Husband means he, who maintains a woman (Bibharti iti bhartaa) and wife means she, who is maintained by the husband (Bhriyate iti bhaaryaa). The wedding with Prophet or human incarnation means that such unfortunate widow shall be maintained and supported by God. The word wedding should be taken as in the sense of supporting the widow and her children.

If the widow and the supporter (man) are mutually willing, both can get further children through the sex. This applies to specific cases only to avoid the secret sexual dealings of a widow with many men and marriage with a man is better than that bringing deceases. Rules of ethics differ from case to case and no single rule exists that should be applied to all the cases in all the contexts.

A man can marry a girl who hasn't reached puberty: Qur'an 65:4

Marriage before puberty: This existed in Hinduism also in a specific span of time and not necessary for all the times. The Manusmuruti says that a girl should be married in her 8th year (Astavarshaa bhavet...). The Veda says that the girl should be married after 16th year (Maa me dabhraani...).

This difference is based on the different contexts. A time was there when the girls were forcibly taken away for marriage. But, if the girl was married, she was leftover. To this context the first scripture applies. The normal context of all times was that such danger of looting unmarried girls was absent, which is even in the present time and to this context the second scripture applies.

 In such normal span of time, a grown up girl has grown up mentally also to select her husband. This process called svayamvaram existed in which a grown up girl interviews various grooms directly and makes her own selection with full freedom. Hence, such rules are specific for specific contexts only and this is very very important point.

A man may marry four wives: Qur'an 4:3

Four wives: This rule again applies to a specific context of time and region in which a man was marrying many many girls based on his power of money and rowdy nature. Such infinite number is reduced to four and here one is also suggested. Hence, from case to case the number varies from one to four. A soul can’t do justice to more than four based on the condition of health in that time.

"Cut off their hands": Qur'an 5:38 & Qur'an 5:33

Cutting hands of thieves: This again differs from context to context. When the sin of stealing reached climax and not controlled by any punishment, the last resort of the punishment was this. This can’t be applied to another context where the sin is under control.

Sura 5:33 orders the cutting off of the hands and feet of those who wage war against Allah and his Messenger.

Cutting hands and feet of opponents of Prophet: Jesus was the Prophet before Mohammad as agreed by Islam also. His hands and feet were cruelly nailed. Such criminals opposing God should be given this punishment. Jesus indicated that He and His father are one and the same (Monism).

 The anger for crucifixion came at this point. Jesus told the absolute truth as said by Shankara. The ego and jealousy of other co-human beings reached climax and Jesus was brutally killed. To avoid this horrible crime from which no involved soul can ever be excused by God, Prophet Mohammad established dualism (God and soul are totally different) and separated Allah from His messenger. Though He was human incarnation of Allah, to avoid such anger of God on souls, He rejected monism based on the context.

In fact, both theories are correct and one and the same. When current flows through wire, current (God) is inseparable from the wire (messenger) and the electrified wire shows the property of electricity (shocking) whenever and wherever touched. For all practical purposes though both are different, remain as one and the same. The electrified wire is called as electricity itself.

Prophet Mohammad criticized Jews and Christians in old context only and not in all contexts of all times. The reason for such criticism was only in the context of crucifixion of Jesus, since He was crucified on twisted background of political offence of anti Government, though the hidden real reason was the disliked spiritual knowledge of Jesus.

He was aiming at the religious leaders and their followers only, who plotted the crucifixion in most cunning way and hence friendship with such people should not be done. The latter generations should repent to do such act again and this was the main aim of criticising their latter generations after a long time and this criticism subsequently applies to all.

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- By Shri Datta Swami
(Universal Spirituality for World Peace)

(And mention) when the angels said, O Mary, indeed God gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near (to God). He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous. (Quran 3:45-46)

Naturally, for Mary, this news was both strange and seemingly impossible.

She said, My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me? (The angel) said, Such is God; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, Be, and it is. And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel. (Quran 3:47-48)

The very nature of Jesus is so special, that God compares the uniqueness of His creation to that of the first man and prophet, Adam.

Indeed, the example of Jesus to God is like that of Adam. He created him from dust; then He said to him, Be, and he was. (Quran 3:59)

Jesus and His Miracles

Jesus became one of the greatest prophets of God, and was sent to the Children of Israel in order to confirm the teachings of his predecessor, the Prophet Moses. His birth was a miracle, and, like all prophets of God, he was granted several miracles. He approached his people, telling them:

And (make him) a messenger to the Children of Israel, (who will say), Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from the clay (that which is) like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of God. And I cure the blind (from birth) and the leper, and I give life to the dead by permission of God. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. And (I have come) confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and obey me. Indeed, God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path. (Quran 3:49-51)

Jesuss Followers

The Quran continues the story of Jesus by relating several incidents of his life and his disciples.

But when Jesus felt (persistence in) disbelief from them, he said, Who are my supporters for (the cause of) God? The disciples said, We are supporters for God. We have believed in God and testify that we are Muslims (submitting to Him.) Our Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed the messenger (i.e., Jesus), so register us among the witnesses (to truth). (Quran 3:52-53)

In another incident, after which an entire surah (chapter) of the Quran is named, the disciples of Jesus asked him for another miracle.

(And remember) when the disciples said, O Jesus, Son of Mary, can your Lord send down to us a table (spread with food) from the heaven? (Jesus) said, Fear God, if you should be believers. They said, We wish to eat from it and let our hearts be reassured and know that you have been truthful to us and be among its witnesses. Said Jesus, the son of Mary, O God, our Lord, send down to us a table (spread with food) from the heaven to be for us a festival for the first of us and the last of us and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the best of providers. (Quran 5:112-114)

God sent them the table they had asked for, but not without a warning.

God said, Indeed, I will sent it down to you, but whoever disbelieves afterwards from among you then indeed will I punish him with a punishment by which I have not punished anyone among the worlds. (Quran 5:115)

The End of the Story?

The story of Jesus never really ends in the Quran, as we are told that Jesus was not killed, but that rather, God raised His beloved prophet up to Him.

(Mention) when God said, O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify (i.e., free) you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you (in submission to God alone) superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ. And as for those who disbelieved, I will punish them with a severe punishment in this world and the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers. But as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, He will give them in full their rewards, and God does not like the wrongdoers. (Quran 3:55-57)

The Quran also points out that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified. Speaking of the Children of Israel, God faults their accusations against Mary as well as their claim that they killed Jesus.

And (We cursed them) for their disbelief and their saying against Mary a great slander. And (for) their saying, Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of God. And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but (another) was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Rather, God raised him to Himself. And ever is God Exalted in Might and Wise. (Quran 4:156-158)

The Quran confirms that Jesus was raised up by God, and the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, reassured us that Jesus will be sent down to earth once again before the Day of Judgment. In a saying of Prophet Muhammad, narrated by Abu Hurairah, the Prophet said:

By the One in Whose hand is my self, definitely the son of Maryam will soon descend among you as a just judge, and he will break the cross, kill the pig, and abolish the jizyah (tribute), and wealth will be so abundant that no one will accept it, until a single prostration will be better than the world and everything in it. (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yEq172Yvs4

The month of Ramadan, 9th lunar month

Ramadan begins on the 9th month of the lunar year. Also, traditionally, the beginning of Ramadan is decreed when a religious sees the first crescent moon.

Fasting, which concerns both food and drink, begins at dawn and lasts until sunset. Suffice to say that you have to be enduring to endure it throughout the day. But the motivation is great for believers because Ramadan is a period of intense spirituality. It also helps to regain awareness of the value of food and drink. Feeling hungry and thirsty is a way to come together with all those who are suffering.

Once the sun goes down ...

Once the sun sets, the houses come alive and the party begins! Ideally, all family members break the fast together and at the same time.

the month of Ramadan is the 4th pillar of Islam. Fasting is therefore compulsory during this period for both men and women from puberty, with the exception of the sick, pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding or are indisposed, or even travelers ... In some cases it is possible to postpone the fast, in others it will be compensated by donations to the poor. Ramadan is not only characterized by fasting: this period is one of abstinence, kindness, charity and meekness.

In addition to fasting, practitioners must observe very strict behavioral rules and respect certain prohibitions. During this ascetic period, they will not be able to have sex during the day, smoke, make obscene comments or put on makeup. It is important to note that inadvertent eating does not involve atonement or catch-up fasting. The dizzy person therefore enjoys a certain indulgence. Conversely, a deliberate transgression of the rules recommended by Ramadan cancels the fast.

Ali Dawah: Why Islam? | SPEAKERS CORNER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw_K3YaE3gc&t=237s

RAMADAN ADVICE | EESA | BRO HAJJI | AHMED ALI | LIBAN | #SPEAKERSCORNER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b6t4uEvf9M

Dr Zakir Naik !! Ramadan Special with Questions & Answers || Peace TV Live YouTube || Episode 12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-cCDN8DoAY

Ramadan has always been a positive turning point in the lives of many Muslims and non Muslims

Narrated by Abu Hurairah, May Allah be Pleased with Him

Interpreation of the Meaning: "The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) ascended the Minbar (Pulpit) and said: “Ameen, ameen, ameen.” It was said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah, you ascended the Minbar (Pulpit) and said, ‘Ameen, ameen, ameen.” He said: “Jibreel (Peace be upon him) came to me and said: ‘If Ramadaan comes and a person is not forgiven, he will enter Hell and Allah will cast him far away. Say Ameen.’ So I said Ameen. He said: ‘O Muhammad, if both or one of a person’s parents are alive and he does not honour them and he dies, he will enter Hell and Allah will cast him far away. Say Ameen.’ So I said Ameen. He said: ‘If you are mentioned in a person’s presence and he does not send blessings upon you and he dies, he will enter Hell and Allah will cast him far away. Say Ameen.’ So I said Ameen.”

Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan, 3/188; classed as saheeh by al-Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1679.

This means that Ramadan should be a turning point in the life of every Muslim: a turning point from sins to repentance, from negligence to diligence, from deviation to guidance and from leaning on the life of this world to hastening towards the Paradise of the Hereafter.

Narrated Abu Hurayrah: Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven." (Bukhari 2:37)

The month of forgiveness has arrived. This is the month of abstinence from the worldly pleasures, the defiance of desires and the month of pure intentions. Allah granted us this month to purify our wayward hearts from the blackness of sins we have inflicted upon it. It is a month to renew and refresh our life to start worshipping Him. It is a month where we should return and repent to Him and beg Him for salvation

Some Tips for A Blessed month of Ramadan (Dr Zakir naik)! ...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c2Y-xpUVX4

Why is Ramadan called the month of forgiveness - Zakir ...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6QeiV9HIjg

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Shri Phani asked: How to overcome such calamities as all the world is facing now due to the present horrible virus?

Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! A king passed a rule in his kingdom which was to be followed by all citizens. The citizens who failed to follow the rule were to be punished. Some citizens violated the rule and were punished by the court of law (dharmāsanam) present in the kingdom. Now, suppose these punished violators praise the king a lot and pray to him, will the king cancel their punishment using his supreme power? The other citizens who followed his rule were not punished, even though they never praised the king. Hence, the main point here is to follow the rule of the king. Whether citizens praise the king or not is immaterial.

If you replace the king with God and the kingdom with this entire world, you will be able to relate the above story to the present context. God has given the divine constitution called the Dharma Śāstra, to humanity through ancient sages. Every soul is expected to follow that divine constitution of God. The constitution recommends doing certain meritorious deeds and prohibits sinful deeds. If one does not do the meritorious deeds, one only misses some benefit like going to heaven. But if one commits sin, one faces inevitable punishment. The punishment includes being sent to hell after death and undergoing suffering there. But it also includes hell-like punishment here on earth, when the sin committed is highly intense (Atyutkaṭaiḥ pāpa puṇyaiḥ, ihaiva phalamaśnute). The present calamity is punishment given by God to souls here on earth. Hence, it is indeed the result of the intense sins done by the souls in this world.

Following justice, doing meritorious deeds and not committing sin is the path of pravṛtti or worldly life. Devotion to God, which includes praising God, is the path of nivṛtti or spiritual life. A soul’s efforts in nivṛtti do not save the soul from the punishment of violating pravṛtti. Hence, praying to God will not stop this calamity, since it is the punishment for the sins committed by souls in worldly life (pravṛtti). Pravṛtti and nivṛtti are independent fields and nivṛtti never interferes with pravṛtti. Even if a soul is an atheist, but if he or she follows pravṛtti (worldly justice) strictly, the soul will not face any punishment. By avoiding sin, one certainly avoids the punishment of sin. Such a person will escape the infection even in the present epidemic.

The three main sins mentioned in the Gita “Kāmaḥ krodhaḥ tathā lobhaḥ…” are given below and briefly explained:

1.     Illegitimate sex: Sex with anyone except one’s legitimate married life-partner is sin.

2.     Illegitimate anger: The unjust anger or violence shown towards good people and harmless living beings is sin. Not showing the appropriate anger or force towards bad people is also a sin.

3.     Illegitimate greed: All forms of corruption, and theft are sin. Being miserly and avoiding donation to deserving recipients is also sin. Further, irrationally donating to undeserving receivers is also a sin.

These three main sins are to be strictly avoided by all people. Being ethical, following justice and strictly avoiding sin is the minimum and maximum expectation of God from any soul, be it a theist or an atheist.

 If the people of a country can pray to God in the following manner, this calamity can be avoided in that country. Even people who do not believe in God can make the following resolve and abide by it. They too shall be protected. The prayer or resolve is as follows:

Let me propagate the message of doing meritorious deeds and not doing sins, extensively in society. By repeatedly propagating this message of living ethically in society, not only do I imbibe it fully, but the public also imbibes it fully. It brings reformation in me as well as in the society around me. At the very least, it reduces the intensity of sin. All souls including me will, at least, sincerely try to reduce the intensity of their sin.

Even atheistic countries and atheists within different countries can make this resolve because it makes no reference to God. However, atheists must accept the inevitable force with which the sins of mankind get punished by nature. This mere invisible virus has brought the whole world to a halt and left even the world leaders trembling in fear. At the time of the final destruction, the final Incarnation of God called Kalki, using the electric sword (vidyut khadga) given by Lord Śiva, will destroy almost all the souls in the world with unimaginable speed. It will be a million times faster than the spread of the present virus!

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-By Shri Datta Swami

(Visit our website: www.universal-spirituality.org)

Universal Spirituality for World Peace

Shri Krishnaraj.V.S wrote: Dear Sir,

With reference to the above message, i would like to seek clarification for the following: The reply by Swami is, Quote “The real Speaker is God Datta alone. The audience has awareness just like the Speaker. The only inert or ignorant instrument in between God Datta and His live audience is Myself, who lacks even a trace of knowledge.”Unquote

Most spiritual books and gurus say on similar lines that man should consider himself as an instrument of God. The above logic raised a question for which I could not get a convincing answer. The question is, if man should only be an instrument, then what is the purpose of his creation ? If anything good or bad happens, should he attribute the same to God and refrain from exhibiting his emotions? Should he be only a puppet and suppress his emotions?

Why I am raising this point is that, most discussions /forums put forth the view that god has given freedom because, he doesn’t want humans to be programmed dolls. If god has given really freedom to humans, then what is the point in humans thinking that they are mere instruments of god. Thinking us as mere instruments imply that our freedom is not real freedom.

1. If the freedom we are enjoying is not real freedom, god can as well make us dolls so that evils are totally curbed. The point is, god wants us to be mere instruments and also make us to suffer by allowing evil. This is not just.

2. Assuming ourselves as mere instruments will not hold good in practical life. If a person commits a sin and if he says that, i am merely an instrument and god should be held responsible, will it be acceptable in court of law?

For me above mentioned points deter to think that we should be mere instruments of god. I may be wrong also. If I am wrong , kindly clarify what could be correct? Regards, Krishnaraj.V.S]

Swami replied:  The source of your question is the confusion between Nivrutti (divine life) and Pravrutti (worldly life). The statement given by Me is related to Nivrutti and not to Pravrutti. Freedom is given to all human souls, who are responsible for freely choosing to perform good deeds or bad deeds in Pravrutti (Svabhaavastu pravartate —Gita). Even here, God preaches to the souls through ethical scriptures and also directly in the form of Human Incarnations. His preaching clearly describes which deeds are good and which are bad. In Pravrutti, the human being takes the credit for the fruits of his good deeds, and tries to throw the blame for the fruits of his bad deeds on God! Pravrutti belongs to all of humanity whereas Nivrutti belongs to an extremely small number of climax devotees to God, who have surrendered to God totally (Tameva sharanam gachha —Gita). Especially, when divine work of God is to be done by a climax devotee such as delivering excellent spiritual knowledge, God merges with that climax devotee and generates that excellent spiritual knowledge through that devotee. Here, the planning of the divine program (Samkalpa), choosing the appropriate direction in its execution, and providing the energy for doing the work, are all actually done by God alone since it is entirely God’s work. God does His own work through that climax devotee and gives the credit to His climax devotee. The climax devotee in turn always passes on this entire credit back to God since the real credit belongs only to God. The climax devotee always says that he or she is a total zero whereas God is the all-in-all in such divine work. This point which applies only to the extremely small number of exceptional devotees cannot be extended to all the other general human beings.

In Pravrutti, while doing a good deed or a bad deed, the planning of the action, and choosing the direction for how it is to be executed, are done by the human being. Only the energy required for the work is supplied by God. A simile for this is that God is like the horse taking you to any place as desired by you. The horse merely provides the energy for the journey by doing the work of pulling the cart. This simile comes from the Veda which says “Abadhnan purusham pashum”. The planning and choosing the direction in doing the work is your responsibility alone. You may choose to go to a forest and get robbed or you may choose to go to a city in which your friends live, and enjoy happiness. The fruit of the work depends on your planning, and the direction chosen by you in executing the work. Hence, the fruit goes to you alone, and not to the horse. In Pravrutti, the horse (God) only acts like inert energy. You have complete freedom in planning and deciding the direction of the work. You have not given a chance for the horse to contribute to the planning and choosing the direction. Hence, you are responsible for the good and bad fruits of the work done as per your choice. In the case of the climax Nivrutti devotee, he or she has surrendered to the horse (God) in all the three steps of planning the work, choosing the direction, and obtaining energy for performing it. You cannot mix the cases of climax devotees with the other general human beings and arrive at confused conclusions. The teacher teaches the lesson to all in the class without any partiality. If the majority of students in the class are undisciplined, they may fail. A few disciplined students will pass the examination. You cannot mix the cases of both the disciplined and undisciplined students, and arrive at a common conclusion. The freedom of choice too was given by God to souls since the souls were bored after living in continuous discipline for a long time during the Kruta Yuga. By giving them freedom, the divine Father made all souls, who are His children happy. At the same time, in the interest of the welfare of His children, He has taken all necessary steps to guide them on the right path. He has guided humanity by giving the ethical scriptures. Moreover, He preaches the true spiritual knowledge to humanity directly by coming in the form of Human Incarnations in every generation. Under these circumstances, if one blames God, it is only the climax of ignorance!

Dr. Nikhil asked: Padanamaskarams Swamiji! With regard to the recent message given to Smt. Bindiya Chaudhry on December 1, 2018, You have stated that for sins done with intention, the direct doer of the sin, the employer of the direct doer, the promoter and the supporter; all share the fruit of the sin equally (kartā kārayitā caiva, prerakaścānumodakaḥ...). In this regard, I have the following questions for which I seek Your kind clarifications. Your servant. Nikhil.

Dr. Nikhil: Does anumodaka mean supporter or the enjoyer of the benefit?

Swami replied: Grammatically, you have every right to take the meaning of anumodaka in the sense of an enjoyer since the root verb ‘mud’ means joy. But the word anumodakaḥ means the supporter of a deed in the sense of appreciating the deed after it is performed. The words ‘anumodanam,’ ‘samarthanam’ or ‘sammatih’ have similar meaning and they convey the sense of supporting through acceptance, and through the expression of joy after the deed is performed.

If this word is taken in the sense of enjoying the fruit, it is also correct because the supporter enjoys the fruit equally along with the other three parties to the sin, who are involved before performing the deed or during the deed. The first three parties to the sin are the direct doer or kartaa, the indirect doer or Kaarayitaa, who is the employer of the doer, and the promoter or preraka. The fourth party to the sin, the supporter or anumodaka, comes into picture after the deed is done. An example is a lawyer pleading the case of a criminal. The prefix ‘anu’ which means ‘after,’ indicates that the supporter comes after the other three parties have planned and executed the deed. Thus, the first three belong to one category, while the supporter belongs to another category.

It is already said in the verse that all the four parties equally enjoy the punishment or the fruit of the sin (chatvaarah samabhaaginah). So, all four are ‘enjoyers’, in any case. Then if you take the meaning of anumodaka only in the sense of the person who enjoys the fruit, the former three parties also become anumodakas since they too enjoy the fruit of the deed. In that case, there cannot be a separate fourth party called anumodaka; there are only three parties. An independent fourth party cannot arise unless a different meaning such as supporter is assigned to the fourth term anumodaka.

The root verb ‘mud’ primarily means to enjoy, as per grammar. By adding the prefix ‘anu’, it means supporting the deed through the acceptance and appreciation of the deed. This is the actual meaning of the word anumodaka. In addition to the actual meaning as a supporter, you can also associate the sense of ‘enjoyer’ with the word as per the primary meaning of its root verb, since the supporter is also one of the enjoyers of the fruit. But it is important to remember that the meaning derived from the root verb, which is enjoyment, extends beyond just the term anumodaka, to include all the four parties. Thus, taking the meaning of anumodaka as the enjoyer, suffers from the defect of Ativyaapti or over-extension. Since, the meaning, enjoyer, applies to the first three parties, a separate fourth party disappears. This makes the verse false since it clearly mentions four parties (chatvaarah). So, to maintain four separate parties as mentioned in the verse, the word anumodaka should be understood in the sense of the supporter. This main sense of supporting is in accordance with grammar. Over and above that you can also add a secondary meaning as the enjoyer, since it is based on the root verb.

The case of Valmiki’s family

Dr. Nikhil asked: I request You to please throw light on the case of the enjoyer of the benefit too. Specifically, in the case of Valmiki’s story, his family said that they would not accept a share in the sin even though they were the enjoyers of the wealth earned through sinful means. They said that as the breadwinner, Valmiki was duty-bound to provide for his family; how he fulfilled his duty was none of their concern. They had never forced him to commit sin and rob others. So they would not accept a share in the sin. This was a specific case where the doer of the sin was duty-bound to provide for the enjoyers of the benefits. More importantly, the family members had no choice but to depend on Valmiki, the bread-winner.

But in general a person who enjoys the benefits of a sinful deed, should have a share in the sin especially when the doer of the sin is not duty-bound to provide for the enjoyment of the enjoyer. Or more correctly, the enjoyer who is not dependent on the doer of the sin should get a share in the sin. Could You please clarify this point.

Swami replied: It is said that the above-mentioned four parties equally share the fruit of the sin. It means that each of the four, separately and fully enjoys the fruit of the deed. For instance, if the fruit of a sin is a hundred beatings, then each of the above four, receives a hundred beatings in hell. It certainly does not mean that each will get just twenty-five beatings, which is one-fourth of the share of the total beatings. Coming to the main point, sage Narada met the robber Valmiki in the forest and asked him to ask his family if they were ready to share the fruit of his sin. Valmiki’s family replied that they would not share his sin since they were not directly involved in the sin of robbing others. The family members gave that answer due to their ignorance about the actual concept. But that answer shocked Valmiki, who left his sinful ways and later became a sage. The conversion of Valmiki was a positive outcome. It need not be criticized just because it was based on his family’s false understanding of the cycle of deeds.

When Valmiki returned to Narada, on hearing his family’s ignorant answer, Narada did not correct it. Narada was a real preacher or Guru, and not a mere scholar. The Guru does not bother about the truth of a concept as much as the upliftment of the soul. If a concept is false but if it can help the soul progress to the next higher level, the Guru will even preach that false concept for the immediate spiritual progress of the soul. Such a lie told for a good purpose is called arthavaada. Sometimes, the truth can cause damage and prevent the spiritual progress of the soul. In that case, it should not be revealed for the time being. The real Guru has this tendency to give more importance to the progress of the soul than simply revealing the truth carelessly. The real Guru preaches and reveals the truth carefully based on the psychology of the receivers. This tendency is clearly seen in the three divine preachers, Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva.

If in a court, a party or its advocate make any claim, it need not be accepted by the judge, who is the final authority on the constitution. Hence, the answer given by the family to Valmiki need not be taken as the final authority. Our understanding of the actual concept need not be based on their answer. It is the ignorance of the family to think that they would not have to undergo the punishment for the sin. Actually, they come under the fourth category of the supporters of the sin or anumodakas, and they cannot escape punishment. The family obviously knew that Valmiki was bringing money and jewels by robbing other people. They knew that he was not earning money through hard work. When Valmiki went to his home as per Narada’s instructions, he did not ask his family whether they knew that the wealth he was bringing home was robbed from other people, and not earned through hard work. He simply asked the family whether they would share the sin or not. The family too was not shocked to find out that Valmiki was a robber. They merely refused to share the sin, which clearly proves that they were already fully aware that Valmiki was earning through sinful means.

They were enjoying that sinfully-earned wealth with full awareness. They replied ignorantly saying that they would not share the sin even though they were enjoying the fruit of the deed, which was the wealth. They falsely claimed that they would not suffer the punishment for the sinful deed since they were not the direct doers of the sin. The ignorant family had limited the responsibility of the sin to only the first party, which is the kartaa or the direct doer of the sin. The ignorance of the family was exploited by sage Narada for doing the good work of reforming Valmiki.

Some people might not agree with sage Narada’s approach. Let us understand their objection through the following conversation between an opponent and Swami.

Opponent: Valmiki was under the wrong impression that if his family shared his sin, his share of the punishment would get reduced. Why did Narada not reveal the truth to Valmiki? The truth is that the punishment for a sin is never divided among those responsible for the sin, and that each one gets the full punishment for the sin separately. So, both Valmiki and his family would have to bear the full punishment for the sin. There was no need for Narada to hide this truth from Valmiki. Even if Narada had revealed this truth, Valmiki would still have given up his sinful ways. He would have reformed with the knowledge that the punishment for his sin would not be reduced at any cost.

Swami: If you are told that not only will you have to bear the full punishment for your sin, but also that your family will not get any punishment at all, you will immediately give up your sinful ways and get reformed with double the force. You will think it is foolish to continue the sinful deeds when even though both you and your family equally share the sinfully-earned wealth, you alone will be punished while your family totally escapes punishment. On the other hand, if you are told the truth that both you and your family will have to separately bear the full punishment for the sin, there will be some satisfaction and even some sympathy towards your family. It will reduce your vigor in reformation. Hence, sage Narada did not reveal the truth to Valmiki. Such is the intensity of a Guru’s interest in uplifting a soul!

The Gita says that one should not leave one’s duties (Niyatam kuru…). But it does not mean that one should fulfill one’s duties even in an unjust way. A wife is said to be a partner in all the work done by a man to achieve the four goals of life. These four goals are called the puruṣārthās and they are: dharma or justice, artha or wealth, kaama or sex and moksha or the spiritual effort taken for salvation. The wife and grown-up children, who enjoy the wealth and benefits earned through sinful means, cannot escape the punishment for the same deeds. The wealth and benefits are the immediate fruits of the sinful deeds while punishments in hell are the delayed fruits of the same sinful deeds. Any human being with the slightest commonsense knows whether the head of the family is earning money through rightful or sinful means. After all, a wife is the partner of her husband in earning wealth, which is called as artha. If necessary, she might also have to take up a job and earn money along with her husband. Then how can she claim to be ignorant of her husband’s ways of earning money? Any family member can easily know when the head of their family is earning through sinful means. It is the duty of the family to advise and strongly urge the head of the family to stop the sinful earning and stick to only rightful means to meet the expenses of the family. Often times, the family does not do this important duty. That is why the family is also destroyed in course of time by the sinful money earned by the head of the family.

Let us say that the head of the family is doing a lawful job and earning a rightful salary. But along with it, he is also earning some sinful money through corrupt means. The family might not be able to identify the sinful money if it is small in amount. In that case, it is justified to say that the head alone should undergo the punishment for the sin as the kartaa or the doer of the sin. A higher officer, who receives a share of the money earned by his juniors through corrupt means, also undergoes the same punishment as the kaarayitaa or the indirect doer. Another employee, who encourages the doer of the deed, and also gets a share in the sinfully-earned money, undergoes the same punishment as the preraka or the promoter. The family enjoying the large amounts of sinful money, which is the fruit of the sinful deeds done by the doer, must also undergo the punishment, which also is the fruit of the sinful deed. Here the family is the anumodaka or the supporter. The family should naturally get suspicious when the head of the family earns large amounts of money beyond his or her salary and are expected to question the head. The family cannot simply keep silent and say that they never supported the sin. Such an excuse is not valid. It is their responsibility to question the sin and try to avoid it by controlling the head of the family.

A sinful employee, takes a bribe from another sinful person like a contractor. He says that he is taking the bribe from the sinful contractor, who in turn is looting a lot of money in a project. The employee claims that his sin is not serious since he is only taking money from a rich and corrupt contractor and not from a poor person. But neither the contractor nor the employee can escape punishment in hell. Both are earning sinful money for their selfish purpose. Both are accumulating that money for their families. If a person has earned such sinful money in the past, it should be donated for some good work like the work of God or for feeding beggars, helping the poor etc. Only then can one escape from the punishment. Apart from the fact that they will face inescapable punishment, the sinners do not realize that the very purpose for which they earned this sinful money will never be achieved. They earned money sinfully for the sake of their family. But the large amounts of sinful money accumulated by them will destroy their children and their future generations.

Sin should be avoided even in cases of emergency, which are called as Aapatdharma. It is said that sage Vishvaamitra was once forced to eat the flesh of a dog during a drought. But it should be noted that he only ate the flesh of a dog that had already died. He did not kill it to save his own life. Even Kaapaalikaas, who eat human flesh from dead bodies, are not sinners since they do not kill anyone. Flesh by itself is not sinful since it does not differ from vegetarian food in the basic chemical constituents. It is the killing of harmless living beings for food that is sinful. The judgment of God depends on His deep analysis based on the overall background of each case. He is able to analyze perfectly since He is omniscient. Souls, with their limited intellects, are incapable of analyzing perfectly. Hence, the Gita says that the analysis of deeds is too deep for souls to understand (Gahanaa karmano gatih).

(Second question – answer to be continued.)

Swami replied: In your question the word ‘how’ is obscure. Does it mean the procedure of cooking the food or the tools and utensils used for cooking or the food ingredients used? I will take it in the sense of the procedure and answer your question. God is unimaginable and there is no possibility of even imagining God. God punishes unjust people and thereby maintains justice in the world. But since this ultimate giver of the punishment is beyond our imagination, a direct proof of perception is impossible. But God delivers justice through different human beings. He merges with the corresponding human beings temporarily and ensures that the criminal is punished. He merges with the police officer to ensure that the case is correctly investigated and that the criminal is caught. Then, He merges with the judge so that the appropriate punishment is given to the criminal.

Then, finally, God merges with the jailer to make sure that the criminal does not escape from the jail or even from the death penalty when applicable. This process of temporarily merging with any required human being to punish injustice and protect justice is the procedure of how God protects dharma (justice) in the world. When God temporarily merges with certain human beings they become a certain type of Human Incarnation of God called an Aveśa Avatāra, which is a temporary Incarnation. A criminal may try to escape punishment here on earth. But the wheels of justice, which are protected by God, grind surely, even though they may move slowly.

1) Can You please bless me to translate Your books to Indonesian?

Shri Guna Darsana asked: Om sai ram. Jay guru datta i have finished translate the books of divine discourse of Swami volume 1 to indonesian. I need blessing of Swami, so i can do more with this translating. I am verry glad if Swami can advice me for propagate it to serve Swami mission. SWAMI, PLEASE BLESS me, thanks you, jau guru datta, omsai ram

Swami replied: You are doing very good work, which is liked by God and God is giving blessings to you through this Datta Swami.

2) May I have the golden opportunity to serve You?

Shri Sathyamoorthy Renganathan asked: Residential disciple at Ashram. Pranams. May Adiyen know if I shall have a golden opportunity to be with you in Ashram serving you please in a favourable climate like June or July 2019 being a senior citizen living in Tamilnadu ji. By, Sathyamoorthy Renganathan

Swami Replied: I am very happy about your proposal. Let us do the service of God, the Creator. Let us not get attracted only to creation without remembering its Creator. The beauty of creation should remind us about the beauty of the Creator.

3) Why should we use only the right hand for doing good things?

Smt. Lakshmi Lavanya asked: I am left handed. I am facing many obstacles in using left hand. I want to know logic behind it. While worshiping god, while crossing door, i unknowingly use my left hand and left leg, is it really wrong? By, K Lakshmi Lavanya

Swami replied: These points are very simple and negligible before the spiritual knowledge, devotion, and service to God.

4) Could You please heal my father-in-law who is suffering from severe health problems?

Shri Sreenivas asked: prayer & healing request dear swamiji, paada praanam, my wife's father mr.sriman narayana aged 69 yrs is suffering from liver cirrhosis due to which has gone weak, lost weight, not fluently speaking, indigestion, swamiji by your healing power touch all the organs & heal him completely. swamiji with your grace & compassion heal him. paada praanam, sreenivas, By, Sreenivas

Swami replied: Pray to Lord Subrahmanya. He will help you.

The involvement in this world is inevitable. The consequence of such involvement is stress, which is also inevitable.  We may succeed in getting the fruit of the stress or we may not succeed in it.  The bullet is shot but hitting the bird is not certain.  The present Yoga [detachment from the world and remaining in one’s own awareness or Atman] is just a sleeping pill for a short time and it is in no way different from deep sleep.  In fact deep sleep is better than the present Yoga.  The reason is that in the present Yoga, the nervous system functions at a minimum level because awareness of oneself [awareness of the awareness alone] still exists as in the case of thoughtless self-meditation.  In deep sleep, even that pure awareness disappears and the nervous system takes complete rest.  In any case, the immediate involvement in the world is inevitable.  In such Yoga you only have peace, which is the absence of misery; but that is not bliss.  Such peace is not equal even to materialistic happiness.  When you are in self-meditation and if someone tells you that you have won a lottery of a crore [ten million], you clearly experience distinct materialistic happiness. 

It is also common practical experience that one is unable to stand firm in the state of self-attainment through self-realization.  The reason for this is, if you remain in the self and thereby detach yourself from misery, who will suffer the misery in your life cycle, which is ordained as a result of your past sins?  The results of the rest of your past deeds which have to be enjoyed [or suffered] by you in the future cannot be cancelled suddenly.  The force of the divine law governing the cycle of deeds is stronger than the self. The divine law is in the hands of God alone. The divine law will drag you into the world for the sake of the punishment.  Only God can save you from the misery.  The word Yoga actually means your meeting with God in human form.  If you remain in the self without proceeding further to God, thinking that the self is God, you are doing a sinful deed.  You are in no way different from an atheist who says that there is no God other than the self.  At least to enjoy the result of this sin, you have to be dragged out. 

If you divert this inevitable stress [of involvement in the world] to service in the spiritual field, God will protect you in both this world and the upper world.  This is a one bullet-shot that is sure to hit two birds.  When God takes care of you, there is no chance of uncertainty.  For you, solving all your problems in the world is not certain in spite of hectic stress [stressful effort].  Therefore, it is far better to divert the inevitable stress and involvement to the spiritual service of God.  You do not have complete faith in God.  Atheism imparted by the external environment is hidden in you without your knowledge. You are in daily association with people who always put self efforts with partial faith on God and this injects such an attitude into your brain. Hence you do not have full faith on the word of God.  You will always estimate your success based on worldly factors.  In reality, you do not have confidence on the super power of God, which can produce an ocean of sweet water in a desert. 

In practical situations, your faith in God and the extent of your theism is tested.  Wise people, who say that self-effort is the main component and that God’s help is a minor component in any action, often cover up such deficiency in your faith.  But when all the doors are closed, you will be worried about the possibility of success assured by God. Then you will put effort to open one of the doors so that God can help you through that door. This is utter foolishness on your part, because you think that God cannot help you unless some door is opened. God can even enter through the wall to help you, if all the doors are closed. Thus keeping full faith is important in the practical situation.

Complicated Cycle of Deeds

The Gita says that the concept of the cycle of deeds is complicated (Gahana karmano Gatih…). The action or deed by itself is inert without the intention of mind and has no result. When you are walking on the road, an ant may be accidentally killed under your foot. There is no sin for this deed because the intention of mind (samkalpa) is not there. Suppose you have an intention to kill the ant and subsequently kill it. This is a deed associated with mind and hence will lead to full punishment. Suppose you have the intention to kill the ant but somehow the deed was not successful due to the miraculous escape of the ant. Then you will have half of the punishment for your intention. Since the effect of your intention was not received by the ant, the other half of the punishment is cancelled. Therefore, action without intention has no fruit. Action with intention has full fruit. Intention without action has half the fruit. 

Why should you enjoy half the fruit for your intention when the action never materialized?  I will give you a small example. A daughter-in-law is serving her mother-in-law or father-in-law. The service is inevitable. If the service is done with good intention by treating the father-in-law as her own father or mother-in-law as her own mother, good fruit in heaven is fully enjoyed. Suppose the daughter-in-law serves them sincerely due to the unavoidable circumstances but scolds them with hatred in her mind, what is the result?  The good fruit in heaven is reduced to half and half bad fruit is received in hell for the bad intention.

The good fruit of a good deed can never cancel the bad fruit of a bad deed. Fruits of goods deeds and bad deeds have to be enjoyed separately. If you create a provision to cancel a bad deed by doing a good deed, everyone will commit sins under the influence of emotions and then will try to cancel the sins later on by doing good deeds. Therefore, when priests say that by doing a ritual, all your sins are destroyed, it is the climax of ignorance. No good deed can cancel the bad deed. The Kauravas had ninety nine per cent sins and one per cent good deeds. They went to heaven first to enjoy the little good deeds and later went to hell to enjoy all their major bad deeds. The Pandavas were vice-versa and hence went to hell first and then to heaven later on. In both cases, mutual cancellation of the results of good and bad actions was not seen in the Mahabharata (Swargarohana Parva). Now, I pity the daughter-in-law who sincerely served the in-laws but went to hell simply for the sake of her bad intention. The daughter-in-law who did not serve her in-laws and also had a bad intention goes to permanent hell. The daughter-in-law who served her in-laws sincerely but had a bad intention in her mind goes to both hell and heaven separately. The daughter-in-law who served her in-laws with good intention, thinking of them as her own parents goes to permanent heaven. The daughter-in-law who has a good intention in her mind to serve her in-laws will somehow serve them directly or indirectly and will not go to hell.

Suppose a bad intention has come into the mind, but the intention is not materialized and nobody is affected practically in the world.  Certainly there will be a partial punishment for this mental sin in hell. How to get rid of this mental sin? Only the powerful divine knowledge at the level of the intelligence can smash mental sins. The intelligence alone can control the mind. The intelligence is strengthened by the divine knowledge which is injected by the Sadguru. The mind is strengthened by repetition of sins and temporary experience of false happiness. When the divine knowledge is intense, the mind is purified and at a stage of climax, even the results of previous sinful deeds are smashed (Jnanaagnih sarva karmani—Gita). Divine knowledge at its climax makes you surrender to God and leads you to getting involved in practical spiritual service in the mission of God, without aspiration of any fruit in return. In such a stage, God attracts all the results of your past sins and suffers for your sake. This technique of God is not known to you. Somehow you are relieved from all mental sins and also from all the results of previous sinful deeds. The mental sins are cancelled by the divine knowledge. The results of previous sinful deeds are cancelled by the interference of God that results by the climax of divine knowledge. Therefore, when service is inevitable, better do it with good intention too so that you will not receive partial punishment in hell unnecessarily. This does not mean that I am encouraging you to do the sin fully and get full punishment.

Rigid Dharma for Sweet Love

You have to follow the constitution written by God strictly in this world as far as your behavior towards other souls is concerned. Here, justice [Dharma] must be followed and injustice must be discarded. Only in the case of God, can you overlook even justice for the sake of God which cannot be a sin in that particular case. For the sake of God, you can overlook any other soul including your own self and this shall not be a sin. In fact, it is the Best. If you do not overlook justice for the sake of God, it shall be a sin. But this special case (Nivritti) cannot be extended to one’s behavior with other souls (Pravritti).

God establishes justice in this world very seriously (Dharma Samsthapanarthaya—Gita). But the same God in the same Gita finally says at the end that one should violate even Dharma [justice] for His sake (Sarva Dharman Parityajya…). This is not a contradiction at all. You must follow justice and discard injustice in your behavior towards other souls in this world. But when you realize God, you have to sacrifice even justice for the sake of God. This is a point of contrast. The more powerful the villain, the more powerful will be the projection of the hero. The firmer the rules of Dharma, the greater is the love expressed for God by violating such Dharma. Therefore, the firmness and rigidity in the establishment of Dharma is directly proportional to the love expressed for God in violating such Dharma for His sake.

Let us take the example of the unclothed Gopikas saluting to Krishna. According to Dharma, a lady cannot come unclothed before a male. It is against justice and leads the lady to hell for punishment. Apart from this threat of hell, a lady is characterized by lot of shyness and no lady can overcome the shyness in such a situation under any circumstances. In the case of the Gopikas, this violation of justice and shyness might have been done because Krishna was God. For the sake of God, justice can be violated and even shyness can be overcome because God is the Creator and is aware of everything in this world. This is one excuse in the case of the Gopikas’ violation of Dharma and shyness. 

But there is a similar example which is even more serious. Shri Manikya Prabhu[1] was an incarnation of Lord Datta and Smt. Subbamma was His topmost devotee. Other devotees were jealous about her. One day the Lord called her by name while she was having a bath. Subbamma came running into the court in which all the devotees of the Lord were sitting. She was completely unclothed and did not even wear her sari to avoid delay in following the order of the Lord. All the devotees were astonished. The Lord threw a cloth on her and asked her to go back. She went away. The Lord looked at the faces of the devotees which were bent in repentance. This sin is a more severe test than the sin of the Gopikas. Here Subbamma stands unclothed not only before the Lord but also before all other human beings for the sake of the Lord by crossing her shyness and justice. The Gopikas stood unclothed only before the Lord.

When the Lord faces the exceptional devotion of such topmost devotees, He is immensely pleased. Such immense pleasure is the aim of this entire creation and the establishment of justice is the background in contrast. If Subbamma was used to coming out unclothed on the call of any other person, then there is no specialty when she came out unclothed on the Lord’s call and Subbamma would simply be called a mentally deranged lady. In such a case, the background will not serve any purpose to God. Other souls deserve your love only in a limited way, controlled by the rules of justice. But the Lord deserves unconditional love and kindness from His devotee.

If you realize the truth by taking away the layer of ignorance acting as a stage of this divine drama, you will be surprised to know that anything sacrificed by you for the sake of God, was given to you by God alone. He gave something to you and forgot that that it belongs to Him. He also covered you with His delusion (Maya) so that you will think that this something belongs to you. Now the drama of sacrifice is enacted over the stage of this layer of ignorance by which both God and devotee forget the basic truth. Now when the soul sacrifices that something to God, both God and soul enjoy the sweet love of sacrifice based on the concept of donor and acceptor. Realized scholars pierce through the stage of ignorance and find out the truth that, that something belongs to the Lord alone and the whole drama is just for the enjoyment of the sweet love of devotion between God and the devotee. If you compare God with other souls who love you just for the sacrifice of something which belongs to you (in the relative sense) and that their love for you is only for their selfish happiness, you can realize the difference between God and your beloved souls and the deservingness of God to your boundless love.

[1] A great mystic saint and yogi (1817-1865) , hailed as an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya and has several devotees in India.

Universal Spirituality for World Peace