Category: Q&A

In the book, ‘Datta darshanam’, there is a story about Bhadrasheela, who was the son of a sage. He had the memory of his previous birth. Since his childhood, that child used to stay alone. He never played with children of his age. If he was called upon by somebody, he would cry by uttering ‘Sri hari! Sri hari!’It was very strange for the people around. However, the reason for not playing with other children was not lack of interest but it was because he knew his previous birth. Hence, he disliked mingling with anybody.

Coming to the story of normal human beings – Our minds are always attracted towards the friendship of some or the other because of our existence in a society. We never like to be alone. Why do we befriend others? Why Bhadrasheela did not befriend anybody? The reason is that we do not know about our previous births. As soon as we are born, we see a world and consider this world to be everything because we do not know anything else. As we grow up in this life, we have many necessities. To fulfill those, we show affection towards few for our own selfishness. We love some others even if that is not required. This is our state of confusion.

Bhadrasheela not only knew about this world but also had the memory of his previous birth. He knew very well about the impacts of selfishness in his previous birth. Because he had abundant experiences, he understood that there are no benefits with such friendships. As a result, he never developed any special affection towards any individual.

A child travelling in a train befriends the neighbors. This is the train friendship. The depth of the friendship is so much that he cannot leave his friend even after the journey ends. The elders however know that such friendships are of no use and hence they simply pass time by chit chatting with the neighbors but they do not develop any deep friendship. The situation of Bhadrasheela is analogous to the friendships of the elders during journey. He had the knowledge of witnessing the journey of the soul from one body to another. Hence, he never developed any affection or love on anybody. Even though, we do not have the memory of our previous birth like Bhadrasheela, we have the faith on the scriptures that tell us that there are previous births. As this faith builds up in us, we too acquire the mental state that Bhadrasheela had. Just like we travel from one place to another, we travel from one body to another.

In this journey, none of your relatives, friends or passersby shares your sins or merits. That is not at all possible. You are always alone. Hence, you must live with detachment by doing your duty and putting in efforts to reach God. You must remember this very well.

Jai Guru Datta! Sri Guru Datta!

As the children grow, it becomes difficult for the parents to handle them. Their minds undergo strange transformations. Why does this happen? The question here is that as the children get older, why does it become difficult to handle them? It should have been otherwise. As the students grow up, it is very difficult for the teachers to teach them as well. They ask many questions. It is not just that. If we send the children to college for pursuing education, they also get lured by many other fields. As soon as they enter into college, their mind becomes broad. What is the reason behind this? This is the second question. Their minds get diverted to different areas other than education. Similarly, in spiritual practice, as the disciples grow higher, it becomes difficult for the Gurus to maintain them in that path. They read different kinds of books. Even if mahatmas talk about the important subjects like Vedanta, people are busy doing archana (worship) – the small spiritual practices. Despite learning about Vedanta, people go behind archana, pooja etc. Why is this so? This is the third question.

The answer to all the above three questions is one and only one. Every being will acquire certain attributes after birth. The effects of such attributes do not leave the mind and it follows the soul in the future births as well. This is called ‘samskāra’ or ‘vāsana’. This samskara attracts humans to different fields. As the man becomes older, the power of the samskāra becomes stronger. If the samskāra is bad (dussamskāra), then its power is much stronger. Hence, it is difficult to teach the children at home, at school or at temple going against the bad attributes. However, a person always has an opportunity for freedom irrespective of the power of samskāra.

Sadgurus utilize this opportunity and teach their disciples, good lessons. One must have good expertise to utilize the opportunity at hand. Scolding forcibly will not change the samskāra and instead there are chances of opposing. Our elders have observed this a lot.

Hence, mahatmas descend down from their level and teach the people around by doing the tasks that ordinary persons are ought to. As a result, the disciples get inspired and they too follow their footsteps. Here, the samskāra of the disciples gets surrendered through love. Hence, the results are permanent and sweet at the same time. Sadgurus struggle a lot for their disciples to get the profit.

The behavior of a person depends on the samskāra. Hence, there is no use of forcing anybody to change their behavior. We must show the good results directly by taking up the tasks for ourselves. If we do so, it will attract the samskāra and bestow auspiciousness. Hence, the elders must try to first follow and lead by example. Irrespective of the field, all the leaders, Gurus, teachers and all those who teach about good must lead others by example.

Jai Guru Datta! Sri Guru Datta!