Is it beneficial to go to astrologers?

Question from devotee: When the astrologer tells us our destiny, we can prepare ourselves for it. So it seems to be advantageous to know what destiny has in store for us. Isn't it very beneficial to go to astrologers?

Answer by Swamiji: Even if the astrologer's predictions are accurate, they are usually disadvantageous to be told. Let us suppose the astrologer informed you that after two years your business will increase manifold. On hearing this, your natural response will be, "Oh is that so? Then I do not need to work very hard. I am going to succeed in any case." In other words, if you come to know of a good destiny, you will reduce your efforts for success. Now consider what will happen if the astrologer says that your business will crash after ten years. On hearing this, you will think, "Really, my business is going to crash? O God, what will I do? What will I do? What will I do? ..." Whether the business crashes or not, premature worries will make your heart crash. In this way, on being told a good destiny, you will become lazy, and on being told a bad destiny, you will become worried. So there is no advantage in knowing your destiny. Whatever is written in it, will come by itself. The present is in your hands, and your duty is to put in your best efforts now. Focus on making your destiny rather than knowing it. Besides, the astrologer's predictions are only partially accurate. In Kaliyug, the present age, there are hardly any expert astrologers. With their rudimentary knowledge, they make guesses. A small portion of their predictions turn out right, and their business keeps running. I remember a joke about this. Khushwant Singh, was the Editor of "Illustrated Weekly" in the 1970's, which was India's number one news magazine at that time. He confessed later that his astrologer, who wrote the Zodiac predictions of the week, had left the job. Thenceforth, for the next three years, Khushwant Singh did not hire another astrologer; he would write the predictions himself. Unaware of this, people would often pay compliments about the accuracy of the astrological predictions of his magazine. So a good policy is to take the predictions of astrologers with a pinch of salt, and instead focus on your efforts. A famous Urdu poet put it very aptly when he said:

khudī ko kara bulanda itanā ki hara takadīra se pahale

khudā khuda bande se puchhe batā terī razā kyā hai 

"Make your efforts so strong that before giving you the results of your destiny God Himself asks you what you want."

Duty towards parents

Question from devotee: I have some question regarding duty. If someone becomes a Karm Sannyāsī (renounces the world), isn't that person forfeiting the duty to the parents? Isn't that a sin before the True path?

Answer by Swamiji: We do have duties towards the biological parents. But God is our spiritual Father and Mother. We have a duty towards him as well, and that duty is even more important than the worldly duties. In the answer to the previous question, it has been explained that we have social duties towards society and spiritual duties towards God. If one gives up social duties due to irresponsibility, laziness, frivolity, etc it is definitely a sin; but if one renounces the social duties to embrace spiritual duties, it is not considered a sin. When we surrender to God, we are automatically taking care of all duties, just as when we water the root of a tree, the water automatically reaches all the branches, fruits and flowers of the tree. Even in the world, if someone joins the army to discharge his duty to the nation, he is forsaking his duty to his parents. He could be killed on the battlefield, leaving the old parents without a support. But his joining the army is not considered dishonorable; rather it is an act of bravery. This is because that person is giving up a lower duty to take up a higher one. Similarly, the Karm sannyāsī does forsake the worldly duties to parents etc, but he accepts the higher duty towards God, and so he is not committing a sin. However, the path of Karm sannyās should only be chosen under the guidance of a Guru. For the majority of the people, the path of Karm Yog is more suitable. This has been described in the chapter on Karm Yog.

Why did the Vedas not stick to one path?

Question from devotee: All the religions of the world describe only one path to God-realization. In Hinduism alone we find so many different approaches, and all of them are accepted as bonafide. This makes it confusing for us. Why did the Vedas not stick to one path?

Answer by Swamiji: Variety is an inseparable part of God's creation. No two leaves of a tree are alike. No two human beings have exactly the same finger prints. Similarly, everybody has different natures too. The variety of paths mentioned in the scriptures accommodates peoples' variegated natures. As knowledge becomes subtler and more elevated, its branches increase. In Grade Five, students are taught General Science as one subject. But when they reach Grade Seven, Science is divided into three branches-Physics, Chemistry and Biology. When they reach college, it is further divided into hundreds of branches. And in Graduate School, there are literally thousands of subjects within Science. Similarly, the Vedas describe spiritual knowledge to sublime heights, and hence the variety of needs of sādhaks (spiritual aspirants) gets reflected addressed in the diversity of paths. This variety is a blessing. In the world, if five people go to purchase a cloth, all have their own choice of color and style. Similarly, in the case of God-realization, if there were only one path, people whose saṅskārs were different would not have been attracted to it. The variety of paths serves a wider spectrum of people with varying natures and saṅskārs.

Difference between Gyān Yog and Bhakti Yog

Question from a devotee: I would like to understand the difference between Gyān Yog and Bhakti Yog.

Answer by Swamiji: Gyān Yog is the path to God-realization based on the premise of Advait vād that the soul itself is God; when it dispels its covering of ignorance and gets seated in knowledge, it will get liberated from the illusion of Maya. Then it will realize itself to be one with the formless Brahman for eternity, devoid of any form, attribute, activity or qualities. The Gyān Yogī strives to attain knowledge of the self, and be practically situated on that platform. This requires analyzing that one is not the body, senses, mind, intellect and ego. First, this knowledge is understood theoretically, by hearing from the Guru and the scriptures. Then one repeatedly meditates on the knowledge and tries to realize it practically. In this manner, material desires related to the body diminish slowly. Finally, one gains practical insight into the nature of the self. Bhakti Yog is based on the premise that the soul is an integral part of God; it has turned its back towards God, and hence it is suffering in the cycle of life and death because of Maya. This Maya is not an illusion; it is energy of God. So the soul needs to surrender itself to God and attract his grace, by which it will receive the divine knowledge, love and bliss of God. Bhakti Yog involves developing immense love for the Lord. In such a state, the devotee develops an intense longing to see God, meet him, and be with him. Whatever one does, the mind remains attached to God and the thoughts flow towards him, like the rivers flow towards the ocean. Such love in the heart cleanses it of all impurities. With a pure heart, one begins to see God in all living beings and in all things. As the thoughts become sublime, the devotee experiences the unlimited divine bliss of God and becomes fully satisfied. On liberation, the soul does not become God; it goes to his divine abode, and there in a divine body, it eternally participates in the loving pastimes of God.

What determines one's level of surrender?

Question from a devotee:  What determines one's level of surrender?  Is there some way of knowing how far we have succeeded in the process?

Answer by Swamiji: It is not easy to judge one's level of surrender, since it is such a broad term.  Only God and our Guru can truly know how much we have advanced.  However, a simple parameter, which can give us some idea, is to see how much our mind has gotten detached from the world and the extent to which it has gotten attached to God.  This is a simple rule of thumb to measure our advancement.

Do a reading of yourself.  When you suffer reversals in the world, how upset do you become?  If you find that earlier, you would keep brooding when someone insulted you, but now you are able to forget it in an hour's time, then you can conclude that you are progressing; your mind is becoming detached from the world, and your spiritual power is increasing; hence, you are able to remain normal in trying circumstances.

Again, analyze how much does your mind yearns for spiritual association.  If earlier, whenever you had free time, you wished to spend it in seeing movies, but now you seek opportunities to sing devotional kīrtans, it is a sure sign that you are progressing and that your mind is getting attached to the spiritual realm.

Why did God create souls and bring us into the world?

Question from a devotee:  Why did God create souls and bring us into the world, where there is so much of suffering and misery?" 

Answer by Swamiji: To answer your question, let me tell you a story. There was once a very rich man, who had a fifteen-year old son.  One day, the son was alone in his father's office, when he saw a fifteen-year old newspaper. It had an article titled, "Billionaire adopts orphan child." The boy was stunned to see his father's name mentioned there.  When his father returned, the son accosted him, "Father is this article true?"  

The father replied, "My son! It is true."

"Does that mean I am not your child?"

"That is right, you are not my child."  

The son was shocked. "Then why did you adopt me?" 

The father explained, "Son, I am a billionaire.  I had no shortage of money, and everything that money could buy.  However, I did not have anyone with whom I could share my wealth.  I adopted you so that I could give you everything I possess."  

Similarly, God is perfect and complete in himself, and the possessor of unlimited opulences.  He creates us so that he may be able to share all that he possesses with us.  However, he can only do so when we truly love him.

Those souls, who have learnt to love God, are with him in his eternal abode. We conditioned souls are here in the material realm because we have turned our backs towards him. God hopes and waits for the day when we too will perfect our love for him and attain him for the rest of eternity. 

Blending both materialism and spirituality in our lives

Question from a devotee:  Spirituality makes us oblivious to the luxuries of the body. Materialism makes us neglect the spirit. Is it possible to blend both spirituality and materialism in our lives? 

Answer from Swamiji: The attainment of a healthy mind in a healthy body requires a synthesis of both-material and spiritual knowledge. No matter how successful we become in our field of work, if the body is ailing and the mind is disturbed, we will remain unhappy. Hence, our most valuable possession is not our wealth, property or car, but our own body and mind. The body, which is made from the five material elements and sustained by what we eat and drink, must be kept in good shape through material science. And the mind must be cleansed and elevated through spiritual science. Hence, we need to blend both spiritual and material sciences in our lives.

Simplistic spiritual practitioners sometimes proclaim that since we are the soul, we must cultivate only the spirit and pay no attention to the body. However, if the body falls sick, the mind becomes filled with the sensation of physical pain, and one cannot even think of God. A healthy body is our boat for crossing the ocean of material existence. The old adage states: "Health is wealth." Realizing the truth of this, an intelligent person should spend time and effort to learn the science of healthy living, for physical and mental well-being.   

Conversely, materialists often proclaim spiritual science as a waste of time and an impediment to material progress. This is also naïve, for without the help of spiritual knowledge; secular science has no means of eliminating the negative propensities of the mind. We may harness external nature through modern technology to multiply our bodily comforts, but how will we harness the forces of our internal nature, such as lust, anger, greed, envy and illusion? This is only possible by taking recourse to spirituality.  

Thus, for attaining the Ultimate goal of human life, we need to adopt both-spirituality for nourishing the mind and materialism for taking care of the body.

What happens to our thoughts once life ends?

Question from a devotee:  Thoughts are nothing but unrealized acts. If not, what happens to our thoughts once life ends?

Answer by Swamiji: Thoughts are not exactly unrealized acts. They are ideas, plans, conceptions, opinions and feelings produced by the mind. They are bundles of subtle energy that the mind generates. Modern scientific research in the field of Electroencephalography reveals the variety of alpha, beta and gamma waves produced by brain activity. It also correlates altered mental states with differences in wave production by the brain.
  

The Vedic scriptures, since many millennia, have thrown light on thoughts. They emphasize that the thoughts we harbor in our mind are an important facet of our personality.  Every thought has an impact on our subtle and physical body. Thus, thought by thought, we forge our destiny, to elevate or degrade ourselves. The essence of spirituality is to control, purify and elevate our thoughts.   

You have asked what will happen to our thoughts at the end of life. The thoughts will naturally cease to exist in the present mind-body. But, the seat of the thoughts -the mind-will continue its journey along with the soul, to the next body. And the kind of thoughts that the mind harbored in the present life will impact the kind of birth we will get in the next life. 

How to get peace of mind when someone has wronged us to no end?

Question to Swamiji: I have a question about relationships with other souls while on the spiritual path. My business partner swindled the business, and drove me into the toughest two years of my life. Today I am settled again, but I am unable to forgive him. How to get peace of mind when someone has wronged us to no end? 

Answer by Swamiji:   This material world is like the prison house of God; souls who have turned their backs towards him have been put here.  So, we cannot expect the people of this world to behave like Saints. There will always be persons who will come to cheat us, and on some occasions they may even succeed.  That is life; we all get cheated once in a while.   But the important thing is to learn to take it in our stride.  That is where the quality of forgiveness comes in.

If we continue to harbor resentment towards those who have wronged us, we will be unable to progress spiritually. Resentment acts like poison on the mind, filling it with bitterness. And we keep reliving the sour experience within, pinned down to the past. Someone aptly said: "Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die."     

On the spiritual path we must be careful not to nurture ill feelings towards anyone, realizing that they will harm us more than anyone else.  Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj says:

"Even in your dreams, do not make the mistake of harboring ill-will towards anyone."   

Forgiveness is a sublime personality trait that immediately releases all bitterness from the mind. It is a favor we do, not to the other person, but to ourselves. The lives of saintly people are full of inspiring stories of how they forgave their wrongdoers, and even succeeded in winning them over by their love.  

A person made an attempt on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, while he was living in South Africa. Mahatma Gandhi refused to hate the man. He said, "I shall love him, and win his love." One year later, that same man came and apologized to before Mahatma Gandhi, and wept for forgiveness. This is the characteristic of great personalities; they refuse to allow their minds to dwell on hatred towards anyone. 

What is the position of contemplation in Hindu religion?

Question: In the writing of some Christian saints, emphasis is laid on contemplation. What is its place in devotional practice of the Hindu religion? 

Answer by Swamiji: Contemplation is called Chintan, or Manan, in the Vedas. It means repeatedly bringing any aspect of Divine knowledge to the intellect. First, we hear the knowledge of the scriptures from the Guru; this is called Śhravaṇ. Then we contemplate on what we have heard or read; this is called Chintan.  

This Chintan or contemplation helps to strengthen the knowledge in the intellect. It is one of the most potent means of illuminating the intellect with the light of Divine knowledge. The power of chintan is such that if it is misutilized, it becomes chintā (worry), and it can lead suicide. Let us say that a student fails in his school final examination. Hundreds of other students fail too, but this student starts contemplating, "What will I do now? How will I show my face to my parents? What will my friends say? Life is not worth living. It is useless to exist. It is better that I die." This thought process goes out of control to such an extent that the student commits suicide. His class-fellows wonder what happened that made him take such a drastic step? This was all a result of misdirected contemplation.  

The same power of contemplation, if properly directed, can lead to God-realization. We could repeatedly think, "Shree Krishna alone is mine. He is so kind and merciful. He has been sitting in my heart since endless lifetimes. He is my eternal Father, Mother, Friend and Master." Such contemplationwill elevate the mind to sublime heights, enhance love for God, and boost devotional sentiments.

For example, we are naturally attracted to people's qualities, but God has unlimited qualities and yet our mind feels no attraction towards Him. This is because we have never thought deeply about them. If we repeatedly think how beautiful He is, how merciful He is, etc, our love for God will grow rapidly. Contemplation is thus an important part of the daily spiritual practice.

Material form of God can give Divine results

Question to Swamiji: You ask us to make the form of God with the mind. But that is only a material form, so how can it give the Divine results that a meditator seeks?

Answer by Swamiji: Often those who meditate upon a formless light believe they are engaging in transcendental meditation, and think that meditation on God's personal form is a material meditation.  

However, the Ramayan states:

go gochara jahañ lagi mana jāī

so saba māyā jānehu bhāī (Rāmāyaṇ)

"The mind is made from Maya, and wherever it can reach is the realm of Maya." 

If you meditate upon the form of God, it is merely a conception of the material mind; it is not the Divine form of God. Also, if you meditate on the formless Brahman, again it is merely a light created by your mind; it is not the Divine light of God. Hence, transcendental meditation by the material mind is not possible, be it on the formless or on the personal form of God.

Meditation upon the Divine is only achievable when God bestows His Grace and makes the mind Divine, by His Yogmāyā power. Until then, we have to continue with the material meditation. But we can create Divine sentiments towards the object of our meditation, and those sentiments will purify the mind.

So do not worry that the form of God you are making with your mind is material. Use that form to increase your love for Him, by developing Divine sentiments towards it. When you reach the state of "Complete surrender to God," He will bestow His Grace upon you and make your mind Divine. Then you will not need to create a form of God with your mind. You will see Him as He is, standing before you, in His actual Divine form.

Therefore, in the meditation that you do at present, there is no stipulated form that you must focus upon. You can choose any form of God that you are attracted to, or create His form with your mind; but keep Divine sentiments to increase your love for Him.

Why do they say that Bhakti Yog is easier than Gyan Yog?

Question:  Everyone says that Bhakti Yog is easy, while Gyān Yog is difficult.  What is the reason for this? 

Answer:    Understand this by comparing a baby kitten and a baby monkey. The kitten is tiny in size and delicate in build.  Yet if it is to be moved from one place to another, it does not need to worry. Its mother holds the kitten with her mouth and carries it.  On the other hand, in the case of the baby monkey, the onus is not taken by the mother.  While she jumps from one branch of the tree to another, it is the baby monkey's responsibility to hold its mother tightly, else she will fall.

In the above analogy, the path of Gyān Yog is comparable to the monkey and its baby.  It is based on self-effort.  Since the premise is that the soul itself is the ultimate Supreme Entity, there is no concept of surrender to God or dependence upon His Grace. Hence, the aspirant strives on his or her own strength.  

Bhakti Yog is comparable to the cat and its kitten. In Bhakti Yog, the aspirant learns to surrender to the Lord, and thus attracts His Grace. Through Grace, God assists and protects the devotee. Thus, the path of Bhakti Yog becomes easy compared to Gyān Yog.  

In Gyān Yog, the danger of pride is enormous.  The poor conditioned soul gets trapped in the ego of being God. In comparison, the path of Bhakti involves practicing humbleness before God, and hence the pitfall of pride becomes marginalized.

Should we do our duty or leave it on God?

Question:  If your near and dear ones are facing problems, and you have done your level best to resolve them, with no positive results, then what is your duty now? Should you leave it to God and feel that now you have peace?

     

Answer by Swamiji:  As human beings, we are instructed by the scriptures to help others, and endeavor to mitigate their sufferings. But, we must do so in a detached manner, leaving the results to God.  As long as we are in material bondage, there will always be misery.  We will all grow old, we will all become sick, and we will all die one day.  Who can escape these realities of life?   So we cannot make anyone totally free from misery.  

Apart from this, we all have sañchit karmas (the karmas of endless past lives) that create suffering and happiness for us from time-to-time.  Not even God violates the Law of Karma.  The Purāṇas tell us that the Pāṇḍavas suffered immensely, even though they were great devotees of Shree Krishna. Arjun was a God-realized Saint, and yet his son Abhimanyu passed away, leaving Uttara a widow. Neither Shree Krishna nor Arjun could prevent the bereavement caused by his death. Then how do we hope to remove anyone's miseries entirely.  

Again, suffering is sometimes directly given by God for spiritual progress, to increase one's detachment from the world.  The scriptures state: 

taṁ bhraṁshayāmi sampadbhyo yasya chechcchāmya

nugraham (Śhrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.27.16)

In this verse, God says: "When I wish to bestow the highest treasure of Divine Love upon someone, I first prepare that person by giving suffering." The Bible states: "God sometimes gives misery in our lives, to turn us away from sin, and seek eternal life."  At the level of our thinking, material suffering is bad, but in the Divine plan, it may be necessary for the evolution of the soul.

Even if we are successful in removing someone's material miseries, this is only a very partial and temporary solution - you give food to a hungry person, and after six hours he is hungry again.  I am not decrying the need for doing material charity towards society.  But, that is not the only kind of charity that exists.  The highest charity is to help someone attain love for God, and get out of the cycle of life-and-death. The God-realized Saints engage in this Divine charity. They remove the root cause of suffering of the souls, which is forgetfulness of God. If we help the God-realized Saints in their welfare work, we effectively engage in the highest charitable activity we possibly can.  

So, if people are close to you, do try to alleviate their material miseries.  But at the same time, try to inspire them to strengthen their relationship with God.  And most importantly, remember to help others as a matter of duty, and leave the results in the hands of God.  If your sincere efforts to assist them do not yield results, do not be disturbed.

Why is it said that souls are only instruments in the hands of God?

Question by devotee: I have heard you explain in your discourses that we souls are the doers of our actions. Then why have the Bhakti Saints written padas (devotional songs), saying that they are only instruments in the hands of God, and that He is a real doer of their karmas?

Answer by Swamiji: The concepts Karm (action) and Karmphal (fruit of those actions) need to be understood separately for two categories-before surrender to God and after surrender to God.

Consider the first category-those souls who have not surrendered to God. They are under the grip of the unforgiving ego that makes them feel they are the doers. Also, they harbor personal desires independent of the will of God. In this state, God does not inspire their actions. He gives them the power to act, notes their karmas, and gives the fruits at the appropriate time.

Now consider the second category-those souls who are surrendered to the Almighty. They are free from the pride of doership. Also, they make God's desire as their own desire. In this state, the soul becomes the non-doer, and God becomes the Director for that surrendered soul. Hence, the God- realized souls are able to say:

na mai kiyā na kari sakauñ sāhiba kartā mora

karata karāvata āpa hai tulasī tulasī śhora

The Saint Tulsidas says: "I neither wrote the Ramayan, nor do I have the ability to write it. Shree Ram was the writer Himself, yet people say that Tulsidas has done it." We must bear in mind that this statement applies only to the second category, i.e. the God-realized saints.

The path for moving from the first category to the second category is to perform actions as if they are dependent upon us, and at the same time, to internally practice to think that God is the doer. Sage Vasishtha has expressed this very beautifully, in his advice to Lord Ram:

kartā bahirkartāntara vihara rāghava (Yoga Vāsiṣhṭha)

"O Ram! Act carefully, as if the results are dependent upon You. But from within, practice thinking that God is the real doer."

So at present, we will have to keep both principles in mind, as we journey from the materially bound state to the God-realized state.

What stops one from complete surrender?

Question from a devotee: What stops one from complete surrender? Do one's past negative saṁskārs and vāsanās play a part in determining the level and speed of surrender? How can one overcome one's inherent negativities and make progress towards self-surrender faster?

   

Answer: Surrender is not a one-time procedure. It is not that we surrender once, and we are done with it forever. We have to keep surrendering at every moment. In this process, there are innumerable obstacles. Our mind is made of Maya and it naturally runs towards the world. We need to beat this mind with the intellect. We also have saṁskārs of past lifetimes that must be countered. And then, we have the ignorance or agyān within us, which is the source of all the problems.

However, we must not feel disillusioned. Innumerable souls in the past have overcome these obstacles to perfect their surrender to God, and have attained Him; if we endeavor sincerely, we too will be successful.  

First, we must illumine our intellect with the spiritual knowledge given to us by our Guru. Then, with this purified intellect we must work on the mind, to detach it from the world and attach it to Names, Forms, Pastimes, Virtues, Abodes and Saints of God. Along with our sincere efforts, we must pray to God and Guru for help, firmly believing that Their Grace can make us perfect our surrender.

To speed up the process of surrender, we should strengthen the sentiment, "God and Guru alone are mine." When we develop love for God and Guru, surrender becomes natural and automatic. When we reach the state of complete surrender, the feeling "He alone is mine" will always remain in our mind, and all our thoughts and actions will be in consonance with it.

If we can keep increasing our desire to serve, that is also a very potent tool for progress. Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj states:

sau bātana kī bāta ika dharu muralīdhara dhyāna

baḍhavahu sevā vāsanā yaha sau gyānana gyāna

"Fix your mind on Shree Krishna, and keep increasing the desire for sevā. This is the most powerful weapon for conquering the mind and Maya."

If someone is doing wrong with me, should I practice forgiveness?

Question asked by a devotee:  You teach us that we should increase our tolerance, but if someone is doing wrong with me, should I practice forgiveness, or should I oppose him and stop the atrocity? 

Answer by Swamiji:  On the spiritual path, we naturally learn to practice tolerance, forgiveness and humility. However, this does not mean that we should knowingly allow others to exploit us. The scriptures instruct us to take whatever action is necessary, for protecting ourselves in self-defense, when attacked. 

There is a charming story in this regard. In a neighborhood, there lived a venomous and foul-tempered snake. The children of that locality were scared of it to death. The moment they would spy it in the distance, they would run for their lives .

One day, Sage Narad Muni happened to come to that neighborhood. As was the snake's habit, he approached Narad ji, with his hood raised menacingly and eyes fiercely red. Narad ji stood his ground peacefully, with a benevolent and serene smile on his face. The snake was astonished. "Everyone runs from me in fear. How come you are not scared of me and what is the secret of your peacefulness?" 

Narad ji taught the snake the process of devotion, whereupon the snake became his disciple and began practicing Bhakti.  He shunned violence, giving up his old ways of scaring the neighborhood children. 

Soon the children came to know that the snake was harmless and did not bite anyone. Now their fear vanished. They would not leave it alone. On sighting it, they would bombard it with a battery of stones and sticks. They would even come close and kick it with their heeled shoes.  The poor snake was badly bruised.

One year later, Narad ji was visiting that area again. He thought, "Let me see how my disciple is doing." He was dismayed to see the snake badly bruised, with a plaster cast on a portion of his body. "What happened to you, my dear disciple?" he asked.

The snake replied, "O Gurudev, this is the result of the Bhakti that you taught me. The people of the world, knowing I will not retaliate, do not let me live peacefully." 

Narad ji said, "I asked you to stop biting people, but I did not ask you to stop spreading your hood.  Whenever the children attack, you should simply raise your head and hiss loudly; then no one will come near you." 

Henceforth, whenever the children came close to the snake, it would hiss loudly and frighten them all away. Soon, it was living peacefully again.  Similarly, on the path of devotion, we should shun actions and thoughts directed at harming others, but we definitely have the right to perform legitimate actions in our self-defense.

How can I insulate my mood from fluctuations based on the behavior of others?

Question from a devotee:  When anyone criticizes me or gets annoyed with me, it disturbs me to no end; so much so, that sometimes the whole day is spent in brooding. How can I insulate my mood from fluctuations based on the behavior of others?

Answer:  The solution is to develop a better understanding of the world, based on scriptural knowledge. The Vedas say that this material energy, Maya, consists of three guṇas: sattva guṇa, or the mode of goodness, rajo guṇa, or the mode of passion, and tamo guṇa, or the mode of ignorance.

Everyone's mind too is made from Maya, and so the three modes of Maya exist in the mind as well. Depending upon the environment and where we focus our thoughts, one of the guṇas becomes prominent and our mind takes on that quality.  If sattva guṇa dominates, one becomes peaceful, contented, generous, kind, helpful and serene. When rajo guṇa gains prominence, one becomes passionate, agitated, ambitious, envious of others success, and desirous for sense pleasures. When tamo guṇa becomes prominent, one is overcome by sleep, laziness, hatred, anger, resentment, violence, and doubt.

For example, let us suppose you are sitting in your library, engaged in study. There is no worldly disturbance, and your mind has become sāttvic. After finishing your study, you sit in your drawing room and switch on the television. Seeing all the imagery makes your mind rājasic, and increases your hankering for sense pleasures. While you are watching your favorite channel, your family member comes and changes the channel to her liking. This disturbance causes tamo guṇa to develop in your mind, and you are filled with anger. In this way, the mind sways between the three guṇas, and takes on the corresponding qualities.

This fluctuation takes place constantly in everyone's minds, altering their thoughts amongst the three modes. When two people's guṇas are divergent, their ideas, interests, desires and tastes also become divergent, and that causes strife. This strife exists everywhere, between husband-wife, father-son, brother-sister, friend-companion, and so on. Congruence can happen only when two people have the same guṇas. However, since everyone's guṇas are fluctuating, it is unreasonable to expect that the other person's guṇas will constantly match ours.

The reason for our anxiety is that we have unreasonable expectations. We want others to always think in the same manner as we do. And when this does not happen, we get disturbed. Instead if we could realize that invariably people will have views differing from ours, and this is very natural due to the three modes of material nature, we will not be disturbed when they oppose us or criticize us. So by increasing our understanding of the world, we can insulate ourselves from the fluctuating moods of others.

When God is the actual Doer, why are the souls subjected to the results of their karmas?

Question asked by a devotee: When God is the actual Doer, why are the souls subjected to the results of their karmas?  

Answer by Swamiji:  Many people diminish the need for self-effort in their minds by saying, "Nothing is in our hands.  God is seated within us.  He is the doer of all our actions, and we act as He inspires us."  However, this philosophy is not really true, as the following points will illustrate:

1. If God were the doer of all our actions, we would never have committed any mistakes.  All of our works would have been perfect, since God can never make a blunder.  The fact that we make innumerable mistakes implies that we are performing actions with our own free will.  
2. If God were the doer of our actions, we would not have to bear the karmic reactions.  Why would we suffer for works that God did through us?  He would either bear the karmic reactions on His own, or forgive Himself.  But there is the Law of Karma, "As you do, so you shall reap."  This implies that we ourselves are responsible for what we do. 
3. God is impartial towards all souls and perfectly just.  If He was the doer of our actions, He would either have made everyone do good works and become Saints; or He would have made everyone do bad works and become demons.  But there is so much of variety in the world.  One is a Saint, like Prahlad, while the other is a demon, like Hiranyakashipu.  This variety implies that we have the freedom to choose our own actions, and we are responsible for them, not God.   
4. If God were the inspirer of our actions, there would have be no need for Him to reveal the Vedas or any other scriptures.  There would be no need for Him to explain to us the path to perfection.  He would simply have to say two sentences: "O souls, I am the doer of everything.  So you do not have to understand what proper and improper action is." 

It is true that God is seated within us, and He gives us the power to act.  However, what we do with that power is decided by our own free will.  This is just as the powerhouse supplies electricity to your house.  If it did not give the power, you would not have been able to use any electric appliances in your home.  However, once you do have that power, what you do with it, is your own choice.  You could operate the fan, light the lamp, or heat/cool the house, as you wish.  

Similarly, God gives our eyes the power to see.  If He did not give us this power, we would not have been able to see anything.  But once we do have this power, what we see is in our own hands.  You could go to the temple and see the Deities, or you could see dirty pictures on theinternet.  God is merely giving you the power to see.  What you decide to see is your own choice decided by your free will.  Hence, we must not blame God for our mistakes.  If we do something wrong, we should take responsibility for the error and strive to correct it.