Question: I feel intense dispassion now. I don't like family, friends and relatives. I don't even like my mother any more. It is not hate. I have wasted my precious time and I feel it all karmaphala. Is this spirituality? I don't know how to love God? How do you deal with such situations? Just meditate or what?

Question: Can I know the minimum age for becoming a monk. 2 years back when I had no faith in my self. I had tried for suicide due to certain reasons. But after I read Bhagavad Gita and teachings of Swami Vivekananda I am able to live normally. My parents want me to complete my graduation and then do what ever I want, like becoming a monk. So I have decided (not sure) to take up medical, because through that we can understand our brain and body. By understanding functions of our senses and organs we can be more self-controlled. I am following Bhakti Yoga. But I have not been able to meditate successfully though I am trying every week.

Question: I need to practice meditation and Yoga. But as said in many books if it were practiced with guidance of a guru, it is most effective. But in today's world where to find Guru. If the Math is organizing the same, for distant people it is not helpful. Are there any books (except MEDITATION AND PRACTICES BY SWAMI ADISHWARANAD and GURUVINDA)

Question: In Bhagavad Gita Sri. Krishna tells to Arjuna to fight but again he says that one should follow non-violence (16 chapter). I couldn't understand the purpose of his saying so.

Question: Two year back I had a very strong touch with Swami Vivekananda's opinion. I studied few books of him and got inspire. At that time I was meditating daily. And all the time, I was trying to reborn my sleeping power .The question that is always hustling in my mind is: Who am I? From where I have come? Where I have to go? The most important question is what's our aim? For which purpose I have got the life? At that time I was used to be in jolly mood, and study well. But after 3 months I was not able to study well and from that time my mind digressed.
After joining our college I was trying to meditate regularly. But I was not remaining much strong to fight the worldliness. But all the time I was thinking about GYAN. From last one month I am regularly meditating in the middle of eyebrow and in the middle of mind. I am always trying to forget myself and see the PARMATMA. But I donÕt know the proper way how I have to do DHYAN. So can I get SAMADHI? I want to know the truth of life and sacrifice all the life for helping others. Please help me to find the truth.

Question: Vivekanandaji's most famous statement "if I got ten young personalities I will change the entire world" always inspiring me. I want to be like that personality. I want to change Bihar. Whenever I see the people, my eyes can't stop the tears, for that work I need strength. I think that, I am unable to do it. I always defeated by myself. I always want to help others especially poor people. But how can I do that? How I can help and change my Bihar? I have no idea. I would like to complete study well. If u guide me, I can store much strength in myself by that I might not turn back in future for doing that job. I also got the problem in doing the meditation. Because in nigh, I never sleep before 2 a.m. so I can not wake up early morning. All the routine of my days is improper. How can I manage to meditate?

Question: Everyday I pray in the morning by worshipping mother goddess (Durga) and then Lord Hanuman. First I offer prayer to Mother Goddess by chanting Durga Chalis and then Devi Kavach. After that I worship Lord Hanuman by Chanting Hanuman Chalis. But some people say that, I should worship only one God. In this way I am getting confused. Please guide me sir. Before prayers I offer water to Tulsi plant and other Plant and trees. I offer prayers in the room where I am sleeping. For this also there is objection. Although we have separate room for prayers but I am not able to concentrate in that room. Please guide me sir, what should I do.

Question: 1. I have no job. I have been searching for job from 3 years. I did one job oriented course also for job. Though I am trying to get job very hardly, it's not coming. Force is very more to me from my home. I cannot bare any pressure in my present situation. Job getting is solution. But how can I get job? 2. I helped my friend in his marriage issue selflessly. But while I was helping them I behaved closely to them. They completely misunderstood me and avoided me. Though I tried to convince them they misunderstood me a lot. This also I cannot bare. Everyday those thoughts are coming to my mind. How can I avoid those thoughts? Please give me solution to these problems.

Question: Few months ago, I started meditation by focusing between my eyebrows and within a day I started having some unpleasant reactions and I stopped meditating within 3-4 days. I was advised to meditate at my heart centre. But due to the demands of my academics, I had to stop meditation all together. During the time when I had those experiences while and after meditating, one thing that happened was that I began to feel a strange sensation in the middle and around my forehead. At its peak, during those few days, I could feel a certain pressure on almost my entire forehead coming down till the upper part of my nose. However, all this went away when I stopped. But even now when I come in a contemplative mood, I feel the same sensation at the middle of my forehead. It happens whenever I get deeply engrossed in a spiritual book or thought. The last time it happened was probably 4 months ago because the last four months all I did was college work and study. Now I got a chance and I spent my entire day reading Swamiji's biography and refrained from watching television etc and that sensation returned. I am just curious to know if this is bad thing because I certainly remember that the reactions I had when I used to meditate (after which all this started) were quite violent and not a sign of something good.
"And here is the test of truth: Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as poison; there is no life in it, it cannot be true."

Question: What is the main purpose of the caste system?
In the Hindu religion, people of lower caste are suppressed. I am the Rama Bhakta. My cast is camma. I love my religion (Hindu). But people of other religion criticize Hinduism. Are Sudra's aren't allowed to learn Vedas, doing Japa, etc. I didn't know even how I do Puja according to Sastra. I don't know about my religion, knowledge, truths, Sadanas etc., Please tell me about caste system and why it is placed in Hinduism. What are main things in our religion?
What is the difference between Manassu and Buddhi?
How to develop ourselves in spiritual life?

Question: Please guide the process/procedures on becoming a MONK. What will be expected of me and duties to do/follow.

Question: Respected sir, thanks for your reply.
1. What is the method to do meditation?
2. What is the process involves in it?
3. What is the difference between Japa and Dhyana?
4. How we do Japa?
5. What is the difference between Manassu & Buddhi? Are they same or not?
6. Who is Brahmarshi? What is meant by Bramastvam?
7. What is Brahmacharyam? Why we do Brahmacharyam & what are the conditions in that?

Question: I am fed up with this worldly life where attachments and sorrows are ruling us. I am not running away from life as a timid. I just want to be free myself from all emotional debts. I would like to reach Lord's feet at the earliest. I know suicide is a sin. So for the tenure assigned to me on earth, I would like to be in the path of renunciation.
I want to join Sri Ramakrishna Math as a monk. Please help me with your suggestions.

Question: I am a student of philosophy. I have read Sri Ramakrishna's Gospel and loved it a lot, but some times I get skeptic, if God really listens to our prayers. We hear Sri Ramakrishna to have questioned God's existence and got favorable answers. I think, we need to test too. Many times we take these things for granted, but can a prayer really change the course of events?
Let's take a simple example. I will use an unbiased coin which I'll toss 50 times. Can any amount of prayer influence the course of events in such a way as to get me 50 heads? Can you or some devotee demonstrate to me, let us say someone prays and then asks me to test, I throw the coin 50 times to get 50 heads. It would be a beautiful demonstration.
If no one can demonstrate it this way, and since I myself am not able to do it no matter how much faith I express towards my God, it would only be right for us to conclude that
1. Prayers to God are not answered.
2. We cannot influence the course of events through prayer.
3. So it's useless to ask God to save us or to improve our personality.
4. It's useless to request him to show himself to us.
[I do not question prayer as an aid to meditation. It definitely is, but perhaps meditation can be even without prayer. If prayer is only a misconception, it does good to meditate without its aid than using it as an aid.]
I know that these ideas, if they are true would shake the whole basis of my philosophical beliefs and I would suffer. Coz I am an ardent devotee of God and Ramakrishna. Yet, if this is not true, it has to be discarded. Coz more important than our beliefs is the Truth. Truth or the Reality is all I seek and am ready to discard any idea or concept that is not true.
Please show me the way and help me out of going astray. I would lose my companion if I lose God, I may become lonely and hapless. But yet, if it is not true, I do not want to hold onto ideas that work like wine Ð by getting be habituated to the set of ideas.
Can prayers help us influence the situation?

Question: I have been doing Gayatri mantra and some breathing exercises for a very long time. For last few years I have been reading complete works of Swami Vivekananda and the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. After reading these I have realized that self realization should be the only goal of man. I have also realized Swamiji's words, to be true, that any misery that a man experiences is only because of some weaknesses in the man.
After reading Swamiji's complete works and the Gospel, I started observing myself for whatever I did and whatever I felt. I found that any misery that I face, any lethargy that I feel and any fault that I find in others is only because of one weakness which is the feeling of lust. Though I have been very restrictive in my daily habits (such as food and company), I have not been able to control the inception of those feelings. I read in one of the lectures published by Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama that, the feeling of lust in a man and vision of snakes in the dream are the related things. I sometimes do have the vision of snakes in the dream and they are the scariest dreams of mine.
I found that observing the sensations and feeling has helped me a bit. But I want to go above these impulses and it seems my daily practices and restrictive habits are not helping me that much. Is it because I don't have enough restlessness to go above these impulses?

Question: I am just disturbed by the violence happening in the world now a day. For quite some days I was much worried and one question is haunting me a lot. Is it necessary to have kids into this bad world? Why should they suffer a lot? How important for a married couple to have children? Without children world cannot progress, but still I am pretty much sure that if they come into this present world they have to suffer a lot. Knowing that how can I even think to have kids? I am already a mother of one. How can I protect him from the bad in this world? Is there any way that world is going to change into beautiful heaven? What is my role as a human to contribute to the world's welfare?
And also please suggest me some books (easy to be understood by a novice like me), which will make my mind pure.

Question: I was very happy to come across the Question and answer section, wherein people can pour out their problems and even more touched by your patient listening and answers.
Although I have been doing Japa fairly regularly, I have not been able to go beyond one cycle at night as I fall asleep and beyond 4 cycles in the morning, mainly because of lack of time. I get up at 5 in morning and sit from about 5:15 till 5:50 or so. At night, I usually wait till all my family members have gone to sleep, which can be a bit late, 11:30 or 12. Kindly read my problems and suggest how to overcome them.
I have problem in keeping the mind focused on Sri Thakur's image in my heart. No matter, how many times I bring the mind back, it wanders once again. I am persevering, but do despair at times. I find it easier to concentrate on the Mantra Japa, but not both.
Secondly, I am unable to hold my posture still while meditating/Dhyana. My shoulders slump forward and I have to sit straight again after a while. I am also now, unable to sit cross-legged and find it easier if I sat on a chair. Would this be alright?
Thirdly, If I try to increase the number of times I recite the given mantra, I find that I am not pronouncing it properly even in my mind which makes me feel guilty. So, I go back to repeating it slowly and clearly, but lesser number of times.
I read in "Mahapurush Maharaj as we saw him" that, Japa and Dhyana ultimately culminate in the same, which I find to be true to some extent. During the times I am doing Japa and keeping Sri Thakur's image in my mind, the Japa is forgotten. The mind however, soon wanders and after this is recognized, I go back to Japa.
When I am alone, I sing a few Bhajans. At that time, when I think of the meaning of the Bhajan, tears flow, my throat chokes and I am unable to sing in tune any further. Is this just an overemotional reaction, which I should try to overcome?

Question: I would like to join the Sarada Math. But is it possible to undergo the wandering days first? Is it safe for women to wander in these days? I would like to wander in the Himalayas. Is it a good idea? I have always been tempted to explore the unfathomable beauties of the Himalayas. Is it worth? Are there really great saints who are immortal and appear when the student is ready? Please reply.

Question: I am unable to perform Sandhya Vandanam thrice a day due to work timings. Is it sufficient to perform it just once in the morning? What is the solution?
Till what time it can be performed in the evening in case of delay? What is the allowable delay for the Pratah Sandhya?

Question: While I am meditating, I saw the light is being taken out from my heart. I had similar dreams that, someone is cutting my head and light is being poured out from my head instead of blood. I also dreamed twice that, I am flying up and up through rocks. I have no control over it. In the end there is light all over. First time I dreamt of it. There was someone scary standing with red suit in the light. I felt so scared. I started praying the god then I woke up. Second time I was praying through out the dream. I didn't see the red suit person, then I woke up. I don't understand all these meanings. I was hoping may be you could help me sir.
Ps: I don't meditate regularly. Whenever I feel like it, I do it

Question: Swamiji, while praying or hearing devotional songs, why the tears is coming automatically? But if I want to cry, in my mind it won't. How and why this is happening? I will be grateful to u, if you are giving me the answer.

Question: I was wondering if God created everything, then God must have created all the negative things in life for example laziness, depression, hunger, sadness. Therefore why do we have to work hard to get rid of these negative things?

Question: All our quest is to eliminate sorrow. We are essentially dissatisfied and therefore searching for a way out of this satisfaction. We seek to improve our "concentration" in this process. But then, in deep sleep we are naturally in a state where there is no dissatisfaction. This obviously means that we need not "attain" some special capabilities to get beyond dissatisfaction, isn't it ? since if we were to attain some capabilities, these capabilities not being in deep sleep, we should not have been able to remain without dissatisfaction.
Now, the difference between deep sleep and awake state is this ego. And it appears to me that all Sadhana is ego driven. We can clearly see the ego saying: "I will 'attain' Moksha". "Attainment", "goal", "success", "failure" etc. are undoubtedly languages of ego, are they not ? This ego seems to be essentially confusing me by saying that, I will have to "attain" something to remain without dissatisfaction and this is an error as I am able to remain in dissatisfaction in my deep sleep without attaining any such capabilities. Is not every kind of Sadhana a misdirection by ego? Is ego driving us from post to post in the name of Sadhana? Prahallada says that, God is everywhere around. I see all about me and I do not believe, is it ego which expects some exotic experience to note the presence of God and thus misleads us from seeing God? Is it again this same ego which makes me seek all sorts of exotic experiences, while here and now I am in the embrace of God?
Is this thinking a Sadhana too or is it all to be dismissed a mere intellectual jargon?
Please tell me, where am I heading towards? Sadhana seems unimportant to me. Some times I sit down and cry before God, some other times, I simply look at the outside world. Some times, I am carried away by my sexual instincts, some other times, I feel sexual instincts cannot even touch me - and truly so, even incidents that can provoke sexual instincts fail to touch me then.

Question: I have got some questions related to my experience during meditation as said by Vivekananda. Once I was trying to concentrate on the flame of a candle in my mind closing my eyes, after a few moments I withdrew my mind from the rest of the world and then I experienced acute silence. Then I felt as if my head and body moving in circular motion and then I felt acute silence. During this time I wasn't able to feel anything even of myself. This was the state of bliss. I believe, but still I am a bit surprised and afraid of doing this again. I have experienced this twice for 2-hrs. Please guide me.

Question: Few months ago, I started meditation by focusing between my eyebrows and within a day I started having some unpleasant reactions and I stopped meditating within 3-4 days. I was advised to meditate at my heart centre but due to the demands of my academics I had to stop meditation all together. During the time when I had those experiences while and after meditating, one thing that happened was that I began to feel a strange sensation in the middle and around my forehead. At its peak, during those few days, I could feel a certain pressure on almost my entire forehead coming down till the upper part of my nose. However, all this went away when I stopped. But even now when I come in a contemplative mood I feel the same sensation at the middle of my forehead. It happens whenever I get deeply engrossed in a spiritual book or thought. The last time it happened was probably 4 months ago because the last four months all I did was college work and study. Now I got a chance and I spent my entire day reading Swamiji's biography and refrained from watching television etc and that sensation returned. I am just curious to know if this is bad thing because I certainly remember that the reactions I had when I used to meditate (after which all this started) were quite violent and not a sign of something good.

Question: My mind is not concentrating on studies and it is diverting towards bad things. So please give me any suggestions and messages to remove my cloudiness.

Question: What is the main purpose of the caste system? In the Hindu religion, people of lower caste are suppressed. I am the Rama Bhakta. My caste is Camma. I love my religion (Hindu). But people of other religion criticize Hinduism. Are Sudra's prohibited from learning the Vedas, doing Japa, etc., I didn't know even how I do Puja according to Sastra. I don't know about my religion, knowledge, truths, Sadanas etc., Please tell me about caste system and why it is placed in Hinduism. What are main things in our religion. What is the difference between Manassu and Buddhi? How to develop ourselves in spiritual life?

Question: How can we do meditation? What is the process involves in it? What is the difference between Japa and Dhyana? How we do Japa? What is the difference between Manassu & Buddhi? Are they same or not? Who is Brahmarshi? What is meant by Brahmarshatvam? what is Brahmacharayam? Why we practice Brahmacharya & what are the conditions in that?

Question: I want to ask your suggestion on a very personal decision that I am running thro' my spiritual life. I had almost decided not to get married in life & lead a spiritual life & also involve myself in doing Seva. What made me to think so was I felt the need for purity & living alone could keep me away from worldly householder troubles and get me closer to god although sometimes this was lacking total will. With this thought I was always try to think which ever female I met as my mother or sister.
Recently I have helped a girl to join my company who was referred to me by a spiritual evolved person. I'm deeply touched with the divinity she has in her and also the character & glow she has in her. First I got drawn to her I have greater respect & love towards her. I can see that even she has the same impulse. I am sure that this is not any bodily attraction, in fact she suffers from serious asthma disease.
Suddenly a thought struck me that she is an ideal companion for me in my walk in spiritual level. This has put me in confusion whether that would affect my devotion & love to the Lord. I am now confused whether it's right on my part to think so about her, or should I live life alone & walk towards the goal supreme. But on the other hand, I feel a deep need of her company so that we can move faster & I also get a much needed companion. But I also feel God is the only real companion; all others are transitory. I am fixed between these thoughts & I don't know a way out.