Searching Questions And Fulfilling Answers

A child is like a sapling. In the

beginning, as he establishes a

foothold in this world of adults

he spreads his branches out

wide in all directions. He

questions about and everything.

‘Why this?’

‘How does that work?’, ‘What is

over there?’. He does so hoping

to reach the sky which of course,

is the answer to everything.

In his innocence he doesn’t

realise that the sky is still well

beyond his reach. If his questions

are not answered with love and

patience, we make break his

tiny, fragile branches, and his

eagerness to learn about life and

understand ‘Why?’.

With a broken spirit the

child grows up to be a man with

little eagerness in life. He has no

branches, thus disabling him

from reaching out to others, and

most important, he has no shade

to protect the next generation of

saplings from the scorching sun

which is the bad in our society.

Swamishri always has time for

children. Not just to play with

them, but also to guide them

and teach them. His answers

reflect patience and concern.

He takes them seriously

because he takes thefuture

seriously. And so, through his

answers we can see him -

‘Sowing the seeds of our future...’

Seven year old Nilkanth Parekh asked the following questions whilst Swamishri was walking on the terrace of the Bombay temple...

Nilkanth : Bapa! You are all-knowing. However, if you agree I’d like to ask you a question.

Swamishri : Go ahead.

Why does God create maya?

Swamishri : So that everyone turns to God.

Why did God create the Satpurush?

Swamishri : So that in case the jivas get entangled in maya, the Satpurush can free them. Or else how can we ever be free from maya?

Why did God create heaven and hell?

Swamishri : Each jiva has to bear the fruits of his actions. If he does good, he goes to heaven. If he does bad, he goes to hell.

What is heaven like?

Swamishri : Look around you here. It’s just like this.

Swamishri : Nearby are the Dharavi slums. How do they look? People live in smelly gutters, don’t they? That is what hell is like.

Is this world like heaven or hell?

Swamishri : Gunatitanand Swami tells us that it is like hell. But the more we worship God the more it becomes like heaven. Otherwise apart from God and His Saint, everything else is just like hell.

(16 September 1989, Bombay)