FAQ:

• What is yooga? yooga is not merely physical exercise. Postures, breathing control and physical exercises are all part of yooga but yooga is much more than all these. The aim of yooga is to control the mind. Read the pages of yooga to know more.


• japa: How can Mere Repetition of a Name have any Positive Effects? Our mind is like a disturbed puddle. There is constant agitation, commotion, turmoil. The mind is turbid and incapable of seeing the truth even if it is glaring right in front of our face. There is an endless flux of thoughts, like the waves in a disturbed pool of water. Allow the mind to settle down. Slow down the thoughts. Let the waves subside. Let the water become still and clear. You will then be able to see every grain of sand beneath with clarity. Water becomes crystal clear when all the mud is allowed to settle down. Calm down your mind. Let the thoughts subside. Let the agitations stop. A clear mind can reflect like a clean mirror and get the complete and correct picture. Everything will become crystal clear. japa or repetition of the name of the Lord is one simple and practical way to practice this art of controlling the ever restless mind. It is practically difficult to stop all your thoughts. It is far easier to fix your thoughts on one chosen object. japa is just this practice. You can stop the inflow of millions of bits of information every second by closing your eyes. Ears are harder to shut down. Instead, ears can be fixed on one thing more easily by chanting the name of the Lord. Of course you could choose any name but by choosing the name of the Lord, the chances of your mind taking it more seriously and falling in line will be far better. Initially try to sit comfortably in a relatively calm place and chant the name loudly. When you gain substantial mind control with practice, you could try whispering the name instead of chanting loudly. Then you could try chanting the name entirely mentally, with no physical exertion whatever. The only promise made is that you will be able to achieve substantial mind control with practice. All other good things that may betide you will all be as a consequence of your ability to control your mind, your mastery over yourself, your uplifting yourself from a state of slavery - slavery to the passions of your own mind. Try japa and see it for yourself. It works. There is nothing unscientific or illogical here.


• praaNaayaama: Why should all human beings practice breathing control? Human beings are the only species of animals on planet earth endowed with speech. We speak. We talk a lot. And we use the same apparatus for speaking and for breathing - lungs, wind-pipe, throat, oral and nasal cavity. Although the human body has marvelous adaptations to make this possible, we still need to compensate for the effect of speaking. Exchange of gases takes place in the lungs - oxygen from the fresh air we breath-in is absorbed by the blood and harmful gases collected from various cells in the body by the blood are thrown out in the air that we breath-out. In fact all the energy that we have is generated thanks to the oxygen that we take in through breathing. Unfortunately, the human body normally tends to give too little time for effective transfer of gases in the lungs. We throw out only some part of the air in the lungs when we exhale and we do not take in fresh air in sufficient quantity to the fill the lungs when we inhale. praaNaayaama is a simple and effective way to streamline breathing - residual gases in the lungs are thrown out fully, fresh air rich in oxygen is inhaled to the maximum extent and sufficient time is given for effective exchange of gases in the lungs. There is also another important benefit. Just as breathing is affected when our mind is gripped by fear or anxiety, breathing also influences the mind. Slow and steady breathing has a soothing, calming effect on the mind. praaNaayaama is so simple, scientists and rational thinkers of the modern world tend belittle its effectiveness. praaNaayaama is time-tested and very effective in promoting all-round health, energy and vitality of both the body and the mind. Practice praaNaayaama daily.


• Combining japa with praaNaayaama: A simple and effective way to get the best of both japa and praaNaayaama is ooMkaara-japa. Squat on the floor with your back held straight. Like the RCC pillars that support modern buildings and even sky-scrapers, your vertebral column needs to be held straight for it to be effective in supporting your body structure and weight. Breathe-in air slowly and steadily and fill your lungs. Chant 'ooM' in a slow and steady fashion. You will be able to gradually extend the duration of each cycle of breathing to half a minute or more. This naturally means that your breathing rate has slowed down and you are giving a lot more time for effective exchange of gases in your lungs, thereby getting the benefits of praaNaayaama. You can continue for 15 minutes or half an hour or a full hour with some practice. Serious saadhaka-s can go on for many hours at a stretch. Regular practice give you all round health, energy and vitality, as also a calm and controlled mind. Do it and see. What better proof can you ask for?


• How to be Good in a world that is so full of 'bad' people? A boat moves on water. There must be water all around, otherwise the boat cannot move. But we should not allow water to get into the boat - that could prove dangerous, even fatal. Let there be 'bad' people all around us. We need not and we should not try to 'correct' them all. Especially before we 'correct' ourselves. Let us identify our weak points and overcome them. By firm resolve and hard work and regular practice. Let us strive for Self-Improvement first. Social Reformation can come much later.


• Why is the Cow Holy? Cows give milk - healthy, balanced food. From milk we make curds, butter and ghee (clarified butter). We use these in preparing a wide variety of dishes daily at home as also to make sweets. We use these items in worship and in preparing medicines. We make our shoes, drums and other articles from the leather. The cow dung forms good, natural, harmless manure. The cow dung is also used for flooring - the floor becomes smooth and prevents the growth of grass and other weeds. Dried cakes of cow dung form excellent fuel for heating water and cooking. Cow dung can also be used to generate natural gas, a cleaner form of fuel. Ashes from the cow dung cakes are good insecticides and pesticides. Purified form of this ash in fine form is used as a nano material to keep the skin healthy and protect it from skin diseases. Called vibhuuti, this purified ash is worn as an auspicious symbol on the forehead. Even the urine of cow has cleansing and purifying properties. Every part of the cow is useful. Cows are mild domestic animals dependent on us for their survival - they cannot live on their own in the wild. And we find them so very useful. There is absolutely not a single reason why men and cows should not live in harmony. God is one who grants our wishes, gives us everything. Cows give us so much. Cow is God. Worship cows. How can people who terrorize, torture, cut and eat cows understand its divine nature?


• Why do We Pay Homage to the Dead? We are not born with an empty head. Our brains at birth are not clean slates. We come ready with a great deal of intelligence. Who gave this to us? Why did they give this to us? What do they expect in return? What we are today is partly because of our own making and partly because of our genetic predisposition. What we become, what we do in life, is to a very significant extent determined by our genetic inheritance. We owe a lot to our parents and ancestors. It is because they all applied their minds and thought throughout their lives that the human brain gradually evolved to its present form. Otherwise we would have all remained primitive cave-men. If man has progressed gradually from primitive forms to the ultra modern form we see today, it is due to the efforts of our ancestors. There is nothing more that we can give back to our dead forefathers than pay our respects. If you are here today, it is only because of them. You owe your very existence to the elderly. Respect your parents, grand parents, ancestors. Dead though they may be. There is nothing unscientific in worshipping the dead. It is utter stupidity and hot-headedness to neglect the old and glorify your own greatness. All of your greatness is in a large measure a contribution of your dead ancestors.