Question and Answer Series
 

• Who is God?

God is the manifest and unmanifest universe. We are each made in the likeness of God.

• Can you prove that God exist?

One cannot perceive God unless they exist. Since God is the manifest and unmanifest universe, then He exists in the form of air, water, earth, fire, space and all the 108 elements that make up the universe.

• Why are there so many Gods in Hinduism?

There is only one God or Universal Consciousness. It does not matter what name He is given. In Hinduism, the physical forces in the universe are each represented as an aspect of God. E.g: Vishnu = space. Laxmi = Light. Vayu = air. Pritivi = earth. Agni = fire. Ganga = water.

• What is Mantra?

Mantra is sound that causes vibrations in our outer and inner being. Beginning with the physical body, mantra
repetition then permeates the astral body which has its center in the throat area. Then it permeates the causal body
which has its center in the heart area and finally the supra-causal body which exist in the form of pure light and has
its center in the area of the navel.

• Why should I perform Puja?

Puja is performed to create a change in one's life.

• Why should people NOT do a Kali Puja?

To begin with, Kali Puja as practiced by Guyanese and the Caribbean peoples is not a Puja to the Goddess Kali who is
one of the forms of Mother Durga. Rather, it is a worship to the devil called Kal Bairo. It involves the sacrifice of
life. Gods give life. They do not require life to be sacrificed in order to worship them. Psalm 50 in the Holy
Bible states very clearly that God does not need to be worshipped by sacrifice of life.

• Kal Bairo Puja has been in practice for so long. Why should people stop now?

With knowledge, enlightenment comes. When people did not know, the Puja was misrepresented to them as a Kali Puja. Now they have the knowledge that it is not a Puja to God.  They now know that it is a Puja to the Devil that involves the sacrifice of live animals. Therefore for those with the knowledge, such Puja must stop. They must immediately cease and desist from participating in any form of Devil worship.

• Why stop the performance if people are receiving the benefits from the Kal Bairo Puja?

The benefits are only apparent. They are very short-term in nature. And every year, more and more animals must be
sacrificed or else the family begins to suffer in unmentionable ways. So where is the benefit? If you want the
scary truth, follow the inside story of any family that were involved in Kal Bairo animal sacrifices. You will find
untold suffering in the form of rape, incest, molestation, alcohol addiction, drug addiction, mental health problems,
medical health problems, and finally a grisly form of death.

• If someone ceases to give the live sacrifice, how can they escape the wrath of Kal Bairo?

Turn to God. Stop offering rum and cigarettes to the picture or image (murti) of Kal Bairo. Tell the murti that you thank him for his presence but you now belong to Lord Shiva. Then take the murti in daylight hours and offer it to the sea and repeat that you no longer belong to him because you belong to Lord Shiva. Place pictures of Lord Shiva around your home and worship the Shiva murti and Shiva lingam. Chant the "Om Namah Shivaya" mantra for 21 repetitions when you wake up in the mornings and before you go to sleep at nights. Call a competent and knowledgeable pundit or Swami and perform a Shiva Puja in your home.

• Is it easier to follow the path of goodness through Lord Shiva?

The path of goodness always becomes easier with practice.  The path of God will yield rich rewards that are long
lasting. It involves no injury, harm or death to any animal or any other being. Therefore only good karma is built up
when God is worshipped. Also God wants people to prosper and to be happy because in that way the universe becomes a better and better place. But people must first make the effort. They must find the knowledge and then they must practice the knowledge in the correct way. Thereafter they will be conferred with all the blessings from the Supreme Being.

• Does the Hindu scriptures not speak about Sacrifices?

The term `sacrifice' as used in the Hindu scriptures means `yajna'- offering oblations and singing the praise of the
Hindu Deity. There are circumstances when an old horse or oxen would be killed by a sage (holy person) in order to
prove to his disciples that a particular mantra works. The soul of the animal so sacrificed is granted a higher form of
birth by the power of the mantras uttered by the holy man.

• Do the Hindu Scriptures permit the eating of meat?

The Hindu scriptures promote healthy vegetarian meals. God created the universe as a wholesome natural ecological
system that should remain free from the interference of humans. Killing of an animal causes its life to come to an
end before the time that was established by Nature.  Therefore the killer creates negative karma for himself and
later that debt will have to be repaid.

• Why must we perform japa for 108 repetitions?

There are 108 natural elements that make up the universe.  Certain mantras require specific numbers of repetitions in order for them to work. When a holy person gives you a mantra, he must also tell you how many repetitions should be performed and what time of day the mantras should be recited.

• What is your opinion of the Caste System?

 I think that the Caste System was misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented to the world. The RgVeda
verse (10 : 90 : 12) state that from the mouth of the Supreme Being (Purusa), the Brahman was created, from his
arms, the Ksatriya caste, from his thighs came the Vaisya and from his feet came the Sudra. The `Brahman by Birth'
supporters often explain that the Hindu scriptural texts are allegorical in nature. But when faced with a verse that will
be disadvantageous to their position of status and privilege, they are quick to apply the literal meaning.

• What is your opinion of Caste System in terms of the Bhagavad Gita?

In verse (4 : 13) in the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krisna states that the fourfold caste was created by Him by the different
distribution of Guna and Karma. The three Gunas are modes ranging from the darkness of ignorance, passion for sensual satisfaction and finally the mode of goodness. Karma means our actions. Therefore if our action is in the mode of goodness, we are qualified to be in the Brahman caste. By the same token, even if we are born from a Brahman lineage and our actions are in the mode of ignorance and darkness, then we fall into the Sudra caste.

• How can I uplift myself from the bondage of Karma?

We create our own karma by our every action. If we start now, in this minute, we can begin to change our karma. The
Bhagavad Gita Verse (6 : 5) states that a man can raise himself or debase himself of his own volition. He is his own
friend or he is his own enemy. Man has the ability to make free choice and exercise his own Free Will. He can choose
the path of truth and goodness or the path that leads away from truth and goodness.

• How can a person live truthfully in a corrupt society?

One must choose to set himself apart or to run with the flock. To anyone who is knowledgeable, confident and steady
of mind, this is not a difficult choice to make.

• How can I be expected to live a life of purity when I live in a society that craves, meat, alcohol and sex?

Purity is in the heart. Hinduism does not hold a fundamentalist view on the quality of life that one lives.  Hinduism in itself is a way of life. If someone travels the land of India from Mount Kailash in the North to the Bay of Bengal in the South, he will see the practice of Hinduism in thousands of different ways. The outward practice comes from the inner mind. When one lives a life with Balance, Inclusion and Connection, he can achieve a state of purity even in a society such as the one you describe. Balance means to develop the physical body, the intellectual mind and the spiritual wholesomeness in concert with each other.  Inclusion means to accept all peoples irrespective of their differences or their beliefs. Connection means that one must always stay `plugged-in' to family and community.

• Why do Hindus worship a Monkey God?

The proper name for the God you refer to is Hanuman Devta.  He is the incarnation of Lord Shiva who returned to earth in this form to help Lord Rama (incarnation of Vishnu) to conquer the demon King Ravana and restore peace to the earth. Hanuman Devta is the embodiment of strength, courage, truth, and devotion among other qualities. What does one's outward look matter when they are filled with all these divine qualities?

• Do evil spirits exist?

Yes. There is abundant evidence about haunted buildings in every corner of the Globe.

• Can individuals become possessed by evil spirits?

Yes. In the Holy Bible (Luke 8 : 2) , it is stated that Mary Magdalene was possessed by seven evil spirits. In Acts 19:16 it is stated that a man who was possessed by an evil spirit attacked a group of people. Volumes of evidence exist of people becoming possessed by spirits in burial grounds, at cremation sites or during the activities at the Kal Bairo Puja.

• How do evil spirits come about?

There are many different types of spirits. The most common type is called BHUTA. This is the spirit of a person who
recently died. Because most people are quite attached to material things in life, at the time of death, they think of
the things that they have to leave behind and because of their attachment, they become doomed to exist in limbo. They are dis-embodied but still exist in this same material plane that humans inhabit. Most times they remain invisible, but often times they can be seen and heard by people.  They are miserable beings and are extremely jealous. When they see others enjoying the material things that they had to leave behind, the spirits can become very angry and bring harm to the family.

• Why do some families suffer more severely from the attack by spirits?

A spirit may inhabit a particular location simply because it had spent most of its human life in that location. It may
neither help nor hurt the people living there. However, in other situations, because of jealousy, greed, or hatred
someone with the proper knowledge may deliberately place an evil spirit on the person, in the home or on the property of the people that they wish to harm. In such a case, the spirit has a specific purpose and that purpose is to cause grief to the family. Now you may ask that how is this possible? You must remember that Science has proven that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed. When we speak of spirits, we are speaking of the energy that was contained in the human body while it was in its living state now existing on its own as a dis-embodied spirit because the physical body no longer exist. Thus the harm that a physical person can bring to you in their living state is not very different from the harm that their spirit-energy can bring to you in their evil spirit state.

• How can you tell whether a growing child is being influenced by an evil spirit?

It is often difficult to distinguish between the influence of an evil spirit and learned behavior in a person. A child
may be born with good karmic influences but because of the environment, in which he grows up, he adopts very negative behavior patterns. However, the influence of a spirit in a child's life becomes very noticeable when a child who has all material comforts, have parents who love him and who has numerous opportunities in life seems to be bent on destroying his own future. He becomes disobedient, refuses to attend school, gets in repeated troubles with the law, shuns his parents, relatives and only chooses those friends who follow a renegade lifestyle. Svoboda (1986) states that a spirit is of the same form as the mind, so it can enter your brain and do plenty of damage: create temptations, pervert your intellect, and so on.

• What are some of the destructive things that an evil spirit can do?

According to Dr. Svoboda, there is a type of evil spirit that comes to a woman while she is a sleep and enjoys sex
with her. Although she would be in a dream state, she would be able to feel the touch as if she were making love to
someone real. She would writhe in bed, moan and groan as she enjoys the pleasure of orgasms. Swami Ram Charan has identified this spirit as Kal Bairo. In the morning the woman will feel spent and tired just as if she were having
actual sex all night. She will also have black and blue bruises on her inner thighs, upper arms, neck, back and
buttocks. She will not want to have sex with her husband and this can place the marriage in jeopardy.  Evil spirits can cause severe financial problems for the family. Things break around the home more frequently than normal, accidents happen for no apparent reason, members of the family get into conflict with each other and with the law. All this causes money to be spent. A good indicator of the presence of an evil spirit is the frequency of plumbing or sewer problems in the home.

• Can evil spirits be removed from a person or from a home?

Yes. Swami Ram Charan understands paranormal activities and the world of spirits. He has perfected the cures for the removal of many different types of evil spirits from the body as well from the home environment. But an evil spirit
will always fight to stay on and therefore the person who comes to be healed by Swami-Ji must understand that they
must fight to help themselves heal. And the ability to put up a good fight to ward off the evil must come from
knowledge. Through the Hindu Learning Centers of the Jyotish Ashram, Swami Ram Charan is providing that knowledge to those who seek it. He has prepared a special bath powder to remove smaller spirits; an ayurvedic bath to remove more dangerous spirits; a purification bath to prevent future attacks from evil spirits. Each bath is prepared with sacred mantras from the ancient Vedic scriptures - a boon that Swami-Ji has received through the blessings from his Siddha Guru Gurumayai Chidvilasananda, directly from Lord Shiva.

Copyright © 2002 RamCharran