Pujar

First of all, this war was foisted upon Pandavas by their cousions due to the greed for the Hastinapur Kingdom. In order to avert war, Pandavas had sent, Lord Krishna as their emmissary to Duryodhana, asking him to give just five villages to them and keep the rest of the kingdom. However, Duryodhana did not accept this demand. Apart from this gross injustice, Kauravas had been very cruel and hostile to Pandavas since the very beginning. Laying down the arms on the battlefield could mean total surrender to the evil forces, which Lord Krishna did not want to happen. Therefore, Lord was on the side of Pandavas during the war which was not initiated by them. Thus, Karmic reactions (fruits) would certainly not result in such an action which is actually a reaction to someone else's action. This situation cannot be compared to the present day scenario seen in most parts of the world, where people from one faith are trying to disturb the people of another faith. Countries are engaged in wars in order to grab more territory. Wars are alos foisted on weaker countries by the stronger ones. This situation is entirely different that what had happened during Mahabharat war.

Everyone knows that the God is one and people belonging to various faiths call Him with different names. The different religions are the different paths to reach the ultimate goal, The Supreme. If this is so, why the concepts of salvation, reincarnation, eternity of the soul, theory of Karma are not commonly accepted by all?

Are the people following Non-Vedic religions born again (depending on their good deeds) into Vedic religion, before salvation? Is it also possible for people following Vedic religion to be born into Non-Vedic religion due to their Karma?

What is the significance of Pindadanam vis-a-vis the departed soul? Why is it done on certain specific days after the demise of the person? Why crows only need touch Pindadanam in order to let us understand the last wish of the departed soul is fulfilled or not and not other birds?

In one of the chapters of Shivleelamrit, a king who is a sinner asks his wife to guide him on the right path. However she says that she cannot, as her husband himself is her Sadguru. If husband (pati) is Sadguru to wife (patni), is it possible to have (consider) Sadguru as one's husband or Pati?

Lot of confusion prevails in the minds of many people about innumerable Hindu Gods. In fact, Hindu religion has come under severe criticism due to this fact, as most of the people do not know the underlying principle. As many dolls of different sizes and types can be made from the same clay, many Gods have taken form from the same original Principle. Individual doll is different from the other, however, all are made of the same Principle. The same thing holds good for Gods too. Basically, Hinduism takes us from Saguna Bhakti to Nirguna Bhakti as we, devotees are incapable of realising or feeling God as Nirguna. A Realised Soul has certainly reached this level and therefore this soul loves everyone irrespective of the caste, creed and religion, considering all of them as God's creation. Apart from this, Lord Srikrishna while showing Viswaroopa on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, did mention that all the different forms of Gods worshipped by many were only his forms.

"The soul was never dead and the body was never alive" with this token, how to consider ourselves as souls and not bodies? By merely saying so, we cannot achieve this, I am sure. Can this be achieved by spiritual practice alone and if so, what type of spiritual practice can lead us to get this feeling?

Visoba Khechar The name of the saint in question is not Visobakesha but Visoba Khechar. Formerly Visoba Chati was a learned man and a neighbour of Gnaneshwar but due to his ignorance he got into the ritualistic aspect of the religion leaving aside the devotional aspect. Once when Gnaneshwar wanted to eat Mande (special chapathis made from maida with sweet stuffing) and asked Mukta (his sister) to prepare. Mukta needed an earthen pot to roast Mande. The whole Alakapur (present Alandi near Pune) was against the family as their father had become Grihastha after accepting the vows of Sanyasa, including Visoba Chati. Visoba warned the potters not to give any pots to Mukta. Disappointed Mukta returned empty handed and told Gnaneshwara everything. Thereupon Gnaneshwar, a great yogi, asked Mukta to roast Mande on his back, which was red hot due to Panchagni from within. At last, when the family sat eating Mande, Visoba watched them with envy. Finally, he pounced upon the few pieces in Gnaneshwara's plate, when Gnaneshwar exclaimed, "Oh! you get out! you Khechar (mule)". The words were meanigful. Gnaneshwara had asked Visoba to get out of the mere rituals and see the underlying principle. Thus the name stuck. Visoba Khechar became his disciple.

In the epic Mahabharata, Duryodhana appears to be totally besotted with the happiness from materialistic life (like Hastinapur Kingdom etc.),degraded morally to the extent of trying to strip his sister-in-law in the court, trying to kill Pandavas at every possible opportunity, doing injustice (knowingly) to Pandavas. However, how could he be lucky enough to partake food with Lord Krishna, have parleys with Him and so on? Was it due to his good deeds in his previous birth? Most of us (I am sure) are certainly not as bad as Duryodhana, even then, why can not we have even a glimpse of Lord, even after a fervent prayer?

1. After death, where does the soul go or reside? What is the time period before it reincarnates again? Who has total control over the soul during this period? 2. Do we get birth according to the wishes made during our life time or this matter is purely decided by our Karma? 3. Is there any way to know our past lives?

1. When reincarnation is a reality, why many religions, exccept Hinduism, do not believe in it? 2. Are there any indications (subtle or obvious) in ourselves to feel that we had visited this world before?