Shiva Bala Yogi Virtual^* Darshan
* (Virtual: non physical, but being such in essence or in having the power or practical effect)

Shivabalayogi: FOUNDATION

Swamiji, your mission is peace in the world. Of late, my feeling is that the beginning of peace in the world comes from the family

“The present culture isn’t right. It’s always good that parents teach their culture to their children. Once that doesn’t happen, the children get spoiled. It’s up to the parents to teach children the culture. It would be very good if parents teach their children.”

What sorts of things should parents be teaching their children?

“Getting up in the morning. Keeping them in spiritual life. Teaching them their exercises. You have to put them in the proper line.”

Swamiji advises us to take care of children and parents, but people having families today are those whose parents were not around when they were growing up. Does Swamiji advise those in the middle of the problem to take care of both children and parents?

“Yes. Swamiji tells people to take care of their children and to take care of their parents also. He is very hard and strict about it. You give a hundred complaints about your mother but Swamiji would still tell you to go and bow your head to her.”

What can we do to get smarter, besides meditate?

“You have to lay a proper foundation. If you look after that carefully and put your children on the right path, then they will grow on the right path and remain there always. If the parent is not right, how can the child be correct?”

In America we are so culturally diverse that children face adults with very different demands and different attitudes. That is our richness but it is also very difficult.

“That in itself is because you do not have a strong foundation. You will have to learn. If you make the foundation strong then the nation will develop a lot. Otherwise it will deteriorate and you will not even know who is your mother, father, or child.”

Which are the biggest obstacles to spiritual development and how to get over them?

“Father and mother; wife and children. These are the obstacles in the spiritual path. You will have to keep your mind right, use your intellect, and go ahead. That’s the way to overcome the obstacles.”

Swamiji, can you talk about relationships and how they can help or hinder the spiritual path?

“Spiritual progress is furthered by people taking care of each other and having good relationships. If people do not agree and go in different directions, then their spiritual paths will be affected. You will have quarrels. Both spirituality and daily life will suffer greatly if the relationship is bad.”

What does Swamiji think about the love between a man and a woman?

“That is happiness. A man should love only one woman and a woman only one man. If you remain like that, it will help you a lot. That is good.”

Swamiji talks about foundation, and India has the old traditions. Do we need to be doing puja (worship) exactly the same way as it is done in India?

“No, that’s not the foundation. Foundation is not puja, mantra and Sanskrit. Swamiji means that a man should stay with only one woman, and a woman should stay with only one man as her husband. If all men and women stay with only one partner, then the culture will continue. The blood carries the culture through. If the father was devoted in his spiritual life, then his son gets that blood; he inherits that devotion and spiritual attitude. That continues through generations and generations provided the people stay like that.”

“Culture is carried over on a foundation of the way you live life. If the way you live is not proper, the culture does not get carried on properly. It gets broken down and lost.”