Answers:

1. When somebody buys a shoe, he looks for a shoe that is neither too big nor too short. A right size alone will provide him comfort A longer or a shorter one will only cause discomfort or pain. Money also is also something like that, Swami explains. Too much money will only give more worries and sleepless nights. And too less money will make living a hell. A person can be in the comfort zone of life only when he has just enough money to care of his needs and discharge his duties. Therefore, one must be greedy and miserly.

2. We often see birds sitting on branches that wave with the wind. The bird, however, is unafraid of the movement of the branch because it has more confidence in its wings than it does on the branch. It can in a moment take to its wings and depart the unsteady and uncertain branch. Swami likens the wings of the bird to the grace of God and the branch to the world. If one has the wings of god’s grace then one will never come to harm sitting on the branch that is, the world. The winds of sorrow and grief will not deter him.

3. There are many ignorant persons who scoff at devotional singing as a waste of valuable time. These persons, Swami says, might also laugh at pouring bags of paddy seeds on slushy fields and condemn it as a waste of valuable food material. But the real fact is that for every bag of seed, Mother Earth will return, in a few short weeks, ten to twenty times of the grain planted. Similarly, every second spent with god, for god will give us the grace of god which will do us immense good even if we cannot see it or feel it at that very instant. Chanting the lord’s name is like sowing a seed, which can never go waste.

4. To bring the power supply from the power stations to illumine the home, one must put poles at regular intervals and connect the home to the power station with cables. So too, Swami says, to win the grace of God, one must do sadhana (spiritual practices) at regular intervals and connect oneself with God through the cable of remembrance.

5. Just like breeze of a fan is possible only when both the fan and electrical energy is there, similarly, for a person to experience bliss, there should be divine grace as well as human endeavor.

6. Swami says that man and god are like iron and magnet. God by His very nature attracts man near for there is in man inherent divinity. When a magnet fails to attract we conclude that the magnet has lost its power which is not the real fact. The truth being that it is the iron piece (man) which has lost its property being too thickly coated with the rust and dust of anger, greed, hatred, jealousy, etc. And the easiest way for man to stay clear from this rust of evil propensities is to always be in good company.

7. As long as one is inside the mosquito net, one need not worry about the mosquitoes outside. However, if there are mosquitoes inside the net, then it is dangerous and the purpose of the net is defeated. It is like visiting holy shrines, keeping good company, doing holy deeds but not clearing out the defects, the evil tendencies which are present within man. The evil tendencies are just like the mosquitoes inside the net which can ruin man, Swami elucidates.

8. The air in the balloon is limited to the size and shape of the balloon. Unless it bursts out of the balloon, the air inside cannot merge with the universe outside. Similarly, Swami explains that unless the self attains awareness and conquers the barrier of ego, it cannot merge with the immanent divinity, the absolute consciousness which is there everywhere.

9. A piece of paper, no matter how soiled or crumpled, is valued as a precious possession, if it has imprinted on it the insignia of the Reserve bank of India. For, that makes it a valuable currency note. Similarly, heartfelt devotion, pure love for god is the stamp that can make the lowest and simplest of men exceptional and worthy.

10. A landowner may have many fields up to the horizon, but if he wishes to sit on a spot, he will obviously choose one patch that is clean and neat. In the same way, Swami says that when the lord chooses the heart of a devotee, He looks for one that is clean. That does not mean that all the other hearts are not His, it is just that they are not clean, that is all. Therefore, one must prepare one’s heart by washing with the tears of joy so that the lord might install Himself therein.

11. Even if the vegetables are garden-fresh, food cooked will become poisonous stuff if it is cooked in a copper vessel that does not have a lining of tin. The lining of tin keeps the food pure and edible. Likewise, our heart is like a copper vessel, Swami says, where we prepare various types of food for various kinds of people and ourselves. One must ensure that this copper vessel of our heart has the good lining of love, else it will only cause pain to others and oneself.

12. Like a seed that will not germinate if there is too much earth on top of it, the seeds of wrong behaviour too will not germinate and grow into painful events of our life, if these seeds are covered deep with loving service. A lifetime of service to those who are in need of sustenance, courage, love and help will cover a multitude of sins, Swami assures.

13. If a man has to carry around 10,000 coins, it will be a heavy load, no doubt. But instead if he surrenders these coins to the bank for a 100-rupee note, he will be light and carefree. Similarly, Swami says that we should surrender to God our 10000 coins, each coin being a worry, a grief or sorrow, and get from God in return His grace which is like a neat and crisp 100 rupee note which will make us feel light, happy and free.

14. When dust seeks the company of air, it rises up to the sky. But the same dust if it is in the company of water, it is carried into deep hollows. Similarly if a person keeps the company of good people, he will reach noble heights, but the company of evil will make the same man a sub-human. Swami often cautions the students with the saying, “Tell me your company, I shall tell you what you are”.

15. When a person drives a nail into the wall, he shakes it a little to test if it has been driven firmly in. Tests are essential everywhere and it is more so in the spiritual field where success is often deceptive and short-lived. Tests must be welcomed, Swami says, for they alone can give confidence.