Stepping Over the Puddle of Material Existence

Since death can come at any moment we should always be prepared for it by being in a constant mood of pure devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This will assure our passage into the Lord's transcendental kingdom upon leaving our present bodies. By constant bhakti we will always be on the safe side in this world where there is danger at every step. In this connection it is very nicely stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.58 as follows:

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ
mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ
bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ
padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

"For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murari, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf's hoof-print. Their goal is param padam, Vaikuntha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step."

In this way the devotees are at all not bewildered by this dangerous material existence. Rather than being in anxiety about it, the step it as easily and effortlessly as stepping over a tiny puddle of water.
Step Over this Material Existence

Take Shelter of the Boat of Krishna's Lotus Feet

Answers According to the Vedic Version

Question: Do Muslims Have to Take Birth as Hindus to Be Liberated?

It is enlightening and inspiring reading your daily thoughts and the questions and answers through your daily emails. Thank you very much. I have a close Muslim friend who is religious and takes interest in studying spiritual science. I am not competent and qualified to answer his questions. You are requested to kindly advise me on the subject.

His Questions:

We Muslims worship Nirgun-Nirkar God (God without qualities and form) and most of you Hindus worship Sagun-Sakar God (God with qualities and form) although some of you worship Nirgun-Nirakar too.

We consume non-vegetarian food, which is authorized by our faith and is as per religious injunctions. Since you say God is only one and has same rules for all living entities:

1) What is the ultimate fate of people who follow the Muslim faith ?

2 )What is the ultimate fate of Hindus who follow Sagun-Sakar worship?

3 ) What is the ultimate fate of Hindus who worship Nirgun-Niraakar?

4 ) God according to Hindus has said that He is both Sagun-Sakar and Nirgun-Nirakar and that people have choice to worship either. He is equal to all. How can you say Sagun-Sakar Deity worship alone will lead to pure realization stopping the birth and death cycle?

5 ) Do Muslims have to take birth again to become Hindus and worship Sagun-Sakar to realize the Ultimate Truth, which as you say is realizing one's true relationship with God?

Your humble servant,

Anil

Answer: They Simply Have to Be Pure Lovers of God

Here are your questions with answers:

You mentioned, "We Muslims worship Nirgun-Nirkar God (God without qualities and God without form) and most of you Hindus worship Sagun-Sakar God (God with qualities and God with form) although some of you worship Nirgun-Nirakar too!

The word "Hindu" was coined by you Muslims, and is thus not found anywhere in the Vedic scriptures. Since it is not found in the Vedas we prefer to identify ourselves as followers of the Vedic culture, not as Hindus. The culmination of the universal self realization science as taught in the Vedas is to worship God as being both Nirkar and Sakar. In the other words, the Supreme Person has both His personal nature His impersonal nature.

And then you mentioned, "We consume non-vegetarian food, which is authorized by our faith and is as per religious injunctions." In this connection please note that some governments allow legalized prostitution in order to keep some regulatory checks on the prostitution which is going to go on anyway. Similarly some religious scriptures allow meat eating as a concession for those who cannot come to the higher platform of respect for all living beings. Such meat eating is allowed under certain restrictions.

Even in the Vedas there is an allowance for the low class people who cannot give up their taste for rotting flesh. They are allowed to kill a goat on the dark moon night after whispering a mantra in the goat's ear that just I am killing you now to eat you, in your next life I will be a goat and you will be a human who will kill me and eat me. Such allowances for meat eating are to discourage meat eating.

While Islam gives concession for meat eating, many Muslims who understand the inner mood of Muhammad have opted for a vegetarian diet. In fact in a Muslim text known as Bukhari it is stated:

"The Holy Prophet Muhammad was asked by his companions if kindness to animals was rewarded in the life hereafter. He replied: 'Yes, there is a meritorious reward for kindness to every living creature'."

So when a Muslim adopts the position of not harming the animals by abstaining from eating them he becomes more advanced in his practice of Islam. And those Muslims who are not yet ready to come to this higher stage of Islam are informed by prophet Muhammad to at least stop eating the cow. This in instruction of Muhammad is found in the famous collection by Ibn Qayyim of the sayings of Muhammad known as Zâd al-ma'âd:

'an suhayb radiya Allâh 'anhu yarfa'uhu:
'alaykum bi-laban al-baqar fa-innahâ shifâ' wa-samnuhâ dawâ' wa-lahmuhâ dâ'.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "You should use cows' milk, because it is for healing, and use cows' ghee because it is medicine, but beef should be avoided because it brings disease."

And then you state, "Since you say God is only one and has same rules for all living entities". Please understand that God has given different sets of rules for people on different levels. The meat eaters are given a concession for meat eating but with restriction. And then are encouraged to give it up completely.

1 ) What is the ultimate fate of people who follow Muslim Faith?

When Muslims become spiritually advanced they will naturally adopt the principle of kindness to all beings included the four-legged, winged, and finned ones by not eating them.

2 ) What is the ultimate fate of Hindus who follow Sagun-Sakar worship?

Those who are advanced in Vedic understanding worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead who possesses form and attributes. Such enlightened souls fully surrender themselves unto that the Supreme Personality of Godhead and return to the spiritual world at the time of leaving their bodies.

3 ) What is the ultimate fate of Hindus who worship Nirgun-Nirakar?

To worship only the impersonal Nirgun-Nirakar aspect of the Supreme is incomplete worship of God. Krishna states as follows in the Bhagavad-gita:

kleśo 'dhikataras teṣām
avyaktāsakta-cetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ
dehavadbhir avāpyate

"For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied."
--Bhagavad-gita 12.5

So anyone who wants permanent relief from material existence must rise beyond Nirgun-Nirakar and understand the personal feature of the Supreme. The personal nature of the Supreme is clearly indicated in the Koran in many verses. Although the Koran certainly establishes Nirgun-Nirakar impersonalism, in its final analysis it clearly refutes that impersonalism and establishes the Sagun-Sakar personal conception of God.

4 ) God according to Hindus has said : He is both Sagun-Sakar and Nirgun-Niraakar and people have choice to worship either. He is equal to all. How can you say Sagun-Sakar Deity worship alone will lead to pure realization stopping birth and death cycle?

We do not say that. Our philosophy is both features of the Supreme should be simultaneously accepted with proper understanding that the personal feature of the Supreme is primary while His impersonal feature is secondary. Krishna clearly promotes Sagun-Sakar in the Bhagavad-gita in which He fully reveals Himself as a person with form and attributes.

5 ) Do Muslims have to take birth again to become Hindus and worship Sagun-Sakar to realize the ultimate Truth which as you say is -realizing ones true relationship with God?

No. The Muslims should simply understand that the personal Sagun-Sakar nature of Allah as it is revealed in the Koran is higher than His impersonal Nirgun-Nirakar nature. And if they can give up cruelty to the animals as is mentioned in their own scriptures and regularly chant the name of Allah they can become perfect Muslims and be qualified to attain the kingdom of God at the time of death.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari