Question: What is the difference between the demigods who manifested during the time of creation from the false ego in the mode of goodness (and manifested before the birth of Brahmāji asper the 3rd Canto) and the demigods who took birth from mother Aditī after the birth of Brahmāji?
Answer: The devas who existed before Brahma’s birth are called ajānaja, which literally means “unborn-born.” They are different from the ones that are born after Brahmā.
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Question: In the Rāmāyana it is said that Rāvana kidnaped an illusory form of Sītā, or Chāyā Sītā, because the original Sītā, the internal potency of the Lord, could not be touched by Him. This Chāyā Sītā was created by the fire god Agnī and taken back by him later when Sītā had to walk through fire. Similarly, in Caitanya Bhāgavata (Adi 14.104) it is said that Śrī Caitanya’s consort Lakśmī Devī left a replica body on the bank of the Ganges in this world and went invisibly to the side of the Lord.
Are these female illusory forms literally illusory, or are they composed of the three guṇas of prakṛti? The term used in the Caitanya Bhāgavata is “nija-prakṛti-deha.” What exactly does that mean?
Answer: Sītā’s illusory form was made of the three guṇas. But Lakṣmī Devi’s form was not made of the three guṇas. It says prakṛti – a replica but not illusory.
Question: I hope you can also clear the following doubt in a simple way. It is my understanding that Śrī Rādhā, Her Sakhīs, and Śrī Lakṣmī are all personal manifestations (or personifications) of the svarūpa-śaktī, or the internal energy. If this is correct, how do we understand Durgā Mātā? It is said in the Brahma Samhitā, that she is the superintendent of Devī-dhāma. Is her body material like other demigods? Or is it spiritual like the Durgā of the spiritual world?
Answer: The devas are also in the spiritual world, just as they are in the material world. They have the same name and similar forms. But those in the spiritual world have spiritual bodies and are associates of Bhagavān.
Question: Are monkeys present eternally in the manifested pastimes at Ayodhyā? Or are these monkeys only present in the manifested pastimes of Rāmayana and are actually demigods of heaven?
Answer: They are eternally present.
Question: It is said that when Hanumāna was singing in front of his master Śrīla Nārada Muni, the nearby rocks started melting. How can we understand this? It also happened when Śrīla Haridas worshiped Banki Bihariji. Do all the rocks really have life? What mechanism causes this reaction?
Answer: There is life everywhere (Gita 13.26, Gita Press edition) and every life is influenced by love.
Question: When Lord Śiva was stopped by his son Gaṇeśa to enter his hermitage, he severed his head. He could have rejoined the severed head of his son Gaṇeśa. But instead of doing that, he joined an elephant’s head to his son Gaṇeśa’s body. Is there any special significance?
Answer: Yes. Great people don’t undo their own deeds, just as they don’t undo their curses. It goes against their own words and thus would flout the principle of truthfulness.
Question: As a father of Vāmana Deva, was Kaśyapa an expansion of Vāsudeva? If so, was his body transcendental?
Answer: Yes.
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Question: What is the destination of an empowered soul like Vyāsadeva? Does a nityamukta-jīva return back to his eternal abode from where he came? After the Manvantara period of his service is over as Vyāsadeva, where does he go?
Answer: He goes to the Vaikuṇṭha planet and remains there eternally.
Question: Similarly, does every Brahmā, after his lifespan ends, enter into the spiritual abode as a pārśada of the Lord? Do some fall down to the earth as ordinary jīvas and do sādhana-bhakti? Do all Brahmās go to a specific spiritual planet, or to various spiritual planets like Vraja, Dvārakā, Ayodhyā, Vaikuṇṭha depending upon their bhakti during their service period? Does every Brahmā get vraja-bhakti? Do they have to take birth on an earthly planet for doing sādhana-bhakti as a human being?
Answer: Every Brahmā is different, depending on their backgrounds, they will reach different destinations. They may take birth again in the material world or go to the spiritual world.
