Gurupurnima - A festival to pay gratitude to the teaching principle of God
Issue No. 293 · October 2, 2005
Editor: Mr. Pruthviraj Purushottam Hajare

Science of Spirituality

Spiritual causes of unhappiness due to destiny and wilful actions and their remedies

(Continued from Issue 291)

Spiritual cause Due to Destiny Due to Wilful Action Total
1.Destiny
50
8*
58
2.Distressing Energy
4
2.5
6.5
3.Pleasant Energy
6
1.6
7.6
4.Associated with energy in the body
1.5
0.75
2.25
5.Others
3.5
2.15
5.65

Total (80 =)

65
15
80

* Results of intense sins and merits have to be experienced in this lifetime itself.

Pleasant Energy

Spiritual Causes Spiritual Causes due to destiny (%) Spiritual Causes due to willful actions (%) Remedy (Spiritual practice)
The family deity (Kuladevata)
5
0.75
 Worship of the family deity according to the family tradition
The village deity (Gramadevata)
0.10
(very rare)
Worship of the village deity according to village tradition
The deity of the place (Sthanadevata)
0.25
0.10
Ritualistic worship, sacrificial fires (hom), etc.
The deity of the premise (Vastudevata)
0.65
0.75
Rituals such as Vastushanti, Udakshanta, etc. to purify the premise
TOTAL
6
1.60

 

1. The family deity (Kuladevata):

    The family deity may cause problems due to the following two reasons.

  1. The family deity may get enraged due to not following the family traditions of spiritual practice.
  2. If an individual does not do spiritual practice in spite of having the potential to make rapid spiritual progress, the family deity gets angry at him just as a teacher gets angry at an intelligent student for not studying.

    For further information on the family deity, refer to 'Science of Spirituality: Vol. 7 - Supreme God, God, Incarnations and Deities' published by the Sanatan organization.

2. Deity of the village (Gramadevata)

    Many years ago, various reservations settled in various parts of the world and established the village deities by building a place of worship for the deity and through Its daily worship. The village deities are mostly female deities, and the villagers worship them more out of fear than out of devotion. All saints and Lord Krishna Himself have advised that one should not worship the village deities for spiritual progress, as they are mainly tamasik in nature.

    Here is an example of unhappiness due to the village deity's energy: A seeker in India used to frequently travel to some villages and towns on business. Upon entering a particular village, he would get severe headaches, which would stop as soon as he left the village. He was advised the standard remedy for such problems, which is to worship the deity of that village and ask for Its blessings.

    For further information on the deity of the village, refer to 'Science of Spirituality: Vol. 7 - Supreme God, God, Incarnations and Deities' published by the Sanatan organization.

3. The deity of the place (Sthanadevata)

    These too, can be either favourable or troublesome. The subtle body of the deceased may exist in a place where a murder, crime, or an accidental death has occurred. This, in turn, can cause negative vibrations there.

    Given below is an example of unhappiness caused by the deity of the place.

    King Vikramaditya, who lived in India a few centuries ago, was famous for his impartial judgment. He would regularly go into his kingdom to survey his subjects' opinion about himself and his performance as their king.

    During one such survey, Vikramaditya met a shepherd and asked his opinion about the present ruler. The shepherd replied, "He is a cruel king and makes his people suffer!" The king was shocked and felt very hurt. However, he continued with the survey and shortly afterwards, ran into the same shepherd in a different part of the town. Since Vikramaditya was curious to know why the shepherd had such a bad opinion about him, he again asked the shepherd, "What is your opinion of your king?" This time, the shepherd praised King Vikramaditya saying, "Nowhere in the three worlds could one find such a great and conscientious king!"

    The king was perplexed by the contradictory statements of the shepherd! After getting back to the palace, he narrated the incident to his deputy minister. The deputy, in an effort to find an answer to this contradiction, went to both the places, where the king had met the shepherd and dug a hole into the ground at each place. After digging for a while, he discovered pieces of bone and skeleton buried in the first place (where the shepherd had spoken ill about the king) and a throne buried in the second place (where the shepherd had spoken well about the king). Further research yielded that the throne had belonged to a very righteous king in the past. From that day onwards, King Vikramaditya ruled from this very throne whenever he had to make any important decisions about his kingdom and subjects and lived to be a very successful king.

    For further information on the deity of the place, refer to 'Science of Spirituality: Vol. 7 - Supreme God, God, Incarnations and Deities' published by the Sanatan organization.

4. The deity of the premises (Vastudevata):

    In the beginning of Creation, man lived in the wilderness and not in structured buildings. With evolution, he started living in houses and experienced that some buildings emit more positive energy than the rest. So, he began studying the science of the structure of buildings (Vastushastra).

    This positive or negative energy emanating from a building is due to a combination of three types of frequencies:

  1. Frequencies emanating from the land upon which the structure is built.
  2. The three hundred and sixty frequencies that play in a circular motion within any structure.
  3. The frequencies of the thoughts of the people living in the building and those temporarily residing there or visiting the structure.

    All these frequencies combine in various ways, depending on the structure, and move in a haphazard fashion resulting in positive or negative energy. The unhappiness caused by the deity or energy of the premises, can be one of the spiritual causes of one's unhappiness. This cause can be either destined or due to wilful action. For example, if one suffers due to living in a house unaware of its distressing vibrations, the cause of the suffering is destiny. However, if one suffers due to living in a house with distressing energy, despite being forewarned of the same, the cause of the suffering is wilful action.

    Performing the ritual of 'Vastushanti', which makes a building (vastu) peaceful (shanti), is a standard remedy prescribed for unhappiness caused by the energy of the premises. The ritual smoothens out the haphazard vibrations ('noise') making the premises pleasant.

    Further information on the deity of the premise is given in 'Science of Spirituality: Vol. 7 - Supreme God, God, Incarnations and Deities' published by the Sanatan organization

    Continued in the next issue.

[Reference taken from Vol. 1B – Spirituality, by His Holiness Dr. Jayant Athavale and Dr. Mrs. Kunda Athavale.]

* If one is not currently doing any spiritual practice, or to complement one's current spiritual practice, one can begin with the simple, but powerful spiritual practice of chanting or constantly remembering God's Name according to one's religion. Chanting also acts as a useful complement to any spiritual path one may be already following. It is a practice recommended for the current times by Holy texts and Saints of all religions.

  • Seekers in the initial stages of spiritual practice (less than one year) can repeat The Name of the Lord as per their religion (refer to Issue 3 Clarification of Doubts section for details).

  • Seekers who have been doing regular spiritual practice for over a year or so can determine the appropriate chant for them from the experiment given in Issue 124, Message to Seekers section.
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