Sivarama Swami – Modern Morality From Ancient Wisdom

His Holiness Sivarama Swami is a senior monk and spiritual teacher of the devotional path (Bhaktiyoga), a 5000-year-old spiritual tradition emerging from ancient India. He is the author of over 15 books which elucidate the teachings of Bhakti further and is the inspirer behind the world-renowned Krishna Valley community in Hungary; a self-sustained eco-village founded on the principles of ‘simple living & high thinking.’

An Interview with Sivarama Swami – Modern Morality From Ancient Wisdom

Interview by Liane Buck

OMTimes: Swami can you tell us when and how you started your Spiritual Journey?

Sivarama Swami: I was born in Hungary to Holocaust survivors, and when we emigrated to Canada, I went to church and was confirmed a Christian. However, while I respected both religions, neither really meant much to me. While the occasional spiritual experience touched my childhood and youth, my journey saw real direction when I received a copy of Baba Ramdasa’s “Be Here Now.” At that time I was studying Engineering at McGill in Montreal and was married to a very spiritually inclined girl. At the end of the book, Ramdasa wrote that if the reader was interested in knowing more about spiritual life, then he or she should get a copy of the Bhagavad-gétä, the universally accepted handbook on yoga, which would be available from the local Hare Krishna temple.

Following that advice, I went to the temple, which was in a renovated bowling alley near where we lived. Unfortunately, they had run out of Gita, but I was able to get one at the university bookstore. And while I didn’t get a Gita at the temple, I did receive an invitation to return, and that invitation felt to me like a call from home, a call to my inner self, a request that I couldn’t turn down. Those initial encounters with committed spiritual practitioners were in 1970, and they put me on track. A few years later I decided that I wanted to be a full-time monk, to be a swami, and so my wife and I parted ways, and I moved into the temple. That was almost 50 years ago, and I have not looked back since.

OMTimes: Do Hindus believe animals have souls?

Sivarama Swami: I can see that you’re asking me a few questions on the belief of Hindus. Before I answer this important question, let me first explain my understanding of Hindus and Hinduism.

It’s said that people who occupied the lands west of the Indus River called the land east of the far shore, Sindh and its people Sindhus. In time Sindhus became Hindus, and the British added the suffix “ism” to denote the generic beliefs of the Hindus. Thus, we have Hinduism. Otherwise, before this, there is no record of the word Hindu being mentioned in Indian literature or used in Indian culture. It’s very much a new nomenclature. So, since Hinduism is a collage of many religious traditions found in what is today the Indian sub-continent, it has no specific religious identity itself. But one unifying aspect of Hinduism is the acceptance of the authority of the Vedas, India’s spiritual texts. I follow the spiritual tradition that is based on the Vedas known as Vaiñëavism, wherein Vishnu or Krishna are the objects of worship, and bhakti-yoga the means to them.

So, in answer to your question, the Vedas reply “Yes,” animals have souls. Not only animals but all living things such as insects, aquatics and plants. How do we know? The primary symptom of the soul is consciousness. Where there are signs of consciousness, there is a soul. Therefore, as all living things are conscious, we must conclude that they are also all souls. It’s just that animals look different from humans. They have different bodies. However, spiritually all living things are the same in that they are all souls, albeit at different stages of spiritual evolution. It’s the specialty of the human body, that, unlike the bodies of animals, it facilitates self-realization. That is the primary factor that separates humans from other living things.

OMTimes: Can a Hindu eat meat?

Sivarama Swami: Humans, in general, shouldn’t eat meat. And so that also includes Hindus. Why? Because meat is a product of violence, and humans, what to speak of spiritually inclined humans, are meant to be sensitive to the suffering of others and so are meant to live by a creed of non-violence.

Now some people may choose to ignore the doctrine of non-violence. But that will be misconduct for which they will be subject, in their next life, to the same violence which they cause in this life. That’s the law of karma as described in the Vedas, India’s comprehensive yoga texts. Having to suffer in the same way that we make innocent animals suffer is not a bright future. So, if for no other reason than that, Hindus shouldn’t eat meat.

Sometimes people cite statements in world scriptures that allow killing animals for food. However, if we objectively study these scriptures, we will see that their advice is to abstain from animal killing and hence meat eating. However, for those people unwilling to follow that advice, then scriptures prescribe some regulated forms of meat-eating as a concession. It’s the difference between what scriptures want and what they concede.

However, whatever way you look at it, be it religious, ethical, health or other reasons, meat-eating is not right.

OMTimes: Please explain to us, is Hinduism a religion with many and diverse Gods, or one God with many manifestations?

Sivarama Swami: As I mentioned before, because Hinduism is an umbrella for many faiths, Hindus will not have one answer to your question. There would be many. But from an impartial point of view, we see that the wisdom of the Vedas teaches that there is one Supreme Being, Krishna, and He manifests in many ways: sometimes with the full powers of God, like Vishnu or Räma, and sometimes with part of his powers, like Shiva or Brahmä. The Supreme also has an impersonal feature of effulgence called Brahman. However, Krishna is always unique and superior to all these manifestations.

Sometimes people mistakenly think that the Vedas teach that there are many gods, that we are all god and that liberation means to merge into the oneness of everything. However, these are mistaken ideas that come from either personal prejudice or a misunderstanding of Vedic conclusions. For an objective seeker, the truth is very clear. For instance, in the Gita, Krishna says mattaù parataraà nänyat kiïcid Asti dhanaïjaya / mayi sarvam idaà protaà sütre maëi-gaëä iva, “O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.”

So, the statements of the Vedas are clear: there is one God with many manifestations.

OMTimes: In your opinion, what would be the first thing we should do if you want to bring peace and more understanding of this planet?

Sivarama Swami: I would suggest that everyone chant the names of god, just as the many millions who follow the path of bhakti-yoga do. That chanting can be in meditative japa or musically accompanied kirtan.

Why? Because it is the foundation upon which human beings can live in peace. You cannot have peace by force, legislation or establishing institutions like the UN. Human discord, whether national, sectarian, racial or familial, is due to a basic misunderstanding. That misunderstanding is that we are the body that we inhabit. Because our bodies are different, people disagree over bodily differences. However, we are not this body. We are the soul within the body. While there are countless bodily differences, there is singular unity among souls. Spiritually, we are equal. When we recognize this spiritual equality, then borders, religions, and fences become unnecessary.

However, this understanding comes only by repeating the names of God, which are the essence of Vedic mantras. This chanting purifies the heart of ignorance and the tendency to violence. I spend at least 2 hours a day chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. It brings me peace. When you are at peace with yourself, then you can be at peace with others.

OMTimes: What would you recommend parents to do to raise more compassionate human beings?

Sivarama Swami: Parents should teach their children who their children are. That is the beginning of education. Parents shouldn’t be busy thinking of “what” their kids will be, but “who” their children should be. That education should begin by teaching children that they are not corporeal beings, but spiritual beings. They are the soul within the body, and as souls, they are servants of the supreme soul.

Additionally, children should be taught to be humane. One is not automatically a human just because one is born with two legs and two arms. Humans must be educated to be humane. That means they must learn cleanliness, austerity, simplicity, control of the mind and senses, and so on. Moreover, ultimately parents need to show their children the path to liberation, which means that parents are on the path themselves.