In the writing of some Christian saints, emphasis is laid on contemplation. What is its place in devotional practice of the Hindu religion?

Contemplation is called Chintan, or Manan, in the Vedas. It means repeatedly bringing any aspect of Divine knowledge to the intellect. First, we hear the knowledge of the scriptures from the Guru; this is called Śhravaṇ. Then we contemplate on what we have heard or read; this is called Chintan. This Chintan or contemplation helps to strengthen the knowledge in the intellect. It is one of the most potent means of illuminating the intellect with the light of Divine knowledge.

 The power of chintan is such that if it is misutilized, it becomes chintā (worry), and it can lead suicide. Let us say that a student fails in his school final examination. Hundreds of other students fail too, but this student starts contemplating, "What will I do now? How will I show my face to my parents? What will my friends say? Life is not worth living. It is useless to exist. It is better that I die." This thought process goes out of control to such an extent that the student commits suicide. His class-fellows wonder what happened that made him take such a drastic step? This was all a result of misdirected contemplation.

The same power of contemplation, if properly directed, can lead to God-realization. We could repeatedly think, "Shree Krishna alone is mine. He is so kind and merciful. He has been sitting in my heart since endless lifetimes. He is my eternal Father, Mother, Friend and Master." Such contemplation will elevate the mind to sublime heights, enhance love for God, and boost devotional sentiments. For example, we are naturally attracted to people's qualities, but God has unlimited qualities and yet our mind feels no attraction towards Him. This is because we have never thought deeply about them. If we repeatedly think how beautiful He is, how merciful He is, etc, our love for God will grow rapidly. Contemplation is thus an important part of the daily spiritual practice.

What is The Right 'age' to start your devotional practice?

"Having attained the human form, we do not realize how precious it is. We indulge ourselves in material pleasures for sensual gratification. We devote our full attention to our family and their needs. When somebody asks a little boy/girl to do devotion, he/she replies – this is not the age to start devotion. There is still time and we can do that when we are old. When you ask a young person to do devotion, he/she flatly refuses and says that it is for old people and life is for enjoying.

When you ask a middle age person to do devotion, he/she replies that there is still time for it after retirement. Now is the time to earn money, enjoy life and look after the welfare of the family. By the time retirement comes, many ailments plague the body and there is very little strength left in the body, thereby making it difficult to perform devotion.

We forget the fact that death can come to anybody at any age at any time.

It is ironical that a father, who is taking son's body for burial, does not think about his own death, though the reality may be that he dies of a heart attack on his way to the cremation ground.

Life is very uncertain. Do not think that you will live in this human form forever.

Whatever your age is, start doing devotion!!!"

Why did God create souls and bring us into the world, where there is so much of suffering and miseries?

To answer your question, let me tell you a story. There was once a very rich man, who had a fifteen-year old son. One day, the son was alone in his father's office, when he saw a fifteen-year old newspaper. It had an article titled, "Billionaire adopts orphan child." The boy was stunned to see his father's name mentioned there. When his father returned, the son accosted him, "Father is this article true?" The father replied, "My son! It is true." "Does that mean I am not your child?" "That is right, you are not my child." The son was shocked. "Then why did you adopt me?" The father explained, "Son, I am a billionaire. I had no shortage of money, and everything that money could buy. However, I did not have anyone with whom I could share my wealth. I adopted you so that I could give you everything I possess." Similarly, God is perfect and complete in himself, and the possessor of unlimited opulences. He creates us so that he may be able to share all that he possesses with us. However, he can only do so when we truly love him. Those souls, who have learnt to love God, are with him in his eternal abode. We conditioned souls are here in the material realm because we have turned our backs towards him. God hopes and waits for the day when we too will perfect our love for him and attain him for the rest of eternity.

What should we do to get a human birth again in our next life?

There are 8.4 million species of life in existence. In the species below human beings-animals, birds, fishes, insects, birds, etc-there is no free will. Hence, upon death the soul is naturally and sequentially promoted to the next species. But human beings possess the free will to act according to their volition, and hence, they are responsible for their actions. Their next birth is decided by their karmas in the present life. The facility to do karmas is given to the human species, not for animal-like activities, but for God-realization. The scriptures state:                            आहार निद्रा भय मैथुनंम च सामान्यमेतत् पशुभिर्नराणाम .  "Eating, sleeping, defending and mating are activities that animals can do as well as humans." The human form is special because in it we can attain God. If however, some human being focuses his or her consciousness merely on eating, then the body of a pig becomes more suitable for such a person, and the soul is allotted that body in its next life. If someone makes sleeping the goal of life, God says that the body of a polar bear is more suitable for such a consciousness and allots it in the next life. In this manner, one of the factors determining our next birth is our consciousness at the time of death. Another factor determining our next life is the Law of Karma…….. The Garud Purana states :                                         ऊर्ध्वागतिस्तु  धर्मेण अधर्मेण ह्यधोगतिः   “The one who performs pious deeds goes to the higher abodes in the next life; one who does sinful activities is demoted to the hellish abodes.””As you sow, that shall you also reap” is what the BIBLE also says. However, the Law of karma and the determination of consciousness are so complex that we cannot analyze and determine our next birth by ourselves. The all-knowing God alone has the ability to determine and allot it to us…….