Everyone of us have our miseries and afflictions which are all the results of our past actions in this life and in earlier ones. This is what the principle of Karma stresses. Master in his commandments, more clearly in 5th Commandment clarified this position. Faith and Steadfastness develop only when there is opportunity for such development and which opportunity is what our problems pose for us.

Sufferings and Miseries
1. What is misery?
All that is born of attachment is misery. Pain and pleasure both contribute to misery.

2. Is it necessary to have pain to get closer to God?
It is not necessary. It is for me alone. My Master used to suffer from great pain. He had abscess of the liver and used to suffer very much, but when he was in a very great pain he used to sing. I asked him why. He told me that when a person is in great pain he has to groan or make such noise. My master once told me that he would easily have removed this trouble in one minute. But he did not do so because he felt the pain was given by God and who knows why God had given it. So that was my master-submission to Divine Will.

3. How to remedy pain?
When pain passes the limits of intensity, it becomes its own cure.

4. Master,can afflictions lead to worship of God?
Some times it also happens that an intense shock of some worldly affliction converts a worshipper of matter into a worshipper of God. It is because man being connected mostly with humanity, the shock affects a depression in the line of humanity, causing thereby a vacuum. The gap is instantly filled up by Divinity which is running parallel to it. The deeper the vacuum, greater and more permanent shall be the effect there of.

5. Is suffering necessary for spiritual growth?
No. They are also left behind. There have been saints in India who presented themselves before God with the petition that all the miseries of the world may be given to them. Excuse me for saying this, but you now compare yourselves with them.

6. Master, I have been told by some other people that colds and other certain kinds of diseases are caused to come about because of our negative thoughts. It that true?
Of course it is correct also. Well, heart attack, the chief cause of heart attacks is the confusion? When you are disturbed, your thoughts are disturbed. Then comes confusion. And spirituality cleans it. It is very good tonic for the heart and the mind, very good tonic. It brings in natural order. Although it is not that man joins this mission may not have heart attack. It is not that. But this is helped by it, not to bring that thing as a disease.

7. Can I pray to God for deliverance from pain?
Physical ailment is really meant for the cure of spiritual diseases because thereby it consumes some of the samskaras and increases the power of endurance as well.

8. I have adopted a Guru, then why am I still suffering?
When you did the actions which caused the sufferings, did you ask the Guru?

9. In conflicting circumstances how do we know which is right or wrong. Are there any things in the system which say this is right or this is wrong ?
The question is vague. However, the Master's commandments should prove to be ample source to deal with any problem.

10. I face a lot of troublesome circumstances in my office. I become more emotional. Are there any techniques that are helpful in getting out of this?
Meditate on points A and B regularly.

11. How to reduce day to day work tensions?
Regular methodical practice given by the Institute of Sri Ramchandra Consciousness and regular individual sittings with the trainer and satsanghs help a lot in reducing the day to day tensions.

12. Sometimes, I feel low and depressed. I try to transform it into humility.
You should not waste your time in that. When you are depressed you are losing. If you meditate instead, you are getting. So meditate instead of feeling depressed. Brooding over it deepens the impression.

13. Trying to own thoughts and things leading to brooding and too much of churning of mind. Clouded goal clarity.
Brooding is the play of a diseased mind. It got stuck in the past. Know the past is ashes and we need to live only in the present. Resign yourself to the will of Master and let surrender be real. Tough though not impossible.

14. The feelings of self pity which were there because of my own notions have been reduced greatly. My brooding has reduced considerably.
Brooding and self pity are sure methods of down fall in any attempt and more so in spirituality. Avoid that and not just talk of reduction. You must learn that in spirituality it is always ¡®do¡¯ or ¡®do not¡¯ and never ¡®try¡¯.

15. How to overcome guilt?
Guilt is not a healthy feeling; we should repent and seek forgiveness and never worry about what has happened earlier. Guilt is a delayed reaction to the past events and has no purpose to serve. Living in the present always ensures happiness and that is a sign being in tune with nature.

16. Sir, Please forgive me if I misinterpreted incorrectly but for few days I am getting the feeling that unless we pass through hurdles in life may be ill health or any other problems, there is no way to go through the Bhog. I have to go through a long way to get to that stage of going through the troubles or hurdles as I do not find any problems and disturbances in my life.
This is a bad idea and incorrect too in spirituality. The hidden dictum of Nature is that all should be happy and then where is the question of miseries and afflictions being essential for sadhana to progress? You need not wait for these miseries to realise your true nature. Bhog of our karmas will any way be there and our liberation/realisation is not dependant on that. YOU MUST AVOID THIS TYPE OF STUPID SANYASI THINKING AND NEGATIVE THOUGHTS. I am sorry if I sound harsh but dear brother wrong notions are there too many spread by the mendicants and recluses.

17. Couple of times so far, I have had a dream about narrowly escaping or hiding and then getting away from possible terrorist attack. This could be because of me being is Kashmir during the height of militancy there.
Fear and Passion are the two things that get represented by the dreams and these or similar to these dreams will continue in a sadhaka for quite sometime till a stage of development arises when desire and fear bid farewell.

18. Oh Master! Shatter all my fears and make my life worth.
When you feel the Master how can there be fear. Fear of any type is due to the ego factor which feels independent. Feel interdependency with Master and all fear is gone. However I shall work on you in this respect and hope that you feel the relief.

Emotions

Emotion is a very gross feeling which blinds reality. The language of feeling or the language of God cannot be clear unless emotions die down. But then whole of Bhakti movement, is emotion and ecstatic emotion at that.

Gloominess and Dejection
Please note that gloominess is not good for spiritual life. As a matter of fact the feeling of dejection or gloominess etc., arise only when we think that we have a right to expect results for our actions or Karma. God is samavarthi and therefore whatever happens to our Karma is what is the best that can happen. Please do your duty and leave the rest to the Will of the Master.
Repentance if repeated again and again begets gloominess which is not good for spirituality. The past has to be treated as past only and we should never take it to the future after repentance and seeking forgiveness. Confidence in the Master will grant you the feeling of 'forgiveness'.
Dejection is not a sign of humility but it is an expression of extraordinary EGO veiled in the garb of humility.

Brooding
Brooding over things not in our hands does not help in spirituality. It is only a sign of unyielding.
It does not make any sense to bother about the past and spoil our state of mind. It is a common habit which we as practicants of yoga should avoid. We live in the present and move towards the future. There is little that we achieve by brooding over things on which we have no control.

Hatred
Hatred is a bad emotion and is known to destroy all finer feelings in life. Make a positive attempt to love those whom you feel like hating. Love is the other side of the same coin. I am sure you will give thought to this and will feel relieved soon.
Hatred to any person is not good and it is hurdle in spirituality. Strong opinions alone lead to this condition. It is true that we suffer from it mostly because it is a powerful feeling. Cleaning regularly does relieve us of that problem.

Depression
Depression is very bad in spiritual life even as in ordinary life. Feeling repentant is different from getting depressed. When we have faith in ourselves and our Master where is the scope for depression. Please leave this habit.
Despondency or depression is not good. But it comes even as Swami Vivekananda has pointed out that to be one of the flaws in the system. It is our duty to transmit to ourselves the Divine energy more particularly to the face and keep our selves bright. Mundane issues are bound to haunt us through out and it is all part of karmic cleaning that we have to go through.

Natural Calamities
Regarding Natural calamities and the work there on, there is nothing to write. Nature¡¯s work is accomplished by Nature through various agencies and the agents will has no tolerance what so ever. Nature knows only Naturalness. Compassion is a good human quality and that is all about as far as I Know.
To demand opportunity for work is not correct. They come at His wish. Please do read again ¡¡ãReality at Dawn¡¡À last chapters.

Heaviness
Heaviness of any experience is to be inferred from repeated awareness of the condition. That which merges hardly get recognised.

Negative Feelings
Do not have any negative feelings as the Masters presence can make such doubts true. Beware of such small lapses in thinking.
1. I get often thoughts that something is lacking in practice and I am not doing my Sadhana properly.
You are practicing regularly and as per guidelines and also feel the effect of Pranahuti. That being so what is lacking and why that feeling. We should avoid assiduously negative thoughts.
2. Sometimes I feel that I am falling down and the required orientation is missing and that brings in some guilt feeling. I am not sure why such feeling comes, but after reading books or talking to other abhyasis, that feeling goes away.
It is one thing to feel humble and another miserable. Avoid under all circumstances negative thoughts. Remember the benevolence of the Master when you feel negative.

Comparison
1. I felt that ¡¡ãone has to understand that he is a unique expression of God¡¡À and conviction of this will lead to overcome the problem of comparison.
Comparison is a disease and greed is the basis of that. Dependants on the Divine do not compare with others; they co operate.

2. Feeling of a more personal relationship with Master and there is a lot of peace because I feel no need to compare with other abhyasis.
Happy to see these sentences. Comparison leads to contrast and that in turn ends up in conflict. If you have to compare do that with reference to the Master/God.