222. Do you believe in heaven and hell existing as some independent planes apart from this earth-plane of ours?

Why not? They are also planes of existence just like ours. They are as real as the earthly plane. All the worlds (Lokas) and all the Tirthas (sacred rivers) are existent in the human being himself, if he has belief in the scriptures. One can enjoy heaven or hell in this birth if he so wishes. The greater the grossness, the more intense will be the torture and suffering till such time as the individual is refined and fit for the descent of the Lord's grace by repeated calcinations or purificatory processes.

If you want to enjoy heaven on earth, go on purifying yourself by controlling the lower mind, the desires and cravings. All is bliss, all is joy, all is happiness then. If you allow a free rein to the horses of the senses and yield to the prompting of the devilish mind, if you follow the path of Adharma, hell itself will prevail, not elsewhere in some incredible region, but here on this earth itself.

223. The Koran for the Muslims, the Bible for the Christians, the Old Testament for the Jews, the Gathas for the Parsis. What about the Hindus?

The Gita, of course. That is the simple, basic scripture for all Hindus. It contains the essence of the Upanishads, gives an optimistic and ideally adequate philosophy of life and shows the main paths of Yoga in an integrated perspective.

224. Since you are an advocate of equality and your teachings do not take into consideration class distinctions, are you in sympathy with communism?

I have nothing to do with politics, much less with any Godless creed. I do not believe that religion or religious teachings should have anything to do with politics. I advocate equal vision in the sense that the One Reality dwells equally in all beings. Names and forms are changing phenomena. Spirit alone is. In a relative sense, the whole humanity is the family of God; there is no high or low in His eyes. As such, a spiritual man's attitude should not be narrowed down by any kind of distinction, be it of class, religion, caste or colour.

225. Is God conscious or unconscious? If He is conscious, He must have a forms for only a being who has a body can be conscious.

God is pure consciousness. He is omniscient, all-knowing. He is Nirakara, formless or incorporeal. This physical body has limited our universal consciousness. Consciousness is of various kinds, viz., physical consciousness, mental consciousness and absolute consciousness. You will experience the highest consciousness when you transcend the three bodies through constant and intense meditation. With this physical body and limited senses you can have the physical consciousness only.

226. If I say, "I am a king", I cannot become a king. So also, if I repeat "Aham Brahma Asmi", I cannot become Brahman

Besides saying "I am a king", you will have to prepare yourself. You will have to gather a large number of men. You will have to learn many things. You will have to fight. Even so, you will have to prepare and purify the mind. You will have to acquire the four means of salvation— Viveka (discrimination between the real and the unreal), Vairagya (dispassion), Shad Sampat (sixfold virtues) and Mumukshutva (eagerness for liberation). Then you will have to do Sravana (hearing of the Srutis), Manana (reflection) and Nidhidhyasan (constant and profound meditation). Then only you will get Atma Sakshatkara or Brahma Anubhava.