Swamiji, what is the sense in worshipping the Guru as people do here in India? Isn’t that slavery? You mean to say that the disciple becomes the slave of the Guru?

Aren’t you grateful to the man who serves you and helps you? Don’t you express your gratitude to him in some form or the other? If you behave that way with a man who has helped you a little bit in a secular way, how much more ought to be your gratitude to the man who shows you the path to the Supreme? He has given you new life, nay, immortality and eternal bliss. Can you refrain from expressing your gratitude to him? Actual worship of the Guru is the Indian way of expressing this highest gratitude. You express gratitude to the man who has helped you by giving him something; and to the Guru-the man who has bestowed upon you the highest gift of spiritual knowledge-you give yourself! Source: 'May I Answer That?' -Swami Sivananda

What is the astral body?

The astral body is the subtle body which is within this physical body like the bladder of a football. It is an exact counterpart of the physical body. It is made up of the five organs of action, the five organs of knowledge, the five Pranas, mind, intellect, Chitta or the subconscious mind, and Ahankar or egoism. Some call it "the double". It is this astral body that comes out of the physical body after death and moves to heaven. Death of this astral body through the knowledge of the Eternal frees one from the cycle of births and deaths. Source: 'May I Answer That?' -Swami Sivananda

God-realized souls, on leaving the mortal coil, merge in the cosmos and thus do not have any individuality on any plane. However, it is claimed that saints like Sai Baba and others, who have attained Moksha, do help and guide those devotees who seek their blessings. How can we explain this apparent contradiction?

Realized souls, who wish to help the devotees even after they give up their physical bodies, retain their astral bodies (Sukshma Sarira) for the sake of their eagerness to help those that are in need of their help. But Jivanmuktas, generally, do not retain their astral bodies just in order to help the aspirants, since there will always be highly evolved souls on the relative plane, who will carry on the task of teaching the spiritual aspirants. Source: 'May I Answer That?' -Swami Sivananda

Ask God why He has created this world! Attain wisdom of the Self. Then you will know why God created the world. You cannot understand it with your intellect. You can understand it only with intuition.

For the sake of sport, God created the world. Lokavattu Lila Kaivalyam. Creation of the world has a purpose. Just as we cannot have a sun without rays, similarly, we cannot have God without the world process. The world is like His rays. It is His Svabhava, nature. Just as a juggler produces something and makes it disappear, so also, God produces this world and makes it disappear. God is omnipotent. To ask why He created the world is an Ati-prasna, a transcendental question. We will be only wasting time by discussing it. Before asking about the world, ask about yourself. Know who you are. Then you will know everything. Source: 'May I Answer That?' -Swami Sivananda

Is it dangerous to practice Pranayam without the assistance of a Guru or teacher?

You can practice ordinary Pranayam exercises without the help of a Guru. There is no danger in practicing Pranayam, Asan, etc., if you are careful, if you use your common-sense. People are unnecessarily alarmed. There is danger in everything if you are careless. If you are careless in getting down the steps of a staircase, you will fall down and break your legs. If you are careless when you walk in the busy parts of a city, you will be crushed by the motor-cars. If you are careless when you purchase a ticket at the railway station, you will lose your money-purse. If you are careless in dispensing mixtures, you will kill the patients by giving a poison or a wrong medicine or by administering a medicine in over-doses. Even so, when you practice Pranayam, you will have to be careful about your diet. You should avoid over-loading, you should take light, easily digestible and nutritious food. You should be moderate in copulation. You should not go beyond your capacity in retaining the breath. You should first practice inhalation and exhalation only (without retention of breath) for one or two months. You should gradually increase the ratio from 1:4:2 to 16:64:32. You should exhale very very slowly. If these rules are observed, there is no danger at all in the practice of Pranayam.

A Guru is necessary if you want to practice Kumbhak or retention of breath for a long time and unite Apana with Prana. The books written by realized Yogins can guide you if you are not able to get a Guru. But it is better to have a Guru by your side. Or you can get the lessons from him and practice them at home. You can keep regular correspondence with him. You can retain the breath from 1/2 to 1 or 2 minutes without any difficulty or danger. If you cannot get a realized Yogi, you can approach senior students of Yoga. They also can help you. Source: 'May I Answer That?' -Swami Sivananda