Your life is most precious.

Sri Sri says looking towards the sky):

See, clouds are already there. It will rain well by the end of this month. If there is unrighteousness and decreased moral values in the country, nature also shows its anger. When all the corrupt people, whom we have made to sit on the top, do injustice to the country, nature also shows its anger.

The farmers of our country are committing suicide. If there is injustice to the farmers, it will result in nature showing its anger. That is why righteousness must increase in people. If the people who rule the country are not righteous, the country will be ruined, the people of the country will be ruined.

I have the dream of a clean and beautiful society, where there is no crime. Small countries like Bhutan, Switzerland and Ireland have so much peace. At one point of time, India had all these. Ours was such a glorious country. We need to restore our country back to the same state.

This is not something new; this has been going on since ages. In the ancient times, there used to be a Rajguru who used to catch the king’s ears if he did something wrong and cautioned him that it would harm him as well as his subjects. Nowadays, nobody listens. Farmers should not be subjected to injustice.

From today, before you eat your food, say, ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’. Let the farmers who provide us food be happy. Let the merchants who ensure that the food is transported and supplied to us be happy. Thirdly, let the women of the house, who cook and serve food to us, be happy. If these three are happy, the world will be happy.

If the women of the house are happy, there will be happiness at home. If the women of the house cook food with sadness, frustration or anger, the food does not digest properly and it affects the mind too.

If the merchants are happy, they will not cheat or adulterate food. We will get pure and clean food. Also, they will not loot and increase prices exorbitantly.

Since ages, merchants used to do a lot of social service activities, like constructing tanks, temples and Dharmashalas (Righteous schools). If the merchants are not happy and become greedy, it affects the people a lot.

Similarly, farmers must be happy. It is very important.

So, keeping all these three in mind, let us chant the mantra ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’ everyday.

Q: Gurudev, recently there has been a lot of issues with regard to power supply. How do we tackle this issue?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There was a person who had come here to explain how he could turn garbage into electricity. I have encouraged him to do this in Karnataka too. He needs a thousand kilograms of garbage of any kind, which he converts into electricity. We will see how it goes.

Q: Many great saints, for example Jesus, have died violent deaths. Why is it so?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Lord Krishna has said this in the Bhagavad Gita, ‘Kleśo 'dhikataras teshām avyaktāsakta-cetasām avyaktā hi gatir dukham dehavadbhir avāpyate’ (Chapter 12 Verse 5)

If one worships only the un-manifest aspect of theBrahman (Absolute or Godhead) that brings a lot of sorrow.

If you observe, the lives of Moses, Jesus and Prophet Mohammed were full of difficulties. The lineage of Guru Nanak also faced similar difficulties. It was because they ignored Saguna Brahman (The Absolute with qualities) and worshipped only Nirguna Brahman (the supreme reality without form, quality, attribute).

It is very interesting.

That is why it has been said, ‘Avidyaya mrityam tirtha vidyaya amritam snute’ . Take both Saguna and Nirguna with you.

Vyakta (manifest) and Avyakta (un-manifest) are both needed. ‘Ishwaro Gururatmeti Murti bheda Vibhagine, Vyomavad vyapta dehaya Dakshinamurataye namah – Guru, Self-realization and God are all needed. If we take all of them along in life, we will be happy both in this world and the next.

Q: It is said that getting a human birth is fortune. However, some people live very comfortable lives while others live miserably. Why this discrimination?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Those who are happy must share with those who are unhappy. Those who are unhappy must have an attitude of sacrifice and work on developing inner strength.

Knowledge gives you inner strength. Inner strength brings forbearance in life and gives one the capacity to have a good conduct with others. That is why Gyan (knowledge), Gaan (music) and Dhyan (meditation) are very important in life.

Q: I have been doing Sudarshan Kriya for the past four years. I also studied hard for my pre university college. In spite of this, I did not get into the college and the course that I wanted. I have lost all hopes. I have gotten a seat in Computer Science and Engineering.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Computer Science is a good branch. Do it.

Don't worry, whichever course you get, got for it. Your life will be good. Got it?

Many students like you get dejected if they don't get good marks or a seat in a good college and are committing suicide. Never do that. Never underestimate your own life. Your life is most precious. You never know what talents are hidden within you. You may become a big minister or a businessman. There are all kinds of possibilities.

From today, before you eat your food, say, ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’. Let the farmers who provide us food be happy. Let the merchants who ensure that the food is supplied to us be happy. Thirdly, let the women of the house, who cook and serve food to us, be happy.

A vegetable pushcart vendor in Mumbai, Ramnath Goenka, opened one of the biggest publications in India. So, you should not be sad. If you have got Computer Science, go for it. Our country has already improved a lot and will improve further in the field of Computer Science.

Q: How is the India that you visualize in your dreams, especially in the field of education, defense, economy and finance?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I have the dream of a clean and beautiful society, where there is no crime.

Small countries like Bhutan, Switzerland and Ireland have so much peace. At one point of time, India had all these.

Lord Macaulay had said, ‘I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values.’

Ours was such a glorious country. We need to restore our country back to the same state.

Q: A few days ago, you said that we should not give bribe to God to get anything from him. In Hinduism, we do Mannat, wherein we pray to God for something and in return we give him something. Is this justified?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Doing Mannats are for your own sake. God’s grace is unconditional (Ahetu Ki Kripa). God gives things to you unconditionally.

These are just practices. They don’t have any basis in the scriptures. If you do good seva, it gives you good merit, and merit brings you happiness.

Q: Swami Nithyananda spoiled the Hindu culture and ever since people are skeptical to enter Ashrams. Why did the Divine allow him to do such a sin? I am very pained when it comes to this.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is nothing new. This is a tradition that has been going on. In the Ramayan, Sita was also misled by a Sannyasi (Saint). Ravana knew that Sita would believe him if he disguised himself as a Sannyasi.

The Vijayanagar Empire was also destroyed by an enemy disguised as a Saint. He killed the king in a day. An empire that had hundreds and thousands of elephants and soldiers was destroyed in a day. That is because Saints had free access.

There will always be such people in every field.

Today, you are seeing all such happenings on Television. Teachers are misbehaving with the girl children in the classroom. How will parents get the confidence to send their children to school?

In a hospital, a doctor raped a patient. This shows that there is such a dire need of spiritual, ethical and moral awakening in the country.

We have moved too much towards leftism. In the name of secularism, all the values in our country have been thrown away. We need to create a Dharmic (Righteous) society again. Otherwise you are seeing what is happening. Schools, colleges and hospitals have become unsafe.

In our country, teachers and doctors were given a lot of respect. Vaidyo Narayano Harih - A doctor was considered an avatar of Lord Narayana. Nrupo Narayana – the King was considered to be God. God was permeating everywhere. It was a Godly society. But now fear permeates everywhere. People are afraid to send their children to school. People are afraid to go to doctors. They charge you and discharge you.

Many times they say, 'Operation successful', but the patient dies.

Never underestimate your life. Your life is most precious. You never know what talents are hidden within you. You may become a big minister or a businessman. There are all kinds of possibilities.

The root cause of this is the lack of spiritual knowledge. That is why all of you should become teachers and Sadhaks (seeker on the spiritual path), and make more and more people Sadhaks as well, then we will definitely be able to bring transformation.

Two hundred and forty terrorists have dropped their arms and have come here to the Ashram to begin a new life. Each of their lives is a very interesting story. We can write a novel about each of them.

Q: What is the simple path for Self-realization?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditation; introspection on ‘Who am I?’, and by knowing what you are not.

Q: People say that committing suicide is a sin, but isn’t Gandhian methods of fast-unto-death a sin?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Any form of suicide is wrong. I am not in favor of it. I don’t agree that one should die fasting.

5 secrets on how to be happy

We are in an age of technology. Technology has shrunk the globe into a village. We are in a global village. I would want to see it as a Global Family. This is my dream, to see the world as a One World Family.

It is so fortunate that this world has so many diverse cultures, traditions, languages and religions. Do you know what intelligent people do? They always celebrate the differences and the diversity. And the foolish fight and create wars.

Isn’t it? What we want to do in the world is to educate people. The reason why people are so ignorant and stupid is because they have had no opportunity to expand their vision. The goal of The Art of Living is to provide such a broad vision to life; to turn every tear into a smile, anger into compassion, and hatred into unconditional love.
Let us all join hands to see such a world – a world free from violence, disease, sadness and poverty!

In anger we say, ‘I give up’.
Without frustration or anger,
say, ‘I give this problem up,
I cannot solve it, let the
Divine help me’, and know
that you will always be
helped. Have the confidence
that you will be helped.

First, we need to dream big. When I was in school, when I was a boy – even now I am a child only – I used to tell all my friends that my family is all over the globe. They would come to my mother and ask if we had a family in London, in Germany, in France, in America, and my mother would reply, ‘No’. She would pull my ear and ask, ‘Why do you tell lies?’
My mother would say, ‘He never tells lies, but this is the one thing he keeps saying, that he has relatives and family all over the world and that he knows people from all over the world.’
I used to tell my friends, ‘What do you want? Stamps or coins or currencies? I will send it to you, don’t worry. I have everybody all over the world.’
Why I said this is that deep inside all of us, there is a spirit that connects everyone.

Every human being is born with joy, enthusiasm, love and wisdom. But as we grow up, somewhere we tend to lose it. We should not lose it. We should maintain this gift that we all have received.
Okay, if we have lost it, we should regain it. And how do you regain it? By broadening your vision, and creating a sense of belongingness with everyone around you.

This is my second visit to Bulgaria. I already see a lot of changes here. Infrastructure is coming up, the economy has become better than before; it could be even better. At the same time, I would say that you have your deep roots, thousands of years of culture and tradition. Don’t lose that. The youth should maintain their roots and broaden their vision. So, that is the reason we said that we are going to put together a big bagpipers performance today. The purpose of this is to encourage the old traditions and the culture.

I would also like to mention that some of the Bulgarian singers and dancers also visited India and we had their performances in India as well.

So, we need to bring people together. This is wisdom. A violence-free society, disease-free body, confusion-free mind, inhibition-free intellect, sorrow-free soul, trauma-free memory and a stress-free life is the birth right of everybody. This is what The Art of Living and all its volunteers are working towards. I am so happy and I congratulate them, there are hundreds of volunteers here who are tirelessly working day and night to bring smiles on the faces of people.

So, I will give you just 5 points or 5 secrets on how to be happy.
Once a wise man drew a line and told his student to make the line shorter without touching or erasing it. How would you do it?
You have to shorten a line without touching it.
An intelligent student then drew a much longer line underneath that line. So, the line automatically became shorter. The lesson here is that if your difficulties appear to be very big, lift your eyes because you are only focused on yourself. If you lift your eyes up and look at those who are in a worse condition than you, you will suddenly feel that your burden is not as bad as you thought it was.
If you think you have some big problem, look at people who have greater problems. Suddenly, you will get the confidence that my problem is much smaller, and I can manage it.
So, the first point on how to be happy is to see the world where there are greater and bigger problems. Then, your problems will appear smaller. The moment your problems appear smaller, you will get the energy and confidence to deal with it or solve it. In simple words, serve those who are in greater need.

Second, look at your own life. In the past, you had many problems. They have all come and gone. Know that even this will go and you have the energy and power to overcome it. You will get self-confidence by understanding and looking at your own past.

Third, and most important, do some breathing exercise and relaxation.

Fourth, you know, in anger we say, ‘I give up’. Without frustration or anger, say, ‘I give this problem up, I cannot solve it, let the Divine help me’, and know that you will always be helped. Have the confidence that you will be helped; a power in the universe is going to help you.

The fifth one – what do you think is the fifth one? I leave it to you. You think about the fifth one. I can go on up to 25 or 30 points, but I would like you to come up with it. We are always looking for solutions from someone else. We forget that if we turn our mind inward, we can get some ideas, some solutions. This is the fifth one – Spontaneity! Be spontaneous. Spontaneity will come when you take a few minutes to go deep within yourself. There is nothing great in smiling when everything is normal, and when everything is going the way you want. But if you awaken the valor inside of you, and say, ‘Come what may, I am going to keep smiling’, you will notice tremendous energy just rises from within you. And the problems are like nothing; they just come and disappear.

I would also like to mention that our volunteers have done such good work in all the prisons in Bulgaria. After doing the course, the whole lives of hundreds and hundreds of people who are in prisons have changed. That is so nice!
This is what intelligence is. Intelligence is bringing out the good even from within one who is a criminal. Within the worst criminal there is something nice inside; there are some good qualities. We need to bring those out. That needs intelligence. To condemn somebody does not need much intelligence, but bringing out compassion from those who have been condemned needs some work; and I really congratulate all our volunteers and teachers who have, without any selfish motives, gone to the prisons with just one wish – to bring back human values in their lives.

The foolish people try to paint everybody as demons and ‘bad’, even for pious persons. People say everybody is bad. The whole world is bad. That is so unfortunate; it is not good company. Last week, when I was in Canada, a couple came to me; they were all in tears. Their teenage son had committed suicide. In the suicide note, he had written that the whole world is bad; it is not worth living. Good people have got no place on this planet. All evil and bad people have taken the reins.

How much pain that youth must have experienced, because everyone tells you how everyone else is so bad. That is not good company. Even inside a bad person, there is a good person hiding that has to come up. When the goodness comes up, the negativity automatically disappears.

Intelligence is bringing out the
good even from within one who
is a criminal. Within the worst
criminal there are some good
qualities. The foolish people try
to paint everybody as bad.

Q: What do we do when we don’t enjoy our work anymore?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You should work for making a living. But for joy, you should do some service. Engage yourself in any social service. You will find that it brings you contentment and happiness. I knew this question was coming, so I said that there is joy in giving. Find the joy in giving rather than taking.

Q: How do we maintain a good relationship with our children in today’s fast times?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We have designed a course for that. It is called KYC – Know Your Child and KYT – Know Your Teen. It is just for two hours per day, for two days. You will get many beautiful ideas in this course. It has become so popular all over because it is very effective.
Our relationship with our children changes and the way they respond to you also changes.

Karma is very interesting and very strange

July 12, 2012; Bad Antogast, Germany

Q: Guruji, please give us Gyaan (knowledge)? 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: For that you have to ask questions. Knowledge means you have to pull it out.

Q: What happens after death?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: What happens after death is the mind gets freed from the body, the spirit. The mind has memory and intelligence, so these two things become like a balloon. The karma, the deepest impressions form a balloon. It is like in sleep.
Death is nothing but a long sleep. Before going to sleep, see the last thought that you get, and as soon as you wake up, see what is the first thought that comes. Have you noticed? It will variably be the same though. 

Love is indescribable. You
can’t describe it. And there
is not a creature on this
planet which doesn’t know
it. Wherever there is a force,
or there is energy, or a pull,
or attraction, you call it love.
And where there is repulsion
that is also love in the opposite
direction.

So the physical body decays and the pranic body with all the impressions forms a balloon and leaves the body and hangs around.
Don’t imagine a balloon hanging around! It is a light; an energy.

I will give you the best example. In a television station, they conduct a program and then they transmit it through the dish and the program remains in the atmosphere – it is the same way.
When you send an email from the computer, you type all the letters and then you press the send button. What happens? It goes into the space. Does your email remain in the space till it is downloaded? Even after several days you can download your email. Even one year later or ten years later you can download an email. There is no expiry date, isn’t that so. It is not like those greeting cards which sometimes people send you that expire in 24 hours.
The messages or letters you send don’t hang as letters in the space, it remains in the space as energy.
Like that every soul is a particular frequency and every thumb is different because a thumb is like a particular cell phone chip.

So after death, every individual energy stays, and the impressions it has taken, accordingly to that it experiences those stages there. But then after sometime that soul comes back.
The soul enters the body at three times – this is all a secret. It is called the birth secret and death secret.
So the soul enters at the moment of conception, or it enters in the fifth month, or at the time of birth. So the three sections are there, but there is no way to determine when it enters.
So if at conception time it comes then what one should do to care for that?
Keep yourself happy. Usually pregnant women are kept very happy in India. Whatever she wants is provided to her.
I would say, don’t watch all these violent movies, and scary songs, and scary things. Generally light flute music would be good because it is soothing. It is good to listen to music, knowledge and wisdom. All these things would be preferable.
The soul also chooses where to be born, the place to come. According to its wish it will just come there.

Q: What is love?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The basis of all existence.
All the cells in your body love each other, that is why they are together. The day they stop loving each other, it all disintegrates. Got it?
If there is one substances by which everything is held together and you want to give it a name, you can call it love. Love is not all wiggly wiggly and mushy mushy, ‘Oh I can’t live without you, I love you so much’, and so on. It is not that. That is just an emotional something. Love means (silence)… that is it.
Love is indescribable. You can’t describe it. And there is not a creature on this planet which doesn’t know it. Got it?
From the sea to the birds, from a chicken to an enlightened person, everybody has experienced love. Love for life is what we think it is, but life itself is love. So see through this knowledge that this whole universe is love.
Love is an existence not just an emotion. Emotion is also love, but the existence itself is love.
The Earth loves the Sun that is why it keeps going around the sun. The Moon loves Earth that is why the Moon goes around the Earth. Wherever there is a force or there is energy or a pull or attraction, you call it love. And where there is repulsion that is also love in the opposite direction. Got it?
You are drawn to somebody or something, why? Because you love it.
You see a cheese cake and you are drawn to it, why? There is a pull.
You see a beautiful girl or a girl sees a beautiful boy, there is a pull, and what do you call that? You call it love! Why? It is because there is a pull, there is an attraction, there is a force. And that force is what manages the whole universe.
Some places it is more obvious and some other places, it is not obvious. The day the Earth stops loving you, you will start flying. The Earth loves you so much that the gravitational force keeps you glued to the earth. Did you get it?
So love is that force in human life. And all the negative emotions are also a distorted form of love only.
In anger there is love. Ask me how? You love perfection and that is why you get angry. Greed is love. Greed is when you love something much more than life. When you love objects more than life, it is called greed. Hatred is love upside down. Fear is love upside down.

On bad days don’t go down
and on good days don’t just
go off the roof. Maintain your
equanimity and your dignity.
This is what knowledge
teaches you.

Q: Guruji, my mother passed away on Christmas. Is there any special meaning to this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, do you know around the world, many people die on Christmas day or New Year day. Death knows no dates. Got it?
So, you feel uncomfortable because she died on that day which you celebrate. But another way of looking at it is – on that day she became bigger. She got over here suffering, her sickness from being in the body. She got liberated. So that is a good thing for her. It is a Christmas gift to her from nature, from God. Think that way, then your mind will be at peace and you can celebrate Christmas.
She got liberated on Christmas day. And on Christmas day she ascended. Isn’t this a better way to see? So celebrate her liberation and her freedom.

Q: What to do if people around me are always very negative? I have a friend who is extremely negative about everything and with time he seems to be getting worse.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, if someone goes to that extent of being totally negative, it is not easy for a human being. It is almost inhuman to be that negative. And when he has gone so far, there is no way for him to go any further, he will have to come back because everything is cyclic. Got it?
When you go to the rock bottom, there is no way you can go further down. You have to come up. And that is what he said. He has gotten so bad that now he has to come back. And also to demonstrate that originally nobody is bad, it is only the action. The spirit is never bad. The spirit is always free and blissful.
Actions have a limited sphere and time. See if you do a bad act, you are not condemned forever. Even a punishment given to you is only for a few years or so. And even in those few years, you are treated well, isn’t it? A prisoner, whatever crime he has committed, is he treated badly? No, he is treated with compassion. The same thing was said in the Puranas – even a person who has gone to the highest level of crime, when he comes in contact with someone who is pure, someone who is so brilliant, someone who is full of positive energy then the influence of that positive energy is so powerful that it can bring light even to darkness.
See, in the darkest place a candle is good enough to bring light.

Q: (A member of the audience spontaneously asked a question and it was inaudible in the recording)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, see human life is mixture of pleasant and unpleasant days. You take the life of anyone including Sri Ram, Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, Mahavir or Guru Nanak. Take anyone in the history they all had some bad days while some days were good.
What is important is on bad days don’t go down and on good days don’t just go off the roof. Maintain your equanimity and your dignity. This is what knowledge teaches you. Yes, there are some bad days but if you have wisdom you will just sail through them and get over them. It does not affect you so much.

The law of karma is very interesting and very strange. If it has to rain, it will rain. But it is your choice whether to get wet or not. If you walk in the rain with a raincoat you will not get so wet, just a few drops will fall on your face. But if you walk without an umbrella you will be fully drenched and you will have to come and change your clothes. All this – sadhana, meditation, satsang, singing, knowledge, all these are umbrellas and raincoats.
So people say, ‘Oh, if you are having a bad time now, do hollow and empty meditation, do some Om Namah Shivayachanting and singing.’ You may feel some negativity in the mind but they just come and vanish. And when you go deeper into it, a time comes that they don’t touch you at all, and they don’t come anywhere close to you. That is enlightenment.

The law of karma is very
interesting and very strange.
If it has to rain, it will rain.
But it is your choice whether
to get wet or not. If you walk
in the rain with a raincoat you
will not get so wet.
Sadhana, meditation, satsang, 
singing, knowledge, all these 
are umbrellas and raincoats.

Q: What do you think about astrology?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is why I am saying this is a sort of lost science. Astrology is a science but not the astrologers. They just make things up. You must follow your intuition. You don’t have to worry too much about these things.
A general idea of it is okay. Like on a new moon or full moon day, the moon has an impact on your mind. How many of you have had this experience?
How many of you can’t sleep on the new moon or full moon day? Moon is very much linked to the mind. So it happens.
Just be watchful that is all, don’t be paranoid. There is big difference between being paranoid and just having an idea. Be watchful about it.

Q: Guruji, I read and hear a lot of knowledge, but almost immediately forget what I heard. What do I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t worry; I will keep talking to you. So even if you forget a hundred times, never mind, I have enough patience. I keep telling the same things.
Those who are talking to you are also in the same boat. Many people here, they say, but they too live from the other side. Never mind!
Have you ever heard Ashtavakra Gita? Forgotten, right?!
Have you heard the saying in that, ’Blessed are those who have forgotten.’ So you must belong to that.
There is one talk in Ashtavakra Gita where Ashtavakra says, ’Those who can forget everything are the blessed ones.’
So you seem to fall in that category. But this at least you don’t forget that you are blessed. Just this one thing if you can remember, ‘I am blessed.’

Q: Guruji, I have lost my intuition. What do I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are in the right place, no problem.
See, yesterday we were having a meeting upstairs in Krishna hall and suddenly I said that I want to go and see the basement. I have not been to the basement for probably more than a year now.
So I said that I want to go to the basement and so we all went to the basement. In the basement, I suddenly went to this room and asked, ‘Who is staying in this room?’
They said, ‘We don’t know, somebody is staying.’
So I said, ‘Open the door’, and so we opened the door and we found a candle burning there. The candle was almost finished and the flame was about to catch on to the bed and the cot. We would have had a fire there because the flame of the candle was all over. If we had gone ten minutes later, perhaps the bed would have caught fire. Somebody lit the candle and forgot. There was no business for me to go there to that room.
That is intuition. I felt I should go there and I opened that room only.

I would never go and open somebody’s room. But now you know anything is possible. I may just barge into anybody’s room.
So I barged into that room and we found that nobody was there of course and the candle was burning.
So intuition is something that everybody is born with and everybody has it. The more hollow and empty, the more meditative you are, it is very obvious then. Isn’t it?
So, don’t light candles in your room and then disappear from there, okay!

Q: Where is the world of spirit?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is not somewhere, it is here only.

Life has challenges, but wisdom equips you to face them

You should sing, dance and dwell in knowledge. Knowledge does not mean simply information, like you read books and get some information. That is not knowledge.

Knowledge is experiencing the reality the way it is. When knowledge becomes very strongly embedded in our consciousness, it is called wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge very well lodged in our self. That makes you wise.

Everybody has wisdom. Some may have a little and some may have more. It is only a matter of time that life takes you from a little wisdom to more wisdom.

Words appear very futile. Still, we use it sometimes since we need to use it. You go to a hospital and ask someone ‘How are you?’ You know they are not well, still you ask them, ‘How are you?’ And they say, ‘Fine’. They know they are not fine, still they say, ‘Fine’.

Similarly, I see you are all so happy and still I ask you, ‘How are you?’ I can see that there is so much happiness and radiance on your faces. It is just to engage on another level of communication.

The wise communicate first from the heart, from the being, and then engage in the outer level of communication, just to keep in touch. The ignorant rely on the outer communication. Between a mother and a child, whatever the child says is immaterial, because the child has not even learnt the language. But the mother communicates to the child from a deeper level.

Even before you learnt a language, you started communicating with your mother, and your mother started communicating with you. This is a deeper level of communication.

Similarly, when you communicate with your dogs or cats, you are doing it from a very subtle level, from a deeper level. It is not language. Later on, you try so much to put some language into its brain. They don’t require language. You just make a sound and they will come to you. You don’t have to say, ‘Come, come, come.’ Simply make any sound and they will come.

They don’t relate to you with language.

Similarly, the entire creation is relating to you; the trees, the breeze; all the creatures are communicating with you. There is a certain communication happening at a very subtle level, at a deeper level.

There is an old Sanskrit proverb that says, ’Vacarambhanarh Vikaro Naamadheya’, which means that words are a distortion of truth. There is already a communication that is happening. Through words you are distorting it a little bit.

I don’t mean that words should not be used. They are necessary. But underneath the words, there is that feeling that needs to be there. You can tell someone, ‘I love you so much!’ But underneath the words there should be that feeling. Don’t just say, ‘Oh, I love you so much’, on the surface level.

So, the wise always communicate on the subtle, and then they use words just to complement that. But the unwise rely only on the external communication. That is why misunderstandings crop up in life.

Why are there misunderstandings? It is because there is no inner connectivity. You say something and some others understand it differently.

You look back and see in your own life. You were judging, judging and judging. Thinking bad about that person and this person, and the anger was so intense. After some time, after a few months or a year later, you started laughing at yourself, ‘Oh, why did I worry so much! This was all nonsense. I was bothering myself unnecessarily.’

You should turn back and see. Then you will realize. Many times, we don’t even turn back and look.

The other day, a lady came to me saying, ‘Oh, my relationship is going very badly, and my boyfriend is so angry that he is leaving me and I am so upset’. She was crying and crying.

The same lady, after two months said, ‘Oh, it is good that it is finished. I was so blind. I was trapped by this guy. Now the relationship is not there anymore and I am happy’.

So, many times we don’t even know what we want, and what blessings we are asking for. That is why, time and again, not all the time; you must turn back and examine where the mind was and how it is moving.

Time and again, if you turn back and examine your mind, you will feel such a satisfaction and relief. One is a relief that you have learnt something from the past, and second, whatever happened has happened for some reason. It has made you richer, wiser and given you some depth. At least this understanding comes up in you.

What do you say? How many of you feel this way?

If we don’t turn back and look every once in a while at the events that have passed, we continue to make the same mistakes and we don’t learn.

In the Jain tradition, they say ‘Pratikraman’, which means going back, erasing those karmas and learning from it to move forward.

The Jain saints sit for hours together every day and introspect. In fact, they don’t need to do so much because they don’t do much.

Who should do it all the more are those who are engaged in a lot work and activity. They should sit for at least ten minutes a day and look back and see - what did I do? What did I learn in my life? How was today? What can I learn from what has happened?

Again, you don’t have to latch on to what you have learnt or hold on to it. Sometimes what you think you have learnt may not be correct at all. That is why being hollow and empty is so important. It breaks all the concepts and makes you free.

Q: Dear Guruji, is it good to donate our blood?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, it is good to donate. In 24 hours you can recuperate. Your body is a blood making machine. Donating blood will save lives.

Q: Dear Guruji, can you please speak about the palm leaf Nadi reading?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: In ancient India, the Rishis used to have schools or universities in which they used to train psychics. Psychic means the one who can see into the future.

So, people would stay for twelve or thirteen years and meditate, go deep within and then the master would give them a task. He would say, ‘In 2015, on this particular day, at this particular minute, somebody will be born. Astrologically, you calculate and predict how their life will be.’

It involves two things – astrological calculation and an insight into space and time. So, this is what they used to do. However, since these were written by the students, it need not be hundred percent true. Students can make mistakes. They will be seventy to eighty percent correct. Some will not come true in the future too. That is a possibility.

Second thing is that they can only give you a possibility, saying this may happen. If you are a meditator and if you are on the path of spiritual knowledge, you keep changing your destiny, since you are bringing more positivity into your life.

I want to tell you what happened on the third of this month (April 2012). A monk from China had come. He is known as a very big clairvoyant. Two to three thousand people go to him every day. He called one of our organizers when I was in Indonesia and he said that he wanted to come and take blessings from Guruji. He said, ‘For enlightenment, there is no bar of any religion. I am a Buddhist, but it doesn’t matter. I know Guruji has come to this world and a lot of people will get benefited. I want to take his blessings. He has come after a long, long time; several thousand years. His blessing is something that I definitely need.’

He is a very nice person, a very nice soul. He just came, silently sat for some time, took blessings and went back on the next flight. One of the devotees, who was very inquisitive said, ‘You should predict and tell us what is going to happen with The Art of Living and Guruji’.

He said, ‘No, I cannot predict. I cannot predict about someone who is free. I can only predict if the mind is caught up. I cannot predict about one who has no mind’.

I also thought let me also hear what is going to happen.

He said, ‘Where there is no mind, there is only space, I cannot predict. Guruji is just space, I cannot predict him’.

If you chant, meditate and do pranayama, your free will increases, your freedom increases. You are not bound by certain events in life. They say, ‘You may come across these problems, so take precaution.’ It is like a doctor who says, ‘You have high cholesterol, you should take care and work out’. Similarly, if you have diabetes, you should be careful.

Their predictions are according to what medical problems you have, and they give you some remedies – if you do these things, you will have no problem.

In the same way, astrologers also say, ‘Oh, you are going to have Jupiter come into the eighth house and so your mind will go topsy turvy. All the faith will go. You will have no confidence in yourself, no faith in anybody, no faith in the work you do and you will be worried. This will continue for one whole year, but it will be too much during these four to five months. So, do your meditation, pranayama, prayers regularly and you can pass that stage. Also, don’t take any decisions at this time’.

So, these are little predictions about the tendencies of the mind and how it goes.

Q: My question is, how do I know what am I on the planet for? What kind of job should I do? I feel so confused sometimes. I have a lot of talents but then I feel so insecure of my capabilities. Now I am thinking, ‘Who is asking this question?’ Again, I don’t know.

I am fed up with this not knowing.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Now, if I answer something, you will also wonder, ‘Who is listening?’

Don’t go on examining yourself too much. This can become an obsession. All the time thinking, ‘Who is asking? Who is witnessing? If I am witnessing then who is this I? Who is speaking?’

This self-enquiry is good. Self-enquiry is needed, but if it is over done, it can leave you in a lot of unnecessary confusion and restlessness. It should only be done when you sit in the course, or when you take some time off. Then, you can ask, ‘Who am I? What is this universe?’

Self-enquiry cannot go on for 24 hours. Otherwise you will not be able to function at all in the world, or do any work.

It is like bathing. You cannot take a shower for 24 hours. Then you will have to be a fish in the water! So, if you keep on enquiring and examining yourself at every step, you will be like a fish out of water.

Do your work. What work you do is not important. You do any work because you have to sustain your life. For sustenance of your life do any work, whatever work that pays well.

Now, you must know that work is separate, your seva (service) is separate and your entertainment or hobby is separate. If you try to make all of them into one, it will be a challenge. If you want to make your work a hobby, that is what many people do and they get fired!

If you want to make your entertainment as your work, then you cannot make enough money, and all the time you will be in a sense of lack. You will feel the dearth for money. So, you must have the decision and discrimination.

When you have responsibilities in life, you have a family to take care, children to take care, choose a job, which is stable and which gives you enough money and time. Once that is done, don’t think about it again. But if you find something better, you can go for that, no problem.

Then, take some time off and do social work. If you are spending your whole life in just earning your bread and butter, life will be so meaningless, so worthless.

What will you do? Earn, earn, earn and then you buy an Audi or a Benz car. Then you make a house and buy jewelry and that is it! This will not give you satisfaction. Take some time off and do some social work. Come and be a part of The Art of Living family.

Alone, you cannot accomplish much. Ten or fifteen of you make a group and take a project. There are children who need your help. If you cannot give time, keep a box at home and put a few Euros, whatever you can, in it. That can support a social cause. So many people from Germany and other countries in Europe are supporting schools. We are running 185 schools in India now. Around 25,000 kids are getting good food, good education, and medical help because of people donating one Euro a day.

Like that, you engage in some social activity. That gives you some satisfaction, ‘Oh, I am supporting this cause. I am part of a project.’

If you can run one project, it is good. If you can’t run, you can at least be a part of it. You can be a brick in the building. Contribute towards one brick. That will bring you satisfaction.

Then, take time off, like you have taken time off now (referring to the course participants) to meditate and uplift your spirit. When you go back, you feel fully charged. How many of you feel so charged when you go back? You have this experience.

At least twice a year, it is good to do a mental rejuvenation and rejuvenation of the spirit. It is very important.

You do this and after some time, forty, fifty or sixty years, retire and then come and go totally into knowledge. Then dedicate yourself to the cause of higher knowledge, higher wisdom or for social causes. Do some good work in society. And then life will be gone! One day you will be gone (snapping his fingers), you will not even know! Others will make arrangements to take the body away. Done! Finished!

One day, they will do a memorial service (folding his hands) saying, ‘May his soul rest in peace.’ You are already at peace by then! Their wish comes much later.

Once we leave the body after that we are at peace, then that is no fun. We have to be at peace while we are alive and be useful to people around us. What do you say? Isn’t it?

That is what wisdom is. Wisdom brings happiness to you now and here.

I don’t say, ‘You do something for ten days or ten years and then one day you will be happy.’

Is it that way? No.

We have two weapons – So Hum and So What. Everything changes. Everything is changing in the world. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends. This is what happens in this world. Doesn’t it happen?

People who say, ‘I cannot live without you’, later say, ‘I cannot stand you!’

This happens so often. Not once, but twice, thrice, four times.

There was a lady who was giving a seminar on how to make love work. That lady was divorced seven times! I said, ‘That lady is very much qualified because she has gained knowledge seven times on how it didn’t work and now she can share it!’

See, when we go in search of friends in the world, we find that we don’t get a good friend. But, when you search inside, make friends with your own higher self, with your inner spirit, you find that friendliness comes out of you naturally.

When you are friendly, the whole world becomes your friend. Everybody turns to you. Even your worst enemies become your friends in front of you. When they go away from you, they may think you are their enemy.

From your heart, you don’t encourage animosity with anybody. That is my policy. From my side, I have no enemies.

When I was a little kid, I learnt a Sanskrit verse from the Vedas, which says, ‘Ajatashatru ajaraswarvarti’. It means, ‘I will never become old because I am dwelling in myself.’

I was about ten or twelve years old. Out of ten thousand verses, this caught me.

If you dwell in yourself, you never age, but you remain. Aging means, getting tired, unenthusiastic, appearing as if everything is no good, hopeless; a negative commentary in the mind saying, ‘Oh, I know it all. I have seen it all’ – this sort of attitude. No freshness, no aliveness.

Ajara means not getting worn out or not becoming old. You know, there are old people who are so enthusiastic and so active.

I was in Taiwan and we had a big satsang with about 8000 people in the stadium. People were so happy. After that, when I came back to my place, an 80 year old gentleman came. He was all enthusiastic. He said, ‘This is so great! I want to do some work. I want to spread this knowledge. There are so many millions of people suffering from cancer and other diseases in Mainland China. Guruji, I want to take you to Mainland China. I will organize it and I will do this.’ He is above 80 years old and he is ready to travel anywhere. He looks fragile but his spirit is so high! He brought his friend along, who was of the same age. They said ‘We are your soldiers!’ They are seeing me for the first time.

Similarly, in Japan, an elderly man of about 78 years was so full of enthusiasm. He organized a talk for me and called many people. He didn’t say, ‘Oh, I am old, I cannot do anything.’ No, nothing of that sort, but instead he is so high spirited.

He declared, ‘The whole of Japan needs this knowledge.’ He is a very well accomplished gentleman.

Thirty thousand people commit suicide in Japan every year. It is huge. Today, what is needed is a wave of happiness. The GDP is quite high in Japan. You have to spend fifty dollars just in toll tax when you go from the airport to your home. Can you imagine? You make a trip twice and you have already spent two hundred dollars. You go to the airport to pick someone up and then drop them and you spend a hundred dollars. The distance is so much. Living is very expensive there. Americans find it very expensive to live in Japan. People earn money but there is no happiness.

It is not just Japan. Many countries in the world today are in this syndrome, no happiness. They don’t smile, they don’t laugh, and they are not at peace with themselves. We need to create a wave of happiness and that is possible only through wisdom, only through knowledge, only through expanding one’s vision about life. That is what The Art of Living is.

The Art of Living is not a dogma. It is not a set of concepts or just some practices. The Art of Living is expanding one’s vision towards life and making life a celebration. That is the main aim of The Art of Living.

There is a Sanskrit verse that says, ‘The real worship of God is to create happiness in the hearts of men’.

Yena Kena Prakarena Yasya Kasyaapi Dehinah,Santosham Janayet Praagya Tadeveshwarapujanam - Happiness in the hearts of people is the real worship of the divine.

What great wisdom, such nice words have been said in the past. That is why it is timeless wisdom.

You don’t even know who wrote it. They didn’t even put their signature, but they gave these gems for life. That is The Art of Living; honoring the ancient tradition, looking at the modern science in the future, and taking both of them together.

Science and spirituality are never in conflict. They go together. Religion and science have been in conflict since a long time, but not spirituality, the experiential part. That’s why I say that we should look with a scientific mind and an ancient heart; a new mind and a loving heart.

We need this. Don’t you think so?

The world is so interesting, I tell you! So, be in this world, enjoy this world yet not getting caught up or drowned in it. Keep yourself a little aloof. Keep yourself untouched by the external (events). Save your soul, save your mind, save your spirit and save your joy. Don’t let it get muddled up by the events in the world. Are you getting what I am saying?

Don’t let others or any events take away your freedom, take away your joy and your inner peace. This is The Art of Living.

It is a big task. It is a challenge. It is not too easy. I am not saying that it is very easy. It is not flowery-flowery, buttery-buttery, no! Life is not flowery, not buttery, I tell you. There are so many challenges, but the wisdom or knowledge equips you to face the challenges.

The difficulty is when you think life should not have challenges. Then challenges will appear much bigger to you. Life has challenges, but wisdom equips you to face them.

In relaxation there is God. Surrender and then relax.

Celebrating Silence blog: In relaxation there is God. Surrender and then relax.



Q: You are one but yet each one feels that you are connecting and talking to them. What Wi-Fi connection or system are you using to do this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, there is only one Sun, but it enters into every window totally.

Q: What are the effects of Gambling and what does it do to the mind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We should learn the lesson from the Mahabharata war.

Q: Guruji, every form is Shakti and every formless is Shiva, then what is the representation of breath?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is both a combination of Shiva and Shakti. The breath connects them both.

Q: Guruji, I am very grateful to be with you. Please tell me how did you choose me?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Because you are worthy!

Q: Guruji, please tell us how to make the relationship between India and Pakistan stronger. As a young individual what should I do? I think the rivalry should only be limited to cricket.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The friendship between India and Pakistan should increase. More and more people should meet each other from both the countries and tolerance should increase in both countries. Then the relationship will improve.

Q: Even after chanting the name of God, the mind is not contented and happy. What to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is why we have the Art of Living Course. When you will do Sudarshan Kriya then in the very first sitting itself you will experience so much of contentment and the mind becomes so peaceful. Just experience it.
That is why so many thousands of Muslim people have done the course in Pakistan, and then called me there. Why? Because they did Sudarshan Kriya and they felt connected. They started feeling good, they experienced completeness and a change happened in life. So you also do the Kriya.

Q: Guruji, what is the significance of Japa Mala?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know when someone is in love with somebody; they go on taking their name so many times. They write their name everywhere, on the stones, on the walls; have you noticed this? I know this boy who fell in love with this girl and he wrote the name of his girlfriend all around the room. All the four walls were filled with that. Why? That is Japa.
You know when someone writes a letter they write, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you’, so many times. Why? They should have written only once, that is enough. But no, the mind wants to repeat it. In the same way, if you are in love with the Divine and you say, ‘Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya’, and go on repeating that.

Q: Dear Guruji, can you speak on the seven chakras and the effect of the panchamahabhuta on each one of them.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The panchamahabhuta has effect on all the chakras. Stomach is connected with fire element; the swadhisthana chakra is connected with water element. The heart is connected with the air element, the throat with the ether element and the mooladhara chakra is connected with earth element.

Q: Dear Guruji, I have heard you saying that we should bring out our originality. I made a list of activities and I found that most of them are copied. How to make my activities absolutely original, like you.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just relax and be yourself. Go deep in meditation. Meditation is the source of creativity.

Q: People who are religious and who follow their dharma, why do bad thing happen to them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It happens, sometimes, but be patient for some time. It will be okay and you will move ahead in life.

Q: Guruji, there are many instances when the evil goes unpunished and the good goes unrewarded. Why?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It appears that evil goes unpunished and the good goes without reward. It just appears but not really. In the long run the good will always be rewarded and the evil will always be punished.

Q: Somebody in my family is about to die. What can they do at this point of time?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You chant for them and bless them.

Q: Guruji, I feel that I crave recognition constantly, how to drop this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First step is that you have already noticed that you are craving for recognition, and the second step is it will itself get dropped. It will happen.

Q: Even in your presence why is black magic still prevailing? Please get rid of this.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: All of you chant Om Namah Shivaya, and then no black magic will have any effect on you. Don't worry; everything will be all right.

Q: Guruji, when Mahmud of Ghazni attacked the Somnath temple in Gujarat, then the Pundit of the temple told everyone that Lord Shiva will help us and there is no need to fight. All the soldiers surrendered their weapons but even then they were defeated. So who is the ultimate God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, that was a wrong thing they did. Shiva is there but he tells everyone to do their dharma, to fight against injustice. Otherwise why should Shiva have a trishul in his own hand? You have seen, all the Gods and Goddesses have shastras (weapons) in their hands. Why should they have weapons? Because intention as well as action, both should go hand in hand.
So Lord Krishna was giving knowledge and yet he was having his Sudarshan Chakra also.
So God is only ultimate, because there is only one God.
This is what they asked me in Pakistan. They said, ‘Why are there so many idol worships?’
I said, ‘In India also we believe in only one God, but that one God is worshiped in so many forms and so many ways.’
So it is one God who comes in many uniforms. God is not in the military; in the military they always wear the same type of dress. Our God comes in all the names and all the forms, but it is only one Divinity.
So just one idol, one Shiva Linga, or one Shaligram is good enough. In your temples you don’t keep so many idols, they all are just symbols of the one Divine.
Originally in the Hindu tradition the Pooja was done only for the fire and the Kalash, this is how it started. But when the Jain religion came and when they put idols and did such wonderful worship to the idols, the Hindus also felt that we should also do something. Then the Hindus started making different idols. Before there was only one Shiva Linga, that’s all!

Q: I am stuck between God and the world. How to step away from the world and attain God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: God is not far from you. You just need to relax. In relaxation there is God. Surrender and then relax. When we know how to relax, before and after working, then one goes into deep meditation and the connection with the Divine is established.