Foolish people are there to make you skillful

March 05, 2012

Q: Dear Guruji, in the Bhagvad Gita, Krishna says, ‘Bow down to me, I will free you. Follow Me!’ and a common man is also caught up in the ‘me’ and ‘mine’! So how is Krishna different from us? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: One is the person who is capable of taking the sins saying, ‘You give it to me.’
Another is someone who is incapable of taking anything and saying ‘Me.’
There is a difference.
When a doctor comes and says, ‘You have fever? I will take care of you’. It is a different issue.
But someone who has no knowledge of medicine, if they say, ‘I will take care of you,’ has no meaning.
So the space from which Krishna says, ‘Me’, that me is not the body.
That is why Krishna himself has said, ‘Avajananti Mam Mudha Manusim Tanum Asritam; Param Bhavam Ajananto Mama Bhuta-Maheshvaram’.
The ‘Me’ in me is a very different me, and not knowing that transcendental nature of mine, people think I am just a human body and mind.
So that is the difference.
Even when Arjuna asked Krishna to repeat Bhagvad Gita again after the war was over, he said, ‘No, I cannot. That moment I was in a Samadhi; in a different state of consciousness and so I said it. Now I cannot repeat it.’

Q: Guruji, what is the difference between a thought and intention? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Intention is also a thought, a stronger thought or a resolved thought. So many thoughts come and float around but some thoughts are resolved. Those resolute thoughts we call intentions.

Q: How to utilize this life properly? I feel like I have wasted twenty seven years of my life. I want to be useful now.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, it is a very good realization. You want to be useful, that is a very good intention.
So first the realization comes, ‘I have wasted’, and then the resolution comes, ‘I want to be useful’, and then nothing stops you. Go ahead, it is very good.
But there is no point in regretting the past. You should not sit and keep regretting. Move on in the future because you have learnt something very valuable to life in the past through all the mistakes.

Q: In Kena Upanishad, it is said that those who worship ignorance, they go to hell. And those who worship knowledge, they go to a darker hell. Please elaborate on this. 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are two types of knowledge, Vidya and Avidya.
Avidya does not mean ignorance; it means the knowledge of the relative.
Vidya means the knowledge of the absolute.
If one catches only the knowledge of the absolute, he will go to hell. If one catches only the knowledge of the relative, he will also go to hell.
That is what it says, ‘They will go to deeper darkness.’
It is like body and mind. If you are thinking only about the mind and ignore the body, then you will be in trouble. Similarly, if you are thinking only of the body and not attending to the mind, then also you will not be complete. Body and mind is a complex and they go together. That is life.
So it is perfect what has been said.

Q: Guruji, how can we maintain our innocence and yet be skilful. This seems very difficult these days. 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is the whole secret, to be skilful and be innocent as well.
You know, devotion will help. When you have the devotion and the faith that there is a power which is in control then your innocence remains intact.
Even for a few moments if this awareness comes that the whole universe is ruled by some orderliness, something is governing this universe then you don’t think that you are too smart and you will come back to your innocence.
And when you are focused on work, as a by-product of it, naturally you will be skilful.
You can’t say all the time, ‘There is some power that will take care of me.’
When you have to take a proper train or bus, then you have to buy a proper ticket. If you don’t buy the right ticket and just sit thinking, ‘Oh! Someone will take care’, then the police will come and take care of you. They will find out why are you traveling without a ticket!
So that is where life is a combination of skillfulness and universal awareness.

Q: How is laziness different from the yoga of non-action? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, laziness just makes you dull. It makes you heavy. Laziness doesn’t bring you energy, happiness or dynamism.
Yoga of non-action brings lot of energy and enthusiasm. Even before you intend to do something, things are already happening and that is called Naishkarmya Siddhi.
Before you even act, you just intend and it is already done. That is a higher state. When you get into that state you won’t even get this question, whether this is laziness or not. This question even does not arise.

Q: Dear Guruji, please tell me how can I maintain individuality in a group without it being seen as ego? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just be natural. Be considerate, be compassionate and learn team work.

Q: Dear Guruji, does the jeevatma experience anything after death? Can the jeevatma communicate with us? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes!
Jeevatma or the individual soul after death remains in a plane with all its deepest impressions till it finds another suitable body to come back and to get rid of all those impressions. And in the process of getting rid of all those impressions, it collects more impressions and then goes back, and the cycle continues. That is why to break this cycle – yoga, meditation, devotion, all these are the ways.
Contentment is essential, deep contentment brings liberation.

Q: Guruji, you tell us to seek mukti (liberation) in life. How can I seek something without tasting it? Isn’t it just blind faith? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, don’t you want freedom? A sort of inner freedom where you feel so content and happy. That is mukti.
You know it somewhere deep inside, but what clouds it is one desire after another and so on. One desire gets fulfilled and another desire comes. So your spirit gets covered by requirements and desires and you will keep going round and round in circles, and you don’t realize that there is something much deeper inside.

Q: Guruji, I did my advance course last week and I am feeling energetic right now. But as soon as I join my office back again, I lose my temper due to my boss. Either tell me how to get rid of my temper or please get rid of my boss. 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Both are there for a reason.
Observe how the irritation begins when your boss behaves the way he behaves.
What happens? If inside something starts boiling up then take a deep breath in, and instead of focusing on your boss, focus on the sensations in your body.
Work on yourself, you can become more skilful.
All foolish and stupid people are there in the world to make you skilful. They bring out the skills within you. How to handle them, how to behave, all these skills come out of you.

Q: Dear Guruji, how can I know if it is the right time to separate from someone? I have been struggling with one relationship for almost five years now. It has become one of the biggest struggles of my life. 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, I can’t advice you on this because I have no experience of separation from anybody.
I would say, ask yourself, have you given 100% to your relationship. If you feel that you haven’t, then give it and try. If it doesn’t work and if it has only been a struggle in hope of getting some pleasure or some joy, it is better you move your way. Don’t waste your life, move on.
There are so many things to do in life besides a relationship, so don’t get stuck.

Q: Guruji, we in this life or some other lifetimes have done some bad karma either by thoughts, words or deeds. Which karma can be erased and which ones do we have to suffer for? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t sit and analyse these things, just move on in life. You never know.
Even in the Bhagavad Gita it is said, ’Gahana Karmano Gatih’, even the greatest man on earth is confused on which karma does what. So, best is to surrender all the karma.
Drop thinking about all the karmas and do your dharma and move on.
If you do your dharma, automatically those karmas which can be erased will get erased.
Of course sadhana definitely erases some bad karma and for some karma we will have to go through it. There is no choice or option; you have to go through it.

Q: Guruji, amongst the politicians of this time, some are good but they are very few in number. Can you open some good schools and colleges where they can be trained to become better politicians? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, in our university in Orissa, we are opening a college of ’Good Governance’.
This college of Good Governance that we are starting is to train people for all the different leadership positions in society, like the Gram Panchayat, Bloc Presidents, District President, Zila Adhyaksha.
All those who stand in the elections for Nagar Nigam and Nagar Palika will qualify from the university we are opening up. The work has already started.
These days anybody becomes part of the Gram Panchayat, regardless of whether they know what their responsibilities are or not. Many of them don’t know their responsibilities, or what the work involves or how to conduct themselves.
I am thinking on similar lines for journalists and lawyers. Training them on how to conduct themselves is very important.
See what is happening in Bangalore these days. Lawyers behave in one way, the media in another way and the journalists in completely different way and everything combined are making simple problems all the more complex. To solve this complex problem, attention needs to be drawn to individual behaviour.
That is why it is said in the Gita, 'Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt’, even a little bit of dharma, a little bit of knowledge is good enough. If one takes a single step towards this direction it is assured that he will be rid of all his fears. He will not fear even the greatest terror. This is what Lord Krishna has said in the Bhagvad Gita.

Q: Guruji, I am a student and I feel that I should study more. Yesterday, you asked us to drop our desire to want more and more. What to drop and for what should I put in more effort? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: For a student I will say you should study more.
This I said for the adults, to drop their desire to have more of happiness in life. But when it comes to knowledge, sadhana and seva, for that you can desire for more, that is no problem.

Q: Guruji, my elder brother got married a few years back. Now, he says just like how the TV is controlled by a remote, similarly a wife is controlled by currency notes. These days, to maintain a wife has become a costly affair. What is the remedy for this? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Listen, you will have to do it. There is no way out. If the maintenance cost is high then put in more effort.

Q: Guruji, I love you a lot. But whenever I come in front of you, tears start rolling down my eyes. Is there something wrong with me? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, it is absolutely fine. There is nothing wrong with tears rolling down your eyes. It is very natural and good. There is no problem with it.
When the heart blossoms then tears come, this is very natural.
What happens when you come close to one who is dear to you, close to the Guru?
There is a shloka in the Upanishads which says, 'Bhidhyathe hridaya granthi, Chidhyanthe sarva samshayaah, Ksheeyanthe cha asya karmaani, Tasmin drista paraavare’
The knots in the hearts are undone, questions and doubts in the mind vanish, karmas are washed away, by being the presence of a loved one or a Guru or a Gyaani.
This has been said. This means what is written in the Upanishad is true!

Q: Guruji, we have heard that there are some enlightened beings present in this world to help people, just like you help us. But they prefer to stay away from people. Are such people present today as well? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There could be some people like that, some sadhaks who keep doing sadhana. And some feel, ‘why should I get caught up, what is the need ’, they think like that.
There are all kinds of people in the world. There aren’t just one or two great people in the world, but plenty in number.
But that does not mean that those who live in the jungles are superior to those who live in cities.

Q: Guruji, you always say, ‘choice is yours and blessing is mine’. But all troubles lie in making a choice. How to make the right choice? Is there any formula or does it come with the blessings? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Time will tell you what the right choice is. A little while after choosing you will get to know whether you made the right choice or not.
Why do you leave everything for me do? You also do something.

Q: Guruji, when I see certain men I get very fearful. Sometimes the fear I experience is intolerable. What do I do? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is quite natural for a lady to feel this way, and especially if you are alone and you find some really not right intended men around, you should feel afraid, naturally.
Good, that keeps you safe as you would not go there alone.
The society is not yet that refined and that sattvik that everybody is good. One should be scared of people who are not very good and without good intentions, that’s fine!
Crime against women is so much today, all over the world. This has to go.
Only through a wave of spirituality can we change this situation.

Q: Parmahansa Yoganadaji initiated people into something called Kriya Yoga. I always wanted to know if Sudarshan Kriya is different from Kriya Yoga and how? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, Kriya Yoga is meditating on different chakras. Similar to what we do in ‘Hari Om’ meditation. But Sudarshan Kriya is completely different. In Sudarshan Kriya, the breath, rhythm of the soul, rhythm of the mind and rhythm of the spirit, all this is involved. So that gives you a deeper experience, and it helps one to go deep in meditation.
Only when you do it, you will understand.

Q: The policies that the government is making these days is taking away the values from the society at a very fast pace. To work to understand these policies and fight for the right of the people takes a lot of time and can get one very involved. If I work towards this will it take me away from you? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No! Not at all.
You can really be a reformer in the society but you will have to balance your life. Do this work and also take time out for yourself. Do your practices, do your pranayama, do your meditation and then be involved in the activity and in reforming the society.

Q: Guruji, in the 7 layers of existence, mind and ego have been classified as different entities, but isn’t ego a thought or an emotion? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, ego is an awareness of ‘I’. All the four (mind, intellect, memory, ego) have different functions. However, they belong to the same consciousness.
Mind is thoughts.
Memory is that which appears to record them.
Intellect does the decision-making, to decide between right and wrong.
Ego is the one that experiences everything. It is the awareness that ‘I exist’.
During sleep, the intellect rests, the ego exists, there are thoughts in the mind and memory is present too. Since the intellect is not present during sleep there is no reasoning and so the thoughts are not coherent.
The mind is calm during sleep and the memory just knows that, ‘I am sleeping’.
During meditation all of them dissolve.
As you meditate you will know more about this.

Sri Sri speaks on Buddha Purnima

Montreal, Canada

Today is Buddha Purnima, the day Buddha was born. He got Enlightened, he attained Nirvana and he died also on the same day.
Today, it seems the moon is 20% more than other full moon days. It is a very big moon. So you should watch the moon rise.

There is a little Buddha in everybody, and that Buddha is in the form of Siddhartha.
Do you know who Siddhartha is? Before Buddha became Buddha he was Siddhartha. He was wandering, lost. He had tried everything but he couldn’t find; but he had that spirit of enquiry.
He said, ‘The world is all sorrow and I want to get rid of sorrow.’ Siddhartha understood everything is sorrow, but he did not know the way.
So everybody has a little Buddha inside of them, only he has to wake up.

Buddha tried this and that and that and this. He ran from pillar to post, he did technique after technique after technique, but nothing worked. Because while doing all this, his mind was outward, and when he got sick and tired of everything and dropped everything, that moment he got enlightened. This is the story as it goes.
So, when he got tired of trying hard and trying hard and trying hard, then he said, ‘Okay, let me just relax. I give up.’ So he gave up and sat, and the mind turned inward and then he became Buddha.
So turn the mind inward.

Unfortunately Buddha never got a Guru. He couldn’t get a Guru at that time. But Adi Shankaracharaya had a Guru. So he met the Guru and the path became much easier, smoother. He could just sit and go into Samadhi. But for Buddha to go into Samadhi and meditation was not possible. It was hard for him. So he fasted. Somebody told him to fast and he fasted, because he was a King from the royal family and he did not know about surrender, or about devotion, or about letting go. Doing, doing and doing, that is what he heard, and what he knew as he was trained. So the big ego, and that big doing, made him run around for several years.
Finally he gave up and then he got enlightened; that is how the story goes.

So that little mind inside of you doesn’t want to let go and to just give up, it goes on the trip of I want to do, and I want to do, and I want to do. I will achieve this and I will achieve that.
When you see, what is there to achieve? Then everything drops, you surrender, you let go and meditation happens. You know, it is like getting onto an Ayurvedic massage table. You just get onto the table and that is it, you don’t do anything. Everything is done for you; so even meditation will be done for you. You just sit and meditation will happen.

In one moment of samadhi there is a million years of rest

April 22, 2012


So we will recapitulate what we have been doing in the last two days.

How meditation can happen in many ways.

Meditation is a happening, this is the first point.

Second is, meditation is effortless. The key for meditation is effortlessness. It is not doing something but doing nothing and that is meditation. And creating a condition where you really can do nothing is all that is important to look into.

So how can this happen? We saw many methods or many ways.

Through physical manipulation, Yoga, Tai Chi, all these can bring a certain amount of calmness in the mind. Not totally but a certain degree of meditativeness can come by exercise and physical manipulation.

Second is pranayama. This is even more important because we have five bodies to us (Panchakosha). First is the physical body, then the pranic body which is the bio rhythmic force or bio electro-magnetic energy. Then, we have the mind or the consciousness; then the intuitive body which is a further refined consciousness, and then the blissful.

Usually we think the mind is inside the body, but it is the other way around. Body is inside the mind. I usually give the example of the Phantom Arm. Even though the arm is amputated a person feels the arm is still there, i.e., the subtle body which is still there.

So, through breathing techniques and breathing exercises, the mind becomes very serene, calm, and happy.

Then through any of the five senses the mind can become meditative. Through taste, smell, sight, sound and touch. Then through emotions; heightened refined emotions. Love, compassion, sense of service, all these can bring a certain degree of serenity to the mind; it becomes very calm and meditative. Through emotions you can attain the same meditative state.

Then through intellectual understanding.

One of the examples I gave is, when you go to a space museum or watch a space movie, then you see the earth in contrast with the universe, and how small this earth is, and where you are to what this universe is. That stimulation of the intellect brings a different context to life and makes the mind meditative. That little chattering mind just shuts off. The mind is chattering all the time, finding fault in others, or oneself, and suddenly you find all these things are insignificant compared to the vastness of the universe and of this existence. The awareness about this existence suddenly takes you to another plane of serenity, of calmness.

So through intellectual stimulation also meditation happens.

Q: Can you speak on how devotion can transform the ego in order for the self to be realized?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Listen, what is devotion? It is a state of Love.

What is ego? It is a sense of separation and a boundary; a wall; an identity.

Love seeks to dissolve the identity, love seeks to merge. Ego wants to maintain one sidedness. So they play different roles and they can coexist at different times.

So when there is love at that moment there is no ego, and when there is ego at that moment there is no love.

When you want to take up a challenge, love does not work, ego works. Ego can take challenges. But when you want to relax and have fun, at that time, ego does not work, love works. Do you understand what I am saying?

That is why nature has put both things in you, it has put love also and ego also. But if you are stuck in ego, it is like getting stuck into your shoes. You don’t know how to get it out of your feet. Then you are bathing with the shoes on, you are sleeping with your shoes on. You should know when to remove your shoes and be at home.

So love is the first thing that has happened in life. As soon as a child is born and it opens its eyes and looks at the mother, there is love. In that very first glance it receives love from the mother and gives love to the mother. But the ego comes at the age of three. Identity becomes very strong after three years and then it grows, and sometimes one gets stuck with that.

But when you become very old; most senior citizens if you see, there is no ego in them. They become like a child again. Past ninety hardly anybody can maintain their ego.

Before three you can’t have it and past ninety you can’t have it. It is almost like sex; there is an age for it, after that it is not possible and before that it is not possible. But they all have their roles to play.


Q: Hello Sri Sri, I have friends who feel that this earth is past the tipping point with all of the overpopulation and destruction of some of the natural resources, like the oceans, rainforest. A lot of people feel hopeless and hopeless. I tell them that there is a perfect divine order amidst all the chaos.

So, my question is, do you think that I am just blowing smoke above the wind pipe or the planet and the population will be just fine?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is good to be concerned, but not to be paranoid. There is a difference.

If you are paranoid you can’t do anything about it also and you just lose your peace of mind.

But at the same time you can’t say, ‘Well, God will take care of everything and let us just carry on with what we are doing.’ You can’t say that either.

God will provide us even if we exploit this planet a little more, somehow nature will provide more of that.’ You can’t say that. We need to definitely care for the planet.

And see, when the tipping point had come, this concern has come also. Nature or that big mind has put the concern in the minds of millions of people.

Today more and more of the population is concerned about the environment like never before. Do you see what am I saying? Today people are concerned even in small villages. In remote corners of the world they are talking about preserving the earth and organic agriculture, and not using chemical fertilizers. This concern has infiltrated into remote areas today.

At the same time, people are so paranoid, angry and agitated about it. ‘Oh, we are destroying the planet.’

I would say just relax. Don’t get paranoid but be concerned.


Q: What is Samadhi?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Dhi means the intellect and Samadhi means where the mind is in total equanimity; where your whole system is in total balance, that is called Samadhi.

Body, mind, spirit, everything is in such coordination and serenity. There are so many different types of Samadhi.

One is called Laya Samadhi, which is like, when there is some music going on and you are completely dissolved into it. You know you are but you don’t know where you are.

Then there is Pragya Samadhi, Asamprajnata Samadhi, etc.

Also, there is a Samadhi where thoughts are there, ideas are there but you are very tranquil. And there is a Samadhi where there are no thoughts, just a feeling is there.

So there are many different types of Samadhi.

It is said that the joy of Samadhi is described as – in one moment of Samadhi there is a million years of rest. ‘Koti Kalpa Vishram’ – million years of rest in a moment, is Samadhi.

It is also described that the pleasure in one moment of Samadhi is equivalent to one thousand units of sex.

So why celibacy happens to a Yogi is very natural. You don’t need to make an effort to be celibate; you don’t need another body to rub yourself on to find ecstasy. You just sit and there is a heightened joy and bliss that just wells up within you.

That is why celibacy is not a practice that you do; it is a happening wherein every cell of your body is in a sort of thrill and bliss. And bliss is what you try to achieve in sex. I hear sometimes one achieves bliss and sometimes one doesn’t, but people get tired. That is what I hear.

But in Samadhi you don’t get tired in spite of having that deep experience of joy. There is with no excitement, no feverishness, no tiredness, but an elevation which is energising you every moment. So that is why celibacy happens.


Q: Does meditation help one to come out of grief when a close one passes away?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, it does help.

Meditation definitely helps to come out of grief when a close one has crossed over to other side.

See, death is a very certain thing. Nothing is more certain than death, for sure. However you have lived your life, you are going to die. Successful or unsuccessful, you will die. Famous or infamous, you will die. Rich or poor, you are going to die. Healthy or sick, you are going to die.

It is not only sick people who die, healthy people also die. Everyone will die one day, so death is the most certain thing. You accept this truth, the reality and so you can say, ‘Oh you are gone, bye for now. I will see you few days later.’

Meditation definitely helps you to overcome grief. Not only that but when you meditate, the vibrations reach across to them and they feel peaceful.


Q: When there is a difficult situation, should I simply accept it or fight it out?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Fight it out, if you feel.

If you feel you have done your 100% and you can’t fight it in any way, then pray. Pray for help!

First you accept the situation as it is and then fight it out. And after fighting, again accept. A fight should be sandwiched between acceptance and that is the essence of Yoga.

Yoga means what? Acting with acceptance and with serenity; acting with the total vision.


Q: After death what happens to the soul?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, it gets ready to come back. It goes and stands in the line for another body. Millions are waiting to come back to the planet. That is why I tell people who have suicidal tendencies and want to kill themselves, not to do it. You have waited a long time and in a long queue to get a body, so don’t destroy it. It is very precious.


Q: Where was I before I came into this body?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Very good question! Before I got this body, where was I?

The consciousness is very ancient; the mind is older than the stones. I tell you, keep this question. This is a very important question. Don’t be in a hurry to get an answer.

In this very question you will find the answer, and you will go deep into meditation and much more. I am here now, but everywhere too.


Q: Do you need to set an alarm to come out of meditation?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, usually not because it can be too jarring.

But if you keep an intention that I will meditate for 20 minutes or half an hour then your eyes will open. You have an inbuilt clock inside that works with your intention.

Have you all tried this inside mechanism? Just put an intention in your mind, I have to wake up at 5 o’clock in the morning and right at 5 o’clock in the morning your eyes will open. There is an inbuilt clock inside you. Use it!

For meditation, sit for 20 minutes. Don’t sit for too long in the very beginning. When you come out of meditation you will forget where your home is and where your car keys are!

So, I would recommend 20 minutes or half an hour in the beginning, not more. It is not possible also to sit for longer. Automatically your eyes will open and restlessness will start coming if you sit too long. Don’t force yourself to sit for too long; 20 minutes minimum and half an hour maximum.


Q: Why do I feel hurt when I do meditation?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do you know why you feel hurt? It is because meditation is kindling that space which is love inside of you. It is bringing up the love from deep within you.

Love is connected with hurt; do you see what I am saying?

So you may feel sorrow, you may feel some emotions come up and tears well up. Don’t judge them at that time, just be with it.

If it becomes a little too unbearable then take some long deep breaths. Do some pranayama, some breathing exercises at that moment and then you will see it will soothe you.


Q: How to balance life while working for a cause?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, that is a challenge.

When you intend it, when you think it, and when you say it that you can do both, though they appear to be conflicting, you will succeed in your job and succeed in your cause.

‘I have a cause that is greater than my job’, when you see this then you can do both.

If your passion for the cause overtakes the job concern, then you will say, ‘No, I throw away my job, I will pursue my cause.’

It is a tough road to tread on but it yields a lot of results. It is more fulfilling in that sense.

Any big achievement needs some sacrifice somewhere.

If you want to be in a comfort zone then balance both ends. But if you say, ‘I don’t care too much about comfort. This is my compelling passion and I want to take up a greater cause’, then you need to jump in.


Q: How does singing helps in meditation?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Singing does help. Singing creates a vibrant atmosphere and increases the prana that helps you to calm the mind and go deeper into meditation. So singing is a component.

Do you know that 70% of English language is Sanskrit? How many of you have heard about this?

Sister is swasa; daughter is duhita; go is gachcha. The root of English language is Sanskrit.


Q: Why has He created life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why should He not create life?

He has created life so that you could ask this question. If he would have not created, you could not have asked this question!

I don’t know. I have no idea. I think God needs better adviser though. He made things too complicated.


Q: How to accept the present moment?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Like now, this moment I have accepted your question, and I am here now. Got it? It is spontaneous.

The present moment is inevitable. Whatever exists is in the present moment. Even a future thought is in the present moment. Your future worry is not in the future, it is in the present. Even the past memories are in the present. You can’t escape from the present.

Your worry about the past is also in the present. You simply have to wake up and see the present is inevitable, that is all.


Q: Is anger good?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you want to use anger for something and it is in your control then it is good. If anger controls you then you are in trouble. Do you see what I am saying?

You can use anger as a tool, but if anger starts using you then you lose everything; the cause also is gone.

Most people do this. When they want to fight against injustice, they lose it and the very cause for which they are fighting is defeated. In third world countries, and all over the world, they burn buses, burn trains and cause so much damage. Behind every riot, they think they are fighting against injustice; any riot, anywhere in the world.

My interpretation for WAR is – Worst Act of Reason. There is a reason for which you go to war. Anyone who goes to war, they will justify the war. But it causes so much damage and doesn’t give you anything. That is why one needs to find alternative ways. Peaceful, nonviolent demonstration is the best, like the Gandhian principles.

We did this now in August in India. You must have heard about it in the papers. IAC – India Against Corruption, we are founding members of this. We did this movement without a single act of violence or disturbance anywhere in the country.

The Art of living was the main patron, main source, and all our volunteers made sure that no anti-social elements get into this anti-corruption movement.

Standing up against corruption and crime, it could have gone wild. People could have burnt homes, and could have done all sorts of things. But no, there is commitment to non violence. And suddenly during the whole time, the crime rate had gone down in the country. Everybody was standing up for a cause.


Q: What is sin?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sin is that which gives you suffering and suffering to others in the long term. That which gives you pleasure for a short while but causes you to suffer for the rest of life is sin. But that which may appear painful in the beginning but in a long run uplifts you, that is merit.


Q: What is the secret of meditation?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are three types of space. One is the external space, in which all the four elements are there. The second type of space is the inner space where thoughts and emotions come from; this is called Chit Akash.

Then there is the third type of space where there is only bliss. And these three spaces are connected, the outer space, the intermediate space of thoughts or the subtle body, and the causal space of bliss and of love.

So every time you have experienced some love or some happiness or some peace, you are in touch with that inner space. You just touch and go and it brings that energy inside you.

So with enhanced energy, meditation happens. And meditation also enhances the energy, it is both ways. When your energy is uplifted, then meditation happens.


Q: Why it is a challenge to be compassionate to ourselves?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Because we are in the habit of blaming ourselves.

On the spiritual path, the first rule is stop blaming yourself. This is a rule. If we can apply this rule then you will progress very well on the spiritual path.

See, what is spirituality? What is a spiritual path? It is getting in touch with yourself, the core of your being. Going inward to be in touch with yourself.

If you keep blaming yourself, how can you go near yourself? You will never want to be with someone who blames.

The biggest impediment for meditation is self blame. You can never be at peace, you can never dive inside and you can never transcend when you blame yourself. So never blame yourself.


Q: What does dance express?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, when you are happy, every step you take is a dance. You dance your way through your life. Wisdom makes you dance through all situations.

A movement stretched in rhythm is dance. Sound stretched in rhythm is music. Life stretched is celebration!


Q: What are your thoughts on a one world government and a one world family?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A one world family is what is most practical right now.

I leave it to the politicians to think about a one world government. They have established The World Bank, but for a one world government I don’t think any politician will be ready for that, as of now. But at least if the United Nations would become more powerful and more proactive, rather than taking a back seat, it would be good for the planet.


Q: (A member of the audience spontaneously asked a question without a mike, hence the question was inaudible)

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Listen. You are breathing? Yes, you are! Definitely. You know it, I know it and everybody knows it.

So what is happening? The air is entering inside your body and the same air is going out of your body and traveling the whole world. Can you say, ‘This is my air’?

The subtler you go you can’t posses it or own it. On the level of the gross you can say, ‘This is my body.’ Definitely!

Even then, your body is emitting vibrations or energy all the time. You are losing energy and gaining energy from the cosmos. There is a continuous flow and every cell in your body is changing.

You are exchanging energy all the time. You are nothing but a particular vibration, a wave function, a frequency.

One particular frequency is called Susan, another particular frequency is called Jeffery, and another particular frequency is called Michael. You are almost like a particular TV channel.

Like from a tower different channels are aired and the channels can be caught in anybody’s home in any television.

You can’t say, ‘BBC is coming in my television but how can it come in the neighbor's television?’ They are the same waves.

Your consciousness is also a wave function and it has so many possibilities, so many avenues.

It is like the sun. When the sun has come totally inside your window, you can’t say, ‘Oh the sun has come into my window, I have captured the sun!’ No. The same sun will totally be there in the neighbor’s window as well, and all over the world. This is spherical thinking.

We are trained in linear thinking. If something is born it has to die, this is linear thinking.

Think spherically. The Vedanta gives you spherical thinking. The ancient people knew spherical thinking and that is why they use the word perhaps; perhaps this and perhaps that.


In Jain religion and Jain philosophy also they use perhaps. This is a very interesting thing to understand. With spherical thinking, the intellect is stimulated and it is charged to transcend the limited and see the truth beyond.

So the sun is here totally and there also totally. And you are just a vibration. As the body you can’t be everywhere, but as consciousness you can be in many places.

If you have touched a flower, your vibrations have gone into the flower.

Have you heard of biometric locks? They are locks that will open only when you touch them.

If you had spoken about these locks 20 to 25 years ago, people would have laughed at you and would have thought you are insane. Everything is possible.

So everything is just a wave function. The whole universe is a wave; a field of consciousness.



Q: Is refusing medication considered as suicide?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No! If someone wants to refuse medication and wants the body to take its natural course then it is not suicide. It is okay.

But if someone out of anguish tries to strangle themselves and end their life then that is suicide; as far as I am concerned. I would call that suicide.

Sometimes people who are in coma they are force fed or they are kept on a machine for a long time. What I would say for them is let them go naturally, don’t force feed them. This is my personal opinion, but there are different opinions on this issue.

When you know that someone cannot survive and cannot come back to being normal then there is no point in keeping them alive like a vegetable. I would say remove all the tubes and let nature take its course.

Art of Living is based on just 5 points!

AOL Fan Blog: Art of Living is based on just 5 points!

Q: Guruji, what is life? What is Art of Living?
Sri Sri: The Art of Living is keeping your mind under control even in adverse conditions and being in equanimity and then accepting people as they are. 
Not all people will be like you, but do not go away from the relationship because they are different, and have a different kind of thought processes. Whatever kind of people, accept them as they are and whatever way we can be of use to them, do that. Third point is, do not be a foot ball of others’ opinions.
Fourth is, if someone makes a mistake, do not see an intention behind it. Do not think that they have done the mistake purposely. Just the way it happened by you, same way it happened by another person also. Like this, see the personality behind the mistake, recognize that and have compassion towards them. 
And the fifth one is live in the present moment. Learn from the past and plan for the future but live in the present. Whatever is there in this moment take advantage of it. Do not sit and keep on thinking about the future and do not have anger towards the past and punish yourself. 
The Art of Living is based on just these five points.

I don't need to catch you because you all belong to me

January 10, 2012

The very meaning of Kailash is where there is only celebration, only joy, nothing else besides it. In the same way, Vaikunth is where Narayana resides, means a place where there is no lack of anything. Everything is in abundance, and there is all prosperity and all joy. That is Vaikunth. Are Kailash and Vaikunth somewhere far? Where are they? Right here!

And you sang a song Vishalakshi, meaning what? One with big eyes, who has a broad vision

Q: Dearest Guruji, it is said in Shiv Sutras - Gyanam Banda’. How can knowledge be a bondage?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You study that; I have spoken very well on that. Read the whole Shiv Sutra.

Q: Guruji, what should be the ratio of simplicity and ego in our life? How can I balance between these two? Because sometimes when I present myself simply, people take me lightly.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is your vivek, sense of discrimination. You know where to do, what to do. Best thing is to be spontaneous.

Q: Dear Guruji, my family is from Kashmir and we were forced to migrate to other places due to terrorism. When Kashmir had so much spiritual and religious knowledge and produced so many Saints and Sufis, why is there so much violence over there?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well times keeps changing. Fanaticism had entered Kashmir, but now the next generation of people are realizing it. So, keep your hold there. Go back to Kashmir valley. Still there are some people in the valley. 
Now people are realizing that we have lost our Pandits here. It was such a nice atmosphere before, but now that is not there. So they are welcoming; you go back to Kashmir, buy land and be there or at least keep on visiting. Many people who have come back from Kashmir do not want to go back, that is the problem. Now the situations are different and you should go back and claim your rights there.

Q: Guruji, I want to be 100% both at my job and Art of Living. If I give 100% at one, then the other gets compromised. What do I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Need not be! 
You know most of our trustees in Art of Living and Apex Body members all over the country, they have many other things. They do their business, their job and they are still very busy engaged. And there are thousands of teachers who do their business. Their businesses are doing very well and they are also teaching Art of Living courses. They are doing both. You should hear their experiences. 
We had a Teachers Refresher Meet, and we had teachers from all over the country who came. There were 315 industrialists in one TRM alone and they are teaching courses. They said, ‘Guruji, before our business was dull and we were not doing anything. But now we are teaching the Art of Living course and we don't pay much attention to business, but it is also running very well.’ Some of them have made 4 to 5 times more turn over in their business. They were all sharing their experiences. 
So, don't think they are contrary. Don't think either or. You can do both, this and that. Unless you see that you are ready to take a bigger responsibility for the nation and for the world. And you have very little requirement for yourself or no requirement, then you come and become full time and we will send you all over the place. But when you have some responsibilities and when you have some needs, you should do both.

Q: Guruji, today I felt very sad for some reason, but after seeing and listening to you over the web, I feel so happy. Your magic is casting a world wide web. Did you catch my thoughts today?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I can catch you; I don't need to catch your thoughts. Thoughts come and go, don’t own them. You don't own them and I don't own it. But I don't need to catch you because you all belong to me. If you are different from me only then I need to catch you. You are part of me.

Q: Guruji, You have told us to love everyone. In the bargain what has happened is everyone has started loving me. Now it has become very difficult to choose one partner. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, I leave that challenge to you. Let me watch what you are going to do and whom you are going to choose. You choose somebody or somebody chooses you, let’s see. 
But don't delay for too long, okay! 
A gentleman was 62 years old and came to me and said, 'Guruji, I want to get married. I was looking for the perfect lady and I could not find one in all these 60 years.' 
I told him, ‘okay, you look for another 15 years. Maybe later on both of you can find each other in heaven or hell.’ 
If you could not find a good match for 62 years on this planet, what is the guarantee that you will find in the next few years?!

Q: Guruji, when I am in the Ashram I am very happy and energetic. But when I go back home, it immediately drops. Please help me to have at least half of that at home.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Has everyone at home done the program? If not, make them do.
Keep listening to knowledge, keep singing. And you be determined, come what may, I take the challenge; I will not let my enthusiasm go down. 
Do you know how it goes down? Because you start arguing or you start expecting others to be like you, and to be understanding like what you have experienced here. Those things cannot happen. You have to implement the first principle of Art of Living, ‘accept people and situations as they are.’
Don't get involved in every situation with the intention that, through the experience of this situation, I will derive pleasure and fun. When you go after fun and pleasure, you will experience misery somewhere or the other. Fun and pleasure are not the only goals in life. 
Accept people as they are and go deep in knowledge. It will make a tremendous difference.

Q: Dear Guruji, in today's engineering institutions we have to study almost 54 subjects to complete our degree. In the ancient time like in Nalanda University, did students have to study so many subjects? Please do something about it.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, people were very studious. Those days, students never got time to do any entertainment. There is a proverb that says, 'if you are a student then there is no happiness, joy for you and if you are in the pursuit of pleasure then you cannot be a student.' You have to work hard. In those days people used to work hard. Now there are computers, you have calculators. The previous generations never had any computers or calculators. We had to memorize all multiplication tables. We had to memorize so many things. 
In fact, in those days the brain was used a lot, now we do not use it as much. 
Do you remember, a few years back when there was no cell phone; you had to remember peoples’ telephone numbers? When we had only landline connections, we all used to remember the telephone numbers of people. Today with the cell phone, nobody remembers the number. Once you feed it in there that is it. The moment you press somebody's name, the number comes itself. Many times you do not remember your own number. 
So we are using less of our memory and more of technology. Sometimes it is scary that we may lose the ability to remember things, and it is fast happening. 
Any youth who watches at least 2 movies a week, after 3 months if you ask them the story of any one particular movie, they will blink. They will mix stories from one movie with other movies. They can't even narrate the whole story. This is why Attention Deficiency Syndrome has become so common today.

Q: Guruji, in the Yoga Sutras Vyadhi (physical illness) has been considered an obstacle. Is Vyadhi not a part of me?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No! Vyadhi is an obstacle.
Vyadhi, Styana, Samsaya, Pramada, Alasya, Avirati, Bhranti Darsana, Alabdha bhumikatva and Anavasthitattva. These are the nine obstacles that have been told and the means of getting rid of them have also been told – take one way and just go deep into it.

Q: Guruji, how to overcome the difference in opinions between parents and children on account of generation gap?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: hat is why, bring them to the YES, YES+ and ART Excel courses and you will see how quickly it makes a difference.

Q: Guruji, in Uttarakhand there is a tradition of Devi and Devatas manifesting in people. Is that true?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, it is true, but many times their mind also gets entangled.
That is why, unless that person is a saadhak, who has gone deep within, you cannot say that he is channeling the Devata's voice completely. Devata's voice will be there and also partly his own mind; it will be mix of both. So a lot of what he might say will be true, and some of it may not be correct. 
It is like looking at the sun through a dirty piece of glass covered with dust, so the rays coming through are not as pure. They are somewhat impacted by the dust. 
Or if the glass is blue, then the light coming through also looks blue. 
That is why, if the person channeling the Devi or Devata lacks innocence and purity, then all that he says will not be entirely true. But if they are pure and innocent, then everything will be accurate.

Q: Guruji, what is right, what is wrong, how does one decide? Please share an easy trick for this.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is a very simple definition to know what is good and what is bad. 1. That which you do not want others to do to you is bad and that which you want others to do to you and you do to others is good. 2. That which gives you short term joy and long term unhappiness is bad. Anything which gives you long term happiness and short term problem is good. 

Q: Since childhood there was fear of parents, then fear of teachers, and now there is fear of God. Why do we make room for fear in our lives? Is this fear necessary?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Not at all necessary! Why fear? Love doing a head-stand is called fear. Just make it stand the right side up. Fear is on account of love. If there is no love, there will be no fear. 
Tulsidas has said, 'Bhaiy bhi na hote na preet gosai'. Fear and love are two different forms of the same thing. Where there is love, there is no fear; where there is fear, there is no love. This thing manifests in these two forms.

Q: Guruji, often in spite of knowing, I commit mistakes. Is there a way to become aware of knowledge in a timely fashion so that I do not knowingly commit the mistake? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just this thought is sufficient, that I should not repeat this mistake that I have done in the past. This feeling itself will begin to take root.
Okay, go ahead and make how many mistakes you want. Eventually you will get tired. I will wait for you. You keep making mistakes till you become exhausted and fall down. Then, everything will be all right. 
Just look at all those people who are suffering so much on account of making the same mistakes over and over again. 
After committing the same mistake once, twice, three times, ten times, you will finally give up and say, 'No more! I am done with it.'
But this realization should dawn before this life ends! It shouldn't keep happening throughout life. If you are on this path, it cannot happen this way. You will have the awareness fairly soon.
That is why it is said, 'Swalpamapyasya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat' - if you follow this knowledge even to a small extent you will be free of the greatest of fears. No fear will touch you.

Q: Guruji, since olden times there has been a tradition that no new work should be started during Rahu kalam. A lot of importance is attached to it. Is this appropriate? Is there is scientific standpoint behind this? 
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Look, Rahu period is that time which is considered suitable for prayers. It is considered ideal for any spiritual activity. So beginning any wordly project during that period is not considered appropriate because in our body there is a switching of channels (naadis) at that time.
However, we should not attach too much importance to this. If you absolutely have to do your work at that time, just say, 'Om Namah Shivaya' and move forward.

Guruji's Knowledge Sheet: Humiliation

AOL fan blog: Guruji's Knowledge Sheet: Humiliation

Take refuge in me, then I will rid you of all sins.

Sharing: Guruji, I want to share an experience in front of everybody. I apparently had this health problem called systemic lupus erythematosus. It is a weird autoimmune disorder for which the doctors said that for the rest of my life I will have to be on steroids and I will have to be dependent on somebody else, but since then I have just been practicing Sudarshan Kriya and following everything that Guruji says, seva, sadhana and satsang and smiling and it has been one year and I haven’t taken a single dose of steroids. Thank you, Guruji. We all love you a lot.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are people sitting there in their air-conditioned rooms in Mumbai and in Delhi and criticizing left, right and center, Art of Living. They have no idea! They write whatever they want to write, cynical, sceptical...they don’t realize how much this can help the society. The world is appreciating, all over the world, so many countries! Kamal was in Pakistan. She was sharing her experience, how people in Pakistan welcome this whole knowledge. She was on three television shows and people were calling in and they were all saying, ‘this is what we need’. And in Pakistan the courses are happening. Just imagine if the whole of Pakistan does Sudarshan Kriya, and nobody started hating anybody, terrorism would simply be finished; not necessarily even the whole of Pakistan, at least ten percent of the population started doing, it will make a huge difference.

Q: All the scriptures we have, in all the religions say the same thing that God is love, and love is God. Then why are there so many scriptures all over the world?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why should there not be,tell me why should there not be?

Q: Guruji, the entire India knows that all the people came together and through peaceful protest we have compelled the parliament to go through a resolution. But what is the way forward now? How can we really eradicate corruption from the nation? What is the practical way and how we should go about it, especially all the youth of this nation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know I have said there are three formulas: One is everyone take pledge, ‘we will not give bribe’, second youths like you go with a sticker, ’I will not take bribe’ stickers and put it in all the government offices and the third thing is a strong Lokpal bill. For that we have already impressed it on all the members of the parliament. See, unless the electoral reforms happen, and the parliamentary democracy has some loopholes, those things are corrected, just a legislation alone will not help. There are many legislations in this country, but they are not being honoured.

Q: I am the mother of an eighteen-year old. My son used to have a lot of problems just like any other teenager and I had reached a stage where I used to wonder how I could change my son, And then I came to know about the YES plus course and I put him through it and there is a whole lot of changes in my son, a huge transformation. I see him doing yoga. And the reason why I am here standing in front of you is because of my son - I saw the transformation in him and I am here. Okay, I am hooked on to you now, thanks to my son. Now my point is there must be a lot of mothers like me suffering silently, trying to figure out what exactly they can do to change their children, because especially the way things are going on these days, so much money, pubs, whole lot of things happening. Why can’t Art of Living reach out to schools? Talk about all that you have to offer, reach out to 16 year olds and 17 year olds. Please. Reach out with this course. I am sure a lot of people are going to change.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know mothers like you can contribute. Mothers like you, few of you can join together. If you talk to principals in various schools, colleges, in your free time; take a little time and do this seva, do this service - that would be even better. Our approach, any way we are doing, it has its limitation. People think we have an ulterior motive. Oh, they want to increase their...whatever. They may need something for themselves that is why they are doing. They don’t realize we are doing for the sake of the children and for the sake of our society. So we will do that, we are anyway doing. We have done here in Karnataka, all the second year engineering college students in Maanyavati college project, twenty two thousand of them. It was one of the best projects because the youth had such a transformation, just engineering college students. But they should do it for all the students in all the degree colleges, all levels, but for that you all have to write to the government, and the education department.

Q: Guruji, how to implement ‘sampoorna sharanaagati’ (total surrender) in day to day life? How to be conscious while doing daily tasks? That ‘I’ factor is there.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Let it be there. Don’t worry. Don’t try to erase your ego; if you find your ego sticks, never mind, let it be there. Keep it in the pocket or your handbag.

Q: Would writing in a newspaper help? I am a journalist myself.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah, yeah, sure! There is ABC, Art of Living Bureau of Communication here.

Q: Guruji, what is the effect of tantras?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Now that you are on this path and you have your mantra, you do not have to worry about tantras.

Q: Gurudev, I was thinking since you spoke about Pakistan, so don’t you think Art of Living is a better option than educational reforms in Pakistan because any educational reform in my opinion is going to cover people of age group, let us say, five to twenty five; any one older than that might be reluctant to go to school or attend educational seminars or things like that, but Art of Living is such that it covers the whole range of population?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is what we are doing. We are educating people in all levels.

Q: (A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How do you feel today? Very nice! If those things are coming up, let it come up. Do a little bit yoga, some walking, some exercise to supplement that.

Q: (A member of the audience asked a question and it was inaudible)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Because ‘Sarva dharmaan paritajye, ma mekam sharanam’. Take refuge in me, then I will rid you of all sins. He puts a condition for it. Bheeshma Pitaamah didn’t do that. This is my dharma, he was holding on to it. He didn’t totally give up, right?

Q: You were talking about people criticizing and all that. I did a lot of reading up about you on the net. There are a whole lot of negative things written, and there is nothing contradicting it. Also, whatever is there on the net, it is not very clear cut. It is more like a publicity thing, I am sorry to say this. I think the real essence of Art of Living is not really coming out. If I did not know about my son, believe me, I am sorry if I can be honest with you, I didn’t believe in you before. What happened to my son, I am a non-believer in all this; but I am here because I saw it happening in my life. But how many people are going to know by just reading your postings etc? No. So I believe that what you probably need is effective writing, books, maybe on the net, giving proper contradictory statements, giving answers. There are so many things being said which are not right! Why isn’t it being answered?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: (Sri Sri Laughs)Correct, correct, correct. We need good writers, yeah! You all can come forward and you can just write. You know one thing, some of these people who write negatively, I tell them write as much as you want. It doesn’t matter. It is that if one person is benefited from there, all the people around are benefited. Like this it catches on. Nothing can stop this flow. It will go on. And I like critics. Critics are very good. We should welcome critics. But cynical people, they are suffering themselves. We can’t tell anything about them. Cynicism is bad. Criticism is good.

Q: Guruji, I am from Gujarat and am a school teacher in a tribal village. When I taught them Surya Namaskaar, some of them refused because of conversion. So much conversion is happening that they think that by my making them do Surya Namaskaar, I will change their religion. What can I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Show them videos of westerners and nuns doing Sourya Namaskaar. Take one of the American teachers from the ashram and have them teach it. The whole world is doing it, why can’t you?

Guruji's Knowledge Sheet: Close To The Master

AOL fan blog: Guruji's Knowledge Sheet: Close to the Master

Guruji's knowledge Sheet: Respect & Ego

Guruji's knowledge Sheet: Respect & Ego

Self

Self - Knowledge Sheet 49

Ego is the biggest problem. Yet it is very easy to overcome.

Celebrating life with silence: Ego is the biggest problem. Yet it is very easy to overcome.

Precious knowledge on one's levels of existence

Wisdom from Sri Sri: Precious knowledge on one's levels of existence

Ego is the biggest problem. Yet it is very easy to overcome

Wisdom from Sri Sri: Ego is the biggest problem. Yet it is very easy to overcome

Living the mystery of life

Deccan Herald, 17th May, 2010

H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

What is the purpose of knowledge? Purpose of knowledge is to make you feel that you don’t know! If knowledge makes you feel that you know it all, then it has not fulfilled its goal. The more you know, the more you become aware of the unknown.

There is one ‘‘I don’t know’’ that comes out of ignorance. But when one goes through knowledge then it becomes a transformed ‘‘I don’t know!’. This ‘‘I don’t know!’’ is wonderful. This is how you can turn every question into a wonder. The difference between a wonder and a question is that a question is associated with sorrow and restlessness whereas wonder is an expression of joy.

Purpose of knowledge is to create awareness of the Being. This creation is enormous and infinite. It is a mystery. Mysteries are not to be understood but to be lived. Love is a mystery, sleep is a mystery, your mind is a mystery and all that you see around is a mystery. Your life is also a mystery. Trying to understand mystery is confusion, but living it fully is called enlightenment.

What is your life? In the time scale, millions of years have passed and millions will come in the future. After all, how many years are you going to be here on this planet? May be 60 years, 70 years or 100 years? Your span of life is insignificant. It is not even a drop in the ocean. In terms of space you simply don’t exist! This understanding dissolves the ego.

Ego is ignorance of your reality, ignorance of your existence. Just open your eyes and see, ‘‘who are you? How are you on this planet? This brings awareness and then you do not worry about small things like, ‘‘this person said this thing to me and how could he do that to me” etc. You will see that all the smallness will simply drop away.

Ignorance has its necessity. Ignorance keeps the joy in the game. In a game if you know the result before you are playing you won’t be playing sincerely. If you know you are going to win or lose the game, there is no charm in playing. The game is joyful when its results are unknown. Nature is so kind and loving that it does not tell you about your future and does not remind you of your very old past. But, even with the short little memory it has given, you try hard to make your life miserable!

Have you noticed that the mind is not at all stable; it is like a roller coaster, crowded with thoughts going up and down. This is because you want to know all the time. You try your level best to understand your feelings and your emotions and get into more and more confusion. This is what has happened with psychology today. It tries to explain to you why you feel like the way you are feeling. The question ‘why’ arises always when you are unhappy. Nobody ever asks, ‘‘why am I so happy?’’ or ‘‘why is there so much joy and beauty in the world?’’ Everyone wants to understand, ‘‘why am I not feeling good?’’ or ‘‘why this pain is given to me? The more you try to understand and try to dig it; you seem to understand less and less. The mystery deepens and there is just an illusion that you know all. But that’s for a short while.

Just be in the innocent state of ‘‘I don’t know!’’ and you will see the mind becomes quiet. This makes life simple. This life is a beautiful mystery. Just live it! It is only when you live the mystery of life that joy dawns.

Wisdom from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Ego is getting stuck with any one identity

Everytime you get confused, know that you are growing.

Sri Sri: Celebrating life with silence blog

April 9, 2010: Let the limited ego dissolve in the universal ego

Living the mystery of life

DNA, 31st January, 2010

H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

If you want to lead a life full of joy and happiness, forget the past, worry less about the future and live in the present

What is the purpose of knowledge? Purpose of knowledge is to make you feel that you dont know! If knowledge makes you feel that you know it all, then it has not fulfiled its goal. The more you know, the more you become aware of the unknown.

There is one I dont know that comes out of ignorance. But when one goes through knowledge then it becomes a transformed “I dont know. This I dont know is wonderful. This is how you can turn every question into a wonder. The difference between a wonder and a question is that a question is associated with sorrow and restlessness whereas wonder is an expression of joy.

The purpose of knowledge is to create awareness of the Being. This creation is enormous and infinite. It is a mystery. Mysteries are not to be understood but to be lived. Love is a mystery, sleep is a mystery, your mind is a mystery and all that you see around is a mystery. Your life is also a mystery. Trying to understand mystery is confusion, but living it fully is called enlightenment.

What is your life? In the time scale, millions of years have passed and millions will come in the future. After all, how many years are you going to be here on this planet? Maybe 60 years, 70 years or 100 years? Your span of life is insignificant. It is not even a drop in the ocean. In terms of space you simply dont exist! This understanding dissolves the ego. Ego is ignorance of your reality, ignorance of your existence. Just open your eyes and see, who are you? How are you on this planet? This brings awareness and then you do not worry about small things like, this person said this thing to me and how could he do that to me, etc. You will see that all the smallness will simply drop away.

Ignorance has its necessity. Ignorance keeps the joy in the game. In a game if you know the result before you are playing you wont be playing sincerely. If you know whether you are going to win or lose the game there is no charm in playing. The game is joyful when its results are unknown. Nature is so kind and loving that it does not tell you about your future and does not remind you of your very old past. But, even with the short little memory it has given, you try hard to make your life miserable!

Have you noticed that the mind is not at all stable; it is like a roller coaster, crowded with thoughts going up and down. This is because you want to know all the time. You try your level best to understand your feelings and your emotions and get into more and more confusion. This is what has happened with psychology today. It tries to explain to you why you feel the way you feel. The question why arises always when you are unhappy. Nobody ever asks, why am I so happy? or why is there so much joy and beauty in the world? Everyone wants to understand, why am I not feeling good? or why this pain is given to me?

The more you try to understand and try to dig it; you seem to understand it less and less. The mystery deepens and there is just an illusion that you know all. But thats for a short while.

Just be in the innocent state of I dont know! and you will feel the mind becoming quiet. This makes life simple. This life is a beautiful mystery. Just live it! It is only when you live the mystery of life that joy dawns.