In love, losing is winning

DNA, 17th January, 2010
H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Realise the power of love. It is indeed the most powerful thing in the worldThere is strength in peace. There is strength in calmness. There is strength in love... but it goes unnoticed. What you cannot win with a gun, you can win through love. This power of love needs to be realised. It is indeed the most powerful thing in the world.
The victory that comes out of ego is worth nothing. If you win in ego, it isnt real victory, it is a loss. But if you lose in love, its a victory! We need to make people realise this innermost strength that we all have.
In these times of war and so much disharmony in the world, its important to understand that only love can bring peace. It is important to realise the power of love.
When there is a conflict and you interact with both the groups engaged in the conflict, they soften up. When communication breaks down, it causes turbulence, but when you re-establish communication through love, through peaceful means and through patience, it does yield. We need to unite the world. This could be done only through the meditative, peaceful and calm state that we are all born with; the power of love that we are gifted with. We need to regain this natural state. For this, we all need to meditate a little bit every day. When we meditate, we nullify negative vibrations and radiate peace, thereby creating a calm and more harmonious environment.
See, we need to drive home this message of peace and love because even if one part of the world is not adopting this idea, it can breed terrorism. There is a beauty in non-violence, in non-aggressive behaviour, which has unfortunately not been highlighted, either by the media or by our surroundings. We need to bring back the pride in being non-violent, in being compassionate, a pride in being available and helpful to others. If this is done, you will see your whole life take a new direction.
When in trouble, dont think what can I do? or that you are insignificant. Instead, understand that you, too, have a role to play. Like a tiny homeopathic pill, which has a 1/100th, or 1/1000th potency, makes an impact on a 60-70kg body, in the same way, every individual has an influence on this cosmos, on this planet. We can all radiate peace, good thoughts, good vibrations, which will definitely make an impact on the planet. Of the six billion people on this planet, there are hardly a few thousand who cause crime and terror and the whole world is affected. Dont you think that with the same law, the reverse will also work? Just a few thousand of us, being really peaceful, loving and caring for the whole planet - can we not bring about a transformation?
When you point a finger at others, three fingers are pointing back you. For instance, if I say, you are ugly! I am three times uglier; but when I include you into me, then there is no you and there is no me. Then there is only one - that is ultimate victory.
Life is so short. Well all live for another 30-40 years and then one day, everybody will be dead and gone. But we cry about what we have and were upset about what we dont have. Is it worth living life like that? We ourselves get depressed and then depress everybody around us. We need to shake ourselves up. Wake up! And when we wake up from this slumber, then we have peace in our hearts and we can radiate that peace and love around us.

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Money, and the arrogance of mankind

DNA, 23rd May, 2010

H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Money gives one a sense of freedom and ownership. Ownership of something means total control of its existence. When we buy a piece of land, we feel that we own it, although the land continues to exist even after the owner is no more. How can we own something that outlives us?

Money also gives the idea that we are powerful and independent, blinding us to the fact that we live in a world of interdependence. We believe that with money we can own anything, that we can put a price tag on anybody's services. We depend on farmers, cooks, drivers and the services of so many people around us. Even an expert surgeon cannot operate by himself. He depends on others. By paying a few currency notes we overlook the fact that we depend on them. Instead of feeling grateful we think it is we who oblige them.

If we take a look at why most people with money are arrogant we will find it is because of the feeling of independence that money brings. The awareness of dependence on the other hand makes one humble. The basic human quality of humility is taken away by the false feeling of independence.

Human values have eroded to such an extent that we measure people in terms of their net money worth. Can money really reflect the worth of a person? Often we call someone a millionaire or a billionaire. Labeling a person so is not a compliment. We cannot put a value to human life.

Wealth can be attained through one's skills, abilities, inheritance or through corrupt means. The means of attaining wealth brings its own consequences. The very motive for corruption is peace and happiness. Yet peace and happiness remain elusive when the means are corrupt.

On one hand, some people blame money for all the ills in society. There are others who even consider it an evil. Just as possessing money brings arrogance, rejecting it too makes one arrogant. Some people who renounce money take pride in their poverty to draw attention and sympathy. However, the ancient sages never denigrated money. In fact, they honored it as a part of the divine and transcended the grip of its illusion. They knew that when we reject or hate something, we can never transcend it. They honored wealth as Goddess Lakshmi - the consort of Narayana.

In a state of ignorance, people forget that the most reliable thing in the universe is ourselves and therefore start relying on money as a source of security. When people lack faith in the Divine or in their own abilities or in the goodness of society, they suffer from a deep sense of insecurity. This is a predominant problem today. As a result all that appears to provide security is money. They rely on something that is not certain, and end up getting upset. Uncertainty causes craving for stability.

The world is of change; the Self is of non-change. We have to rely on the non-change and accept the change. This is like perceiving the real as unreal and unreal as real. In fact, all miseries are unreal. A wise man knows that happiness is real, as it is our very nature. Unhappiness is unreal because it is inflicted by memory. When we see everything as a dream, then we abide in our true nature which is love, joy and peace. Then we understand that money is not all important. There are values, belongingness, love and care which are more important.

A rotation that will keep you at peace

DNA, 2nd May, 2010

H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

There is always happiness and sadness following through the mind, appearing and disappearing. We need to regularly clean the mind of its impurities

Our life is governed by three gunas (subdivisions): satwa, rajas and tamas. When satwa increases, awareness, knowledge, wisdom, happiness, joy, evenness, calmness, all these increase in life. When rajas increases, restlessness, desires, and craving begin. It brings a little bit of sadness too. And when tamas reigns, dullness, sleep, dejection and lethargy surface.

These three gunas rotate in life. In the same day sometimes you will feel satoguna rises or tamoguna rises at a particular hour and at a particular time rajoguna rises. Have you noticed this? Even when you are sitting in meditation, a few moments of satoguna will come up and you feel very good. And a little later, rajoguna starts, followed by tamoguna and you feel a shift in your energy. The reverse also happens. Sometimes first tamoguna starts and when you push through it, satwa increases. Then you feel better.

So when such cycles happen in life, the wise person does not get shaken. When tamoguna or satoguna comes, he stays calm. He just let things be as they are and sees that he is beyond them. By just knowing this, he can peacefully witness the rising and falling of the satoguna, rajoguna, or tamoguna. He also knows that the presence of any one of these gunas will affect his state of mind, and therefore he must 'bathe' his mind.

To cultivate existential understanding within ourselves it is essential to 'bathe' our mind.

You wear good clothes when you go out. The clothes could be new or neatly ironed; either way, you wear them and go out. What happens then? The clothes become dirty and you have to wash them. Similarly you bathe and apply scent all over your body. How long will the scent stay? It will stay for the little while. Then you again have to take bath the next day. You have to bathe again to maintain your cleanliness.

Our mind is also similar to this. As you bathe your body, you have to bathe your mind also. Sometimes you may have to bathe the same evening. If it is a very hot summer then you may need to bathe two or three times. If it is winter, bathing the next day will be sufficient.

Nobody says that they will bathe only if there is dirt. Nobody continually sniffs themselves to decide whether or not to have a bath, whether we smell or not. Whether our body is dirty or clean, we bathe everyday. Similarly, nobody will wait until the whole cloth is covered in dirt and then decide to wash it.

Assume that your hand becomes muddy, and tar is stuck to it. Do you sit crying? No. You immediately go and wash your hand by applying soap. If the dirt is too stubborn and does not go away easily, you continue to scrub and scrub and wash it. You come away satisfied that your hands are clean. Suppose your hands are stained with the deep colours or charcoal and it takes at least two days for the colour to go away but still you continue your efforts without calling it quits, and without spoiling the peace of your mind.

Similarly, the mind is constituted in the same way. There is always happiness and sadness following through the mind, appearing and disappearing. We need to regularly clean the mind of its impurities. And meditation helps. Meditation diminishes rajas and tamas from one's system and helps in raising satoguna. It lets go of all the anger from the past. Meditation is accepting this moment and living every moment totally and with depth. Sit down and meditate for a while, do pranayam, bhajans and prayer. Watch the mind, you will see that it gets washed and becomes clean once again.

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Be patient in mind but act dynamic

DNA, 11th April, 2010

H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

When there is peace in the mind, you will not sense the passage of time. When there is no peace in the mind, even two minutes seem long

Time is one of the 24 principles that govern this creation. Time is not elsewhere; it is here, right now in this very moment! Every moment, every single moment is important. Live every moment of life and make life a celebration.

The silent part of the Divine is known as maha kaala. Shiva is known as Mahakaal. Mahakaal means great time. We often say, “I had a great time”. But, what does it mean? Great time means the moments present in the timeless moments. Lord Shiva is also known as Kaala Samhaara Murti. (It means the lord who slays time). How is it possible to slay time? It is possible by extreme bliss. When you are blissful you will not feel the passage of time. When you are not aware of the passage of time, then it is said that time has been slayed.

There is a close relation between time and sadness. When we are very sad, we perceive time to be too long. When you are happy, you do not feel time pass. When there is peace in the mind, you will not sense the passage of time. When there is no peace in the mind, even the two minutes that have passed by give you the feeling as though two hours were spent. So what is happiness or bliss? It is our very self. That self is the Shiva tattva or the principle of Shiva.

Usually when the word God is mentioned everybody looks up immediately. What is there up above? It only rains from above! There is nothing above. Everything is inside, neither above nor below. Looking inside or being inside is meditation and this brings real joy, real happiness.

When you look at someone close to you, your friend or somebody you love, what happens to you? Something happens inside you. You feel as though some new energy is passing through you. Capture that great moment. It is those great moments, which are timeless moments. You might have experienced those timeless moments by the presence of that person, that person might have brought forth those emotions in you. So what? Instead of getting immersed in that person or in the situation, just be with the spring of bliss rising up in you.

The Divine has given you all the small pleasures in the world, but has kept the bliss to Him. To get the highest bliss, you have to go to Him and Him alone. Be sincere in your attempts. Do not try to outsmart the divine. Once you get the bliss, then everything else is joyful. Without bliss, joy in anything in the world will not stay.

Give satsang and meditation your highest priority. Give prime time to the divine and know that God belongs to you. Either through awareness or through practice, you can reach the same spot. Divinity belongs to you. When you know you are part of the divine plan, you stop demanding. Then you know everything is being done for you. You are taken care of. Usually we do it the other way: we hurry the mind and are slow in our action. Impatience means hurrying the mind; lethargy means slowness in action. Patience in the mind and dynamism in action is the right formula.

Make your body Gods abode and there will be peace and bliss. God is not an object of senses but the feeling of feelings, the presence of presence, the sound of silence, the essence of the world and… a taste of bliss!

Wisdom from Sri Sri's updates

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Peace via music

Hindustan Times, 27th January, 2010
H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Spirituality and music are among the many unique offerings of India to the world. Spirituality brings inner silence, peace and strength. Music connects the individual to the universal spirit.Music is that rhythm and harmony that flows from the universal to the individual; from the cosmos to the finite. Spirituality and music together can uplift people, get them out of depression and help them start a new life with enthusiasm. For a stress-free life, you have to embrace both these facets.Your whole body is made up of atoms. When you chant, the sound energy gets absorbed into every atom of your body. Just as a microphone absorbs sound and converts it into electricity, the body absorbs sound and converts it into consciousness.If you are sitting and listening to gossip or violent music, that gets absorbed by your body. When you hear the chant with your heart, your consciousness is elevated.Classical music touches the soul. Different instruments have an influence on different 'chakras' of our body. Drums have an influence on the base chakra; the sitar affects the area between the navel and the heart; the flute affects the area between the heart and the throat; conch shells affect the area between the throat and the forehead. The top of the head or the sahasraar chakra is the place for 'maun' (silence).Indian classical music and her heritage of spirituality are the two strong powers that will help us overcome all strife around us and it is essential for us to preserve this.We must encourage people to learn classical music and awaken an interest in it, especially in schools and colleges. Today, we are at that moment in history when we have to save our culture and revive our ancient arts.'Naad' (worship of musical sound) is the best worship. Music unites hearts and brings everyone together.(Excerpts from H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's discourse at the Art of Living Guinness World Record Winning cultural event - Brahm Naad - a historic symphony of over 1000 sitarists.)

Power of Peace: Part II

Power of Peace: Part I

Lost and Found, by A.R. Natarajan

Ramana would repeatedly point out that the mind's natural state is of silence. It is only because of this that such strenuous effort is being made by everyone to control the mind when it is wayward or turbulent. Such effort for a quiet mind can be compared to medication to get rid of a headache. Because health is natural and ill health is not, even a mild ailment such as a headache is something we want to get rid of straightaway. Similarly, since silence is natural, looking for ways and means of attaining it is inescapable.The loss of our natural state of a restful mind and our happiness in discovering it again is illustrated by Ramana through stories which highlight the point. The first is the case of a woman wearing a necklace but imagining that she has lost it. Initially she searches in obvious places where she could have kept it. Then she searches every nook and corner of the house. Thereafter she proceeds to various friends and relatives and anxiously enquires whether she has left the necklace in their house when she had visited them. Finally a friend points out to her that she is wearing the very necklace, which she had been frantically looking for. She had 'created her own anxiety about the loss, and happiness at finding it'. One is unaware of the truth of one's inherent peaceful nature. Hence, means must be found to achieve the silent mind.

Another illustration referred to by Ramana is the case of ten foolish men who were to cross a river in spate. All of them had crossed to the other shore safely. However, to check up, they started counting. Each one counted the others leaving himself out and said 'I count only nine; sure enough we have lost one, who can that be?' So, they all agreed that one was lost but could not find out who it was and concluded that the 'missing' man was drowned. One of them burst into tears and the rest followed suit. Seeing the ten men weeping on the riverbank, a sympathetic passerby enquired for the cause. On hearing the story he counted and found that all the ten were before him, and could guess what had happened. In order to bring home the fact to each one that no one was lost, he said. Each of you count for yourself, but one after the other serially - one, two --- while I will give you a blow that all of you may be sure that you are included in the count and included only once. The tenth 'missing' man will be found'. Even at the very thought of finding their lost comrade, the ten men were very happy and excited. The passerby gave a blow to each of the ten in turn. 'Ten' said the last man as he got the last blow in his turn. Then, they looked at each other and shouted 'We are now ten'. They thanked the passerby heartily. Having stated this story, Ramana would point out that the tenth man was always there and was never lost. When the tenth man was properly counted, he was not a new man. Their grief was due to their ignorance and mistake in counting. Their joy was nonetheless real because they had found the 'lost', tenth man.

Peace of mind has to be striven for because we are ignorant of the truth in our present state, that peace is our very substratum.There is yet another illustration given by Ramana to underscore the same point. A man goes to sleep, in the old hall at Sri Ramanasramam. He dreams he has gone on a world tour, traveling in different countries and crossing continents. After many years of strenuous travels, he returns to India, reaches. Tiruvannamalai, enters Sri Ramanasramam and walks into the hall. Just at that moment, he wakes up and finds he has not moved an inch, but has been sleeping where he lay down. He has not returned after great effort but had always been in the hall. Similarly, having lost the awareness of the mind's inherent peace one has to find it again by appropriate effort.

Courtesy: OneIndia.com