Self - Knowledge Sheet 49
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Showing posts with label Self. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, May 24, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Special night of divine rest and wakefulness
The Times of India, 12th February, 2010
H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
On Shivaratri, the Shiv Shakti merges into the whole universe.
Shiva means your very self, the purest Self, your innermost core. Shiva means good or benevolent. The word ratri in Sanskrit means that which relieves you from three types of agony - ethereal, mental and material. At night everything becomes quiet and peaceful. The body gets tired and goes to sleep. ‘Shivaratri’ literally means that night which infuses the Shiva tatva or the transcendental principle to the three instruments: the body, mind and speech.
Shivaratri is a night of deep rest. It is the night that takes you into its lap, comforts you and gives rest. When the mind rests on the lap of the Divine, that’s real rest. Like the mind, memory and intellect, Shiva is also a tatva or principle in us. Shivaratri is when the Shiva tatva and Shakti become one.
The jagran in Shivaratri - staying awake all night - is not just forcing oneself to be awake or sing devotional songs. It is about being consciously aware of the inner rest that sleep brings everyday. When you surpass a certain layer of sleep, samadhi happens. Samadhi is often referred to as Shiva Sayujya, the presence of Shiva, a state of deep rest with alertness, which brings freedom from all identities. Kabir Das calls it koti kalpa vishram - a billion years of rest consolidated in a moment. When you come out of it, you experience certain pleasantness and reduced entropy, which brings an unusual freshness to the mind and senses.
The linga in Shiva temples symbolises identification or sign through which you identify someone as being male, female or neutral. The Divine is beyond the three genders; hence the Divine is called Ekalinga, or unigender. What is that one gender? The Self, the Atma. The Self is beyond body, mind or intellect; it is beyond likes and dislikes. Ekalinga is the Lord of the Self.On Shivaratri, the Shiv Shakti merges into the whole universe.
Shiva has been associated with destruction; but transformation, new beginning for the better, can only happen when something is destroyed. Shiva is the factor of transformation. ‘Sham’ means peace and good and ‘kara’ means one who does that. ‘Shankara’ means one who gives peace and does good.
The whole of Creation is the dance or play of Shiva, the tandav or dance of one consciousness, one seed, which manifested into a million species in the world. The whole world moving in an auspicious rhythm of innocence and intelligence is Shiva. Shiva is the permanent and eternal source of energy - the one and only eternal state of Being.
There is a story related to Shivratri, about the union of Shiva and Shakti. The primordial and dynamic energy is wedded to the transcendental. Shiva is the silent witness and Shakti is chitti or chidvilasa, the energy that plays and displays in infinite space. Shiva is the formless Being; Shakti is manifestation in the field. This is the recognition of the dual aspect of matter and energy, prakriti and purusha, the dravya and guna - substance and its qualities. Recognising the underlying non-dual nature of Brahmn is Shivaratri.
It is only wakefulness that brings out this knowledge in our consciousness and Shivaratri is the night to celebrate the wakefulness of one universal consciousness without falling into the unconscious sleep state. Breaking the pattern of unconscious sleep gives you a glimpse that you are not a mechanical apparatus but a legend in Creation. To recognise the Shiva tatva, you have to be awake.
H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
On Shivaratri, the Shiv Shakti merges into the whole universe.
Shiva means your very self, the purest Self, your innermost core. Shiva means good or benevolent. The word ratri in Sanskrit means that which relieves you from three types of agony - ethereal, mental and material. At night everything becomes quiet and peaceful. The body gets tired and goes to sleep. ‘Shivaratri’ literally means that night which infuses the Shiva tatva or the transcendental principle to the three instruments: the body, mind and speech.
Shivaratri is a night of deep rest. It is the night that takes you into its lap, comforts you and gives rest. When the mind rests on the lap of the Divine, that’s real rest. Like the mind, memory and intellect, Shiva is also a tatva or principle in us. Shivaratri is when the Shiva tatva and Shakti become one.
The jagran in Shivaratri - staying awake all night - is not just forcing oneself to be awake or sing devotional songs. It is about being consciously aware of the inner rest that sleep brings everyday. When you surpass a certain layer of sleep, samadhi happens. Samadhi is often referred to as Shiva Sayujya, the presence of Shiva, a state of deep rest with alertness, which brings freedom from all identities. Kabir Das calls it koti kalpa vishram - a billion years of rest consolidated in a moment. When you come out of it, you experience certain pleasantness and reduced entropy, which brings an unusual freshness to the mind and senses.
The linga in Shiva temples symbolises identification or sign through which you identify someone as being male, female or neutral. The Divine is beyond the three genders; hence the Divine is called Ekalinga, or unigender. What is that one gender? The Self, the Atma. The Self is beyond body, mind or intellect; it is beyond likes and dislikes. Ekalinga is the Lord of the Self.On Shivaratri, the Shiv Shakti merges into the whole universe.
Shiva has been associated with destruction; but transformation, new beginning for the better, can only happen when something is destroyed. Shiva is the factor of transformation. ‘Sham’ means peace and good and ‘kara’ means one who does that. ‘Shankara’ means one who gives peace and does good.
The whole of Creation is the dance or play of Shiva, the tandav or dance of one consciousness, one seed, which manifested into a million species in the world. The whole world moving in an auspicious rhythm of innocence and intelligence is Shiva. Shiva is the permanent and eternal source of energy - the one and only eternal state of Being.
There is a story related to Shivratri, about the union of Shiva and Shakti. The primordial and dynamic energy is wedded to the transcendental. Shiva is the silent witness and Shakti is chitti or chidvilasa, the energy that plays and displays in infinite space. Shiva is the formless Being; Shakti is manifestation in the field. This is the recognition of the dual aspect of matter and energy, prakriti and purusha, the dravya and guna - substance and its qualities. Recognising the underlying non-dual nature of Brahmn is Shivaratri.
It is only wakefulness that brings out this knowledge in our consciousness and Shivaratri is the night to celebrate the wakefulness of one universal consciousness without falling into the unconscious sleep state. Breaking the pattern of unconscious sleep gives you a glimpse that you are not a mechanical apparatus but a legend in Creation. To recognise the Shiva tatva, you have to be awake.
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