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.

Audio (in Hindi & English): Sri Sri speaks on his father, Archarya Ratnanandaji

Sri Sri Ravishankar talks about Negative energy

Effect of Focusing on Positive vs Negative Qualities

14 Jan 2011, Mahasatsang with Sri Sri in Mumbai

Pearls of Wisdom from Guruji : Knowledge at Workplace

Guru Kripa: Pearls of Wisdom from Guruji: Knowledge at the workplace

Living in a space of love is the ‘GREATEST POWER’

Above: H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The Times of India, 22nd February, 2010

The man who teaches the art of living to millions with simply a radiant warm smile or a few words of affection believes living in a space of love is the greatest power. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the spiritual guru from Bangalore whose creed is global today, believes that power is the ability to contribute. It is being useful to people. “The responsibility you take for other people is power. If you realize the purpose of why you are doing it, it gives you clarity and vision. Many people think power is about money, religion or politics but I don’t think so. A common man is powerful,” says Sri Sri.

On a lighter note, he adds that the child in the house is the most powerful. If he or she falls ill, no one else will go for a movie. If the child weeps, it worries the family. Everyone obliges and loved the child. “That is soft power,” he laughs.

Though he realizes that he holds immense power to motivate the minds of the masses, his acceptance is subtle. “My ability to contribute brings me power. I take the responsibility to motivate and inspire people.” Sri Sri believes that power comes naturally to people. “To believe you are powerful or striving for power, you need to see others to be weak. I don’t believe in acquiring power like that. No one can be weak in any capacity. Even a watchman or guard is very powerful in his role if he gives 100% to his job,” he says.

The power of love is dissolving - mar mitne ka - but the power of arrogance is diminishing. He will try and always be powerful with love. He refuses to highlight a single achievement, saying, “I can’t speak of one achievement. So many things happen every day. And it’s not me who is responsible for these achievements. Thousands of volunteers who work all around the world achieve the best moments for me.”

His greatest regret? “The Sri Lankan disaster will always remain a black blot. We insisted on the LTTE to go with a white flag of peace and put an end to the bloodshed. But like Saddam Hussain’s mindless war and violence, they ignored us. They did my appeals. During the last few days, some of them asked us to intervene, but it was too late already. I don’t know if they went with the white flag at all or if they were shot when they were marching with the white flags. Our efforts did not pay off.” His hero is every sincere worker. “Even a little bit of commitment for truth and honesty makes a hero out of a common man.”

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, born in 1956, started lessons with his first teacher Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi - a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi - at a tender age. He then became a scholar in Vedic literature and obtained an advanced degree in modern science by the age of 17 from St Joseph’s College in Bangalore. He established the Art of Living in 1981 and cognized the Sudarshan Kriya in 1982.

'Pilgrimage is a journey into oneself '- Sri Ravishankar Tells Priests

by Adolf Washington
“It’s a joy to talk to the lovers of God,” said Sri Sri Ravishankar, founder of the Art of Living organisation, at the Indian Priests Congress held at Velankanni, one of world’s most popular Christian pilgrim centres, February 9.
Ravishankar who received a State VIP escort to the Shrine was Addressing over 900 priests from across India. He said: “It is time to look deep within and connect the mind with the inner self and rekindle the faith. Mind is vascilliting between the past and the future we got to bring it to the present.” To a question from the audience as to what was Sri Ravishankar’s concept of a pilgrimage, he said “To me, pilgrimage is an inward journey. It is a journey into oneself. It is a search for a communion between God and oneself”
Ravishankar told the priests: “We are made up of the substance called love. We are God’s image, God is love, but then why hatred, jealousy among people? How to handle them is a huge challenge. Spiritual wisdom helps to overcome them. Breathing exercises helps to remove all negative emotions.”There are so many things common between Hindus and Christians like the rosary, the prayer bell, which is unique to Christianity and not inherited from Judaism. Answering queries posed by priests such as why Christians are attacked by the Hindu groups, Ravishankar said, “It is because some Pentecostal people indulge in asking people to throw Hindu pictures out from their homes, which causes misunderstanding. People also don’t know the difference between sects. People need education to broaden their vision.” Responding to Journalist Anto Akara’s question “Why have you so far not openly condemned hindu fundamentalist groups that indulge in attacks on the Church”, Ravishankar said “I have openly denounced any form of violence from any quarter. Your Churches were attacked, temples to were attacked. I have denounced any kind of religious violence”. To another question from the audience “Why have you not spoken openly against the caste system?”, the Guruji replied “I have certainly denounced any kind of injustice or discrimination. I have said many times and in many places that we are all children of one God. We are all in Him and He is in all”
“I dont discard religion.Religions are essential because they gives us the connectivity to God. Religion is an external aspect, whereas spirituality is interiorisation,” he concluded.

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.

Most of the conflicts in the world are ego-centric

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
"MOST of the conflicts in the world are ego-centric and not ideological problems. They can be done away with by uniting the hearts and minds,” said noted spiritual guru and founder of the Art of Living Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji. He was addressing the third International Conference of World Organisation of Students & Youth (WOSY) at Teen Murti Auditorium in New Delhi on February 3. More than 300 students from 40 countries of the world participated in the two-day conference which concluded on February 4. The theme of the conference was “Conflict Resolution and Peace”.
Referring to Maoist violence in India Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said violence is not the way to get justice or get the work done. Appealing to the Maoists to join national mainstream and dialogue process, he said social justice could be achieved through peaceful methods too.
Talking about the jehadi mindset which has posed a major threat world over, he said the people involved in jehadi activities have closed their eyes and ears and they see the world only through their own angle. “All religions of the world have a common thread and only wrong interpretation of the scriptures creates problems,” he said.
Coming down heavily on widespread conversions going on in India he said there is no need to convert people. “If I am born as a Hindu I should be a good Hindu. If I am born as a Christian, I should be a good Christian and if I am born as a Muslim I should be a good Muslim. The thinking that only I am going to the heaven and all others will go to the hell becomes the reason of conflicts. Instead of converting people, we should become a good human being and follow our respective ways of worship honestly,” he said.
Stressing the need to globlise wisdom he said, “If Taliban of Afghanistan had wisdom they would not have demolished the marvellous statues of Bamiyan Buddha. The reason of violence there is lack of wisdom. The same thing is happening in Pakistan, which has even denounced its heritage. After all, 400 hundred years ago the Pakistanis were Hindu. They should claim their heritage and should be proud of it. Basically extremism is creating many problems there.”
He appealed to the youth to unite and take initiative to find solutions to the present-day conflicting issues. He said conflicts at various levels are increasing in the world and now the humanity is at stake, we have to resolve these issues in a peaceful manner.

Immortal love is within reach

Deccan Herald, 8th February, 2010
H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Some say the purpose of life is to ensure that one doesn't come back to this planet because it is bereft of love. They feel if there is love then why is life so painful? All that one want in life is love. Every human being is longing for a love that doesn't die out, a love that doesn't cause pain, a love that grows and stands forever. By taking a multilateral view of life, one can see life in a different way and realise that the purpose of life is to achieve this kind of love and blossom in that ideal love.
Suppose you are immensely successful and have all the riches at your command but there is no love in your life, then life would not really be worthwhile; it would appear barren. But still most of the people lead a loveless life. Have you ever thought why this happens? It is your ego that prevents you from achieving that love. As long as there is ego, there cannot be love. And when there is love, there is no sign of ego. What is ego? Ego is simply being unnatural. Half knowledge brings ego but when knowledge becomes complete, ego drops and simplicity dawns.
The question arises that if the ego is so unnatural then why does every human being have an ego? We have the ego because it is necessary in some way for our growth in life. That doesn't mean it should not have been there from the very beginning. Ego is necessary, but with knowledge you can now grow out of it. In the Narada Bhakti Sutras one sutra says: "Knowledge is one of the aids to uncover the naturalness". Through observing oneself and deep into ones self in meditation one can overcome ego.
Often, when someone shows a lot of love you do not know how to respond, you feel obliged and bound. This is because you are not natural. There is an ego coming in between. The ability to receive genuine love comes with the ability to give love. The more you are centered and natural and know that love is not an emotion it is your very existence, the more you feel at home with any amount of love expressed in any manner. A seed has a covering or shell over it, and when you soak it in water, it sprouts and then the shell peels off. Similarly, the ego is a necessary unnaturalness that develops as you grow. When you were a child of two or three years, there was no ego; you are in a state of total, innocent, blissful love. Then the ego forms a cover. Knowledge uncovers this shell and make you a child again; natural, simple and innocent. When you are natural, simple and innocent, there is no ego. The ego is not a substance; it is a non-substance, much like darkness. Darkness is only lack of light. There is nothing called an ego that has substance. Ego is just a lack of total development, a lack of total understanding. It is just a lack of maturity or lack of knowledge.

Youth Power is the Answer: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Youth of the world must unite and take initiative to find solutions to the present day conflicting issues said spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the 3rd International conference of World Organization of Students & Youth (WOSY). He said that conflicts at various levels increasing in the world. Now humanity is at stake, we have to resolve these issues in a peaceful manner.
In the inaugural address Former Foreign Secretary Shashank said if we want to counter terrorism then we should strengthen the dialogue process among the communities and nations which are having conflicts. He emphasized that organizations like WOSY must sensitize the present generation of youth so that when they would take the leadership then they will be able to solve the conflicts with better understanding.
National organization secretary of ABVP Sunil Ambekar was guest of honour of inaugural session. He said since last 25 years WOSY is working with foreign students who are coming to India for higher studies and trying to give them a better idea of Indian culture and ethos.In this two day long international conference, delegates from more than 50 countries are participating. The theme of the conference is conflict resolution and peace. WOSY chairman Sushil Pandit said war is not the solution of any problem. We must resolve all the conflicting issues in a peaceful manner. He also said whole world is a family and idea of WOSY originates from this theme of Vasudhav Kutumbakam.
There were also a couple of brainstorming sessions on globalization, geo-economics and its dynamics. Professor R Vaidyanathan of IIM Banglore, Sunil Bhargav and Shantisree Pandit of University of Pune expressed their views on the topic. Another session dealt with resource conflict where Professor Ashok pachauri of IIT Roorkee expressed his views. Foreign delegates raised their queries in the open session of question and answers.Secretary General of WOSY MS Chaitra, reception committee chairman Dev Sharma, Narendra Yadav, Delhi chapter president of WOSY Sandip Mahapatra, convenor Aniket kale were also present on the stage.
Many renowned dignitaries Like Sahsarkaryawah of RSS Dattatreya Hosebole,Suresh Soni, Rajya Sabha MP Baal Apte, Baleshwar Agrawal, Tarun Vijay, Prof. Raj Kumar Bhatia also graced the occasion.

Gurudev's talk at Hampi - 29 Jan 2010

Prepared by Mr.P.Srinivas, AOL

It was the closing ceremony of the third day function to celebrate the 500th year of coronation of King Krishna Devaraya .

It is not verbatim as HE spoke in Kannada and I was typing away in English!

We have a lot to learn from our culture, tradition and history - they form our roots. Only when we strengthen our roots can we (tree) grow big and strong.
There is a University that is being set up here and in Bellary and it is very good. India used to be the land of higher education in ancient times through Takshila, Nalanda universities. But nowadays we send our children to study in places like Australia where they are slapped and sent back! We should all send our children to Universities here in India. We have to save the various cultures and traditions prevalent in India today, in different places. Normally all over the world, people celebrate the death of a king or the end of a kingdom but India is the only place where a democratic Government is celebrating the 500th year of coronation of a great King - King Krishna Devaraya - our land, our people celebrate diversity and goodness. (I loved the pride with which HE said the above sentence - it was so inspiring!). Whenever Krishna Devaraya defeated any king, he would anoint that defeated king's son to the throne - that showed his greatness.

We have celebrated these 3 days but we can’t just leave and forget about it. Let us take a Sankalpa for a few things before we leave:

1. End discrimination based on caste/race or any form. All the great saints have fought against it - Adi Shankaracharya, Basavanna - everyone. Let us end it now.
2. Maintain hygiene - lets clear Hampi of all plastic. It shouldn't be said that people came and littered the place and went. Never mind even if its someone else's plate or plastic. (HE mentioned that its OK even if its jhoota - HE said that Goddess Lakshmi will come and sit with those who clean other's plates/jhoota). Clean and clear it. We Indians (Kannadigas, Telugu people) should spread joy, happiness, culture and smile wherever we go and not the dirt and plastic. Wherever you see plastic, collect it all and go home and throw it in dustbin.
3. We should send our children to study in Universities in India and encourage it, rather than abroad.

I am very happy that the organizers have arranged such a brilliant show in such a short time. I congratulate all the people who have been instrumental for this. A lot of people work in the background always.

Values: Elusive Reality

World Economic Forum (WEF) Report - Faith and the Global Agenda: Values for the Post-Crisis Economy, 18th January, 2010
H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Trust is the backbone of business, and ethics its limbs; these are both at stake today. People have little or no faith left in banks and financial institutions. In such a global scenario, it becomes difficult for business to flourish.

Understanding and re-evaluating our way of doing business is an earnest need of our times. To re-establish faith and trust in the economic system, we need a moral and ethical revival.

The system currently lacks proper checks and balances. The goings-on in Madoff ’s case in New York, the catastrophe with Lehman Brothers and other investment bankers, the burst of the dot-com bubble, the Enron debacle, the untruth perpetuated in the name of Satyam (which means Truth) - these are all cases in point, where an artificial hype was created by manipulating data and people were kept in the dark about what was really happening for a long time.

Greed in the form of unchecked corruption that has crept even into the judicial system has dimmed the hope of people. Human values have taken a back seat. Given this as the background, what could be the steps forward?

We have to ensure that honesty, integrity and compassion are encouraged and rewarded.Along the same lines as a carbon credits system, there could be a points system for corporate social responsibility (CSR) too. Often CSR is undertaken simply as a showpiece rather than a solution. Proactively promoting human values can bring them to the forefront in any transaction.

Human beings usually follow ethical and moral values out of fear rather than because they are driven by their own conscience. Although fear of losing one’s reputation is an effective force for ensuring that people do the right thing, following ethical considerations because of one’s conscience has become a rarity.

The implementation of these human values in the corporate program cannot be just a one-sided affair, just a project for businesses. It has to be developed holistically by including society’s four pillars: its economic establishments, its faith-based organizations, its political institutions and its social sector. We need to foster a coordinated effort among these stakeholders. If any one of these pillars collapses, the others also become disabled. Faith-based institutions can catalyse a huge transformation and engender much needed integrity in people.

Social entrepreneurship too needs to be encouraged to lessen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. As long as people are hungry and do not have access to basic amenities, one cannot expect honesty and integrity. The opportunity to grow should not be curbed in any part of the globe and charity should be geared towards growth rather than perpetuating dependency. The word dominance has to be replaced with the word cooperation.

History has shown us that while some parts of the world prosper, others start crumbling. While India was thriving, Europe was at a low; when Europe was on a high, Asia was down; when Europe and Asia were on the decline, the United States was on the rise; and while the rest of the world is reeling, Brazil, India and China are flourishing. This was the paradigm of the past. In the present global scenario, where international borders are porous, the inter-connectedness and inter-dependence of countries and regions is obvious.

On the health front, the United Nations has declared that depression will be the second biggest killer by 2020; this disease is already making its presence felt. An estimated 40% of the school teachers in Europe are depressed. In Europe alone, US$ 113 billion is spent every year to tackle mental illness and depression and its effects. If one-third of the population is mentally depressed, there is no way a healthy economy or better social system can be developed. Given the rising incidence of physical and mental illnesses and behavioural disorders in the society, attempts to establish a robust economy will be just like putting makeup on a corpse.

This is where faith-based organizations and their activities can play a vital role. Over-ambitiousness often boomerangs as depression, which can be countered by self-referral or spiritual values.

When a country becomes stronger, it prefers dialogue to war. Armed conflict between strong nations is a thing of the past. In the present scenario, guerrilla warfare, ethnic conflict within a nation and squeamish squabbles between small nations are widespread. If every nation is empowered to become stronger, perhaps we can put an end to these conflicts.

Terrorism is another big threat that has dearly cost the economy of every nation. The cause of terrorism is the lack of wisdom. We have done very little to globalize wisdom, to encourage multi-religious education and multi-cultural activity. Even if a small part of the population in a corner of the globe thinks that only they possess the truth or only they can go to heaven, and they want to thrust their truth on the rest of humanity, the world cannot have peace. The clashes of civilizations and religious ideologies have to be addressed; unless they are, peace cannot flourish and consequently neither can prosperity.

For example, in India, 200 odd districts - around one-third of the country - are clogged by Naxalite (Maoist) violence. No businessman ventures there to start any industry or to trade. These are the poorest regions in the country and the lack of peace translates there into zero development.

Deep-rooted prejudices among communities have to be checked. It is ironic that even in this progressive age, racial prejudice still exists. In many places, Yoga and other spiritual practices have remained a taboo for a long time. Certain countries have even banned Yoga. Gandhian principles of truth and non-violence are talked of as outdated even in their place of origin.

Racial attacks happen not only in uneducated parts of Africa or South-East Asia but also in a developed and advanced country such as Australia. The hooliganism experienced in the suburbs of France, or the conduct of people in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, clearly indicate we are sitting on a volcano of volatile human behaviour. This needs to be nipped in the bud, or, as is said in the East: “The seeds need to be roasted so that they don’t sprout.” This can be achieved through our education systems by introducing multi-religious and multi-cultural education beginning in elementary schools.

The principles of Maoism are not even followed in Russia; but the archaic books of Stalin, Lenin and Mao Tse Tung are being taught as gospel truth to innocent people in Nepal, India and other countries. Many superstitious beliefs, along with the caste system, have chained India’s progress. Similarly, there are obsolete practices of inequality between genders in Arab and African countries, which have caused great angst to women. Such out-dated practices call for reforms.

An ability to work without prejudice of any sort and a readiness to look into the new paradigms are skills sets essential for the modern era. The present generation seems to have acquired these skills by dropping the biased and conservative mindset of the past.

It is time to kick-start enlightened imaginations. The World Economic Forum’s Global Redesign Initiative is a great idea provided it includes people from every strand of the social fabric. It has to be a collaborative effort of honest politicians, businessmen with integrity, religious leaders with credibility, visionary educationalists, social workers with compassion and clarity and realistic environmentalists as well as people from entertainment and sports industry.

To implement the action plan, so that it doesn’t remain only on paper, it is essential to create catalysts and train ground-level workers.

This dream is possible to achieve when we rise above our limited mindset of my country, my religion and my people to embrace the greater perspective of my planet.

Must See: Antarnaad, Art of Living event on January 12, 2010

Art of Living hosted a historic symphony - Antarnaad - in Pune on Jan 12th, bringing over 2750 Indian classical vocalists together on one platform, to write a new chapter in the history of music. Here are some clips shared by a devotee.

Chitra Roy - Durga Bhajan

Shankar Mahadevan - Mora Shankara Mora

Gayatri - Madhava Madhu Sudana

Rajan-Sajan Mishra - Raj bhairavi

Shankar - Hari Sunder Mukda

Shankar - Om Namah Shivaya

History -- around 1 lakh people sung "vande mataran"

Guruji's talk at Antarnaad

Wisdom from Sri Sri's updates

Unless you know the principle of the universe, you cannot know the Self

Power of Peace: Part II

Power of Peace: Part I

You have Infinite Potentialities within You!!

Sri Sri Ravishankar's talk at the Confederation of Indian Industries at IIS, Bangalore, India, 2002

It is wonderful to hear that the students are taking a lot of initiative .When the institution moves with an idea to bridge wherever it feels to have some gap - among people, among ideologies, among sciences, among cultures; it needs to be welcomed. That’s what is needed today.

Humanity as a whole is part of one divinity. When I say part, I don’t mean they are apart. Science and Spirituality or Humanity are not apart at all. It is all looking at the reality from various different angles. In the Upanishad it is said, “Avidhyayam mrutyum teerthava vidyayam mrutamashmeta”. It is two sides of the same coin. Avidhya, doesn’t mean ignorance, Avidhya means the knowledge of the relative, of THIS. The knowledge of THIS takes you away from death and knowledge of ME, of the self, gives you immortality. It’s like saying either one thing that darkness vanishes, or by saying the other thing that light comes in. It cannot happen one after the other, it is a simultaneous happening. Darkness comes when light goes ; and light comes when darkness goes. It is a simultaneous happening.

Same with Humanity and Science; The Science is there for human beings, and science is understood by humans, animals don’t understand the science. So in that sense Humanity cannot be the perceiver, the observer cannot be separated from the seen or the observed. Science is all about the observed, about the seen and Humanity is about the seer. And now let’s see what the seer consists of. The seer consists of all that is abstract. Love, Beauty, Peace, Joy, Intelligence. And the seen consists of all matter including our own physical body, physical existence. This understanding is because of ‘Vivek’, discrimination, the seen and the seer.

Then seeing that the seen and the seer are all part of one whole. “What is this?”- is Science and “Who am I?” - is Spirituality or, if you want to call it as Humanity, its the same. ( may be lighter and a softer word! ) Spirituality looks a little up in the air, Humanity looks a little down on the earth. But it matters the same. It means the same. But when we think they are separate even while trying to bridge them up also, you know, we will keep them separate. All that we need to know and notice is that there is a link or that they’re all the same. In our ancient scriptures they have “Padhartha Gyanadh Moksha” They didn’t insist you must believe in God. One of the Darshanas, Vysashika Darshanas said this – ‘ padhartha ….’ That is : even if you understand or know one tiny particle of this creation, you will be liberated. Because in that one tiny particle of creation the entire creation is reflected, is present there.

The more we know Science, the more we know that we know very little. It leads us to a place that I know very little about the creation. The mystery deepens. And the same happens when you try to ponder upon “Who am I?” The deeper you go, you find you are much vaster than what you thought you were. So this is the unending mystery in both sides, if you go within or out, the mystery of the ‘Self’ and the mystery of the creation. And it is a welcome idea to ponder more on this, bringing in the dialogue. This dialogue would help us to understand THIS and ME better. THIS meaning, which creates the world around us and ME is the depth that you are. Very nice !

It is said that Vyas, formed the Humanities. I would like to tell you a story. {Are you all here? Is everyone here? You know, usually when you keep listening to some talk there is a tendency for the attention to go away. We take several coffee breaks in between. Unofficial, mental coffee breaks !! So I want you to be here.}

Here is the story about Ved Vyas. The creator created the world and Vedas then Ved Vyas was asked to categorize them, make them into proper curriculum for the people to study and he agreed. Because Vedas are infinite.( Veda means the knowledge and it is infinite)-there is no beginning to it and there is no end to it , he was asked to categorize them. Then he was shown, where was the Vedas. They showed a huge mountain-bigger than Himalays. Ved Vyas asked how much he could take? He went and took handfuls of .. just handful of that mountain. And from that one handful of mountain he created all the Vedas. He categorized them all. The Vedas were already present, it was not created. But he took just handful from that mountain and what did he make? He made the four Vedas - The Rig Veda, ten thousand verses-written by many thousands of Rishis; ‘Yajur Veda’, ‘Sam Veda’ and ‘Athurva Veda’. And then he made four Upavedas - the Ayurveda -science of life, all about medicines, herbalogy ; Dhanurveda, Sthapasyaveda - diagrams ; and Gandharva Veda –about music, phonetics (the origin of music ).

From the four Vedas which are more like Pure Science or abstract, came four Upavedas which are more practical and applied science, for day to day life. And then the six Darshanas (even more applied science): Vaishaishika, Nyaya, Mimamsa, Sankhya, Yoga and Vedanta- these six applied sciences were derived from it. And then more humanities, more arts and science followed by the epics Ramayan and Mahabharat which have the cultural part or the heritage part .And then the Puranas. The word Purana indicates just the opposite what we think it means. In Hindi language also when we say purana we mean old. Purana in fact means “Puree Nava Ithi Purana”. That which is the new in the town is Purana. Pura means the town and nava means new. That which is new, the latest fashion is called purana. See, how over a time that has lost its whole meaning ( the meaning became different rotated by 180 degree !) So these aspects of humanity need to be brought into our awareness.

We need to be aware of our own selves, our body, our breath, our mind, how the mind works. In the gurukul as initiation ,the first thing a student was given was to make him realize Who you are and to get confidence in oneself . They called it ‘Brahmopadesh’. Brahmopadesh means what? The greatest advice, initiation. And what was said- You are not what you think you are. You are bigger than this whole universe. ‘Thou are that’ - you are that.! -That was the first knowledge imparted to a student before he could understand and study more. So increasing the capacity of a student to study more, to instill the confidence in him. the teacher would look into the eyes of the student and say, “Look, who do you think you are? You are not just somebody. You are more than that somebody you think you are. You have infinite possibilities , Potentiality in you. Wake up.

Sri Sri addresses parliament of world religions

http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/other/2009120538934.htm