Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

If you are not happy..

“If you are not happy, upset, sad:
1. Know: Everything is changing. It is impermanent. It’s a passing phenomenon. Have conviction about this.
2. You have the capacity to face it. You are much more powerful than a situation or problem that is in front of you.
3. Look at those who have greater problems than you. People in Sri Lanka, people in Iraq, even here in inner city areas – see what crisis or problem they have. And do something for them. When you start doing something, then your problem will appear like nothing, miniscule. Your problem will get solved…because it appears like nothing big.
4. Know: You have always been helped. Haven’t you been helped? Look back and see…Have that faith: I will get help. I will move through it. Nature will take care. God will take care… It will be handled.
5. See: In this whole cosmos, everything is nothing. Every particle is nothing. I am nothing, we are nothing, this is all nothing. A few moments of that awareness that everything is nothing brings enormous strength and courage in you. And love… See when you are angry, you say ‘I give up.’ When that comes from knowledge, the ‘I give up’…intense prayer happens: I can’t handle this. I give up.
From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Sri Sri talks on Desires in Life

Q: I realize how attached I am to some of my desires and dreams, such as, having a family for example. Do I have to practice detachment to make it happen? Does the spiritual path involve detachment from all of our desires?

Sri Sri: Look, if you have too many desires that is a problem. it is too scattered. Focus on one desire at a time.
Do you really want to get married? Why didn’t you do it so far? Are you being too picky and choosy? When the time comes you don’t go ahead, and later on you think you cannot find anybody.

Once a gentleman who was in his 60’s came to me and said, ‘Gurudev, I am looking for a soul mate, but I haven't found one’.
I said, 'Wait for another 15 years, you’ll find her in heaven'.
You know, don’t be too fussy about it. Look for a good person and get married. Even if they’re not good, you can change them, make them better!

I want to tell you a story about the Shakespeare of India. Have you heard about him? His name was Kalidasa and he is called the Shakespeare of India because he wrote some of the most excellent work in Sanskrit literature.
If anyone wants to learn Sanskrit, they cannot miss Kalidasa. How he became Kalidasa is very interesting.
There was a great king, a very well known emperor of India. He had a daughter and his daughter was very beautiful. She was very intelligent, very smart and knew everything with perfection. So it was very difficult for the king to find a suitable match because she had to interview him.
See, in India, in the ancient times, women had all the power! It is the women who chose men, like Sita had her own Swayamvara. A Swayamvara is a ceremony where the woman can choose the person with whom she wants to get married.

So, the story goes, all the princes from the princely states were invited. Princes from many places flocked there because they had heard about her intelligence and her beauty. Some were very scared, as she would ask them a question and nobody could answer her questions.
So she rejected everybody, and year after year this kept happening. The king was a little worried but the prime minister was quite annoyed. She probably insulted him and the story goes that he was annoyed with her. The prime minister thought, ‘I have to teach this shrew a lesson, I have to tame her'.
So once he was passing by the forest and he saw a wood cutter who was sitting on the branch of a tree and cutting the head of the branch!. Suddenly an idea struck him and he said, ‘Hey come down!'
When he came down he said, 'You come with me'.
The woodcutter agreed and the minister asked him to be silent and only answer the questions with hand gestures. So he dressed the woodcutter up a little bit, and took him to the palace. He went to the princess and said, ‘I have brought a really brilliant guy for you’.
She said, ‘Okay, I will propose three questions to him’.
So she asked him, what is the truth of the world, he answered showing his index finger.
Then she asked, how the creation was created, and he answered by gesturing the number two with his hand.
The third question also passed in a similar fashion and she was very impressed. So she got married to him. When she got married, then she realized that he did not even know to write an alphabet. He was just a wood cutter in the forest. She felt cheated, but during those days in India, once you marry, that is it. You marry with all the five elements as a witness and then you are wedded for life.
Now she felt very cheated. She went to the temple and she cried before the Mother Divine. Then she realized how arrogant she was. She rejected so many people and caused pain to so many because she was trying to choose someone better, someone who could defeat her, but look what happened. She wanted to be defeated in a different sense, but she got defeated in another sense. She does this and she goes into deep meditation.
It is said, at that time, the Mother Divine came and asked this man, who was sitting there completely bewildered, to stretch his tongue out. So he stretched his tongue and she wrote Om on it. With this experience he immediately started reciting a poem called Smalaya Tandegam, and from then on he was known as the Kalidasa.
Kalidasa wrote the most exquisite of literature and wonderful poetry; such deep description, such intelligence, and so much pun in it. It is considered very beautiful.
So if you get somebody who is not up to your mark, I tell you, you have the ability to change them! This is the reason why I said this story. Believe in it (ability) and move on. If it doesn't happen over a few years, you have your way and they have their way

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to make correct decisions

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has inspired a global phenomenon of compassion and service. A spiritual leader and humanitarian, his programs have impacted more than 25 million people worldwide. He is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation, a multi-faceted organization that offers a wide array of educational and humanitarian programs that uplift individuals, make a difference in local communities, and foster global change.
Q: How do I know if I am making the correct decision?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you make a decision, somewhere you get the gut feeling that says, ‘Yes, this is correct.'
Even if you take a wrong decision, it always leads you to growth. You become stronger; you learn a lesson somewhere deep inside.
Q: Please speak about compassion.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: In life there are three things, which are essential:
1. Passion
2. Dispassion
3. Compassion
Passion is like breathing in, and Dispassion is like breathing out. No one can say, ‘I want to only breathe in, I don’t want to breathe out.' Impossible! So breathing in is essential, and that is Passion for things in life. Then, there is also a need for Dispassion. Dispassion means the ability to just let go of everything. Dispassion brings you relief and then Compassion becomes your nature. So you must have Passion when you do work, Dispassion when you want to rest, and Compassion as your very nature. That is it!
Q: Please talk about Reciprocity.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Reciprocity is very natural.
At a higher state of mind, reciprocity is instantaneous. Only when someone is not sensitive there is no reciprocity.
Often people reciprocate the bad things. If you blame somebody, they are ready to blame you immediately. If you insult somebody, they insult you immediately, but it is not the same for the good.
If you do something good, not everybody think they should reciprocate the goodness. That happens only when the mind is at a higher state.
Q: I am going through a separation. My wife and I have chosen different paths and live different lives. We both want our child to be with each of us. In this situation, what is the wisest thing to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The child should be exposed to both paths and allowed to choose.
If there is no understanding between the couple, it is definitely a strain on the child.
What both parents should keep in mind is that they should not go on blaming each other in front of the child. Putting the child against one of the parents is no good. That is a very narrow minded approach.
Q: Gurudev, sometimes what make me happy conflicts with the expectations of my family and friends? In that case what do I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, you need to balance both. Balance between your search for happiness and the expectation of others from you. It is a little delicate but you should definitely make an effort.
Q: What is the need for meditation and relaxation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you relax, the mind expands.
Have you noticed when you are happy what happens? Something inside you starts expanding.
And when you are unhappy what happens? Something inside you starts shrinking.
So when you relax the body, then the mind starts blossoming.
Q: Please tell us what is death?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no need to define death. It is an obvious phenomenon. We are born and we are going to die one day.
When we came to this world, the first thing we did was we took a deep breath in, and then we started crying. And the last thing we will do in this life is breathe out, and then others will cry.
If we don’t make others cry, then we have not lived a good life.
When the soul leaves the body with full contentment, with a lot of love and wisdom, then it is not compelled to come back. It can come back on its own will.

Q: Please let us know what is the biggest limitation for human beings?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Body has limitation, mind has limitation, but the spirit has no limitation.
When you think you are the body then you have limitation. Then you can do only that much.
When you think you are the mind, mind also has some limitation. But your love has no limitation. Your consciousness has no limitation.
See, how with one small cell phone, you can reach the whole world. You can reach any number of phone numbers with one call phone, isn’t it?
Similarly our mind, which invented the cell phone is much more powerful than the cell phone itself. You only need to make it available.
Q: What should I do if the stress factor is coming from outside. If it is something I do not control or it is beyond me. How do I transmit peace?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is why we need to educate people on how to handle their stress. If one person is not well in the family, does it not affect the whole family? Yes, it does affect. Similarly, if a few are mentally unwell in the society, crime increases in society.
There are people who are in prisons who say, 'Oh, now we don't want to be in violence', but there are so many more outside who are causing problems to society and that is why we need to give this spiritual education to people.
We need to educate people on how to be calm, how to handle their negative emotions and how to handle their mind, because neither at home, nor at school did anyone teach us how to handle our mind. So then there is anger, jealousy and hatred, and when you live with these emotions then you act on them. You don't know how to get rid of it. You hold on to it and then you act from that and then you regret. This is the problem.
These practices and this knowledge here is the solution.

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Overcome the Self Guilt....

How can I become free from the sense of doership?
Sri Sri: Just keep doing, don’t worry about it.
I think you have too much time to sit and think, 'Am I the doer or not'. Just do what you are suppose to do.

Every action has a reward; pleasant, unpleasant, or mixed. There are only three types of rewards. When you act, that action brings you some positive reward, or some negative reward, or some positive and negative reward. The effect of all these rewards stay only for some time. So the wise will not worry about it.
In every action there is something positive and there is something that is negative. An action cannot be 100% perfect. Focus on the positive things that develop out of an action. And don’t worry about the effect of the action, just keep moving.
If you have done a wrong action, that has taught you a lesson not to repeat it next time. If you have done the right action, it encourages you to do many more of the same right actions.
If you find that in the action you did, there are some things that you could improve, then you can always improve on that.
Just move on, don’t say, 'I am the doer', or, 'I am not the doer'. Anyway no one is a doer in one sense, and in another sense, yes, you are the doer, because inside of you there are two.

There is a beautiful story in the Upanishads which says, 'On the tree of this universe, there are two birds sitting, one is enjoying the fruit, the other is just watching, like a witness'. So, there is one aspect of you that is not doing anything, that is much bigger. And there is one aspect in you that is doing everything. Both are present in you.
Now you might ask, 'How?'
On one level, you find that you are changing. Your thoughts are changing, your emotions are changing, your body is changing. Yet at another deeper level, there is something in you that is not changing at all; it is the same. So it is not one or the other, it is both together simultaneously.

When guilt eats you up, or pride takes over your head, then you should understand that you are not the doer. Do you get it?
When you do something very good and you say, 'Oh I did it, I did it', that too makes you unhappy. Doing something good also make you unhappy because you do so much and then you say that nobody recognizes you, nobody listens to you.
So not being recognized for your good work makes you miserable, and if you do something wrong, that too eats up your spirit and creates a sense of guilt. When such things happen, know that you are not the doer. Be a witness then.

People who have committed the biggest crime on the planet, somewhere deep inside, they think, 'Hey, I didn’t do it, how did this happen'.
They feel surprised and shocked, and they feel that they are not the doer, it just happened. If you talk to the biggest criminals on the planet, you will see that they find themselves being caught by an (criminal) act. Same way, someone who has done some excellent work, they also feel that it just happened; everything fell into place. That non-doership is an experience in itself.

When you have to do things, then don't say, 'Oh, I am not the doer'. Don’t go into that mode. It will only tear you apart. If you have to focus on some work, focus and just do it.
I am not a doer, is an experience, sometimes it just dawns on you. And it is also a reminder to you when you are reeling in guilt, or in arrogance.


You say when we are scared of something, we should face our fears. My question is where do I get the courage to face these fears?
Sri Sri: Know that you are not alone, and there is a universal power that loves you, and is with you. When you remember that you are being loved very dearly, fear vanishes. All your troubles begin because you don’t believe you are being loved very dearly. That is where the whole problem starts, and you start behaving in ways that pushes everybody away. You create a misery for yourself, because you doubt yourself; Am I good enough? Am I being loved? Does God love me or not? Do people love me or not? These sort of doubts.
Just take it for granted that you are loved and liked, even if you’re a buffoon. Even if you are a clown, you are loved and enjoyed. People like you however you are. Just move on, don’t sit and spend too much time worrying about yourself, examining yourself, and re-examining. Just take up a commitment and do what you need to do, and take deep rest with dispassion.

Three things are essential, Passion, Dispassion and Compassion.
When you have passion, you don’t worry. When you don’t have passion, that is when you sit and worry. Hesitation comes when you lack passion. Without passion life loses all its charm and you slip into depression. Passion is essential; invoke the passion.

Not only passion, dispassion is also essential. People tell you that you should be passionate, but I say you should also have dispassion. Dispassion is often thought to be a depressed state of affairs. People look very depressed and think this is dispassion. This is a completely wrong understanding.
Dispassion makes you centered. It keeps your smile and equanimity. It keeps the intellect sane and emotions balanced. When you have dispassion you will stop complaining about anything to anybody. The world is the way it is, you won’t complain about people or situations, and you won’t complain about yourself. This is dispassion.

Many times we complain about others, including the ones we love the most. We make the other person defensive, or make them give explanations. It is such a headache!
Initially I used to get swayed by this. People would say, ‘You don’t look at me’, or ‘You don’t talk to me’, or ‘Are you angry with me’, my goodness! These days I do not answer such questions. If you think so, let it be. So be it. Never mind! When you get beaten up a little bit by your own emotions, that makes you strong somewhere.

It’s all just a matter of wanting attention. You give attention and they are alright. Just like babies – if you don’t attend to them they throw tantrums just to draw your attention. Have you noticed this? When you have guests at home and you are busy talking to them, that is when the children want to show you their paintings. They have already shown it to you ten times. But when you are having an important discussion, they come and disturb you! You wonder that this child was quiet, what happened all of a sudden!
We have not grown up from that stage, we always want attention from people. And for this attention we create tension for the others.
So with dispassion, you neither have attention deficiency, nor do you have any tension. You won’t sit and crave for attention. Dispassion is essential.

One more thing that is really beneficial is compassion. When you have compassion it propels you, it motivates you. When you have compassion for those who do wrong, you don’t feel hatred or bitterness towards them. Compassion greases passion and dispassion, and balances them out.

Dear Gurudev, all our lives we seek for love in our relationships and yet this love is so temporary. What is ultimate love or the love that never goes away?
Sri Sri: You are made up of the stuff called love. What you are seeking here and there is what you are. Turn inward and repose. When you find that you don’t need love from anybody and you are the source of it, then you start giving. When you start giving in abundance, it comes back to you in abundance.

When I see beauty and talent in others, my mind either starts putting them down or feels jealous. I am complete in myself then why does mind reel in lack?
Sri Sri: Perhaps you don’t realize that someday everybody is going to die. All those beautiful people, they are also going to die. All those living in the past were beautiful, and wars were fought and they all died. Those who you are jealous about, they are also going to die. Wake up and look, where is the jealousy? What is beauty? The so-called beauty that we think is only skin deep, is not beauty.
Beauty is the nature of our own spirit. When you are happy and content, the quality of consciousness or life that dawn inside you is the real beauty, not the outer appearance.


What is the best way to dissolve our karma?
Sri Sri: Just keep acting. Don’t worry, karma is past. Knowledge, awareness, meditation and good action, these things erase the past karma.
Being aware and knowing that the past is past, that it happened for whatever reason; the awareness of this knowledge itself erases the past karma. Do good actions, do something good.
From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Monday, November 25, 2013

Bhagwad Geeta will give you solace when life seems to be a battle

Q: These practices bring so much inner comfort. If I do a lot of practice, will it make me more happy?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t do too much of practice. Move ahead gradually. Do only as much as needed. Do that much to which your body gets accustomed to. You should not start doing 10 hours of practice all of a sudden.

Q: What is the difference between Ashtavakra Geeta and Bhagwad Geeta?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: One was sung in a royal palace and other in a battle field. You yourself see now what the difference is. It is like a song having different tunes. Both have their own value. When life seems to be a battle, Bhagwad Geeta will give you solace, and then Ashtavakra Geeta.

Q: My husband has yet not done the ‘Art of Living’ course. I want him to experience the same joy and knowledge. I have persuaded him by all means. Please guide me what to do now?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You pray. It will happen.

Q: I started doing spiritual practices when I was 17 years old. I have tried many practices. After long practice of meditation, I have had many out of body experiences. At certain stage, my mind became dysfunctional and I was frightened. Can you please guide me?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Some people try different techniques, they try to learn everything being taught anywhere, and end up making a chaos out of it. That is why, all this happens. The path which is being guided here is very safe. Do as much as needed. If you try to follow all kinds of techniques, it creates a problem.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar talks on Bhagwad Geeta

Q: Will I have more experiences?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Experience happens on its own, but don’t hanker for experiences.

Q: How to keep the God and world together?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How can you keep them together? They are already one. Where is the question of combining them? In the nature of form, it is world, and same is God in its formless nature. You don’t have to do anything to bring them together.

Q: How can I be a selfless devotee? I have been doing business with you till now. What step should I take to be the same?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This wish has arisen in you, so take it for granted that it has already started. I don’t mind even if you do business. Anyway, you would be getting much more than you give. Live joyfully. You wouldn’t encounter any loss even if you do business.

“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Three types of space


Today I want to tell you about three type 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. When you close your eyes – that is inner space.
And then there is the third space. That is the space of energy where there is no thought, no emotion but you just feel energy. In deep meditation you experience that, isn’t it? Or after kriya you experience that space. There are no thoughts, nothing but space.

One is called the Bhut Akash, the outer space, second is Chit Akash the space from where thoughts and emotions come, and third, Chid Akash, i.e., space of consciousness. Consciousness itself is another space deep within us. So we seldom understand; pay attention, to these three different spaces.
Whenever you are frustrated what do you say? ‘Give me some space. I want to be by myself.’ It is very important. All inventions come from these three types of space. In the Chid Akash, in the consciousness it is already there. All knowledge comes to Chit Akash from the Chidakash through thoughts and emotions. Songs come as emotions, science comes as thoughts and ideas and then they manifest.
Meditation is recognizing these three spaces.

Sometimes you sit and watch the vast space, put your attention there, and the mind also becomes blank. For how many of you it has happened?
On a nice day, cloudless sky, just bright stars are there and you just lie down and keep gazing at the sky. When you gaze at the sky what happens? That space gets created inside too. A sort of emptiness and you get into a meditative state. So, all the thoughts, ideas, everything we do remains in this space. Maybe in the future sometime someone will invent a device to tap into the Akashic records. Then you can find out what happened in 2010, 2011 and before that. What knowledge came, where and who was thinking what - all that can be reviewed sometime in the future because time has inscriptions of all ideas.

You may have noticed in your own life, some places you get jittery and angry. How many have experienced this? What has happened? In that space there are people who have been angry or agitated. So you move into that space and it affects your whole behavior. And when you’re in good company what happens? You feel so much lighter, uplifted inside, totally at ease and at peace. Hasn’t this happened to you? How many feel this has happened, tell me?

So the company matters, really matters. That doesn’t mean you should avoid people because they are not good company. You also should be strong and instead of running away from negative influence you must positively impact any negative environment. And the meditations (in the advance course) will help you be very strong and stable in that space. So wherever you go you carry your space and you make an influence rather than getting affected. Not be a ping pong ball but be the bat so you can influence the space around you. (Clapping)

This you must strongly know so that you don’t run away from a situation unless or until it is so bad that it is swallowing you. Then you gently move away, don’t run away. Are you getting what I am saying?

So when children are playing the space is beautiful. When you are singing and everyone is singing the same tune, that space generated is harmonious and serene, especially the ancient songs, the old songs. The Sanskrit chants have an added influence because these have been in the Akashic record for the last 20,000 to 50,000 years. Maybe more, you don’t even know since when it was there. So those vibrations make it very benevolent and have a strong influence on the system.

Anything that is Divine is always universal. Are you getting what I am saying? Yes! Culture is different, religion is different, ways of dressing is different, music is different, different places, but the space is the same. The inner space is the same. And it is amazing that this science was known thousands of years ago. Good, good, good!

So many of you have just come today and you must be just relaxing. How many of you feel that as soon as you entered the ashram already you feel lighter? A different experience, a different space; you could feel that right! It’s obvious; even in Bangalore ashram, because there is meditation happening there everyday people say, ‘I just come in and wow, I already feel lighter. My mind is clearer’. It’s interesting how the universe functions, very good!
From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Life is a fine balance between the emotions & the intellect

Q: Guruji, many times you have clarified that the Master is the presence and not the physical entity but when I see you I get so mesmerized with your appearance, your actions. Please tell me what to do?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Simply realize that you appreciate what you have. You are also beautiful. Inside each one of us there is beauty. We all have all these virtues inside us. Some virtues are manifested and some will soon manifest.

Q: Guruji, do you have any unfulfilled desires?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: (After a little pause) Yes, I want to see millions of people smiling and all these conflicts in the world to end. There should be no war. WAR itself means ‘Worst Act of Reason’. People who are involved in war give reasons to justify their actions but it is actually the worst act of reason. There is so much domestic violence in the world today. All this must stop. This can happen when people become more compassionate and understanding.

Q: To break the cycle of birth and death we have to attain mukti/liberation, then why do enlightened masters reincarnate?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: With one goal - to help those who are in need and on the other hand just to play.

Q: Is it ok to pray for a peaceful end to the life of a person with Parkinson’s syndrome?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Whenever someone suffers, the people around him or her are the ones who suffer more than the person. The family of a mentally retarded child suffers much more than the child himself. That child is in a different paradigm of mind. Nature gives the strength to endure the suffering and walk through with strength. An animal is given only that heavy a tail, which it can wag. Just imagine a rat having the tail of an elephant. Nature is very intelligent. It only gives you that problem which you can handle.

 Q: Guruji, I read somewhere that chanting OM is not good for women. Please elaborate.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Maybe some man has written that book! (laughter) Perhaps they are afraid that women may become more powerful, intelligent, independent and stronger than men. All this is not true. In the Middle Ages, some people spread this message with the selfish motive of keeping the knowledge only to themselves.

Q: Can charity grant liberation?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Charity purifies wealth. Ghee/clarified butter purifies food. Knowledge purifies the intellect. Bhajan purifies the mind & Service purifies the action.

Q: What is the difference between self–respect and ego? If someone says harsh words to you, it hurts. Is that ego or self-respect?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Nobody can take away your self–respect. If it pinches you then that is due to ego or your foolishness. When someone is harsh to you, it is ok to be hurt but then you should also know how to rise above that. It is because of knowledge that we can come out of that feeling of hurt.

Q: If everything is pre-decided, then what is the need for karma/ action?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We cannot live without karma. All is pre-decided for an animal but not for a human. Some things are pre-decided and some are not. If everything was pre-decided, why would we be doing bhajans here? It would be no different than being an animal then. Humans have responsibilities to fulfill and humans take on responsibility. An animal has neither any responsibility nor any demand. Humans have freedom as well as an intellect.

Q: What is difference between accepting people as they are and labeling them as they are?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You tell me the answer. If you really want an answer then sit and think about it. If in your mind this question has arisen, the answer will also come. You have some notion of acceptance in your mind and some other notion of labeling. That’s why you are using two different words. You won’t ask the difference between ‘Kela’ (banana in Hindi) and ‘Banana’. When we ask the difference we already know what that difference is. You already know in your mind and a little introspection will give you the answer.

Q: I see some images during meditation. Is that ok?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no need to pay attention to that. It is just an experience. In Sudarshan Kriya or meditation you may hear something, see some images or visions but all these come and go. It is a form of stress release.

Q: In one of your books you have said religion is like the banana peel and spirituality is the fruit inside. Does that mean one who is spiritual has nothing to do with religion?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Religion is inevitable. You have a religion since birth. Your name only conveys the religion to which you belong. Your name, marriage all this is part of religion. You can’t deny it. Spirituality unites all religions. That is the core value of all religions.

Q: If a relationship is not going smoothly, what to do?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, I am not an expert to answer this. (Laughter) One thing I can tell you is that you should leave a certain margin in a relationship. The strength of a relationship lies in the ability to accommodate rough patches. How well you handle it gives you skills. Otherwise how do you get to know how accommodating, understanding and considerate you are? These virtues come up only when you have rough patches. See the situation as an opportunity on how to adapt, how to be accommodating, understanding and considerate. You should give a shot to excel in exhibiting your character rather then changing the other person.

Q: Guruji, up to what extent should one sustain a relationship? How much can one bend?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You can’t bend too much if the other person is turning violent, taking advantage of you. Then you have to stand up and state clearly. Deal with all of this using your intellect and not your emotions. Conflict is always emotional. Resolution is intellectual. Emotional conflict can’t be dealt with emotions. Similarly an intellectual argument cannot be dealt with the intellect. The emotional side of it has to be considered. If you observe carefully there is a stream of emotions behind an intellectual argument. Life is a fine balance between the emotions and the intellect. When to use what, is the real wisdom. And how do you gain that wisdom? The answer is meditation, meditation and meditation.

Q: Tell us something about ‘nadi shodan’ (alternate nostril) pranayama.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are 1,82,000 nadis/ energy channels in our body. When we breathe, these are activated and that is why we are alive. When we breathe through the left nostril, certain nadis are functioning and others function when we breathe through the right nostril. So when we alternate the breath through the nostrils, certain changes happen in the body and in our system. Our system gets purified. Fresh energy moves in the system and the stress is eliminated. The left nostril activates the functioning of the right brain and vice versa. So when we alternate our breathing, all the brain waves get synchronized. Biochemical changes happen in the body. The Endocrine glands function better and any imbalance in body is rooted out. There are many benefits of pranayama.

Q: Guruji newspapers today are filled with so much vague news here and there. Can’t we have one full page on environment?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do you write articles? I want all those who have good writing skills to sit together and have some collection. We will implement this. The Ashram agricultural department is very successful in controlling pollution and purifying sewage water. We are using some ancient techniques, which have been forgotten. It is surprising to see the results that these techniques have brought about. Sewage water is completely purified, ready to drink and the sewage is turned into manure. Using this method we can clean all sewage plants in all villages across India without chemicals. The Agricultural Department also took a project in Nasik where vegetation was grown using seawater. So all this is possible.

“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”
From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Monday, July 1, 2013

Is Meditation Important?



Meditation is important for every human being. Meditation fulfills the natural tendency of human life to look for a joy that does not diminish, a love that does not get distorted or turn into negative emotions.

Some people ask me if meditation is foreign to us? Absolutely not! You have been in meditation for a couple of months before your birth. You were in your mother's womb doing nothing. You didn't even have to chew your food. Everything was done for you. So there is a natural tendency in every human being, in every soul, to crave for that state of absolute comfort.

You know why you want comfort? It is because you were comfortable at one point, because you have experienced a state of comfort called meditation. Meditation is absolute comfort. Getting back to that state that you experienced before coming into the hustle and bustle of this world is very natural because everything in this universe is cyclic. Everything wants to go back to its source. That is the nature of the world.

During autumn, leaves fall and go back to the soil and nature has its own way to re-cycle them. The natural tendency to re-cycle all that you have collected every day of your life as impressions, to get rid of them and to get back to the original state that you were in when you came to this planet, is meditation.

Hunger drives you toward food, thirst pulls you toward water, in the same way, the soul yearns for meditation and this tendency is in everyone. Meditation is food for the soul.

When you meditate in a group, then the desires you have in your mind get fulfilled. And when this desire is for a better and safer planet, the collective intention and energy of so many people is sure to manifest. There is a definite strength in the union of the hearts and minds of people.

An individual plays many roles and has many identities in life. Sometimes one gets stuck in a particular identity and feels suffocated. Meditation helps you to see beyond the identities and hence one's endurance, tolerance and understanding improve.

Spirituality nourishes the values of caring, sharing, compassion, nonviolence, responsibility, friendliness, a sense of belongingness and peace. These values transcend identities and are common to all religions. Spiritual practices like meditation allow these values to blossom naturally in every individual.

Meditation helps enliven an individual's intuition and nourishes spontaneity. It helps bring clarity of thought and enables better decision-making. When thousands of people come together with the single intention of creating a more peaceful planet, it is certain to manifest.

Source : Sri Sri's Huffington Post profile
From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Culmination of Prayer is Meditation

Q: Guruji, I think life is miserable. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You think life is miserable because you are hanging onto desires of the past, impossibles of the past, you are not accepting the present, you are not moving ahead or you are hoping for something too much. Correct? Be practical. Life is a mixture of problems and pleasure. What does your mind do? It messes up the problems and blows it out of proportion and makes oneself miserable. So who is responsible for your misery? Yourself. So when is the program? When is the program not to be miserable? (Laughter) Now, right now have you gotten over your misery right now? (A dim ‘yes’ from the audience) The ‘Yes!’ should be louder (A strong ‘Yes’ this time). That is it. You know, if the room is dark for 20 years, it doesn’t take another 20 years to bring light in. it just needs one connection, one switch on and the whole darkness goes away. Your life may have been miserable in the past, but wake up and see, so what? Problems come and go in everybody’s life. Look at your past, problems came and they have all vanished. Right? We forcefully make the problem stay, just wake up and see, where is the problem? The problem is not there. You can have some physical problem in the body sometimes, some pain here and there but is there anyone who has never suffered physical illness? Everybody has some physical problem at some point in their lives and when you violate laws of nature, pain comes, suffering comes. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.


Q: Guruji, is there any past birth and rebirth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This question is futile now. You know why? Because it is proven by the scientist community, it is beyond doubt now. Parapsychological department in psychological clinics have done experiments and past life regression is used as a therapy in most of the clinics and many people have gotten well. You can also do an eternity process hereand ask the teacher to take you deep in it. Have your experience, it’s not a big thing.It is beyond question now, it is a fact.

Q: How to overcome fear, anxiety and insecurity?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Fear, anxiety and insecurity are same shades of the same color. One is slightly brown, another is dark and the third one is the darkest brown. Grey is a better color, light, medium and dark gray. Meditation, pranayama and the faith that you are not alone, faith in the Divine will definitely help. Divine faith is very abstract, at least faith in the Guru, teacher is there, Master is there, faith in yourself, faith in the universal spirit, faith in the goodness of people around. There are good people in the world. When you think everybody is wrong, everybody is bad then insecurity dawns. Suppose this is not your experience and you have found wrong people, who had deceived you all the time then at least look for good, enlightened people. Ok, now if you understand all this intellectual stuff and still anxiety comes, then what to do? Sudarshan Kriya, pranayama and meditation. After the Tsunami (in South-east Asia, 2004), so many people could not sleep, they couldn’t even see the ocean. A lady witnessed her three to four children being washed away, she had a child in her arms and she couldn’t do anything for she had to look for her own self. Such incidents happened in front of so many people. So many families, somebody’s children, somebody’s wife, somebody’s parents were flooded away. All people were saying, ‘Take us anywhere but not the ocean’. And all those were fishermen. What would a fisherman do on mid land? After the earthquake, people couldn’t get into their homes. For days, people slept outside their houses on roads till our workers, our volunteers went there and taught them Pranayama, bhastrika and meditation, and then they went to their homes. That is where trauma relief, meditation, pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya helps tremendously. We have hundreds and thousands of such experiences and you should go through their experiences. In a matter of two days fishermen said, ‘Give us boats and we want to go out into the ocean’. They had come out of fear, anxiety. This has happened with thousands of people. I am telling you we have such beautiful knowledge, practices that can take us out of misery, worries, anxiety, conflicts and suicidal tendencies. Just in the recent past, 20 students in Bombay alone committed suicide. In Bombay, Maharashtra, suicidal tendency among youngsters is so high that we have announced that anybody having the slightest tendency to commit suicide, call us at the Art of Living helpline. Our volunteers and teachers are working 24x7 to help them out.
The YES!+ program (Youth empowerment seminar) has helped 1000s of youth to come out of suicidal tendencies. All this happens because we don’t see life from a bigger, broader perspective; A girl got 92 percent and committed suicide for she could not get admission in the college of her choice. Because you don’t give them spiritual education, a bigger vision and ask them to only perform and perform that the pressure of performing better, pressure of marks becomes bigger than life itself. Don’t pressurize children too much, we have to give them a broader vision. Never mind you lose one year. Life is more precious than your profession, your success, your so-called success, your finance, and your prestige in society. Finance is for life and not life for finance. These all are only periphery, accessories for life and not the core of life, existence. This vision has to be brought to children.
 Wake up and see everybody is caught up in their own things. Whether your financial status goes up or down, whether your relation is going good or bad, who cares in society? I tell you, nobody cares. Don’t worry about what others may think, what will my status in society be? If you are doing well they are jealous of you, if you are not doing well they don’t even count you. In either case, you don’t have to worry about others’ opinion about you, to show yourself up. And these inter cast marriages; parents are worried what others will think of their children. Who has got time to think to whom your son or daughter got married to? Whether it is in outcast or same, let it be, let it be outcast, you be more free, happy. (laughter and applause) These are silly, insignificant things that people have put in their minds and worry. Wake up and see, there is so much love in life, there is so much wisdom in life.

Q: Do impressions in the mind have a role to play in the next birth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, your impressions in the mind are responsible for your next birth. Your strongest impression is the factor.

Q: Yesterday, you said there is no significant purpose for the universe but it is also said that every individual is born for some purpose. Isn’t it contradictory?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Truth is contradictory. Every little thing has a purpose, at the same time, it has no purpose because this whole thing is a game. If you consider the world as a game, then there is no purpose. A game has no purpose, it is an expression of joy. Dance doesn’t have a goal because dance in itself is an expression of happiness. What is the purpose of you laughing? Does laughter have any purpose? You are happy, so you laugh. You don’t have to wait for a joke to laugh. You know, children don’t understand jokes but they laugh, babies do laugh. If you think jokes are the only reason for one to laugh then babies would never laugh till they understand your jokes. You have an illusion that you have to listen to a joke to laugh. Laughter has no purpose because it is an expression of being, an expression of joy.
 Love has no purpose because it is your very nature. The sun has no purpose to send its rays. If you ask me, why does sun shine, what does it achieve? I’ll say, ‘Oh my God, you are such a businessman, you need a purpose for everything!’ The sun shines because it is its nature. It can’t but shine. So, in this context, I said, ‘Whenever you think, ‘what is the purpose?’ you are caught up in the cause and effect phenomenon. No doubt, the cause and effect phenomenon is there, it is a law of nature but truth is beyond the cause and effect phenomenon. Divinity is much bigger, more vaster, Divinity is beyond that. It is much bigger and vaster, so in this sense I said, there is no purpose. Sun shines because it is its nature, wind blows because it is its nature. What is the purpose of the tsunami? Was it just to kill people? If it’s purpose was to kill people only then it must have hit only those areas in which people lived. But it hit those areas also where there were no people. Nature is beyond cause and effect or conclusion, theory, understanding or misunderstanding. It is the existence which is total, beyond purpose. So you can say, virtually there is no purpose. If at all you have to pin down to a purpose then the purpose of nature is to take you to the Source, is to remind you of the Source, connect you to your Source.

Q: How can the Self be love, joy and peace? Aren’t they all different?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Can there be joy without peace? (No, said the audience). If you want to make a distinction, then peace is very mild and always connected to disturbances, love is more to the heart and could be hate or love. Then joy, you find small or big joy. But they are all your nature. Like you can see, you can hear, you can smell, you can taste, but it is all you. There is something deep inside you which unifies all. All emotions are part of you. Their functions and expressions are different but all are in you. All arise in your mind. In this sense, they all are one, in another sense they are all different. When you smile you are different, when you sleep you are different, when you eat you are different but all are you. In this sense, they all are one. When someone dies, people stand up and say, ‘Let’s have a moment of peace’. Certainly that is not a joyous occasion and nobody will say, ‘Let’s have a moment of joy, somebody has died’. In some joyful celebration, like marriage, people don’t say, ‘Let’s have a moment of peace’, that will always be called a moment of joy. My dear, all are part of you, all arise in you and in that sense all are one, all are linked.

Q: What is thought, Why it comes and from where it comes?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Is this a thought? It came in you? Why did it come? Now find out. As soon as you realize this, the question is, itself, a thought and it has come in you, you have answers for the first two questions. And why does it come? Because of a lack of any other questions.Now I want you find its source. When you start finding source of thought, you have started on a journey for which you are here. Our journey is to find the source, from where this thought has arisen. I want all of you to be scientists. Scientist goes on experimenting, asking questions. It’s a very good opportunity to find out where it comes from? What is its origin? Since it comes in you, you find its answer. If it doesn’t come in you and somebody else, then I’ll answer.

Q: There is so much conflict and violence in world in the name of religion. Is there a need of religion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Communists opposed religion for 50 years. They didn’t get success. Communist people think religious people, especially in Russia and China are very authoritarian, they don’t give freedom. So they want to be done with religion but did they not unleash much more violence? In Stalin, Lenin and Mao Zedong, millions were massacred in the name of communism. Religion ruled with fear, fear of you being sent to hell. Religious leaders were authoritarian, trying to get hold of society by creating guilt and fear in people. Communist also did the same thing but not with guilt but with fear. They remove only guilt but they couldn’t remove fear, instead they instill more fear and violence in society. I don’t think communism did any better. It didn’t make people rich. After 50 years, people have come back. A big church in Moscow was demolished and a swimming pool was made instead of it. Today that swimming pool is demolished and a church is made again. I think it is humanism which is most important. If humanism is there in religion, it does good. And when humanism disappears from religion, it becomes like a mafia. In the same way, communism also ignored humanism. So when humanism went away, violence and fear dominated even in communism. These Maoists party! Did it do any good in the country, in all 213 districts? It didn’t make anybody rich. So you can’t be done away with religion.
We need to have inter-religious communication, inter-religion faith. Every child should know a little bit about other religions also. Yes, we don’t need religions if all become spiritual. If we can transform this world into a higher plane of religion, which is spirituality then it will really be an intelligent thing to do. But just opposing religion as communists do, can’t serve any purpose. It is like throwing the baby with the bath water. Because religion has some moral values, some human values, it gives some strength and solace, and if you also take solace without replacing it with spirituality then you are doing injustice in the society.

Q: Why are love marriages and arranged marriages increasingly leading to divorces?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, divorce is happening day by day while family values are eroding, the generation gap is widening and interdependence is being forgotten. Husband and wife forget that they are interdependent. They need each other and both look for independence. I haven’t done any research on this why this is happening. (laughter) but if some of you do that research and publish a paper it will be good. Atleast people will be aware of these pitfalls. Whether it is a love marriage or arranged marriage, marriage is always a chance, if it clicks it is a chance. Sometimes it may appear to have clicked for a short period of time but in the long run, it becomes a question mark. And vice versa also. Sometimes in the beginning it may appear to be completely incompatible but as time goes it becomes very compatible. It is like a chameleon – changing colors all the time. If someone can see this, they have a hope. And if it appears to be not so, then move on without guilt because there is no point in suffering life long. If you have given 100 percent then you better move on your path and let the other move on his/her path rather making the whole live of both, miserable. But the question is whether you have given your 100 percent, have you made all the effort to make it work? That is important.

Q: What is the importance of horoscope matching when it comes to marriage?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Astrology is a science but all astrologers are not scientists. (laughter) First of all, you don’t know whether the time of your birth and all other factors are right or not. Sometimes, we don’t keep records and there are various factors. There is probability in all those factors. So, if you find someone who is good, the astrologer says, ‘Good, it does have a value but it is always with a pinch of salt.’ It is said that there was a great astrologer of this country and he made all the horoscopes of his daughter. But his daughter’s marriage didn’t work. It was quoted as a probability factor. In all scientific experiments, there is always a probability factor – may be, may not be.So we must take it with that probability and not as definite.

Q: What is the difference between God (Parmatma) and Devta?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Parmatma is the sun, devta is its ray. Without the sun, there is no ray and without the ray, there is no sun. A ray has all seven colors, these all different devtas. God is the combination of all the seven colors. God is certainly not made of one color. When all colors combine, white is obtained and that is Parmatma. You can understand this like different organs - eyes, ears, nose, all combine to form you. Your eyes are different from ears, your nose is different from tongue but all is part of you. The totality of the whole creation, with all the energies is given a name and it is called Parmatma, Parampita (supreme father). In ancient terminology, God is called Parmatma, Parampita.
 Why only Parampit , He is also Parammata (Supreme mother).Why should God be called father only? God is also the mother. God is father, mother and God is also the Self. All Gods, goddesses are like rays of the sun, one sunlight and all the rays together is God but these are all different aspects of God. All are different aspects of the one Divine like in one human being, one cell somewhere becomes the eyes, somewhere the ears, somewhere the nose, and all this has happened from one fertilized cell, embryo. So, God is the sum total of all Divine elements and in the Vedic times, ancient rishis identified all these elements and called then devtas. They designated 33 types of Divine energy and called them devta and they tell how these are connected with the cosmos, like the eyes are connected with the sun. They established connection between the micro cosmos and macro cosmos. …It is very amazing analysis, amazing science of unity of the universe. It is not too many Gods, it is aspects of God. Though you are one, you have different functions. When you sleep you are different, when you smile you are different, when you eat, you are different. Crore means category, 33 crores means 33 categories of devas. Crore is also a number, 10 million but here it is not referred to as a number. 33 crore means 330 million and so people started taking that way.

Q: What is difference between prayer and meditation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Prayer is asking, meditation is listening. In prayer, you ask, ‘Give me this, give me that’, giving instructions, demanding. In meditation, you say, ‘I am here to listen, what is it that you want to tell? Tell me, whenever you are free, I am here. Culmination of prayer is meditation. Prayer goes to the peak and that is meditation.

“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”
~ Sri Sri Ravishankar

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Monday, June 24, 2013

Intuition works in Relaxation

Q: If one faces failure in some task again and again, should I continue to do the same, or should I drop that?
Sri Sri : There is one proverb in India, “Task gets accomplished with the Sattva, and not with the material”. So, in order to get something done, sattogun should rise. And what does one do to increase Sattogun? With right food, right conduct, and relaxing your mind for some time - This is first. Secondly, even if you face failure in spite of that, sattogun doesn’t let your enthusiasm to shatter, and when that driving force is still there, you don’t even think of dropping. Like if gambler wins once, he develops that taste to win. And then he continues to play again and again with the wish to win, and even when some failure is encountered, he doesn't even think of dropping in between. Even during some failure, that strong conviction of achieving some good is there, and this conviction will be there when you have that dedication for the task. Like, with enthusiasm in action and peace in heart, people kept fighting for freedom for two centuries.
The ones who were fighting for freedom, they didn't get any money, they didn’t steal anything, but did they leave the drive?

And third factor, look for the reason of failure. Every failure is a step towards success. One reason can be some weakness in oneself or some weak point in the system, arrangements. Self weakness – like someone is not able to present the work properly. E.g. if you go for interview, and say some words here and there, then interviewer develops a doubt if you would be able to do that or not. So, one doesn't get job because of one’s weakness. To get rid of one’s weakness, enhance your abilities.

Each failure is a step towards success, so analyze what did you learn out of this? Did you flow with the emotions? You didn't consult those who are already into that profession? You didn't trust them, or you didn’t keep faithful people with you. All these reasons could be there. So, to get rid of any weakness, enhance your ability, and go into the depth of knowledge of the field in which you wish to move ahead.

Second is to amend the system or arrangements. Now, this is not in hands of a single person. Like if corruption is to be checked, can you fight alone? Be with the group. Awaken that intelligence in people for that. Get people to move ahead with you. "Sanghe Shakti Kaliyuge"

In kalyuga, the power is in the team. People say that it is the peak of kalyuga, and it is as if truth has taken a backseat. If you feel like that, then work in a team. Take some people along and then see if the task gets accomplished or not. To enhance capability, you would have to do something yourself, go within yourself.  Be in the world to get more people along, and be with yourself to gain abilities. Taking along both the fields, you will definitely get success in your tasks. If you have given all your trials, put in your 100 percent and if, even then, you didn't get success, then it is OK. Take some other work in your hands. But don’t run away if you face failure for the first or second time.

Q : What should we do to always be happy?
Sri Sri : First be more and more happy and then if some moments of unpleasantness creep in life- accept them. Don’t get upset because you were upset sometimes in the past, and then you will always be happy.

Q: There is a big threat to Us our lives from some people who have their own concepts for which they are ready to die and kill other people. What should we do and how should we deal with such people?
Sri Sri : Ya, we need to deal with them with patience and will have to educate them. It is not an easy task but perhaps we should do it by inviting them and when one among them joins to spread peace, it would be easy.

Q: When people adopt violence for surviving, how to deal with it?
Sri Sri : It is quiet natural to go towards violence for survival – it is a natural instinct. But, if self confidence and vision is instilled in such a person, then you will find that the person walks with a vision in self
confidence without the fear of survival problem. I have spoken about all these in a book called “Celebrating Silence”. You can read that if you wish to.

Q: Should we follow Bhagat Singh or Mahatma Gandhi?
Sri Sri : Bhagat Singh was also supporter of non - violence. But they were encountered with one such situation, that they had to take such steps. Follow Sri Guru Gobind Singh, be a Saint – Sipahi. Have peace of saint in heart and strength of warrior in action. That is why Sri Krishan told Arjuna to be a Yogi and then fight

Q: What is the crux of Life?
Sri Sri : What is the crux of life? At least, first you start exploring within for that adventure! What should I tell you beforehand? The whole life is in search of some juice, some happiness. Where you feel happiness, solaced, be at peace there, relax there. And you get that joy when you look within. Meditation is such a joy! When the tiredness cracks away, you get that relaxation, that joy you are looking for.

Q: What should one do when one is faced with conflicting choices? 
Sri Sri : Every confusion is a sign of growth, every time a pattern is broken.  In such case, just relax. In relaxation your intuition works. Rely on it.

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Monday, June 17, 2013

Cravings that keep you away from truth



What is it that keeps you far and away from reality, from truth, from the divine? They are four types of fears or cravings that bind you to the world. These are called aishanas, and they are: Putraishana, Vittaishana, Lokaishana and Jeevaishana.

Number one is Putraishana — always thinking about the progeny, attachment to the children. Tomorrow, when they grow up, and don’t have time for you, you are heartbroken. In reality, whose children are they? They are God’s children. You were just the doorway for them to come through. But people say, ‘‘Oh my children, my children’’. It gets you so feverish in your mind; it clogs your thinking so much that you don’t really see what is good for them. There are so many problems and suffering because of this aishana.

Then comes Vittaishana. Money. I know one old woman who used to say, ‘‘If somebody is sick in their head, give them lots of coins, they’ll go on counting, and the sickness will go away’’. Vittaishana is hunger for money. How much can you have? What do you want to do with it? Okay, let’s say you have 30 million dollars. What will you do with it? Are you going to enjoy thirty million in your lifetime? Money is essential but the craving for money in the mind can overshadow you and your life so totally that you will be unable to see the reality, recognise love, and see something beyond.

Vittaishana binds you. It is a book that keeps your mind in the bank. It gives you a false security. Billionaires were stranded in the Sahara desert for so many days, fighting like dogs over a loaf of bread and getting into a panic for a bottle of water. Haven’t you seen this? People who had all riches, they had to abandon everything and became paupers overnight.

The very big companies who have billions, they are in debt. Don’t you know this? Why worry so much about money? Have trust and say ‘‘Let what I need be provided’’ then work putting in one hundred percent into it, and see that whatever comes, it will come. And whatever has to be spent will be spent.

Then follows Lokaishana. You may not care so much about money. But what you care now is: ‘‘Oh, what will people think about me?’’ You want to be praised by everybody in the world. Wanting to be famous, wanting to be something. Wanting to do some work so that your name should be there for all generations to come, become immortal!

See, people who are very famous, what is happening to them? Does their fame remain the same all the time? Some other person becomes a little more famous, another singer, another actor, another dancer. That puts a lot of fire in them. They become jealous, and start criticising them.

And they become very unhappy! When you are in the peak of fame, and trying to maintain your fame, there is such fear, such uneasiness in you. You become so uncomfortable. This ‘wanting’ in order to be able to show off, for other people’s sake, for what others will say, is Lokaishana. Lokaishana can create fear in you and pull you down.

Then comes Jeevaishana, the fourth aishana: wanting to live longer! Wanting to become immortal physically. But why make the physical body immortal? Nature is providing you a fresh body again and again. When there are so many fresh apples growing, why to keep one apple, make it ancient, and then eat it?

Body is a perishable item. People who have not lived their lives fully, have this craving to live for more and more years. You see, very sick people, who are absolutely sick, they are not ready to die. They say, ‘‘I want to live few more years. I should see the end of this century’’. Jeevaishana, holding on to life. People who have incurable diseases, amputated limbs, don’t want to die. Hankering for life. What is its result? It does not allow you to enjoy the moment, to be free. And it creates a tension in life.

See, a healthy man will die, and a sick person will also die. A patient dies, a doctor dies. Every ‘body’ will die. It is an inevitable phase in life; it has a beginning and an end. It is going to happen and it will happen. That does not mean you don’t have to take care of your body. You should take absolute care of this body, but without feverishness, without this aishana.

When these four types of fear disappear, then you are qualified to come and sit close to the divine. Sit in Upanishad, and walk through the gates of Gurumandala. Upanishad means being there totally in the present moment. With the willingness to hear, observe. Ready to catch, ready to grasp the moment. Like a thirsty man, waiting for water. That waiting, that longing, that readiness brings the wandering mind closer. Then something happens, a phenomenon takes place.

Then you are qualified to hear about the Brahman. What is that ‘something’ beyond this world? What is the reality? What is the truth? What is the centre of all this? Then this secret, which is very sacred, will be revealed to you through the Gurumandala.

Gurumandala literally means drawing concentric circles. One inside another, triangles, squares, corners. Charming looking circles. The centre of it is the ‘Guru’. Around the Guru there will always be many attractive things, many talented people, different types of charms. And when you are going towards the centre, it is always possible that you could get stuck with the ‘aishanas’.

Simply sitting and saying ‘‘Who am I, Who am I?’’ will not lead you anywhere! But you have to cross over all these temptations, and come to the Gurumandala!

Interact with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and get answers to your questions, Event Face2Face with Sri Sri on Facebook

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Monday, June 10, 2013

Feel the Presence


Presence 

The first one is Presence. The thirst for the Presence is called prayer. Whether there is a God to whom you should pray or not is immaterial — just your prayerfulness is sufficient. The first step is to feel the Presence; the next step is realising that you are the

Presence, that you have become one with the Presence, that you are not distant. That Presence is called ‘Bhagawan’.

Fame 

The second attribute is fame. Fame means that which is universally accepted — in many places, in many types of minds, in many types of people. That is real fame. Let us see what we normally understand as fame. Take for example any singer, say Michael Jackson, who is well known in North America, Europe and some big cities in other Eastern countries. But if you go to some remote parts of China or India and start singing that style of music, people will not appreciate it. But if you go to any corner of the world, whether in India, China, Japan or Korea, you’ll find a church there, and Jesus is known. The people appreciate His teachings and value Jesus. Who is famous: Jesus or Michael Jackson? True fame crosses the barriers of race, age groups, sex.

That’s why it is Bhagawan.

The 8 types of wealth 

The third attribute of Divinity comprises all types of wealth. One of the greatest illusions created in the world is wealth. Just look at the disparity in the world. There is no logical reasoning or explanation why someone should be born in Africa and suffer for a piece of bread, while there is so much bread elsewhere that we throw it away; why do some dogs enjoy the comfort of a home while others are strays in the streets? Wealth is something that is bestowed on you. There are eight types of wealth.

Wealth as material comfort: The first type of wealth is what we commonly understand as wealth — the material wealth. Just being born in Ford’s home, somebody acquired all that wealth without any effort. Why does this happen when somebody else had to toil all his life to make money? Why do some people inherit while others do not?

Wealth as health: Just having money is not sufficient. Some people may have a lot of money but they cannot eat well. They may have diabetes or high cholesterol. That wealth is nothing. Some people do not have money, but they have enough to eat and they are healthy. Like many farmers in India: they don’t have any money but they have plenty of food with them. Anyone who goes to them is fed; they can feed the whole town. They can sleep well.

Wealth as success (Vijaya Lakshmi): Some may be born into a very wealthy family, but any job they do becomes a failure. It may be a simple thing, but it is not a success. For example, you tell such a person to go and get some yoghurt from the shop.

They will always come back with a negative answer — ‘‘There is no yoghurt available... The shop is closed... I can’t get it.’’

To have this wealth of success, one does not start with, ‘‘What if it doesn’t work?’’ as then life just finishes without acquiring anything. This is taking life too seriously.

Wealth as courage: Make life a play or a game. Go ahead! Be adventurous! Even before playing the game, don’t think whether you will win or lose. So what if you don’t win? You’ll win again some other time. But being afraid of making mistakes, being afraid of doing anything in life, one lacks the wealth — the wealth of courage. Somebody may have a lot of money, but if they don’t have courage, there is no fun in life. Someone may not have any money, but look at the courage in them, the force in them! It shows that they are rich in something!

Wealth as friendliness: The fifth type of wealth is friendliness, having a caring attitude, having a sense of belonging. You may have the other types of wealth, but you still feel as though you are in a tight compartment, if you don’t have a sense of belonging.

That is what happens at most parties. Many rich people go to a party just to show off how rich they are, but they feel so out of place.

You find sugar-coated misery there. Everybody is so uptight. It’s like a war field actually. Parties are like a competition ground or battlefield; everyone going around with a shield. That is no wealth at all. Do you know how frustrated some people from aristocratic families are? Especially when their children see such hypocrisy, it’s so hard on the children. The whole hippie wave that happened was just a rebellion against this uptight attitude.

Wealth as skill: Another wealth is having different skills and talents. Some are good in writing, some are good in arguing, some are good in debate, some are good in music, some have wonderful voices, some cook well, some are talented in bringing up a child, in administration, and still others are talented in completely different things. There are hundreds and hundreds putting their efforts. They all should have achieved their goal. They all should have got what they wish to achieve, if it’s just by effort. But no, it is not so.

Wealth as dignity: The world is filled with lessons if only we observe it with full awareness. Be as humble as the grass. Then nothing can touch you, nothing. No one can humiliate you. In the eyes of the Divine, it is those who serve creation, who are true kings and queens. Walk like a king and be a perfect servant!

Wealth as memory of the source: We only know that we were born; we don’t even know how we were born. Somewhere from three or four years onwards, we know whatever is happening. Our memory is very short; it appears this is the only life. We are not aware of our Source. The moment you become aware of your Source, and your infinite past, your whole life changes, like somebody just suddenly becoming aware of how wealthy he or she is. Immediately your style of walking will change. This is the awareness of the Source.

Dharma 

The fourth characteristic of Divinity is dharma. It is very difficult to translate dharma. You can say ‘righteousness’, ‘nature,’ you can say ‘the totality of life’, ‘the path’, ‘the goal’. Dharma means that which upholds; that which upholds one’s life, that which upholds the whole creation, that which upholds the entire surroundings and evolutionary levels.

Wisdom 

When knowledge is well-rooted in profound experience, it is wisdom. This kind of knowing does not just come from the head, but it is from the very being, from every cell of the being, from every particle of the being. When knowledge becomes inseparable from you, it is wisdom. One kind of knowledge comes and goes; but another kind is an integral part of you. You cannot be without it. It is like the breath. When knowledge gets so deep-rooted, like the breath, that is wisdom.

Renunciation 

Renunciation is the sixth attribute. Just observe what becomes of your breath when things are unpleasant. If someone gives you a compliment, it doesn’t become so deep-rooted, like a part of your breath. But if someone insults you, every breath you breathe in and out burns. Isn’t it so?

Renunciation is the ability to drop everything and rest. What can you hold on to? Once one has total control of oneself, he does not control anything, or anybody. He brings great freedom. That is Bhagawan. There is a saying in the Gita — one can never achieve yoga unless one drops everything one wants to do, or is doing, or has done, at any moment. Living in the moment, making the mind free is what renunciation is.

From these six attributes of Bhagawan, Divinity, even if you take any one away, it will be incomplete. In fact it is quite dangerous. For example, fame without wisdom is of no use. The flower of divinity, which blossoms, has to have all the six petals.

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From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Monday, June 3, 2013

18 Principles of a Spiritual Life


Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is both visionary and practical. At the dawn of the new millennium, he calls for a return to the timeless values common to all religious traditions as a means to resolving conflict in the world today. He recognizes that this begins with individuals who embody those values in their own lives. In guiding people around the globe to finding this life for themselves, Sri Sri offers the eighteen principles of the spiritual path. 

When attention is given to the spiritual aspect of one’s life, it brings responsibility, a sense of belongingness, and compassion and caring for the whole of humanity. Spirit upholds and sustains life. It makes you strong and solid. It breaks down the narrow boundaries of cast, creed, religion and nationality and gives you an awareness of life present everywhere. It is only through this awareness, this uplifting of consciousness, that wars can be eliminated and human rights restored in the world today.
How can these things be achieved? What are the main principles of a spiritual life?

Confidence
The first principle of the spiritual path is to have confidence in yourself. Without confidence, achievement does not come. Doubt is what opposes confidence. Once you eliminate the negative, you will see that the positive has already happened. When doubt clears, confidence is there. So to gain confidence, you must understand what doubt is.
      If you observe the nature of doubt, it is always about something positive. You never doubt what is negative. You know this from your experience. You doubt someone’s honesty, but you never doubt dishonesty. You doubt the goodness of other people, but you never doubt their bad qualities. If someone says, “I love you very much,” you say, “Really?” But if someone says, “I hate you,” you never say, “Do you really?”
      Understand you r doubt as questioning the positive and having confidence in the negative, and know that if you are having doubt, there must be something good present. Approached in this way, doubt gives you a means to move ahead. I am not telling you to drop your doubt. Doubt as much as you can! Give it your 100%. That will help you through it. Once you cross this barrier of doubt, then further progress comes.

Stop Blaming Others and Yourself
The next principle is to stop blaming others and yourself. The spiritual journey is a journey to the Self, and when you are engaged in blaming yourself, you will not want to approach the Self. You will not be attracted to that. Without this movement toward the Self, toward spirit, you have a journey toward matter. The joy you get from matter is tiring. The joy you get from spirit is uplifting.
      You will find negative qualities within yourself, but you don’t need to blame yourself for them. Whenever you blame yourself, you are bound to blame the other, because self-blame cannot stand for too long. You will find reason to escape from it by hooking it onto someone else. This causes hatred to arise. And whenever you blame someone else, you are preparing again to blame yourself. There is so much blame being given today that it is dampening the consciousness of the whole world.

Praise Other and Yourself
The third principle is praise yourself and praise others. Praising others goes a step beyond not blaming others. Praising kindles spirit and the presence of spirit is uplifting to yourself, to the other, and the entire environment. In praising yourself or another, a space is created within you that is filled with joy.
      If you can praise yourself, you won’t need praise from others. Often we think that praising ourself is ego, but, in fact, ego cannot praise itself. Rather it hopes for praise from others. And understand that all praise goes to the Divine anyway. If you say you have beautiful eyes, who made them? Every praise goes to the Divine, the Maker.
      The act of offering praise expands consciousness. Something inside you opens up. Blaming shrinks consciousness. Since the spiritual dimension is an expansion of consciousness, of the mind, we do not want to counter that by blaming. Sincerely offer praise to someone and see how you feel.

Sincerity
Sincerity is the fourth principle. In all things, be sincere. Do not fool yourself and do not try to fool anyone else. You are not on the spiritual path for anyone else’s sake. Spiritual seeking without sincerity is empty. It brings no benefits. With sincerity, it brings peace, happiness and joy you can find in no other way on this planet.

Responsibility
The fifth principle of the spiritual path is responsibility. The spiritual path is not escape from responsibility, but taking responsibility. However much responsibility you have taken for your life, by that much you are on the path. If you think it is difficult to manage what has been given to you to do, more will be given! People mistakenly think that being spiritual is an escape from hard work. No. The spiritual path is marked by effective and dynamic activity.

Let Go of the Past
The sixth principle of spiritual life is the ability to let go of the past. See the entire past as a dream. Then you come to the present moment. You will find it is not necessary to make an effort to be in the present. The moment you let go of the past, your mind comes to the present on its own.
      In the present moment, spirit is kindled—even a little spark is made into a glow. When you cling to the past, the spark is covered with ashes. Be in the present and blow away the ashes of the past.

Acceptance
You need to know how to create a harmonious environment around you. You may think that your environment creates you, but in truth, you create your environment. See that what is, is. The acceptance of what is has two aspects. The first is the acceptance of the present moment as inevitable. It has happened as it happened. If you want it to be different, it can only become different in the next moment. Only when you accept what is and become calm, can you effectively change anything.
      The second aspect is to accept other people as they are. Whatever behavior they are exhibiting, see that it is the best that they have to offer in that moment. Be analytical. Look for possible explanations for their actions. And simultaneously take responsibility for your own. In this way, acceptance becomes dynamic and your environment becomes harmonious.

Confirmation of Your Own Death
The eighth principle of spiritual life is confirmation of death, the understanding that you are going to die one day. Because there is something deep within us that does not die, we may not fully comprehend the fact of our own death. The confirmation of death can bring you to the present moment. It can take you out of all the small temptations that keep you away from the present. Once you know that you are going to die, then the future will not haunt you.

Impermanence of Life
The ninth principle is the impermanence of all that exists right now—the impermanence of situations, circumstances, emotions and people around you. Knowing that all this is impermanent raises the level of spirit. You can act with more energy, enthusiasm and vigor. We think that if we recognize that everything is impermanent, it will bring down our enthusiasm and lead us to a state of apathy. No. The correct understanding of impermanence kindles spirit. Whenever spirit is kindled, you feel uplifted. Enthusiasm and dynamism are present.

Trust
Trust the supreme and infinite Intelligence which has formed this entire creation, from the
cosmic display to the interplay of genes and atoms and molecules. Just in the arrangement of electrons, something becomes a flower and something else becomes a stone, something is gold and something else is charcoal.
      See that there is a basic substratum, an underlying intelligence, a unity, in this entire creation. And see that it is lively. We don’t see the universe as a living thing. We see only matter everywhere; in our eyes only objects appear. We know there is a magnetic field in creation, but we often see it as a dead field. Pure consciousness, that which is the basis of mind, that of which you are a part and everyone else is a part, is such a field and it is alive. Understanding, accepting and trusting the Intelligence which creates and sustains all things is the tenth principle of spiritual life.

Unity in Creation
When the human mind is stressed and tense, it judges, discriminates, loves this, doesn’t love that, makes boundaries. And in so doing, it removes itself from existence. This removal of existence from the flow of existence is called separation, but it is only apparent. Separation from existence is not possible. If a portion of a circle is removed, there is no longer a circle. See that you are part of existence, a fragment of the expression of the supreme Intelligence, the unifying force which underlies all of creation, all that is. This is the eleventh principle.

Your Nature is Love and Peace
When you understand the unity in creation, you don’t have to make an effort to love others. Love is your nature. Love is what there is. Nothing other than love exists. See that love is not an action that you do, not a moral obligation that you must carry out. See that you exist in love and everything else exists in love.
      And know that peace is also your nature. At any moment, in any place, you can just sit and let go, knowing inside you there is a pure clear space, vast and deep. That inner space is what you are. When you feel this, you are in touch with your spiritual dimension.
      “I have come from peace, I am in peace, I’ll go back to peace. Peace is my origin and my goal. I am peace, I am space, I am love” This inner affirmation or experience makes you a seeker. Knowing that your nature is love and peace is the twelfth principle.

Balance
The thirteenth principle of spiritual life is finding a balance between activity and rest—between enjoying your world and coming back to your self, and finding a balance between silence and speech. If you kept silent all your life, never uttering a word, you would not necessarily be living the spiritual life. You have been given speech. You have been given talents and abilities. Make right use of these things you have been given and balance that with meditation, the self-referral aspect of your consciousness.

Self Enquiry
Self-enquiry is the next principle of spiritual life. Start with awareness of the feeling of your own body —your own skin, the feeling of your skin under your garments, and under the skin your muscles and nerves and then bones. Do not be insensitive to life, like an animal who only eats, drinks and sleeps. Observe every sensation. Have the keenest awareness. In knowing your own body, you will come to know spirit—that which is different from the body.

Dispassion and Maturity
Keen awareness comes with maturity, or you could say, with dispassion. Maturity and dispassion come together. You cannot be mature and not be dispassionate also. Dispassion is often wrongly understood to be a flat, dull state of mind or a negative mood. It has the connotation of being aloof and disinterested. This is not true. In dispassion, you are aware; you are intimate with yourself. In maturity there is no fevershness. In maturity there is royalty, there is freedom, there is understanding, there is mystery. This is the fifteenth principle of spiritual life, gaining dispassion and living maturely.

Appreciation of Beauty
The sixteenth principle of spiritual life is to acknowledge the beauty in creation, the beauty in every person, the beauty within you, and to know this beauty in the nature of spirit. The mind runs after beauty, appreciates beauty, but there is a difference between appreciating beauty and wanting to possess it. In wanting to possess beauty, we lose our dispassion.
      Know it is spirit that is beautiful. Wherever you perceive beauty, spirit is there. If someone is beautiful, it is because of the spirit in them. A dead body is never beautiful. Attributing beauty to spirit and differentiating that from matter takes you a long way on the spiritual path.

Worshipfulness and Honor
The appreciation of beauty brings worshipfulness. You worship beauty, you adore it. Adoring and worshiping everything in creation as a reflection of the Creator is the next principle of spiritual life.
      And honor everything. Honoring is more than an emotional response. It is an attitude. It indicates a balanced understanding of life. When respect and love are both present, that brings honor. When there is honor, the mind is one hundred percent present and a sense of sacredness comes. Love and respect bring honor and honor brings sacredness. You cannot feel for something and not feel its sacredness. Sacredness brings alertness in the consciousness. Awareness comes.

Life is Imperishable
The final principle of spiritual life is knowing that life is imperishable. This is totally contradictory to the principle of knowing that life is impermanent, that everything is perishable. Now we say that life is imperishable; nothing can happen to it. Truth is always contradictory.


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From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar