Alone , yet not Lonely! - A talk by Sri Sri

If you ever think nobody loves you, know for sure that you are loved. The earth loves you; that’s why it is holding you upright. The love of the earth is its gravitational force. The air loves you; that’s why it moves through your lungs even when you are sleeping. The Divine loves you very dearly, deeply. Once you realise this, you will never feel lonely.

Someone’s company cannot fill your loneliness. Even if it does, it is very short-lived. You can still feel lonely in spite of being in company. In a real sense, loneliness can only be filled by being alone. If you could be comfortable being alone for some time, then you will not feel lonely. When you don’t feel lonely, you can spread joy to people around you.

People run after parties and celebrations, but for the one who does not run after them, parties and celebrations follow him wherever he or she goes. If you run after parties, loneliness comes to you and if you are in the solitude of the self, celebrations surround you.

If you enjoy being with your self, you will not be a boring personality. If you are lonely, then you can be boring to others. And that will make you more lonely! And if your own company bores you, how much more boring must you be to someone else?

Any company looks very good from a distance or but when you get closer to it, it pushes all your buttons and brings about many unwanted emotions in you. If you think some group is very good, then it means that you are not yet completely with the group. When you are part of that group you will find some bickering coming up.

Those who are in company all the time look for the comforts of solitude and those who are in solitude feel lonely and want to be in company. Everyone is looking for a perfect balance. That perfect balance is like a razor’s edge and can only be found in the Self. If you take out some time, say one week in a year, to be with yourself and observe our own thoughts and emotions, then you will get a sense of what quietness means.

From time to time, keep a little distance from whomsoever close to you and take some time off for your own space. From the moment you wake up in the morning, you are always with people and your mind is caught up in worldly thoughts. So sometime during the day, sit for a few minutes and get into the cave of your heart. Then you will not feel lonely even when you are alone.

Live your life well. If you are useful to people all your life, there will be hundreds and millions of people to take care of you. Mother Teresa and Acharya Vinoba Bhave, for example, were sick in bed for a long time. Do you think there was nobody to give them company? There were hundreds waiting to take care of them and all they did was to be useful to people around them.

One way to get over the feeling of loneliness is to do some service (seva) and be useful to people around you. The day you feel hopeless, horrible and worse, get out of your room and ask people, “What can I do you for you? The service you did will bring a revolution inside you. Seva always connects you with people. 

When you make service your sole purpose in life, it eliminates fear, brings focus in your mind, purposefulness in action, and long-term joy.

Every time you are unhappy or miserable or lonely, you are just coming in touch with your own boundaries. It is limitation and boundary that is the real cause of your disturbance. You are peaceful and happy until come in contact with your boundaries.  The moment you come in contact with it, then the mind goes on a trip and you move out of your centre. At that moment what can you do? You can just be grateful and pray for peace. That very moment, you will start smiling and however hopeless the situation is, you will walk through it.

You cannot force enthusiasm and confidence to come back to you. You read many books, stand on your head, wear nice clothes…, but nothing will work. When you feel useless, use that time to be prayerful and you will see no sooner, you will gain the confidence and enthusiasm beyond all your imagination. When you don’t have enthusiasm, you will share only your grievances. If you are filled with grievances, you will talk about only that. That doesn’t mean that you are miserable. Whether it is extreme joy or happiness or terrible misery, there is a part in every human being that remains untouched by that. Similarly, you can’t go on mourning all your life. Sorrow comes and goes.

How can you gain that peace which is unshakeable? Being individually happy is not enough. Our wish should be that whomever we meet be happy and radiate happiness. A frustrated man will create frustration; a jealous person will create jealousy and so on. It’s better to be lonely than being in bad company.

What is bad company? The company which solidifies your negativity is bad company. For example, you have some problem and you go and talk to someone and he or she makes your negativity stornger, then that is bad company. And you go to someone else with the same problem, same negativity, and he or she make you feel lighter and when you walk away from them you feel that the problem is not as big as you thought it was. That is the right company. Bad company brings ambition, desire, frustrations, anger and delusion. That company which gets you lost, and doesn’t let you learn from your own experience, is bad company.

Don’t think people who agree with your grievances, with your problems, are your friends. Those people who make your negative feelings, your frustrations, grow more and more, they may appear to be friends, but they are your enemies. Often, your own mind is your worst enemy. The negative tendency in your mind is your own enemy.

To come out of loneliness, you make friends with people who share something in common with you. But coming together in knowledge is rare. Be a friend in knowledge and uplift each other. Learn and unlearn from the past and move on with creative zeal and enthusiasm. The trying time brings the best out of you. The rewarding time gives the best of the world to you. Life is a combination of both.  

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Acting Without Actions !

Behind every action, there is always a motivation to get a specific result. As we do every action with an eye on the end result, a specific goal, the expectation of the result affects the process of our action. Apply another way, the means of achieving the end often becomes bigger than the end itself. When we do some actions as an expression of joy and are not bothered about the result, we don’t get lost in the means. When we do some actions expecting joy out of them, it makes the action inferior. For example, when you want to spread happiness, but if you are keen on finding out whether the other person has become happy or not, you get entangled in their vicious circle.  And you lose your happiness in the process.

The concern about the outcome of your action is what pulls you down and dampens your enthusiasm. Suppose, you want to take up a project, but you start it by worrying whether it will happen or not. Then your whole enthusiasm for the project gets dampened. When you are aware of your potential, just jump into the action you want to do, without bothering about the result.

When you are in doubt, any activity you do will bring more doubts. When you have a choice, the grass on the other side will look greener and this will prevent you from enjoying what you have in your hand. It will not allow you to focus on what is right now. So when you are bothered by a choice, relax. The choice is never between good and bad; it’s always between bad and worse or good and better. There is no choice between a plate of rice and a plate of sand. The choice is between whether you should have rice or roti (Indian bread) . Never mind, today you have rice and tomorrow roti. Choices bring conflict and there is freedom in ‘choicelessness.’ 

How can you be centered when there is conflict? In Chinese, there is a saying that when you are in doubt, take a pillow and go to bed. In the Bhakti Sutras, Narada says, “ Karmanyapi Sanyasyati .” Take a break, not just from activity, but also from the fruit of the activity. You can take a break from the fruit of the action when you let go of the result and become totally centered in the action itself. It will bring deep rest from doubts and conflicts in the mind. One who is not concerned about the outcome, is centered in the action itself and reposes in the Self, goes beyond the dualities, beyond conflicts. 

This doesn’t mean that you should stop acting. One who is wise, has attained knowledge, divine love and beyond all actions, continues to engage in action. You can transcend only what you have gone through. You can let go only what you have. So to let go of the fruit of the action, you need to have the fruit and to have the fruit, you need to act! This is so beautiful. If you have never acted, then how can you drop neither the action nor the fruit of action. So be active. 

Keep doing your work, and drop the fruit of action.  All the fruit of action is there as the motivation for you to start acting. Shri Krishna used the fruit of the action to motivate Arjuna to fight. He told Arjuna that if you die in the battle, you will attain heaven and if you win, you will rule the world.

When you are bogged down with laziness, you need motivation to do something and the expected fruit of action acts as the motivating factor. But once you start acting, let go of the expected result. Just focus on the work at hand. This is the way of the wise!

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Varying Hues Of Human Perception

Human race is diverse, so too its cultures and belief systems. Though religion is born in a particular race and nation, today it has cut across boundaries of race and nationality. Although religion has maintained its own identity, it could not remain immune to the cultural influence of host countries. It is interesting to note that what is considered blasphemy in one religion is considered a matter of pride in another. For example, in Hinduism, playing the role of prophets and saints is considered a privilege. Every year Ram Lila and Krishna Lila are played across India and innumerable people dress themselves up to play the parts of Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Hanuman and others. In the Christian tradition as well, Nativity tableaus are performed and watched as a respectful tribute to Jesus. Many actors abstain from personal bad habits for the period of these roles. People even carry big crosses and retrace the steps of Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem to relive the crucifixion themselves. The basic concept is that when you imitate somebody, you imbibe their qualities. 

By contrast, in Islam, imitating or playing such a role is considered blasphemy and an insult to the Prophet. In fact, music, sculpture, dance and painting were banned in puritanical Islam. 

“The Prophet said that Allah commanded him to destroy all the musical instruments, idols, crosses and all the trappings of ignorance.” Hadith Qudsi 19:5

“Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me as a guidance and mercy to believers and commanded me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings….” (Musnad Ahmad & Abu Dawud Tayalisi)

Man cannot be without these expressions of art. Slowly, the influence of Hinduism gave birth to Sufism. Although it was banned in strictly orthodox Islam, music slowly found it way back into society, though the puritans object to this even today.

Interestingly, a parallel of this can be found in the Bhagwad Gita as well.

buddhya visuddhaya yukto 
dhrtyatmanam niyamya ca 
sabdadin visayams tyaktva
raga-dvesau vyudasya ca  [Chapter 18, verse 51]

In the above verse and the few following it, Lord Krishna says that a seeker of Divinity should transcend all sensory objects like sound and sight. However, this is a practice for yogis for a period of time and not a lifestyle as such. While Hinduism, on the one hand, encourages music by calling it Naada Brahmn, on the other hand, it says that one has to transcend sound to reach Para Brahmn, the Ultimate Reality. These opposite values in Hinduism gave it a broad spectrum and they bring in a lot of tolerance.

While criticising, mimicking or accusing a politician is legal in some countries, in some others, it is an offence. The west takes pride in freedom of speech and allows people to express extreme opinions. However, in other places, such expressions can be an emotional assault on the sentiments of people. The outrage and violence that we have seen due to films like Innocence of Muslims says it all. What is appalling is that in the protests against the film, a large number of innocent muslims were killed.

In the end, it is we who attach meaning to an expression. Somewhere those who are very sensitive seem to lack sensibility and somewhere else people who are very sensible seem to lack sensitivity. What is needed is the perfect balance between sensitivity and sensibility in today’s globalised society.
From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Finding Life's Direction - Talk By Sri Sri

A river needs two bunks to flow. The difference between flood and a flowing river is that water flows regulated in a direction in a river. During floods the water is muddled and has no direction. Similarly, the energy in our life needs some direction to flow. If you don’t give direction, it is all confusion.

Today most people are in confusion because there is no direction in life. When you are happy, there is so much of life energy in you; but when this life energy doesn’t know where to go, how to go, it gets stuck. When it stagnates, it rots! Just like the water has to keep flowing, in the same way, life has to keep moving.

For life energy to move in a direction, commitment is essential. Life runs with commitment. If you observe  the small or big things in life, it moves with certain commitment. A student takes admission in a school or college with a commitment. You go to a doctor with a commitment saying that you are going to take the medication or listen to whatever the doctor says, The banks work on commitment. Government works on commitment. Needless to say, a family runs on commitment: mother is committed to the child, child is committed to the parents, husband is committed to wife, and wife is committed to husband. Whether it is in love or business or friendship or at work or any area of life you take, there is commitment.

What would really irritate you is non-commitment. If you just observe, you expect some commitment from someone and when they don’t do it, you get upset. Or when someone doesn’t keep up his or her commitment, you get upset. Commitment is essential in life. You cannot stand someone who does not commit, but see how much commitment have you taken in your life?

In life, what you always want is more joy, more power and more energy. You want more, anything you are given, you want more - more money, more fame, more beauty, more joy, more pleasure. This “wanting something more” envelopes your mind and then you do not look at your capabilities. More will be given to you only if you utilize properly what you already have! This is a law in nature. Why should the nature give you more when you are stuck with your little mind?

This tendency of wanting more is there in you; you only have to give a twist to it. Instead of “what more I can have”, just turn it around and start asking yourself “what more I can do?” Then you will see that there is joy. Nature of joy is to give because you are the source of joy!

Usually we think we should have resource and then we will commit. The greater the commitment you take, the greater the resources will come to you automatically. You don’t have to sit and worry how you will get resources. When you have the intention to do something, resources simply flow when it is needed and how much it is needed.

In doing what you can do, there is no growth. Stretching a little beyond your capacity will increase your capacity. In whatever capacity you do something for the society, for the environment, for the creation, that much you progress further both materially and spiritually, value wise. The heart opens up with a feeling that you are part of everyone.

The technique to get depressed is to sit and think only about yourself! If you just sit and think, “what about me, what will happen to me?” you will surely get depressed. The way to expand from individual to universal consciousness is to share other’s sorrow and joy. As you grow, your consciousness should also grow. When you expand in knowledge with time, then depression is not possible. Your innermost source is joy.

The way to overcome personal misery is to share universal misery! The way to expand personal joy is to share universal joy. Instead of thinking “what about me?” “What can I gain from this world?” think “what can I do for the world?” When everyone comes from the point of contributing to society, you have a Divine Society. We have to educate and culture our individual consciousness in order to expand in time with the Knowledge from “what about me?” to “what can I contribute?”

A commitment can only be felt when it oversteps convenience. That which is convenient, you do

not call it commitment. If you just go on your convenience, your commitment falls apart causing more inconvenience! If you keep dropping your commitment because it is inconvenient, can you be comfortable? Often, what is convenient does not bring comfort, but gives an illusion of comfort.

Whatever you are committed to brings you strength. If you are committed to your family then your family supports you, if you are committed to your society, you enjoy the support of society. If you are committed to God, God gives you strength. If you are committed to Truth, Truth brings you strength.

Often one is not aware of this idea and that is why one is hesitant to commit to a greater cause. Also there is a fear that commitment would weaken one or take away one’s freedom. To the wise, their commitment is their comfort. Whenever their commitment is shaken, their comfort is also shaken. To the lazy, commitment is torture though it is the best remedy! Your commitment to a cause is bound to bring you comfort in the long run.

Are there any commitments that can be given up? Yes, commitments made with shortsightedness can be given up because when you are committed without a vision, you feel stifled when your vision expands. When your commitment brings misery to many in the long run, it can be given up. Just like you run out of fuel in the car and you have to refill it again and again, in the same way your dedication and commitment runs out in the course of time and it needs constant renewal! Commitment in life grows toward a higher cause. The higher the commitment, the greater is the good for all.

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

If you want to become one of those people who are rich and famous then go for it, it’s not so difficult. Whether you are a hero, heroine, you will find once you are in the field which you are finding very great - it is just ok. If your calling is very strong then go for it, it is not difficult.
You know, our body is constantly emitting energy, vibrations. You are emitting energy all the time. And when you know your vibrations is what makes things happen in the world, you will know that you are in control. So when you are thinking that things are going to be negative then that is what seed you are putting in the universe, and that is going to happen. So with your positive thinking, positive ideas, positive sankalpa… It is said, that let positive vibrations come out of you.
Negative thoughts arise in you, yet you tell, everything is positive. And how does that happen? Not by just thinking, but by relaxing. Cutting a thought with another thought is only superficial but cutting a thought by silence, by letting go, bydevotion, by faith, by surrendering to God, it is deeper.
Maharishi Patanjali says that poise of mind happens when you offer all that you can’t handle yourself to God, to the universal spirit.
The universal spirit is all around you, all the time. It doesn’t have a form, a name but it is around you all the time and you surrender your desires to that universal spirit. Be sure and know that your problem is going to be solved. That is siddhi,perfection. You notice in your own life, be centered, relax and let go and you will see things are happening effortlessly, it has to happen that way and if you don’t find that way, then there is some screw in the mind that is loose, that needs to be fixed. People ask for blessings and I give blessings in abundance, blank cheques of blessings but you should know how to fill it, encash it and the way to encash it is, ‘it is going to be done’, ‘my needs will be taken care of’, ‘best will be done’ without a question. Sometimes we don’t know what we desire, or we desire for something that we don’t deserve, or we desire for something much less than what we deserve. Ask and it will be given. When we deserve for more and desire for less, ask skillfully. So what is the way? Ask skillfully, and how: ‘I want this or anything better than this’.And have that positive frame of mind because it’s all neurons. One of the scientists says that our brain has different types of neurons, and there are certain neurons which create barriers. When a person in front of you touches someone else, the brain says, ‘You are being touched’ but there are certain neurons in hand which sends a signal to the brain that says, ‘it is not you being touched’. If your hand is given anesthesia and then if someone touches someone else, you will also feel the touch. And he (the scientist) says, we all are nothing but neurons, we all are connected,everybody is connected. The subtler we go we find there are only vibrations, and there are no neutrons, protons, electrons but all that exists is – vibrations. And then he says numbers are very important.
In Rudrapooja we say ‘ekachame, trisraschame…’,yesterday only we understood why do we say that. We chant odd numbers first and then even numbers in the Rudrapooja. He said if numbers won’t be there, the whole universe will collapse. Everything exists on numbers, on figures and if one number goes missing, the whole universe will collapse. It’s like on a cell phone you want to make a call and if you dial one wrong digit the call never goes to the right person. One can’t argue saying, ‘If one digit is wrongly dialed, how come I can’t make a call?’ And if everything is right, then life gets connected, so numbers are so important. And it is all just vibration.
One of the greatest physicist who was in the team of creating first nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki says. ‘I studied matter for 35 years to find out it doesn’t exist. What exists is just vibration’. Everyone of us is emitting andabsorbing vibrations. And chanting, singing creates such a positive vibrations, you become a source of energy.
What is the difference between a bulb which is lit and a bulb which is not? One is emitting energy and in the other, no energy movement is there. And all singing,chanting and meditating is like lighting the bulb. Have you noticed the difference between those who are doing all this with faith and someone who has never done this? It reflects on their face. If you haven’t started noticing you better start noticing! (laughter)
What happens when you are worrying all the time? Suddenly you find the brain, the upper part has become like a stone, the heart has become like a stone. Similarly what happens when you hear a negative comment about yourself from somebody, the whole body has become heavy. You can’t avoid people saying negative things about you. How many have this question? And how many have this experience? When someone says something negative about you or when a close friend of you is feeling very low, suddenly you also start feeling the same, your whole energy gets down. That is why satsang is that important, this knowledge is that important. When you focus on someone who isdepressed, you also feel the same and when you participate in a satsang your whole focus is shifted to knowledge. That’s why the Guru is important because when you think of Guru, when you shift your focus to the Guru in a few moments, your energy gets restored, you get back to your normal self. How many of you have experienced this? There is an old proverb ‘Guru bina gati nahin’ means there is no progress without the Guru because there are so many people around you and you are being tossed and turned by everybody’s moods, emotions and blames, and you are stuck, you can’t notice that. But when a Guru is there nothing of this will matter to you and even if it does it is only for few minutes or hours and then you are able to push through it, move through it. Like you have a rain coat and if it is raining you can always protect yourself from rain. In this context ancient people in India, Korea, Japan even in China had said that spiritual teacher, master or a person who is on the path is so important, so that you don’t have to keep feeling this negative vibrations, heaviness for daystogether.
Secondly, if you find nobody is available, no commune is available then what you do? Chant, do pranayama, nature walk, Vedanta or this science that everything is just vibrations.
Numbers are very important, so we chant ‘Om NamahShivaya’ 108 times, in Islam also they put a number 786, right? In Rudra Abhishek we chant an odd and even sequence of numbers. That changes the vibrations. Even pundits don’t have answers of chanting numbers in Rudra Abhisheka. We have to listen to the scientists to understand. They say this whole space is curved. Space is also like water, like you put a ball in water it curls. Water is a medium, like that space is also a medium and this was also said thousands of years ago in Vedas and that is why, it is the fifth element. Space is where vibration travels, it is a medium like water, air, fire and earth. And the same thing, scientists are saying today. It is amazing to see how people 10,000 years ago knew that space has a curvature, it is a medium and there are not one but 10 dimensions, which is the spirit. These facts open your mind to a higher reality.
From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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

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

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

Demystifying Meditation

Mind without agitation is meditation. Mind in the present moment is meditation.
Mind that has no hesitation, no anticipation is meditation.
Mind that has come back home, to the source, is meditation. Mind that becomes ‘‘no mind’’ is meditation.

When can you rest? Rest is possible only when you have stopped all other activities. When you stop moving around, when you stop working, thinking, talking, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, when all these activities stop, then you get rest. When all voluntary activities are arrested, then you get rest or sleep. In sleep, you are left with only involuntary activities like breathing, heartbeat, food digestion, blood circulation etc. But this is not “total rest”. When the mind settles down, only then “total rest” or meditation happens.

Focus means what? Fulfiled in the moment, being centered, looking to the highest and remaining in that space of peace is focus. No peace means no focus. When you are at peace, focus is happening already. Similarly, if you focus, you attain peace. Look into your own life. You are bothered even if you have things that you wanted and you are bothered if you don't have them! For example, if you have money, there is botheration. You are afraid or worried thinking what to do with this money, whether to invest or not and if you invest you are worried whether it is growing or reducing or you are anxious about the fluctuations in the share market. If you don't have money, even then you are bothered. “Liberation” is that total freedom wherein you are not bothered when things are there and you are not bothered even if they are not there.

Real freedom is the freedom from the future and freedom from the past. When you are not happy in the present moment, then you desire for a bright future. Desire simply means that the present moment is not all right. This causes tension in the mind. Every desire causes feverishness. In this state, meditation is far away from happening. You may sit with eyes closed, but desires keep arising, thoughts keep arising; you fool yourself that you are meditating, but actually you are daydreaming!

As long as some desires linger in your mind, you cannot be at total rest. Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita, “You cannot get into Yoga (union with self) unless you drop the desires or hankerings in you”. As long as you hold onto some planning, your mind does not settle. Every desire or ambition is like a sand particle in the eyes! You cannot shut your eyes or keep it open with a sand particle inside, it is uncomfortable either way. Dispassion is removing this particle of dust or sand from the eye so that you can open freely and shut them freely! The other way is to extend your desire or make it so big, then also it won’t bother you. It is a tiny sand particle that irritates your eyes, a big stone or a rock can never get into your eyes!

See from your own experience. If you go to bed with some restlessness, agitation or desire, you will not get deep sleep. On the surface level it appears to be not there for a little while, but those plans or ambitions are still there in the mind. Very ambitious people cannot have deep sleep because the mind inside is not free. The more you are anxious about doing something, difficult it becomes to sleep. Before going to sleep, if you simply let go everything, only then you will be able to rest. Why not do the same thing moment by moment? When you want to sit for meditation, let go of everything. The best way to do this is to feel, “the world is disappearing or dissolving…I am dead!” Unless you are dead, you cannot meditate!!! For many, mind doesn't settle even after death. Wise are those who cannot settle their minds while alive!

Desires come up, instead of holding on to them or daydreaming, you offer the desires; that is meditation. You have no control over the desires. Even if you say, “Oh, desire is the cause of misery. I shouldn't have desires, when will I be free of desires?”, that is another desire! So, as they come up recognise them and let go. This process is called “Sanyas”. When you offer all that as they rise in you and be centered, then nothing can shake you or take you away. Otherwise, small things can shake you and you become sad or upset. Just few words from here or there can make you sad. Life teaches you the art of letting go in every event. The more you have learnt to let go happier, the freer you are. When you have learnt to let go, you will be joyful and as you start being joyful, more will be given to you. Taking a good look at the desires and realising that they are futile or nothing great is maturity or discrimination.

What is that you can hold on to? You cannot even hold on to this body forever! Whatever care you take, still, one day it is going to say goodbye to you! Without any prior notice, you will be forcefully evicted out of this world! Whatever you may plan, whatever you may do, your final destination is the grave! You live as a good man or bad man, you cry or laugh, whatever you do, everybody goes to the grave. Whether you are a sinner or a saint, you will go to grave. Whether you are rich or poor, intelligent or a dumb fool, you will go to the grave. Whether you are loved or hated, you will go to grave. Whether you love someone or hate anyone, you will go to grave. Patients die, doctors also die. Those who lost the wars went to grave and those who won also went to grave. This is the final say! Have your sight on the final say. Before the body leaves you, you learn to leave everything. That is freedom.

With dispassion, you can enjoy the world freely and you can relax and get relief from it freely. Dispassion can bring so much joy in your life. Don't think that dispassion is a state of apathy. Dispassion is full of enthusiasm, brings all joy to your life and it allows you to rest so well. When you come out of a deep meditation, you become very dynamic and you will be able to act better. Deeper you are able to rest, dynamic you will be able to be in activity. Even though deep rest and dynamic activity are opposite values, they are complimentary.

What is that you are looking for? Are you looking for some great joy? You are joy!

I will give you an example. Have you seen dogs biting bones? You know why they bite bones? Biting and biting that hard bone makes wound inside their mouth. It's own blood comes out and the dog feels that the bone is very tasty! After a while it's whole mouth is soared. Poor dog has spent the whole time chewing the bone getting nothing out of it! Any joy you experience in life is from the depth of your self when you let go all that you hold on to and settle down being centered in that space. That is called meditation. Actually, meditation is not an act; it is the art of doing nothing! The rest in meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep that you can ever have because in meditation you transcend all desires. This brings such coolness to the brain and it is like servicing or overhauling the whole body-mind complex.

Meditation is letting go of anger from the past, the events of the past and all the planning for the future. Planning can hold you back from diving deep into yourself. Meditation is accepting this moment and living every moment totally with depth. Just this understanding and few days of continuous practice of meditation can change the quality of our life.

The best comparison of the three states of consciousness — waking, sleeping and dreaming — is with the nature. Nature sleeps, awakes and dreams! It happens in a magnificent scale in existence and it is happening in a different scale in this human body. Wakefulness and sleep are like sunrise and darkness. Dream is like the twilight in between.

And meditation is like the flight to the outer space where there is no sunset, no sunrise, nothing!

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From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar