Friday 31 May 2013
For wealth to come,
the mind should be content. The more satisfied we are, the more we
progress. An individual who is content, when he blesses others, his
blessings will manifest. This is the secret behind blessing. It is a
great secret. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A mind that has become no mind, and has come back to its source, is meditation.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheets: Goal of Spirituality
Knowledge Sheets: Goal of Spirituality: The goal of spirituality is to bring a smile on your face that doesn’t wither away. A smile that no one can take away. A peace that simply...
Goal of Spirituality
The goal of spirituality is to bring a smile on your face that doesn’t wither away. A smile that no one can take away. A peace that simply expands and spreads to others. A love that never diminishes or distorts. That’s the power that you grow into. It’s better that you don’t worry about the goal. You be in the moment, you will see you are on a conveyor belt or escalator. The steps take you where you have to go. You have to do nothing.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
It
is your responsibility to transform the atmosphere wherever you go, By
doing meditation and practices, our body produces such vibrations that
everybody around us gets the benefit, not just us alone. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Thursday 30 May 2013
May 25, 2013 Ulan Bator, Mongolia
Questions & Answers
Dear Gurudev, we are told to give up desires, but on the other hand, we were advised to strive for moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). Isn’t this also increasing our desires?
Sri Sri: Yes, increase your desires for the large things in life, not small things. It is the desire for small things that causes problems. If you have to have desires, ask for the highest, that is, the Supreme Being. Seek to make the whole Universe your own, desire for everyone’s happiness in this Universe.
When desires are big they are no longer detrimental. When you desire for truth, when you are committed to truth, the mind becomes calm and clear. Small desires give rise to restlessness, but desire for the highest truth settles the mind. Restlessness is something that brings pain.
Gurudev, what is Om? Who started Om?
Gurudev, we are very lucky to have such a great master in this age, but what is the reason you have chosen us although we do so many wrong things?
If we do Sudarshan Kriya regularly, will we be perfect?
After death what remains in me? Is it only the soul or is it mind as well?
Why is everyone different and not the same?
Gurudev, tell us about your trip to China and Mongolia?
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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, it is not that only India had masters. No!
The word California comes from a Rishi called Kapila Rishi. He was the previous incarnation of Lord Krishna. He was born in California, and lived there for a long time. The place was called Kapilaranya. It is said in the scriptures that Kapilaranya is a 12 hours difference from India.
Nova Scotia (in Canada) is also a Sanskrit name. Navas kosha, means it is at 9 hours difference from India. One koshais a one hour distance. Navas Kosha means 9 hours difference, and it is exactly 9 hours.
Q: What is the difference between two words: daya and karuna?
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You give meaning to words. For example: Jhakaas means something in Marathi but it has no meaning in other languages.
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You give meaning to words. For example: Jhakaas means something in Marathi but it has no meaning in other languages.
Be clear with what you want in your life and what you want to do. Then plan and move on those plans. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The entire universe is one whole; and when you drop holding on to limited boundaries, you gain the entire universe.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Art of Living Vacancy: Job openings from across the globe
Art of Living Vacancy: Job openings from across the globe: Opening: - Ruby on Rails (ROR) Designation:- Manager Sales IT Location:- Bangalore Experience:- 5+ yrs If interested send your resume ...
Next Live Webcast of Satsang with Sri Sri
Dearest Ones,
Note that the next Live Webcast of Satsang with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be on 30 May at 7:00 pm IST from Art of Living International Center, Bangalore.
Link to watch satsang:
http://www.artofliving.org/live-satsang.html
Jai guru dev
May 23, 2013 Ulan Bator, Mongolia
The vision of The Art of Living is to create a global family. The whole world has to unite in the sense of one family. I see this happening more and more in Mongolia now.
Mongolia’s economic status has become much better, it is developing very fast. Along with this economic development, we need to take care that our human values remain intact.
Mongolia has a long spiritual tradition; we should see that spirituality is maintained in the country.
The modern days’ challenges of stress, tension and violence should be done away with. We should not allow that to grow in this part of the world.
As society becomes stronger and economically prosperous, the challenges and the rate of crime goes up. Do you see what is happening in America? The most developed country in the world has so many incidences of violence. Ten million incidences of violence were recorded in America in the last one year.
The Art of Living has started a non-violence campaign around the world, and especially in the United States. We need to bring those values of non-violence and compassion more and more in our society, and in Mongolia as well.
When we have too many things to do, too little time, and no energy, stress is natural.
In today’s world, we cannot reduce our needs, what we have to do is increase our energy level. Energy level increases when we change our habits. When we eat proper and healthy food, take good rest, and think positive. If you sit and only think negative for half an hour, or even ten minutes, it is good enough to tire you for the whole day.
The Art of Living is, changing from negative to positive thinking, from a complaining mindset to a compassionate mindset, from a stressful face to a smiling face, from stress to serenity. This can be done by attending to your breath and meditation.
Today, scientists have proven that meditation and Sudarshan Kriya can improve health beyond one’s comprehension.
Recently, a scientist in the University of Oslo, Norway, conducted a research. He found that if someone practices these techniques even for two days, it has an impact on the DNA, the genes of a person. He said that about 300 genes in our system are responsible for diseases like cancer, etc., these genes get suppressed when one meditates. Of course, it is also the everyday experience of millions of people around the world who report how they are physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually benefited. And how their health has improved, their relationships with people have improved, and so much more.
So, we need to deepen our roots and broaden our vision. And for the short span of life that we are on this planet, we must smile more and spread happiness.
Three years ago when I came here, I said that the GDP of this country will definitely go up. Now, I am so glad to hear that it has really gone up.
Today, there is another word that is being used by the United Nation, GDH, that is, Gross Domestic Happiness; even that has to go up in Mongolia.
It is possible to educate people in spiritual values in this country as the number of educated people is so high. Today, Bhutan is the happiest country in the world. I wish Mongolia would compete with Bhutan. It can definitely compete and reach a high level of GDH. Let us keep this as our goal.
I would like to ask all of us here to take one commitment; we should see that the prisons and hospitals in this country are empty. Let us have that ideal, and work towards it.
To achieve this, we all need to do some social work. I would like you to be ambitious, but not greedy. When people become greedy, corruption increases.
Corruption begins where belongingness ends. No law can stop corruption. What can really stop corruption is spirituality. When people have a sense of belongingness, then corruption will be finished. There is one real culprit for crime and corruption, that is, addiction to drugs and alcohol. We should see that our young people are not addicted to cigarettes, alcohol or drugs as this destroys human life.
When people are under the influence of intoxicants, they don’t know what they are doing, that is why they commit crime. So, as mothers and sisters, as men of wisdom, you should all stop our younger generation from getting addicted to any of these intoxicants that are harmful for health, wealth and the mind.
Pollution is another area that needs attention. Pollution is increasing in various parts of the world. Mongolia is still very virgin; the land, water, everything here is pure. Please see that the purity of the air, land, water, and the atmosphere is maintained here.
Let us keep this land as an ecological heaven on earth. Let us take care that we don’t put harmful chemicals in the soil to grow food. No pesticides, no chemical fertilizers; we should grow food naturally through organic farming or natural farming.
The Art of Living will do whatever is needed to bring this knowledge, this technology, to Mongolia. In India and other places of the world, we are doing organic farming. We have done a lot of research work on this, and we would like to share it with the farmers of Mongolia.
The Art of Living has more than 200 educational institutions in India. We have a University and two colleges that offer Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses. I would request our Vice-Chancellor in India to reserve ten MBA seats for students from Mongolia who would like to come and study in India (we have very limited seats, only 180 seats in this college).
You can tell your friends and students who wish to study in our college; they are most welcome to apply.
I met the Honorable Prime Minister of Mongolia this morning; I mentioned to him that we are willing to start a college or school here, whatever is necessary. I invite all of you who would be interested in opening the school and being part of this project in Mongolia to give your names and numbers. We will form a committee and we will start one, or a couple of schools in different provinces, which give the best of the East and the West, best of the North and the South, and create a global educational hub.
Life is like a tree. Just like how the roots are old and the branches are new, in the same way, life needs ancient wisdom and modern scientific knowledge, both together.
Also, I discovered that there is a special technique in Mongolia of giving head massage, which makes people feel well. This is not very well-known in the world. I would like to take this knowledge to India, America, and all over the globe, to make it more popular. Just like what we have done with Ayurveda, Acupuncture and Osteopathy. This would be a very good thing to do.
The traditional Mongolian medicine and techniques of medicines that benefit mankind should be spread and taken everywhere. So, I would like to invite such doctors to come to India. We would like to do something in The Art of Living, in this traditional system of therapies.
Questions & Answers
How to combine our inner journey and the outer world events?
Sri Sri: Inner journey and outer world events are complementary. If you are happy inside, you are able to work dynamically outside. The more dynamic you are, deeper and better is the rest and meditation. When you meditate the joy increases.
People who are lazy, they cannot be happy. And people who are dynamic, it is not necessary that they will be happy also. Dynamism should be combined with inner silence. So, time to time, one should take a few days off, learn how to go deep inside and meditate.
http://www.artofliving.org/wisdom/meditation-can-improve-health?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+whatsrisrisaid+%28Wisdom+from+Sri+Sri+Ravi+Shankar%29
Knowledge Sheets: Taking Responsibility And Letting Go
Knowledge Sheets: Taking Responsibility And Letting Go: Life is a balance between these two things. Taking responsibility and letting go. It's both. That's a fine balance. For the p...
Taking Responsibility And Letting Go
Life is a balance between these two things. Taking responsibility and letting go. It's both. That's a fine balance.
For the present and future take responsibility, for the past know that it has to happen that way and move on. So often we do the reverse.
We think that the past was free will and regret and we think the future is all destiny and we don’t do anything about it. But the wise one does you know what? They regard the future as free will, past as destiny and they are happy in the present. So you don’t regret about the past and you know what you want to do in the future and you are on it.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
If you recognize the ego of others, it will get into you, and you will walk like a mouse. Walk like a lion, and be happy. Don’t frown, or roar like a lion, just smile and feel like a lion inside. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Wednesday 29 May 2013
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do it skillfully. Now don’t ask me, what is the skill?
Remember this one verse, it is very useful, Three doors to hell.
There are three doors to hell – Lust, Greed and Anger. If greed takes over, it is going to put you in hell. That is why, chuck the greed.
The same is with anger and lust. If you are too lustful, you become so blind towards the feelings of others, that you violate their space. Lust will also pull you in hell.
So, greed, lust and anger, if three things are not in your control, they take control over you, and you are going in hell. If they are under your control, then you are safe.
Is that clear? In your own life, see whether these three things have overpowered you. Then it has made you miserable. Hell means what? Misery; makes you totally unhappy. But if you have a say over them, you become powerful and it brings you more happiness.
Q: Some people think that Surya Namaskaar means change of religion.
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Show them videos of nuns/people from abroad(worldwide) doing Surya Namaskaar, take a teacher from abroad with you.
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Show them videos of nuns/people from abroad(worldwide) doing Surya Namaskaar, take a teacher from abroad with you.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
May 14, 2013 Bangalore, India
In the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna begins by saying, ‘Maiyy asakta-manah Partha yogam yunjan mad-ashrayah. Asamsayam samagram mam yatha jnasyasi tach-chrnu.’ (7.1)
He says, ‘By keeping all your affection on Me, and practicing the path of Yoga as described by Me, I shall now explain to you how you can know Me completely’.
Here, aasakti means affection, and ashraya means that which we depend on. There is affection (aasakti) towards those who we love, and there are those whom we depend (ashraya) on. And that which we stay connected to is called Yoga.
So here, Lord Krishna includes everything. Your heart and your mind, both are engaged.
For example, your job is different from your hobby. There is aasakti (meaning desire or affection) towards your hobby, but you do your job because you have to. So, doing your job regardless of what may be, is Karma Yoga (the path of performing one’s duty). While we do our job because we have to, our affection is somewhere else, or towards something else.
So here, Lord Krishna begins by saying, ‘One who has his total affection on me, who is dependent on me, who is constantly devoted towards uniting with Me through the practice of Yoga (as described by the Lord Himself), and who is free from doubts; how such a person can know Me and My true form completely, I will now explain that to you’.
Lord Krishna told Arjuna many times, ‘Just focus on Me alone, and not here and there’. Why did he say this so many times? It is because Arjuna was so dejected and troubled by his doubts.
Only one whose doubts have disappeared can attain knowledge.
Usually we think it is the other way around. One who receives knowledge is relieved from all his doubts. Here, there are two things.
First, one who gains the knowledge is relieved from all doubts – this applies to the material world; it is limited.
The other is, one who is freed from doubts; meaning one whose Prana (subtle life force or energy) is very high, becomes capable of understanding knowledge at a deeper level. Such a person is one who truly knows.
We often think that our doubts can be resolved by questions and answers, isn’t it? But it is actually not so. Answering one question leads to ten other questions in the mind. One pair of question and answer gives rise to ten other new questions, and then this chain of questions and answers continues endlessly, but the doubt does not go away.
The very reason we ask questions is to clear our doubts. But here, Lord Krishna is saying that only one who is freed from all doubts is capable of knowing (the truth).
Doubt means that your Prana has not blossomed fully; it has not reached its peak. The Prana has gotten stuck somewhere in the body.
When you are full of Prana, all doubts automatically disappear. That is why when you are very happy, there are no doubts in your mind. When you are deeply in love, no doubts arise in you.
Doubt means that you partially believe something, and you partially disbelieve it also. If you disbelieve something completely, then there is no doubt, and if you believe something completely, then too you will not have any doubt at all. So a doubt arises when you both believe and disbelieve something.
Now, how can one be free of all doubts and know something completely? This is what Lord Krishna talks about.
‘Jnanam te'ham sa-vijnanam idam vaksyamy asesatah. Yaj jnatva neha bhuyo 'nyaj jnatavyam avasisyate’. (7.2)
He says, ‘This is very deep knowledge (jnana), but there is a science (vigyana) to it also. This is what I shall tell you now, after knowing which nothing more remains to be known’.
Lord Krishna says, ‘There is nothing that I will keep from you. I am giving you the complete knowledge’.
He does not say that I will tell you one part of this knowledge today and the remaining part tomorrow. Usually music teachers and maestros do this. They give the knowledge part by part, in a very miserly manner. They will teach you two lines of a song and will ask you to practice it and come the next day. Then they will teach you another two lines and make you repeat the practice.
They will teach the Pallavi (the main thematic line of a song in Carnatic music) part of the song on one day, and the Anupallavi (the short version of the main line) the next day. So they do not teach the student fully. They keep testing the student many times before giving the complete knowledge. But here, Lord Krishna does not test Arjuna because He already knows everything (about Arjuna); so there is no need to test.
Anyways, Arjuna is already depressed, so what is the use of testing him further. So He tells him, ‘Do not worry. I will tell you everything and leave nothing out for you to know’. And He says that this knowledge is so vast that after knowing this, nothing more remains to be known further.
When a student is told that he is going to be given very deep knowledge, then he becomes alert. Just by hearing this, he stands in attention, and his hairs stand on end with anticipation. Then he listens carefully with full attention. That is why Lord Krishna adds this line before going further.
If someone tells us something casually, most of the time, we do not even listen to them attentively. But if they tell you, ‘Come here! I have a secret to tell you’, then you instantly respond by saying, ‘Yes, yes! What is it? Tell me’.
You become fully attentive in that moment. Does this happen to you or not?
It may be a very ordinary thing they may want to tell you, but before that if they say, ‘Listen! I have a secret I want to tell you. It is very urgent’, then you become very alert and attentive, and are completely ready to listen.
So in the same way, here the Guru (Lord Krishna) is preparing the disciple (Arjuna) to listen to Him attentively. Otherwise the Guru keeps on speaking and the disciples go off to sleep. This is what usually happens.
Many times, we go to a session to listen to deep knowledge, but we come back saying, ‘Oh! The knowledge was so high that I could not understand anything. It all went above my head’. Do you know why this happens? It is because we simply do not listen. Our mind is so full of worries all the time; either our own or that of others around us. We are not able to live without worrying. And if there are no problems, then we create problems for ourselves. We find 1000 reasons to get worried.
In the next verse, He says, ‘Manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye. Yatatam api siddhanam kascin mam vetti tattvatah’. (7.3)
Out of millions of people, very few will walk the spiritual path and make efforts to gain knowledge of the truth. Very few will follow the path of Yoga.
In those days too, the state of spirituality was the same.
Mahabharata happened then, and even today it is happening. Only earlier it took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and today it is happening in our parliament.
Delhi is just a 100 km away from Kurukshetra anyway. The only difference today is that the Gita is not being recited there.
If you observe, there is a Kurukshetra happening in every house today (referring to a state of moral conflict).
So Lord Krishna says that out of millions of people, very few will walk the spiritual path, and of those few who follow the spiritual path, fewer still are able to realize Me and know Me completely by my true form (Tattva).
The rest of the people come, just listen and go away without grasping anything. Only a few rare people are actually able to know Me by My true nature (Tattva-jnana: here meaning knowledge of the deepest principle or element).
This is a great secret. And what is the Tattva that He is speaking about here? He explains this in the fourth verse: ‘Bhumir apo 'nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva cha. Ahamkara itiyam me bhinna prakrtir ashtadha’. (7.4)
He says, ‘Do you think I am only this physical body? No! I am Earth, I am Water, I am Fire, I am Air and I am Space. I am the Mind, Intellect and the Ego. These are the eight types of energies, that is me, and I call these my Apara-prakruti (eight types of nature or modes of expression of the Divine in the materialistic realm). I am all eight of these. I am present in every particle of this Earth, and in every molecule of water.
Water is present everywhere – in the Earth, in the sky, in the air and in the sea; it is everywhere.
Do you know, 60% of your body is composed of water? So all these people sitting here today are nothing but many litres of water (laughter).
If you weigh 60 kg, then nearly 36 kg of your body weight is nothing but water. So each person is like an earthen pot, filled with water. Similarly, 15% of your body is made up of the air element. Your body also has the earth element and all these are bound together by the fire element, and that is where body heat comes from. So there is heat in the body due to the fire element.
Then, Lord Krishna also says, ‘I am the mind, intellect and the ego’.
Many times people come to me and say, ‘Gurudev, I want to get rid of my ego’.
What is it that you want to get rid of? Ego too is a form of God, so just let it be there. The ego seated deep within you is also a form of the Divinity.
He says, ‘All these eight types of nature are present within you, and they are all nothing but different forms of Me’, this is what Lord Krishna says to Arjuna. You are not your mind. You are not your intellect. You are not your ego. So what remains then?
In the next verse He says: ‘Apareyam itas tva anyam prakrtim viddhi me param. Jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat’. (7.5)
Besides these eight types of nature which are collectively called the Apara-prakruti (Apara means that which is related to the material world), there is another Prakruti (energy) which is much higher, called the Para-prakruti. Everything in creation is upheld by this Para-prakruti.
That which has taken all the form that you see in the world; that which is the cause of all that is happening in the world, the reason behind the Sun shining and the Moon rotating is the Para-prakruti. It is the primary cause behind all that is happening in the material creation.
So Lord Krishna says to Arjuna, ‘In the absence of the which, no living creature or human being, neither the Earth, the Universe nor this entire creation can exist; that Tattva, i.e., the Para-prakruti is me. That which cannot be seen, yet it is, and is the basis of everything that exists, that Para-prakruti is me, and this is what you should know’.
The entire creation rests upon this Para-prakruti, which scientists today call the Dark Matter and Dark Energy.
Scientists today say that the Sun is round like a sphere only because there is tremendous amounts of pressure of energy from all sides. And the energy in this empty space around the Sun is much more powerful than the Sun itself. It is just like how you see a bubble inside a bottle of water. Why is the bubble round in shape? It is because the water around it is exerting pressure from all sides.
That is why, any object that appear round in shape, is only because of the pressure of the energy present in the empty space (which is unseen) around the object, and which is a 1000 times more powerful than the object itself.
All this empty space that you see here, is not actually empty. It is full of energy which is called Dark Energy and Dark Matter.
It is said, ‘That which is unseen is true’. This is because all that you can see, is a very small part of what actual is.
All the stars and planets that you see in the sky are very small compared to the invisible energy in the empty space around them, which is much more powerful than the stars themselves. So this is what scientists today have spoken about, and the same thing was told by Lord Krishna.
He says, ‘I am that Para-prakruti that holds the entire creation, and which this creation rests upon’.
So Lord Krishna is that Dark Energy that scientists today refer to. The word Krishna also means dark in colour.
That which cannot be seen is the basis of everything, and that which we can see is actually nothing! (Laughter)
Whatever we can see – the trees, the flowers – are a very small part of what is. It is the manifestation of the Apara-prakruti. But this Apara-prakruti is contained within the Para-prakruti that cannot be seen. So Lord Krishna says both these things.
For example, you cannot see the consciousness that is present within you. But you can perceive the projection of your consciousness in the form of your mind, intellect and the ego. Isn’t it?
So this is what Lord Krishna means when He speaks of Tattva-jnana: (knowing the creation in terms of its underlying principle or Tattva, i.e., the Divinity).
The speciality of Indian spirituality is that it has never dismissed science. In fact science has always been given equal importance in Indian spirituality.
This is why it is said, ‘Tattva-jnana’, first understand this creation as the manifestation of the five elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. By understanding this knowledge (Apara-prakruti), you can then understand the higher knowledge of the Para-prakruti. This is what Tattava-jnana is.
Even God has been identified as a Tattva or a fundamental principle. That is why Indian spirituality is a combination of spiritual knowledge and scientific principles.
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The
connectedness to the universal energy; universal force, from within us
is necessary. Once that connection happens, nothing whatsoever in the
universe can bring down your smile, energy, enthusiasm, joy and your
intellectual brilliance. This is why the spiritual techniques are there,
to get you to the precious realms of your own life. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheets: Creating A Prosperous Society
Knowledge Sheets: Creating A Prosperous Society: We can handle pent up emotions, if we learn how to handle our mind through our breath. This is very important. In schools we teach den...
Tuesday 28 May 2013
तेरा में..में तेरा!!!
दुनिया में जो एक कलि बनकर आयी
वोह हमेशा खिलखिलानेवाला फूल बन गयी
अपनी पापा की जो प्यारी बिटिया थी,
वोह आज आप सबकी दुलारी बन गयी
मेरे माता पिताने मुझे इस संसार में लाया,
गुरूजी आपने मुझे खुदसे मिलाया
जो ‘सभ्या ‘ रोंदू के नाम से जनि जाती थी,
वोह आज ‘ever-glowing smile ‘ का ब्रांड अम्बासदर बन गयी
अंकुर,दीपक,श्रेया,विराट ,सत्या ,मधु, आशीष, रश्मीन , BnD ने हमें ध्यान करना सिखाया
सुदर्शन क्रिया ने जिंदगी को रंगीन बना डाला
अब हर मुश्किल हैं आसान यह जान गए हम ,
YES !+ से permanent ख़ुशी मिलती हैं मान गए हम!
-सभ्या सोनी
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Rishi Kapila lived in California. That is how the name California has come. Kapilaranea is the Vedic name of California. At one point of time, Vedic knowledge was prevalent in all of South America and North America. In the scriptures, it is said, the time difference between Kapilaranea and India is 12 hours. When it is day there, it will be night here, and vice-versa; that exactly fits California, which is called Kapilaranea. Kapila was the son of a lady called Devahuti. Today’s Detroit has some connection with Devahuti, and that is where Detroit gets its name from – Devahuti. Devahuti’s son, Kapilaranea, lived in California. He was the previous incarnation of Lord Krishna. He is the founder of the philosophy called Sankhya Darshana. Sankhya means counting the different elements and principles that the whole universe is made up of, i.e., Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, Mind, Intellect, etc. Like that, 24 different tatvas or principles are present in his philosophy, which is why it is called Sankhya Yoga.
He speaks about how consciousness and matter are different, and the relationship between consciousness and matter is discussed in detail. The second chapter of the Bhagavad Gita also is called Sankhya Yoga, where Lord Krishna speaks about how the mind and the spirit are different from matter, and self is immortal. This knowledge of self is given.
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Know that Surrender is there. Don't try to erase your ego. keep it in your pocket or hand bag.
Knowledge Sheets: Business And Spirituality
Knowledge Sheets: Business And Spirituality: Trust is the backbone of business. You may wonder, what does business have to do with spirituality? They are completely different realm...
Monday 27 May 2013
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: All the sensory nerves end in the tip of the nose. There are two points that are important for alertness and focus of the brain - the ear lobes and tip of the nose. They are the marma points. These are the secret points. If you keep your attention on the tip of the nose, your focus improves, especially for children. In the Jain tradition, they can multiply 100 numbers (avadhan). They focus on the tip of the nose. It’s amazing! They are faster than computers. Shathavadhanis, as they are called. Avadhan is the technique of holding memories in your consciousness. It is like a photographic memory. People who follow this technique, Avadhanis, can tell you what date was Tuesday in 1700. This knowledge was systematically erased. That is the unfortunate part.
Pull back your
attention from the object of the senses to the senses, and then to the
source of mind. This journey within will you give you the strength and
endurance to go through all the ups and downs of life. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheets: Seeing Life As A Dream
Knowledge Sheets: Seeing Life As A Dream: The wise people see life as a dream. You should see the whole past as a dream. Dreams are nothing but memories of impressions. It is al...
Seeing Life As A Dream
The wise people see life as a dream. You should see the whole past as a dream. Dreams are nothing but memories of impressions. It is all gone. And this (the present) will become a dream. It will be gone.
Similarly, if you think about it, you will live day after day, day after day, for another 50 years on this planet, and then you will wake up and say, ‘Oh, it is like a dream, it is all gone’. Correct!
And it is knowledge that turns every nightmare into a sweet dream.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Sunday 26 May 2013
April 26, 2013 Nusa Dua, Bali
This universe is so beautiful. There are so many types of flowers, fruits, trees, animals, human beings; such variety has been created so that you can be happy. But the human mind is such that it does not allow you to be happy. Even in the best of places, the mind goes on with the memory of something that happened in the past; this is what is so amazing.
The mind is the biggest mystery. Your own mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. The mind is responsible for our happiness as well as misery. When the mind is in the present moment, everything appears to be beautiful. However, when the mind is a mess; even in the best of places, it can find a thousand reasons to be miserable.
There are five modulations of the mind:
First, the mind wants proof for everything. How can you get proof for everything? Impossible! Second, the mind does not understand things the way they actually are, but thinks something else. You thought something; a little later found out it was not actually like that; a little later, concepts break down. This is called Viparyaya.
Third, the mind has its own imagination; when nothing of the sort actually exists.
Fourth, the mind falls asleep. If it is not thinking of anything, then it falls asleep.
Fifth, the mind is stuck in the memory of the past, or worried about the future.
These five modulations prevent one from being alive in the present moment and enjoying it.
Yoga brings the shift; it helps you to sail over the modulations of the mind. How is this possible?
First, is to know that you are going to leave everything here and go. You are not going to take anything with you when you leave this world. The cause of misery is holding onto things; mine, mine, mine!
I want to share an incident, which I have talked about many times.
Once I was in Canada, an elderly lady, in her sixties, came knocking at the house where I was staying. She came at around 11.30 pm or 12 am, and she insisted that she see me right away. When I came down to meet her, she gave me a cheque for $100 for the schools children’s project. I asked her what the hurry was; she could have given it to me the next day. She replied, ‘Gurudev, I can trust anyone, but not my mind.’
She lived an hour away, and returned to give me the cheque after going almost three-quarter of the way. She said, ‘When this thought came to my mind, I thought I have to do it right away because tomorrow my mind might change. I may not want to give anything at all tomorrow. Or it may reduce to just $10.’
Then, she told me a story, in the middle of the night.
Once, there was a businessman who was drowning in the river. He called out to a fisherman in a boat. He told the fisherman, ‘Please save me somehow, if you save me, I will give you my entire wealth.’ The fisherman took him in his boat without saying anything.
As soon as he got into the boat, the businessman said ‘Look, I can’t give you my entire wealth, but I will give you half of it. I don’t want anything, but my wife and kids will not let me give the entire sum; I have to leave something for them too.’
The fisherman just smiled, he did not say anything.
As the boat was reaching the shore, the businessman again said, ‘Look, if I give you half, what will I do? I have given the other half to my wife and kids. I can give you a quarter, maybe’.
Then as the boat came nearer to the shore, the sum kept reducing further. As soon as they came to the shore, the businessman gave the fisherman $5.
The fisherman said, ‘What, you are worth only $5?’
The businessman said, ‘How much does it take to bring me from there to here? It costs only $3; I have given you more than it’s worth.’
The mind changes! When you want to do a good thing, you should do it immediately, otherwise the mind changes.
We postpone doing good things, but we do anything bad right away.
If we postpone expressing our anger by one week or even one day or two days, then you won’t even need to express it. You want to call someone and yell at them, you just need to postpone it by two hours. Then the intensity goes down.
That is what the lady said, ‘This is the reason I came right away. I don’t hesitate to spend so much on myself, my jewelry, my food and my pleasure; but when I have to do something good, then the hesitation comes.’ That should not happen!
It is only what we share, that goes with us from this planet. The mind has a very important role to play in bondage and freedom.
In the Bhagavad-Gita, it is said that there are three doors to hell. The first door is anger. How to control anger? Postpone expressing it. The second door to hell is greed. The third door is being obsessive; lust. The mind is obsessed with lust and doesn’t care for others; that creates huge problems.
What are the doors to heaven?
The door to heaven is a broad mind that digests everything from the past, a mind that is broad enough to digest mistakes made by others. Not keeping it in our minds and chewing on it. This is called Vairagya or dispassion. Digesting the past; however it was.
Being like an elephant. Do you know elephants eat the leaves, the bark, the fruit; they eat absolutely anything from coconut leaves to bamboo to bananas. The banana is so soft, the bamboo is so hard, yet they eat and digest it all.
Similarly, in life, there are many pleasant things and unpleasant things, good people, bad people. (In my life, there are no bad people. There are only good people, who sometimes behave badly.) Thus, whatever has happened, happened, digest it all. Digesting the past brings happiness and relief in the present.
We should become strong, like an elephant; digest everything; the soft fruit and the hard bark, i.e., digest everything of the past and move on. That is called dispassion.
What happiness will dispassion not bring you? All types of happiness come to you in dispassion.
People can have two types of attitudes:
One, where we are all the time thinking, ‘What about me’, or ‘What is the use of this for me!’ Two, where we are thinking, ‘How I can be useful to the world’.
So, change the whole attitude from, ‘What I can take from the world; how much pleasure I can get’, to, ‘How much more can I contribute to the world; how much I can be of use to the world.’ Do you see the difference?
It is from being self-centered to selflessness. So, when we take the second stance, our own worries will simply disappear and abundance will flow.
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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, that is part of nature. There are more secrets to it.
How a baby is born, and why it stays only for a short period of time, is a highly guarded secret. You will understand them one day. Many times, after the baby is born, the love between the husband and wife disappears. Not all the time, but sometimes. This is because the soul attracts the two people. They may have no compatibility, but the soul has made such a compelling attraction that they come together, they get married and have a baby, and as soon as the baby is born, that is it, all the bonds between them vanish. Have you seen this happening in the society? This is because that soul has brought those two people together. It got its work done, and that is it. This happens, and it is very interesting.
Q: What is the effect of Tantra on us?
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you are on this path and you have a mantra then no tantra can harm you.
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you are on this path and you have a mantra then no tantra can harm you.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheets: The Secret of Success
Knowledge Sheets: The Secret of Success: For success or work to get done there are five things you require. First the intention of the person who is doing, then availability of ...
The Secret of Success
For success or work to get done there are five things you require.
First the intention of the person who is doing, then availability of the instruments or things needed to do the work, third is the willingness or mindset to do the work. Then doing the work at the right time, there is a time to do the work, if you don’t do it at the right time then there is no use. If you sow seeds in February then there is no use, you then cannot say that I sowed the seeds but nothing has come. You have to wait till April after the rain and then you sow the seeds and yield the results. So time is a very important factor and then grace. Without grace of the divine there will be no success, that is why you do Seva, Sadhana, Satsang and in time you will get the fruits of all your efforts. Okay!
None of your efforts will go waste that you should be assured about, if not now you will see the results later.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
When
your mind is hoping for something or when you regret the past, you are
not with the moment. But when you are centered, you are in the moment.
So, when you are eating, you can taste every bite. You can enjoy every
bite. Every look, every sight is fresh and new. Your love is like the
first love. You look at everything like it is the first time. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Saturday 25 May 2013
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This conversation that we are having now is what Vaikhari is. Human beings are capable of interacting only by using this Vaikhari mode of speech. It is said, ‘Chatvaari vaak parimitaa padaani taani vidur braahmaanaa ye manishinaah. Guhaa trini nihitaa neaengayanti turiyam vaacho manushyaa vadanti.’ (Rigveda Samhita (1.164.45)) So human beings speak to each other using the fourth type of speech. The other three: Para, Madhyama and Pashyanti are used in communications which are at a much deeper level, where no language is used. A state in which no language is used, yet the entire essence is understood completely is called the Para Vaani. After death, when a person leaves his body, he also drops his ability to communicate using language. At that state, he simply observes all that happens, and by observation he gains knowledge. This is called Pashyanti (derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Pashya’ meaning to see or observe). The Madhyama mode of speech is in-between the states of Para and Pashyanti. Many times it happens that someone is speaking in a language that you do not know, yet you are able to understand what they are trying to say. Madhyama is such a state. For example, when the child is in the mother’s womb, neither has the child seen the mother, and nor has the mother seen the child. Yet they understand each other completely. There is no exchange of language in that state, then too, communication happens that is beyond language. This is Madhyama.That is why this entire creation is called as the Hiranyagarbha (meaning the Golden Egg or Golden Womb). We are all present inside this Cosmic Womb and do not know what exists outside it.
Just like how the mother knows the child within her womb but the child does not know the mother; in the same way God knows us yet we do not know Him. That is why He is referred to as Agyeya (that which is ever-present but is unknown). You can never know the Divine, but you can experience it. And how can you experience it? By reposing in yourself. So Para Vaani is that speech in which no language is used, and it is also beyond feelings. In Pashyanti we communicate using our feelings also. When we go into deeper levels of Consciousness, every sense organ of our body becomes capable of performing all functions. That means the functions of all the five senses happen through one organ. So in such a state, by a single touch you are able to feel, see, taste and also gain complete knowledge about the object. So every organ becomes capable of performing all the functions of the five senses (see, smell, taste, hear, and feel). So when the Panchendriya (five senses) dissolve and become one (sense organ), then that state is the state of Para-Chetna (pure Consciousness). That is the speech of Para Vaani.
When you think of language, then there has to be one who speaks and another who listens. Two are needed for this (meaning a sense of duality). This is where you need Vaikhari. Vaikhari means the diversity that is present all around you. That is why there are so many languages in the world, and not just one. But there is only one Para Vaani, and everything is contained in that.
In Para Vaani, even before a word is formed you have instantly understood the meaning. So words are not needed at all. All this appears very technical to understand. So when you have a scientific outlook, then it is easy to understand.
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why should there not be?
As long as you are in the run for more, you are not going to settle. Unless you settle, there is neither peace nor grace. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheets: Wealth
Knowledge Sheets: Wealth: Wealth is not just having money. You can have a big balance, you can have a big estate but on your face if you are stressed and you’re ...
You
can come home happily and say with a smile, "Everything that I did
today flopped!" You should have the guts to say "I am much more than
events or circumstances. Everything comes and goes, but I continue in
all situations." +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Wealth
Wealth is not just having money. You can have a big balance, you can have a big estate but on your face if you are stressed and you’re so miserable, no one can call you prosperous. Prosperity is not just having a fat bank balance. Prosperity is in acknowledging the magnanimity of life, honouring life.
The confidence in a person shows his richness. What is wealth suppose to do to you? Enhance confidence right but if wealth has created weakness then it is no wealth, if wealth has created sickness then it’s no wealth, if wealth has created conflicts then it is no wealth, right!
So one type of wealth is wisdom, knowledge is wealth, health is wealth, confidence is wealth, valour is wealth. If you have confidence you can manage anything, you can handle any situation, that is wealth.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Each of us has our own unique way to find happiness in life.
We know the value of this happiness. We have experienced it and shared it too.
We have also experienced how it feels to be unhappy.
When I was reflecting on what has propelled me to be happy , I was humbled to realize how simple it was.
I couldn’t resist sharing my list with you.
Hope it gives you some happiness to read it and apply in your life as you feel.
1) Purpose
A life without a purpose is like a river without a bank- all over the place . Don’t you think its very important to have a “purpose” to our life ?
One over riding big goal if you will. The northern star of our life.That which will dwarf all other interim needs,achievements,milestones. That which will also help us overcome short term challenges and set backs. A purpose that will keep our life on a well directed path. A purpose which will become our memory when we are gone.
I remember the day I had this flash realization that the true purpose of my life was to be available to my Master, was one of the happiest of my life. Everything else seemed like a vehicle to get there.
And we don’t really cry over a flat tyre, do we? We simply fix it and move on. I believe its like this in life- The purpose becomes our ultimate destination and everything happening a vehicle on the journey.
2) Passion
Having a Purpose is futile without the Passion to pursue it. Challenges will come. Setbacks will happen. There will be ups and downs. Don’t lose your Passion.
You must have experienced it already. If you have done something 100 % , with all your passion and commitment, even if you don’t get the result you expected, you are happy.
Coz you know you gave it all you had. Passion gives energy. It creates enthusiasm. It inspires. It shines through your whole being . Brings a glow of joy to your face!
We can either live life with a insipid lukewarm approach to everything , or live it with a passion and zeal. Which one do you prefer?
3) Perseverance
How do you feel when you give up on something? Not so good right? And how do feel when you persevere and pursue what you have at hand? Very good isn’t it?
So its really as simple as that. Persevere. Don’t give up. Whether it is on goals, people, relationships, situations. Anything at all. Doesn’t matter what is the result.
At least you will have the satisfaction that you gave it your best.
4) Patience
Many times our unhappiness has to do with the hurry we are in to get something, achieve something, fix something. Why is this not happening yet? I waited so long .. etc
Have patience. Gurudev, His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji has said so beautifully – when you expect the fruit of your actions, know that if you don’t get it now, you will get it next lifetime.
When you are patient, it immediately puts the mind at rest . Makes it calm and peaceful. When you are in such a space, anyway things start working for us !
As one saint said – Don’t be in Hurry, be in Hari !
5) Pride
Have Pride in your life. In yourself. Your own talents and qualities. In your family and friends. In what you do and don’t . I have seen often that we may be unhappy not because what we have is
anything less, but because we compare to others and may feel small. I firmly believe that each of us is very valuable to this universe ! That is why we are born ! Live with this pride- you will be happy and peaceful
and such an asset to society.
6) Purity
Stay Pure. In your heart, intentions,speech and action. Doesn’t matter what others are doing or saying. You stay pure. In the long run, you will be so glad you did. When you meditate, do Sudarshan Kriya, it eliminates stress, makes you peaceful. Then you can’t but think good,do good. Purity in mind,body and soul is the sign of an evolved being.
7) Present
Last but not the least. Live in the Present. The past has gone and the future not yet there. We worry about ”forever” and forget to live in the “now”, Forever is made up of nows !
If we meditate , serve in the now, forever will take care of itself !
I have found that being in Sadhana , Seva and Satsang has enabled me to have a purpose to my life, live it with passion, have the perseverance of effort and patience for result.
I am proud of my life , grateful for its purity , what I am and what I have, now in the present.
Wish you all the happiness in your life !
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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Here are a few basic and effective pointers:
1. A proper diet. Our food influences our mind. The Jain tradition has done much research on the effect of food on the mind. Ayurveda and Chinese systems and many other native systems the world over have recognized the effect of food on the psyche. Modern science confirms that food can have a direct bearing on our emotions. Emotionally disturbed children tend to eat more and suffer from obesity. A properly balanced diet has a positive impact on our emotions and thereby on our consciousness.
2. Light to moderate exercise.
3. Panchakarma. In the ancient medical system of Ayurveda, there is a process of internal cleansing called panchakarma that involves massages, a prescribed diet and cleansing. This has helped thousands of people to come out of stress and behavioral disorders and is also a curative for many illnesses.
4. Yoga, Pranayama and meditation. These are extremely vital to induce a sense of respect for one’s own body and the environment. They help to maintain a toxin-free system and thereby reduce the occurrence of emotional disturbances.
5. Music and dance. These can bring rhythm and harmony in the body-mind complex; especially music that is not too loud and violent. Music that is soothing and creates a gentle sway and rhythm in one’s system, like folk and classical music.
6. Nature. Spending time in nature, observing silence and engaging in prayer is very congenial for helping us to reflect on our own mind.
7. Last but not the least: service to the less fortunate.
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