The Means To Abundance
May 15, 2013 Bangalore, Yltp India
 am going to give you a challenge. Are you ready to take up a challenge?
Say ‘Ka’ without saying ‘Aa’. Can you do that? You can’t do it. You cannot say ‘Ka’ without saying ‘Aa’.
Okay, let us try ‘Ga’, or ‘Cha’, without ‘Aa’. Can you do it? No!
This is how the consonants and vowels are arranged in Sanskrit language.

AA II UU RiRi LiLi E Ai O Au Am Ah – these are vowels. The consonants are, Ka Kha Ga Gha Na, Ca Cha Ja Jha Na, Ta Tha Da Dha Na, Ta Tha Da Dha Na, Pa Pha Ba Bha Ma.
You cannot say the consonants without a vowel. Got it?
When you say ‘Ki’, ‘E’ has to be there.
This is so scientifically arranged, that is why Sanskrit is called Deva Bhasha; the language of the Gods, because it is aligned with nature.

When you say ‘Aa’, it is creation, everything opens. When you say ‘Uu’ it continues, and when you say ‘Mm’ it closes.

How is a sound generated? This has been explained very beautifully by one of the Rishis. When the self, conjoining itself with the intellect, again joins hands with the mind. That enhances the heat or energy in the body, and that energy moves the air through the voice box, and sound is generated.
So how does sound get generated, this is so beautifully and scientifically said.

This knowledge is not just for the heart or just for the head. It is a perfect combination of the head and the heart. That is the spiritual wisdom.

Also, if you observe the musical notes, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni, it all corresponds to the tune of particular animals. Sa corresponds to the tune of peacocks. Re to cows; Ga to goats; Pa to nightingales; Dha to horses and Ni to elephants. Though elephants are so big, their sound is very high pitched and very small.
So each animals’ sound is what the musical notes are – Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa.
In the same way, consonants are arranged with the animals. Ka and Cha, relates to the birds. Birds make only these two sounds, except parrots and mynah; when we train them they can speak the whole language.
Then comes Ta and Tha, these consonants relates to amphibians. The amphibians in the water and on land, like frogs and other animals, they say Ta and Tha.
Only mammals are in the last set of consonants, i.e., Pa Pha Ba Bha Ma. Goats, sheep, cows, they all make these sounds.

So the way the consonants are all arranged is so close to nature. Nobody made this, it is a gift; or downloaded. The Vedas are called Shrutis because no Rishi wrote it intellectually, so he did not take credit for it. He simply said, I went deep into meditation and I downloaded it; I heard it. So they are called Shrutis; that which was heard in deep meditation.
Sanskrit mantras are what was heard in deep meditation. This is what is said.

Q: Gurudev, what is Anugraha? How and when can we receive it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Anugraha means grace. Nothing is possible in life without anugraha. When you receive a lot without making efforts for it, then it is said that you are blessed with anugraha. Do you understand what I am saying?

Usually you work hard at your job and then receive your salary. So you say, ‘I have earned my money’. But if someone gives you a gift, you do not say, ‘I have earned these gifts’. Can something that is earned be called a gift? No. You receive gifts without any efforts. So when you receive a great gift or an award that you feel you did not deserve, then that is called anugraha.
When we receive something that we are not deserving of, or which exceeds our capabilities, then that is what is called Grace. When we see that in our life, we have received far more than what we deserve or are capable of, then gratitude dawns in us. We become thankful, complaints disappear and abundance grows.

A person who is grateful never experiences lack of anything.
Who experiences a lack in life? One who thinks that ‘I am so capable yet I got nothing’.

Once there was a person who wanted to become the Prime Minister. He did not even have the capability to oversee a herd of donkeys, yet he wanted to become the Prime Minister. Now what do you say to such a person? His complaints will never reduce. He will be full of them. Being grateful means all your complaints in life simply disappear.
When you have this feeling in your heart that you have always received more than what you asked for, or more than what you deserved, then deep gratitude arises in you. When there is gratitude, there will never be a lack of anything in life. For such a person, whatever he wishes for will keep getting fulfilled.

Now you might say that this is quite difficult. Yes, it is difficult. It is never easy to achieve something. But when you take one step towards this, you will find that it is very easy.

Q: Gurudev, it is said that speech is of four types: Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari. What is their significance in Sadhana (spiritual practices)?
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.
That is why it is said, ‘Jaanat tum hi tum hi ho jaaye’ (when the knower, knowledge and the known all become One). That is why we say, one who is deeply devoted to the Lord becomes the Lord himself. Similarly, one who has attained the knowledge of the Brahman becomes the Brahman. In such a state, the lover, the beloved and the love are not separate from one another. They all dissolve and become one. This is the state 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.

Q: Gurudev, neither Mirabai (a great female saint of India and a devotee of Lord Krishna) nor Sant Tukaram (a great saint from Maharashtra in India) had learnt classical music. Yet they are remembered even today for their bhajans (devotional songs). I also do not know how to sing. Please tell me if I will ever get a chance to express my devotion.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, of course! It is already done.
A flower never asks or waits for a chance for its fragrance to spread. Where the flower is, its fragrance will spread, that is inevitable. So wherever there is love and devotion, it cannot be hidden from anyone.
See, love is something that cannot be hidden. You cannot hide love, nor can you express it fully. Every time we try to express our love, we feel we have not been able to express it fully, and this is the problem of every lover. No matter how much they try to express their love, they find it is incomplete.

Q: Gurudev, we have heard such beautiful knowledge from you over the years. But I am not able to implement it. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are stuck in making efforts to implement the knowledge. Just relax. You do not need to do anything! Everything is happening by itself.

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