+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Self is love.
Thursday 31 October 2013
Guru One Liner of the day
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Self is love.
Wisdom Quote of the day
Knowledge Sutra for the day!
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Guru Punch of the day
Knowledge Sheet
Appreciation
When do you appreciate someone? When they do something that is unusual,not ordinary, and not their nature. Isn't it so?For example, when a wicked person doesn't create a problem then you appreciate them. Or, when somebody you think is not good does a good act, then you appreciate them. Also, when a good person does something extraordinary, then you appreciate them. If a child made you a cup of tea, you would appreciate it, but if a mother made the same cup of tea, you would not likely appreciate it because it is a normal act for her. In the same way, you appreciate getting a ride from someone you don't know, but you don't necessarily appreciate it from a bus driver.
In all these cases, those acts are temporary, out of character, or not their nature. So when you appreciate someone for something, you imply that it is not the way they are usually.
Robin: What if a person wants to be appreciated?
Sri Sri: That means that it is not in their nature, and that is why they want to be appreciated. If it is not coming from their nature it is an imposed act. So when you appreciate someone you simply imply that it is not their nature, it is not the way they usually are. It is a rare act or quality. Appreciation implies a sense of separateness or distance, so watch out when you appreciate someone!
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Wednesday 30 October 2013
Wisdom Quote of the day
QnA with Sri Sri
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Gopi bhaava is a feeling of innocence and deep love. The word Gopi means those who have soaked and drank the knowledge so completely and totally that nothing else remains. When one is so deeply immersed in knowledge, then only love remains. So in such a deep and heightened state, it is that intense love that gets expressed. When such a beautiful and intense feeling of love dawns in life; then that is said to be ‘Gopi bhaava’.
Knowledge Sutra for the day!
Like a lit candle can light another candle, only one who has, can give. One who is free can free you; one who is love can kindle the love in you. - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar |
Knowledge Sheet
Creativity
Creativity
brings a new beginning for "time". When you are creative, you break the
monotony of time. Everything becomes fresh and alive. Creativity brings
along with it a new round of enthusiasm. Both creative and procreative
impulses in nature are associated with enthusiasm. When you are
enthusiastic you are closer to the creative principle of existence.Deep silence is the mother of creativity. No creativity can come out of one who is too busy, worried, over-ambitious or lethargic. Balanced activity, rest and yoga can kindle skills and creativity in you.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Guru Punch of the day
Tuesday 29 October 2013
QnA with Sri Sri
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is of consciousness; the quality of consciousness is celibacy. Brahma means infinity, and charya means to move. Moving into the infinity is Brahmacharya (celibacy). Identifying with the infinity is really what Brahmacharya is. It is a happening; it happens. That means, you don't find any big pleasure in a physical act to experience the joy because the joy is already there.
Any physical act is done to experience some joy, but if the joy is already there, then why bother with the act. That is what celibacy is. Body has its cycle. It goes through cycles. Consciousness not getting involved in it is the real skill.
Guru One Liner of the day
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Only God exists. But to realize that takes energy, time and commitment.
Wisdom Quote of the day
Knowledge Sutra for the day!
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheet
How To Deal With Humiliation?
Know that humiliation does not weaken you - it strengthens you.When you have a sense of belongingness, you don't feel humiliated. The more egotistic you are, the more humiliation you feel. When you are childlike and have a greater sense of kinship then you don't feel humiliated.
When you are committed to truth and not to your ego then you also don't feel humiliated.
If you are afraid of humiliation, you can neither make progress in your material life nor in your spiritual life. When you stand above humiliation, you get closer to the Self - to God. When you are steeped in love, with the Existence, with the Divine, nothing whatsoever can humiliate you.
So, the way out of humiliation is:
1) Get humiliated!
2) Be childlike
3) Be crazy
4) Get steeped in love with the Divine
5) Total commitment to Truth-Knowledge
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Guru Punch of the day
Monday 28 October 2013
don’t regret the past
Many
people, when they get this knowledge, say, “Oh, Guruji, while I’ve been
waiting for this, so much time has gone by. I’ve wasted twenty year.
How nice it would have been if you had come years ago.”
I say don’t regret the past. Nothing is ever a waste. All the past, all you have gone through has built the foundation, has brought the walls up. Now we are here to put on the roof, to complete it. It is not a waste.
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Wisdom Quote of the day
QnA with Sri Sri
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know consciousness never dies; the mind never dies! Nothing ever dies. It only changes form. Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. So is the same with energy.
In the consciousness, the Rishi energies are present.
It is like, you have all moods within you, and when you are acting in a movie or in a play, you create those moods. An actor creates different moods at different times. He shows anger he shows fierceness, valour, or fear. So we can manifest all these emotions; we can act them out at any time. The mind expresses its moods, though all the moods are within itself. At will it can express any of it at any time. In the same way, in the higher consciousness, there are different impulses which indicate different abilities and qualities of consciousness. And they can be manifested by invoking
Guru One Liner of the day
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I leave that to you to guess. Their rightful place is Lord Krishna’s birthplace (referring to the prisons, where Lord Krishna was born). Did you get it? The jail is where all the Dushasanas and Shakunis should go. Do you not think so?
Guru Punch of the day
Knowledge Sheet
Strength and Subordination
Many
people do not want to work under someone else, be it in their
profession, in any company or even voluntary service. The general notion
is that when you work under someone, you lose your freedom, you have to
be answerable. So, many people opt for business, wanting to be their
own boss. But, in business, you are accountable to so many people. If
you cannot be accountable to even one person, how can you be accountable
to many? This is the paradox. In fact, being in business binds you more
than the boss!Refusing to work under someone is a sign of weakness, not strength. A strong person would not feel uncomfortable working under anyone, because he knows his strength. It is the weak and poor in spirit who do not like to work under someone else, because they are unaware of their strength. They can be neither successful in business nor in any profession.
And the same is true even in the field of social service - often volunteers do not want to work under someone else. This is merely an exhibition of their weakness. With such an attitude, they achieve very little. One who is timid and weak in spirit would be uncomfortable to work even under the Wise one; but one who knows his own strength can work effectively even under a fool!
Nityanand: But to work under a fool is frustrating!
Sri Sri: When you know your strength, with skill and intelligence, you can turn every disadvantage into an advantage. A fool can bring out the best of your communication skills! (laughter)
So watch out! If you feel uncomfortable working under someone, it clearly shows you need to strengthen yourself. Desiring freedom from circumstances, situations or people is no freedom at all. Knowing that nobody can take away your freedom Ö that is strength! And when you realize your strength is unshakable, you would not mind working under anybody.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Sunday 27 October 2013
QnA with Sri Sri
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Every baby is a yogi. A baby does all the yoga asanas, and has all those qualities. Now, you may say that this person does do any good deeds, yet he is having a good time! How do you know? He may have done something good in the past; he may have been a yogi in his previous life. Now he is just enjoying the fruit of those actions.
Yoga is not just doing some asanas, it is a state of mind, of uniting yourself with the existence, with the truth, with the cosmic mind or the big mind.
The small mind becoming one with the big mind, that itself is a joyful thing. You don’t need to look for an excuse not to do it.
If you don’t want to do yoga and be skillful, go ahead, be skillful. Skill in action is a result of yoga, and silence is the mother of all talents. A few moments of deep silence brings up many talents within you.
Guru One Liner of the day
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Both. Anything that benefits your spirit, definitely benefits the body. If the body is healthy and strong, it also reflects on the consciousness, and the mind.
Wisdom Quote of the day
Knowledge Sutra for the day!
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Guru Punch of the day
Those
who surrender to the Divine with a feeling of contentment and with a
deep sense of gratitude are the wise (jnani) ones. Such people do not
feel the need for anything. They feel that even before they could ask,
they received everything. Even before they could feel thirst, water was
given. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheet
Shouldering Responsibilities Lightly
Do
you know why Lord Krishna stuck a peacock feather on his crown? How
many of you do not know the secret behind this? Why the peacock feather
on the crown? A crown is usually very heavy, and it symbolizes
responsibilities. One who wears the crown is responsible for the entire
society. So it can be a great burden for the one who wears it. Whom do
you hold responsible when something goes wrong in the society? You hold
the king accountable for the society, isn’t it? So the crown on a king’s
head represents the burden of responsibility that he carries. But if
you were to carry out all your responsibilities and duties as lightly
and effortlessly like a peacock’s feather, then you would not feel any
burden at all. That is what the peacock feather on Lord Krishna’s crown
means. It symbolizes having being able to shoulder many responsibilities
without feeling burdened by them.God never feels His own creation to be a burden for Him. A mother never feels that her children are a burden for her. In the same way, Lord Krishna, who is also called Yogeshwara (Supreme among Yogis) never feels that any responsibility is a burden. Every responsibility feels light and easy. That is why his crown is adorned with a peacock feather. Just like a peacock’s feather has so many colours, so also He has many responsibilities but they are not a burden for Him at all. They simply appear to be a game.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Saturday 26 October 2013
QnA with Sri Sri
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Whatever you gain by effort has a limited age, and is for a limited time. What you gain by effortlessness is ageless and timeless.
The answer to your question is hidden in this answer somewhere; you dig into it. I have given you a formula. In this formula, anything that you achieve with effort will have a result that is time-bound and limited; it cannot be forever. Anything that you get through effortlessness is timeless and painless.
Guru One Liner of the day
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: In love a loss is also a win, and in ego a win is also a loss!
Wisdom Quote of the day
Knowledge Sutra for the day!
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheet
Siddhi
When
skilfulness blossoms within us, then that is Yoga. It is said “Yoga
karmasu-kaushalam”. When we do something, we do not do it half-heartedly
thinking ‘Will this happen or not?’, or, ‘May be it will be only
half-done or so’, or, ‘Oh! This is going to take a lot of time’, etc.
Once you decide upon something, just do it. When things start to happen
merely by our thinking about them, then that ability is called a Siddhi
(extraordinary ability). The goal of human life is to be able to gain
this Siddhi, and not just to enjoy the pleasures and material gains of
the world.|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Guru Punch of the day
Friday 25 October 2013
The Shine In The Sunshine
June 01, 2013 Bangalore, India
(Below is a continuation of the post The Cause Of All Causes)
Lord Krishna is saying here, ‘I observe everything happening in nature with a sense of apathy (or indifference). I am not attached or affected by it, yet everything in the creation is completely governed by Me (as the cause of all causes)’.
A good example is the Sun. Just with the presence of the Sun, there is life on Earth.
All activities begin with sunrise; people wake up and go about their daily duties. And at sunset everything comes to a standstill.
When the Sun rises, the birds start chirping. Now the Sun does not specially go and tell every individual bird, ‘Hey, wake up!’ The very presence of the Sun is good enough for the birds to rise and start chirping. Flowers automatically bloom when the Sun rises.
So, in the same way, Lord Krishna says, ‘I am the source that governs everything in this creation, and it is through my very presence that everything happens’.
For example, a fetus in the womb of a mother. It is because of the presence of consciousness (Jiva or life force) within the fetus that causes it to grow.
It is because of the presence of consciousness (Jiva) within a plant, or a trees that causes it to grow. Now this consciousness that is present within each living being is a witness to all that happens. It does nothing by itself, yet everything happens under its influence.
Lord Krishna says, ‘Any transformation that you see, happens because of Me. I am the seed from which everything is born, and I am the cause of all changes’.
After listening to this, what more proof do we need of the existence of God?
Are creatures being born in this world or not? Every moment there is something being born. See how many living creatures and insects are being born every moment. Plants, trees, insects, animals, babies, all are being born every second.
Lord Krishna says, ‘My presence (as the Divine Consciousness governing everything) is the cause of living beings being born and coming into existence. It is My presence that sustains and upholds their existence. And it is My presence due to which they undergo all changes and ultimately die and disappear’.
So God is that fundamental principle from which everything has come. He is that which upholds and sustains everything in creation, and He is also that into which everything dissolves into. And it is all happening every moment, everywhere.
Now how can anyone or anything be separate from God?
Do not be foolish in looking for God, or running behind Him. Wherever you are, just relax, and repose within yourself. That is where you will find Him. He is in you.
That which is not omnipresent cannot be called God. When He is present everywhere, is He not present in you? Or is it that God is present in someone else, or in Gurudev but not in you? Do you think God is present in Gurudev and not in you? No, not at all. God is present everywhere. You can see Him so evidently in Gurudev, but He is also present in you, in the person sitting next to you, and also in the most foolish of people too.
One who can see God in the most foolish person, can never lose sight of God again!
God is present everywhere, and is present in you as well.
God is eternal. It is not that He came some 5000 years ago, with a flute in His hands, wearing a crown of peacock feathers, and now he is not present. That is not so! He is present now, this very moment.
Then, He belongs to everyone. So does He belong to you? Yes, He belongs to you!. That is it. Just believe in this totally.
Now what do you need to do to believe this? Do you need to read all the scriptures, all the Puranas and the Vedas, or do you have to sit in Samadhi for hours? No. Just take it for granted right now that God is present everywhere, in everyone and at all times. He belongs to everyone, so He belongs to me too. He is in me and He is all-capable.
It is very important to remember that God is all-capable. He is capable of fulfilling all our desires and whatever we feel that we lack. He is capable of granting us all that we need. This is all that you have to believe in. So just believe this and relax.
Lord Krishna says, ‘O Kaunteya! (Kaunteya: Son of Mother Kunti, another name for Arjuna) Listen, all changes in Creation happen because of Me. If you see any transformation in this Creation, it is because of Me’.
It is impossible that someone does not get transformed after coming to a Guru. Simply impossible. If someone is standing under the Sun, sunlight will fall on him. It is impossible to say that 'there is no sunlight falling on me'.
So Lord Krishna says, ‘O Arjuna! I am the reason behind all transformation you see in the creation. Anyone who comes and takes refuge in Me, is surely transformed'.
The next verse is, 'Avajananti mam mudha manusim tanum asritam. Param bhavam ajananto mama bhuta-mahesvaram'. (9.11)
Lord Krishna says, 'These foolish people think that I am a human being. It is true that I am in this physical body, but the ignorant ones think of Me as being limited only to this physical body. They are not aware of my supreme transcendental form, and do not recognize Me as the subtle divine consciousness that pervades everything. Being unaware of that supreme Divine form of Mine, these ignorant people think of Me to be an ordinary human being. I am the Lord of all the Bhutas (fundamental element of nature)’.
The consciousness present within us is much greater than the physical body, and is beyond it. The mind and the soul are far more powerful than the physical body. The soul is the owner, the Lord of this physical body and not its servant.
In the same way, God is the Lord of this Prakruti (nature) that is made of up of all the Pancha Mahabhutas (meaning the five fundamental elements of nature: earth, water, fire, air and space).
Lord Krishna says, ‘Though I reside within this body and appear to work through it, yet the consciousness that is within Me is separate from the body (not limited by it), and is much more powerful than this body. This consciousness is God Himself'.
There is no difference between the Jiva (individualized consciousness) and God. The soul is pure consciousness. There is no difference between the soul and God. They are one and the same.
God is the (power of) consciousness that resides within us all. The Prana (Life-force) that is present in our body is nothing but God. When we remain unaware of this truth, we remain ignorant.
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Wisdom Quote of the day
Guru One Liner of the day
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Absolutely! I tell you, don't put all your success into one small incident, or one small happening in life. You can be really successful even if failure comes in one aspect of your life.
QnA with Sri Sri
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is easy to say ‘No’ rather than say ‘Yes’. So choose according to your time availability. Because, if a person cannot feel it without your saying yes or no, they are not going to feel it even after you say yes or no. If someone says, ‘Are the lights switched on here?’ that means they have not opened their eyes. So whether you say yes or no, it doesn’t make any difference to them. Right? If they are blind then even if you say, ‘Yes, the lights are on’, how does it matter to them? How does it make any impact on them? And if you say ‘No’ even then it doesn’t make any sense. So, in all these circumstances the golden principle is - Smile with Silence. Got it? If they can feel it, then even if you say no, they are going to feel it.
Once I was in Sweden and there was a meeting. There was a journalist in the audience who asked me ‘Are you enlightened? Don’t beat around the bush. Tell me. I want to ask you, are you enlightened?’ I just looked and smiled. I said to him, ‘I know you are very clever’. Then he said, ‘But, are you enlightened?’ It is better to say ‘No’. Then the whole conversation finishes. Why take the trouble to prove anything by saying ‘yes’? It is even more headache. And everyone who tried to prove this was in even more trouble. What is the point in saying ‘Yes’? So I said ‘No’. But then to this, the journalist said – ‘No, you are not telling me the truth. I don’t believe you’. Then you believe in yourself and believe what your heart is saying.
Knowledge Sutra for the day!
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge Sheet
You all must have heard the story of how Lord Krishna lifted the huge Mount Govardhana entirely on his little finger. The (prefix) ‘Go-’ means knowledge, and knowledge is so vast, like a huge mountain. But one who has blossomed in knowledge can lift even a huge mountain very easily and effortlessly, using just his little finger. Can you lift anything with your little finger? You cannot actually lift anything using the little finger, isn’t it? But here, Lord Krishna lifted the entire Mount Govardhana using just his little finger. The word ¬Govardhana means that which enhances and augments our knowledge. So when we stand in the enclosure of knowledge, we receive a protection, a shield from the storm and the heavy rain (signifying misery and suffering). To shelter yourself from the miseries of the world, you must come under the protection of Mount Govardhana (knowledge), and by doing this you will continue to blossom, and progress more and more in knowledge.
The word ‘Go’ has four different meanings: Jnana (knowledge), Gaman (travel),Prapti (to receive) and Moksha (liberation). Gaman means to keep on moving ahead in life and not look back at the past. Prapti means to reflect upon all that you have received. When you look back at your life and reflect upon what you have received, you will realize that you have received nothing other than knowledge in your life (meaning: everything else received in life being momentary or temporary). When death comes before you, there will be only two questions to answer for yourself: one is how much knowledge have you received, and second is how much love have you given to everyone around you. That is all there is to the act of giving and receiving in life. In receiving, you have to reflect on how much knowledge have you received, and in giving you must see how much love have you shared with everyone. When such knowledge increases in your life, then that is what Prapti is. So all four of these: Jnana, Gaman, Prapti andMoksha come to you when you are under the protection of Govardhana, which the Lord lifted so simply with his little finger.
When Lord Krishna lifted the mountain, all his other Gwalas (cowherd friends) also stood with Him below the mountain and placed their bamboo sticks to lend support to the mountain. They wanted to feel that they too are a part of this and are contributing in some way. They too wanted to satisfy that sense of doership in them. The meaning from this is: we must not think since that God will do everything, why should we make any efforts? No, you too should make your efforts and put in your stick along with the others (contribute in upholding the mountain). God is anyway doing everything, but does not mean that you do not do anything and remain idle. No, you too have to contribute your efforts and place your stick under the mountain. So the deeper meaning here is that we must do our duty and what we need to do. Instead of being idle and negligent, we must become proactive and responsible. Doing this combines all the three together: Karma,Jnana and also Bhakti (devotion).
How is that so? To save oneself from misery and suffering, one cries out to the Lord for safety with a sense of love and faith, this is Bhakti. Placing your own stick under the mountain (making one’s efforts or doing one’s duty) is Karma Yoga. And knowing that the Lord is upholding everything and taking care is Jnana. All three are important in life.
|| Jai Guru Dev ||
Guru Punch of the day
Thursday 24 October 2013
Wisdom Quote of the day
QnA with Sri Sri
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It doesn’t matter! As long as they choose each other! In Sanskrit, it is said that there are 2 ways for this: Whether the Divine chooses you or you choose the Divine. They say it is like the monkey and the kittens. The mother monkey just roams around and it is the young ones who are watchful and follow the mother. But on the other hand the kittens don’t worry about the mother, and they don’t even look at the mother. They simply play around and it is the mother cat that takes care of the kitten, and holds the kitten by its own jaw and takes them around.
Here the cat is concerned about its kittens. There, it is the baby monkey which is concerned about the mother. The mother monkey does not watch, the baby monkey goes and clings on to the mother. So there are 2 things: One is the way of the devotee. The devotee is like the kitten, allowing God to guide. And a philosopher or a yogi is like the baby monkey which holds on to the mother, which just latches on to the Divine. So one is a Karma Yogi (here meaning to know that every action is anyway being guided by the Divine), the other is a Bhakt-yogi (here meaning to be totally immersed in the devotion to the Divine for everything). You can choose to be either one or both also at times.
Guru One Liner of the day
+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: By being natural (sahajta). You should be with a guru the same way as you are with your close ones; i.e. with naturalness.
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