KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2026

FAITH IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR

Krishna says in Bhagvad Gita: 'Wherever one has faith, and whomsoever one has faith on, that faith is given by me'. It is the self which translates itself into faith. Faith comes from the self. So he says, 'I am the one who is giving you faith'. This is similar to what I say, even love is a gift. If you feel love for someone, don't think you can take credit for it. If you are in love with somebody, that is also a gift. Joy is a gift, time is a gift; almost everything in life is a gift, or a blessing.

Further Krishna says: 'I have given faith, and with the faith that I have given a person engages in worship, and through this worship he attains his desires. And this is ordained by me. I have ordained this natural law'.

See, doctors give you medicine, but suppose you don't have faith in the doctor, will you take that medicine? No you won't. And even if you do take it without having faith, will it work? No, it will not work. Faith is a factor in every function. Any function, anything you do, faith is an important factor.

II Jai Guru Dev II

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2026

Q: You have mentioned that the education is essential in order to combat terrorism. Could you please shed light on how we can educate someone who doesn't feel the need of being educated?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Skill. This is where your skilfulness comes into play. How skilfully you can manoeuvre the situation.

Education is not just the technical education. When people say that education is the antidote to terrorism, I don't agree with them because when you see, the biggest terrorists on this planet are all highly educated. One of them was an engineer, the other was a doctor and even today all the terrorists that are caught are not illiterates. They are technically educated and qualified in modern standards. But what they lack is spiritual education. Here we need to be very specific. It is the spiritual education, which broadens the mind, enhances one's ability to honour and respect everybody and everyone's religion. Spiritual education gives one a very compassionate heart. That type of spiritual education is needed, and not just education.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2026

Walk lightly on this planet; yet leave such a footprint that cannot be erased for a thousand years.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2026

KNOWLEDGE AND FAITH

In science you have knowledge first, and then faith follows.

In spirituality, faith comes first, and then Knowledge follows.

For example, the knowledge that pesticides and chemical fertilizers are good for plants came through science, and people had faith in it, and all over the world they were used. And then another knowledge came that they were not good and the faith shifted to organic farming. The same with antibiotics.

The knowledge brought faith, the knowledge changed, and then faith changed. The knowledge and faith of science is of "happening." In spirituality, faith is first and Knowledge comes later. Like Kriya, Yoga, and meditation -- first you have faith and then Knowledge follows. For example, if you do pranayama faithfully then you get the Knowledge of the prana; if your do your meditation faithfully, the Knowledge of consciousness follows. Even an illiterate, through faith, attains deep Knowledge.
Science regards life as matter and spirituality regards even matter as life.

II Jai Guru Dev II

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2026

Q: Please tell us about “Mahaveer”. How can someone who is non-violent and who meditates be called a great warrior?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

In the word Mahaveer, veer means warrior, and the word warrior comes from the Sanskrit root veera. Mahaveer (a great warrior) is a title given not only to people who fight, win and succeed, but also to people who are in deep meditation.

There is turmoil in the inner world (referring to the mind) as much as there is turmoil in the outer world. There are more conflicts inside you than what you can find outside in the world.

The world is made up of five elements and they are all in conflict; conflict is their nature. Fire and water are never friendly; fire evaporates water and water extinguishes fire. Similarly, air can put off fire and it is only because of air that fire can exist, and it is fire that can split air. And, Earth is affected by all the three elements; fire, water and air.

Similarly, there is conflict world over. Inside you, the heart and mind are in a conflict. The heart is compassionate but the mind is logical and reasons everything. When the mind says, "This is right to do", the heart doesn’t want to do it. When the heart wants to do something, the mind says, "This is no good". The fight between mind and heart, likes and dislikes bother you. These are storms that get created inside you and don’t let your mind be at peace.

If there is nothing for you to worry about, then you worry about your neighbours, friends and family. Worry, conflict, sadness, unhappiness, all these emotions pose a great challenge for meditation to happen and do not let you be at peace. When you are peaceful and happy for few moments, something comes up and it destroys your peace. There are hundred and one reasons for you to be miserable, and if you’re not intelligent, your mind makes up thousand and one reasons to be unhappy. Sometimes you are unhappy because there is conflict, and sometimes you are unhappy just because you have lost your peace of mind. This continues throughout life.

In meditation a million things can come up, but if you raise your head above all these conflicts, and feel unmindful of it, not questioning why they have come, it makes you go deep in your meditation. By thinking why these bad thoughts are coming, you are being party to the conflict, and this makes you weak. Let them come and go. You think that you have nothing to do with it. This is the strategy to win over inner conflict. When inner conflict arises, this strategy is there to remind you that you are much more powerful and much bigger than the conflict. Then you rise above it, flying above the clouds, piercing through them and reaching the clear sky.

Similarly, sit still in your inner space, unmindful of any conflict, any thought or emotion. If they come, let them come and go, and when you think, "I don’t care about how I feel", then that will give you the strength.

You have to stand up against the inner conflict and fight it. The world doesn’t care how you feel; the world is only interested in what you have done and what you are doing. One day you may feel good and another day you may not feel so good. Feelings go up and down but the world will only ask you, "What good have you done, and how have you contributed to the world?"

All the ancient wise men and women have asked, "When will we wake up from this maya? This is all an illusion. It appears to be something but in reality it is not that. And winning over maya is being a mahaveer (a great warrior). You can win over people outside, but when you can win over the turmoil inside and be still and keep a smile, then you are a great warrior, and that requires valour.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2026

True freedom is not an ‘I don't care’ attitude. It is lightness from within, a genuine smile and lack of stiffness. Such freedom will not bring arrogance.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2026

GURU IS LIKE A MIRROR

The consciousness and the universe loves one who is wise and the wise loves the universe.

Seeing this whole universe as made up of just one thing is exactly what Vedanta is. This is called advaita siddhi, perfection of the knowledge of advaita, i.e., when your intention and the nature’s intention is one, not two. You become one with the nature to reflect nature and that is what a Guru is.

Guru is like a mirror, he reflects you, he reflects the time, he reflects the space.

II JAI GURUDEV II