KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2026

Memory

It is memory that makes you miserable or wise. Memory of events and experiences of the changing finite binds you, and memory of your nature liberates you. Memory of the ever changing relative, however good or bad, brings bondage. Memory of the non-changing self elevates awareness. Memory of past events and worldly concerns constricts the vastness of the self.

It is all a matter of where you are, of what you are. If you are ignorant, it is because of your memory. If you are enlightened, it is because of your memory. Forgetfulness of the trivial is ecstasy.

Forgetfulness of the infinite is misery.

Q. How does one get rid of unpleasant memories and limitations?

Know the impermanent nature of the world and events.
Know the non-existence of past events right now and accept them.

Be dispassionate and centered. Memories of Self are gained by service to the noble.

Increase prana - So Ham! So what!!
Have Divine Company / presence.

Go to the moon!!

II JAI GURUDEVII

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2026

Q: Dear Gurudev, whenever I want to do some important work, or study, my mood comes in my way. I’m completely dependent on my mood for most of my actions. How to get rid of moods?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

First, the realization itself makes it half done. Now you have realized it’s the mood which sways you, that means the intellect is waking up. It says, ‘Come on, I’m not going to be so moody.’ You take that determination.

There are many situations in life where you cannot act on your mood. For example, if you’re in a plane and suddenly you feel you don’t want to continue the journey, though your mood has changed halfway you cannot get out of the plane! You got to be there. It’s not a car that you’re driving where you can turn back. Even for the car you have to find the exit where you can turn back. You can’t turn anywhere.

So, life teaches you hard lessons if you don’t respect wisdom. Know that life goes with commitment, not moods. Mood is very unstable, they come, they change. But commitment and wisdom always brings the best results.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2026

When you feel, 'God has given me more than I deserve', that simply says that you believe in the judgment and fairness of the Divinity.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026

Habits and vows

How to get rid of vasanas (impressions)? This is a question for all those who want to come out of habits.

You want to get rid of habits because they give pain and restrict you. The nature of vasana is to bother you, or bind you, and wanting to be free is the nature of life. Life wants to be free and when a soul doesn't know how to be free, it wanders through lifetimes wanting freedom.

The way to come out of habits is vows. This is samyama. Everybody is endowed with a little samyama.

A vow should be time bound. This would bring good conduct and save you from being wayward. Consider the time and place for vows to be taken.

When the mind dwells on useless thoughts, then two things happen. One is that all those old patterns come up and you feel discouraged by them. You blame yourself and feel that you have not made any progress.

The second thing is that you see it as an opportunity for samyama and feel happy about it. Without samyama, life will not be happy and diseases arise. For example, you know you should not eat three servings of ice cream, or eat ice cream every day, or otherwise you will get sick.

Habits will clog you when there is no liveliness or juice in life. When there is a direction for life force, you can rise above habits through samyama.

Take vows according to time and place. For example, suppose someone has a habit of smoking cigarettes and says, "I will quit smoking," but cannot do it. They can take a vow, three months or 90 days; a time-bound vow. If someone is used to cursing and swearing, take a vow not to use bad language for ten days. Don't take it for a lifetime; you will break it immediately. If you happen to break it in between, don't worry. Just begin again. Slowly increase the duration until it becomes your nature.

All those habits which bother you, bind them in vows, in samyama. So all those who are in Satsang, take a time-bound vow today and make a note of it. If you break a vow, make a note of it and share the time and date at the next Satsang. Continue it again. Tie those habits which bring you pain in samyama.

II JAI GURUDEV II

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026

Q: Gurudev, how do you distinguish between intuition and Yoga Maya?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Intuition is different. Of course, intuition is also a siddhi. But there is a very clear difference. In Yoga Maya, you will find someone coming and telling you. And you cannot avoid Yoga Maya.

Yoga Maya is not a bad thing. The way to win over it is go through it and not be attached to it; use your brain also. This is a very delicate balance – keeping your mind and also tuning into your intuition. You need to have that balance. Unless and until you are totally centered and hollow and empty, your intuition is always colored by your own cravings and aversions. When you win over these things then Yoga Maya is your friend and does not pose a challenge. That is why path is essential and the Guru is essential because the Guru can guide you and tell you, ‘This is Yoga Maya’. Or he will say, ‘Yes, you are right’. So, without the Guru you cannot win over Yoga Maya. A Guru is very necessary.

Though Lord Krishna was born a Siddha, he had to have a Guru and so he went to Rishi Sandipani.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, "Mama maya duratyaya". My Maya is very difficult to cross over but it can be crossed over only by my grace, and only through me one can cross over that. That's what he told Arjun. It's very interesting how this whole thing is. So always be aware, be cautious of Maya. It can just come from somewhere and hold you in its grip, and the mind starts buzzing. Sometimes you have to snap out of that and that happens also by grace.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026

The mission of your life should be to leave a better world behind than what you inherited.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2026

Your expressions of love

You feel a lot of love for someone and they do not take it. What do you do?

Get frustrated
Turn the love into hatred and wish for revenge
Again and again remind them how much you love them and how little they love you
Become fussy and cranky
Throw tantrums
Feel humiliated and try to protect your respect
Resolve never to love again
Feel hurt and mistreated
Try to be aloof and indifferent
...and you have seen that none of these work. They only make the situation worse.

What is the way out of this? How do you maintain your lovingness?

Have patience and change your expression of love.
Be centered and limit your expression of love. Sometimes over-expression of love puts people off.

Take it for granted that they love you too and accept their style of expression. For example, a mother with three kids. One child talks, one child does not talk, one child throws tantrums. Mother's love is the same irrespective of their behavior.

Genuinely acknowledge their love for you. This will turn your demand into gratefulness and the more you are grateful in life, the more love comes your way.

Know that hurt is part of love and take responsibility for it. When you move away from your center, you will definitely get hurt and the nature of worldliness is misery.

Sri Sri’s visit to the Pink City (Jaipur) was celebrated in Rajasthani style (warm, friendly, colourful).

His photo was seen on practically every wall of the city and he was crowned with a typical
Rajasthani turban.

II JAI GURUDEVII