KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Monday, April 20, 2026

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!

II JAI GURUDEV II

https://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Monday, April 20, 2026

Q: Gurudev, can there be a dispassion and yet absolute enthusiasm in every role?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, don’t you see that in so many people here, who are totally dispassionate, and yet full of enthusiasm? Absolutely! Children have this. When they are crying, the tears haven’t even disappeared from their cheeks, and they start smiling and laughing also. This is a perfect example of dispassion, and enthusiasm. If you don’t have dispassion, then brooding continues; you continue being unhappy. It is dispassion that helps you come to the moment, and switch gears.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Monday, April 20, 2026

Have this conviction that you create your world, you create the people around you and you create the situations around you.

- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Sunday, April 19, 2026

Confidence with Humility: The Rarest Combination

One of the rarest combinations in the human personality is the co-existence of confidence and humility. Often people who are confident are not humble and people with humility are not confident. Confidence blended with humility is most appreciated by everybody. Question: How can confidence be developed in one who is humble, and humility in one who is confident? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: 1. When you see your life from a bigger context of time and space, then you realize your life is nothing. 2. When you are humble, you need to see that you are unique and dear to the Divine, which brings confidence, and when you realize you are insignificant, that brings humility. 3. When you have a Guru, you cannot be arrogant. Your guru gives you confidence and also brings humility in you. The weakness in humility, and the arrogance in confidence are removed. You are left with confidence and humility!

Guruji had a captive audience while inaugurating the International Convention on Information Technology - Information should be intuitive, communication should be creative, and technology should bring comfort. In a "flying" visit to Tirupati, Guruji addressed all the Tirupati temple administrators and workers. The 250 teachers at the Teacher’s Refresher Meet in Rishikesh are blissed and blessed!

II JAI GURUDEV II

https://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Sunday, April 19, 2026

Q: Why is there suffering when there is God?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

So that you can lift your eyes above this material world. Suffering has a purpose, which is to connect you to your self. Suffering indicates that you got too involved and carried away by all the relative and transient things around you. That is what suffering is all about. Once you understand that it is all transient, your eyes get lifted to something that is eternal. That is when real joy dawns in life.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Sunday, April 19, 2026

Be in the now. Desire is wanting to be happy tomorrow. Be happy and joyful now.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Saturday, April 18, 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

https://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/