In joy, in peace, in that soothing inner state, you will find happiness.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, you said there are different types of prana, could you please talk a little bit more about that?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are ten types of Prana (the subtle life force energy). Of these, there are five major and five minor kinds of Prana. Today let me just talk about the five major types of Prana. The first major type of Prana is called Prana which arises from your navel upwards to the top of the head. Then there is another type of Prana that goes downwards from the navel, and it is called Apana. When the Prana level is too high, you cannot sleep; you can get insomnia and you feel very jittery. However, if the Apana level is too high, you feel so dull that you do not even want to get off the bed. Have you had this experience? Sometimes you feel so heavy, gross, and dull. This is due to the imbalance of Apana. The third type of Prana is Samana which is present as the digestive fire in the digestive system, i.e., in the stomach. It is the agni or the fire that helps digest the food. 'Samana' is that which helps indigestion, and it also helps other bodily systems. It helps in balancing the system. Then there is Udana Vayu or Udana Prana which is somewhere near the heart region and is responsible for emotions. In Sudarshan Kriya, people cry or they laugh, and you find that all these emotions well up. This is due to the Udana Vayu. So this Udana Vayu is responsible for all the emotions. Then the fifth type of Prana called Vyana which is responsible for all the movement in the body. It is spread all over the body. In Sudarshan Kriya, you feel some tingling, some energy all over the body. Have you all experienced this? What happens in Sudarshan Kriya is, all the five Pranas get balanced, and that is why you cry, or you laugh, and you feel a tingling all over the body. That is the specialty of Sudarshan Kriya. You also tend to feel very hungry after the Kriya, is it not so? So, these five Prana in the body run our lives. If Samana is imbalanced, then it gives rise to digestive problems, and you cannot digest the food properly, or you may experience nausea. All this happens because of an imbalance of the Samana Prana. When Udana Prana is stuck, you feel an emotional block that also affects your thinking and your mind. When the Vyana which is all over the body is imbalanced, then you have joint pain, or movement trouble, and either you become too jittery and restless, or you may feel like you do not want to do anything. Moving around anywhere in such a state gives discomfort and creates restlessness in the body. All this is caused by theVyana imbalance. After Sudarshan Kriya, you would have noticed that all these imbalances go away. Has this not happened to all of you? All earlier discomfort in the movements of the body, or its circulation, or some pains due to Vyana imbalance, all disappeared after Sudarshan Kriya. So these are the five different Pranas. There are five other sub-ordinate Pranas as well, but that we will discuss that another time.

---

Art of Living Vacancy: URGENT: IMMEDIATE VACANCIES AT BANGALORE

Art of Living Vacancy: URGENT: IMMEDIATE VACANCIES AT BANGALORE: Dear One, Greetings from the desk of Art of Living Human Resources !!! We are currently working on the below mention...

Art of Living Secrets: For The Love Of Love

Art of Living Secrets: For The Love Of Love: FOR THE LOVE OF LOVE As far as my memory goes back I recall that I have always been in love. What I do not remember clearly is with ...

What made you commit your life to building a world without violence?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I do this work because of my love for humanity. When you have something precious it's natural to share it with everyone. It's a natural instinct to share.

Breathe it out if you feel you are unworthy. Meditate and don’t be hard on yourself. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 - Verse 6 http://bhagvadgitaa.blogspot.in/2013/02/bhagavad-gita-chapter-7-verse-6.html

Knowledge Sheets: Experience

Knowledge Sheets: Experience: Each experience completes. Completion means leading to void or nothing. In the progression of life, you will leave behind every exper...

You walk until you come to the ocean. You don't walk or run in the ocean, you float and swim. Like this once you come to the Master, seeking stops, blossoming begins.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, How do you speak so sweetly always?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It’s like asking jaggery, how can you taste so sweet? It’s the nature of the jaggery to be sweet. I don’t put any effort to speak sweetly. If I put in effort, it will turn to be salty. What I am, I speak the same. That’s why you find it sweet. And secondly, you are also sweet so you find me also sweet. If your mind is turbulent then even if I speak sweetly, you will find it salty. I also don’t know how to be otherwise. I am grateful that I never got an opportunity also to do something which is not in my nature. There was never a need to speak a lie or cheat someone. It has never happened that I pretend to be someone else which I am not. It doesn’t seem also I would be doing it in future. But I don’t give any guarantee. It hasn’t happened till now and God knows about future.

Are bad thoughts harmful?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Only if you act on them. Bad thoughts, and good thoughts come and go. Don’t become attached to them. If you try, and resist bad thoughts they will persist. Just let them be.

If you have a responsibility to do seva, then you come to satsang so that when you are tired of doing seva, you can energize yourself. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: The big dilemma

Knowledge Sheets: The big dilemma: If there is complete faith, then there are no questions. If you don't have any faith then there is no point in asking any questio...

Q: Guruji, What is the significance of the culture of leadership in organizations?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A leader has to walk the talk. Be sensible, sensitive and compassionate. We need three things in life, Passion, Dispassion and Compassion.You can't have only passion, then you feel very stressed out. You need to have dispassion, you need to know how to let go. If you keep holding onto things when they are out of your hands anyways, you will only be more stressed. And a stressful person is a burden for himself, for the society and for everybody. A stressful person becomes harmful and toxic. In any institution you should identify those who are stressed. The ones stressed are soon going to become toxic. So, see to it that the person changes his whole attitude and feels better about himself. When people are relieved of stress, then you see a wave of change that arises. It is not an easy task. If someone is not willing to let go of his or her stress, you cannot make them let go of it. So, it is an uphill task and you have to do that.

What do you say to those who are suffering from hardships?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Hardship makes you deep, and strong. Sadness, and joy are complementary. Happiness causes expansion but misery brings a depth. Both are necessary.

Nobody can take away your self–respect. If it pinches you then that is due to ego or your foolishness. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 - Verse 4 http://bhagvadgitaa.blogspot.in/2013/02/bhagavad-gita-chapter-7-verse-4.html

Through knowledge and devotion transcend all karma and be free.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

What is Love? Extract of a talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Art of Living Secrets: WHAT is love???

Art of Living Secrets: WHAT is love???: If there is one substance by which everything is held together, it is love. -Excerpt from the video "WHAT is LOVE??" by ...

Q: Guruji, I do all practices when I am in problem but otherwise I stay away from path. What should I do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This you figure out. When misery comes, everyone thinks of God. But to one who thinks of God even when happy, why will misery touch him? There is an old proverb which says this ‘Sukh mein smaran sabh karein, dukh mein kare na koi. Sukh mein smaran jo kare to dukh kahe ko hoye.’ This applies to us also. When you are doing pranayama, Sudarshan kriya, when you are happy, then that happiness will continue. There was an article in the paper which says that the only way to cure depression is by meditation. Anti-depression medicines will make the depression come back. There is a rebounding of depression with anti-depression medicines but with meditation there is no rebounding. Today millions of people are suffering from depression and they don’t know something like this exists. They don’t know there is a way which can make them free from depression. When you go back, tell everyone about meditation. It takes one out of depression, suicidal tendencies. Look at Rashid (pointing to a youth who has come from Kashmir), he is smiling after 12 years and is now doing wonderful service also.

Why is there so much stress in the world today?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Because people have not learned yoga and meditation. It’s that simple.

Charity purifies wealth. Ghee/clarified butter purifies food. Knowledge purifies the intellect. Bhajan purifies the mind & Service purifies the action. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, There are many corporations that are venturing into social responsibilities, but recently the government has introduced some policies where this is being thrust onto corporations. What do you have to say about this?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If the government says that companies have to spend 3% of their profits on social responsibility, a good corporation would spend 4% of their profits, and not limit to the 3% as per the government's guidelines. It is a good thing that the government has given such a guideline. At least 2% to 3% must be given towards corporate social responsibility. I don't think there is anything wrong with this decision of the government. I think this one decision is very good, that every corporation should spend at least some percentage of their profit for the welfare of others. This has been said in our Dharma Shastras as well. Anyone who gets any profit has to share a percentage of it for the welfare of society.

What do you say to those who say true love doesn’t exist?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I’d say come to Art of Living and learn true love.

An animal is given only that heavy a tail, which it can wag. Nature is very intelligent. It only gives you that problem which you can handle. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Curiosity is the mother of science and Wonder is the mother of spirituality.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Breathe out exam stress http://artoflivingupdates.artoflivinguniverse.org/2013/02/breathe-out-exam-stress.html

Video of recent interview with Sri Sri (in Hindi) http://srisriupdates.artoflivinguniverse.org/2013/02/video-of-recent-interview-with-sri-sri.html

Like the lotus resides in water but still remains free from getting wet, in the same way while living in society, one should not let society enter one’s mind. Birds fly above you that’s ok, but don’t let them build a nest in your head. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: False Security

Knowledge Sheets: False Security: False securities do not allow your faith to grow. When you have dropped your securities, then your faith grows. When you buffer your l...

Q: Guruji, How do we ensure that a good soul is born? Do we need to follow some rules?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just be happy and keep your heart clean and soft. When you doubt, when you are angry or frustrated, your heart and feelings get hardened. With the knowledge and wisdom, your heart remains soft and supple. Otherwise you say everybody else is wrong and only you are right. You don’t see how wrong you are. You do so many mistakes you don’t look at that but when somebody else does mistakes, your heart gets hard. Isn’t it so? There is a saying in India of saint Kabir which says ‘Bura dekhan main chala, bura na milya koi’ which means ‘I wanted to search a bad man but I couldn’t find one but when I looked at myself I couldn’t find anybody worse than me.’ This is coming from a saint. So seeing mistakes in others hardens your feelings. I don’t agree so much with the other line. If you keep on looking at your own mistakes, that will also not make your feelings soft and brings guilt. So I only use the first line of this.

Q : Are you afraid of darkness and evil?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, because I’m connected with the light.

Inside each one of us there is beauty. Simply realize that you appreciate what you have.  +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

When we get in touch with the source of life then all other tensions, worries fall off and we can sing, dance and be happy. Life can become very intense, intense in the sense of being joyful.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Summer Bonanza for Kids at Art of Living Bangalore Ashram with Sri Sri http://artoflivingupdates.artoflivinguniverse.org/2013/02/summer-bonanza-for-kids-at-art-of.html

Don't lose sleep over losing weight: Sri Sri http://srisriupdates.artoflivinguniverse.org/2013/02/dont-lose-sleep-over-losing-weight-sri.html

Life is a fine balance between the emotions and the intellect. When to use what, is the real wisdom. And how do you gain that wisdom? The answer is meditation, meditation and meditation. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: The Primal Instinct

Knowledge Sheets: The Primal Instinct: Fear is an impression of the past reflecting about the future of the present. When people deny fear, they become egocentric, when they...

The Primal Instinct

Fear is an impression of the past reflecting about the future of the present. When people deny fear, they become egocentric, when they recognize and accept fear, they go beyond... get free from it.
Total lack of fear is possible only in utter chaos or utmost orderliness. A saint or a fool have no fear. But everywhere in between there is fear. Fear is essential to preserve orderliness in the world. It is a primal instinct.
FEAR OF DEATH PRESERVES LIFE.
FEAR OF WRONG KEEPS THE RIGHT.
FEAR OF SICKNESS BRINGS HYGIENE.
FEAR OF MISERY KEEPS YOU RIGHTEOUS.
A CHILD HAS A PINCH OF FEAR SO IT IS CAREFUL AND ALERT WHILE WALKING. A PINCH OF FEAR IS NECESSARY TO KEEP THINGS MOVING SMOOTHLY.
Because fear is love standing upside down, everything that can be interpreted with Love can also be interpreted with fear. For example, a child clinging onto its mother. This can be interpreted in both ways - out of Love or out of Fear.
This primal instinct can be totally transformed through Awareness of Divine Love.
Do not try to eliminate fear. Just meditate and know that you are nobody or that you belong to someone special.

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

Art of Living Secrets: Homemade Lemon Jam Cookies

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Truth is hidden by the golden veil of the mundane. Pierce through this thin glittering sheath and know
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, How can we turn thoughts of lack into thoughts of abundance?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The very thought that you want to do it, means you have already started moving in that direction. Look at what your requirements are and you will see that they will always be met. Whatever you need always comes to you. But do not take it to an extreme and say, 'Let me just do nothing and let everything come to me', no, that is not correct. You have to put in your efforts, and you have to have courage. These two things bring you wealth. There is proverb in Sanskrit that says, ‘Udyoginam purusha-simham upayati Lakshmi.' It means that great wealth comes to one who has the courage of a lion and who puts in all his efforts. Therefore put in all your efforts, and be like a lion. Do you know, the lion is the laziest animal? It is the lioness who hunts for the prey and presents it to the lion. The lion just goes and eats the prey. The lioness does the work. The lion does not even do the work of hunting the prey. He is lazy, yet he is the king of the forest and has the confidence. So this is what you need to have - confidence and the sense of majesty of a lion. Then you must put in your 100% efforts, and that is when wealth comes to you. Do not be feverish about it, just take up a project and do it. Later on, you will see that you will get wealth as well, along with it.

Q: What do you think is the best education for the soul?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditation and compassion.

Drop that which gives you short term happiness and long term suffering. Just keep this in the back of your mind. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: Becoming defenceless

Knowledge Sheets: Becoming defenceless: Whenever a boundary is broken, it creates some fear. The fear creates dislike. This dislike puts us back in the boundary. And to keep ...

The source of your mind is love and whatever you do to go to that source is a spiritual practice.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, You just said that alcohol is the main reason behind the Delhi gang rape case. But today, there have been cases of young girls being raped by their own fathers. In those cases, it is not just alcohol. What is the bigger problem?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Correct, it is not alcohol which is the main reason behind this case. Sex offenders have primarily three issue. One is hormone issues, where there could be some serious hormonal imbalances in them. Second is emotional disturbances. The person must be a victim of some sort, within themselves. Third is, total deterioration of human values. So, these three things together can make a person do such criminal acts which they themselves would regret. It is not that they would feel very happy that they have achieved something great. They are doing such a bad thing to a small child. They are compelled because of their sick mind, imbalanced emotions and hormones. So these kinds of people need treatment. They definitely need counselling, and society needs to provide them with this kind of counselling without any stigma. Do you know, this is not just in rural places, in fact, it is more in all the advanced countries. In world over, this problem of child molestation is prevalent. So many such cases are there. Father molesting his own daughter, we have heard of something like this in India only recently, but this has been happening in the world for so many years. And it has gone to an extent with all these television shows, that sometimes, children start doubting, 'Oh, maybe my father did like this to me.' I want to share one such case with you. An elderly couple came to me. Their daughter who at time was already 38 years of age, suddenly thought, after watching all these talk shows, that she is a victim. That her father did this to her when she was a child. So suddenly, after this television show, the relationship between the parents and the daughter became so bad. The father was crying, saying, 'How can I ever do such a crime. My daughter thinks I have done this to her.' So, some of these television shows can make such an impact as well, that it destroys the family. Do you understand what I am saying? It took me quite a while to sit them all together, to counsel them, to make them meditate, and all that. Of course, finally the family came together, they could let go of these impressions. Many times people consider themselves as victims to draw more attention. These kinds of things also happen in society.We need to put an end to crime against women and children at any cost. This can only happen when society turns more spiritual, more humane and more sensitive.

Q: Do you follow any religion?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, I am a born Hindu. I continue to be a Hindu, but the programs we teach are very secular. People of any religion can practice it.

You don’t have to try and make me happy, I am anyway happy. But I’ll be more happy if you can help others. Not just by giving them some gifts or throwing them a party, but by giving them knowledge and making them very strong. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

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Mahashivaratri special Seva in Bangalore Ashram

The consciousness which is bliss, innocence, omnipresent and the bestower of dispassion is Shiva. Resting in the Shiva tatva is Shivaratri.

Shivaratri is the transcendental, divine consciousness which brings solace to all layers of consciousness. 

The auspicious occasion of Mahashivaratri 2013 will be carried out in the Bengaluru Ashram

in the graceful presence of H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankarji (Guruji) on March 10^th.

The Ashram warmly welcomes and openly invites volunteers who wish to come and offer seva for 20 days

from 1^st March ‘13- 20^th March ‘13 on this blessed event.

Seva Duration: 20 days

Reporting date: 28^th Feb, ‘13

Last date to recieve applications: 27^th Feb, ‘13

Criteria to apply for Seva:

• 1.      To have completed at least one Part-2/DSN/YES++ course and should have completed their Part 1/YES+ course at least 6 months before applying for Seva
• 2.      To be at least 18 years old
• 3.      To be mentally as well as physically fit

How to apply for Seva:

• 1.      An email from an Art of Living teacher recommending the Sevak must be sent to us at hr@vvmvp.org.                                                                                                                                On receiving this email, the Ashram HR will process it and send a confirmation email.

• 2.      For further formalities, the Sevaks on arrival at the Ashram must carry:

(a)    a photo copy of their confirmation email

(b)   a photo copy of their ID containing address proof

(c)    a passport size photo

Format for Sevak recommendation:

I...................................teacher from...........................state, recommend Mr./Mrs.............................

for seva in the Ashram for period of one month . I know him personally and he/she have done

seva with me .

o   Teacher code           ………...............

o   Phone Number        ...........................

 

Additional details to be sent by the Apex body or the local teacher:

Name

·         Gender......................

·          Age....................................

·         State........................................

·         Email Id.......................................

·         Your contact no   (a)   Home..........        (b) Mobile......

·         Qualification (a)  Academic.......(b) Other..... (E.g. Writing, computer knowledge etc.)

·          Profession........................

·         AOL courses completed:

Courses	Teacher's Name	Year
Part I
Part II/ AMC
DSN
TTC

·         Seva done locally

·         Present Health Condition

·         Previous Medical/Psychotic History

·          Family Responsibilities

·         Details of Seva done earlier in Bangalore Ashram by you (if done)

·         Your photograph

  

General guidelines 

1.      Should not bring children during Seva
2.      Should wear traditional Indian attire
3.      Should be ready to do Seva anytime

Contact:

Ashram HR Team

Contact No. : 080- 67262803/ 67262806

E-Mail ID: hr@vvmvp.org

www.facebook.com/ashram.hr

One of Art of Living's FIRST teachers

Michael Fischman, in person, to launch,

STUMBLING INTO INFINITY,

An evening to uplift you, with glimpses of wisdom 

from Michael's astounding journey

Sunday Evening, 7 pm onwards, March 3rd 2013

at

Sathya Sai Auditorim, Lodhi Road

Passes at Entry, Rs 100

(please find attached along with the email, the e-invite)

For more information, please contact 9810722445, 9811144048, 9811032076

In your innermost Self, in its purity and clarity, you are not different from God.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, Is meditation foreign to us?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Absolutely not! This is because you have been in meditation for a couple of months before your birth. You were in your mother’s womb doing nothing. You didn’t even have to chew your food, it was fed directly into your belly and you were there happily floating in the fluid, turning and kicking, sometimes here and something there, but most of the time happily floating there. That is meditation. You did nothing, everything was done for you. So there is a natural tendency in every human being, in every soul to crave for that state when you are in absolute comfort.

Q: Should yoga become an integrated subject in school, especially if training/practicing can help our students to achieve something higher?


+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, certainly. In several countries, they have already made yoga compulsory in schools.

You just be relaxed and go deep in the knowledge and suddenly one day, you will find that all are part of me and everybody is same. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://burl.co/20AA915

http://burl.co/20AA915

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Verse 46 http://bhagvadgitaa.blogspot.in/2013/02/bhagavad-gita-chapter-6-verse-46.html

Q: Guruji, do you have any favourites? Who is your favourite person? Which is your favourite Raga and which is your favourite sport?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I am not going to answer any of these, because I have none. Once I was in England a long time ago, and a lady asked me, 'Gurudev, what can I make for you for breakfast?' I said, 'Make anything, whatever you like.' Then she said, 'Can I make Dhokla (a vegetarian food item that originates from the Indian state of Gujarat)?' I said, 'Yes, you can make Dhokla.' She asked me, 'Do you like it?' I said, 'Yes.' So, she prepared Dhokla and then she called everyone else and said, 'Gurudev loves Dhokla.' Just imagine what happened. Every day, wherever I went for the next fifteen days, breakfast, lunch and dinner, I got only Dhoklas.

Q: What is the fastest way to feel belongingness and unity?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you are free from stress, you have a sense of belongingness and understanding. This is what happens when people undergo The Art of Living program. It happens so naturally.

When prana level is really low, that is when thoughts of commiting suicide arise. When the prana is high, this thought will not come. No crime will happen if prana is high. You will not be violent to yourself or others when your prana is high. That is why Sudarshan Kriya, pranayama, meditation, all these practices need to be taught to people. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Curiosity is the mother of science and Wonder is the mother of spirituality.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

When you see this life as the Divine, problems disappear from your eyes.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, There are so many attractions and distractions but still youth are so bored.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Youth are bored and it’s their fortune. If they were satisfied, then growth would have stopped. When they are bored, then the quest comes in them. They are not satisfied with the things available around. And this is the stage when they can take a step to look within, a leap in their inner journey, a step towards spirituality. An interest in higher growth gets kindled, when you are bored with things around. When you find the source of joy within, then obviously everything around is also reflecting the same source of joy, then you find interest in everything. Continuous bombardment of senses by stimuli can cause inertia. Inertia is boredom, is a form of boredom. Again, when prana level goes up, you move from inertia to enthusiasm.

Q: I feel very shy while interacting with people. What is the remedy for the same?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know, when you have a sense of belongingness, shyness disappears.

See, when you are active and dynamic, only then does deep rest happen to you. If you are simply lying in bed the whole day and are doing nothing, then you will not be able to sleep at night. So it is essential to do what you have to do. We have certain karmas to do, and once the karmas are done, then in between the states of doing and being in activity, we do experience that state of not doing anything also. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6 - Verse 45 http://bhagvadgitaa.blogspot.in/2013/02/bhagavad-gita-chapter-6-verse-45.html

Knowledge Sheets: Guruji's Tidbits

Knowledge Sheets: Guruji's Tidbits:   1. What to do if your commitment is boring? Commitment has value when things are not so charming. When things are interesting you do ...

When you meditate, you are not just bringing a harmony within yourself, but you are influencing the subtlelayers of creation.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, you have said that we shouldn't give explanations to people. But if we have something in our heart that is heavy and we feel the need to talk about it then what to do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no ‘one rule’ for it, sometime you want to speak and become calm and sometimes speaking doesn't help in any way. Wake up and see, the whole world is like a dream. All those thoughts have gone, the behavior of people will disappear. Some people act good and some act bad, but everyone is going to die, and the world will be finished. This set of people will all go away. Then new people will come and they will all die. Then another set of people will come, they will fight among themselves, they will hug, love, kiss, do everything, and they will all die. Seven billion people on the planet today and all these seven billion people will all die. It is only a matter of a few years. In another hundred years, do you think the same people will be here? Not one person who is here today will be alive. And two hundred years later, even the grandchildren will not be there. See, the world is like a river, there is fresh water flowing every moment in this river. What is it that you are so bothered about? If you want to leave something behind, it should be some knowledge that would help someone; that would be useful to someone. Not what he said, what she said, and what do you think about so-and-so situation. Come on, this is all nonsense! Throw them out of the window. It has no meaning. Hours together you waste in explaining, why you felt the way you were feeling and how and why others are feeling the way they are feeling. Do you know, when the time changes, the mind also changes. There is a beautiful science about this. You can also get a clue from the astrological chart, how the mind is connected with time. Sometime, we will start a course on the connection between mind, time and the planets. See, I don’t want to say astrology because it has been misused and misinterpreted so many times. It is a one of the most disorganized science today. No doubt astrology is a science but it has been distorted so much that you can’t even see what the original is. There are twelve constellations and nine planets according to Vedic astrology. It is said that when Jupiter transits in the eighth place from the time you are born, it has an impact on your mind. Similarly, when Saturn transits the eighth place, it makes your emotions go topsy-turvy. When Jupiter is in the eighth place, you lose all your wisdom. But that is only for eleven months, and in these eleven months, it is only for three months that it makes you so miserable. Unless and until you are in deep spiritual knowledge or enlightened, this will definitely affect your mind. But if you know, 'These are the three months that are going to be a little difficult on my mind and emotions', then you will not take decisions, or do thing in those months. Similarly, every two and a half days, the mood of the mind changes. If you are miserable, it won't exceed two and half days. There will be a break and then it may come again. Like this, the cosmos has an influence on the mind. What can protect you from this influence is satsang, meditation, chanting. All this is like putting on armour. An arrow was coming, but you have an armor, so it didn't really hit you. So, singing and chanting 'Om Namah Shivaya' so many times makes an armour around you and protects you from being affected by all these crazy things. We do Yagnas in the Bangalore Ashram for the welfare of the whole world and for all of our devotees. There is a small Yagna done six times every month, and during Navratri we do a big one to bring peace, prosperity and protection to the world and all our devotees. These are the ways of the ancient people. We will have more knowledge and courses on this in the future.

Q: How to attain mukti(liberation) while living in a household?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If the desire is there then liberation is not very far. Usually when we are tired of something we wish to be free from it. When you are filled with Divine love, then there is no desire for liberation nor sadness due to bondage.

Mathematics of spirituality is that 2 + 1 = 0. Did you get it? Think about it! When the body and mind, these two merge with the One spirit, then nothing remains to be known anymore. That is what it is! +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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Broaden your vision and deepen your roots.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowing that ‘I have all the blessings, I have the grace, the best will happen to me’, you should move ahead. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, Why was Krishna’s navel called Padamnabha (solar plexus)?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The solar plexus is called the second brain or mid brain. For a yogi, the solar plexus is larger in size. Scientists have also said this. It is small in a person who doesn’t do yoga and meditation. A yogi who does meditation and yoga has a larger solar plexus. When solar plexus is larger, one is creative and generous. When it is smaller, one is jealous. Lord Krishna is called Padamnabha, his solar plexus was like a fully blossomed flower. Padma not only means lotus, it also means flower. Fully blossomed flower is usually referred to as padma.

Q: How to move from choice to choicelessness?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no choice between good and bad. Choice is always between bad and worse; or good and better. If you understand this then you see that there is no choice.

Don’t hang on to the past and crib over it and spoil this moment. What happened has happened! Finished! +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Examine everything in life and say, ‘This is nothing’, and what remains is love, and that is everything.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, in life those people who don’t get along well are hitched together while those who get along really well are not paired together. Is this the plan of the Divine? Is he doing this on purpose?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You mean about your marriage? You know, when you don’t get along, you forget all those days when you got along very well. Because those days, you didn’t get along, you feel, 'Oh, from the very beginning, we never got along.'An American couple who were married for 40 years came to me and said that they wanted to divorce. The lady said, 'You know Gurudev, we have been married for 40 years but we never got along even for a single day.' I said, 'How could you spend 40 years and never get along for even one day?!' They are already around sixty to seventy years old. They could not get along for the last forty years and still they were carrying on. Usually this doesn’t happen in American society. If two people don’t get along, that is it. They don’t stay together at all. Suddenly in your mind you think, at some point, 'Oh, we never got along in the past also.' Well, the world is like that. There is no guarantee that those people with whom you think you will get along very, you will actually get along with them very well. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Q: What is the right type of governance? Isn't it time for a spiritual kind of governance?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, capitalism, communism, secularism, all isms are good for nothing, in fact, they will all be a failure without humanism. And how can humanism be invoked? It is through spirituality.

Q: Guruji, How to get a faith that never shakes?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If it is true faith, let it shake. Truth will never go, and if the faith is with the truth, let it shake. It will never get lost. In fact, you should doubt as much as possible. You can say, 'Don’t doubt', only when a thing is not a genuine thing. If it is genuine gold, I tell you, go on scratching as much as possible. But if it is just rolled in gold, or gold polished, and then you say, 'Don’t scratch too much because it will disappear.' With true gold, any amount of scratching will not make it go away. Doubt is simply lack of energy. When you are high in energy, where is the doubt? Doubt comes when the energy is low. True faith is that which you shake a hundred times and it still stays on. That is true faith, and it will remain.