Q: Guruji, you are an amazing manager. The Art of Living organization has grown in such a short time, beyond what one can imagine. I am a manager too, please give me some management tips?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, all these programs, the APEX (Achieving Personal Excellence) program and the TLEX (Transformational Leadership and Excellence) programs are all to give you those tips in packages and capsules. Remember one thing the manager of the Universe is not so obvious. The one who manages this universe does not make it so obvious that he is doing it; or that He is in control. Similarly, manage from behind. Leading from behind is the best. When you want to lead a project you should not emphasize your leadership too much. You should do it from behind. There is a saying in Sanskrit, Paroksha Priyahi Vai Devaha, which means that the Gods like to do things indirectly and not so obviously. A person feels, 'I am doing it', but it is the Gods who make them do it. So they give the people the joy of feeling that they are doing it, but in reality, it is the Divine energy that does it in a subtle manner, which is not so obvious.

Sri Sri Calender

Q : What makes a person an achiever: science or spirituality?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: While watching television, what is more important? Seeing or hearing? You need both. In the same way, in life too, we need both.

My dear, problems are there in life but you are bigger than the problem. Remember you will always have enough to survive, you will always be protected. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

When you know and trust the process of creation, you will simply rejoice.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, I experience some intense vibrations especially when I am in bliss. Can you please talk about different levels of layers of energy in our body?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This entire universe is nothing but vibrations. It is all made up of waves, vibrations, and energy. When your vibrations do not match with the vibrations of others you call it negative, and when your vibrations match with other vibrations, it is harmonious and you call it bliss. When your energy becomes such that it becomes universal, then whatever the outer circumstances may be, you remain oblivious to it. We went to Machu Picchu in South America; in Peru, and the people asked me, 'How do you feel the vibrations here? 'I said, 'I do not feel anything', this is because wherever we go we create our own vibrations. So I do not say, ‘Oh, this is negative and that is not.’ Of course, when people are agitating, upset or sad, it definitely creates negative vibrations around you; no doubt. But remember that they are not as powerful as your positive vibrations. It may appear to you that they are over powering, but in reality it is not so.

Q : How do you initiate your disciples? Do you choose your disciples?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t limit our relationship. Let love be love, don’t give it a name. For a master, no disciples exist. But for a disciple, the Master exists. See, if you do the Sudarshan Kriya, you are initiated.

---

When you draw a line on the surface of water, how long does it stay for? Only that much time anger should stay, then it is healthy anger. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

Being devoted is not sufficient. But knowing you are an indivisible, inseparable part of the Divine is knowledge.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: Throw your faith!

Knowledge Sheets: Throw your faith!: If you're trying to bring in confidence, it doesn't work at all. ‘I want to keep my faith’, what faith do you want to keep? Thr...

Q: Guruji, why does longing hurt so much? I am referring to the longing for the Divine and for the Infinity. Where have we come from?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, love and hurt are very close and go hand in hand. When you love someone, then you do get hurt sometimes. It happens this way, and we have to live through it. So do not run away from it. Getting hurt is a part of love. Today somebody came and told me, ‘My son is like this, my son is like that; he is not listening to me.' See, it is only natural. The mother has done so much for the child and when the child does not listen to her at all, she feels so hurt. Naturally, the mother wants the best for her son, while the son thinks he knows what is good for him. So he does not want to listen to the mother. Now, what do you do in this situation? The mother came to me and said, ‘Gurudev, what do you suggest I should do?’ I told her, ‘See, I want the best for everybody. So, I want the best for your son and I want the best for you as well.' To this she replied, ‘But Gurudev, my son listens to you more than me.' I said, 'Now if he listens to me more than you, then it means he knows for sure that Gurudev has no selfish motives and that I will say the right thing.' I told the son, ‘you do what you want.' See, I do not dictate to people, ‘You do this or you do that’. So hurt is indeed a part of love. The pain is inevitable. When there is love, it also sometimes brings pain. But to be afraid of pain and to stop loving, and shutting down completely is foolishness, which a lot of people do. To stop being in love because it hurts at times is not an intelligent decision at all. It is the most foolish thing that one can ever do. But those who sail through that little pinch and move on, will get the real, blissful love..

Q : Why does everyone want to meet you?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I don't know It happens like this. The soul communicates with each other.

Wisdom is to put the freedom first and not bother about respect. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

Perfect balance is like a razor's edge, it can be found only in the Self.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, are desires created, and can they be removed? If so how?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just look back and reflect on your life from your childhood. You had so many desires back then; some of which you fulfilled and many of which you dropped. You have not been able to fulfil every single desire that has arisen in your head as a child, as a young adult, or as a youth. If it had happened that way, you would have been crazy. You would have been miserable. Thank God that it did not happen. This is why only those things which had to happen started happening to you. All this praise and insult, everything happens only on planet Earth, and we have to face them and move on. Become a strong soul, a strong individual. That is the real strength. Are you able to smile through every event in life? That is the purpose of all this. Can you keep your smile? It is tough, I know, but you need to do it. If you try to run away from anything, it is only going to chase you further. If not in this life, then it will happen in the next life. That is why it is said that just be done with everything which has to happen now, and move on with a big smile, with courage, and with enthusiasm. The bitter experiences that you came across, have given depth to your personality, while the good experiences broadened your personality. So they have all contributed to your life. Good or bad experiences, both should be welcomed, as both make your personality strong. They both contribute to your being in an unimaginable manner. Just know that they are all part of your Sadhana (spiritual practice). So, pleasant experiences are also a part of your Sadhana. The same goes for the unpleasant events that you have gone through. For example, people giving you compliments, or people throwing insults at you are both a part of your Sadhana. In both cases, you become solid, you get centered, and you grow the way you are supposed to grow.

Q: Why do I feel de-motivated sometimes?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Because you are into so much of television and newspaper reading. So, you need such company which motivates you. In wrong company, one feels de-motivated. You should take it as a challenge – I won’t be de-motivated come what may.

Happy Easter!!!

Ego is – ‘I am something, I am intelligent, I am stupid, I like this, I don’t like that, I am rich, I am very poor, I am ugly or I am beautiful, I am something, I am’, that is ego. When you understand all this then you feel is this the thing? No! After understanding ego also, there is something left, what is this? That is the self. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

Q: Guruji, if doing nothing brings us so much joy and happiness, then why should we do anything at all?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:Your nature is such that you cannot stay for too long without doing anything. You know, bliss is always found or realized in the contrast of events. When you are doing something and when you put in your 100% efforts, only then do you realize the value of not doing something.
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.

In a living body, there is life and what is this life? When the question begins then you see oh, 'PRANA' - there is life force, and then you go deeper into the study of 'PRANA' and you see there is something more than 'PRANA'. What is that, that is the mind! Oh, then what is the mind? How many types of mind are there? How many functions of the mind are there? This curiosity takes you to the 'Art of Living'. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

In a living body, there is life and what is this life? When the question begins then you see oh, 'PRANA' - there is life force, and then you go deeper into the study of 'PRANA' and you see there is something more than 'PRANA'. What is that, that is the mind! Oh, then what is the mind? How many types of mind are there? How many functions of the mind are there? This curiosity takes you to the 'Art of Living'. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

Knowledge Sheets: Holi

Knowledge Sheets: Holi: The 'Holi' festival is a very fun-filled and popular occasion in India.  People play holi with Chandan (sandalwood powder) and...

Q: Guruji, Please tell us about ‘Holi’.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Holi is a festival of colours. This whole world is so colourful. Just like nature there are different colours associated with our feelings and emotions: anger with red; jealousy with green; vibrancy and happiness with yellow; love with pink; vastness with blue; peace with white; sacrifice with saffron and knowledge with violet. Each person is a fountain of colours which keep changing. Puranas are full of colourful illustrations and stories and there is a story related to Holi. An asura king, ‘Hiranyakashipu’, wanted everyone to worship him. But his son ‘Prahlad’ was a devotee of Lord Narayana, the king's sworn enemy. Angry, the king wanted Holika, his sister, to get rid of Prahlad. Empowered to withstand fire, Holika sat on a burning pyre holding Prahlad on her lap. But it was Holika who was burnt, Prahlad came out unharmed. Hiranyakashipu symbolises one who is gross. Prahlad embodies innocence, faith and bliss. The spirit cannot be confined to love only matter. Hiranyakashipu wanted all joy to come from the material world. It did not happen that way. The individual jivatma cannot be bound to the material forever. It's natural to eventually move towards Narayana, one's higher Self. Holika symbolises past burdens that try to burn Prahlad's innocence. But Prahlad, so deeply rooted in Narayana Bhakti, could burn all past impressions (sanskaras). For one who is deep in bhakti, joy springs up with new colours and life becomes a celebration. Burning the past, you gear up for a new beginning. Your emotions, like fire, burn you. But when they are a fountain of colours, they add charm to your life. In ignorance, emotions are botheration; in knowledge, the same emotions add colour. One legend talks about the time when Parvati was in tapasya and Shiva was in samadhi. In facilitating the divine union of the two, Kamadeva, the Lord of Love, gets burnt to ashes by Shiva. Shiva had to come out of samadhi to join Parvati, `Parva’ is festival and `Parvati’ means `born out of festival’ - celebration! For samadhi to unite with celebration, the presence of desire was necessary. So, desire (Kama) was invoked. But again, to celebrate, you need to overcome desire. So Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kama. When desire in the mind is burnt, celebration happens and life becomes colourful. Like Holi, life should be colourful, not boring. When each colour is seen clearly, it is colourful. When all the colours get mixed, you end up with black. So also in life, we play different roles. Each role and emotion needs to be clearly defined. Emotional confusion creates problems. When you are a father, you have to play the part of a father. You can't be a father at office. When you mix the roles in your life, you start making mistakes. Whatever role you play in life, give yourself fully to it. Harmony in diversity makes life vibrant, joyful and more colourful.

White is the pure simplicity, colours are the complexity of life. When your heart is pure, your life becomes so colourful. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

---

Your life is perfect. It is a perfect plan and it is a spontaneous miracle. It is both every moment.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: Evolution: Not part of the self

Knowledge Sheets: Evolution: Not part of the self: Are you evolving? If you are evolving, you are not in the Self. And you are not out of the Self, because nothing can exist out of the S...

Q: Guruji, Why has Indian mythology given forms to all energies. Are all the mythological stories true?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:The universe is full of names and forms. The moment you give a name, form also comes with it. And many of these forms were cognized in the subtle. So they continue in the subtle realm.
Now, why did the Rishis (Seers) get angry and curse, I don't know. Usually not every Rishi does this. There were only a couple of them who did this. But every time they cursed, something great happened from their curse as well. That is why it is said, the anger of the enlightened also, does something good for the society, whereas even the love of an ignorant person does some harm.
A wise man's anger also is beneficial. He cannot do any harm he only does good to the society.
So every time a Rishi cursed, it turned out to be a very big boon to the population.

Q : When we say let go, what does it mean?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Take a deep breath in and hold! You will know what it means to let go.

Art of Living Secrets: Be GREAT n FULL

Art of Living Secrets: Be GREAT n FULL: In Bible there is a saying that, “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.&q...

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 - Verse 23 http://bhagvadgitaa.blogspot.in/2013/03/bhagavad-gita-chapter-7-verse-23.html

Meditation is that inward journey where we go into the center of our existence, our self. Its a journey from movement to stillness, from sound to silence. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

Though the river is vast, a little sip quenches your thirst. Though Earth has so much food, just a little bite satisfies your hunger. Accept a tiny bit of everything in life - that will bring you fulfillment.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: Faith and love

Knowledge Sheets: Faith and love: God does not wish you to have more faith because the more faith you have, the more work for God. God will have to run behind you; then y...

Q: Guruji, Please tell us about the importance of offering food (Prasad) to the Divine before eating. Also please tell us the authentic way of offering food. Is there any mantra needed?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When a lady cooks food at home, the first thing she does is takes out a spoon of rice, or dal, or whatever she cooks, and puts it outside in the garden for the birds, for the ants, and for the creatures. The significance of this is to say that the environment should be honoured. Also, many people, before they eat, they keep a few grains outside their plate and then later on they give it to the birds and the animals. In India, there is a tradition that is called Vaishva Deva.
You know, the birds are such an integral part of the universe. So we need to care for the birds, we need to care for the ants; we need to care for every single creature. Any one creature missing from the universe, the universe will not be able to sustain itself.
Prasad means, you take the food that you receive as a gift; as a blessing. Prasad simply means a blessing from God. Food is a blessing, life is a blessing, time is a blessing, our breath is a blessing. These are all gifts.

Q : When will all national boundaries dissolve?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When everyone starts to do the Sudarshan Kriya.

Attachment happens when your focus is not on the Being, but on the outside. Wanting to control, possess and hold on brings pain. When we are relaxed and content, love transforms to bliss. Demand and control only bring pain. Wisdom, along with love, is the answer.  +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

If you are unhappy, even the moon irritates you, sweet things nauseate you, and music disturbs you. When you are calm and centered inside, noise is musical, clouds are magical, rain is liquid love.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, how can I live in this world without any fear; fear of loss, fear of death, fear of failure and fear of the known and the unknown?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Fear is love standing upside down. If there is love, then there is no fear, and if there is fear then there is no love. See, fear, love and hatred are all made up of the same energy. When there is hatred in a person, he is not afraid of anything. When there is deep love in a person, then also there is no fear. It is the same energy that manifests in these three forms - love, hatred and fear.
On 2 February 2013, I visited Tihar jail, and I inaugurated the opening of a skills training centre, a canteen and a hospital by The Art of Living. The amount of reform that has taken place over there is really touching. It is worth seeing how these people who were rude criminals have changed. They have started to enjoy music, painting, and learning new things. So I told them, use the restaurant and the skills training centres but don't use the hospital.
The health of a society is indicated by the empty beds in the hospitals and the empty cells in the prisons. Today, the prison that has a capacity of only 6000 people has 12000 people. So we need to work outside prisons as well to ensure that people do not go in there. This can happen when we bring a wave of human values and a sense of belongingness.
These people in the prisons are beautiful people, but they had no fear when they committed the crime because hatred took over them. That is why, if people engage themselves in doing service activities, and practising ujjayi breath and meditation, then the same energy which one experiences as fear, anxiety and tension, flips over and becomes love and compassion for all.

This body is changing everyday. Yet something is also not changing. Your body is made up of billions of atoms. There is a queen bee in your body. Each body is a beehive full of honey. Locate the queen bee within yourself and that is meditation.  +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q : Should my first responsibility be to the Guru or the mother and spouse? If a conflict arises, who should I choose?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Guru is already happy. If you are happy, the Guru is happy.

Knowledge Sheets: Sound Faith

Knowledge Sheets: Sound Faith: Have faith in the sound and move on to have faith in the silence. Have faith in sound when it is pleasant and have faith in the silence...

The Divine loves you very dearly, and in all manners, in all respects.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, Sometimes years of effort results in failure. What to do in such circumstances?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just keep moving ahead. Every failure is a lesson to be learned. Meditate. A few minutes of deep meditation will connect you with the ocean of intuition deep within you. For every decision, it is essential that you are in touch with that inner source of intuition, and then you will seldom go wrong.

Q : Please talk about forgiveness and karma? Are they related? When someone forgives you, does that reduce our bad actions?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. Forgiveness is a quality of a matured mind. A cultured, civilised, matured, intelligent person will always forgive.

To make something important you need many things that are unimportant. So you can say that the unimportant things are important to make the important things important!  +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 - Verse 22 http://bhagvadgitaa.blogspot.in/2013/03/bhagavad-gita-chapter-7-verse-22.html

Yoga takes you close to your true nature. Yoga with its techniques helps you to harmonize with nature. Peace is our very nature, and yoga leads you to inner peace.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: How To Get Centred

Knowledge Sheets: How To Get Centred: Shifting the awareness from the experience to the experiencer; since all the experiences are on the circumference and they keep on chan...

Q: Guruji, In a country like India, especially Mumbai where I live, there is so much inequality that I feel embarrassed and guilty for what I have. Yet I have the ambition to earn money and live well. How to reconcile these two things?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Engage yourself in some service activity or another. It is good that something pricks you. That itself will motivate you to do something good for the society. And earmark 2% or 3% of what you earn, because if we use all of what we earn only on ourselves, then that is not good. We will definitely feel uncomfortable. So we must earmark 10% or 5%, whatever you can for social causes, and go and help the children, and the people in the slums.

There is so much activity happening at Dharavi, you can be part of that. When you see these young children grow up educated, you will feel immense satisfaction. You don't need to feel guilty about having a comfortable home, and a good car.

Q : Are the kriya, meditation and seva enough for a peaceful life or should I read the Bhagvad Gita?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You should read the Bhagvad Gita. It is an important book on yoga. It’s good.

When you meditate alone it is called Tapas, when few meditate together its called Swadhyaya and when a group like this does Satsang, it is called yagna. When we make a wish after yagna it gets fulfilled.  +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 - Verse 21 http://bhagvadgitaa.blogspot.in/2013/03/bhagavad-gita-chapter-7-verse-21.html

If a flower does not remind you of the eternal truth, then it has not fulfilled its purpose.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Vedic Chants

Q: Guruji, How can I be both soft and humble, and authoritative at the same time?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You want to do it? You can do it!
You don't have to be aggressive in order to be strong, and you don't have to be wiggly-wiggly or weak in order to be soft. We think they are opposite qualities and we can only have one of them; no! I would say you can have both. You have to be sensible and sensitive. Often people who are sensitive are not sensible, and those who are very sensible are not sensitive. But you have the great ability of combining both, sensibility and sensitivity. That is the skill and meditation is the answer. Meditate!

Q : When you were a child, did you ever get into a fight?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I am still a child. My childhood will never finish, I will never let it finish.

One who is always thinking of getting something is like a beggar. Everything comes to the one who thinks how she/he can contribute more to the society. There won’t be any lack for such a person.  +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

Unconditionally creation loves you, supports you and holds you in its arms because it is all innocence. This entire creation is innocence. When you realize this, when you become innocent, you can be one with this kingdom.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Guruji, India today has two parts, one is Rural India and the other is Urban India. How to bring a balance between these two?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Rural India has its unique qualities those need to be preserved, and the self-esteem of the people needs to be kept intact. Usually the self-esteem of the rural people goes down and they want to emulate what the urban youth do, which is not necessary at all.

You have to give them their dignity, and tell them that the way they dress, and the food they eat is all okay. They can adopt whatever healthy practices they want to.

I have been to some of the tribal areas in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, and surprisingly you will see that they keep their village absolutely clean. There is no garbage dump anywhere. 

In these tribal regions, they don't have electricity, but they have kept their little villages so clean. Every home is kept so clean. You will not find gutters here and there, none of that. 

It is like the forest. If you see, the forest is so clean. You will not find dead bodies in the forest, even though so many animals die. Somehow nature keeps a balance. In the same way, the tribal people and tribal areas, where literacy is almost zero, they have that sense of protecting the environment and cleanliness, which urban people need to learn.
Of course we have many schools in these tribal areas, where more than 30,000 kids are studying. These schools are in such remote areas where you can only go by walk; there are no roads there. And these rural people have such vibrancy in them, a certain joy which is really worth noticing.

Q : Silence is good, but in reality people who talk more, get more.

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you are scared and afraid, you don’t talk when you should be talking. But when you are confident, you talk where you need to talk and don’t talk when you don’t need to.

Many times you pity yourself. On the spiritual path, self-pity and self-blame have no place at all. Shun these two. If you blame yourself then you cannot go towards yourself . +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

However your life may be, it may be a leaf, water, a fruit, a flower; however it is, offer it with devotion. Your life itself is the fruit.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Jaigurudev Dear ones!

For Google chrome browser users - now with just 1 click you can access Art of Living Courses in India!

Install the chrome extension now - http://tiny.cc/artofliving-courses

Harshal

0091-7829068283| skype: harshalpjadhav

Q: Guruji, I have a boss who is manipulative, unethical, and very difficult to work with. I am a dedicated employee but I am not able to work with my boss, what should I do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Again I tell you, it is all about vibes. Have you noticed, for no reason, you feel aversion towards some people, and for no reason you feel pulled towards some people. It is our vibes that speak it is our vibes that changes the minds of people. It is through vibes that thoughts and emotions change. So you be strong. Also, the tougher the boss the more skilful you can become. It brings out skills in you which you did not see before. It is very easy to be direct, but to be able to have skill and convey what you really want to convey is more appreciable. So you can develop those skills.

Silence can bring skill in communication. Every person who gets angry has some justification for their anger. They think that they are correct. Do you see what I am saying? Behind anger is the demand for justice, and intolerance for injustice. So anger is good, it is essential, but only to wake you up. After that, the anger needs to be given a direction of creativity otherwise the same anger can burn you.

It is good to have a stove at home. One should have fire in the house, but the house should not be on fire. When I was in Delhi we had around a 100,000 youths in Ramlila Maidan. I said, 'I am happy that finally all the youth of the country stood up against a crime. There is so much anger in the people of Delhi, but this anger should be channelized in a proper direction.' Do you see what I am saying? Anger is essential, one needs to stand up against injustice, but that anger needs to be directed skilfully, otherwise it will create chaos.

Q : Is the Golden Age over or is it coming in the future?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The day you feel good, that is the Golden Age for you.

The world is of change, the Self is of non-change. You have to rely on the non-change and accept the change. If you are certain that everything is uncertain, then you are liberated. When you are uncertain in ignorance then you become worried and tense. Uncertainty with awareness brings higher states of consciousness and a smile. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 - Verse 18 http://bhagvadgitaa.blogspot.in/2013/03/bhagavad-gita-chapter-7-verse-18.html

Just an intention to be free makes you immediately free.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: Passion and Self - Reliance

Knowledge Sheets: Passion and Self - Reliance: Passion makes you weak. Dispassion is strength. For your passion to be fulfilled, you have to depend upon so many things. Passion and s...

Think about what you can do for others rather than just about yourself. Energize yourself with some service activity. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

"Q: Guruji, Being cynical makes me more pragmatic and helps me deal with the worst situations. Is this wrong?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Cynicism was once considered fashionable, but today, cynicism has taken over intellectuals to such an extent that it is no longer palatable and it is no longer creative. It does not do any good to oneself or to society. 

Cynicism is okay if it is like the pickle in the corner of the plate. But if your whole plate is filled with pickle, and you have only a tiny piece of roti (flat bread) in some corner, then just imagine how that would be. You would remain hungry, and this is what has happened today. Cynicism is essential, but to a very small extent. Cynicism should bring pragmatism in you, no doubt, but it should not take away your imaginative ability, your transformational zeal, and it should not eat away your enthusiasm. It should not overshadow your positive state of mind or kill your aspirations and hopes. If that is there then okay, have a little bit of cynicism. You find that even the Vedas are a little cynical. It is said, 'Who knows the beginning of creation. God knows; or maybe he also does not know.'

This is what is said in the Vedas. Sarcasm and cynicism is all okay, just remember the example of pickle. It cannot take the place of rice, dal (lentil soup) or roti (Indian food), but a little bit can be there somewhere in the corner."

Q : What can I do to mitigate astrologically bad periods?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Chant ohm namo shivay and meditate.

We tell people who are very close to us, “If you need me, I am here.” If we could say this to anybody— “If you need anything, I am here”— then all problems would be over. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Breakthrough all barriers and feel that you are blessed, this is the one and only step you have to take. The rest will all happen.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

If someone is unhappy, that means
they have not received or taken the
knowledge; they have not digested
the knowledge, and so they are
unhappy. Difficulties do come in
life, but to overcome difficulties,
one needs to be strong, and the
strength comes only through
spiritual knowledge.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Bring Light to the World

March 14, 2013
(Below is the transcript of Satsang with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.You can watch the Live webcast of future satsangs)
Bangalore, India
2220

Sit in satsang and go inward; that is what is important.

(Audience: Don’t go)

You should not say that. There are many programs and people are expecting me. I don’t like to disappoint anybody. Even today, I said, I will stay back for sometime in the satsang, and not disappoint so many people. That is why I delayed my flight as well. So for ten minutes, I can afford to stay with you.

Keep doing your sadhana, seva, and satsang. And keep thinking in lines of, how we can bring more light to the world, and more knowledge to the people.
See, anyways, we all have to live for another 40 to 50 years. So life should have a direction. We need to think, what do we want to do in life?
Other than eating, sleeping, thinking, reading newspaper, watching television, we need to do something more, and what could that something more be that we can do?
Bring knowledge to people. Make people happy. And the only way to make people happy is to bring them to knowledge.

If someone is unhappy, that means they have not received or taken the knowledge; they have not digested the knowledge, and so they are unhappy.
You can say, ‘Gurudev, there are people who have no water, no food and are suffering. That is why they are unhappy. How can they be happy?’
This is a different thing; a different issues. Yes, suffering is different. People suffer because of natural calamities, or due to drought, or flood. In these circumstances, you should do seva. Even here, seva with knowledge is much better.
Difficulties do come in life, but to overcome difficulties, one needs to be strong, and the strength comes only through spiritual knowledge.

See, a butterfly fluttering its wings in South America can affect the clouds in China. This means the whole universe is inter-connected. Everything is connected with everything. So when you do a little bit of Pooja with feelings, it does create some beautiful and positive ions in the atmosphere, and it does affect the cosmos.
How many of you have noticed, that doing the Guru Pooja makes a difference? Even chanting the Guru Pooja, makes a difference!
Someone recently wrote to me, that someone was in hospital and when Guru Pooja was chanted, they became well.
A child was crying constantly, and when Guru Pooja was chanted, the child became calm and quiet.
So there are so many healing experience that are there, and it is not surprising at all. That is how it has to happen and it happens. It is quite normal. If it does not happen, then there is an element of surprise.
So in life, there needs to be a direction, and that direction is – how we can bring the ancient wisdom to everyone? The ancient wisdom is anyways being carried along, how we can further it in our lifetime so that the eternal flow continues for eternity, is what we need to think. We need to put our energy in this direction.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Demystifying spirituality http://artoflivingupdates.artoflivinguniverse.org/2013/03/demystifying-spirituality.html

Knowledge Sheets: Faith and Devotion

Knowledge Sheets: Faith and Devotion: Faith is the subject of head. Devotion is the subject of heart. And meditation is of both and connects both.  A mature intellect is d...

My Guru Story - Prithwish http://mygurustory.artoflivinguniverse.org/2013/03/my-guru-story-prithwish.html

Q: Guruji, What is the truth of relationships; after being bitten once I am now twice shy. How do I overcome this fear?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are asking this question that means you have already overcome the fear. If you had not, you wouldn't even ask this question. You would just say, ‘Relationships, I am not going to go into it’, and you would have run away. Since you don't have that much fear and only a little bit, and the mind is tempted to go that way, you just want a confirmation seal of mine.

You know, in life, everything is a risk. Your own mind is uncertain. You cannot rely even on your own mind. Relying on somebody else is another thing. Can you rely on your own mind? I have seen so many people go for shopping and they say, ‘Can I come back and exchange it, or return it?’ 

People buy something, they come back home and they don't like it, and they go back and say that they want to exchange this. Especially ladies, the buy a saree and then they come back home and open the saree and they don’t like it and want to exchange it. A lady used to come and ask me, ‘Gurudev, please bless me so that I shop for the right things. Every time I go shopping, I come back home and then I have to go back again.’ So the mind is always wavering. When your mind is wavering, others’ minds can also be wavering, isn't it? So there are different people, different emotions, different way of behaviours, and we have to move with them all. We have no choice. Accept and move. Always there is compromise in life, in any interaction with anyone, young or old.

---

Q : What is the secret behind the ever-green smile?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I have no idea. Perhaps it’s because I always walk my talk and talk my walk.

Ego is just a feeling of having a wall between you and others. There is no wall. You belong to me and I belong to you. You are accepted the way you are. +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

In the presence of the Master, our enthusiasm and spirit is in an elevated state. Sorrows diminish, joy dwells up, there is contentment, knowledge is nourished and protected and talents blossom.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Knowledge Sheets: Is God Testing You?

Knowledge Sheets: Is God Testing You?: Testing is part of ignorance.  You only test that of which you are not sure. If God is testing you, that means God doesn't know you...

Knowledge Sheets: Is God Testing You?

Knowledge Sheets: Is God Testing You?: Testing is part of ignorance.  You only test that of which you are not sure. If God is testing you, that means God doesn't know you...

Q: Guruji, There are some people who say, 'A little bit of wine is okay, even Lord Shiva had wine'. How do we tackle such statements?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: People do whatever they want to do and they put it in the name of religion, or God to justify themselves. Simply look at your life, forget about others. If Shiva had alcohol, he must have had problems as well. 
See those five people who did that thing to the girl, in Delhi, they were all drunk, and when someone is drunk, you cannot even hold them responsible for what they do. Intoxicants are responsible for half of the crimes in the society. So not only should you put those five people in jail, but you should also hold those people responsible who manufacture and sell intoxicants.
This happens in almost every village. Men drink at night, come home, beat their wives, and in the daytime they apologize because they know that they were not themselves at night. The biggest reason for crime in the society is alcohol. If you stop alcohol, a lot of crime in the country will be stopped.
You have to take a definite stand, 'I will not touch alcohol.' You should really just shut the door on alcohol. Not just the door, but close the main gate as well, so that it does not even reach your door. You should put a barrier on yourself, 'I will not drink any of these intoxicants.' It gives you enormous strength you know. But the moment you become a little loose, ‘okay I will have it once’, then somehow you get caught up. Life is such that, you get upset sometimes; restless sometimes. Restlessness can come even without any cause. Everything is going on well, but there is some restlessness without any reason. One cannot understand why the restlessness. Restlessness starts in the body without any reason, and then one feels like having a drink, and that is how it starts. That is why I say, just keep it out of the gate. War on alcoholism is essential for crime to be over."

Q : Where is the seat of atma?

+Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have a mind. Close your eyes and search for it. You will that it is everywhere and nowhere. It is not an object to be kept somewhere. The field is all over.

Don’t be football of others’ opinion. Let anybody say anything. It doesn’t matter. When you are clear in your heart, and what you do is right, what you want to do is right, you just do it. What do you say? +Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Longing for worldly things makes you inert; longing for infinity fills you with life.
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Art of Living Secrets: You cannot be 'Intelligent' !!!

Art of Living Secrets: You cannot be 'Intelligent' !!!: When Einstein was young, his parents seriously thought he was mentally disabled. He did poorly in school. His grades in school were...

Knowledge Sheets: Eliminating Violence

Knowledge Sheets: Eliminating Violence: We need to attend to these issues of growing violence, discontent, mistrust, and depression. Spirituality has the answer for all these...

Answers Come From A Quiet Mind

Q: Gurudev, please talk on the art of asking questions since, at times, I am not satisfied with an answer I get, or I get more confused with the answer.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditation!
When the mind is restless, no matter what the answer is, it does not get in. When your mind is quiet, just a sign is good enough and you will pick up the answer, for you are the source of all answers. When you are quiet, then, from within you the answers come up. That is why, a few moments of relaxation is essential.

Whatever you tell a restless person, he will say, ‘But’. You give them an answer, even then they will say, ‘Okay! But…’, and then they go on changing the topics. This is the sign of a mind which is so filled with ideas and concepts, that there is no place for new wisdom or knowledge to enter in.

The same thing happened with a Master and a disciple.
A disciple came to a Master, and he was asking some questions,(a very similar situation as you are in.) He was asking question after question, but was not satisfied with any answer that the master gave. So, the master said, ‘Okay, come! Let us have tea.’
The master asked, ‘You like tea?’
He said, ‘Yes.’
So the master started pouring tea in the cup of the disciple. The cup got full but still he kept pouring. The tea overflowed from the cup and spilled on the table, and the floor.
The student asked, ‘Master, why are you doing this? The cup is full. You can see the tea spilling all over the carpet!’
The Master smiled and said, ‘That is what the situation is. Your cup is so full that it has no more space to take anymore, but you are wanting more. First, empty your cup, drink what you have.’

The ancient Rishis in the Vedas have said, ‘Shravana’, first listen, and then ‘Manana’, i.e., contemplate about it, or think about it. You listen to an answer, and you think about it. Then make it your own. See if it is in your own experience? Don’t believe anything because someone says it. This is the basic thing that one has to remember.
My experience is my own and your experience is your own. Don’t take anything just because I am saying it. Simultaneously, don’t discard what anyone says; you should be a good listener. First, listen, and then contemplate on it. Then, make it your own experience. Then, that becomes wisdom. Knowledge turns, and becomes wisdom – Shravana, Manana, Nidhidhyasa.

After speaking all the 700 verses of Gita, Lord Krishna says, ‘Look Arjuna, I have said it all. You think about it. If you find it suitable, take it.’
That is what needs to be given, freedom of thought, freedom of opinion, freedom of belief and faith. You can’t force a thing on everybody’s head. Faith has to be developed from within one’s self. 

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

When the mind is restless,
no matter what the
answer is, it does not get
in. When your mind is
quiet, just a sign is good
enough and you will
pick up the answer, for
you are the source of all
answers. When you are
quiet, then, from within
you the answers come
up. That is why, a few
moments of relaxation
is essential.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Q: Gurudev, these days everybody is giving hate speeches and creating turmoil in people’s minds, and then they get arrested for it. No political leader is giving any love speech. What to do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Now, first of all, you have to take back that word everybody.

Everybody is not doing it. There are some people, one or two, here and there. They do such things, because only then the media will pick them up. The hate speeches are picked by the media. They want media attention, so they do it. And if they get arrested, they become a hero within a particular community. What can you do? They go for negative publicity because they cannot get any positive publicity. So the easy way to get negative publicity is to go and blabber something about somebody, or give some hate speech somewhere.
Surprisingly, so many people clap for that, because it is a thrill for them.
Sweetie-sweetie talk, some good love stories don’t interest people. ‘Hey come, let’s punch that guy’, and everybody agrees.
This is what is called mob psychology. The mob is interested in doing something destructive in the world. Never ever has a mob done something constructive; mob has always brought destruction.

Sometime destruction may be essential. One such example was the Freedom Movement, when they wanted to root out this colonial system. So the mob joined, but peacefully. And why is that? The leader was a spiritual man – Mahatma Gandhi. He would do satsang, just like what we are doing. Every day there would be singing, meditation and discussions on the issues of the country, and the world those days.
So there was a movement to dismantle the current regime, but without bloodshed, without violence. It was a unique thing in the history, where the mobs gathered but didn’t destroy anything, didn’t bring pain or suffering to anybody.
The same type of mob is happening now all over the world. In the Arab Spring, see what is happening? People are killing each other and there is so much suffering.

I am dreaming of a very different aspect. I want people to come up with creative ideas and plans. A seed for one such revolution was sown on 3 February, in Delhi, where the gathering who attended the event was three times more than that of the anti-corruption movement.
A record crowd gathered together, and took a pledge to do something constructive.
The government was a little concerned and they posted so many police. Everybody was screened when they were coming in, and so it took a long time for people to come in and go out. However, everyone was so surprised that there was no blame game, no hate speech; everyone joined to do something very constructive.
Our youth have this energy, we only need to channelize it.
Can you imagine, just in a matter of 2 months, with no resources at all, 1,000 projects were completed in Delhi? These were 1,000 small projects that were completed in 17 slums adopted by The Art of Living. So the volunteers have started working in 100 slums now.
India is wobbling between scams and slums, and we need this sort of enthusiasm in people to do something creative.

There is a river here which is called Kumudavati, which has almost dried up. So, some of our volunteers have taken up the task of re-energizing the river from the source, through all the twelve tehsils (similar to a county) that the river moves through. It is a very good initiative and it will help solve the water problems of so many villages.
Water level has gone down. It used to be 20 to 30 feet, now it has gone down to 600 feet, so much below! So these volunteers are going to re-energize that! They are doing rain water harvesting, and all things necessary to re-energize it.
One would have to spend crores of rupees on such projects. But people are using their own petrol, and going by their own cars, and doing the work. This is the joy, the intoxication of service.
Also, two of our volunteers here today have announced the signing of a project wherein they are planning to build 1,000 toilets for the poor people.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Whenever your mind
becomes quiet and silent,
when you meditate, when
you are happy from inside,
creativity is a by-product.
It is only natural, and if it
doesn’t happen, then you
should be surprised.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Q: Gurudev, there is an ancient proverb that says that when you come to a true master, the skills in you start to manifest. Is that true? Because I even see the elephant here, in the Ashram, play the mouth organ.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, it seems to be happening that way here.
Many who have never been into music have started singing. Many people write poems. I see a lot of creativity around. Looks like they are making the ancient proverb come true!
See, whenever your mind becomes quiet and silent, when you meditate, when you are happy from inside, creativity is a by-product. It is only natural, and if it doesn’t happen, then you should be surprised.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Q: Gurudev, today in every field, whether it is Corporate or Social Service, it is very difficult to make out the good from the bad. Now that CSR is a compulsory aspect of corporate entities; how to choose the right NGO to work with?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See whether the NGOs are transparent and they have no religious bias; this is very important.

Sometimes people do CSR activity, but their motivation is different. They want to convert people from one religion to another religion, or from one ideology to another ideology; one set of vote bank to another set of vote bank. These should be avoided, because it is not really charity, it is a business in the garb of charity and should not happen. There should be pure intentions; the heart should be clean and pure.
There are many such NGOs who work with the mere intention of bringing happiness and smiles on the faces of people. So look into that; whether their intentions are correct, whether their balance sheet is correct, whether they are transparent in the spending of their money, and their administrative cost is low.
Their administrative cost should not be too much. Sometimes administrative cost is so high that very little goes to the beneficiaries; that should not happen.
Many NGOs, have said that 40% to 50% goes towards administrative expenditure .That is not desirable .It should be kept to a minimum of 5% to 10%, or a maximum of 15%. So look at that, and then see people who are working with that NGO, and take their help.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Q: Gurudev, today alcoholism is the biggest challenge to move towards spirituality, and a safer society. However, in these two days of the Corporate Culture & Spirituality conference, nobody spoke about it. Please guide us.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We tell people that we have a greater type of intoxicant here – meditation, singing, and serving. This is a better intoxicant; it takes you to a greater height. People simply don’t know of this brand of whisky, that’s all.
There is a joy in serving people and seeing the smiles around; many people don’t know of that intoxication. There is a joy in meditation; deep peace and deep sense of comfort that people don’t know. We need to make people aware of this, then they will just throw all the alcohol bottles away.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Don’t take anything
just because I am saying it.
Simultaneously, don’t
discard what anyone says;
you should be a good
listener. First, listen, and
then contemplate on it. Then,
make it your own experience.
Then, that becomes wisdom.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Q: Gurudev, how did a handful of British people rule a spiritual giant like India? Is there something to learn from this?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, you can wonder about it! One speciality of India is that there was never any unity here.
Once I was in Europe and a journalist asked me, ‘Gurudev, tell me, how come the Indian journalists criticize India more than anybody else?’
I said, ‘This is our speciality, we fight with each other.’

It was the internal fight between many kingdoms, and the selfishness of the kings that led to that sort of thing. In some way, it was good; the British did some good also to colonial India. You should see the positive side of everything. Of course, there are many negative aspects of the colonial rule, but there was also some positivity, you have to see that also. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been speaking in English today, and India would have never gotten into computers at all. It would be like China. We would have all had our own different languages; 600 dialects, 24 languages, and India would have been really fragmented.
Today English, somehow, has become a very common language, and India can connect itself with the entire world. So there are advantages, there are some good things.
Of course, there were many bad things too. Many laws from those times that are obsolete today, are still in place. So all the young people, like you, should become law makers, and change all these laws.
Women have already taken the reins in their hands, and have started changing some of the laws. I am sure more will happen.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Q: Gurudev, how can I earn a lot of money without putting too much effort? Is there any mantra?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is how the scams begin (laughter).
You have heard about all the scams, isn’t it? There are plenty of them, one after another, every month.

No, don’t go for quick money; you will lose it also that fast. A sustained economy is good.
If your ethical principles are strong, you will say, ‘I am going to make a lot of money, but with ethics. And no money in an unethical manner.’
In the past century, people had the fear of bad karma, or that God will be unhappy. Fear of God, or fear of karma, would ensure that people didn’t get into unethical practices.
People would say, ‘Oh, that is a bad karma; I don’t want to take that money.’ Do you know why? It is because people had a strong belief that money earned in an unethical manner will have to be spent in a manner which will not bring them happiness.
They would say, ‘It’s going to make me more miserable’. This was a strong belief. In fact, people would say, ‘If you earn money unethically, that money will be spent in courts and in hospitals.’
So that consciousness was there, pricking people. Today, that is missing. They say, ‘When we do CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), it is going to come back to us many times, multiplied.’
CSR was always thought of as an investment, and unethical money was thought as a punishment. Those values have almost disappeared today. So we must re-look at this.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today

Q: Gurudev, my father says that I don’t take stress,but end up giving a lot of stress to other people. If I give stress, I ask, why do they take it? Shouldn’t other people be managing their own stress?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That’s another way to look at it too.
Sometimes people say, ‘I am here only to test your patience. God has put me on this planet to test everybody’s patience.’
There is an old proverb which says, ‘Nobody is the giver of problems or comfort. Problems and comforts are created by our own mind.’
We can feel comfortable anywhere and we can feel miserable anywhere we want, the choice is totally ours.

http://www.artofliving.org/what-sri-sri-said-today