Eight Types of Purification
May 16, 2013 Alappuzha, Kerala

Annadata sukhi bhava, those who are providing me with this food, let them be happy. Will you all say this one mantra every day before your meals?
When you say this, you are wishing prosperity for three people. One is to the farmer; the second is to the trader who buys from the farmers and sells the produce, and the third is to the woman who cooks the food and serves it to you.

First, we wish well for the farmers. When the farmers are happy, then the ones who eat the food will also be happy. But, if the farmers are unhappy, and they are shedding tears and giving us food, then when we eat that food, we become sick.
So, you must wish the farmers good health and happiness.
In this country we are ignoring the farmers. Farmers are committing suicide because they are sad and unhappy. When they are sad, then the food they produce brings us only misery. So, all of you should wish them happiness.

Second, we should wish well for the traders.
If the merchants do their business properly, by not being greedy and not hoarding things, then there will be no dearth of food in the country. If there is a problem in our country, it is because of wrong government policies and the hoarding attitude of businessmen. As a result of this, it is the farmers who suffer the most.
Can you imagine, two years ago, food companies were making 300 per cent profit, while the farmers were going bankrupt? This shows that there is a serious flaw in our system; we need to look into it. Hoarding is the biggest crime.

Third, we should wish well for the women at home who cooks the food and serves it to us. There should be no tears in the eyes of the lady of the house who is cooking the food. It is not going to do you any good.
So, when you say Annadata Sukhi Bhava every day, you are praying for the lady of the house to be happy; you are praying for the merchant to conduct his business in a fair and just manner (not out of greed), and you are wishing the farmer a happy life. If these three people are happy, then the society is happy.

We need to create a big wave of happiness throughout Kerala. It should start from Kerala, and spread to the whole nation.
When you wish happiness for others, happiness will come to you. This is the law of nature. When you wish good for others, good things come back to you. When you wish bad for others, only bad things come to you. No one wants bad things to happen to them, right? This is the reason you should keep your heart pure and clear.

We need to create waves of happiness. In order to do that, we all have to give one hour a day to make India better. We need to get rid of corruption from this country, from all levels. How many of you here are tired of corruption in the country and want a change? (Everyone raises their hands)
We need to make a difference. It is the youth of this country, not just in age but in spirit, who will be able to do this. Collectively, we can achieve this dream of a crime-free and corruption-free India.
Today, you think about it. What is it we want to do? How can the youth of our country make a difference to our society?

When I first came to Kerala, in 1971, I was a student. At that time, the food that we were given was all red rice, and in Karnataka, we were not used to red rice at all. We used only white rice.
For six days, we never got any white rice, we only got red rice and it was a problem then! For anyone coming to Kerala, they got only boiled rice or red rice. Kerala was much healthier than any other part of India.
Today, I hear, instead of us spreading red rice and boiled rice to other parts of the country, we have also become like the other parts of the country, where we use white rice. No, you should go back to your Kerala style of food, because red rice has Vitamin B and other minerals in it. You will not get diabetes if you eat boiled or red rice, but white rice, which is polished so much, is only starch. People are getting sick eating it. So, we must go back to our original food habit, which is eating red rice, and boiled rice; these are very healthy.

Similarly, earlier we used only jaggery, but now we use white sugar.
Do you know white sugar has sulfur in it? Due to the sulfur content in sugar, the calcium in our body is drained out, and it results in people having osteoporosis.
In Kerala, they used to have sharkara, which has a lot of minerals, zinc, iron and magnesium. These are very good for our body, and our intelligence. Instead, we are using white sugar, which also results in Attention Deficiency Syndrome and so many others illnesses.

So, we all should remember a few things.
First, anna shuddhi, purification of grains. Good food, nutritious food, and the right amount of food is important.

Second, everyday a little bit of proper exercise is important. Even though you may have a car or a motor bike, sometime during the day, you should walk as well. Every day, at least for 20 minutes start walking, or doing some physical exercise.

Third, vaakya shuddhi, purification of speech. This is very important.
All of you must see that the words that you use do not hurt other people. If you have said something that hurts somebody, and if they are crying, then it is going to affect you somewhere.

Fourth, karma shuddhi. We must do seva. With service, our actions are purified.

Fifth, dhan shuddhi, i.e., purification of wealth. We should keep aside at least three per cent of whatever we earn, and use it for the society. Then the money that we earn will become purified. If we use whatever we earn for our self only, then that is not the best utilization of money. So, we must use a little portion of our earnings for the society.

Sixth, shareer shuddhi, i.e., purification of the body. Once in a week or a fortnight, take some Triphala, or some ayurvedic products to cleanse your body.

Seventh, bhaava shudhhi, i.e., purification of feelings. Do some satsang for some time; it is necessary as it purifies the feelings.

Eighth, buddhi shuddhi is purification of the intellect. With knowledge the intellect is purified. A pure intellect comes when you look at life from a broader perspective. Who am I? What is this universe? Where am I going?

Q: Is there anything common between communism and spirituality?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. What is Communism? The essence of communism is all are equal and spirituality says the same thing.
Lord Krishna was the first communist. He said, ‘Yo mam pasyati sarvatra sarvam ca mayi pasyati tasyaham na pranasyami sa ca me na pranasyati’.
The one who sees me in everybody and everybody in me, he is the intelligent one.
‘Saman sarveshu bhuteshu tishthantam paramesvaram parishati’, means the one who sees everyone as equal.
Shuni chaive shavpakech pandita sam darshina. Who is a yogi? Sam darshina, one who sees everything with equanimity is a yogi.

If you open the Bhagavad-Gita, you will realize it is full of this knowledge. See everybody as equal; that is the essence of communism. Spirituality also teaches the same thing. In fact, in spirituality, it becomes practical, otherwise it simply remains intellectual.
This question arises, ‘Why should you see everybody as equal?’ A spiritual person knows the answer, because it is one divinity which is present in everybody. So, if you are hurting anybody, you are hurting God. If you love God, then you should not hurt anybody. So, you see equality in everybody.

Values find their true strength only with spiritual knowledge. Otherwise, we only talk of values, but it really does not go in. Our heart should open up.
It is spirituality which makes you sincere, makes your heart open up. It is lack of spirituality that makes people go to drugs or alcohol or other vices.

Q: Gurudev, with the growing pressure on children, so many schools are aware that their students abuse substances. Yet, they prevent the learning of yoga and meditation.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is foolish. They should stop the children from drugs, alcohol and other abuse. I was so shocked to read that one school became free from this. We have 14 schools, I am sure none of our schools are anywhere close to alcohol or drugs.
Today, it has become a matter of pride that our school has become free from alcohol and drugs; which means it has become so common! People should fight against alcohol and drugs, and not against yoga and meditation. Yoga and meditation make people good human beings.

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