July 20, 2013
Montreal, Canada
Q: Gurudev, what is Brahma Gyaan?
Sri Sri: This is Brahma Gyaan (Supreme Knowledge). All this that we are talking about is Brahma Gyaan.
Whatever you say has no existence, meaning it does not exist forever. Truth is that which transcends time - past, present, future. What is not truth? That which was yesterday, but is not there today, is not truth. What is today, what will not be there tomorrow, is not truth.
The definition of truth is that which is not affected by time.
Adi Shankaracharya was asked, ‘What is truth?’ He said, ‘yat…tat satyam’, which means, that which is not affected by time - by past, present, future, that is truth. Everything else that is being affected by time is maya, which means it has a relative existence.
What happens when you sit? All these unwanted things come in the mind, like a bubble. You are inside a bubble, where you are planning, you have thoughts for the future, you have some cravings, or you are regretting the past. Past experiences come to the mind as images.
How to handle this?
First, viveka (discrimination). Viveka is remembering that all this is not permanent; everything is temporary. When you are not going to be here, what about your boyfriend, girlfriend, prestige, honor, money, and all these things? We will die one day and leave all this. None of this is permanent; everything is temporary.
When this realization strikes a deep cord within, then the mind becomes a witness. Why am I worrying? It is stupid of me to just go around in the mind! That is viveka.
Second is vairagya (dispassion). Say ‘So what’, again and again, ‘So what. Okay this is like that, so what?’
Vairagya brings you freedom; it makes you subtle, it makes you free from within.
Viveka is that which makes you understand, makes you larger, makes you understand something bigger, and not get caught up in small mind games.
Q: Gurudev, I can easily identify and witness my negative patterns, however, it is very difficult to break away from them. How does one break away from these patterns?
Sri Sri: Whatever you gain by effort has a limited age, and is for a limited time. What you gain by effortlessness is ageless and timeless.
The answer to your question is hidden in this answer somewhere; you dig into it. I have given you a formula. In this formula, anything that you achieve with effort will have a result that is time-bound and limited; it cannot be forever. Anything that you get through effortlessness is timeless and painless.
Q: I know a lot of people who are very skilled and successful at my work place, yet they do not practice yoga or meditation. Is yoga a prerequisite for skill in action? How does practicing yoga make one more skilled?
Sri Sri: Every baby is a yogi. A baby does all the yoga asanas, and has all those qualities.
Now, you may say that this person does do any good deeds, yet he is having a good time! How do you know? He may have done something good in the past; he may have been a yogi in his previous life. Now he is just enjoying the fruit of those actions.
Yoga is not just doing some asanas, it is a state of mind, of uniting yourself with the existence, with the truth, with the cosmic mind or the big mind.
The small mind becoming one with the big mind, that itself is a joyful thing. You don’t need to look for an excuse not to do it. If you don’t want to do yoga and be skillful, go ahead, be skillful. Skill in action is a result of yoga, and silence is the mother of all talents. A few moments of deep silence brings up many talents within you.
Q: Dear Gurudev, for the past few months I find sadhana, satsang and seva a struggle and an effort. I have tried approaching it like I am doing it for the first time, but it still feels the same. What can I do to get past this feeling?
Sri Sri: Never mind, just relax and let go. Why do you struggle? You already struggle with other things, now you are struggling with sadhana also? Okay, stop, don’t do it. One day, you will find yourself saying, ‘Oh, I need to do it!’ It will feel like you are starving or are thirsty, and then suddenly you feel that need.
Similarly, when your body and mind are tired, they will want to relax, rest in some deep inner space with knowledge and wisdom. When feverishness has gripped the mind, then you are on the run, and sometimes you will want to let go and relax, and have an experience of deep peace, then you will come back to it (sadhana).
There is a beautiful couplet by Kabir, he said, ‘When people are miserable, everybody prays, but when they are happy, nobody prays. If they pray even when they are happy, why would misery touch them? Why will misery come to them?’
He said, ‘I am surprised by the mind, I am surprised by this tendency of people.’
That is true, if you continue praying, then it cultures the body and mind. If not, sometime when you become miserable, you will definitely need it, and come to it.
Q: Gurudev, I love you very much, but there’s a part of me that is skeptical. I fear it sometimes gets in the way of my loving you, and also bringing more people to the courses. How does one dissolve skepticism?
Sri Sri: Science; if you are a scientist, you can’t be skeptical or cynical. You will be factual. You will have the quest to know; the quest for knowledge is the same in a scientist as well as in a seeker.
A skeptic is someone in between, who is not a real scientist and not a full artist; somewhere hanging in between. Neither ripe nor in the pre-ripe bud stage, somewhere in between. Just understand this, and move on.
It is okay if skepticism stays for a little while, but if it stays too long, it becomes cynical, and takes the whole joy and fun out of life. That is what I feel.
Q: Gurudev, what is the relationship between chakras and our mind?
Sri Sri: Chakras are in the physical realm. The mind is just energy; thoughts are energy. When you put your (mind) attention on the chakras, they get regulated, activated and the dormant energy gets released
Q: During Shakti Kriya, I experienced that I am love. In the silence course, I experienced that I am hollow and empty. How do these two experiences connect?
Sri Sri: You are the experiencer (the one who is experiencing); the experiences come and go.
Q: Gurudev, my friend lost her mother a few weeks back in a sudden accident, and she is shattered. Can you please say some words on how to deal with the loss of a loved one, especially someone like a parent?
Sri Sri: Just talking won’t help. Your presence, your being quiet, your silence and giving them peaceful vibrations will help.
Don’t say, ‘Oh, you poor thing, it shouldn’t have happened to you’. It is not going to help. What helps is your silent presence and prayers.
Q: Someone said these past three days have been very important astrologically. Can you explain their significance?
Sri Sri: It is you who gives importance. If you find something important, then it is important. Astrologers have this tendency to tell you, 'This is very important, that is very important', so that you become more attentive on that day. And they do a good job. When you are here, it is very important to be attentive, right now and right here.
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