QnA with Sri Sri

Q: Guruji, it is said that one can get liberation by the knowledge of Panchanga. Please tell me what is this Panchanga?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Panchanga refers to the motion of the planets and celestial bodies. Astrology itself is Panchanga (a tool used to determine and study the planetary positions and their effects upon an individual). Suppose you are angry at somebody, then you keep thinking, ‘Why did he do this to me?’ Now if you have knowledge of Jyotish (Vedic astrology) then you will understand that there is no fault of that man. You will think, ‘It happened because of some effects of the motion of some planets in my planetary chart. So I had to bear insult’. This is mukti(liberation).The mind which was entangled in Raga- Dwesha (cravings and aversions) with that person gets detached. Jyotish helps you understand that your time is bad; which is why even good people quarrel with you and if the time is good, even your sworn enemies help you in times of need. So when you understand this, then the Raga- Dwesha in your mind gets dissolved and mind becomes quiet.
What is Mukti? Suppose you drank a lot of water and you need to go to washroom to relieve yourself, but you are sitting in a meeting and are not able to go. When finally you go and come back, you feel relieved, as if to say, “Ah! I am finally liberated”. Similar is the Mukti from hunger. Say you are sitting at one place continuously; like in a bus or train for 8 – 10 hours. The moment the bus halts, you stand up and stretch yourself, you say you got Mukti. The day the final exams get over, just see how the children come back home full of joy and how they put all their books aside; as if they got Mukti (from the routine of studies). So when some wedding or a party at home gets over and all the guests depart; you exclaim “Hai! Finally it’s over!” Is it not so?
Whenever you feel this “Hai!” (out of relaxation), just think of it as Mukti and when there is chaos and confusion, think of it as bondage. When we are contented in life, then that is jeevan-mukti (being liberated while still living). It is a stage in which you feel – ‘I do not need anything more in this life. I am contented and I will serve others to the best of my capacity. This whole world is mine; all this is my reflection (of the Self) and my own nature.’ When you become so firmly established and strong in this knowledge from within, then contentment and joy dawns in you. All the complaints disappear. Everything becomes available even before the wish arises. Within no time, all the required knowledge comes to the mind. This all is called jeevan-mukti.