KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

Posted: 31 Mar 2012

Binding force

Every object in this universe is endowed with four characteristics - dharma, karma, prema and gyana.

Dharma means nature. Everything has a definite nature, whether living or otherwise. Monkeys have their nature; human beings have their nature, metals have their nature. Along with the characteristics of nature, there is a certain activity that is attributed to, or that comes out of, every object. This activity is called karma.

The third characteristic is prema, which means love. There is love in every particle of this creation. Love is attraction. From attraction, atoms come together and form molecules from which an object is made. There is something that holds the parts together. This force that brings together and holds things together is called love or prema.

The fourth characteristic is gyana. You are reading now, but who is reading? Who is understanding what is being read? There is something in this body that is knowing, but what? It is the consciousness. This knowingness is present also in every particle of the creation. How do we know? Do you know only through the head, or only through the senses? No. Our entire body has the ability to know. The mind is not just in the head, it is all over the body.

Even in sleep, we have an ability to know. For example, if a group of people are asleep in a dormitory and someone comes in and calls a name, only that person will wake up. Of course, if call loudly enough, everyone will wake up, but when called lightly, only the person whose name is called will hear. This ability to know is permeating our entire consciousness; it is present all over the body. This is called gyana, the knowingness of the intelligence or the intelligence in the existence.

When you go near a touch-me-not, it closes its leaves even if you have not touched it. Plants can feel, they know. Attend to one particular tree and just be with it. If you just have the intention that the flowers blossom faster, they will blossom! People are surprised when they see flowers remaining fresh for a whole month in our ashram where we have meditation and singing. This is just the law of nature. Love is the subtlest energy that we all live on.

|| Jai Guru Dev ||