KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019

The Dangers Of Belongingness and Advantages of Obligations

Belongingness can bring about a host of negative emotions. Like demand, jealousy, unawareness and lack of gratitude. Just look into your own life, you feel more grateful to strangers than the people you feel "belong" to you. Belongingness reduces gratefulness, awareness, and gives rise to demands which destroys love. This is the biggest problem in relationships. People are nice to strangers and give more attention to them. With a sense of belongingness comes carefreeness and lack of attention.

Look belongingness can make you insensitive, dull, and take away the charm in life! Anyway, who belongs to whom in this world? Here you are a stranger and everyone is a stranger to you! Blessed are those who feel themselves as a stranger! You feel more obligation to a stranger than the person you feel belongs to you. Obligation is very good to keep a check on your ego. It makes you humble. There is no greater antidote to ego than humility. Being humble is the beginning of all virtues.

People have such resistance for obligations. They do not realize that they are always under obligations, whether giving or taking! Dull people think that one is obliged only when one takes. The wise knows that even when one is giving one is under obligations, as the person has accepted what one gives. So whether you give or take you are under obligations. And if someone does not give or take, you are still under obligation! For they are freeing you from visible obligations!!

That is to say, you are obliged to all those who do not make you obliged!!! A Got it?

Life (you) renews itself everytime by becoming a stranger in this old and familiar world. You are simply loaded with obligations and you are a total stranger in this world every moment!

How does it feel (Laughter!)

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019

Q: I am happy and calm now. What can I do to maintain this state throughout life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Share it with more and more people. Joy or wisdom if not shared with others starts dwindling. Now this does not mean you go to others and start teaching them Bhastrika Pranayama, or the Sudarshan Kriya. Unless you get properly trained, you should not go about teaching meditation and these practices to others. This is why we had to put a quality control for Yoga in the country today. There is a QCI (Quality Control for India) body and the government has asked it to do something for Yoga also. It is because it is observed that people learn something from somewhere and then go around teaching it to others without proper training. Then when some unwanted or unexpected things happen it becomes a problem. There is a proverb in Sanskrit – “Yasya kasya tarur-mulam yena kenapi churnitam; yasmai kasmai pradaatavyam yatvaa-tatvaa bhavishyati” (From the Subhashita). It means that someone may bring the root of any tree, grind it into a fine powder and give it off as medicine to others. And something or the other may happen to the other person by taking that (untested) medicine. The same is what is happening with Yoga also these days. People practice Yoga for just a week and proclaim themselves to be Yoga instructors and teachers. There needs to be a proper quality system in place for Yoga also, and there should be levels or stages of training and certification. Until then, do not just go and train others. But you should always talk to other people about Yoga and bring more awareness about it. You should definitely inspire and encourage others for this.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://qawithgurudev.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019

The lesser your cravings for your desires to get fulfilled, the more your desires get fulfilled.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2019

If we can wipe the tears of even one person, then we can consider our life worthwhile.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019

Violence or non-violence

Violence and non-violence do not depend on the act but on the intention behind it. The basis of violence is anger, lust, hatred, jealousy, greed, frustration or aggression. A surgeon cuts open a person's belly; so does a criminal. The action is similar. But the surgeon's intention is to save and the criminal's is to destroy.

Violence or non-violence is determined by the attitude and not the act. Even a war can be non-violent if it is devoid of anger, hatred, jealousy or greed and it is for educating someone who cannot be educated in any other way. Even charity can be an act of violence if it takes away self-esteem and inflicts slavery, and a war can be an act of compassion if it helps to put things in the right perspective. Strange but True!

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019

Q: I am happy and calm now. What can I do to maintain this state throughout life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Share it with more and more people. Joy or wisdom if not shared with others starts dwindling. Now this does not mean you go to others and start teaching them Bhastrika Pranayama, or the Sudarshan Kriya. Unless you get properly trained, you should not go about teaching meditation and these practices to others. This is why we had to put a quality control for Yoga in the country today. There is a QCI (Quality Control for India) body and the government has asked it to do something for Yoga also. It is because it is observed that people learn something from somewhere and then go around teaching it to others without proper training. Then when some unwanted or unexpected things happen it becomes a problem. There is a proverb in Sanskrit – “Yasya kasya tarur-mulam yena kenapi churnitam; yasmai kasmai pradaatavyam yatvaa-tatvaa bhavishyati” (From the Subhashita). It means that someone may bring the root of any tree, grind it into a fine powder and give it off as medicine to others. And something or the other may happen to the other person by taking that (untested) medicine. The same is what is happening with Yoga also these days. People practice Yoga for just a week and proclaim themselves to be Yoga instructors and teachers. There needs to be a proper quality system in place for Yoga also, and there should be levels or stages of training and certification. Until then, do not just go and train others. But you should always talk to other people about Yoga and bring more awareness about it. You should definitely inspire and encourage others for this.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://qawithgurudev.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019

If you are a taker of happiness you get misery, if you are a giver of happiness you get joy and love.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019

When you are joyful right now, how can you have desires? And how can you be joyful right now when you have desires?

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

ON: MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019

Austerity

Austerity is often mistaken to be poverty, self-denial. It is neither. Austerity comes out of maturity. It is a sign of social health. Often people who practice austerity are resentful of richness. This is a very pitiable state. Such austerity is not born out of maturity but out of compulsion. The true austerity has tolerance for richness and is never resentful.

In fact, one who is mature will have pity for one who is not austere. Austerity is not against celebration and just vanity is not celebration. Celebration dawns in the spirit. Only one who is rich in spirit can practice austerity. One may be rich materially but if he is poor in spirit he can neither celebrate nor evolve. Poverty of spirit is vanity. Austerity brings freedom from the pride of vanity. But taking pride in austerity is again a vanity !

Austerity comes out of abundance, and austerity brings abundance. If you feel a lack in any area of life, immediately start austerity. Austerity not only brings freedom but nurtures sharing and caring.

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

POSTED ON: MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019

Q: Can we do something about depression?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Sure, we can do something about it. Do you know, depression is the biggest challenge for The World Health Organization (WHO) and possibly the world, in the next 5 years.

Nearly 40% of the school teachers in Europe are depressed, and if teachers are depressed what are they passing on to the kids? It is scary, right; they can only pass on what they have! When we were children, our teachers were so enthusiastic; they pumped enthusiasm in to the kids. They gave us ideas, ideals, more values, and they showed us how to excel in our field. Today when you see teachers who are supposed to be the guiding light of society being depressed, it is very depressing. We cannot feed half the population with prosaic. After a while even that stops working. Here is where you have to teach them life skills, the skill to handle their mind and their negative emotions. And the secret is right under their nose! Using their own breath, they can calm the mind and change how they feel.

You do not have to be a victim of your feelings; you can be the master of your feelings. It is just a matter of education. Yoga is one way; of course, many think yoga is just doing a few exercises, standing on the shoulders or standing on the head, it is not so! Yoga is the rhythm of the breath, and the sensation in the body, and how you feel about yourself. All this comes under the purview of yoga, meditation, life skills and living well programs, and this can help people.

A few centuries ago, not everyone used toothpaste. Dental hygiene was not a common thing. Today, in every corner of the world, people brush their teeth first thing in the morning and the last thing in the night. Similarly, I would say mental hygiene is essential. Learning how to be in the present, keeping your mind fresh and free of all the impressions of the past, anger, jealousy, greed, and seeing life from a broader perspective.

Turn back and see, all the events - pleasant and unpleasant are all gone; there are only traces of memories left in our brain, that’s all. If youth to have an awakened mind or the wakefulness in the mind, it will make a lot of difference.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://qawithgurudev.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

POSTED ON: MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019

Don't cling onto a desire because whenever a desire is fulfilled, it leaves you in the same place that you were before the desire arose.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

POSTED ON: MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019

When you are relating to someone, what is it that you are relating to, the body or the spirit? Have you ever even thought about this?

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2019

What Is Your Identity?

We usually say, ‘I went to this school 20 years back’, or, ‘I did this job 25 years back’, but who was that person? Even if you look at a picture of you taken around 20 years back, you will not find much resemblance. Your body, mind, intellect, thoughts, feelings, everything has changed. But certainly, there is something which has not changed because of which you can notice this change. That is why I say, first identify the changes that are happening within you. Once you identify these changes, then slowly you will be able to identify that what is not changing. And once you identify that which is not changing, then you will realize ‘This is what I am, this is what I have been searching for.’

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2019

Q: Draupadi had surrendered herself to Lord Krishna and was very devoted to Him. Then why was her life full of obstacles?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Well, it is when there are obstacles that you understand and appreciate miracles! See, whether you read the Ramayana or the Mahabharata, understand what you can and imbibe that in yourself. Implement the good things you read from these epics in your own life. Think about your own life and how you can improve it. See, there have been many great saints and noble souls in the past ages. It is good to read the epics, and you should learn from these great personalities.

At the same time. we should focus on the present and talk about what is happening now. What is the state of your mind now? Are you happy? Do you wish to take up some Seva projects and serve others? Think along these lines and discuss.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://qawithgurudev.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2019

The spirit or the energy has no birth and no death. There is something deep inside of you that was never born and that never will die.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2019

If someone has scolded you or used harsh words that have hurt you, but they have done it with a very good intention, then you should only thank them. This is because you have only grown stronger by their act.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/