KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023

Passion and Self - Reliance

Passion makes you weak. Dispassion is strength. For your passion to be fulfilled, you have to depend upon so many things. Passion and self-reliance do not appear to go together. If you are passionate, you have to forget about being self-reliant. If you want to be self-reliant, you have to drop your passion. This is generally so.

That which brings together these two completely different aspects in you, is your spirit. The same spirit that wants to be self-reliant is also passionate. It is only in spirituality that passion and dispassion can happen together. This is the rarest combination.

When you are dispassionate, you have strength, and strength is self-reliance. True self-reliance is realizing that nothing is excluded from the Self. And when you realize everything is part of the Self, then you can be passionate about everything! Even to fulfill your passion, you can only rely on the Self, for Self alone is non-changing.

In Truth, there is neither reliance nor passion. In one state, you can either be passionate or you can be self-reliant. But in an elevated state of consciousness, you can be neither, or both!

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023

Q: Have you seen anyone in The Art of Living get enlightenment?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, there are many who have this experience - they feel something and it starts happening. They have the ability to love everyone and be a nobody.

You don’t have to label yourself that 'I am enlightened, I am enlightened', not at all! If you want enlightenment, the first thing you need to remember is total detachment from all that you see, good or bad. Do you still want enlightenment? Are you ready for it? For enlightenment you need to have total detachment because it is your desire which is the only thing that blocks you from enlightenment. The moment you drop all that and say, "I want nothing and I am nothing", that moment you realize that all the forms and names are nothing, they are all like waves in the ocean; the wave is nothing but the ocean. This conviction is enlightenment. The sea is there, the sun is there, the moon is there and like that I too am here, that is it. Going beyond time is enlightenment. Not being constrained by space is enlightenment. Realizing you are love, everything else is love, that is enlightenment. Being so natural and feeling at home with everyone because there is no other, is enlightenment.

The first disciple of Lord Buddha said, "I will wait till the last person gets enlightened, I don’t want to have it now", because he knew he could have it any time. It is his compassion for everyone that he said, "I will see everyone through and only then I will have it". Have you heard about this? That is what Bodhisattva said, "I want to see everyone out of misery and then I will attain enlightenment".

That one desire that 'I want to help everybody' was stopping him from being enlightened. That is why it is said, "Buddha is okay but Bodhisattva is one step higher", because he has compassion to take care of everyone. That is what the teachers do, they don’t go looking whether they get enlightenment or not, they simply bring happiness in peoples' lives!

When all that you see in this world does not interest you, does not provoke you and does not disturb you then a totally different world opens up. It is very subtle! This universe has many layers - one inside the other, there are multiple layers in this universe. But our mind is stuck on one that is why I said today that the mind should be free from getting stuck in one direction.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023

Serving the world is the best form of prayer.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023

When you wish good for others, good things come back to you. This is the law of nature.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2023

Singing Communication and Ego,

There are three modes of communication: in head to head communication you talk, in heart to heart communication you sing, and soul to soul communication happens in silence.

When you meet with people, often you communicate from head to head. When you are with nature, you start singing, you communicate with nature from your heart. Often when you are with people you keep talking, blabbering, and you keep the communication on the level of the head only. But when you are with nature, you start humming and your communication comes through the heart. And when you are with the guru, you go blank and forget all the questions. Then communication comes through the soul in silence.

When you meet with people, you like to remain in the head, you seldom sing with people (other than when it is organised). Your ego obstructs you from singing. Many do not feel comfortable singing with people. When you sing with people then you descend to the heart level or feeling level. Some feel comfortable just listening to music. Some feel comfortable singing only when they are alone. Some sing to draw attention or to charm others. Some only want to join in when all the others are singing. All this singing comes from ego.

Bhajan means sharing, sharing from the deepest level of our existence. Bhajan is authentic sharing. If you could sing with people, then your ego shatters. Children can sing with people for they do not have ego. To sing with a stranger you have to be free of ego. Ego doesn't let you sing with a stranger. Head level is safe for the ego -heart level breaks the ego - soul level dissolves the ego. All communication gaps happen because of ego.

Exercise: when you are with people, rather then chatting just start singing and you can feel the shift of energy that is happening. If you want to have more fun, greet a stranger with a song

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2023

Q: How important is it to practice austerity for having spiritual growth?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

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.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2023

If human values are not there, then it is meaningless to say that you are prosperous.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2023

Don't try to analyze karma because you cannot fathom the depth of karma. Just do your duty and keep moving ahead with love and prayer in your heart.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023

Radhasthami

Radhashtami is Radha’s birthday. Radha is the longing for the Divine, the unknown infinity – Krishna!

If you read Radha the other way round, it is Dhara. Dhara moves away from the source. When it moves towards its source it is called Radha. Coming back to the source, the source is Krishna. When you move towards yourself you move towards Krishna.

Longing for the source is Radha. Without Radha, Krishna cannot be reached, that is why we sing ‘Jai Jai Radha Raman’ in Satsang – moving back to the source.

It is like sweetness in the sugar, sweetness cannot be separated from the sugar. Light and Sun, Water and Fluidity, Gravitation and Earth, Flower and Fragrance, they cannot be separated from each other; such is the bond between Radha Krishna.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023

Q: I have never done yoga in my life? What is yoga? Is it a meditation? Is it different postures of the body? If that is so, what are the scientific linkages between those things and what happens inside which leads to such dynamic effects in the form of resolution of conflict and giving us peace of mind?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

First, I would like to refute your first statement that you have never done yoga in your whole life. You have done it as a baby, but you don’t know it. Not a single child on this planet has grown up without doing yoga.

Babies, when they sleep, they are in the Chin Mudra while sleeping. In any part of the world you see, when babies are lying down they lift their legs first, and then they go on their belly and try to lift their shoulders. To some extent every child has done asanas on this planet.

Then coming to the breathing pattern - the way we breathe is different from the way a baby breathes. A baby has a stress-free mind, a happy mind. All the science of yoga is already there in a baby and as babies, we have all been yogis. We are just going back to our roots.

Yoga has eight limbs; there are eight steps to it and one among them is physical postures. But, the central teaching is maintaining an equanimous state of mind.

'Samatvam yoga uchayate' - yoga brings equilibrium in the mind. When you can do any action with mindfulness, you are aware of what you are saying or doing, this makes you a yogi.

See, science is a systematic logical understanding of what is. In that sense, yoga is a science; it is a systematic understanding of the subject. Knowing ‘What this is’ is science. Knowing ‘Who am I’ is spirituality.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023

What is success? An undying smile is a sign of success. A confidence that cannot be shaken is a sign of success. A fearless attitude in life is a sign of success.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023

The goal of spirituality is to bring such happiness, which nobody can take away from you.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023

Self

Self is not just the mind-body complex. Often people think of the Self as the mind-body complex. This is an erroneous notion. Neither the body nor the mind is the Self. All the yoga you do is for the body. All the meditation you do is for the mind.

Whether calm or disturbed, your mind remains mind.

Whether sick or well, your body remains body.

Self is all-encompassing.

Service without attitude

Love without reason

Knowledge without intellect

Life beyond time and events

Is what you are.

The only purpose for this body to exist is to make you aware of how beautiful you are, and to make you aware that it is possible to live all the values you cherish and create a world of divinity around you.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023

Q: How to be right and kind at the same time?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Being right does not mean being harsh and being kind doesn’t mean just letting anything happen. Kindness is not complacence and righteousness is not just aggression.

Unfortunately, today, when we are right we get aggressive. It need not be, it should not be. In fact, aggression only shows our weakness; our lack of faith in our own power. Isn’t this strange? You think that the powerful will be aggressive? No! People who feel they have no power, or they have lost power, they become aggressive. Just look a little deep into it. When do you get aggressive? When you can’t do things easily. When things can happen easily, will you get aggressive?

So when you don’t have confidence in your power or the power of your being then you get aggressive. I know it is difficult to get that! When all these things were happening in Delhi, someone asked me, "How were you so cool Gurudev? We were all tensed!"

I know everything will happen well. And when I know that everything will happen, then what is the point of becoming aggressive, or upset, or sad, or unhappy.

When you know the power within you, you don’t get aggressive. The powerful don’t get aggressive. Who gets aggressive? When you feel that the situation, person, people are beyond your control, or you feel that it is not possible. Or when you feel that you are smaller than the situation, then you become aggressive. I think you should ponder on this. Often you see a person with aggression, you feel that he is powerful. He is really not!

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023

Fools create conflict. An intelligent person knows how to resolve conflict.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023

Sensitivity is a matter of heart. You can be very logical but you need to understand the view points of others as well.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023

Doing Versus Happening

Only one who is 100 percent in doing can recognize the happening.

The healthiest way to apply this knowledge is to see the whole past as happening and the present as doing. If you see the past as doing, then ego and regret come along. And when you see the present as happening, then laziness and unawareness set in. If you apply the doing for the future, it brings tension and worry. If you apply the happening for the future, it might bring some confidence and also lethargy.

Let the happening be for the past. Let the doing be for the present. And the future is a mix of both.

The wise will see the doing in happening and the happening in doing simultaneously. Are you confused now? (Laughter)

One who does a lot of work will never say he did a lot. When someone says he did a lot of work, that means he can do more. He has not done enough.

Work does not tire you as much as the doership does. All the talents you have are for others. If you have good voice, it is for others. If you are a good cook, it is for others. If you write a good book, it is for others. What do you do? You don? sit and read your own book! If you are a good carpenter, it is for others. So all of your talents are useful for others. If you are a good surgeon, it is for others. You cannot do your own surgery. This is interesting. If you are school teacher, it is for others. You cannot teach your own children; they don? listen to you anyway. So all your work and talents are for others.

If you don? make use of your talents, they will not be given to you again.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023

Q: You said 'A family dominated by a woman is much happier than a family dominated by a man!' Please explain.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes. When men dominate, women become unhappy, and when women are unhappy, they make everyone around them unhappy! Then nothing can make them happy! So, it is better that women dominate; in her dominance, the family becomes happier. And men don’t mind being dominated!

Women should dominate in five areas:
1. In the family or the emotional sphere
2. Economy
3. Politics
4. Religion
5. The intellectual sphere

In politics, wherever women are dominating, the country is prospering. Ibu Johan is one such example, and our honorable mayor of Surabaya is another example. When women dominate, corruption comes down. I have heard several stories of how Surabaya has prospered in the last few months; there has been a lot of improvement in the living conditions.

When women will dominate in politics, there will be less war in the world. There may be different types of wars, but this big war that is happening all over the world, which is male-dominated, has created several conflicts. Women should also dominate in the economic field. There are very few women taking lead in the economy. Of course, there are many here on stage and in the audience. Ivan is one such lady who is an entrepreneur, and there are many other here, who I am glad are setting an example. When women dominate the religious and spiritual fields, perhaps, there will be less conflicts, violence and terrorism in the world. One more thing that women have to note is the need for intellectual dominance, in the field of science, architecture and literature. Women have to come forward in these areas. Though there are pockets of excellence here and there, generally, women are emotional and, more into arts; not so much in the literary field, which I think should be promoted in a big manner.

The reason I say dominance is required is because on a practical level, when we see that a woman is the boss of the family, generally, family members are happier. Women have the skill to bind everyone together. If the basic unit of the world, i.e., the family becomes stronger, then the value-system is well founded, and the happiness factor is on a rise. Today, it is not just GDP (Gross Domestic Product), but GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) that matters more.

All this hooliganism and problems that we find in society are often because of broken families; mothers have been unable to pay enough attention to children. When children from such families grow older, they create havoc in society, making themselves and everyone around them also miserable. I feel women have a big influence in building the character of a man.

Another aspect of leadership is the ability to listen; it is a natural gift for women to be good listeners, and to see things from another’s perspective. I am not saying that everyone has these tendencies or qualities, but women have far more potential as compared to men. Thus, emotional nurturing and intellectual exaltation, both, are possible when the right training and guidance are made available at the right age. Thus, be prepared to dominate at home, at your workplace, in politics, and take a dominating position in religious and spiritual fields. These are the four different pillars of society; if any one pillar is not strong enough, then society cannot be a happy.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023

If you are insensitive, if you don't do any service and keep all things only for yourself , then you will have no joy. There is a joy in contributing.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023

Others seem to be bothering you, but it is not others, it is your own mind. Nothing in the world can bother you as much as your own mind.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023

Several Types of Dispassion

There are several types of dispassion:

You are dispassionate because you realize the misery in the world. (You have a fear of misery.) The events in life -- the pain, the suffering one experiences or sees -- brings dispassion.
The second type of dispassion is born out of the desire to reach something higher. Some consider dispassion as a path to enlightenment. If you renounce something here you gain something out there. Those who are seeking enlightenment practice austerities and take vows for a better place in heaven.
The third type of dispassion comes out of wisdom or knowledge. A broader understanding of the transient nature of things brings a state of non-attachment to any events, objects, people or situations that lets you remain calm and unperturbed.
Divine love does not let the dispassion manifest. The attainment of love brings such bliss and such intoxication, it not only takes away your passion, but dispassion as well.

This is the problem with Art of Living members. Many feel they have attained the highest and remain blissed out! (laughter!)

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023

Q: It is said in the Vedas, knowledge came from Hayagriva, the man with a face of a horse. What is the significance of horse in the scriptures?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Horse is called Ashwa. Shwa means yesterday or tomorrow. Ashwa means now. So the word 'now' in Sanskrit, is the same as horse. That one word, Ashwa has two meanings:

1. Now or the present moment
2. Horse

So instead of saying - all the knowledge came in the moment, they said it came through the horse!
In Hayagriva, haya means head. When your head is in the present moment then knowledge just comes up from within. I know all The Art of Living teachers have experienced this. Haven’t you? You don’t know the answer to the questions that your students ask, but you are able to answer them! So where did the knowledge come from? You were in the moment, you were connected to the ocean of knowledge, the tradition of knowledge and so you were able to just download it instantaneously. That’s what it is.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023

There is another way to know things, which is not through the senses. This is called intuition. Through intuition, you can know many things about the past and the future.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023

Wake up, it is your cravings which is making you unhappy. And what are these cravings? For some pleasure, or for some recognition. And what did you get in all these pleasures? Five to ten minutes of some sensations and some stimulation, other than it is NOTHING WHATSOEVER! Absolutely nothing!

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2023

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.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2023

Q: While living in the bondage of mundane worldly activities, how can we keep our minds free of bondage?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you think it is a bondage, it becomes a bondage. If you consider it as service or seva, it will not feel like bondage. If someone tells you, you have to do this work, then it seems like a bondage, but if you do on your own and if you do it with your heart then you will keep doing it.

In our ashram, we have to tell some people to get some rest. We have to tell a lot of them to take rest as they put in their heart and soul. And there are some people who don’t do anything. So we cannot have the same solution for everyone. For some people, we have to tell them to do some work, and for some we have to tell them to stop and relax a bit.

The mind is the reason for the bondage, and mind is the reason for liberation. If your mind is happy, doing anything gives you pleasure. But if your mind is upset and heavy, then nothing seems to create an interest.

You cannot give anyone pleasure or sadness. It is everyone’s fate to receive what is destined for them. But that should not prevent you from bringing happiness to others. Do not refrain from making efforts on your part.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2023

Don't look for love but give love. When you start giving, it comes back multiplied many more times to you.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2023

Do not attach yourself to your thoughts. That is foolishness. Whether they are good or bad thoughts, they come and go. You are beyond all this. You are like the sky, untouched and unchanged.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2023

Worship A Sign Of Maturity

For a flame to go up, you need space above. In the same way, for a man to rise up in his life, he needs an ideal, he needs something to adore and worship. Worship is the culmination of love and appreciation. Worship prevents love from turning into hatred or jealousy, and appreciation into low self-esteem. In life, if you do not adore or appreciate anything, you will be filled with negativity. And a person who has nothing to worship or adore is sure to fall into depression.

Lack of adoration has led to many emotional, psychological and social problems in the society. If you have nothing to hold up high in life, selfishness, arrogance and violence are sure to follow. Adoring and honoring each other in society eliminates stress and fosters compassion and love.

In the previous century, it was thought that worshipping was an uncivilized and unintelligent thing to do. Worship was thought to rise from a slavish mentality. In fact it is just the contrary. Worship can only happen through gratefulness and not through slavish mentality.

In worship, a sense of belongingness, love, honor and respect all come together. Without a sense of belongingness, worship or idealism can bring low self-esteem. The ancient people knew this so they insisted that people should feel part of what they worship. They encouraged people to worship the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, plants, animals and people.

WORSHIP IN A TRUE SENSE IS A SIGN OF MATURITY AND NOT WEAKNESS.

Question: You said worship is the culmination of love. Does worship also have a culmination?

Answer: Culmination of worship is Self knowledge, Samadhi.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2023

Q: When there is love, why suffering is also there in a relationship?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Love with wisdom is bliss. Love without knowledge or wisdom is pain. Why is there pain in love? That is what you are wondering or questioning about! It is not love which is giving you pain. If it is just purely love, that means you just care for someone, you want the best for them, and then there is no pain. But when you want something in return from them or you have demands from them, then there is pain. Small things like you love somebody and they didn’t smile at you, that is enough! You love somebody and they are interested in someone else, they flirt around or complement someone, good enough for you to burn the next 24 hours or days. Jealousy, hatred, greed, arrogance and attachment are all love’s distortions. Love by itself doesn’t bring a misery. That is why knowledge and centered-ness are so important. If you centered, you can handle all these distortions, they come for a while and they disappear.

Doesn’t matter, I will handle! I can easily manage people from falling!

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2023

Self-pity is bad on the spiritual path. Do not pity yourself and do not pity anybody else also.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2023

If you want to correct somebody or teach them a lesson, you need to have the magnanimity of a teacher. You have to have compassion, a broad vision and equanimity within you. Three things are essential, magnanimity, equanimity and skill.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023

Message

Question: Guruji, what is your message?

Guruji: I have no message. In order to give a message you have to be far away. Message needs a distance. Message is of the past or of the future. Message is impersonal and lifeless. Knowledge cannot be a message. The wise one will not give you a message, but will simply awaken you.

God will not give you a message. For God to give you a message, God has to be so far away from you. God is more close to you than your breath. How can He give you a message?

The wise neither need a message nor give a message. The unwise would give a message and want a message -- and would be unable to use the message anyway. Whoever needs the message will not use it. And one who can use the message wouldn't need it!

Jim asks, "What is the difference between Knowledge and message?"

You can read about living in the moment so many times, but it only becomes knowledge when you experience it. Like you can read the ingredients, but when you taste it, the information becomes Knowledge.

Jim says, "These Knowledge sheets really cut down on our communication." (Laughter!)

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023

Q: How can we get out of the cycle of life and death?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Why do you want to do that? It is because you are tired of this. So that is why I say - if you get into meditation, you will find peace.

When you are playing, if you get tired you go home and rest. When you feel rested you are ready to play again. When someone who is playing is tired they need rest. They get some rest and then go out to play again. This is what liberation is.

We have come here (to this world) to play. The one who is liberated likes to come back again. This is what Shankarcharya also said in Bhaja Govindam - “My house is up in the heaven, called Surataru, here I have just come to play for a while".

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023

Do you know what is the sign of a good friend? When you go to a friend with a problem, if you walk away from them feeling lighter, then they are a good friend. But if you come back feeling heavier, then they are not a good friend.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023

When the mind dies while you are alive, it is Enlightenment.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

Mistakes

A devotee asked Guruji: Please forgive me if I have committed a mistake.

Sri Sri: Why should you be forgiven? You are asking for forgiveness because you feel a pinch and you want to be free from it, isn't it? Let the pinch be there. The pinch will not let the mistake happen again. Forgiveness removes the pinch and you keep repeating the mistake!

Question: How do you know a mistake is a mistake?

Sri Sri: A mistake is something that gives you a pinch. If it hasn't pinched you, it is not a mistake at all. It is the pinch that irks the consciousness and that pinch disallows the mistake to be repeated. Be with the pinch and not the guilt. It is a very fine balance.

Question: What is the difference between guilt and pinch?

Sri Sri: Guilt is about a specific action and pinch is about a specific result or happening. You can only feel guilty about what you did and not about what happened. But whatever happened, whether because of you or someone else can cause a pinch in you.

Question: How do we get over the guilt? Tom Gill: Just blame the boss!!! ( laughter)

Sri Sri: Through wisdom, by knowing the nature of mind, nature of consciousness and from a broader perspective of the phenomenon, you can get over the guilt.

Question: Can’t we learn from our mistakes without feeling the pinch?

Sri Sri: Learning is at an intellectual level whereas you feel the pinch at an emotional level. The drive of your emotions is much stronger than your intellect. So a pinch will not let the mistake recur. Bharat: We feel guilt where we have control, it is at the intellectual level, whereas a pinch is at the emotional level where we do not have control.

Question: So, should we discard the intellect?

Sri Sri: You cannot be driven by your emotions alone. Your intellect acts like a brake for your emotions! Feel the pinch. The pinch will create an awareness that what happened was beyond your capacity. The awareness will bring you to surrender. Surrender will free you from guilt. So, from pinch to awareness to surrender to freedom are the steps of evolution.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

Q: Please talk about conversions.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

What is needed today is conversion from the head to the heart and not from one religion to another. When you convert from one religion to another, you start comparing this is good, that is not good. If you are a spiritual person, you take wisdom from everywhere and honor everybody and walk your path. That is what the ancient tradition is all about -- let knowledge flow to us from every side. That is open mindedness.

This is the cause of terrorism in the world today. People think only their God is true God and every other God is false. They are creating so much havoc.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

Never mind if you are unhappy for a little while, so what? If you think I should never be unhappy, then that becomes a cause of unhappiness.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023

Be happy. This is a blessing and an order!

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023

Shortcut!

If you think you are stupid

Then...... you know who you are. And if you know who you are......

You are enlightened!

And if you are enlightened ,

Then ......you are certainly not stupid .

If you think you are intelligent ,

Then you don't know who you are.

And if don't know who you are.....

Then you really ARE stupid!

Better realize your stupidity ....and Be Enlightened!!!!!!.....[laughter]

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023

Q: You talked about the body. I want to know what the connection is between the body and the five elements.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Earth, water, fire, air, ether - the five elements. If any one of this element is missing, this body cannot stay or sustain. Isn't it? Earth element - food, water element, then you need fire element or heat. Without heat, this body cannot survive. Then is air – impossible for body to exist without it, and space or ether. The five elements have been the cause or reason for the body's existence and what happens to this body? It has come out of the five elements and will go back to the five elements, this is science.

There are five elements in the dead body also. So what is the difference between a living and a dead body? In a living body, there is life and what is this life?

When the question begins then you see oh, 'PRANA' - there is life force, and then you go deeper into the study of 'PRANA' and you see there is something more than 'PRANA'.

What is that, that is the mind! Oh, then what is the mind? How many types of mind are there? How many functions of the mind are there? This curiosity takes you to the 'Art of Living'.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023

Even though yoga, meditation, etc., are born out of the ancient tradition, it is a way of life and it is not a religion per say.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023

Never mind if you are unhappy for a little while, so what? If you think I should never be unhappy, then that becomes a cause of unhappiness.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023

Share your joy

By sharing your misery, it doesn't reduce. By not sharing your joy, it reduces. Share your problems only with the Divine, not with Tom, Dick, or Harry -- that just increases the problem. Share your joy with everybody.

Darren: How do you help people who share their misery with you?

Guruji: I have a thousand and one ways. Often it happens that when they share their problem with me, it is immediately resolved. Other times it requires some patience. Just know that all will be taken care of.

Mary: How do we help people who share their misery with us?

Guruji: Listen to others, yet don't listen. Because if your mind gets stuck there, not only are they miserable, you also get miserable.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023

Q: How important is it to practice austerity for having spiritual growth?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

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.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023

If your partner has made a mistake, you should forgive them and give them another chance. You expect your partner to behave like an enlightened person.. This is expecting too much from your side

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023

First believe that 'the whole world loves me and I also love this world', then you can call yourself a devotee.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2023

The Secret to a Permanent Smile

One who is completely enlightened has no needs and no responsibilities. Also one who is inert has no needs and no responsibilities. In between these two, everyone has some needs and some responsibilities.

If you sit and make a note of all your responsibilities and all your needs, and if you find that your needs are more than your responsibilities, then life will lead to misery.

But if you take more responsibility and have fewer needs, then you will be happy.

This is the secret.

When your needs are many and you focus only on your needs and don’t take responsibility, you remain unhappy; you keep grumbling and complaining.

When you take more responsibility and your needs are less, everything simply comes to you - enthusiasm, happiness, creativity, etc.

Now the question arises: what if one is hungry? If one is hungry, one has to eat. If one is thirsty, one has to drink. These are all physical needs.

I tell you, your body belongs to this Earth and the Earth will take care of it. You belong to the Divine and the Divine will take care of you.

In fact the Divine is taking care of you.

Make this distinction that you are separate from your body. As soon as you do this, you will see that you belong to the Divine, and then your smile becomes a permanent feature.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2023

Q: How to conceal a secret? I feel nervous.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

A wise person makes no effort to conceal a secret. But he does not make an effort to reveal a secret either. For example, you do not talk about menstruation, death, etc. to a five-year-old, but as they grow older these things are not hidden from them anymore. They become known as a matter of course.

An unenlightened one tries to protect a secret; and he also reveals the secret at the wrong time, to the wrong person, in the wrong place and makes a big fuss about secrets. Trying to protect a secret causes anxiety and discomfort. An ignorant one is not comfortable with a secret, whether revealed or unrevealed, but the wise one is comfortable with a secret whether revealed or unrevealed!

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar