KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023

Self - Reliance and Surrender

Self-reliance needs enormous courage. When there
is nobody else or you want to depend on yourself for everything, you need a lot of courage.

Surrender needs less courage.

A person who cannot surrender cannot be self – reliant either.
If you don’t have enough courage to surrender, then it is not possible to be self – reliant; you simply fool yourself. If you don’t have a hundred dollars, you cannot have a thousand dollars. Even a little fear is detrimental to self – reliance.

Self – reliance contains surrender. Fifty dollars contains ten dollars.

Often people think that surrender is a way to escape from their responsibilities, then they end up blaming the Divine for all their problems. In fact, true surrender is taking total responsibility for everything.

Susannah: How can we do that?

Sri Sri: You take responsibility and you pray for help.

Surrender eventually leads you to self - reliance because there is nothing other than the Big Self.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023

Q: How much importance should we give to Vaastu Shastra in our life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

It is an ancient scripture with the science of directions. It says which direction the wind blows, which direction the cosmic energies are moving. Unfortunately, we don't have the whole of Vaastu Shastra. Lot of it is lost, destroyed. So whatever we think we have and our Vaastu people have, we are making use of it. There is something interesting about it, there are scientific validations to that. There are scientific validations to ancient thoughts. Just that not explained scientifically. We need to understand some of the customs properly.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023

From whomsoever you receive love, just know that it is from the divine. Whether the person is true or false, right or wrong, don't fall into these traps of the mind. If you get sunlight through the window, know that the light is coming from the sun. It is not the light of the window.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023

Faith is realizing that you will always get what you need.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023

Welcoming and resisting

Do you welcome all that comes to you or do you resist it? If you cannot resist anything, you cannot welcome anything! You cannot resist everything and you cannot welcome everything! You don't welcome all thoughts that come to your mind. When you welcome a thought, it means you find it good and act on it. If you act on all thoughts that come to your mind, you will end up in a mental hospital or in prison. So, you resist or ignore some thoughts and welcome other thoughts. You need discrimination in life. Welcoming and resisting is a swing in life. Welcoming is essential for expansion and growth, and resistance is essential for maintenance.

Audience: But what you resist persists!

Guruji : If you resist a cold it does not persist! If there is no resistance in your body you cannot survive. Your body resists something and welcomes something.

Where the resistance is weak, the persistence happens. A weak resistance makes the opposition persist. A strong resistance erases the opposition. Strong resistance leads to valour, power and samadhi (equanimity). It brings in you the strength of a warrior. Nothing can tempt you, nothing can obstruct you. Then the victory is gained without fighting. Where there is strong resistance or total welcome, the victory is gained without any fighting.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023

Q: What is Nirvana? Or better, give it to us right now!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Nirvana is bringing the balance and having no feverishness for any desire. Desire means a lack. When you say, I want nothing, I am content, that is nirvana. But that doesn't mean you shun your duties. You perform your duties well but you are with your center. Even craving for enlightenment is an hindrance to enlightenment. All emotions are linked with people, objects and events. Catching on to objects, people or relationships hinders freedom, liberation. When the mind is free from all impressions and concepts, you are liberated. The state of nothingness is called Nirvana, enlightenment, Samadhi. Nirvana is getting back to me from mine. Who am I? When you go deep inside you, layer after layer, that is nirvana. It is like peeling an onion! What do you find in the center of an onion? Nothing! When you know that everything is changing - all relationships, people, body, feelings - suddenly the mind which clings on to misery comes back to you. The return from mine to me, gives you contentment and freedom from misery. Reposing in that state of contentment is nirvana.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023

There is an element of the Guru present in every human being. That wisdom in each one has to be invoked and awakened. When this element is awakened, misery in life disappears.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023

Love gets destroyed when we start demanding for it. This is what usually happens in relationships. We fall in love and we fall out of love very soon, because we started demanding.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2023

The love of the ignorant and the anger of the enlightened

The love of the ignorant can be harmful yet even the anger of the Enlightened is not harmful. It can be only good!

An example is the school at the Art of Living Ashram in Bangalore. 250 children are enrolled but only 200 come to class on any given day. Fifty children don't show up. Why? They cry at home, "Mother, I don't want to go to school."

The mother says, "Oh, la la, don't cry . . . ok." She thinks, "No child in the world is like my child." And so she sticks up for the child and begins to speak for him. She does not see the teacher's point of view. The mother asks the teacher, "Why are you not teaching my child properly? He is so innocent, so lovely." So, what happens -- the child grows up spoiled. The love in the mother's ignorance has spoiled the child. The child will never learn the alphabet, never learn to read or write, but the mother says, "Oh, never mind, there are sheep to look after and fields to tend." The mother's love in ignorance has spoiled the child.

The anger of the Enlightened is a blessing. There are many instances of this in the Puranas. Once a Master was traveling in the middle province of India with a disciple following him a few yards behind. Some boys who were rude, rough, and abusive began to throw stones and tease the disciple calling him names. This went on for some time as the boys followed the Master and the disciple. They came to a river. The Master and the disciple got into a boat in order to cross. The boys got in another boat which started to sink in the middle of the river.

The Master slapped the disciple across the face. The disciple was so surprised as he had not said a word back to the boys in response to their taunts. He had been such a good disciple and yet the Master had slapped him!

The Master said, "It is your fault. You are responsible for their boat sinking. You did not respond to their abuse. Nature has now punished them in a worse way because you did not have enough compassion to quell their insults."

The slap that the Master gave took away the karma of this event such that it would not be carried into the future of the boys. It also served to take away any little bit of joy the disciple may have felt at seeing the boys' boat sink! Thus, it also took away the karma of the event for the disciple. So, the anger of the Enlightened is a blessing!

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2023

Q: What made God alive? When did you start believing in God, Have you seen God, what does God look like?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

This same question was asked 10000 years ago by a little boy to his dad. He asked his father, “Dad, what is God, how is God, how does God Look like?” Dad takes him by hand, brings him out of his house and asks him, “What was here before this house was built?” The boy says Space.

Dad: Where the house is built? He says in the space.

Dad: When this house will demolish what will exist, what will remain? He says space. Dad says that is God.

God is not a person sitting somewhere and showing little finger and as you try to catch him he runs away. It’s only so in some paintings. God is love, God is the space in which everything exists.

God is from which everything has come and into which everything dissolves. And that is what is said in Upanishads, it says God is Brahman. God is like a space, joy and love that is all pervading. The space around you is not dead space, it is filled with energy, intelligence and that energy, that intelligence is divinity and it is inside you, outside you, and everywhere.

If you see the native cultures of all parts of the world, most of the countries in the world have this concept; they say God is in the mountain, in the river, in the flowers, in the trees, in the animals, in the human beings, God is everywhere all pervading. Love is god, you can feel it and not see it, but you can experience this enormous energy when you go deep in meditation.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2023

Humor is something which can grease any situation. This is what we must learn. You should know how to carry along tough situations with humor.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2023

The secret to happiness is in being without desires, and in focusing on how you can serve others. The more you serve, the more happiness you will get.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 29, 2023

Becoming defenceless

Whenever a boundary is broken, it creates some fear. The fear creates dislike. This dislike puts us back in the boundary. And to keep yourself in the boundary you put forth defenses. When you try to defend your position, it is such a stress, isn't it? And every time you try to defend your position it makes you more and more weak.

On the path, people even use the Knowledge as a defense against criticism! Don't use Knowledge as a defense. The Knowledge is like an umbrella for you -- a shelter, not a weapon. Of course, sometimes "Don't use Knowledge as a weapon" becomes an excuse not to be in Knowledge! (Laughter) I say, drop all your defenses. Anybody can make a mistake. Even you! Don't defend your mistakes. Just accept them and move on. When you are totally defenseless, that's when you'll be strong.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 29, 2023

Q: How do I forgive? I find it difficult to let lose off the grudges.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are 6.5 billion people on this planet. Don’t forgive the 6.5 billon but just forgive this one person.

You know, inside every culprit there is a victim crying for help. You must know they are victim of situation and circumstances. They might have done something wrong, but this is because they don’t have that knowledge. They were never exposed to higher knowledge, so they make mistake. See what is happening today, all the church scandals are coming out. It is so painful, so pity of a condition because just reading books and understanding doesn’t help violent tendencies or any kind of tendencies to be fixed. These can only be fixed through meditation, through breathing exercise and yoga. Only through that the violent aggressive energy doesn’t surround.

Prisoners say, “AOL is responsible for our being in the prison, because if you had given us this knowledge earlier, we wouldn’t have landed in the prison. You are responsible and you should have given the knowledge much earlier. So, our life would have been much different”, and I agree with them.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 29, 2023

Knowledge is experiencing reality the way it is. When knowledge becomes strongly embedded in our consciousness it is called wisdom.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 29, 2023

Meditation is the only way to get rid of mental stress.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2023

What makes a real holiday?

Rest and happiness make a real holiday. Often people go on a holiday and they come back tired and tanned, and needing a few more days to recuperate! A real holiday is that which energizes and does not wear you out. Remember, nothing energizes you like Wisdom.

⚫️Doubts and complaints are impediments for rest.
⚫️The moment you set out on your holiday, know that it has begun. Often people expect to find a pinnacle of happiness. Enjoy every moment of the journey as children do, do not wait for the destination.
⚫️If you cannot be happy in one place, you cannot be happy in any other place. If you do not know how to row one boat you will not be able to row any other boat.
⚫️To get maximum satisfaction out of your holiday you need to do something creative and engage in Seva.
⚫️Do not ever forget to make meditation and prayer a part of your holiday.
If your days are Holy, then every day is a Holiday!

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2023

Q: Is it possible to become like a child again and to rekindle that positive vibration around us?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

It is possible. The secret lies in our own breath. Through breathing exercises, certain breathing techniques and some practice of meditation, we can rekindle positive vibrations within and around us.

Are you aware that sometimes for no reasons you feel like talking to some people, and sometimes for no reason you want to avoid some people? I am sure everyone has this experience!

We convey more through our presence than through our words. If we are uptight, angry or stressed, then we become repulsive. Now, the question is how do these negative vibrations come in our aura? We are storing all these negative things that we have seen and heard in our aura.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2023

Life is so complex, and in this complexity of life, keeping one's goals is what is determination.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2023

A good leader walks the talk, takes responsibility, and inspires people to also walk the talk and take responsibility.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023

Three kinds of love

There are three kinds of Love.
1. The Love that comes out of Charm
2. That which comes out of comfort, and
3. Divine Love

Do you see what I am saying?
The love that comes out of charm does not last long. It comes out of unfamiliarity or out of attraction. In this, you lose the attraction fast, and boredom sets in, like most love marriages. This love may diminish and bring along with it fear, uncertainty, insecurity, and sadness.

The Love that comes out of comfort and familiarity grows. But this Love has no thrill, no enthusiasm, joy, or fire to it.
For example, you are more comfortable with an old friend who is a familiar person, rather than with a new person.

Divine Love supersedes both the above. Divine Love has ever newness. The closer you go, there is more charm and depth.
Divine Love has comfort, enthusiasm, and familiarity. There is never boredom, and it keeps everyone on their toes.

Worldly love can be like an ocean, yet an ocean has a bottom. But Divine Love is like the sky which is limitless, infinite. From the bottom of the Ocean, soar into the vast sky.

To know more about Divine Love, refer to our Bhakti Sutras.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023

Q: Gurudev, can you please talk about the chintamani in the center of the brain, and the tip of the nose, where the subtle body is connected to the physical body?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Scientists say that the tip of the nose has a lot of information; we have not yet been able to process all of it. Any knowledge that you get, should pass through the test of scientific methodology, and that includes spirituality too. Scientific methodology simply means going through a logical, sequential understanding, and then coming to a conclusion. Once you get to the conclusion, you still have to keep an open mind because there are many possibilities.

Where is chintamani? The ancient scriptures have said that there is a point in the center of the skull, perhaps, just below the hypothalamus. Hypothalamus is a point that controls the entire body; all the voluntary and involuntary activities in our system. This is what they meant by chintamani, the spot which scientists have called hypothalamus in the skull. You can draw parallels because there is such a huge gap of time and language, which has almost made it impossible to say this is it. For e.g., all the chakras that have been described in the Yogic texts somewhere correspond to our endocrine system. Hence, you can say it is very similar.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023

If you try to get rid of the mind, it becomes a monster. If you just let the mind be, it will vanish!

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023

The whole world is full of messages of love. We just need the eye to see them and take them into our own lives.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2023

Divine in the Form and Formless

Divinity is unmanifest, but man has an innate desire to perceive the divine in the manifest creation around him. He creates idols, breathes faith into it and requests divinity to be present in that idol for a while, so that he can worship, express his love and play with it. At the end of his worship he requests divinity to go back into his heart from where divinity manifested. This is in all puja practices.

They are not actually worshipping the idols but worshipping the unmanifest divinity which has all the divine qualities. So, the idol worshippers of the East are not the same as the ones in the Middle East as described in the Bible, because they are not just worshipping different gods and different idols, they are worshipping the ONE divinity in many different forms.

Paganism, Satan and animal worship, without the knowledge of the one divinity is very different from seeing the divine in every form of the manifest universe. In the eastern tradition, gods and goddesses are part of the one divinity like the different colors of white sunlight, whereas in the Greek tradition, gods and goddesses are in themselves different entities.

Worshipping Satan and different entities is totally different from worshipping divinity in its various forms. Every form belongs to the divine. When you adore the form, you are adoring the divine behind the form. With this knowledge, the very act of worship, which is more an inner phenomenon, assumes a more colorful and vibrant expression, indicating that both the form and the formless are all divine.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

POSTED ON: FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2023

Q: Please can you teach me how to be connected to the faith?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Trying to connect to the faith is trying to connect to the air around you. ‘I want to be connected to the air.’ My dear, you can’t be but! You are already connected. Relax. Why do you try to connect to air? Are you getting what I am saying? Doubt as much as you can. I would say, you should doubt as much as you can. A point comes when you no longer can doubt, the truth will stand up. Truth can never be destroyed by doubt. Do you understand what I am saying? Truth will stand. Doubt can cover it, delay it for some time, drag on for some time, but it can never destroy the truth. Therefore, when people have doubts, I say, ‘doubt as much as you can. One day those doubts will fall off.’ If you are lucky, it will fall off immediately the way it comes. Unlucky ones hang on to it for a little longer time. That’s all. Unlucky ones will carry the garbage on their back for some long distance. Lucky ones know that they carry garbage and throw it right there. Two steps, and they drop their garbage. Otherwise one carries on the shoulder for a long distance.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2023

Faith comes to play only at time of crisis, and the funniest thing is, at the time of crisis the first thing one loses is faith.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

 WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

POSTED ON: FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2023

If this world was more joyful, you would never look for something higher, or for something different. So for anything that has happened or not happened, feel grateful, thankful and happy about it.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023

7 mantras to a prosperous life

1. Time and again, reflect on your life in relation to the cosmos. It is not even a drop in the ocean. This awareness will simply drop all the smallness in you and you will be able to live every moment of your life.

2. Remind yourself of the highest goal in your life. You are not here to grumble ot to complain. You are here for something much bigger.

3. Serve! Engage yourself in community service to whatever extent you can.

4. Have faith that the Divine loves you dearly and is taking care of you. Have the trust and faith that you will get whatever is needed in life.

5. As we flip the calendar, we need to keep flipping our mind as well. Often, our diaries are full with memories. See that you don’t fill your future dates with past events. Learn and unlearn from the past, and move on.

6. Smile more! True sign of prosperity is an unconditional smile on your face.

7. Take some time to walk by yourself. Nurture yourself with music, prayer and silence. Do a few minutes of meditation, pranayama and yoga. This heals and rejuvenates you, giving you depth and stability.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023

Q: Gurudev, what is fear and what is fantasy? Many of my fears in day to day life are baseless; things that will never happen. Why do I picture the worst scenario?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Fear is love upside down. If you have fear, then know that you have the ability to love. So, when you fall in love or raise in love, your fear will simply dissipate. Fear is nothing but another way of love.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023

People with the feeling of revenge will not be happy. If you want to take revenge on anybody, then you cannot be happy.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023

If your mind is trained well through spiritual practices, it befriends you and it helps you. Otherwise your own mind behaves like an enemy.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2023

Appreciation

hen do you appreciate someone? When they do something that is unusual,not ordinary, and not their nature. Isn't it so?

For example, when a wicked person doesn't create a problem then you appreciate them. Or, when somebody you think is not good does a good act, then you appreciate them. Also, when a good person does something extraordinary, then you appreciate them. If a child made you a cup of tea, you would appreciate it, but if a mother made the same cup of tea, you would not likely appreciate it because it is a normal act for her. In the same way, you appreciate getting a ride from someone you don't know, but you don't necessarily appreciate it from a bus driver.

In all these cases, those acts are temporary, out of character, or not their nature. So when you appreciate someone for something, you imply that it is not the way they are usually.

Robin: What if a person wants to be appreciated?

Sri Sri: That means that it is not in their nature, and that is why they want to be appreciated. If it is not coming from their nature it is an imposed act. So when you appreciate someone you simply imply that it is not their nature, it is not the way they usually are. It is a rare act or quality. Appreciation implies a sense of separateness or distance, so watch out when you appreciate someone!

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2023

Q: I have told my boss that I have faith in the Bhagavad Gita. So, when I work for him, I work without expecting any fruits for my actions. Since then my boss has stopped paying my salary. What should I do? Was that a mistake?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I don’t think it was because of the Bhagavad Gita. You may not have worked properly! You might have been chanting in your work place, or did not work at all. I have to hear the other side of the story as well my dear, before I give you any verdict. I cannot give a one-sided verdict.

Just because you are reading the Bhagavad Gita and saying that you do not expect any fruits for your actions is not a reason for not paying you for sure. You must not have used your brains when it should have been used. You must not have followed the Bhagavad Gita and simply read it. You may not have been skilful.

What does the Bhagavad Gita say, “Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam” (yoga is excellence at work). It is an open secret that when you are a subordinate and tell your boss that he is wrong, no matter however right you are, that’s it! You will get the final order. So you have to be skilful in expressing it.
You can say that I feel like this but you know better. Just saying the last part, you know better, not with a different tone but in the right tone will help you. The whole thing is about skill in communication.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2023

Q: Why am I here?

Sri Sri: No books will answer this question, because this is the question of 'life'. Your life itself is the answer. Every day, ask yourself, "Why am I here?" Then all the unnecessary things fall off, and the right things come up.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2023

Meditation makes you sharper, happier, and intuitive. Don't you want intuition? Don't you want the right thought to come to you at the right time?

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2023

The Golden Veil

Craving comes from encouraging the thought of pleasure. The actual experience of pleasure may not be as pleasurable as the memory.

Georgia: That 's why we spend so much time in our minds!

Whether you encourage a worldly thought or a Divine thought, they both bring you pleasure. Worldly thought leads to indulgence, which brings you down from pleasure to disappointment and dejection. Divine thought takes you up from pleasure to Bliss, Intelligence, and progress in life. Worldly thought brings pleasure only as memory, whereas Divine thought comes as Reality.

Question: What is a Divine thought?

Sri Sri: "I am not the body; I am bliss, satchitananda; I am unbounded space; I am love; I am peace; I am light."

Question: What is a worldly thought?

Sri Sri: It is about money, sex, food, power, status and self-image. Truth is hidden by the golden veil of the mundane. Pierce through the glittering sheath and know you are the Sun.

P.S. In the world everybody is after GOLD; some are after GOOD; but only a few are after GOD. Transcend GOLD, transcend the GOOD, and reach GOD.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2023

Q: You have taught life transforming techniques and tools to the whole world. How can this help women become better leaders?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Meditation changes the structure of the brain. According to an article in the American Medical Journal, if you meditate for two weeks, the structure of the brain changes, and the grey cells increase. Many such research studies are available that prove that meditation integrates the left and right side of the brain to make a holistic personality. Meditation has many benefits; it helps enhance the level of vibrancy and energy, which creates an environment that is more congenial, and harmonious; a stress-free, confusion-free mind; and an inhibition-free intellect.

People walk around with a lot of prejudice - men have prejudice against women, women have prejudice against men. There are prejudices among age groups, nationality, social groups. All these prejudices can be done away with, and we will have a prejudice-free society, and a trauma-free memory.

When a person experiences a traumatic situation in their life, that impression gets stuck in their mind for a long time, and does not allow them to look at life from a new perspective. Yoga, meditation and breathing techniques are excellent resources that help work towards freeing the mind - creating a trauma-free memory and a sorrow-free soul.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2023

See what you want to do, move forward and drop the past. Don't go on doing postmortem of the past all the time.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2023

When there is intense love, there is bound to be intense longing also. And it does bring a little pain with it.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 22, 2023

When we are joyful

When we are joyful, we don't look for perfection. If you are looking for perfection then you are not at the source of joy. Joy is the realization that there is no vacation from wisdom. The world appears imperfect on the surface but underneath, all is perfect. Perfection hides; imperfection shows off.

The wise will not stay on the surface but will probe into the depth. Things are not blurred; your vision is blurred. Infinite actions prevail in the wholeness of consciousness. And yet the consciousness remains perfect, untouched. As Satsangees, realize this now and be at Home.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 22, 2023

Q: Please give us a few practical tips for a husband to do every day to empower his wife.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I am very inexperienced in this field (laughter!).

First, never step on the emotions of a woman. Second, encourage womenfolk to step out of their routine and comfort zone. Third, encourage some creativity and some acts of kindness. Four, let them take some time off to be quiet, and observe nature. We all take time off and go on vacation, but talking too much and talking all the time spoils the whole vacation. You come back tired, tanned and tired. Sometimes, one needs to take some time off to be quiet and spend a few moments in silence; meditate, and be with nature.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 22, 2023

The name that we carry is the one given to us by our parents, and it is limited to our existence in this lifetime only. Our true name is Om. It was our name before we were born, and it will be our name after we die. One day we will all dissolve into Om.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
POSTED ON: MONDAY, MAY 22, 2023

If you are trying to get rid of darkness, your attention is on the darkness. But if you turn towards light, darkness automatically disappears. This is what you need to do: take a positive attitude.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2023

Love! The Question Of An Answer

In a congregation, Sri Sri asked, " How many of you are feeling strong?" Many people raised their hands.

Sri Sri : "Why?"

Because YOU are with us!!!

Sri Sri : "Only those who feel weak can surrender".

All those who were feeling strong were taken aback!

If you are in love, you feel weak because love makes you weak. Yet there is no power stronger than love. Love is strength. (All those who had raised their hands for strong suddenly felt weak!). Yet love is the greatest power on earth. You feel absolutely powerful when you are with the Divine.

Someone asked: "But why do we keep alternating between the two?"

Sri Sri: "That is the fluctuation in life."

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2023

Q: How to surrender and yet take full responsibility?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Forget about surrender! Just know that there is one power which is in control of everything. Seasons are not in your control; the earth moving around the sun and all the planets moving in their orbits are not in your control. Every element on this planet has its own laws within which it functions, all of which are not in your control.

There is a natural law, a power that is in total control of everything, which gives you some control to do certain things. It is like the pilot of the plane is controlling the plane, but inside the plane you can get up, use the washroom, sit or stand. There is little freedom for you too. Similarly, we have our responsibilities; we perform them to our optimum. We take responsibilities; do what we need to do knowing well that the plane is being steered by a good pilot.

Surrender is not an act. Actually the word surrender has lost all its meaning. Just be aware that there is a bigger mind, a bigger self, a bigger intelligence which is at work.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SUNDAY, MAY 21, 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: SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2023

If you are a social worker, then you have to bundle all your wants, feelings, likes, dislikes and throw them into the ocean.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2023

Memory -- A Hindrance and a Blessing

Memory -- A Hindrance and a Blessing The forgetfulness of the nature of man is the root cause of all problems and suffering in life. The very remembrance of one’s nature, which is godliness, brings freedom in life. Here, memory is your best friend. The purpose of knowledge is to remind you of your true nature.

In the Bhagvad Gita, Arjuna said to Krishna, "I got back my memory. Now I have realized and will do as you say." Memory is a blessing and your best friend when it comes to your true nature. Memory is a hindrance when it does not let you be free of events, pleasant or unpleasant.

Pleasant events create cravings and competition in the mind, and do not allow fresh experiences, whereas unpleasant events give a biased perception and create paranoia. So the memory is both a blessing and a hindrance, depending on whether you remember your nature or you are stuck with events in time and space.

II JAI GURUDEVII

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
POSTED ON: SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2023

Q: I have two regrets in life. First, I am overweight. Second, I couldn’t be with the girl that I love the most. Can you please help with the second case? I am already working on the first one!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

When you have gone through all that polishing, become hollow and empty, you will see that you come out of the cocoon like a butterfly! This is what knowledge does, it cleanses our mind from all this; cravings, aversions, sorrows and regrets are taken away and you feel alive and fresh again.

We have been on this planet so many times, did so many things, have had so many such lives, so many successes and so many failures. From all that, we have moved forward and we are going forward - unblemished, untouched, untarnished, stronger and stronger! Just know this - there is no regression, only progress.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar