KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Knowledge And Faith

In science you have knowledge first, and then faith follows.

In spirituality, faith comes first, and then Knowledge follows.

For example, the knowledge that pesticides and chemical fertilizers are good for plants came through science, and people had faith in it, and all over the world they were used. But then knowledge came that they were not good and the faith shifted to organic farming. The same with antibiotics.

The knowledge brought faith, the knowledge changed, and then faith changed. The knowledge and faith of science is of "happening." In spirituality, faith is first and Knowledge comes later. Like Kriya, Yoga, and meditation -- first you have faith and then Knowledge follows. For example, if you do pranayama faithfully then you get the Knowledge of the prana; if your do your meditation faithfully, the Knowledge of consciousness follows. Even an illiterate, through faith, attains deep Knowledge.

Vinod: Human is the best composite material. (Laughter -- this is the NASA scientist mind)

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Science considers even human as matter, and spirituality considers even earth as mother, even rivers and mountains as living beings.

Science regards life as matter and spirituality regards even matter as life.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Q: Gurudev, could you please speak about the Astral and Causal planes, and your role in these planes.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

There are three planes – the physical plane, the astral plane and the causal plane. These are all right here with us. Anything that we see in the material plane first takes place in the subtle planes. That is why people also experience Déjà vu. Do you know what Déjà vu is? It is a feeling that you have been somewhere before or had a certain experience before in the past. You feel “I have been here before” or “I have seen this sometime earlier”. Meditation is the first step to deepening your understanding of these planes.

See, from time to time people criticize and insult you. At other times they also appreciate you and encourage you. It keeps happening in life. So many people criticized and insulted Lord Krishna. He did not have any lesser share of troubles and difficulties in life. In the same way, all the saints and prophets of the world also had to go through pain and many difficulties in life. But the great thing is that they endured all the pain and suffering with an unshakeable smile. They would remain untouched by it from the inside. In the same way, we should also face pleasant and unpleasant times in life.

Now that you are here, just drop all those problems and botherations right here in the Ashram. Do you all know the one rule of the Ashram? The rule is that you have to drop all your problems right here. You are not allowed to take them back with you. Got it?
See, we all are relaxed and sitting here in peace. But it saddens me to see the unfortunate state of violence in Kashmir (referring to the incidents of violence in Uri province). Kashmir is surrounded by so many problems. Many young people and women there are very troubled. We should all pray that peace is restored in Kashmir and that an atmosphere of harmony returns very soon.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
Posted on: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Whatever you receive, and how much ever you receive, be content with that. This is a very important thing – Contentment.

~ Sri Sri

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Serving the world is the best form of prayer.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Monday, December 16, 2024

On Respect

Question: What do you do if people don't respect you?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Thank them. They have given you freedom. (Laughter and amazement) When people respect you, they often take away your freedom. They expect you to smile at them, recognize them, behave in a certain way with them. If they don't respect you, you are not obliged to answer their questions and you can drop all the formalities. Either you will be naturally smiling or frowning. So you will be complete.

When people love and respect you, you are obliged to return their courtesies because you don't want to hurt them. When they don't respect or love you, they will not be hurt by your actions and expressions. So they set you free. When you gain respect, you often do it at the cost of your freedom. Wisdom is to put the freedom first and not bother about respect.

Q: Will freedom not bring arrogance?

A: True freedom is not an "I don't care" attitude. It is lightness from within, a genuine smile and not stiffness. When someone is stiff and arrogant, they are not really free. True love blossoms only in such freedom. And when there is genuine love, respect simply follows you.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Monday, December 16, 2024

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

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
Posted on: Monday, December 16, 2024

If someone has not intended to hurt you, it is an unintentional act, then it is your own mistake. You can only blame your own perception, and not them.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Monday, December 16, 2024

Usually what we do is: we hurry the mind but are slow in our action. Impatience means hurry in the mind; lethargy means slowness in action. Patience in the mind and dynamism in action is the right formula.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Monday, December 9, 2024

When Celebration becomes Service there is no guilt. When Service becomes Celebration, there is no pride,

The time on this planet for us is a gift. When we consider time as a gift, our whole outlook towards life shifts. Like every year, 2011 also has offered you many gifts. With its thorns, it has made you strong; with its petals, it has given you joy.

Any event has the good and not-so-good aspect. The not-so-good part has made you strong and helped you realize that you can handle it. The good part gives you peace and tranquility.

This last hour (of 2011) is good to reflect how you welcomed the year when it came and how it swept you and swirled you and passed you on to 2012.

Through all this time we learnt one lesson - we should never compromise on human values. Love, compassion, sense of gratefulness and a vision for everyone has to dawn in our life.

Let us celebrate with this one intention that let’s bring home (Spiritual) Knowledge to everyone - that life, events are impermanent. What is permanent is our spirit, our consciousness. It has no birth and death. Life at a higher plane is eternal. So celebrate every moment knowing that every moment is a gift to us.

Get this. When celebration becomes service, there is no guilt. And when service becomes celebration, there is no pride.

It is easy to get swept away in a negative mode. It takes courage to move out of it. I am sure all those who are here have this capacity. And all those who are listening (and reading this) also have that capacity!

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Monday, December 9, 2024


Q: How to experience freedom and peace of mind in this complex daily life? I am bound by my duties and responsibilities very tightly.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

That is good. That is the contrast in life every day. When you come back home from your job, relax and sit for meditation for a few minutes every day. Nothing stops you from doing that.

Just like we have dental hygiene, meditation is for your mental hygiene. Listen to knowledge regularly. That is why I have made so many talks. For nearly seven years every Wednesday, I used to make some knowledge sheets which are compiled in the book called Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker. Pick up knowledge sheets from that, or play some knowledge talk and listen to that.

Meditation is more relevant when you are very busy, and when you have a lot of responsibilities to attend to. If you have nothing to do, what is the point of you sitting in meditation? Why would you need energy then? You need energy and intelligence when you need to use it. If you have nothing to do, what is the need for a lot of intelligence?

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
Posted on: Monday, December 9, 2024

If you are aware of the ground reality and know how to match your vision with it, then failures will be reduced.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Monday, December 9, 2024

God's love is a thousand times more intense than the love your parents have towards you.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/

 

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Sunday, December 8, 2024

Conflict And Innocence

Fights can only happen among equals. When you fight with someone, you make them equal. But in reality there is no one at par with you. When you keep people either above or below you, then there is no fight. When they are above you, you respect them. When they are below you, you love them and you feel compassionate. Either submission or compassion can take you out of a fight in no time. This is one way to look at it when you are tired of fighting. When you are well rested, just fight and have fun.

The same is true of the mind. As long as the mind thinks it is equal to the senses, there is conflict. When it realizes that it is bigger than the senses, there is no conflict. And when the mind is smaller than the senses, like in animals, there is no conflict. When the mind is caught up in the senses, there is constant conflict. When it transcends the senses, it comes back to its true nature, which is innocence - in no sense.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Sunday, December 8, 2024

Q: Why is there suffering when there is God?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

So that you can lift your eyes above this material world. Suffering has a purpose, which is to connect you to your self. Suffering indicates that you got too involved and carried away by all the relative and transient things around you. That is what suffering is all about. Once you understand that it is all transient, your eyes get lifted to something that is eternal. That is when real joy dawns in life.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV

WISDOM QUOTE BY GURUDEV
Posted on: Sunday, December 8, 2024

The physical body does not make you as tired as the mind does. Work doesn't make you as tired as your desires do. So what is important if for you to become CONTENT. Again and again, practice being CONTENT.

~ Sri Sri

https://srisriravishankarquotes.blogspot.com/

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Sunday, December 8, 2024

Know that the highest flowering in life is being in love and acting through love.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

http://quotesfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/