KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Judgements and good company

Though you have heard "don't judge," judgement comes unavoidably in day-to-day life. By the actions and behaviors of people, you either approve or disapprove. But always remember that everything is changing, and do not hold onto the judgement. Otherwise your judgement gets solidified like a rock. It brings misery for you and for others.

If judgements are lighter like air, like a breeze, they bring in fragrance, then move away. They could bring a foul smell, then move away. They should not stay there forever.

Judgements are so subtle that you are not even aware of their existence. Judging or labeling someone as judgmental is also a judgement. Only in the state of Being when you are full of love and compassion can you ever be free from all judgements.

Yet the world cannot move without judgements. Until you judge something as good or bad, you cannot do any actions. If you see rotten apples in the market, you say, "No good." Good ones you buy. If someone lies to you ten times, you think next time it also could be a lie. A judgment happens automatically.

See the possibility that people and things can change at any time and don't hold onto the judgements.

You need to judge your company. Your company can pull you up or pull you down. The company that drags you towards doubt, dejection, blame, complaints, anger, delusion, and desires is bad company. The company that pulls you up towards joy, enthusiasm, service, love, trust, and Knowledge is good company.

When someone complains, first you listen, then you nod, then you sympathize, then you complain.

Robert says, "Join the party." Denise says, "I confess, you are absolutely right." (Laughter)

Your company can create Hell for you in Heaven -- or Heaven for you in Hell. Judge for yourself . . . !

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Wednesday, April 16, 2025

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

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

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

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

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Wednesday, April 16, 2025

If you are going around thinking about somebody feeling hateful, angry, revengeful and all that, it is your strong craving for something, or aversion to something which is making you do this. You better get on to doing some seva. I tell you, it will definitely help 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: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Sacrifice

Sacrifice is letting go of something that you are holding on to or are attached to, which gives you pleasure, for something bigger that would bring good. Sacrifice brings strength in life. Life without sacrifice is stagnant. Sacrifice gives you the quantum leap. It takes you to a higher pedestal.

Often people think sacrifice makes life dull and joyless. In fact, it is the sacrifice which makes life worth living. The amount of sacrifice in your life brings out your magnanimity and helps you move out of misery. A life without sacrifice is worth nothing. Zeal, enthusiasm, strength and joy are all connected to sacrifice.

Question: Some people say, "I have sacrificed so much," and complain.

Answer: That is good. The thought of sacrifice has given them strength to complain and saves them from blaming themselves without which they would even be more depressed.

Sacrifice never goes unrewarded. There can be no love, no wisdom and no true joy without sacrifice. SACRIFICE MAKES YOU SACRED. Become sacred!

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Q: Gurudev, can wisdom happen instantly? Is it the same with enlightenment?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, it can be gradual also! The other day, someone was telling me, “Gurudev, suddenly, I realized that I am happy all the time now, which I never was before!” A sudden realization comes that gradually you have become more and more happy. One day you find yourself saying, “I am so happy, so centered; nothing can shake me, nothing can take my smile away!” And then you are there!

Sometimes, there is a flash of lightning, and suddenly you see things, and then it disappears. Sometimes it is like when the sun rises, dawn comes first, then gradually darkness disappears, and day dawns very gradually, and that stays! So both phenomena are there. For some, it can come as an electrical transformation, for others it could be a gradual change. Sometimes you don’t even notice it, but one day, you say, “Wow! Aho!” Just like what is said in Ashtavakra, “Aho! Yes, I got it.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Tuesday, April 15, 2025

The sense of the entire humanity being one family, of belonging to each other, is essential for us to have an ethical and just society.

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, April 14, 2025

The Divine Beyond Time

An ignorant person either disbelieves or believes the individual. The wise neither disbelieves nor believes the individual. His faith rests on Kala (time). When the time is good, a foe will behave like a friend. When the time is not good, even a friend will behave like a foe. The wiser one believes in Mahakala (the Grand time or Shiva). An ignorant person disbelieves in time and the Divine beyond time.

In the world and in time there is always room for improvement. You can improve your time and your nature. Only the Being is perfect all the time. Take refuge in the Being and become incorrigible.

"I am" incorrigible.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Monday, April 14, 2025

Q: I would like to know how you found out that you were going to be a Guru. Was it something that came about spontaneously?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

By default. I started telling somebody what I know, and they made me a Guru, what to do? You know, everyone is a teacher for someone or the other, whether you want it or not. So, when you know something and you teach others, you become their teacher. And when you learn from someone, then you become a student. So everybody is by default a teacher to someone and a student to someone else.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Monday, April 14, 2025

Wherever a holy saint sits, that place itself becomes a holy place of pilgrimage.

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, April 13, 2025

Tarka Vitarka And Kutarka,

To know yourself or to judge your actions you need to know Tarka, Vitarka and Kutarka.

Kutarka is wrong logic. Most people apply this logic and get caught up in ignorance. For example : The door is half open means the door is half closed. Therefore, the door is fully open means the door is fully closed!

Or: God is Love. Love is Blind. Therefore, God is Blind!!!

Tarka is sequential logical understanding; it increases scientific knowledge. When sequential logical understanding changes, then scientific conclusions change. For example: Pesticides and antibiotics were considered to be very useful in the past, and are now proven to be more harmful. In tarka, the paradigm changes.

Vitarka is asking questions to which there are no evident answers....Who am I? Where am I? What do I really want? These philosophically appealing questions bring forth spiritual knowledge, increase your awareness and bring about the blossoming of Consciousness, i.e., Atma Gyan increases.

The wise know to distinguish between the three. They will not apply kutarka or tarka for vitarka, and vitarka for tarka.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Sunday, April 13, 2025

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 OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Sunday, April 13, 2025

In meditation, a million things can come up, but if you raise your head above all these conflicts, and feel unmindful of it, it makes you go deeper in your meditation.

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: Saturday, April 12, 2025

Two Anecdotes

Once somebody made a mistake and Guruji asked him, "What punishment can I give you?"

The person replied, "Don't punish me, Guruji, I won't make the mistake again."

After some time Guruji asked another person, "And what punishment can I give you?"

With a bright smile Nityanand replied, "Any punishment, Guruji."

At this Guruji turned to the rest of us with a smile and said, "See, he is so confident of my love for him that he is not afraid of any punishment. Where there is love, there is no fear. Do not be afraid of being punished by God. Trust in the love that He has for you. It was Arun and Chitra's wedding anniversary. They presented an ornate fan to Guruji, saying, "A fan from two grateful fans."

At this Guruji said, "Devotees are the fan; God is the air. Air is always there, but the fans make you feel it. God is always there; devotees make His presence felt!"

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Saturday, April 12, 2025

Q: What is love?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Well, if you have not known it, there is no way you can know it! There is not a single being on this planet which or who does not know what love is. On one hand this is true, on the other hand, nobody has known love.

Love is not something that you know, it is something that you feel. Why do you want to analyze and put a tag to it?

You can go on describing the shades of love, or the types of love that are there, but what are its repercussions? In fact, all the negative emotions are just distortions of love. Your anger is because of love. You love perfection, so you get angry at imperfections. You love people too much, and so it becomes jealousy or possessiveness. You love yourself too much, and that becomes arrogance. When you love objects more than people or more than anything else, then it is greed. Love plus knowledge or wisdom leads you to bliss. Love minus knowledge or wisdom, leads you to misery. We can go on analyzing it, but what is the use?

If you have a puppy at home, it will tell you what love is. If you have a dog at home, when you return home, it will show you what love is. It will not say, "Yesterday I greeted you, I don’t have to do it now". Every day when you come home, a dog or a baby can tell you what love is. Hours of lecture cannot convey what a baby can convey in a fraction of a second.

As far as love is concerned, a thousand words cannot equal one glance, and a million glances cannot equal a moment of silence, one moment of that inner connection. That is love! You are made up of a substance called love and everything in the world is made up of that one thing called love.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Saturday, April 12, 2025

Don't accept people are they are. Just love them as they are.

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: Friday, April 11, 2025

Simple or Complex?

Life is utterly simple and yet most complex. You have to simultaneously attend to both facets of life. When life appears most complex, turn to the simplicity. Simplicity brings peace. When you are peaceful, attend to the complexity within you. That will make you more skilful. If you are only with simplicity, it makes you lazy and dull. Being only with complexity makes you angry and frustrated. The intelligent ones balance them and rejoice in both. If you look only to simplicity, growth is not there. Looking only at the complexity, there is no life at all. All that you need is a skilful balance. If you recognize both simplicity and complexity of life, you will be skilfully peaceful! Colors are the complexity of life. White is the simplicity. When your heart is pure, your life becomes so colorful.

Vikram: Guruji, you are all white and yet so colorful.

Pramila: Like our knowledge, which is so profound and yet so simple!

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Friday, April 11, 2025

Q: Dear Gurudev, is there a difference between the soul and the mind?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Mind is that which perceives. See, 'you are looking at me' is through the mind. If mind is elsewhere, you can’t see me, right? If you’re not paying attention, if you’re not being mindful, you can’t hear what I’m saying. When mind is elsewhere, can you hear what I’m saying? No, right? Though the sound is falling on the ears, if mind is elsewhere, you cannot hear. So our perception depends on the mind. But the totality of energy is what the soul, or you, are.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Friday, April 11, 2025

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

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: Thursday, April 10, 2025

Jesus - Embodiment of Love

Love is the most sought-after but least expressed mystery of life. We try to express love in so many ways, still it remains a mystery. And it rarely happens that love is expressed in its fullness, in its totality.

Jesus and love are synonymous. If you say love, you need not say Jesus and if you say Jesus, it means love. Jesus once said, “If you call God in my name, whatever you ask shall be given. For God is love.” You find such a complete expression of love in Jesus. Whatever little glimpses you may get here and there indicates that fullness, that ultimate expression of the inexpressible that life is striving to express all the time.

Love makes you weak, but brings you the kingdom of heaven. However strong you are, you are the weakest when you are in love. Yet love is the strongest force on this universe. Since love makes you weak, it also is scary. Among thousands, just a few followed Jesus. Many heard, but just a few came. Even after performing many miracles, only handful of people could recognise him.

Jesus said, “I have come to put man against man, father against son, daughter against mother.” Very few people have really understood what it means. Whom you think is your friend is really not a friend because he or she makes your faith on the matter strong, and spirit weak. “I have come to put one against each other, I have come to put fire, not make peace.” Jesus said this because he knew the depth of slumber. When you talk something nice, peaceful, everybody will go to sleep and when there is something sensational, people wake up and listen. This is how the human mind operates. And Jesus made all efforts for one to cross the mind and get into the soul, the spirit, the source of life, the Self. You break through the limited identities and recognise the Divinity within you. You are much more than just a human; you are part of the Divine. And you inherit the kingdom. And that kingdom is right here, right within you.

Love has no name, nor form. Love is abstract, yet it is very concrete. It has no name or form but manifests in all names and in all forms. This is the mystery of creation. You can see love everywhere in this creation if only you have an eye to see it. Just see a bird, and a small one in the nest. The bird comes and how it feeds its young one. See how the young one waits for the mother bird to come. There is love in it. There is love among fish. There is love in the sky. There is love underneath the water. There is love on the ground. And there is love in the outer space.

Every form is full of love and every name represents love. And that is how Jesus is One with the Father. Father is One with his creation. In India, the creation and creator are compared to the dance and the dancer. You cannot have a dance without a dancer. Dancer is in every move of the dance. The creator is in every spec of the creation. That is what is omnipresent, omnipotent. If God is omnipresent, he is present everywhere, isn’t it? The creator, if he is different from the creation, then he is not present in his creation. Then he is not omnipresent. The whole definition of God is gone.

Love is present everywhere, but somewhere it finds total expression. And the knowledge of the Self leads you towards that total expression of love, of blossoming of love. It lifts your eyes from all tiny little things. One Divine is providing for everybody. Neither the python goes to work nor the birds toil. Everybody is taken care of. Everything is taken care of.

Jesus said, “Love each other as much as I love you.” What more do you need to see that embodiment of love?

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Thursday, April 10, 2025

Q: Dearest Gurudev, how and why does a soul choose a specific body to be born?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

It is one of the five secrets that cannot be shared; these are called The Great Secrets, which cannot be fathomed; death is one, birth is another.

One thing I can tell you – your last thought can cause you your next birth. Just before dying, if you are thinking of chicken, you will most probably find yourself in a poultry farm, coming out of an egg. Similarly, if you are too fond of dogs, for sure, in the next lifetime, you will become one. This is because the deepest, strongest impressions in the mind takes you to the next life. This is the reason why a mouse, which is afraid of a cat, becomes a cat in its next life. A worm, which is afraid of a bird, will become a bird. Thus, your fears or cravings will bring you the next birth! I cannot say any more.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Thursday, April 10, 2025

People of less wisdom see others' mistakes as big and their own as small. People of a little more wisdom see others' mistakes as small and their own as big. People of great wisdom see the mistake as neither their's nor the other's. They see the mistake as a happening which nobody could control.

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: Wednesday, April 9, 2025

The path of surrender is the path of love

Krishna tells Arjuna, "You are very dear to me." Then Krishna tells Arjuna he must surrender. Surrender begins with an assumption. First you must assume. You assume you are the most beloved of the Divine, and then surrender happens.

Surrender is not an action; it is an assumption. Non-surrender is ignorance. Non-surrender is an illusion. So surrender is an assumption. Surrender has to begin as an assumption and then it reveals itself as a reality. Finally, it reveals itself as an illusion. An illusion because there is no two, no duality. There is no independent existence of anyone. An individual has no independent existence. That is it!

Question: Do you have to go through surrender to realize it is an illusion?

Answer: Yes, absolutely.

Question: Where is choice then?

Answer: Choice is your destiny.

Krishna doesn't tell Arjuna in the beginning that he must surrender. First he says, "You are so dear to me." And then he tells him, " There is no other choice for you, you must surrender. Either you do it now, or you do it later." This is the path of love.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Q: With the culture and education system of today, how do we nature that childlike quality in us?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

They are not contradictory, in fact they are complimentary. If you talk to any accomplished scientist, you'll find in them this quality of innocence, like a child. Any genius in any field for that matter, if you sit and talk to them, you will feel that there's a genuineness and a childlike simplicity in them.

Somewhere people think that childlike simplicity is contrary to being intelligent. I usually say that intelligence which is accompanied with cunningness is good for nothing, and child-likeness which is full of ignorance is good for nothing. We need that perfect combination of innocence and intelligence. A pure heart and a clear mind is a part of intelligence.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Wednesday, April 9, 2025

If someone has betrayed you and you are thinking of taking revenge, think of how much it will harm you. It is better to educate and ignore.

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: Tuesday, April 8, 2025

An Awkward Situation

Why do you feel awkward? And how do you get out of it?

If you have always been the center of attention, and are suddenly sidelined, you may feel out of place. Similarly if you have always been on the side lines, and are suddenly pushed to center stage, you may experience restlessness. If you are used to ordering, and suddenly have to take orders, or, if you usually follow orders, and you are made to give them, you may feel out of place. A very busy person with nothing to do, or a laid back person who is faced with a lot of responsibilities may experience restlessness. Very often, feeling out of place blocks the reason and distorts the logic.

If the situation you are in is inevitable, tolerate it. If it’s avoidable, walk out of it. If you feel that it can expand your abilities, smile through it. Every awkward situation increases your comfort zone. Every awkward situation is a test for how deep you are in the Knowledge.

Love something of an awkward situation. This will increase your comfort zone. When your comfort zone increases, no one will be able to push your buttons and you will become so centered and unshakable.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Tuesday, April 8, 2025

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 OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Don't look for happiness in that which is temporary, that which is fleeting and changing. Joy and happiness is only in that which does not change.

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, April 7, 2025

Judgements and good company

Though you have heard "don't judge," judgement comes unavoidably in day-to-day life. By the actions and behaviors of people, you either approve or disapprove. But always remember that everything is changing, and do not hold onto the judgement. Otherwise your judgement gets solidified like a rock. It brings misery for you and for others.

If judgements are lighter like air, like a breeze, they bring in fragrance, then move away. They could bring a foul smell, then move away. They should not stay there forever.

Judgements are so subtle that you are not even aware of their existence. Judging or labeling someone as judgmental is also a judgement. Only in the state of Being when you are full of love and compassion can you ever be free from all judgements.

Yet the world cannot move without judgements. Until you judge something as good or bad, you cannot do any actions. If you see rotten apples in the market, you say, "No good." Good ones you buy. If someone lies to you ten times, you think next time it also could be a lie. A judgment happens automatically.

See the possibility that people and things can change at any time and don't hold onto the judgements.

You need to judge your company. Your company can pull you up or pull you down. The company that drags you towards doubt, dejection, blame, complaints, anger, delusion, and desires is bad company. The company that pulls you up towards joy, enthusiasm, service, love, trust, and Knowledge is good company.

When someone complains, first you listen, then you nod, then you sympathize, then you complain.

Robert says, "Join the party." Denise says, "I confess, you are absolutely right." (Laughter)

Your company can create Hell for you in Heaven -- or Heaven for you in Hell. Judge for yourself . . . !

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Monday, April 7, 2025

Q: Gurudev, what is vairagya and how can I continue to live in it?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Let us take vairagya to mean contentment. Whenever you are content, that is vairagya. If you have had a full meal, and someone brings more food, you will say, "No I am full", that is vairagya. You cannot exist without vairagya. Just as you breathe in, at some point, you have to breathe out. Breathing in is raga, passion, and breathing out is vairagya, dispassion. Breathing in is passion and breathing out is dispassion, and both are essential in life.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Monday, April 7, 2025

The only way to be untouched by events is to see the whole phenomenon as a dream which is passing.

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, April 6, 2025

Spirituality And Celebration

Celebration is the nature of the spirit. Any celebration has to be spiritual. A celebration without spirituality does not have any depth. And silence gives the depth to celebration. Some people think being silent is spirituality. E.g. Many meditators feel that laughing, singing and dancing are not spiritual. Some people think only celebration is spirituality. E.g. In some parts of the world, such as in rural India or Africa, celebration means loud music; there is no silence at all. Spirituality is a harmonious blend of outer silence and inner celebration ; and also inner silence and other celebration!

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Sunday, April 6, 2025

Q: Gurudev, I would like to be amicable with everyone but there are some people who always treat me like their enemy.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Let them behave however they wish. Nothing in this world stays permanently anyway. People’s opinions keep changing all the time, and no emotions stays with the same intensity. Everything changes over a period of time. Let them be as they are.

You have seven billion people on this planet. If someone is holding a grudge against you, just let them be. Don’t rent out your upper chamber (referring to the mind) to anybody. Normally you rent it out to whoever you like the least, and they then start living there.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Sunday, April 6, 2025

Catch hold of wisdom. That is the only truth, and the only reality.

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: Saturday, April 5, 2025

Prestige and Honor Your Golden Cage,

Honor reduces the freedom. Your fame, honor and virtue can limit your freedom. Nobody expects a good person to make a mistake. So the better person you are, the higher the expectations people have of you. It is then that you lose your freedom. Your virtues and good actions are like a golden cage. You are trapped by your own good actions, for everyone expects more from a good person. Nobody expects anything from a bad person.

Most of the people are stuck in this cage of prestige and honor. They can not smile. They are constantly worried about keeping up their prestige and their honor. It becomes more important than their own life. Just being good or doing good to keep the prestige and honor is worthless. Prestige and honor can bring more misery in life than poverty.

Many desire fame, but little do they know that they are looking for a cage. It is an art to be dignified, and yet not be suffocated by it. Only the wise would know this. For the wise one it is natural to be in honor, and he has no concerns even if it falls apart. Despite having fame or prestige, he will live as though he has none. A wise person can handle any fame without feeling suffocated, for he is crazy too! By doing good in the society one gains prestige, then enjoying the prestige and honor, one loses their freedom.

Question: Then how do you keep your freedom?

Answer: By being like a child, considering the world as a burden a joke or a dream.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Saturday, April 5, 2025

Q: Gurudev, when we chant a mantra continuously, will that mantra effect our body and life ?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Definitely! But we should not keep chanting continuously, this is not correct. Do you keep bathing continuously? When you chant the mantra for some time, your mind will become stronger. That is why it called mantra. We can do it for 20 - 30 min. If you keep doing it continuously, your intellect will become dull. We should not do it too much. If you stay a lot in water, you will become a fish (laughter). That is why it is referred as mantra-snaan (bath).

If someone keeps listening to music, his intellect will stop working. Similarly, someone who keeps doing math and never listens to music, his personality will also be unbalanced. These things are there to balance our left brain and right brain. We should look it from a scientific perspective. From a scientific perspective, we should listen to music for some time, we engage in some discussions for some time, and we should think for some time. Afterwards, you will experience an all-round development.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Saturday, April 5, 2025

Mistakes have caused pain, that is good. Pain has given you depth, that is good. You have learnt from your mistakes and don't want to repeat them again, that is also good. Now, it is useless to sit and worry about the past mistakes. Just move on!

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: Friday, April 4, 2025

Worrying obstructs action & feelings propel action

The head worries and the heart feels. They cannot function at the same time. When your feelings dominate, worry dissolves.

If you worry a lot, your feelings are dead and you are stuck in the head. Worrying makes your mind and heart inert and dull. Worries are like a rock in the head. Worry entangles you. Worry puts you in a cage.

When you feel, you do not worry. Feelings are like flowers, they come up, they blossom and they die. Feelings rise, they fall and then disappear. When feelings are expressed, you feel relieved. When you are angry, you express your anger and the next moment you are all right. Or you are upset, you cry and you get over it.

Feelings last for some short time and then they drop, but worry eats you for a longer period of time, and eventually eats you up. Feelings make you spontaneous. Children feel, so they are spontaneous.

Adults put brakes on their feelings and they start worrying. Worrying about anything obstructs action while feelings propel action. Worrying about negative feelings is a blessing because it puts the brakes on those feelings, preventing you from acting on them. Usually one never worries about positive feelings.

Worries are uncertain. Worrying takes away your energy; you cannot think clearly when you worry. Offering your worries is prayer and prayer moves you in feelings.

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/

 

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV

QUESTION & ANSWER WITH GURUDEV
Posted on: Friday, April 4, 2025

Q: Gurudev, can wisdom happen instantly? Is it the same with enlightenment?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, it can be gradual also! The other day, someone was telling me, "Gurudev, suddenly, I realized that I am happy all the time now, which I never was before!" A sudden realization comes that gradually you have become more and more happy. One day you find yourself saying, "I am so happy, so centered; nothing can shake me, nothing can take my smile away!" And then you are there! Sometimes, there is a flash of lightning, and suddenly you see things, and then it disappears. Sometimes it is like when the sun rises, dawn comes first, then gradually darkness disappears, and day dawns very gradually, and that stays! So both phenomena are there. For some, it can come as an electrical transformation, for others it could be a gradual change. Sometimes you don't even notice it, but one day, you say, "Wow! Aho!" Just like what is said in Ashtavakra, "Aho! Yes, I got it.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

WISDOM QUOTE OF SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted on: Friday, April 4, 2025

When the mind is your enemy, it makes you judgmental, brings misery, stiffness and unhappiness. When the mind is your friend, it makes you relax, smile, brings happiness, freedom, and liberation. So, the mind can be our greatest enemy or our best friend.

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: Thursday, April 3, 2025

The nature of mind is to waver, similar to how the nature of water is to flow.

Now how do you reduce this wavering nature of the mind?

It is through practice (abhyaasa) and dispassion (vairagya).

What is dispassion?

Sometimes, when you are disturbed, you say, ‘I don’t want anything. Enough is enough (suffering)!’

This is one kind of dispassion which you experience when you are disturbed. It is called Smashana (cemetery) Vairagya.

The second kind of dispassion is when you say with awareness, ‘I don’t want anything. I have had enough (contentment)! Everything in the world changes; nothing is permanent. I don’t mind if I have or don’t have something.’

This is the second type of dispassion, and is called Gyana (knowledge) Vairagya.

We need to have Gyana Vairagya and not Smashana Vairagya.

The mind always moves towards pleasure. If we have knowledge and dispassion then all the pleasures will come to us.

It is also said that the pleasure that comes out of Abhyaasa (practice) is the highest.

Everyone has to experience at least one of the two types of dispassion. So it is better to say, ‘I have had enough’, out of awareness and contentment. That is the higher kind of dispassion!

II Jai Gurudev II

http://knowledgesheetsbygurudev.blogspot.com/