Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Truth about Atheism A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

It is difficult to see God as formless and it is difficult to see God as form. The formless is so abstract and God in a form appears to be too limited. So some people prefer to be atheists. Atheism is not a reality, it is just a matter of convenience. When you have a spirit of enquiry, or in search of truth, atheism falls apart.

With a spirit of enquiry, you cannot deny something which you have not disproved. An atheist denies God without first disproving it. In order to disprove God, you must have enormous knowledge. And when you have enormous knowledge, you cannot disprove it! For one to say that something does not exist, one should know about the whole universe. So you can never be one hundred percent atheist. An atheist is only a believer who is sleeping!

For a person to say, ‘I don’t believe in anything’, means he must believe in himself — so he believes in himself about whom he does not even know! An atheist can never be sincere because sincerity needs depth — and an atheist refuses to go to his depth. Because the deeper he goes, he finds a void, a field of all possibilities — he has to accept that there are many secrets he does not know. He would then need to acknowledge his ignorance, which he refuses to do, because the moment he is sincere, he seriously starts doubting his atheism.

A doubt-free atheist is next to impossible! So you can never be a sincere and doubt-free atheist. When the atheist realises his ignorance, what does he do? Where does he go? Does he go to a guru? What does a guru do to him? Atheism is when one does not believe either in values or in the abstract. When an atheist comes to the guru, what happens? You start experiencing your own form and discover that you are indeed formless, hollow and empty. And this abstract non-form in you becomes more and more concrete!

The guru makes the abstract more real and what you thought as solid appears to be more unreal. Sensitivity and subtlety dawns. Perception of love, not as an emotion, but as the substratum of existence becomes evident. The formless spirit shines through every form in creation and the mystery of life deepens, shattering the atheism. Then the journey begins and it has four stages.

The first stage is Saarupya (to see the formless in the form). Seeing God in all the forms. Often, one feels more comfortable to see God as formless rather than with a form, because with a form, one feels a distance, a duality, a fear of rejection and other limitations. In life all of our interactions are with the form, other than in deep sleep and in samadhi.

And, if you do not see God in the form, then the waking part of life remains devoid of the divine. All those who accept God to be formless use symbols, and perhaps love the symbols more than god himself! If God comes and tells a Christian to leave the cross or a Muslim to drop the crescent, perhaps he may not do it! To begin with loving the formless is possible only through forms.

The second stage is Saamipya (closeness), feeling absolutely close to the form you have chosen and reaching out to the formless. This leads to a sense of intimacy with the whole creation. In this stage, one overcomes the fear of rejection and other fears. But this is time and space bound. The third stage is Saanidhya, feeling the presence of the Divine by which you transcend the limitations of time and space. Then the final stage Saayujya, when you are firmly entrenched with the Divine. It is then you realise you are one with the Divine. There is a total merging with the beloved and all duality disappears. This is that and that is this.

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 worshippng the idols but worshipping the unmanifest divinity which has all the divine qualities.

Ideal worship

For a flame to go up, you need space above. In the same way, for a man to rise up in his life, he needs an ideal, he needs something to adore and worship. Worship is the culmination of love and appreciation. Worship prevents love from turning into hatred or jealousy, and appreciation into low self-esteem. In life, if you do not adore or appreciate anything, you will be filled with negativity.

And a person who has nothing to worship or adore is sure to fall into depression. Lack of adoration has led to many emotional, psychological and social problems in the society. If you have nothing to hold up high in life, selfishness, arrogance and violence are sure to follow. Adoring and honouring each other in society eliminates stress and fosters compassion and love.

In the previous century, it was thought that worshipping was an uncivilised and unintelligent thing to do. Worship was thought to rise from a slavish mentality. On the contrary, worship can only happen through gratefulness.

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

Worship in a true sense is a sign of maturity and not weakness. Reason is reeling in the known. Faith is moving in the unknown. Reason is repetition. Faith is exploration. Reason is routine. Faith is adventure. They are completely opposite, yet an integral part of life.

Not having faith itself is misery; faith gives instant comfort. While reasoning keeps you sane and grounded, no miracle can happen without faith. Faith takes you beyond limitations. In faith you can transcend the laws of nature but it needs to be pure. Faith is beyond reason, yet you need to have faith in your own reasoning! (A sentence to be pondered on). Faith and reason cannot exist without each other. Every reason is based on some faith. Whenever reason or faith breaks, confusion and chaos prevails which is often a step for growth.

There are two types of faith. Faith out of fear, greed and insecurity; and faith born out of love like the faith between the mother and the child, the master and disciple. Whereas the faith out of love cannot be broken, faith out of fear and greed is shaky.

An atheist bases himself on reason, and a believer on faith. A believer uses God as an insurance policy! He thinks he is special. In the eyes of God there is no ‘mine’ and ‘others’; all are the same. An atheist rationalises to keep his eyes shut to reality. Only a yogi — a wise one — remains unshaken. For that person has transcended both reason and faith.

You need a balance between faith and reason.

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Depths of Calm


Only a healthy bud can blossom. In the same way, only a healthy being can succeed. So what’s being healthy? If you are feeling rough inside, then you are not healthy; if the mind is stiff and not calm, you are not mentally healthy. When the emotions are rough, you are emotionally not healthy. To attain a perfect state of health, one has to be mentally calm, steady and emotionally soft.

The state of healthiness has to flow from the innermost of your being to the outermost, and vice versa. That state is called Swasthya in Sanskrit. Swasthya means health. It also means being in one’s Self. Swasthya or health is not just confined to the body and the mind; it has come to you as a gift from the cosmic mind or the ‘Indra’.

Have you noticed this? When you enter a place where a very disturbed and stressed person has spent some time, you start feeling disturbed for no reasons even if the stressed person is not around any longer. The same feelings, same thoughts, same emotions come to you.

Similarly, when there is a harmonious vibration like at a place where a Satsang is happening, you feel good. You don’t know why. So feelings are not isolated in one’s body, they are all around. So is the breath. Ditto for the mind, it is in the whole environment because the mind is subtler than the five elements — the earth, water, fire, air and ether. Like if there is a fire somewhere the heat is not just in fire, it is also radiating throughout the place. Subtler than that is air, which is all over.

So if you are unhappy or depressed, you are not the only one who is feeling it; you are spreading it to the whole environment. A time may come in the future when people will be fined for being depressed because they are creating emotional pollution!

But how can we control this? That is the key question and the answer lies in meditation. The main purpose of meditation, Pranayam and related practices, is that they increase prana or the subtle life energy. Prana is subtler than emotions. When you attend to the subtlest, the gross becomes all right. You handle the breath and the body gains good health.

In the ancient days, the prayer has been that let this collective consciousness, the Indra, always bring health and put me back to my Self. Let it always keep me centred, joyful and happy. Let everyone whom I meet bring me back to the Self. This is important because the words that you hear from people around you affect your state of mind. They either give you peace and joy, or create disturbance.

Usually what happens is that, when people say something that creates jealousy, anger, frustration or sadness in us, we think they are responsible. No, we are responsible because we are contributing to the process. We are affected because the mind is not its Self; it is not centred.

How can we gain that peace which is unshakeable? Being individually happy is not enough. Our wish should be that whomever we meet be happy and radiate happiness. A frustrated man will create frustration; a jealous person will create jealousy and so on.

You can turn every situation into your advantage. Have you ever thought of this? There are stories in the Puranas of how a saint turned an arrow which was going to hurt someone, into a garland. If somebody is shooting an arrow at you, insulting you, realise that they are doing it because they are miserable. Once you are blossomed from within, you can take any insult and turn it into your advantage.

Realise that they are simply pouring out their stress, tension and anxiety. When people shout or burst out at you, you can only feel good that all that was building up inside them is coming out. I am not saying that we should encourage this tendency or justify it. But when it happens, do not regret it. What do we normally do? We go on regretting and with regret, we commit the same mistake again.

Even when someone commits a mistake, he or she is not the culprit; the stress inside is causing him or her to make that mistake. Once we get rid of the stress inside us, there is no culprit; no one to be forgiven. Then we begin to realise that the whole thing is just a game in which there is no winners or losers. It’s just a play, and fun.

The objective is to have that fun in life and make sure that the knowledge that we gain in life permeates inside us. With this, Upanishad happens and the learning process begins. As we learn more about life, the mystery of the whole creation unfolds. Then the question in the mind is, what is the meaning of life and what’s its purpose. What is this world, what is love, what is knowledge and so on.

Once these questions arise in you, know that you are very fortunate. These questions need to be understood; you cannot find the answers in books. You have to live through them and witness the transformation. That is perfect health; you are transformed from within. And the bud becomes a totally blossomed flower.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Cravings that Keep You Away from Truth : Talk by Sri Sri

 What is it that keeps you far and away from reality, from truth, from the divine? They are four types of fears or cravings that bind you to the world. These are called aishanas, and they are: Putraishana, Vittaishana, Lokaishana and Jeevaishana.

Number one is Putraishana — always thinking about the progeny, attachment to the children. Tomorrow, when they grow up, and don’t have time for you, you are heartbroken. In reality, whose children are they? They are God’s children. You were just the doorway for them to come through. But people say, ‘‘Oh my children, my children’’. It gets you so feverish in your mind; it clogs your thinking so much that you don’t really see what is good for them. There are so many problems and suffering because of this aishana.

Then comes Vittaishana. Money. I know one old woman who used to say, ‘‘If somebody is sick in their head, give them lots of coins, they’ll go on counting, and the sickness will go away’’. Vittaishana is hunger for money. How much can you have? What do you want to do with it? Okay, let’s say you have 30 million dollars. What will you do with it? Are you going to enjoy thirty million in your lifetime? Money is essential but the craving for money in the mind can overshadow you and your life so totally that you will be unable to see the reality, recognise love, and see something beyond.

Vittaishana binds you. It is a book that keeps your mind in the bank. It gives you a false security. Billionaires were stranded in the Sahara desert for so many days, fighting like dogs over a loaf of bread and getting into a panic for a bottle of water. Haven’t you seen this? People who had all riches, they had to abandon everything and became paupers overnight.

The very big companies who have billions, they are in debt. Don’t you know this? Why worry so much about money? Have trust and say ‘‘Let what I need be provided’’ then work putting in one hundred percent into it, and see that whatever comes, it will come. And whatever has to be spent will be spent.

Then follows Lokaishana. You may not care so much about money. But what you care now is: ‘‘Oh, what will people think about me?’’ You want to be praised by everybody in the world. Wanting to be famous, wanting to be something. Wanting to do some work so that your name should be there for all generations to come, become immortal!

See, people who are very famous, what is happening to them? Does their fame remain the same all the time? Some other person becomes a little more famous, another singer, another actor, another dancer. That puts a lot of fire in them. They become jealous, and start criticising them.

And they become very unhappy! When you are in the peak of fame, and trying to maintain your fame, there is such fear, such uneasiness in you. You become so uncomfortable. This ‘wanting’ in order to be able to show off, for other people’s sake, for what others will say, is Lokaishana. Lokaishana can create fear in you and pull you down.

Then comes Jeevaishana, the fourth aishana: wanting to live longer! Wanting to become immortal physically. But why make the physical body immortal? Nature is providing you a fresh body again and again. When there are so many fresh apples growing, why to keep one apple, make it ancient, and then eat it?

Body is a perishable item. People who have not lived their lives fully, have this craving to live for more and more years. You see, very sick people, who are absolutely sick, they are not ready to die. They say, ‘‘I want to live few more years. I should see the end of this century’’. Jeevaishana, holding on to life. People who have incurable diseases, amputated limbs, don’t want to die. Hankering for life. What is its result? It does not allow you to enjoy the moment, to be free. And it creates a tension in life.

See, a healthy man will die, and a sick person will also die. A patient dies, a doctor dies. Every ‘body’ will die. It is an inevitable phase in life; it has a beginning and an end. It is going to happen and it will happen. That does not mean you don’t have to take care of your body. You should take absolute care of this body, but without feverishness, without this aishana.

When these four types of fear disappear, then you are qualified to come and sit close to the divine. Sit in Upanishad, and walk through the gates of Gurumandala. Upanishad means being there totally in the present moment. With the willingness to hear, observe. Ready to catch, ready to grasp the moment. Like a thirsty man, waiting for water. That waiting, that longing, that readiness brings the wandering mind closer. Then something happens, a phenomenon takes place.

Then you are qualified to hear about the Brahman. What is that ‘something’ beyond this world? What is the reality? What is the truth? What is the centre of all this? Then this secret, which is very sacred, will be revealed to you through the Gurumandala.

Gurumandala literally means drawing concentric circles. One inside another, triangles, squares, corners. Charming looking circles. The centre of it is the ‘Guru’. Around the Guru there will always be many attractive things, many talented people, different types of charms. And when you are going towards the centre, it is always possible that you could get stuck with the ‘aishanas’.

Simply sitting and saying ‘‘Who am I, Who am I?’’ will not lead you anywhere! But you have to cross over all these temptations, and come to the Gurumandala!



From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Ocean of life : Talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Where is such consciousness? Where is this thick existence of life, the ocean of life? In the second Verse, the Rishis say — it is behind you, in front of you, to the left, to the right, all over. That is chidakasha; that is the space of consciousness. Bodies are just an expression of this space. The five attributes of self are: truth, consciousness, bliss, eternal and complete or total. There is a saying in Sanskrit: expression distorts the truth.



Truth is. The moment you express it, it is already distorted. Truth is that force. Truth is what is. Truth is the state; it’s not what is said. Suppose someone tells you that you are a liar, or someone accuses you of something that you have not done or of stealing something, you confront him, right? You say No, (you haven’t done that). Now, you would have observed that what you say in words is not so important as is the state of your consciousness behind that No. You have said that No with some power, some force. Your words are not the Truth but that force behind the word is true consciousness.

Suppose sitting in Chennai you are told that you’re in Paris right now, immediately you will say, “No. I am in Chennai .” There is a force behind your expression. That is truth. And that force is full of consciousness, alertness and liveliness. And that force is also blissful — Satchitananda.

These are the three characteristics of your soul, your being, your innermost: truth, consciousness and bliss. You are like an onion. Once you are peeled, and peeled, and peeled, you will find that in the centre core of your existence are these three things. And these, in a bigger magnitude, are called nitya — eternal, unchanging, paripurna — very total, whole.

Rishis said, ‘‘Meditate on these five attributes of Brahman in thy mind and realise”. What is meditation? Meditation is getting in touch with this aspect of life — to be in the space that you are. You sit just to dissolve in the inner space and then, what happens?

Some clouds of thought come through. Clouds are not the sky. They come and go. If you follow the cloud you will go to the end of the cloud. You will miss the sky. You just be. Let the cloud come, pass, go. Thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions will come, clear the air in a few minutes and then you are infinite space, untouched by any of these thoughts, ideas, and emotions.

Meditation is, to be in touch with these five attributes of your self. This immortal, non dual, indivisible, formless Atman, or Self, is to be realized by one’s own self by constant and deep meditation.

A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The Philosophy of Joy - A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The sole search of every being is joy. Whenever one is searching, whatever one is searching, one is looking for joy — whether it is spiritual or material, whether it is in the movies, bars, or in the church or temple; whether it is money, fame or power. The search simply is for joy and the Divine is all joy and bliss.

Bliss is nothing but qualified joy, a joy that is devoid of feverishness, suffering and pain. Love comes along with pain. Silence is a little serious; joy is mischievous. One cannot have mischief if there is no joy and Krishna is all mischief. Krishna is absolute joy, absolute bliss. Nothing whatsoever could take away the joy from Krishna.

If you look at his life, it was miserable — he was born in misery. Kansa, the uncle of Krishna, is a symbol of ego. Ego is far away from joy; ego tries to kill the joy in us. Children are so full of joy because there is no ego. The moment ego comes, separation comes. We destroy the bliss, the beauty, that innocent joy. Kansa sent several people to kill Krishna but was unsuccessful. Krishna, when he was just eight or ten, fell in love with Radha, she was much elder to Krishna. That love was such a pure love. People did not know why they were in such a love with Krishna; everyone would flock around him.

Mischief is the outcome of joy. Children are very mischievous. Parents say, ‘Don’t do this!’, ‘Stop that!’ It’s very normal for children to be mischievous; we should let them do it. Sometimes it entails trouble for the parents, but there is also fun. What is life without fun? Krishna told many lies, played and troubled people around him. People around him would like to be troubled by him. People would complain with anger, but the moment they came in his presence, they would start giggling, all their anger would vanish.

In the presence of pure bliss, joy, all complaints vanish and life appears like a play. One can look at every trouble as a challenge or can spend it crying and complaining. You know, what you have in your hand indicates what you are inside. If you have a gun in your hand, it indicates fear or violence. If you have a flower in your hand, it indicates you are like a flower. If you have a flute in your hand, you are like a flute — hollow and empty.

Krishna has the flute in the hand and the whole style of standing indicates his whole philosophy. One leg is firm on the ground. A dance can happen when your feet are first touching the ground. If your legs are buried in the mud, a dance cannot happen. Not even if it is up in the ground. One leg has to be firm on the ground, the other can be up in the air and then dance happens. Joy is the dance of life and the life of Krishna is such a dance.

One can imagine Krishna everywhere; you cannot pinpoint Krishna as one thing. Sometimes he may ride a horse, be a charioteer and in some other place he can be dancing. Krishna is the symbol of all possibilities, the total blossoming of all aspects of human, or Divine — whatever you call. It’s very difficult to really understand Krishna’s personality. The rishis called him the full embodiment of the Divine total because all that a human could be, a being could be, is all in Krishna. You can see him as the perfect friend.

Once one of his close aides tells Krishna, ‘‘O Krishna, I cannot understand you. I have been with you for the past fifteen years, you confuse me more and more everyday! At one point I see you as such a courageous person who could alone fight war with so many people, at other times you hide yourself in the closet. You behave completely eccentric. One time you are so powerful, another time so scared. One time you come out with such a great wisdom, another time you ask me advice.’’ One place he is a servant, another time king of the whole province, who takes very good care of all subjects.

Contrast energies

Arjuna was ready to quit everything and go to the Himalayas. He was not ready to fight the war. Krishna convinced him. Krishna was a good teacher because he taught as a friend. He said, ‘‘You’re such a great warrior. Anyway, everyone is already dead.

I do everything, you just be an instrument.’’ In the battlefield, if someone could sustain the depth of awareness, clarity of mind when everybody is in such chaos, and give the highest knowledge, that leaves you in awe of Krishna.

You can have a big smile when everything is firm and smooth but when everything is upside down and you smile, then you have achieved something. Everything was upside down, chaotic, wherever Krishna went and yet, the smile would simply capture everything. His smile was so great that people would forget their sorrow and joy would simply flood.

Even the saints would fall in love in that field of energy; people who have renounced everything would be interested. The dispassionate one will be drawn. The word Krishna, itself, means that which is attractive, that draws everything. The very core of your being is such; the bliss of the self, the joy of the self is like that. It just draws everything. In a symbolic manner, also, it is so beautiful. Krishna was such a charmer that people could not stay away from him. Young and old, boys and girls and even the rishis, could not stay away; they would just follow him around.

The gopis said, ‘‘the love between you and me; only my soul knows.’’ The depth of the love, joy, and devotion was like wildfire all around Krishna. In love there is 2 percent lust. In lust there is 2 percent love. You may have noticed when children are in deep love, they come and hug, hang to your neck, kiss you, lick all parts of your face. What do you call it, love or lust? Love. But the act is very lustful.

It’s the same thing with a puppy. When you come back home, the puppy will jump all over you and lick you by which it is expressing its love to you. Intense love wants expression. You hug, shake hands, give flowers... nothing really satisfies. Love cannot be fully expressed, yet it cannot be without expression. That’s the nature of joy and love. It wants to find an expression.

The love of the gopis and Krishna was such a love. Krishna means the most attractive. It is the divinity that is the most attractive; the energy that pulls everything to it. Krishna is the formless centre which is everywhere. Any attraction from anywhere is coming only from Krishna. Often people fail to see the spirit behind the attraction and merely hold on to the outer shell. And the moment you try to possess the shell, you will see Krishna has played a trick and you will be left with an empty shell in your hands and tears in your eyes.

The mind moves towards beauty, joy and truth. Krishna tells Arjuna, ‘‘I am the beauty in the Beautiful, the strength in the Strong, the wisdom in the Wise.’’ Be clever like Radha — don’t be tricked by Krishna. Krishna could not escape from Radha, for, her whole world was filled with Krishna. If you can see that wherever there is an attraction, there is Krishna; then you are Radha, you are in your centre.

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

A Spiritual Refuge

In the spiritual path, there are three factors: the Buddha - the Master or the Enlightened, the Sangha - the commune or the group, and the Dharma - your nature, your true nature. One of the main things in the Buddhist practice is taking refuge in all these three. Buddham Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take refuge in Buddha’. Sangham Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take refuge in the assembly, the Sangha’. And Dhammam Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take refuge in the true nature of things as they are’.

Buddha or the Master is the Enlightened. The closer you go to Him the more charm you find. You will never be tired of the Enlightened. The closer you go the more newness, the more charm, the more love you feel. It’s like a depth without a bottom. Buddha’s company will always be new and charming.

Master is a doorway. And the doorway needs to be more charming than the world so that you will come to the doorway. Someone is in the street and there is rain and thunder, or hot sun. They need shelter. They look around, they find a doorway. They come to the doorway. The doorway is more inviting, more charming, more celebrative, more joyful than anything else in the world.

Nothing could give that much peace, joy, pleasure in the world. Once you come to the doorway, you enter the door and see the world from there. See the world from the eyes of the Master. This is a sign that you have come to the Master. Otherwise you may still be standing in the street and looking at the door. But once you have entered the door, then you will see the whole world from the eyes of the Master.

What does this mean? In every situation that you face, you will think, ‘‘If this situation comes in front of the Master, how would he or she handle it?’’ or ‘‘If this complication comes in front of the Master, how would he take it?’’ or ‘‘If someone blames the Master like this, how would he handle it?’’. See the world from the eyes of the Master all the time.

The world looks much more beautiful; not a nasty place. But a place filled with love, filled with joy, cooperation, compassion, and all virtues. The world is much more fun. Looking through the doorway, there is no fear. You will look at the world without any fear. You will be in all relationships with everybody without any fear. Because there is shelter.

From inside the home, you will look at the thunder, you will look at the storm, you will look at the rain, you will look at the bright sun. Inside you have air conditioning. Very cool, pleasant. Outside it’s hot. You don’t mind because there is nothing that can really distract you, disturb you, or take the fullness away from you. Such a sense of security, such a sense of fullness and joy comes. That is the purpose of having a Master.

All relationships in the world go topsy-turvy. You make relationships and you break relationships. All relationships can get broken or made up and again broken. And there is craving and aversion. This is the world. This is samsara. But the Master is not a relationship. The Master is the Presence. What is necessary is to feel the Presence of the Master, not to make a relationship. Don’t make the Master a part of your world. You feel the Presence of the Master, that is eternal. That has been there with you before, now, and will be there in the future, too.

Master is the Presence. World is relativity. And relativity has limitations. Presence is unlimited. Presence is vast, infinite, and all comprehensive, all inclusive. And the presence of the Master in one’s life will bring fulfillment to all relations. Every relationship will become complete with the presence of the Infinity if the Master is in your life.

Living with people

The second factor is Sangha, the group. The group is very charming from a distance but the closer you get to it, it pushes all your buttons and brings about all the unwanted things from within you. Any group is very good from a distance or with just a little acquaintance. If you think some group is very good that means you are not yet completely with the group in totality.When you are part of that group you will find some bickering will come up. That’s why you find the other group better than your group. It’s really not the fact because you make the group. If you are better your group will be better. If you are not better anywhere you go you will make that group also like you.

Sangha has a reverse nature than Buddha - completely different. Once you are used to a Sangha you lose the charm in the Sangha. That is essential because while Buddha makes your mind one-pointed, Sangha, because it is of so many people, can scatter your mind. It will fragment it. Sangha’s nature will be such though it is very supportive.If it is only repulsive all the time then nobody will be in the Sangha because our nature is not to be in repulsion. Buddha uplifts you. Just by Grace, by Love, by Knowledge He pulls you up. The Sangha pushes you up from down below. Buddha from above pulls you up and the Sangha pushes you up. And the Dhamma is to be in the middle. Your nature is not to go to extremes. Your nature is to be in balance. Your nature is to smile from the depth of your heart. Your nature is to accept this entire existence totally as it is. Do not crave or be averse. Often you crave for Buddha and you are averse to the Sangha. And you try to change. By changing Sangha or Buddha you are not going to change.

Moment’s worth

The main purpose is to come to the centre deep within you which means to find your Dharma. This is the third factor. What is Dharma? Knowing this moment is what has been offered to me and that is how I take it. A sense of deep acceptance for this moment, for every moment is Dharma. When this has come up then there is no problem at all. All the problems generate from our mind; all negativity comes in from our mind.

The world is not bad; the world is beautiful. It is our world that is bad because our world has ‘us’ in it. We make our world ugly or beautiful. So when you are in your Dharma, in your nature, you won’t blame the world and you won’t blame the Divine.

The difficulty of the human mind is that it cannot be part of the world totally and it cannot be part of the Divine. It feels a distance from the Divine. It’s its own creation and yet it feels like blaming the world. It’s not comfortable with the world. Dharma is that which puts you in the middle and which makes you comfortable with the world. It causes you to contribute to the world, be at ease with the Divine, and feel that you are a part of the Divine. That is true Dharma.

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Monday, April 22, 2013

Meditation and Sudarshan Kriya




European researchers have found that breath is the link between the mind and the body - each emotion has a distinct breathing pattern

The reverse is also true, that breathing in a particular pattern can induce a corresponding emotion. So instead of being overwhelmed by our emotions, we can transform those using specific breathing techniques. One such breathing technique is Sudarshan Kriya.

Sudarshan Kriya teaches us how to skillfully use the breath to change the way we feel, hence releasing negative emotions that cause stress, such as anger, anxiety, depression and worry, leaving the mind completely happy, relaxed, and energized.

Sudarshan Kriya is basically a rhythmic hyper ventilation technique  that is said to work on mental, physical, and spiritual levels.Sudarshan Kriya is different from Kriya Yoga. This breathing technique was founded in 1984  by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Sudarshan Kriya is practiced by millions of people worldwide. It is found to be effective in improving well being (support immune system, detoxification, reduce stress) and peace of mind (reduce stress, relieve depression, improve creativity, enhance brain function). However, it may not be recommended in pregnancy and for people with certain Psychiatric disorders. Sudarshan Kriya is taught in various Art of living courses.

The practice is instrumental in creating a sense of harmony in the body, mind and spirit. After the practice, participants commonly report feeling calm and centered, with a clearer vision of the world and themselves. Several independent studies on the numerous mental and physical health benefits of Sudarshan Kriya have been published in international peer-reviewed journals and confirm what participants commonly report.

Benefits of Sudarshan Kriya are enormous like it leads to greater creativity. It increases clarity of mind.It reduces stress and tension.It brings more ease and joy in personal relationships.

This technique, patented by the Art of Living foundation, has been scientifically scrutinized. Moreover, the effectiveness of what is practiced and taught has been assessed and documented independently. The conclusion is that the Sudarshan Kriya brings about biologically beneficial changes to the body without any side effects. However, it is recommended that you consult a yoga practitioner before you begin any new practice or routine.


From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sunday, April 21, 2013

The Ache of Pain

 Know your true self and you know joy

If you look at all the pleasures you get in life, they all come with a ‘tax’! This tax is sorrow. Every event, however pleasant, causes pain in the end. Greater the joy, greater the pain. Longing for an event or waiting for a pleasurable event is again pain. Memories of pleasure also bring pain. Before you want something, the feverishness of wanting is painful. When you have it, the fear of losing it is painful. When it is gone the memory of its joy is painful. So the whole thing is all-painful.

But a Viveki — an intelligent person, one whose wisdom has awakened — sees the whole thing as pain. So there is nothing that is not painful. Everything is painful. You say love is so beautiful, but love is also painful. How much close can you get? Bodies can get closer, but still it is not satisfied. Soul is not satisfied by the physical body coming closer. It wants something more, it wants to merge, vanish and disappear. This is what you call love.

There are two expressions in love — One is ‘I want to disappear into you’ or ‘I want to eat you and you disappear’. But lovers don’t know why they are saying it. They say, ‘Oh you are so sweet I want to eat you up’. Love takes you to cannibalism! If that was possible each one would do that literally. Reduce their girlfriend or boyfriend into a small toy and gulp it through. So there is no more worry about where they are going, whom they are looking at, etc!

Otherwise your mind is constantly engaged in finding where your friend is, what they are doing. Lovers become watchdogs after a while! Love also creates pain, tremendous amount of pain. Separation creates pain. A wish creates tremendous amount of pain/pressure in the mind. And then trying to please one, creates pain. To know if they are pleased or not, creates pain. You want to know how the other person’s mind is, how is that possible? You don’t know your own mind!

Knowing what is somebody else’s wish and sitting on it is painful. If you experience some feeling of love and joy and suddenly it is not there, it’s even more painful. To do spiritual practices needs effort, and that is painful. Not doing it, creates more pain. If you really look from the eyes of wisdom there is nothing in this creation that is devoid of pain. Pain is the tail of everything in this world; comes along with anything you take. You take anything you get a free coupon — pain.

When you realise that everything is pain, then what do you do? You have to do something to stop this pain. How? The root cause of pain needs to be eliminated. That pain which has not yet come in life, which has not sprouted, should be nipped off right at the beginning. How do we do that? Forgetfulness of oneself as separate from one’s environment is the main cause of pain.

There are three things — the self, the seer and the seeing. Lack of perception causes pain. If you say, ‘This is me’, then there is a problem. We keep our life somewhere else; we don’t keep our life in us. Life is not in one’s self, life is somewhere else. For some people, life is in the bank account. If the bank closes, there he goes with a heart failure. Whatever you give more importance to in life that becomes the cause of pain. So when you see the difference, that the seer or the life is separate from surrounding eliminates the pain.

Through meditation you can experience that you are not the body. That doesn’t mean that you have to run away from this world. This world is here for your enjoyment. But while enjoying it don’t forget yourself. You are separate from yourself. This is Viveka.

Earth dynamics

Every aspect in this world is an expression of consciousness. Each thing conveys a message to you, gives you an idea of how great the consciousness is. Everything is active. Everything has manifested out of consciousness. Everything in this world is dynamic; not static. Even the mountain is not static. Every atom is dynamic in nature. They all undergo certain stages of evolution. Everything is governed by this principle.

The entire creation is made up of five elements and ten sense organs — five organs of perception and five organs of action. This entire creation is there to give you pleasure and relief. Whatever gives you pleasure should also give you relief. Otherwise the very pleasure becomes pain. Let me give you an example: you like apple pie, but five of it at one time may be a little too much for you. The same thing which gave you pleasure will now make you suffer. It’s the same with music. The entire creation gives you pleasure and liberation. You have to get yourself liberated from all these at some point of time or else pleasure becomes pain.

The self, though it is ever pure, untainted, is just a witness. But when you feel it becomes one with the buddhi/intellect, then it appears as though it is coloured. Like, somebody who is stuck in the intellect just stick to their ideas as though it is their own and they suffer a lot. The self is the centre of this whole creation.

Though this world does not exist for one who is enlightened like the way it exists for the one who is not enlightened, the world continues to exist with its opposites. For one who has awakened in knowledge there is no more suffering for him. The world appears completely different. For him, every inch of this creation is filled with bliss or part of the self.
But for others it exists as they see it.

Your body is made up of three gunas — satva, rajas, tamas — and your thoughts and behaviour patterns change accordingly. It attracts the events accordingly. Tamas creates more dullness, sleep, lethargy and Rajas creates restlessness, desires and anguish. When the mind is dominated by Sattva, it is joyful, alert and enthusiastic. When these three gunas act in your body according to their nature, all these different qualities dominate. Observe the tendencies that come up in you and don’t think that you are those tendencies.

There is a story. There was a great monk, who lived in the Himalayas. He had free access anywhere he went. People loved him and welcomed him. Everyday, this monk went to the king’s palace to have lunch. And the queen would serve him lunch in a golden plate and cup. He would eat and walk away. Once, after his meal, he just grabbed a silver glass and a golden spoon and walked away with it. He didn’t even tell anyone that he wanted them.

People in the palace were surprised. ‘‘What happened to the monk? He has never taken anything like that, what has happened today, that too without telling anybody?’’ they wondered. Three days later he brought the things back. This was even more puzzling.

The king called all the wise people to analyse the monk’s behaviour. The pundits and the wise men investigated to find out what was fed to the monk that day. They found out that it was some food which was confiscated from some robbers/dacoits, that was cooked and served to the monk and that had made him rob!

So, to eliminate the root cause of pain, a definite understanding is essential. Body, mind and the whole world are undergoing changes all the time. The entire universe is in the form of fluidity. The definite knowledge is, ‘I am not the body, I’m the self, I’m the space, I’m the imperishable, untouched, untainted by this world around me. Every particle in this body is changing and the mind is changing’.

This definite knowledge is the way out of this cycle.
From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Saturday, April 20, 2013

One people - A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar


What are human values? Compassion, friendliness, cooperation, peace of mind, joy and a smile that lasts throughout our life.

Often in society, we find a crisis based on identity. Groups form to assert their identity, (and) somewhere they lose a sense of belongingness with the whole human race. For example, ‘‘I am a Hindu’’, ‘‘I am a Buddhist’’, ‘‘I am a Muslim’’, or ‘‘I am a Christian’’.

In order to maintain this limited identity, a human being is ready to lose his very own life. Is this not what is happening today? It is the same with culture, tribe, religion and nationality.

If the emphasis was first and foremost on being a human, then there would be more peace in society and there would be more understanding among people. For this, we need to help people to see that even before they are Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or Christian, they are human beings. And as a human being, the whole of humanity is part of you and belongs to you.

Today, people who are looking for some identity often move into religious dimensions and get caught up in fanaticism or fundamentalism. When there is a lack of proper spiritual education or knowledge about the oneness of the human race, people take a direction that is not beneficial to the welfare of mankind. So friendliness needs to be fostered, especially at the educational level, because friendliness is our inherent nature. We can be friendly with anyone and everyone.

We need to be free of the walls and boundaries our mind has created. We need to create a sense of security from deep inside; compassion and a sense of security that dawns from deep within oneself. How can we get anger, violence and the sense of hatred out of the hearts of people? This is the problem that is facing us today. We know the answer philosophically, but what are the practical steps and how do we begin? It is here that something very basic to our life comes into play — our breath.

The might of your breath

Breath is the link between body, mind and emotions. When we are agitated, we breathe differently. When we are upset, we breathe differently. And if you are happy, your breath is different still. So if you attend to the breath, then you can see that your mind can be calmed down.

Neither at home nor in school are we taught how to handle our own emotions. When we get angry, people advise us, ‘‘Do not get angry, it is no good’’. But no one ever taught us how to get the anger out of our system. Breath plays an important role in removing anger from the mind and body.

Breath is an important source of energy, which we have completely ignored. The first thing we did coming into this world was to take a deep breath in. And the last thing we will do on this earth will be to breathe out one last breath and that will be it. Throughout our entire life we breathe, but even so, we have never attended to our breath.

Attending to our breath for just ten or fifteen minutes a day or even once a week for half an hour a day will eliminate toxins and stress. Many doctors and scientists have done extensive research on this subject. It is highly significant how such a simple thing as the breath can produce a powerful transformation in an individual’s disposition and interaction with others, as well as his or her attitude towards society.

I am very confident about this because I have seen hundreds and thousands of lives transformed. As they come in touch with themselves, they became more clear about their values. As the humanness in them increased, their sense of responsibility increased. They began to take responsibility for the society around them.

This is the basis of human values. It is not that people should sit and expect the government to take care of everything for them all the time. Rather, it is the responsibility of governments around the world to bring that quality of responsibility in people alive, so that they share a sense of belongingness as a natural feeling of more friendliness. Many things can be solved by a friendly relationship and a friendly attitude among people. We need to bring these values into society.

Human rights is protecting others’ freedom, seeing the other person is also like oneself. It is a human right; protecting someone else’s freedom, giving them security, letting them live.

Who violates human rights? Those who do not have human values. Those who do not respect human values in themselves would go and hurt, and take away the human rights from other people.

Universal values are not difficult, (but) it is far easier to talk about very vague and universal things, than to act in practice with individual cases.

You are born with this nature, to be friendly. You see a child’s face, whether it is a child from Africa, Mongolia or India — there is such a light, such a love, such a charm. Everybody is charmed by any child of the world, are they not? There is such an innocence. And innocence is feeling at home. You are born with it. You have it. It is only outer conditions that have made it a little restrictive. Once we understand, ‘‘This is only my own conditioning of the mind’’, you become free.

Human values are not something which need to be taught; these values are in-built in us. It is only the stress and tension which covers it that needs to be removed. That is all.

We are all part of one light, one life in the world.

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Friday, April 19, 2013

Culture Lag

India has so much to be proud of. Why are we not taking her seriously?

When you are at peace with yourself and facilitate ease in your atmosphere, your work culture improves automatically. All managers should constantly be thinking of ways and means of creating an easy, informal atmosphere. Whenever you walk into your office, you always get a salaam; but do you look behind the greeting? Is it really genuine?

Most of these pleasantries that we exchange; saying ‘thank you’, ‘how kind’, ‘have a nice day’... all tend to come from a superficial level. It’s like the mechanical, usually meaningless greeting — ‘‘Have a nice day’’ — that you get from the airhostess while disembarking. The entire work environment is marked by such superficial, sometimes even hypocritical greetings. How can you expect such an environment to be productive?

The President of the World Bank once asked me, ‘‘What is the secret of your success? How do you get so much work done with so little money?’’ I said it is not just money that gets work done but something more... It is the freedom in your workspace. Just in one year’s time 3,000 volunteers adopted 25,000 villages in India; they made roads and provided proper drinking water among other things. And all with less than Rs 2 crores at their disposal.

Though difficult to believe, it became possible only due to the dedication and inspiration of the workers. But if someone isn’t inspired from within, a healthy work culture is just not possible. Goals are attained either due to inspiration, or due to emergency deadlines and fear psychosis. If fear psychosis is created (and many of our organisations run on fear psychosis), it may help attain deadlines but is not a healthy practise. To achieve deadlines, the insecurity must be dropped rather than the motivation.

The mindset must also be attended to. And it manifests at two levels; the authoritarian mind, and the labour union mind. The authoritarian mind finds everybody wanting; it says, ‘‘Only I am right, nobody can perform as well as I can’’ and so does not take on responsibility for making others work. This happens at the managerial level; the authoritarian mind does not trust anybody. And if it doesn’t trust anybody, how can it inspire someone to work? Delegation is critical to success, but is possible only when you step out of the authoritarian mind.

Conversely, the labour union mindset constantly complains that the manager is not good, he doesn’t let me function. The labour union mind thinks ‘‘I can’t do anything because so-and-so is in-charge; it is this so-and-so who is responsible for me not doing my work.’’ It always tries to pass on the onus of responsibility. The labour union mindset must learn to take total responsibility and to revere dignity of work, whatever its nature.

We need to shed both, the authoritarian mind and the labour mindsets. And, instead, we must imbibe a determined, practical mindset. When you are allocated a task that you believe is mortally impossible, once you take it on, you will see that it happens; and it happens because of your Atmik Shakti, your Sankalpa Shakti. What you call Sankalpa is your determination. For instance, I had announced that I would go to Pakistan. But even on the day I was supposed to fly out (a good fortnight later), I had no visa and everybody was discouraging us. But at 4 O’clock we get the visa, at 6 O’clock I take the flight and go. There are many such instances; not once, but over and over, time and again it has happened.

The human mind says ‘‘only I am functioning, I am in charge of everything’’; but there is actually something else that is at work, that gets the work done. You can move ahead against all odds and achieve what you want, however impossible; as long as you have faith. Your conviction will make things happen. Even nature supports you when you have conviction.

This country lacked conviction for ever so long; it was Guru Gobind Singh Ji who gave conviction back to us, who inspired us to work like warriors. It is the warrior in you who can achieve anything, not the ‘‘you’’ who just lives in your own comfort zone. Unfortunately, our current corporate culture is clogged with that comfort zone and we are habituated to living with it. We do not want to be adventurous, to stretch ourselves a little more than we think we can.

In China, there is one village that just makes buttons. The buttons that we all have on our shirts are made in China. One may say, ‘‘Button is a small industry, what’s so big about it?’’ But the expertise lies in the way in which the industry has grown and empowered the village. Specialisation in different things, however trivial, is something that can boost our economy, our self-confidence, and the morale of our people. We need to bring morale up.

In fact, there are seven things that India can be very proud of.

First, is the tourism industry; we are the greatest tourist destination in the whole world but yet people prefer going to Thailand rather than coming to India. You know why? Because there is a fear in the mind of people, ‘‘Oh, India is full of snakes and dead bodies, there is violence everywhere.’’ This is because we keep projecting our negative side in a bid to buy sympathy. I don’t know whether we get the sympathy, but we have certainly killed our tourism industry. There is no less violence in New York or Bangkok than in India. But we project it in such a way that our tourism industry is almost dead.

Second, yoga and meditation. Today, yoga is a $27-billion industry in America alone; but 99.9 percent of that industry is being handled by the Americans. India has virtually disowned yoga. Third is Ayurveda. We have the world’s best medicinal system, the largest variety of flora and fauna are available here. But we have ignored this industry too.

Fourth, music and dance; fifth, food; and sixth, clothes and jewellery. While awareness of clothes and jewellery has grown in the recent past, our vast and colourful varieties of music and dance, and of food are virtually unknown. Nowhere else are such varieties to be found; and if presented well, can boost the image of the country in a big way. But we have not yet explored these areas.

Seventh, is IT, not just Information Technology but also Inner Transformation, ie, the spiritual wealth of our country. We must educate our children. Tell me, how many of you have read Yoga Vashishta? It is a treasure, which carries a wealth of details about consciousness. New York University has printed this commentary, all these movies that you see (Matrix, etc.) are based on Yoga Vasishtha... But still we have not read it. All the knowledge about Self and Brahma is in it.

These are the things that we need to put our attention to boost our economy and the image of our country

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Truth Beyond Reason : A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

You’re caught up in life. Why is it that you cannot see the reality as it is? What holds you back? You are moving every moment towards the grave! Every moment is making you into ash! Yet, you cannot see. Why is it you cannot see the reality which is so obvious? Because you crave for pleasure (sukha) and you’re afraid of sorrow (dukha). Everything should have logic, but faith transcends reason; faith transcends all logic. You’re obsessed with feverishness of desire and you’re greedy for some achievement..

Sukha, Dukha, Logic and Feverishness — these four reins pull you backwards. You dream of pleasure; this is so amazing! Even after experiencing different pleasures a human being thinks there is pleasure somewhere else. He’s pulled by the rein of pleasure. Every pleasure has been so momentary, has left your hands empty, depleted, drained. Yet one hopes for more pleasure, some unknown, unseen pleasure.

Sukha is pleasure and Duhkha, the fear of sorrow. What is the sorrow that you are afraid of? What is going to happen to you? You have gone through many problems. As a child, you cried so many times when a toy broke. But what happened? You passed through that. You have passed through many stumbling blocks in life, which you thought were impossible. Yet you remained untouched by any of them. Nothing could ever shake you. It appeared to have shaken you at that moment, but later on you found that you are as complete as were before. It is Duhkha, the fear that holds you back.

And then there is desire for more, wanting more and more. We burn with desire; and this burning in desire does not allow you to relax into the peace of your being. Unless you let go of the desires, you can never find peace, you can never rest in the divine love. Love is the process of dissolving, of giving, of offering, of serving. Even if you do service to gain some merit, it is not service. Many people do service and they want their name to be put there to earn a name. It’s like paying to an advertisement company!

Many times people say, ‘‘Oh, I will do this service. What will I get in return?’’ Tell them, ‘‘You’ll get nothing in return!’’ Wanting to gain pulls you back; it holds you back. And, your love, devotion does not flower. Drop all the reins that hold you back. Let go of them! You are anyway the dearest son or daughter of the Divine; you belong to the Divine. You think the Divine will not take care of your pleasures and will not take care of your concerns and your desires?

Logic

Let go of these desires. When you are able to let go, then you blossom. Wait for the blossoming. Wait for the time; don’t be in a hurry. Every bud takes its own time to bloom; don’t force a bud to become a flower. Wait, wait for the time to come. Wait for the total opening in you to come, have patience. Let go of desires; sit and wait with patience. You will have to follow a certain code of conduct. This is the manure by which the rose of love will blossom.

Ahimsa, the non-violence. Be non violent, not just in your action, but also in your heart, in your speech, in your thoughts. You may be non-violent in action due to fear of the law. But in the mind when you said, ‘‘I am going to kill them! I am going to choke them!’’ you have already choked them. Follow the non-violence.

Satya, the Truth. Follow the Truth. Be with the Truth. Be with the existence. It means live in the moment, express this moment in you fully. Existence is Truth. The word, sat, is the same for Truth and existence in Sanskrit. Often we mistake ‘Be truthful’ to mean just speaking the truth. It’s not just speaking truth; but expressing Truth by your whole life. You be full of Truth; you be in the moment, express this moment. That’s why three things are said: satyam bruyat, speak truth; priyam bruyat, speak the pleasant truth; and satyam priyam hitam, do speak beneficial truth.

If you tell someone who is blind, ‘‘You are a blind man,’’ you’re telling the truth, no doubt, but it can hurt that person. So, though it is true, do not speak unpleasant truth. And then hitam, that which is good for them. A patient is really sick. If you tell them, ‘‘You are going to die tomorrow,’’ he may die right now! A doctor will have to tell him some lie for his own good. Satyam means express the existence this moment as it is but with sincerity.
Truth

Saucha, the Purity. Keep the purity of your mind, speech, and body. Purity is not mixing up things. If some rice is mixed with wheat, and mixed with soap powder, and mixed with sand, that mixture is impure. But if the same things are presented to you in different cups, you would say this is pure sand, this is pure soap powder, and this is pure rice and pure wheat. Non-mixing of things is purity. And what is impure? When a substance is mixed with another substance, which is not of the same, quality or same type then you call it impure.

So when you become witness to the body, mind, intellect, memory and all your different faculties, and don’t get mixed up with them, that is purity. Observing the observer, being very pure; this is a further, advanced meaning of saucha. It is when your own mind becomes a witness of its own actions and finds a gap between its own senses, and does not mix with any outer objects.

In a deeper sense, it’s even more beautifully experienced, when the consciousness detaches itself from its own body and does not contact other bodies. This is a little difficult, though. That is why when you go deep in your meditation, you feel very pure. If you are constantly in touch with something outside at some moment you feel some uneasiness; you don’t feel so pure. But when the consciousness is perceived, as full and total one feels pure. That’s why after the Sudarshan Kriya, many people feel so pure and so clear, so complete, because the Consciousness which was stuck in the matter, material, which is foreign to itself, got released from that and came back to its home.
Purity
 Dayaa, the Compassion. The greatest joy is in compassion. Just stand in a corner and see the whole world. If you can just feel compassion for the whole world, a shift has already happened in your consciousness. Look at all the people who are indulging in all that you don’t like. What triggers anger in you is when people engage in some activity or behave in certain manner, which you don’t like. Just for a moment, have compassion for them all, for the way they are. Then a shift happens; you become big; your Self expands. It stands there and laughs at the smallness of events, of behaviours. Having compassion in your heart, you become untouched by these events; you cross the maya, the illusion.

compassion

Astikya, the faith. Faith transcends logic and reasoning. You live in a very logical world. Every step in your life is measured. You reason for everything that you do and for all your experiences. You try to capture your experiences through logic, through reasoning. When the reasoning or logic breaks down, you tremble. Sooner or later you again find some logic, some reason, and feel comfortable with it. Why? Reality is beyond logic; truth is beyond logic; you cannot capture truth by logic. If you could reason out all your life and all its experiences, then you have not lived life fully, you have not known life fully.
Faith

World transcends reason; world is much more than logic. If your experiences could all be put into the slots of logic, then you have missed something very beautiful, something basic in life. Devotion is outside the purview of reasoning or logic. Faith transcends logic and reasoning.

From Talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Divine Valentine


Guarding the heart from the scars of time

Abiding in the self, you become the valentine for the whole world. Spirit is the valentine of matter and matter is the valentine of the spirit. They are made for each other. They uphold each other. If you hold onto matter and do not respect the spirit, then matter is not pleased. If you honour the spirit then you will care for the world, and when you care for the world, it will take care of you.

Make the Divine your Valentine (your sweet beloved). This is the last thing to do and the first thing to do. Keep your heart in a safe place; it is too delicate. Events, small things, make strong impressions on it. And you cannot find a better place than the Divine to keep your heart safe and your mind sane.

When you keep your heart in the Divine, the moving time, the passing events, will not be able to touch it, will not create a scar. A precious stone needs a setting around it, gold or silver, to hold it and to wear it; so wisdom and knowledge are that setting around the heart which will hold it in the Divine.

See the Divine in your Valentine and make the Divinity your Valentine (your sweet beloved). Just be... and know that you are loved... that is beloved


Monday, April 15, 2013

Looking Within : A Talk By Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Looking Within is an Art
 Meditation is a conscious experience of that aspect within you that enriches all other six layers. Nowhere, neither at home nor at school, are we taught to deal with our minds and emotions. Has anybody ever taught you how to cope with depression, anger, jealousy, tension? Nobody taught Thomas Edison how to make a bulb either. He did it on his own. When you learn something yourself, it is great. You should always be open to learning; if you don’t learn from your own intuition, take advantage of someone else’s intuition.

You may feel ‘‘It is my mind; why should anyone else teach me how to control it?’’. But while it is your hands and feet that operate a car, while the steering and accelerator are fitted in the car, you still have to learn to drive. Someone has to teach you. Of course, if you know or learn on your own, then there is no problem!

Emotional problems do exist in schools and colleges but nobody is taught how to handle these emotions. It is startling to read news reports of brilliant children, with bright futures, committing suicide. There is a connection between your breath and emotion. When you are angry, your breath moves in one rhythm; when you are upset, your breath moves in another rhythm; when you are jealous or depressed, your breath moves in yet other rhythms. You need to be aware of this and how through the rhythm of breath, you can handle your emotions and your mind. It is very simple, just keep an open mind.

What is that you can do for eternity?
Definitely not anything that is big or great because it needs effort, and effort tires. So, it is a temporary state. If you can think of one thing that is below your capacity to do and agree to do it, that becomes Pooja. The readiness to consciously do trivial things for eternity unites you with eternity. This is an antidote to ego.

Ego is always ambitious and wants to do the toughest job like climbing Mount Everest, etc. Whereas in a simple act like watching a butterfly, watering the garden, watching the birds or the sky, can bring deep relaxation, and relaxation connects you with your source. Not that you do trivial things all your life, but consciously agreeing to do the trivial actions for eternity, opens a new dimension and brings in immense peace and restfulness.

To find rest in activity, choose an activity that is far below your capacity and agree to do it until eternity. Doing a job far below your capacity and being satisfied with it will make it possible to do a job much beyond your capacity. And to get rid of stress, do something really simple and silly, like taking a walk. Just come out of your little shells and feel free. Let anyone think what they like; do not be a football of other people’s opinions. If there is love in you, enthusiasm, sense of belongingness, that is real success.

Know that all actions are born out of infinity and that which is born out of infinity can take you to infinity.

A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Flight of a simple mind : Talk by Sri Sri

When you are listening to somebody speaking, the speaker’s very first sentence triggers off some conversation within you. You are constantly agreeing or disagreeing with the speaker. Have you ever wondered whether you can listen without any thoughts or pre-conceived notions in your mind?

Students listening to an hour-long lecture in a class are able to grasp only a part of it. Increasingly, even that grasp is diluting — attention deficiency syndrome. Only if there is alertness and presence of mind in the entire society will business prosper.

Perception, observation and expression are three important aspects of life. Those who perceive things better have balanced observations and expression. Recollect how much enthusiasm and joy you had when you went to the primary school as a child. Wherever there is life, there is enthusiasm. Someone without enthusiasm is like a corpse. But as you mature, the enthusiasm curve declines. And as enthusiasm declines, we stop communicating; leave alone formal lectures, even one to one informed talks hold no interest.



Have you any enthusiasm left? See, we look at everything but we do not look at our own faculties.  

Life has many faculties — 
body, breath, etc. Are you aware of your body? You become aware of your body only when it aches. Just as a child throws tantrums when it is not given attention, your body throws tantrums when you don’t attend to it. If you attend to your body constantly, it won’t throw tantrums. And attending to the body is not just about food and exercise; it is taking your attention to each part of your body and loving it consciously. Your body is the closest thing to you, it is the first layer of existence.

The second faculty is breath. What makes the skin different from leather? It is the breath. Even shoes have some value. But your body, when it is not breathing, has no value. Our first act, when we came to the world, was to breathe in and the last act will be to breathe out. But we ignore this primordial function of our life. Know that your breath holds many secrets; every emotion has a corresponding rhythm of breath. Attending to the breath helps regulate emotional disturbances.

The third faculty that we possess is our mind. This is the faculty through which we perceive and yet this is the faculty that we know the least about.

The fourth faculty, which is our memory, functions in a very funny manner; if you receive ten compliments from someone and one criticism, it is that one criticism that will cling to your memory. Basically, memory feeds on interest. It retains only those situations and subjects in which it feels interest; if you enjoy astronomy, your memory will also treasure it.

The next faculty is intellect. Even as you are reading now, your intellect is saying something. It is passing some sort of judgment, it is accepting or rejecting what is written, questioning my words. All this comes with intellect.

Then there is ego. When you are happy, something in you expands. That something is ego. Ego brings happiness, it brings creativity, shyness, grief. If you are shy and timid, it is because of your ego; joy and pride are also due to ego; behind every fear, there is ego. We know very little about the function of ego. Knowledge of your ego can strengthen you, it will eliminate your vulnerability.

The next faculty is something that does not have tangible boundaries. Sometimes when you are relaxed or you are in love, you feel a sense of wonder, that there is something more mysterious in life than we are aware; it may happen when you are watching a sunset, when you are reading the Gita, when a baby is born, when you are taking a cold shower or when you are sick with fever. That something is the self, the consciousness, the atma. You may hardly notice it, but those few seconds give you so much peace and tranquillity. Preserving those moments will enrich your life.

A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 

Form of the Formless - By Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

 || Om sahanavavathu, sahanau bhunaktu/Saha veeryam Tejasvinavadheethamasthu/Ma vidvishavahai/Om shanti, shanti, shanti ||
May Brahman protect us (Guru and disciple) both/May Brahman be pleased with us both. May we function together with vigour/May our studies be brilliant/May we not hate each other. Om peace, peace, peace

Yoga Saara Upanishad 

Verse 1: Brahman is One, without a second. He is the immortal essence. He is without the number two. He is One homogenous mass of knowledge and bliss. He is self-contained. He is all full.
Verse 2: Brahman is within and without. He is above and below. He is in front and behind. He is on your right side and left side. He is everywhere like the all-pervading ether. He is Chidakasha, ether of consciousness.
Verse 3: Know that the five attributes — satchitananda nityaparipurna (truth, consciousness, bliss, eternal and complete or total —express Brahman in the best possible manner. Meditate on these in thy mind and realise.

Upanishad means sitting close in our minds, in our hearts, wherein just a little sign, an indication is good enough to grasp. If we are sitting so far away in our minds, in our attitudes, in our understanding, a lot of effort is needed to convey. And it is not possible to convey something so abstract, something so deep, something that is inexpressible if there is a distance.

Even mundane things cannot be conveyed if our mental distance is big. You notice people saying the same thing, but they are arguing. In substance, they are agreeing, but actually they are arguing. This indicates that there is no nearness and there is no closeness. Even within the same family, there can be vast differences, vast distance. Misunderstandings happen in this planet because of this distance, because there is no closeness. In one house, people live in different planets. In a town people live in different galaxies.


You know, the scientists say the distance between the electrons within an atom — the atoms and the subatomic particles is the same ratio as the distance between two galaxies. And this is also true between the mental attitudes of people though they live under the same roof.

We do not understand the other because we never sit close, we never sit together. Upanishad is sitting together, sitting close. Knowledge is possible only when you come close. From a distance and in a formal atmosphere, knowledge cannot blossom. The Rishis knew this secret so they started with the Shanti Mantra, that is: Let us sit in peace; let us make peace amongst ourselves; let us be together; let us eat together.

Being together is the foundation of knowledge. That is where you can begin on the steps of wisdom. Sahanavavathu — Let us be together. Let us not hate each other. Hatred creates the distance. Love bridges the distance. In love, there is no distance. Love cannot tolerate distance and hatred cannot tolerate nearness.

So, first of all, take the hatred out of your system, your mind and your consciousness. That is when you say the Shanti Mantra: Let there be peace, let there be peace — Om Shanti, Om Shanti, Om Shanti — three times Om Shanti. Peace in our environment, in our body, in our mind. When there is no peace, forget about God; forget about truth; forget about Divinity; forget about everything else.

The first requirement is peace. If you are hungry, if you are tired, if you are sleepy, if you are sick, forget about the truth. And then, the peace of mind. You may have all the physical comfort, but if the mind is in turmoil, then also know that the spirit of inquiry of truth cannot set inside you.


Now begins the Upanishads. What is Divine? The first verse says that the Brahma is One — without a second. They have always talked about the “non-dual (advaita)” — ‘No Two’ —because when you say One, you have already said Two because how can you make something One if there is no Two? This is very subtle: you have to catch it.

One infinite space that is immortal means that which does not die, that which does not change. It is one homogenous mass of knowledge and bliss and it is self-contained. This definition of Divine nobody can dismiss. What is God? The infinity — knowledge of the ‘knowing-ness’ of the infinity — and bliss. This ‘knowing-ness’ of consciousness is all pervading.

So this space is full of that consciousness; that’s why it is called chidakash — the space is not an empty space. The space has a mind of its own. It is stuffed with knowledge and consciousness. And it is infinite. One name is given to the three aspects — that is called Brahman. There will be no problem for any atheist to believe in such a Brahman, in having such a God.

And this consciousness, this space that is all pervading, is the basis of creation because the creation has come from this, is sustained by it, and will go back to it. Just like the outer space, so is the material space. The building you are in now exists in space, and when the building is brought down or knocked down, still the space remains; and again another building is built in the space. The space will remain the same. So is the Brahman. It is indestructible. This universal consciousness, of which all the little bodies and human beings are part of, is immortal, eternal and stays forever.




A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The Call of Nature - A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar


According to the ancient scriptures, human beings have five sheaths: the environment, the physical body, the mind or the mental sheath, the intuitive sheath and the fifth sheath is purushartha, ie, the blissful state. Thus, environment is our first body.

Environment consciousness is inbuilt in the human system. Historically, nature (or prakriti) has always been adored in India; mountains, rivers, the sun, the moon, the trees have always been honoured. It’s only when we start moving away from nature that we start polluting nature. We need to revive the ancient practice of honouring and conserving nature.

The popular belief is that damage to ecology is an inevitable by-product of technological progress. But it is not necessarily so; in fact, a sustainable growth is assured only if the ecology is protected. Science and technology should not be regarded as anti-environment; rather, we need to find ways of maintaining harmony in environment while progressing in science and technology. This is the biggest challenge of this century.

Just observe nature; the five elements of nature are opposed to each other. Water destroys fire, fire destroys air... Then there are so many species in nature — the birds, reptiles, mammals; all these different species are hostile towards each other and yet nature balances them out.


We need to learn from nature; how nature digests waste material and produces something more beautiful. Similarly, it is not technology and science that pose a hazard, but the waste material generated by technological and scientific processes. We need to find methods to consume the waste. Eg, fly ash, an indestructible waste generated by thermal power stations, is today used for making bricks for construction purposes.

We also need to develop non-polluting processes, such as harnessing of solar energy. Man’s greed is the greatest pollutant. Man is so greedy, he wants to make quick profits and achieve quick results. Greed stops man from sharing with others. Greed also obstructs preservation of ecology. While being aware of methods to prevent pollution, he may not act upon them because they cost in some way.

This greed not only pollutes the gross, physical environment but also contaminates the subtle atmosphere, ie, it stimulates negative emotions in the subtle mind of man. These negative emotions impact the minds of all the people around; if one person is angry and agitated, the anger and agitation does not stay limited to that one person but rubs off onto all those who he comes in contact with. These negative vibrations, once compounded, give rise to unrest in society. Negative feelings of hatred, anger, jealousy are the root cause of all disasters and misery in the world, whether they are economical, political or social in nature.

Most of the wars are triggered off by such feelings; and war is always accompanied by waste and natural disasters which take ages to balance out. We need to attend to the human psyche which causes pollution, whether physical or emotional. If compassion and care are kindled within the self, they reflect in the environment; a sense of sacredness follows.

Sensitivity, synergy

People should be encouraged to treat the planet as sacred, to treat trees and rivers as sacred, to treat people as sacred, and to see God in nature and in people. This will foster sensitivity; and a sensitive person can’t but care for nature. It is basically insensitivity that makes a person act callously towards environment. If a person is sensitive, he will nurture environment, thereby eradicating pollution.

In ancient times, if a person cut one tree, he planted five in return. The ancient people did not wash clothes in holy rivers; any pooja offered to a holy river was performed with water from the same river; only ashes of cremated bodies were to be submerged in the river so that everything gets digested back to nature. It is unfortunate that we don’t understand the depth of scriptures but just follow empty and meaningless practices blindly.

Today, we tie threads around the trees; pooja does not mean just lighting a lamp and revolving around the tree; worshipping cows does not mean garlanding them and lighting camphor (which anyway just annoys or scares the cow!). Real pooja is honouring the tree, honouring the animal, feeling a sense of responsibility and belongingness towards nature and creation. This, rather than performance of obsolete rituals, is truly honouring their sacredness; these things should be reviewed.

Tradition, technology, trade and truth need to be revived time and again. Unless they are revived, the whole meaning for which they were initiated will be lost; ancient and modern methods should be synergised. Eg, despite chemical reforms, the ancient Vedic technology of using cow urine and dung leaves continue to be one of the best ways to cultivate crops; several experiments have shown that natural farming (without fertilizers and pesticides) lead to enhanced yield.

Just because some product is new and the companies selling it are saying this is the latest technology, don’t assume it’s economically the most viable or that it’s the most efficient technology. We need to look into the merits; just because something is new, it need not be good and just because some thing is old, it need not be discarded.

We need to balance our views with a free mind, devoid of any inhibitions and prejudices. We need to work out ways and means of protecting our beautiful planet earth. For this to happen, human consciousness must rise above greed and exploitation. Exploitation has two phases: first, when you exploit others; second, when you exploit the earth. This exploitation needs to be checked and for that, man must develop a broad vision, a broad understanding of life and of himself in context with the cosmos.

Our life span is barely 80-90 years. Observe how much we exploit the earth during this time and how much we do to preserve it. We need to ask ourselves whether we only want to exploit and drain the planet or whether we want to contribute towards its preservation. Spirituality elevates ones consciousness and checks that greed which leads to environmental degradation. It promotes a sense of caring and commitment for the whole planet.

Processes and objects that are anti-nature and anti-environment are also anti-health. We simply don’t know this; nobody would want to do something knowing that it will invite suffering. We need to explore means of healthy lifestyles. Spirituality eliminates all the negative emotions; if you are devoid of spirituality or ignore it, you cannot become environment conscious, it’s almost impossible. Because somewhere deep within you, your cravings, your aversions and your anger will all, directly or indirectly, start affecting your environment.

Spirituality is what cleanses greed, feverishness and small-mindedness in a person; it leads him to honour nature, to honour his life and to introduce greater joy and celebration in his life and surroundings.

A talk by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar