Gurudev arrives at Los Angeles 3

 

hurt

 Today one person has hurt you, tomorrow someone else will. You cannot control the entire world. Recognize that the problem is not outside; it is in your own mind. You have given the reins of your life in someone else's hands, just take them back! Make the fortress of your mind so strong, that no one in the world should have the right to take your smile away!

Shankabishekam at Bangalore Ashram on 19Nov24

 Yesterday Evening, Gurukul witnessed the sacred ritual of "Shankhabhishekam" as part of the Kartik celebrations. This revered tradition involves the ritual bathing of the Shiva Lingam with water poured from a conch shell

Problems? One more

Weekly Knowledge #267
European Ashram
24 Aug 2000
Germany

PROBLEMS? ONE MORE

The first solution to the problem is not to have the problem at all. (Laughter)

The second thing is to willingly accept the problem and see it as a challenge.

Third, know that the problem is a boogey man, it is not real.

Fourth, know that nature has provided you the solution even before giving you the problem. First you met me and then you had a problem (Laughter). When it snows, there are no bacteria since no herbs to heal you grow in that season. In the spring, the herbs come first and then the bugs. In the summer, the shade comes before the summer sun gets strong. So, nature takes good care of you.

Sabya: What if the longing is a problem?

Sri Sri: Longing ripens you. Do not solve all your problems. At least keep one of them. You need something to munch on - and life goes on...

🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸

The one thing you need to know about navratri

‘Navratri’ means the ‘nine nights’. ‘Nava’means ‘nine’, and ‘ratri’ means ‘night’.

Nights provide rest and rejuvenation. At night you turn inward (you sleep) and you feel refreshed and rested in the morning. In the same way, Navratri or the Nine Nights is that time (of the year) when you turn inward towards your source. It is the time of the year to spend with yourself, nurturing and rejuvenating yourself through prayers, chants, meditation, fasting, and other spiritual practices, and coming out feeling refreshed, renewed and creative. This is the significance and the true spirit of Navratri.

Navratri is celebrated to glorify the spirit in us. The spirit in us alone can destroy all negative qualities (inertia, pride, obsession, cravings, aversions, etc). By turning inward during Navratri, and getting in touch with the spirit within, we can overcome these negative tendencies and invoke the position qualities that are within us, thus feeling elevated and renewed.

“There are 64 divine mother impulses which govern the subtle creation. These are responsible for restoring all earthly and spiritual benefits. They are simply part of one’s awakened consciousness. These nine nights are celebrated to rekindle those divine impulses and celebrate the innermost depth of our lives.”

As said by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The Art of Living Founder

Devi durga and the red colour

Devi Durga and the color red

Durga is associated with red. She is depicted as wearing a red saree. Red is the color of dynamism – the ‘moving’ energy. You may be trained and skilled, but if you are not able to move things, people, and efforts in unison, then the results are delayed, and you can’t be effective. When you pray to Durga, she brings forth dynamism in you to make things move.
Durga is also referred to as ‘Jaya Durga’ or the one who brings victory.

The Nav Durga

The Nav Durga are the nine aspects of theDurga Shakti which act like a shield to ward off all negativities. When you have obstacles or mental blocks, just remembering these qualities of the Devican remove your mental blocks. For people suffering from anxiety, self-doubt, fear, simply chanting the names of theDevi can elevate your consciousness and make you more centered, courageous and composed.

Mahishasuramardhini form of Durga

The Devi Durga, in Her form as Mahishasuramardhini, is the destroyer of Mahisha. The word Mahisha means buffalo which is a symbol of laziness, lethargy, and inertia. These are the qualities which impede the spiritual and material progress of an individual. The Devi is a storehouse of positive energy and any trace of laziness or inertia dissolves in her very presence.

 

 “The first three days of Navratri celebrate the Devi in the form ofDurga. In the presence of Durga Shakti, negative forces fade away. She transforms negativity into positivity.”

As said by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The Art of Living Founder

A secret to increase satva

Navratri is that time of the year that is rich with colors, tradition, songs and dance. It is also a very sacred time, especially for a spiritual seeker. It is a time when we withdraw from the world of senses and rest through spiritual techniques to uncover the potential for greater bliss, joy and enthusiasm in our lives.

This movement from the outer to the inner can happen effortlessly only when the quality of sattva rises in us and fasting is one of the ways to increase the sattva level in us.

What is sattva?

This world is made up of five elements and these five elements have three qualities:

Sattva – the quality that brings forth positivity

Rajas – the quality that brings forth activity

Tamas – the quality that brings forth inertia

All spiritual practices such as meditation, chanting, fasting, silence increases the level of sattva in us. When sattva increases, it brings forth knowledge, alertness, awareness and joy in life, as these qualities come along with sattva. That is why taking out time to follow all these practices is very meaningful. It enhances the quality of life and brings forth more joy and happiness.

Fasting greatly increases the sattva level of the body as it detoxifies and cleanses the system, which many a times gets stressed by overindulgence in food.

Tips to increase sattva daily:

#1. Eat food at regular times.

#2. Consume the right amount of food and as required.  

#3. Gently spiced food is preferable.

#4. Meditate!  

Education

Weekly Knowledge #256
Bangalore Ashram
07 Jun 2000
India

EDUCATION

Education has five aspects

1. Information -- Often we think information is education, but it is only one aspect of education.

2. Concepts -- Concepts are the basis for all research. You need to conceive in order to create.

3. Attitude -- An integral aspect of education is cultivating the right attitude. Proper attitude at the right time and place determines your actions and behavior.

4. Imagination -- Imagination is essential for creativity, for the arts. But if you get stuck in imagination, you may become psychotic.

5. Freedom -- Freedom is your very nature. Only with freedom, do joy, generosity and other human values blossom. Without freedom, attitudes become stifling, concepts become a burden, information is of no value and imagination becomes stagnant.

🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸

Why repeat Advance Course/Silence course

When I do the Art of Silence Course, I feel hollow and empty. But again after a week I find that I am full of desires and botherations. How can I be hollow and empty all the time?

Sri Sri : This is like asking, 'How can I eat once for this lifetime and not have to keep eating every day?'
You know, it is such a boring job. Every day you have to cook and eat. If you eat today, again tomorrow you feel hungry. If you eat in the morning, then again in the evening you feel hungry.
You cannot eat just once and be done with it because the body has its own nature. The same is with your mind. Entertainment is not enough once. Would you listen to me if I tell you that it is enough to watch only one movie in your lifetime? You need entertainment again and again. Body needs nutrition again and again. To satisfy hunger we eat food. We drink water to quench thirst. We take rest when we are tired. In the same way, spirituality is also like that. To satisfy spiritual hunger, we need to meditate again and again.

Compassion and Karma

Weekly Knowledge #221
Bangalore Ashram
15 Sep 1999
India

Compassion and Karma

There are two types of compassion. One is the compassion of the wise, one is that of the ignorant.

An ignorant person's compassion is on the fruit of an action whereas a wise person's compassion is towards the non-availability of knowledge. Compassion for suffering shows ignorance. Suffering comes because of karma, and if you believe in karma, where is compassion? One reaps the fruit of one's actions.

If a judge has compassion for all the offenders then the jails will be empty. At the same time, are the judges cruel to the offenders? No; the judges' compassion is for the non-availability of knowledge, not for the suffering of the criminals. It is their karma.

Often people think compassion is an act, an action. Know that compassion is your very nature. Then you will see that karma and compassion are not contradictory but complement each other.

Suppose two people come to a hospital. One is suffering from starvation, the other is ill from overeating. What type of compassion should the doctor have towards each of them? This is a riddle for you to solve!

🌸 Jai Guri Dev 🌸

Skill in praising

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted: 08 May 2012

SKILL IN PRAISING

Often, when you praise, you praise in comparison to someone else. In order to praise one person, we put down someone else and when we want to point out somebody's mistake we praise another.

Some are stingy in praising, and some are shy.

And some others are simply not used to.

Some praise with motives, and some others just to elevate.

Others praise themselves in order to hide their low self-esteem.

The real praise dawns in a blossomed state of consciousness.

The praise that comes out of an elevated state of consciousness is simply its nature and is quite different. Normally praise comes out of craving and pride. The praise from a heightened consciousness is always out of fulfilment.

Praising can no doubt elevate the consciousness and bring enthusiasm and energy. At the same time it can also bring arrogance. Praising is a skill.

When someone praises you, do you take it without shying away?

Accepting praise without shyness, is also a skill.

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

Worship

Weekly Knowledge #240
Bangalore Ashram
10 Feb 2000
India

Worship

Do not worship or idolize worship. Idolizing without a sense of  belongingness is always futile.  Such worship only causes fear and distance.  And there are others who are  paranoid about  worship. They get irritated by seeing others worshipping. The modes of worship or idolizing may be different in different parts of the world. Some worship the pope ; others worship the pop stars.  Some are crazy about the politicians. Look at all the children. They  worship  their heroes  all  over  the walls.  Just adoration makes you a fan. Having a sense of belongingness and seeing the Divinity in those whom you adore, makes you a saint.

Raghu: You mean we can see Divinity in a pop star or politician.

Guruji: If You can;..A Divinity that is distorted ( laughter) Those who worship without a sense of belongingness and those who are against worship are in  the same boat  as both are clogged with fear.  In  the  Bible, it says, " I am your God. And  you shall have no other before  me. "  The same is said in the ancient Indian scriptures. "One who worships God as separate from the "I am" consciousness is dull headed". And  " Poojo aur na deva".Do not worship other Gods. The offering, the offered and the offerer are all ONE.

🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸

CAUSE OF SUFFERING

CAUSE OF SUFFERING
When you get hurt, it's your karma. You must have hurt somebody sometime and so you got it back now. Nothing happens without a reason. This is the highest knowledge.
So, some Masters will always say that if you are suffering, it's not because of somebody, it's because of you only. You better suffer and get rid of it.
Instead of that, if you say, "That person is responsible for my suffering", then you are making more karma and carrying it on to the next lifetime. But if you say, "My suffering is because of me, and I take ownership of the karma", then you become free.
Saying, "My suffering is due to that person", will continue the karma because that impression will be there in your mind. Why are you not looking inside? Why are you not moving on? Why are you holding onto an event of the past and blaming the other person for your karma? If you do this then you will continue to be miserable.
~~Gurudev HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji

Do not accept people as they are

Neither accept people as they are nor tolerate them.

Many people think tolerance is a virtue but tolerance is actually a negative term. If you like something,you do not have to tolerate it. Tolerance indicates a deep sense of dislike. It indicates a sense of separateness,small mindedness,limited awareness.

When you are tolerating,it means you are temporarily putting up with it. Tolerance is a potential volcano. If you are tolerating,it means you are still holding on to something. Acceptance is also negative. You accept only that which is not lovable.

Question: Do you need self assurance to love people?

Only the self is assuring-nothing else. This is our company-The Self Assurance Company.

Question: "But aren't we supposed to accept people as they are?"

If you do not love them,then you have to accept them. I tell you,do not accept people as they are. Just love them as they are. Tolerance and acceptance come with judgement and separation.

-----Guruji at Williams Island,Florida,United States..on January21st,1998.

Krishnastami

HAPPY JANMASHTAMI !!!

TODAY IS KRISHNA'S BIRTHDAY
BIRTH OF THE CENTER OF ATTRACTION
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 center 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.
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 center.
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." In this way he arrests the mind from moving away from him.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Ashtami is significant as it indicates a perfect balance between the seen and the unseen aspects of reality; the visible material world and the invisible spiritual realm. Krishna’s birth on Ashtami signifies his mastery of both the spiritual and material worlds. He is a great teacher and a spiritual inspiration as well as the consummate politician. On one hand, he is Yogeshwara (the Lord of Yogas — the state to which every yogi aspires) while on the other, he is a mischievous thief. The unique quality of Krishna is that he is at once more pious than the saints and yet a thorough mischief-monger! His behaviour is a perfect balance of the extremes — perhaps this is why the personality of Krishna is so difficult to fathom. The avdhoot is oblivious to the world outside and a materialistic person, a politician or a king is oblivious to the spiritual world. But Krishna is both Dwarkadheesh and Yogeshwar. Krishna’s teachings are most relevant to our times in the sense that they neither let you get lost in material pursuits nor make you completely withdrawn. They rekindle your life, from being a burnt-out and stressed personality to a more centred and dynamic one. Krishna teaches us devotion with skill. To celebrate Gokulashtami is to imbibe extremely opposite yet compatible qualities and manifest them in your own life. Hence the most authentic way of celebrating Janmashtami is knowing that you have to play a dual role — of being a responsible human being on the planet and at the same time to realize that you are above all events, the untouched Brahman. Imbibing a bit of avadhoot and a bit of activism in your life is the real significance of celebrating Janmashtami   
Sri Sri.....

Problem

Weekly Knowledge #239
Oslo
03 Feb 2000
Norway

PROBLEM

Guruji says: There is no problem that cannot be solved!!!

Someone says: I have a few I can give you. (Laughter)

Guruji says: When you have a problem and you think it cannot be solved, then you have accepted it then it is no longer a problem; it is a fact.

For example: Suppose you think it is a problem that the ocean in Norway is too cold. Obviously, you cannot heat the ocean. If it cannot be solved, you accept it and it's no longer a problem. Only when you are searching for a solution is there a problem and so there is no problem that cannot be solved. (Laughter)

The moment you realize there is no solution, a problem ceases to be a problem.

The solution is the tail of every problem.

Solutions come to you when :
     You are calm and collected 
     You use intelligence
     You are not lethargic but active 
     You have strong faith in Divine law

Kai says: If you don't want any problems, you can have a Guru.

Sheila says: If you want all the problems of all the people, become a Guru.

Tom says: Focusing on the problem alone, you cannot solve it. But, when you go step up to your real need, your real goal, to the higher Self, you find many solutions.

🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸

Being with the Guru

Weekly Knowledge #236
German Ashram,Bad Antogast
13 Jan 2000
Germany

Being with the Guru

People have various reasons to be with a Guru.

Broadly they can be put in these 5 catagories.

1. You would like to have your wishes fulfilled and because it is more pleasurable.

2. Everything else looks more painful to you and you come for comfort.

3. You want to evolve and become enlightened; you want to know higher Knowledge.

4. You have a vision or goal; you share a vision of the Guru. Missionary or visionary.

5. You are there to just serve and give comfort to the Guru.

You are with the Guru because you belong to the Guru. There is no choice.

🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸

Impact of desires

IMPACT OF DESIRES !!
Do you know what entropy means? Entropy is said to rise when there is an increase in the heat or restlessness (due to desires) in the body. Then various kinds of distortions arise in the body because of this. Scientists say that the entropy (of a body or a finite system) is proportionate to orderliness. You must have observed that in the colder regions, there is a greater degree of orderliness at every level. Everything seems to function in a much more organized manner.
Also, whenever any distortion or desire arises in the mind, then there is some corresponding sensation or disturbance in the body also.
What happens when you go deep into meditation? The mind becomes cool and calm. It becomes still and all its restlessness drops. So, when we get into a state of being a witness, then the mind becomes so calm and clear. This sense of calmness in turn solidifies the state of being a witness. Both go hand in hand. Scientists say that for greater orderliness to prevail, the entropy of a system should be as low as possible. They say that at zero entropy there is total orderliness.
Desire increases the heat or restlessness in the body. For example, there can be no heat without any anger. You also cannot have any anger if you do not feel increased heat. On the other hand, if the body temperature becomes too cold, then it means that the person has passed away. So restlessness increases with any distortion. And when there is restlessness and heat, then it becomes an obstacle to our naturalness. Scientists call this phenomenon as entropy. When the entropy is less, then there is a greater degree of organized function.
~Gurudev HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji.

Mechanics of action

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
Posted: 01 May 2012

Mechanics of action

The dynamics of how events happen is a big mystery. Only one who is 100% in doing can recognise the happening. The healthiest way to apply this knowledge is to see the whole past as happening and the present as doing. If you see the past as doing, then ego and regret come along. And when you see the present as happening, laziness and unawareness set in. Let the happening be for the past and the doing for the present. And the future is a mix of both.

The wise will see the doing in happening and the happening in doing simultaneously. One who does a lot of work will never say he did a lot. If someone says he did a lot of work, it that means he can do more. He has not done enough. Work does not tire you as much as the "doership" does.

All actions happen through consciousness. The world moves because of consciousness. Consciousness expresses the three shaktis as — gyan shakti, ichcha shakti and kriya shakti. Knowledge, action and desire. If these shaktis are aligned, life becomes very smooth. If not, life is in doldrums.

Ichcha shakti is desire, gyana shakti is the power of knowledge and kriya shakti is the power to act. Some people have lots of kriya shakti, but lack gyana shakti. They have the power to act, but there is no knowledge of what to do. When this happens, people become restless. There are people who are not so active - lack of kriya shakti. Such people will simply sit quiet but their minds will go on working. Then there are people who lack ichcha shakti.

They lack the desire to complete the action and their minds keep changing. Lethargy is manifestation of lack of ichcha shakti. A perfect balance of these shaktis is very rare.

Desire, awareness of the Self and action all are manifestation of the same energy that is you. One of these three dominates at a time. When desire dominates, awareness of the Self will be at its lowest. That's why all the philosophers around the world have always advocated renunciation and dropping of desires. When you are in a state of awareness, happiness dawns and when desire dominates, stress and sorrow take over.

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

Five Factors That Influence the Mind

Weekly Knowledge #235
Milano
06 Jan 2000
Italy

Five Factors That Influence the Mind

Place, Time, Food, Past Impressions, Associations and Actions

The space -the place you are in. 
Every place you are in, has a different impact on the mind. Even in your house, you can see that you feel different in different rooms. A place where there there has been singing, chanting and meditation has a different influence on the mind. Suppose you like a particular place; you may find that a little later it will not be the same.

Time is also a factor. 
Different times of the day and year have different influences on the mind.

Different types of food that you take influence you for some days.

The past impressions-the Karmas- have a different impact on the mind. Awareness, alertness, knowledge and meditation all help erase the past impressions.

Associations and actions 
The people and events you are associated with do influence your mind. Your actions and associations effect your mind. In certain company your mind behaves in one way and with others in a different way.

Question:-
Should we worry about them?

Answer:-
No need to be paranoid about it. Just know them!

Though these five factors influence the life and the mind, know that the Self is much more powerful. As you grow in knowledge, you will influence them all.

🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸