Friday, April 15, 2016

Take the first step boldly

family dominated by a woman is much happier than a family dominated by a man! Do you know why? When men dominate, women become unhappy, and when women are unhappy, they make everyone around them unhappy! Then nothing can make them happy! So, it is better that women dominate; in her dominance, the family becomes happier. And men don’t mind being dominated!
Women should dominate in five areas:
1. In the family or the emotional sphere
2. Economy
3. Politics
4. Religion
5. The intellectual sphere
In politics, wherever women are dominating, the country is prospering. Ibu Johan is one such example, and our honorable mayor of Surabaya is another example. When women dominate, corruption comes down. I have heard several stories of how Surabaya has prospered in the last few months; there has been a lot of improvement in the living conditions.
When women will dominate in politics, there will be less war in the world. There may be different types of wars, but this big war that is happening all over the world, which is male-dominated, has created several conflicts.
Women should also dominate in the economic field. There are very few women taking lead in the economy. Of course, there are many here on stage and in the audience. Ivan is one such lady who is an entrepreneur, and there are many other here, who I am glad are setting an example.
When women dominate the religious and spiritual fields, perhaps, there will be less conflicts, violence and terrorism in the world.
One more thing that women have to note is the need for intellectual dominance, in the field of science, architecture and literature. Women have to come forward in these areas. Though there are pockets of excellence here and there, generally, women are emotional and,more into arts; not so much in the literary field, which I think should be promoted in a big manner.
So women should dominate in all these five areas, and don’t ask men or anyone else to empower you. You should simply assume and walk with it, do what is needed!
See, the old concept that men are from Mars, and women are from Venus, no longer stands today. Today, it has become a unisexual world. Men have the qualities of women, and women also have the qualities of men. It is a shared world today, and values are also almost shared.
The reason I say dominance is required is because on a practical level, when we see that a woman is the boss of the family, generally, family members are happier. Women have the skill to bind everyone together. If the basic unit of the world, i.e., the family becomes stronger, then the value-system is well founded, and the happiness factor is on a rise. Today, it is not just GDP (Gross Domestic Product), but GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) that matters more.
All this hooliganism and problems that we find in society are often because of broken families; mothers have been unable to pay enough attention to children. When children from such families grow older, they create havoc in society, making themselves and everyone around them also miserable. I feel women have a big influence in building the character of a man.
Another aspect of leadership is the ability to listen; it is a natural gift for women to be good listeners, and to see things from another’s perspective. I am not saying that everyone has these tendencies or qualities, but women have far more potential as compared to men. Thus, emotional nurturing and intellectual exaltation, both, are possible when the right training and guidance are made available at the right age.
If opportunities are available, women can be very good entrepreneurs. Here again, I would say, don’t sit and wait for someone to give you the opportunity. You take the first step, and look for entrepreneurship.
Thus, be prepared to dominate at home, at your workplace, in politics, and take a dominating position in religious and spiritual fields. These are the four different pillars of society; if any one pillar is not strong enough, then society cannot be a happy.

What quality should an ideal disciple have? Do you differentiate between disciples?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t worry so much, just be like a child, and take life with ease. Yes, I differentiate between disciples and you are very special. Each one of you is unique and each one is special, so everyone is different.

Instruments and their effects on the chakras

The drums affect the Mooladhara (the base chakra or the first chakra).

The big and small drums, their effect is from the Mooladhara to Swadishtana (second chakra).

The big wind instruments like trumpets affect the second to third chakra (Swadhisthana to the Manipura).

Metallic sounds affect the Manipura to Anahata (the fourth chakra). When you hear a metallic screech, something happens in your belly. How many people have noticed this?

The string instrument has its affects from the naval to the heart. Veena and Sitar – stringed instruments affects the Anahata (the heart chakra).

Flute music, wind instruments and sometimes the piano sounds affect the Anahata to Vishudhi (the throat chakra).

Bells, sounds of water, bird songs, very soft and subtle sounds have its effects from throat to the Agna Chakra (in between the eyebrows).

Then finally the Sahasrara the (top of the head) is affected by meditation and all other instruments put together at once.

If you watch any Indian rituals, you will understand that they knew this. In the temples, they placed the drums on the periphery, then there are the big wind instruments, and on the very inside of the sanctum sanctorum are bells and conch.

So, sound vibes are balanced from the drums to the wind instruments, then stringed instruments, then again wind instruments and then bells and finally, it all ends in silence. The purpose of sound is silence. Did you all know this? Sound originates from silence and its goal is silence. Silence simply means total harmony. When there is total harmony deep within you, then even sound seems like an object, it seems heavy. But the way is through sound, through music. Music is that which connects the individual to the universal. The limited mind expands through music and realizes it is already part of the big consciousness or the big mind.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Knowledge came from hayagriva

It is said in the Vedas, knowledge came from Hayagriva, the man with a face of a horse. What is the significance of horse in the scriptures?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Horse is called Ashwa. Shwa means yesterday or tomorrow. Ashwa means now. So the word 'now' in Sanskrit, is the same as horse. That one word, Ashwa has two meanings:
1. Now or the present moment
2. Horse
So instead of saying - all the knowledge came in the moment, they said it came through the horse!
In Hayagriva, haya means head.
When your head is in the present moment then knowledge just comes up from within.
I know all The Art of Living teachers have experienced this. Haven’t you? You don’t know the answer to the questions that your students ask, but you are able to answer them! So where did the knowledge come from? You were in the moment, you were connected to the ocean of knowledge, the tradition of knowledge and so you were able to just download it instantaneously. That’s what it is.

The science of aggression

Being right does not mean being harsh and being kind doesn’t mean just letting anything happen. Kindness is not complacence and righteousness is not just aggression. Unfortunately, today, when we are right we get aggressive. It need not be, it should not be. In fact, aggression only shows our weakness; our lack of faith in our own power. Isn’t this strange? You think that the powerful will be aggressive? No! People who feel they have no power, or they have lost power, they become aggressive. Just look a little deep into it. When do you get aggressive? When you can’t do things easily. When things can happen easily, will you get aggressive?

So when you don’t have confidence in your power or the power of your being then you get aggressive. I know it is difficult to get that! When all these things were happening in Delhi, someone asked me, "How were you so cool Gurudev? We were all tensed!"
I know everything will happen well. And when I know that everything will happen, then what is the point of becoming aggressive, upset, sad or unhappy.
When you know the power within you, you don’t get aggressive. The powerful don’t get aggressive. Who gets aggressive? When you feel that the situation, person, people are beyond your control, or you feel that it is not possible. Or when you feel that you are smaller than the situation, then you become aggressive. I think you should ponder on this. Often you see a person with aggression, you feel that he is powerful. He is really not!

Guru one liner: when do you get aggressive?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you feel that the situation, person, people are beyond your control, or you feel that it is not possible.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Guru punch - do not sit and analyse

You should not sit and analyse yourself too much, may be you have too much free time. When you are busy, where is the time to sit and analyse? Action is spontaneous; sometimes you do the wrong things and you bear the consequences and move on. - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar