Special or ordinary

Weekly Knowledge #64
Grimstad
28 Aug 1996
Norway

SPECIAL or ORDINARY

Are you special or ordinary?

What makes you special on the path? (Everyone is silent) Your perception, observation, and expressionhave advanced. What makes you ordinary on the path is that you are special! (Laughter) . . . . Because everybody thinks they are very special in some way or another!

Your perception has improved. You see the cause behind every cause, the Divine, and you see the great plan behind every small plan. You don't see the intentions behind others's mistakes and you are not a doubting Thomas.

Kiran: Who was doubting Thomas?

Shirley: Thomas doubted Jesus.

Bhanu: But I think he also got enlightened!

Stefano: Yes, but he was not sure! (Laughter)

Before getting onto the path you never observed your emotions. Now you observe your emotions, positive or negative, love or hatred, anger or compassion, pain or pleasure. Your observation has improved.

Your expression has improved. In the center-core of everyone there are all the good qualities. In the unfortunate and stressed ones it has not found an expression, but you have given an expression to these great qualities.

And soooo . . . . . you are extra . . . ordinary!

��Jai Guru Dev��

Faith and devotion

Weekly Knowledge #61
Los Angeles, California
07 Aug 1996
USA

Faith and Devotion

Faith is the subject of head. Devotion is the subject of heart. And meditation is of both and connects both.

A mature intellect is devoted. A mature heart is full of knowledge. And meditation matures your intellect as well as your heart.

Mr. John Pb: But people with good intellect seem to have less faith.

Guruji: They have more faith in the matter. Head puts the faith in the matter more and heart puts the faith in the abstract more.

It's next to impossible that one can be in total lack of faith or total lack of devotion. It's only a question of balance.

 
��Jai Guru Dev��

You and your time

Weekly Knowledge #198
Banglore Ashram
08 Apr 1999
India

YOU AND YOUR TIME

When you feel time is too short, you are either restless or in expanded awareness. When you feel time is too long, you are miserable or keen minded. When you are happy and love what you are doing, you simply don't feel the time. Also, in sleep you don't feel the time.

In deep meditation, you are the time and everything is happening in you. Events are happening in you like the clouds come and go in the sky.

When you are ahead of time, it is dragging and boring. When the time is ahead of you, then you are surprised and shocked. You cannot digest the events.

When you are with the time, you are wise and at peace.

Narayana Sharma says, "Guruji, you spend a good time with us!"

Next week we will see how to manage time or how the time manages us.

�� Jai Guru Dev ��

A Prayer

Weekly Knowledge #199
Kauai, Hawaii
15 Apr 1999
USA

A PRAYER

Give me not thirst if you cannot give me water.
Give me not hunger if you cannot give me food.
Give me not joy if I cannot share. 
Give me not the skills if I cannot put them to good use. 

Give me not intelligence if I cannot perceive beyond it. 
Give me not knowledge if I cannot digest it. 
Give me not love if I cannot serve. 
Give me not desire that doesn't lead me to you. 
Give me not a path that doesn't take me home.
Give me not a prayer if you don't want to hear it. (Laughter)

Question :-When you pray, to whom do you pray?

Sri Sri :-To myself! In prayer the mind goes to its source, the Self. God, Guru, and the Self are the same.     

Dean says :- Give me not time if I don't know how to manage it.

Daniel says :- Gurudev says, "You're all out of time..." (Laughter)

�� Jai Guru Dev ��

Noise of non-violence

Weekly Knowledge #200
Apple Valley, California
21 Apr 1999
United States

THE NOISE OF NON-VIOLENCE

Often violence comes with noise. Non-violence happens in silence. People who are violent make huge noise; they make it  known.  People who are non-violent are quiet. But the time has come for people who are non-violent to make noise so that the violence will quiet down. The message of non-violence has to come loud and clear so that it can be heard from a young age.

A sense of shame has to be connected with anger and violence. The reason for violence in young people is a sense of pride in anger and violence, not a sense of shame. People feel proud that they are violent or angry. They think it is prestigious or a status symbol to be aggressive. Aggression is not thought to be a quality to be ashamed of. This promotes aggression and violence in the whole society, and when aggression and violence are promoted, human values diminish. Some movies and modern music glorify frustration, anger and revenge and make these a role model for children.

We need to promote human values especially love compassion and belongingness loud and clear. Speak to groups or through your local media in the newspaper and on TV and create as many Art Excel and Art of Living courses in your area as possible.

David asks:-"If people are ashamed to be angry, won't that keep them unnatural and set up resistance in them that will persist?"

  Sri Sri:-"If they are not ashamed, they will feel a free license to get angry and violent. Sometimes resistance is a good thing (Like resistance to disease or resistance to bad habits)."

 �� Jai Guru Dev ��

Life is too short, is eternal

Weekly Knowledge #201
Santa Barbara, California
28 Apr 1999
USA

LIFE IS TOO SHORT
LIFE IS ETERNAL

The realization that life is very short brings dynamism in your life. Unwanted things will fall off as well as distractions. When you have to be acting or putting out effort, know that life is short. When you are expecting a result, then you are often frustrated. The ignorant person does it the other way: He hurries for the result and is impatient. Impatience goes away when you know that life is eternal. When you are looking for a return of a favor from someone or a result from your good deed, you want it quickly. When you realize life is short, procrastination falls away. But when you know that there are many lifetimes, you realize that if you don't get it sooner, you get it later. Wake up and see your life is too short. Time is running so what are you doing with your life? Is it being useful to you and the world around you? Realize life is too short. WAKE UP! LIFE IS ETERNAL!

When you want to enjoy the fruit of action know that life is eternal. When it comes to hope, you should know that there are many lifetimes. When you are looking for results, know that time is eternal. If someone doesn't thank you or takes advantage of you, thank them because they will pay you back later with interest. So no one needs to feel sorry that they have been taken advantage of or unappreciated. Know that they will have to be paying you back in the future with interest! When it comes to enjoying the fruit of your actions, good deeds or even blessings, know that life is eternal. Anytime that you are in a hurry, you cannot enjoy. So know that life is eternal.

Jai Guru Dev

सब धरती कागज करू,
लेखनी सब वनराज।
समुंद्र की मसि करु,
गुरु गुंण लिखा न जाए।।

Happy Guru Purnima

A Deep Rest

Weekly Knowledge #202
Boston, Massachusetts
06 May 1999
United States

A DEEP REST

You cannot rest when you have to do something which you cannot. And you cannot rest when you feel you have to be someone whom you are not. You are not required to do what you cannot. You will not be asked to give what you cannot give. Nothing is expected of you that you cannot do. Doing service involves only doing what you can do. And no one wants you to be someone whom you are not.

This realization brings you deep rest. You cannot rest if you have either ambition or lethargy. Both are opposed to good rest. A lazy person will toss and turn at night and be "rest-less" and an ambitious person will burn inside.

This rest brings up your talents and abilities and brings you closer to your nature. Even a slight feeling that the Divine is with you brings deep rest.

And prayer, love and meditation are all flavors of deep rest.

�� Jai Guru Dev ��