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 🌸