ART OF LIVING ARTICLES n VIDEOS

Gurudev, how to overcome jealousy? Sri Sri: Just know that you are going to die and the other person is going to die too. The person whom you are jealous of will be finished, you will be finished and everything will become ashes. What is there to be jealous about. Once Mullah Nasruddin and his friend, both were taking a nap under a tree, on a hot summer afternoon. After the nap Mullah woke up and said, 'Ah! I saw a great dream. I saw this beautiful lady falling in love with me', and the spark was still in his eyes. He looked so joyful and so his friend said, 'I am so jealous of you. Why don’t these beautiful ladies come into my dreams? I only get horror dreams of my wife, and I perspire.' Mullah said, 'Do you think I do not perspire thinking about my wife. It’s a dream. Why don’t you also dream. Why should be jealous about my dream. At least you have freedom to have you own dreams, even if it becomes reality now or later'...

Gurudev, if a person feels hurt by the divine where does one go? Sri Sri: There is nowhere to go! It is impossible that the Divine hurts you! There is a beautiful couplet in Kannada that we used to learn in school. It says, the more you squeeze sugarcane, sweeter is the juice that comes. The more you cut a diamond, the more it shines. The more gold is hammered, put in fire, the more it shines. The more you grind sandalwood, the more its fragrance spreads. Nature puts you through many different tasks and tests, and you come out shining from it all. You must remember that nature will not give you a burden which you cannot carry. God first measures the tail and then puts it on the animal, so it can easily wag its tail. Just imagine if a rat had the tail of an elephant, which it cannot even lift! Nature is very intelligent, it only gives you that problem which you can handle. ======================================================= Gurudev, I have a deep rooted secret...

Something happened in the past, it was to happen and so it happened. Accept the past and don’t brood over it, move on. Suppose you have committed some mistake, you have insulted somebody and that person holds on to it for so long, even after you have asked for forgiveness from them a million times, what do you do if that person still doesn’t forgive you? Somebody has been wrong to you and you also have been wrong to someone. Don’t you seek forgiveness and move on? You don’t want someone to hold on to your mistakes for your whole life, isn't it? If the person forgives you, moves on, understands your position, how do you feel? See the other person in the same way. You being in victim consciousness and having rage and anger, does it help you any way to carry on your life? Absolutely not! Waste of time, waste of your potential and life. So we must forgive, forget and move on. You hurt someone in the past and somebody hurt you, that account is closed now. Finished! There w...

How to keep on loving without expecting. How is it possible? In love expectations arise and if not fulfilled, it hurts. Sri Sri: Yes, you will have to go through these gymnastics. If you have wisdom, you don’t have to go through the pain to learn. When there is lack of wisdom, you go through pain, but you will come out of it in sometime, don’t worry. This is why it is important for one to have a larger context to life. When you have a larger context, all these trivial things don’t really bother you. They are all like waves on the surface of the ocean, they rise and fall; like ripples in the lake, they rise when the wind blows, and when there is no wind, there are no ripples. So, have a bigger context. That is atma gyaan (knowledge of the self); nothing can shake me, I am much bigger than the emotions, I am much bigger than the world around me, people around me. Their praise and their blame doesn’t matter. I am much bigger than all this! This aware...

Wanting to influence is itself a problem. What do you get by influencing people around you? You don't know one secret: if you influence somebody, or make a big impression on them, they become jealous of you. And then, they try to pull you down. Or they don't care and they make fun of you. In either case, what do you gain? More problems. Just be your natural self. Simplicity, honesty, contentment, creativity - these will influence all the people around you. || Jai Guru Dev ||

There are two types of respect: Respect that comes to you because of your position, fame or wealth. This type of respect is impermanent. It can be lost once you lose your wealth or status. Respect that comes because of your virtues like honesty, kindness, commitment, patience and your smile. This respect, no one can take away. The less you are attached to your virtues, the more self respect you have. If you get attached to your virtues, you look down upon everybody else, and the virtues start diminishing. Non- attachment to virtues brings the highest self respect. Often one confuses ego with self esteem. Ego needs the other for comparison; self esteem is just confidence in oneself. For example, a gentleman claims that he is thorough in Mathematics or Geography, this is self esteem. But to say that I know better than you, that is Ego. Ego simply means lack of respect to the Self. Ego upsets you very often. Self esteem is immune to getting upset by external factors. I...

You know, many of you often say, 'Oh, I feel so hurt'. You fall in love and then you get hurt, isn't it. How many of you have had this experience? ( Many raise their hands ) You didn’t expect a certain action or reaction from the people whom you love, and you get an unexpected response and you feel hurt. What happens when you are hurt? You start shutting down, you start withdrawing. And if it happens more than three times, your whole personality gets affected. Then you become a very rude, rough and angry person. Isn’t that so? Let us say someone hurts you, how do you behave the next moment? You become rough, rude and angry. This is one reaction. There is another way to look at it. Why does someone hurt another person? Only two kinds of people can hurt you. First, one who is wise can hurt you, because when you get hurt you wake up from your slumber. The hurt wakes you up, somewhere it makes you stronger. Second, one who is himself hurt or who is ignora...

In the solitude of the self Buddha is not on the peak, rather the peak is beneath Buddha. One who goes to the peak comes down, but the peak seeks the one who is stationed in the inner space. Shiva is called Chandrasekhara which means that mind which is in the Shiva (transcendence) and is always above the peak. Often people are running after parties and celebrations, but for the one who is not running after them, parties and celebrations follow him. If you are running after parties, loneliness comes to you, but if you are in the solitude of the Self, parties surround you. || Jai Guru Dev ||

You cannot eliminate formality in society. It has to be given its place. But devoid of cordiality, formality can be hypocritical. Cordiality alone may cause chaos and may even appear sometimes to be uncaring. Formality improves communication; cordiality improves communion - oneness. Communication is only necessary where there are two. Formality maintains duality. Structures are based on formality. Love and knowledge are based on cordiality. For love and knowledge to blossom, you need an informal, cordial environment. An organization cannot happen, orderliness cannot prevail, if the formalities are abandoned. All actions are measured steps of formality. Devotion is informal and totally chaotic. Cordiality is the core of one's existence, formality is the outer shell. When the outer shell is thin, it can reflect the inner light. Like the dome of the lamp softens the light. But if the dome is too opaque, you cannot see the light. So, we need to strike a balance between cordial ...

Belongingness can bring about a host of negative emotions. Like demand, jealousy, unawareness and lack of gratitude. Just look into your own life, you feel more grateful to strangers than the people you feel "belong" to you. Belongingness reduces gratefulness, awareness, and gives rise to demands which destroys love. This is the biggest problem in relationships. People are nice to strangers and give more attention to them. With a sense of belongingness comes care freeness and lack of attention. Look belongingness can make you insensitive, dull, and take away the charm in life! Anyway, who belongs to whom in this world? Here you are a stranger and everyone is a stranger to you! Blessed are those who feel themselves as a stranger! You feel more obligation to a stranger than the person you feel belongs to you. Obligation is very good to keep a check on your ego. It makes you humble. There is no greater antidote to ego than humility. Being humble is the beginning of all virtues...

Organization is control. Devotion is chaos! Organization needs attention to details, a material awareness. Organization is being worldly. Devotion is getting lost, forgetting the world, being in ecstasy. These are opposite in nature. They don't go together, yet they cannot be apart or exist without each other. No organization can arise without devotion. When there is so much devotion, you simply want to organize. Devotion brings faith, compassion, and responsibility. With responsibility and caring, you want to give knowledge, wisdom, and love. Then organization happens. So organization exists through devotion. If you are devoted, you won't just sit. The nature of devotion is to give. If you think you are devoted and you are not caring for the world, then you are merely selfish. Real devotion means being one with the Divine, and the Divine cares for the world. Often you lose devotion in organizing. And often in the name of devotion you create chaos and disregard the or...

Fear is what you feel when you think you have no support. When you feel separate, you feel fear. There is a beautiful saying in Sanskrit, 'Dvitiyadvayi bhayam bhavati'. Fear happens when there are two (meaning when there is no feeling of belongingness). We simply need to recognize our origin, our source and get connected to our higher Self. Then fear simply vanishes. It only needs this recognition that, ‘The Divine loves me very dearly; the Infinity is with me and all of Nature is a part of me. There is someone to care for me’. Just these thoughts and positive affirmations are enough to make that fear run away. || Jai Guru Dev ||

Often people think they are in control of their life, their situation, their world. Control is an illusion. The whole world moves according to the laws of Nature in an auspicious rhythm of innocence, intelligence, and divinity. That is Shiva. Shiva is the eternal state of Being, the One without a second, the harmonious innocence that knows no control. Control is Vashi - Shiva reversed. Vashi is of the mind. Vashi is weakness. Vashi is doing something by exerting unnatural pressure. Vashi requires two, and duality is the cause of fear. Shiva, that harmonious innocence, dissolves duality. Shiva means wholeness of the moment. When there is no regret of past, no want of future, the moment is whole and compete. Time stops, mind stops. Excerpts from the book An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Having attained that, human life becomes perfect. There is nothing that you feel you don’t have. That perfection dawns in life. Siddho bhavati, amrito bhavati - you recognise that something deep inside which has never aged, never dies. Tripto bhavati - it brings such fulfilment. Love  brings such fulfilment in life. Yat prapya na kinchid vanchati, na shochati, na dweshti, na ramate notsahi bhavati Having attained that, there is no more craving, no more desires. Na shochati - you will not sit and cry for anything, there is no sadness. Na dweshti - you do not hate anything. Na ramate - nothing else is ‘rejoiceful’. Nothing else is pulling you off your centre, nothing else is charming. Notsahi bhavati - then there is no other enthusiasm or excitement that can take you off. That does not mean you are devoid of enthusiasm - notsahi bhavati. You are not over-enthusiastic, not over-excited about anything. Yat gyatva matto bhavati, stabdho bhavati,  atmaramo bhavati Matto bhav...

Yat gyatva matto bhavati, stabdho bhavati, atmaramo bhavati Knowing this you become intoxicated, spellbound and you repose in the Self. There is nothing that can intoxicate you like love. And all the intoxication that people use is to be in that love, is in the search for that love. But they are searching for love in the wrong place. It is the frustration, the ‘unfulfilment’ that makes one go for intoxicants, isn’t it so? What happens when you are intoxicated? The ‘two’ disappears, the ‘other’ vanishes. When the other vanishes, then you are more at ease and love is that which gives you such ease, such comfort. Divine love intoxicates you. Just knowing Divine love, you get intoxicated, spellbound and wonder-struck. When we are miserable, we ask many questions, “ Why this, Why this?” When the questions turn into wonder, love arises. Love does not give rise to more questions - it is the  answer for all the questions. Love is not a path actually. Love is home. Love brings you ba...

Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. Lamps are lit on this day not just to decorate homes, but also to communicate a profound truth about life -- when the darkness within is dispelled through the light of wisdom; the good in us wins over the evil. Diwali, in essence, is celebrated to kindle the light of wisdom in every heart, the light of life in every home, and bring a smile on every face. Diwali is the shortened form of Deepavali, which literally means rows of lamps. Life has many facets and stages to it. It is important that we throw light on all of them, for if one aspect of our life is in darkness, we cannot express life in its totality. The rows of lamps lit on Diwali remind us that every aspect of life needs our attention. Lighting Good Qualities Every lamp that we light is symbolic of a good quality. There are good qualities in every human being. Some have forbearance, some have love, ...

With more than seven billion minds active every moment, there are endless streams of thoughts in these minds on every aspect of creation. Some thoughts perceive reality the way it is, some are imagination, and some are simply misconceptions. While there are misconceptions and myths about many topics, one of the most popular topics is meditation. Say the word, "meditation" and all kinds of images and notions come up. Is this for me? I can't sit for long hours. Who wants to meditate anyway? Here are some of the most common myths about meditation: Myth #1: Meditation is concentration Meditation is actually deconcentration. Concentration is a result of meditation. Concentration requires effort, while meditation is absolute relaxation of the mind. Meditation is letting go, and when that happens, you are in a state of deep rest. When the mind is relaxed, we can concentrate better. Myth #2: Meditation is a religious practice Yoga and meditation are ancient practices that...

Desire is trying to hold on to air in a fist. How much air can you hold in the fist? The more you tighten your grip, the lesser air you can hold. Love is like the vast sky and the sky cannot be held in the fist. You have to open your palm. That is nirodha - when you open your palm, the entire sky is in there and if you hold a mirror in your hand, you can have the sun, the moon - everything. A small palm can hold the sun, but not the fist - nirodha rupatvat. being centred, being 100% in activity and rest. This is the way to be in Divine love. Tasmin ananyata tad virodhishu udasinta cha Often love is thought to be between two - one and the other. When there is another, you don’t feel totally one with the person. You always question and doubt the other person’s love for you. If you doubt whether the other person really loves you or not, you will be unable to love them unconditionally, unable to merge with them. Certain things you have to take for granted. One thing is the love of th...

Often people say, “be the same outside as what you are inside.” I ask you, how is this possible? Inside you are a vast ocean, an infinite sky. Outside you are finite-just a small limited form, a normal stupid person! All that you are inside - the love, the beauty, the compassion, the Divinity - doesn’t show up fully outside. What shows is only the crust of behaviours. Ask yourself, “Am I really my behavioural patterns?” “Am I really this limited body/mind complex?” No... you are not the same inside as outside. Don’t mistake the outer crust for who you are inside. And don’t show your infinite lordship outside for Divinity is not easily understood. Let there be some mystery. Excerpts from the book An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Kirti Nuwal's study says that inter-personal communication skills and ability to explain personal life situations help spiritual gurus enjoy the loyalty of their followers The controversies surrounding spiritual gurus and godmen, who were once considered infallible and God-like, have brought to question the prudence of subscribing to their ideologies. While the controversies and allegations might have tarnished their public image, it has failed to shake the faith their followers have in them. MICA graduate Kirti Nuwal conducted a study to understand what made the spiritual gurus of our times a brand whose value doesn't diminish, at least among their followers. The study 'Branding of spiritual gurus', which was part of Kirti's dissertation project, mainly focused on three revered gurus - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Radha Maa and Nirmal Baba. Under the guidance of Dr Falguni Vasavda Oza, associate professor of marketing, Kirti interviewed four followers of each spirit...

Anyashrayanam tyago ananyata – letting go of all supports. Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita: ananyaas chinteyeh janha paripaas – I am there for the one who is one-pointed and does not look for other supports. “I become the feet for those who do not look for crutches, I become the eyes for those who do not look for glasses.” Loka vedeshu tadanukul aacharanam tadvirodheshu udasinta – In the world, as well as in spiritual matters, act towards that which nourishes this love, accept that which moves you in the direction of this love and be indifferent to that which is not supporting this love, because life is full of opposites. In life both things, events will happen – those that will support your hatred and destroy love, and those that will destroy hatred and support love, because the field of activity and life is full of opposite values. The same occurs in the scriptures, too – one scripture will authenticate this and another will authenticate that and if you go into all this, you may ...

The sixth International Women’s Conference (IWC) will be held in the International Center of the Art of Living International Foundation in Bangalore, India from February 7-9, 2014. The conference, inspired by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, humanitarian and founder of The Art of Living Foundation, will bring together eminent personalities and women leaders from over 100 countries around the world. A press release said that under the leadership Bhanumathi Narasimhan, chairperson of the IWC, the focus of the conference will continue to be on the relevance, inner strength and deeper insights in, and valuable contribution from, women who will discuss and share innovative solutions to restore harmony at both the societal as well as individual level. Bhanumathi stated in the release, “As a woman on the path to success, we expect to feel a sense of achievement when we reach the top. We might wonder, how does it look from there? Will the world and people around you look more beautiful? Will the jour...

Throughout their lives people desire small things, like a promotion, or more money, or a more fulfilling relationship. But all of these are very limited in that all these cannot give everlasting joy or contentment. People who spend their whole lives in achieving these desires are actually putting so much effort for very small gains in life. By being devoted to the scenery outside — with these goals and desires, one only reaps short-lived results. But one who is devoted to the seer within receives eternal gains. Meditation is a process to shift your focus from the scenery back to the seer. You place your faith on the scenery because you get something from it. But whatever you gain is because of the devotion you have within, which is the devotion of the seer. When our senses, which are always focused outwards come to rest, we can go inward, and that is when we can experience the bliss that springs forth from going inward. The fruits of such devotion never diminish.

In the next sutra he says: Yad prapya na kinchid vanchati na shochati, na dveshti, na ramate notsahi bhavati Having attained which, there is no desire left. Na shochati - nothing to grieve about. Na dweshti - nothing to hate, nothing to be so excited about. Notsahi bhavati - nothing to be motivated about. For every action there is a motivation behind that action. Something motivates you because you are going to get something out of it. But one who has attained love has no other motivation at all. Whatever you desire, the ultimate goal of all desires is to be in love. When that is already there, what is there to desire? One of the signs of siddhi is you have things even before you feel the need for them. Before you feel thirsty, there is plenty of water. And before you feel hungry, people are already offering you food to eat. Even before desires arise, they are already fulfilled, so where is the question of galloping on a desire? We are not even aware where our desires a...

In the next sutra he says: Yad gyatva, matto bhavati. Knowing which one is intoxicated! When you go through all this paraphernalia of negative emotions, that is when you just want to forget everything. Then people just want to drink and intoxicate themselves. But love is the best intoxicant available. Divine love is such an intoxication. Yat gyatva, matto bhavati - knowing which you become drunk, you get intoxicated, spaced out. Stabdho bhavati - what else will any of this excitement do to you? It brings you to a state of amazement, doesn’t it? “Ahh, wow!” This feeling arises in you. Love takes you to that state. Knowing which you become so stunned, smitten, completely awestruck! Atmaramo bhavati - you become so still, you repose in yourself. You are in such deep rest, deep peace. You are  rejoicing yourself and - atmoramo bhavati - reposing in the Self. All these are the glories of love. “How can I have it now? I just want to have that, nothing more, finished with everything e...

When you want to swim in the lake, you can jump from any side of the lake. Even if you  take a boat and jump from the middle of the lake, it is the same as jumping from the shore. You cannot learn swimming unless you are in the water. You cannot say you will first learn swimming and then get into the water. “I don’t want to wet my feet, my socks will get wet, but I want to swim.” This is not possible. Sa na kamyamana - it is not an object of desire, you cannot  make it into an object of desire. Nirodha rupatvat - it is of the nature of restraint, of relaxation, of retiring. If one is in a corridor and is walking from this end to that end, and all the person really wants is to relax, what you will say? “Wherever you are, just sit and relax. That is called nirodha - withdraw. No, withdraw is not the correct word, retire, repose. Repose wherever you are -  nirodha rupatvat. Nirodhastu loka veda vyapar nyasah What are you retiring from? From all worldly and religious ac...

Love can only blossom in freedom. When freedom is restricted, love suffocates. You need to be free. Often love stifles.When you are in love or when you love somebody, you feel stifled because you are obliged. When there are so many obligations that you need to fulfil, then these obligations become like a load on your head and you get the added responsibility not to hurt the people you love and who love you. In a subtle sense, this takes the freedom away and slowly demands start arising in you. The moment demand arises in you, know that love is on its death-bed. Love is in an oxygen chamber and it doesn’t live very long. Demand destroys love. Freedom is essential. So whether in the world, in religious or in spiritual matters, follow love rather than the rules. This was the sutra that we heard. A lover is beyond all rules. There is no rule on how to express your love. All expressions are a spontaneous outburst of love and love finds its own expressions - you cannot streamline it. Y...

Lokopi tadeva bhojanadi vyapara stvasharira dharanavadhi Our body is bound by discipline, it is bound by some clock. Whether you want it or not, whether you like it or not, your system gets tired at some time, wants to sleep at some time, a definite time, is hungry at a definite time, it goes for nature calls at a definite time. Your body is in certain discipline as long as we are in this body, on this planet, with people around us. We need to honour the rules, honour the discipline, honour whatever rules, in whichever place. Here, (Lake Tahoe, Montreal), driving on the right-hand side is the rule. If you go to India or England, it is left-side driving and you have to honour that rule there. Honouring the rules, the Shastras, the scriptures brings you enormous freedom and freedom sustains love; love in turn brings you enormous freedom, the true freedom. Nothing can take away the freedom that love brings you - not the mind. There is a subtle difference. Be in the world like anybody ...