ART OF LIVING ARTICLES n VIDEOS

In the field you throw so many seeds. Not all seeds sprout. Some sprout, some don’t. When you sow saplings, not every sapling grows. Some do, some don’t. In a tree, not all flowers become fruit. Some fall when they are not even ripe. That’s why you put your effort and then you give up (here meaning surrender). Giving up without putting any effort is foolishness and after putting all your effort, not giving up is also foolishness. Put all your effort and give up. Not putting all your effort and giving up is also foolishness. What makes you free? Putting your effort and giving up makes you free. If you say, 'I give up', without putting effort, it doesn’t make you free. You say, 'I give up', but you have not really given up because of that tendency of wanting to do. That will hold you back from being free. The secret of freedom is, put your effort and give up. Not putting your effort and giving up doesn’t free you. And, putting all your effort and not giving up will ...

Yoga: Stilling the mind There is a new icebreaker in the international diplomatic circuit. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call at the UN General Assembly for declaring an International Yoga Day has gained support from several quarters – many representatives from Congress and President Obama as well have shown keen interest in yoga. From being an ancient spiritual pursuit for those seeking enlightenment, yoga has been absorbed into mainstream lifestyle by people from all cultures and backgrounds across the globe. And now it has also arrived in the global political arena. Good governance and administration require multi-faceted skills and yoga brings skill in action. In fact, it was called Raja Yoga because it was practiced by kings and princes in the ancient days. Yoga became popular in the west as a solution to lose weight or as a physical exercise and people also found relief from many ills such as stress, anxiety, professional burnout, addictions and insomnia. In add...

Medical findings about the Sudarshan Kriya taught in Art Of Living course: A world conference on science, consciousness and spirituality held in New Delhi noted the key findings of research conducted on the Sudarshan Kriya . Below is a simplified synopsis: 1. Less depression, more elation Dr Richard Brown from the USA has postulated that Kriya contributes to a state of alert calmness through its effect on the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is crucial in social bonding, empathy and love; it is the centre of our gut instincts and is crucial to our ability to perceive, observe and make complex decisions. Impaired vagal activity is found in people with depression, anxiety, panic disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, violent adults, post traumatic stress disorder, early Alzheimer’s and obesity. 2. Sleep like a baby `Stephen Porges suggested that the different rhythms of breath in Kriya stimulates different fibers of the vagus nerve. This makes SKY unique and likely to have a much wid...

Q: Why is your photo everywhere? What about the ego? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : I in fact, don’t want my photo to be everywhere. I tell people, but they do the same things, they bring it. Dr. Lawrence Carter also made a portrait of me in Atlanta (laughter). A huge big portrait and put it in the hall of fame there, in the university. I want to tell you one incident. I was once travelling in a plane and there was a politician, a minister travelling in that same plane. When we got d own, the politician was trying to come out, but there were about 200 people trying to give him a garland, and he was refusing. He was running around saying, 'No, no, don’t give me a garland. I am a simple man, don’t honor me'. And the whole drama happened for about half an hour. In his refusing the garland, he made it into a big scene. I said, 'If they brought it with so much love, you should have just taken it and moved on!' The whole thing would’ve finished in 2-3 minutes. In Ashtavakra Gita i...

Gurudev, I have heard this couplet: 'Sadguru pura je mile, paiye rattan upaar; Mann dije Guru aapne, paiye moksh dwaar' (One who has a Sa dguru receives wealth greater than the rarest gems, and one whose heart is devoted to the Sadguru finds liberation effortlessly). How can a seeker surrender himself wholeheartedly to the Sadguru? What does this couplet mean? Sri Sri: This is what I just explained, isn’t it? I gave you the answer even before you asked me this question! (Laughter) What does a Guru want from you? Just your heart, isn’t it? So dedicate your heart to the Guru, and be free! Giving your heart to the Sadguru means that you feel that ‘My Guru belongs to me, and is taking care of everything’. Just have this faith. See, the mind can get clouded with doubts and a million other thoughts. At first you doubt yourself, then you doubt the others around you, and then you doubt the whole world around you. This doubt slowly consumes your mind. Doubt is responsible ...

Q: How can we remove the physical desires that harm us and our relationships? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: By enhancing your prana (energy). When there is lust, there is a feeling of wanting to grab. When there is love, there is a feeling of wanting to give. How can the feeling of lust be transformed to love? By raising the energy level in our system. When energy is stuck in the lower chakra (two-three inches above the base of the spine), there is a feeling of lust. However, when the energy channels open up, the energy rises. Then there is more love, compassion, awareness. All these other beautiful, finer emotions also get opened up. Then violence disappears from the system.

It was thought that to say, "I am God" is blasphemy. I tell you, to say "I am not God" is blasphemy! When you say, "I am not God," you deny God of His omnipresence. You are made up of love. If you say, "I am not God," you are denying that God is love. If you are love and you say, "I am not God," you are saying God is not love, and that is blasphemy. "I am" is your consciousness. If you say, "I am not God," you deny that God is aware, alert and awake. You exist. When you say, "I am not God," you deny God of a portion of existence, and that is blasphemy. Also, you are denying the scriptures that say, "God made man in His own image." If you say, "I am not God," you are denying God. Question: If God is omnipresent, why is there hatred and suffering in this world? Sri Sri: Just as in a movie, it doesn't matter whether it is a tragedy or a comedy, or one with a happy ending; in...

The main thing that we need to do is, to honor one thing. What is that one thing? It is nothing! You need to learn to honor nothing! Before doing anything, there is nothing. After doing anything, there is nothing. So, nothing is really what everything is! Honor that nothing, which is everything! That is Nirvana! That is Salvation of Jesus! That is Nirvana of Buddha! That is Mukti or moksha of Shankaracharya of the Vedic tradition! Before any emotion, there is nothing. After any emotion, there is nothing. What is always there is nothing! See how happy you have become! Everything is nothing! Some pleasant things happen in life, some unpleasant things happen in life; some people scold you, some people praise you, but finally, everything is nothing! Many relationships come and many relationships go, finally, everything is nothing! Got it? Life has appeared out of nothing, and goes back to nothing, why hanker for this and that? Everything is done, anyway. All is nothing! Lord ...

Dear Guruji, what is the real meaning and importance of Rudra Pooja? And what happens to the people or the place? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Rudrabhishek  is an ancient chanting which was downloaded from the  Aakasha  (space). When the ancient sages and Rishis sat in meditation, they heard, and what they heard, they started transferring to other people. The effect of Rudrabhishek is it creates positive energy and removes negative vibes. And a lot is said about the Rudrabhishek. When Rudrabishek happens nature flourishes, nature becomes joyful, happy. Main thing is the vibration, that is it. If you ask me, ’Do you know the meaning of all the chants? I will say, ’I also don’t know.’ It’s the vibration of the chants that is important and then the meaning. There are two parts, the first part says, ’Namo, namo, namo, namo!’ Mana , means mind. The word  mind  in English comes from Sanskrit word  Mana . Nama  is the reverse of the mind. The min...

Very Intresting from Guruji's talk. 10 types of shuudhis / purification. 1. Body gets purified by water and exercise. 2. Breath gets purified by pranayama. 3. Mind gets purified by meditation. 4. Intellect gets purified by knowledge. 5. Memory gets purified by manan chintan. 6. Ego gets purified by SEVA ie service. 7. Self gets purified by guru chintan. 8. Food gets purified by cow's ghee. 9. Wealth gets purified by daan. 10. Bhav (feelings)gets purified by satsang. sri sri RAVISHANKARJI

How can a person build up faith? Or is it a talent with which one is born with? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:   You cannot build up faith, you should simply become aware of your doubts and drop them.  When you drop your doubts, faith is already there . A doubt is like a cloud hovering over the mind. Wake up and realize, 'What is this doubt? It is only putting me down and making me heavy. I don’t need it'. If you refuse to be bogged down by doubt, which you have had in the past many times, then you wake up. And when you wake up, faith is already there. Faith cannot be built but doubts can be done away with . There is no end to clarify doubts. You should never go to clarify doubts because when you answer one doubt, it will give rise to ten other doubts. Simply become aware, 'This is weighing heavy on me', and drop it. Then you snap out of it and you come to a place deep within you which is of strength, truth, and endurance. That is called faith. You would have noticed...

Q: Swamiji, would you distinguish VedAnta and Hinduism? Swamiji: Hinduism is the tradition based on the ancient Vedic Scriptures. And like other religions, Hinduism has its own theological concepts about God and heaven. But what makes it special is that is says, "You are the whole." That is Vedanta. And everything that helps you discover the truth of yourself-attitudes, values, emotional growth, spiritual practices-is part of VedAnta. VedAnta is the essence of the Vedic tradition and the foundation of Hinduism. If a religion is committed only to the goals of reaching heaven, there can be a religious pursuit without a spiritual pursuit. But the Vedic religious pursuit culminates in VedAnta, in the discovery that you are the whole. Everything else in the Vedas is preparation for that discovery. Your entire life is part of that preparation. That is the Vedic vision. That is something unique. There is a need for religion, and that need can be met by any religion. To pray...

Some excerpts of what Rajshree Didi spoke on March 10,2014 – 1. Like a GPS, it shows u the  path.It  makes u the path clear.Though there is still traffic jams & all. 2. Likewise when u r clear with ur purpose with why u are doing. When there is clarity,U move on, even though problems exists & things have not changed. 3. Many times you know its wrong yet u do it? How to stop & avert this tendency? 4. You know u like what the small mind does. Because many times your logic works, reasoning wins! 5. & with that attitude u keep moving & at times get lost in that ambition to win your small mind. 6. That is vasana, that binds you back with misery. 7. To overcome Vasana, one out of ten times, you say a no to it. Start with this. 8. You know observe the wall. If there is a crack how will the water flow? 9. It flows thru the cracks & soon there is a continuous flow & water gets directed to it. 10. Same is with the mind. Vasanas are tho...