ART OF LIVING ARTICLES n VIDEOS

Q: Gurudev, how can we be your Masterpiece? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are already one! You are a piece of the Master, and you should go and spread the peace of the Master.

Q: How do I build an affinity and attachment towards knowledge? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This very question indicates that you already have it my dear. Why do you keep looking for it when you already have it? If you think that you do not have an affinity for knowledge and then you strive to cultivate it, I tell you, it is never going to happen. There are certain things that you should just assume to be present in you. There are some things that we need to know and understand, and there are some things that we just need to believe in totally, and take it for granted. Of course, you cannot know everything so some things you would need to reason out. For example, if someone tells you, “This is poison, do not drink it”. You should not say, “Oh! How do I know it is poison? Let me try and see if it really is poison”. You would not survive to tell the difference (laughter). Do you get what I am saying? So there are some things you simply need to assume to be true, and there are other things tha...

Q: Gurudev, what is the secret behind your beauty and attractiveness? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: In English it is said, “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”. So beauty lies in the eyes of the one who observes. When your mind is happy and peaceful, then you will also see joy and happiness in the world around you, and you see everyone as good-natured. When your mind is filled with negativity and aversions, then everyone appears as an enemy to you. It all depends on perspective. Coming here to the Ashram definitely helps in changing one’s perspective. If that does not happen then something is not quite right with me or with you. My only job is to see you grow and progress higher in life. If spirituality did not give happiness, then why would anyone ever turn towards it? Why would anybody take up the spiritual path if it was burdensome? One definitely gets something good from spirituality, which is why so many people practice it. Nature has designed it in this way.

Q: How do I know if I really love someone or is it merely attraction? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Time will tell you. Ask them to behave tough towards you and then you will know. When someone puts too many demands on you, then you will be able to know how much you really honor them.

Q: Gurudev, are inter-caste or inter-religious marriages wrong according to Dharma? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No, not at all. It is not the caste or religion that is wrong. It is your compatibility that is important here. Do not go to someone and tell them, “I cannot live without you” when you are in a state of emotional upsurge. If you do so in an emotional state, then very soon you will also say, “I cannot live with you”. It will be like a flip over. This is why in such matters you should take the advice of elders also.

I want to ask you a question. When you have to go for work, do you ever leave without brushing your teeth? Even if you have a lot of work to do, do you leave without brushing your teeth? I also had a lot of work to attend to today. I was meeting thousands of people today since morning. But do you give up drinking water because of so much work? Suppose today you know you have a lot of work in the office. Do you simply get out of bed, change into your shirt and trousers and run off to work? Do you go to the restroom or not before leaving? If you do not brush your teeth one day, no one will be able to sit near you. So it is necessary to brush your teeth every day. This is dental hygiene. In the same way, doing pranayama and meditation every day is mental hygiene.  To free the mind of all stress and to go to work with a cheerful and happy mind, you need to invest a few minutes every day for this as well. Take some time out for this. Once it comes into your routine, then it becomes a p...

Deep rest is the essence of sadhana. You have become so tired by doing something or the other all the time. Now just sit down for some time and to be with yourself. Do some meditation. When you meditate, you will start seeing a new world in front of you. You get deep rest is meditation. You get rest when you are content, and this rest is what gives rise to Happiness.  Running behind happiness makes you tired. When you run behind happiness you get tired, but when you repose in the self, when you rest, you get energy, and that brings you strength, joy and happiness. So every once in a while, stop the rat race, and take some time out to be with yourself, and get some rest. This is what knowledge is and this is what spirituality is.  Many time, in the name of sadhana also, we start engaging ourselves in some activity, and once again we get tired. I tell you, the physical body does not make you as tired as the mind does. Work doesn’t make you as tired as much as your desires. Noth...

This full moon is dedicated to the seers - the Rishis. It is also called the Raksha Bandhan. Bandhan means bondage, Raksha means protection. A bondage that protects you - your bondage to the Knowledge, to the Master, to the Truth, to the Self, all Save You. A rope can be tied to either protect or strangle you. The small mind and mundane things can strangle you. The big mind or knowledge saves you. Raksha Bandhan is that bondage that saves you. You are bound by your bondage to the Satsang. Your bondage to the Master, to the Truth, to the ancient Knowledge of the Rishis, and that is your saviour. Bandhan is bonding and bonding is essential in life. Let the bonding be divine in a life free from bondage.

If you find that there is ego, then let it be. Even ego belongs to the divine. Don’t try to surrender, don’t struggle. If you say that I have surrendered my ego, then it is bigger ego. It’s like saying, "I am the most humble person in this entire world!" That doesn’t show humility. Just be Natural.  The more you grow in knowledge, you see that ego goes away. You know, around the seed there is a membrane. When you soak it in water, the seed bulges, sprouts and automatically the membrane breaks away. But if you try to peel the skin, the seed itself will break. Same way, when you soak yourself in knowledge, in devotion, in love, and in wisdom, you automatically find the ego going away.

Lord Krishna says, “Think of Me even as you struggle or battle in life".  When you give your 100% in anything that you do, then that is a battle. A battle does not always imply killing someone. A battle means, wherever you put all your efforts and everything at stake. So if life appears to be a struggle, then put in your 100%. But Lord Krishna says, “Do so by keeping Me in your mind at all times as you struggle. Surrender both your mind and your intellect to Me when you do this”.It means to surrender totally – both by feeling and by understanding (logic). Some people do not apply any understanding but are driven greatly by feelings only. Some people are able to understand and interpret things correctly but there are no feelings or emotions in them. That is why Lord Krishna has said many times in the Bhagavad Gita, “Be connected to Me both by your feelings and by your intellect”. Krishna says, “Surrender unto Me and accept Me totally – both at the level of emotions and the intelle...