ART OF LIVING ARTICLES n VIDEOS

Weekly Knowledge #52 Bad Antogast 05 Jun 1996 Germany WHAT YOU KNOW  What shall we talk about today?  What is the point in talking about something of which you know nothing. And so . . . there is no point in talking about what you know and no point in talking about what you don't know!  (Laughter)  Stefano says, "What about something you think you know but don't know?"  Guruji says, "We can talk about something you think you know but you don't know or something you think you don't know but you know." (Laughter)  There is no end to learning but there is an end to unlearning. That is when you become totally hollow and empty. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸

Weekly Knowledge #53 St. Louis, Missouri 13 Jun 1996 USA SEVA IS SAVIOR  The way to expand from individual to universal consciousness is to share others's sorrow and joy. As you grow, your consciousness should also grow. When you expand in Knowledge with time, then depression is not possible. Your inner most source is joy.  The way to overcome personal misery is to share universal misery! The way to expand personal joy is to share universal joy. Instead of thinking "what about me?" "what can I gain from this world?" think "what can I do for the world?" When everyone comes from the point of contributing to society, you have a Divine society. We have to educate and culture our individual consciousness in order to expand in time with the Knowledge . . . from "what about me?" to "what can I contribute?"  If you are not having good experiences in meditation, then do more seva -- you will gain merit and your meditation will be ...

Feel blessed Break through all the barriers and feel that you Are Blessed. This Is The One And Only Step You Have To take - the rest will all happen. This deep sense of feeling that "I am blessed" can help you overcome any obstacles in life. It gives you courage and confidence and it will open your lid for grace to be poured in. Once you realize that you are blessed, then: All the complaints disappear All the grumbling disappears All the insecurities disappear A sense of feeling unloved disappears Wanting love disappears. If you don't realize you are blessed, then the doership begins. If you want to make a difference in your life, feel you are blessed. And especially for those on this path of knowledge, there is no reason for you to not feel blessed. So, feel you are blessed. This is the first step towards the Self. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸

Weekly Knowledge #54 Somewhere in Beautiful British Columbia 19 Jun 1996 Canada WHEN WE ARE JOYFUL  When we are joyful, we don't look for perfection. If you are looking for perfection then you are not at the source of joy. Joy is the realization that there is no vacation from wisdom. The world appears imperfect on the surface but underneath, all is perfect. Perfection hides; imperfection shows off.  The wise will not stay on the surface but will probe into the depth. Things are not blurred; your vision is blurred. Infinite actions prevail in the wholeness of consciousness. And yet the consciousness remains perfect, untouched. As Satsangees, realize this now and be at Home. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸

Weekly Knowledge #55 Canadian Ashram 26 Jun 1996 Canada JUDGEMENTS AND GOOD COMPANY Though you have heard "don't judge," judgement comes unavoidably in day-to-day life. By the actions and behaviors of people, you either approve or disapprove. But always remember that everything is changing, and do not hold onto the judgement. Otherwise your judgement gets solidified like a rock. It brings misery for you and for others. If judgements are lighter like air, like a breeze, they bring in fragrance, then move away. They could bring a foul smell, then move away. They should not stay there forever. Judgements are so subtle that you are not even aware of their existence. Judging or labeling someone as judgmental is also a judgement. Only in the state of Being when you are full of love and compassion can you ever be free from all judgements. Yet the world cannot move without judgements. Until you judge something as good or bad, you cannot do any actions. If you see rot...

Weekly Knowledge #56 Canadian Ashram 03 Jul 1996 Canada GOD IS A THOROUGH BUSINESSMAN The Divine has given you all the small pleasures in the world, but has kept the bliss to Himself. To get the highest bliss you have to go to Him and Him alone. Don't be too smart with the Divine and try to fool Him. Most of your prayers and rituals are just attempts to trick the Divine. You try to give the least and get the maximum out of the Divine and He knows. He's a businessman; He will trick you even more. If you go underneath the carpet, He will go underneath the floor. Be sincere in your attempts. Do not try to outsmart the Divine. Once you get the bliss, then everything else is joyful. Without the bliss, joy in anything in the world will not stay. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸

Weekly Knowledge #58 Bad Antogast 17 Jul 1996 Germany RESPECT EVERYBODY AS YOU RESPECT ME Respect everybody as you respect Me, but don't expect from everyone what you expect from Me. You do it the other way. You don't respect everybody as you respect Me, but you expect them to give you joy and behave ideally. When they don't live up to your expectations, you get frustrated and you blame or curse them. By cursing, you lose your spiritual energy. Blessing brings your spiritual energy up. The world is full of differences and arguments are inevitable. With forbearance or patience and wisdom, skillfully make your way up. If you find fools around you, they are going to make you wiser. The number of fools around you indicates the strength of your centeredness. Don't try to get rid of them! (Laughter) If you are not centered you will have no patience to put up with them. When you are totally established, you find the fools come up with wisdom. They are your own r...

Weekly Knowledge #59 Bad Antogast 24 Jul 1996 Germany DOING VERSUS HAPPENING Only one who is 100 percent in doing can recognize the happening. The healthiest way to apply this knowledge is to see the whole past as happening and the present as doing. If you see the past as doing, then ego and regret come along. And when you see the present as happening, then laziness and unawareness set in. If you apply the doing for the future, it brings tension and worry. If you apply the happening for the future, it might bring some confidence and also lethargy. Let the happening be for the past. Let the doing be for the present. And the future is a mix of both. The wise will see the doing in happening and the happening in doing simultaneously. Are you confused now? (Laughter) One who does a lot of work will never say he did a lot. When someone says he did a lot of work, that means he can do more. He has not done enough. Work does not tire you as much as the doership does. All the ta...

BREATH - THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE We have ignored our breath. We attend to our feelings & we say, "Oh! I feel like this....." We attend to our thoughts or concepts, to our memory or to our mind. We attend to our body - trying to lose or gain weight. But there is something, which is connecting all these, that we have completely ignored - and that is our breath. OUR BREATH PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN MANAGING THE BODY & THE MIND. BREATH - THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE There is a rhythm in the breath......and this rhythm is connected to the rhythm in the world, the rhythm in nature, the rhythm in the body, the rhythm of one's thoughts & the rhythm of one's emotions. Don't think only people in hospitals are sick! Anyone who is not happy is sick! Anyone who is not calm & stable is sick. Anyone who does not know how to handle his or her own mind or thoughts or storms of emotions is in some way sick.

Struggling with Tough People? (Sri Sri Ravishankar) People who are tough to handle, whether at office or at home, only help you to develop your skills. You should really thank them. They make you more skillful, more refined, more compassionate and all your good qualities can start manifesting. Instead your ugly face starts manifesting. See, this is the difference. If you have knowledge, in tough situations, wisdom manifests and good things manifest out of it. If you lack skills, the worst things come out of it. So this one thing we need to master. What? Master the skill of expressing and communication, and grab this as an opportunity to do that.

Weekly Knowledge #57 San Jose, California 11 Jul 1996 USA SURRENDER AND RESPONSIBILITY Setting up a time-bound goal gives direction to the life force. Imagination is essential for this. Most people have a small imagination and are stuck with that, and that causes frustration. But if you are a devotee, you say "Let Thy Will be done" and then you will step lightly to the goal. You will take it easy. We have to make a distinction. Some people say "Let God do everything and surrender" and others say "I have to be responsible." Surrender is saying "Let Thy Will be done" and "Thy Will" for you is to take responsibility for the whole world. It appears to be opposing and conflicting in nature -- in fact they are two sides of the same coin. The more you surrender, the more responsive you become. One who is irresponsible cannot surrender either. Why is someone irresponsible? They are lazy or fearful or both. If you are lazy or fearful...

"When we are in activity our mind is always in the front. You just close your eyes, you’ll feel your mind is in the front. Because the mind goes through the eyes to look at the world and through the ears. The mind is mostly focused, during activity, in the frontal part of the body. For relaxing we take our mind to the background. You see suddenly there is some difference happening. It is necessary, from time to time." Ques: In the beginning of Rudra Puja there is shloka, ‘na karmana na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike amritatvamanashuh’, what does it mean? #SriSri: Yes, this is a very nice one! This is said to the Saints, Sanyasis, enlightened people, this is usually the mantra that they say while doing pranam, the vedic pundits. ‘na karmana na prajaya dhanena’, not through actions, not through money, not through fame or progeny or following, the nectar is achieved thru renunciation. ‘Tyagenaike amritatvamanashuh’, the nectar, immortality, can only be achieved through renuncia...