ART OF LIVING ARTICLES n VIDEOS

Satsang Transcript today 28 April 2016 - Sri Sri: Some people say, "Don't worry about the world, find your peace first." Correct. That is the first step. But, once you found your peace, what do you do? And when your peace is connected to so many people around you, how can you be an island of peace? Can you be? No! When you spread peace around you, only then your peace can also be permanent. Going inward is as important as reaching outside and transforming our environment. This has to happen simultaneously. Someone says, "Just forget about the world. Don't try to bring peace in the world. Don't try to reform the world. Just go within your self and you find your peace." In Art of living, we have found our peace. Haven't we? Audience: Yes! Sri Sri: The very first sitting you do, the very first thing you do, you are already peaceful. You understood to some extent the principles of life. When we found the peace and joy, it is our duty to spread ...

Q: When you tell me to smile, I am unable to smile when I have problems. How can you help me? Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know what obscures your smile? It is your desire. You want something and you are holding onto that thinking, “I want this, I want this.” That is what is making you miserable. Just wake up and say, "I don’t care" for a minute. Drop the desire and say, "I don’t want this", the next second something comes up in you, and that is a smile. Just say “I don’t want this, I’ll get whatever I need. Even if I want to meet Gurudev, I don’t care, I don’t want to meet him!” If that is bothering you, kick that desire too! Then you will see that you are totally relaxed and in total peace. As I said, three things obscure our being: 1. The ego 2. Desires 3. The intellect So freeze these things for a little while and then see how meditation happens. Even just this intention, “I want to freeze these three things...

Q: I have seen so many happy people here chasing you. I feel like I am the only one not connected to you. How do I know that I am connected to you? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You don’t have to emulate what others do, run after my car; you don’t need to do that. You just be yourself.

Q. What does  jai guru dev means? Ans:- The word Guru means great. Jaya means victory. Deva means one who is fun-loving, playful, light. One who is playful is often not dignified and when one is dignified, he is often not playful. Jai Guru Dev is victory to the Big Mind in you that is both dignified and playful. That is what Jai Guru Dev means: "Victory to the Greatness in you." You do not say victory or hail to the Master as he has won over already. You say victory to your own Self, your own Mind, which is being veiled by the small mind.

What is needed today is conversion from the head to the heart and not from one religion to another. When you convert from one religion to another, you start comparing this is good, that is not good. If you are a spiritual person, you take wisdom from everywhere and honor everybody and walk your path. That is what the ancient tradition is all about -- let knowledge flow to us from every side. That is open mindedness. This is the cause of terrorism in the world today. People think only their God is true God and every other God is false. They are creating so much havoc.

Weekly Knowledge #106 Montreal Ashram 18 Jun 1997 Canada Those who are sensitive often feel weak. Those who feel strong are often insensitive. Some people are sensitive to themselves but insensitive to others . They often feel the others are "bad guys." Those who are sensitive to others but not to themselves often end up feeling Poor me. Some conclude it's better not to be sensitive ,because sensitivity brings pain. They shut off .But mind you , if you are not sensitive, you will lose all the finer things in life, too--intuition, beauty and ecstasy of love. Insensitive people usually do not recognize their weakness .And those who are sensitive do not recognize that their sensitivity is their strength . This path and this Knowledge make you strong and sensitive . Sensitivity is intuition .Sensitivity is compassion . Sensitivity is love .Sensitivity is real strength: calmness , endurance ,silence ,non-reactiveness ,confidence ,faith --and a smile. Be both sensitive ...

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Being more aware in life and laughing every moment, we pass through this world. That is growth, that is blossoming in our personality.

Q: Great saints in pictures are shown with cobra behind their head. What is the significance? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, you will find Mahavir sitting with a five headed cobra behind him. Or Lord Vishnu is sitting in meditation and there is a cobra behind him. Even in the pictures of Rishis, you will find a cobra with its hood open at the back. It is a very subtle thing! See, when you are sitting in meditation, what is happening? Your consciousness is getting alert, opened and awakened, as though in your back ground there is a thousand headed cobra. Cobra signifies alertness. How many of you feel a lot of alertness in the back of your head during meditation? A sort of wakefulness! So the cobra is a symbol of the energy that raises and opens up; energy which is alert and at the same time restful. It is not that there was really a cobra at the back of their head, it is a symbol of wakefulness in the deep state of rest, and that is meditation – totally restful, wanting nothing, d...

family dominated by a woman is much happier than a family dominated by a man! Do you know why? When men dominate, women become unhappy, and when women are unhappy, they make everyone around them unhappy! Then nothing can make them happy! So, it is better that women dominate; in her dominance, the family becomes happier. And men don’t mind being dominated! Women should dominate in five areas: 1. In the family or the emotional sphere 2. Economy 3. Politics 4. Religion 5. The intellectual sphere In politics, wherever women are dominating, the country is prospering. Ibu Johan is one such example, and our honorable mayor of Surabaya is another example. When women dominate, corruption comes down. I have heard several stories of how Surabaya has prospered in the last few months; there has been a lot of improvement in the living conditions. When women will dominate in politics, there will be less war in the world. There may be different types of wars, but this big war that is hap...

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t worry so much, just be like a child, and take life with ease. Yes, I differentiate between disciples and you are very special. Each one of you is unique and each one is special, so everyone is different.

The drums affect the Mooladhara (the base chakra or the first chakra). The big and small drums, their effect is from the Mooladhara to Swadishtana (second chakra). The big wind instruments like trumpets affect the second to third chakra (Swadhisthana to the Manipura). Metallic sounds affect the Manipura to Anahata (the fourth chakra). When you hear a metallic screech, something happens in your belly. How many people have noticed this? The string instrument has its affects from the naval to the heart. Veena and Sitar – stringed instruments affects the Anahata (the heart chakra). Flute music, wind instruments and sometimes the piano sounds affect the Anahata to Vishudhi (the throat chakra). Bells, sounds of water, bird songs, very soft and subtle sounds have its effects from throat to the Agna Chakra (in between the eyebrows). Then finally the Sahasrara the (top of the head) is affected by meditation and all other instruments put together at once. If you watch any Indian rit...

It is said in the Vedas, knowledge came from Hayagriva, the man with a face of a horse. What is the significance of horse in the scriptures? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Horse is called Ashwa. Shwa means yesterday or tomorrow. Ashwa means now. So the word 'now' in Sanskrit, is the same as horse. That one word, Ashwa has two meanings: 1. Now or the present moment 2. Horse So instead of saying - all the knowledge came in the moment, they said it came through the horse! In Hayagriva, haya means head. When your head is in the present moment then knowledge just comes up from within. I know all The Art of Living teachers have experienced this. Haven’t you? You don’t know the answer to the questions that your students ask, but you are able to answer them! So where did the knowledge come from? You were in the moment, you were connected to the ocean of knowledge, the tradition of knowledge and so you were able to just download it instantaneously. That’s what it is.

Being right does not mean being harsh and being kind doesn’t mean just letting anything happen. Kindness is not complacence and righteousness is not just aggression. Unfortunately, today, when we are right we get aggressive. It need not be, it should not be. In fact, aggression only shows our weakness; our lack of faith in our own power. Isn’t this strange? You think that the powerful will be aggressive? No! People who feel they have no power, or they have lost power, they become aggressive. Just look a little deep into it. When do you get aggressive? When you can’t do things easily. When things can happen easily, will you get aggressive? So when you don’t have confidence in your power or the power of your being then you get aggressive. I know it is difficult to get that! When all these things were happening in Delhi, someone asked me, "How were you so cool Gurudev? We were all tensed!" I know everything will happen well. And when I know that everything will ha...

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you feel that the situation, person, people are beyond your control, or you feel that it is not possible.

You should not sit and analyse yourself too much, may be you have too much free time. When you are busy, where is the time to sit and analyse? Action is spontaneous; sometimes you do the wrong things and you bear the consequences and move on. - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

You should know that you will never perish. There is something in you that stays forever. The water in the ocean is always there, and the pattern of waves that rise and fall, that is always there. Similarly, our body is like the pattern of waves, but the spirit is like the water of the ocean. It always stays.

You know what obscures your smile? It is your desire. You want something and you are holding onto that thinking, “I want this, I want this.” That is what is making you miserable. Just wake up and say, "I don’t care" for a minute. Drop the desire and say, "I don’t want this", the next second something comes up in you, and that is a smile. Just say “I don’t want this, I’ll get whatever I need. Even if I want to meet Gurudev, I don’t care, I don’t want to meet him!” If that is bothering you, kick that desire too! Then you will see that you are totally relaxed and in total peace. As I said, three things obscure our being: The ego Desires The intellect So freeze these things for a little while and then see how meditation happens. Even just this intention, “I want to freeze these three things”, immediately makes a difference.

When you think that you are walking alone on the path, fear will definitely be there. That’s how fear comes. When you know you have a guide and that there is someone who is taking you along the unknown, how can there be any fear? That is the reason you need a Guru; a spiritual guide because walking in the unknown is always tough. And if you think you are walking alone, then that is even more tough. That is why there are all these traditions from thousands of years.

Weekly Knowledge #99 Bangalore Ashram                 30 Apr 1997 India WHAT ENHANCES YOUR BEAUTY? When your mind is not complaining, responsible, courageous, confident and hollow and empty you are inexplicably beautiful. A person who cannot correct or act has no right to complain. And when a person can correct or act, he will never complain. Complaining is a sign of weakness. Complaining is the nature of utter ignorance where one does not know the Self. Complaint takes away the Beauty that is inborn in you. And it shows up more on the one who is on this path. Worldly mind is a complaining mind; Divine mind is a dancing mind. Just complaining without indicating the solution is irresponsibility. When the solutions are not workable, finding alternative solutions is Courage. For external beauty, you put on things; for real Beauty, you have to drop all the things. For external beauty you have to have Make-up...

Happy Ugadi! Happy New Year! People eat neem leaves and sweets on Ugadi to remind themselves that life is a mixture of both – the bitter and the sweet. Antarmukhi, sadasukhi: When one is centered, then there is happiness always. This New Year will be good. It will always be good, always evolutionary for the devotee – whatever the time and the prediction. It is time to move to a higher dimension. Whatever happens is for the good. Chant Om Namah Shivay. Meditation is important. Even if one percent of you all meditate, it helps the remaining 99 percent of the population. This year everyone has to meditate and do satsang. The rest of the population will thrive on your spirituality. This year keep your spiritual goal. The material goals can be kept aside. Meditate, do satsang, read knowledge sheets. By doing that, you are helping others who have a hard time. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Weekly Knowledge #97 Calcutta17 Apr 1997India SATSANG IS THE SHELTER Why do people need homes? Can they live like animals in the forest without shelter? Even intelligent animals make their homes. Man needs protection from changing nature. So he builds a shelter for physical comforts. In the same way, for spiritual and mental comfort - Satsang is the shelter. One who does not do Satsang is like a wild animal. Satsang alone makes one civilized. Satsang is the shelter from the changing times and its harsh influence on life. Satsang is the nest in which you can rest. If you are a taker of happiness, you get misery. If you are a giver of happiness, you get joy and love. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸

The science behind sudarshan Kriya Prana level (Life force energy) and Sudarshan Kriya There are ten types of Prana (the subtle life force energy). Of these, there are five major and five minor kinds of Prana. Today let me just talk about the five major types of Prana. The first major type of Prana is called Prana which arises from your navel upwards to the top of the head. Then there is another type of Prana that goes downwards from the navel, and it is called Apana. When the Prana level is too high, you cannot sleep; you can get insomnia and you feel very jittery. However, if the Apana level is too high, you feel so dull that you do not even want to get off the bed. Have you had this experience? Sometimes you feel so heavy, gross, and dull. This is due to the imbalance of Apana. The third type of Prana is Samana which is present as the digestive fire in the digestive system, i.e., in the stomach. It is the agni or the fire that helps digest the food. Samana is that which hel...

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 #86 City of Angels -- Los Angeles, California 30 Jan 1997 USA INDIGESTION OF KNOWLEDGE Indigestion of knowledge leads to development of a false ego which has no cure. Knowledge must be digested properly. Indigestion of knowledge leads to: 1. False ego 2. Disinterestedness; taking for granted; lack of awareness 3. Familiarity without understanding, without depth -- flakiness 4. Tendency to preach 5. Heart burn 6. Using knowledge for their own small ends 7. Adamancy Your inability to do something (break a habit) can cause a pinch; when you are deeply pained by something, then that will rid you of that habit. If you are pained by your shortcomings, then you are sadhak. Pain takes you out of addiction. If you are in love with the divine, then you can digest the knowledge. Love is the appetizer -- seva is the exercise -- without love and seva, knowledge becomes indigestible. So everyone list the loving seva you have done for the world. Marielle: If love is...

Weekly Knowledge #88 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 12 Feb 1997 USA BE LOVED You don't need to worry to maintain knowledge. When knowledge is lodged in you as wisdom, it will never leave you. Wisdom lodges itself in your heart. Make the Divine your Valentine (your sweet Beloved). This is the last thing to do and the first thing to do. Keep your heart in a safe place; it is too delicate. Events, small things make strong impressions on it. And you cannot find a better place than the Divine to keep your heart safe and your mind sane. When you keep your heart in the Divine, the moving time, the passing events, will not be able to touch it, will not create a scar. A precious stone needs a setting around it, gold or silver, to hold it and to wear it; so wisdom and knowledge are that setting around the heart which will hold it in the Divine. See the Divine in your Valentine and make the Divinity your Valentine (your sweet beloved). Just BE. . .and know that you are LOVED... That is BELOVE...

Weekly Knowledge #89 Guess Where? 19 Feb 1997 Guess Where? SEVA BLESSINGS When you do seva don't think you are doing a favor for somebody. You have done the seva and it has rewarded you immediately. Its reward is for sure and is always more than your doing. Your expectation of reward for the seva turns the seva into labor. If you think you have done a lot, you will do very little; if you see you have done a little, then you will do more. Seva is even when you don't see an immediate reward there is no complaint; labor is even after an immediate reward, there will be complaints. Be grateful for any opportunity to do the seva. Jai Guru Dev

Weekly Knowledge #90 Honolulu, Hawaii 26 Feb 1997 USA SHARE YOUR JOY By sharing your misery, it doesn't reduce. By not sharing your joy, it reduces. Share your problems only with the Divine, not with Tom, Dick, or Harry -- that just increases the problem. Share your joy with everybody. Darren: How do you help people who share their misery with you? Guruji: I have a thousand and one ways. Often it happens that when they share their problem with me, it is immediately resolved. Other times it requires some patience. Just know that all will be taken care of. Mary: How do we help people who share their misery with us? Guruji: Listen to others, yet don't listen. Because if your mind gets stuck there, not only are they miserable, you also get miserable. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸

Weekly Knowledge #91 Singapore 05 Mar 1997 Singapore Shiva and Krishna Are One Angels are a part of the Big Self. The infinity has diverse qualities, and specific qualities assume names. They are called Angels. Angels are nothing but a ray of your Big Self. They are there to serve you when you are centered. Like roots and stems and leaves come out of a seed when it is sprouted, all the Angels in your life manifest when you are centered. Angels rejoice in your company, but you have nothing to gain from them. They only come around those who have nothing to gain from them. Angels are like your extended arms. Like all the colors are present in the white sunlight, all the Angels are present in your higher self. Bliss is their breath, dispassion their abode. The consciousness which is bliss, innocence, omnipresent, and the bestower of dispassion is Shiva. Krishna is the outer manifestation of Shiva. And Shiva is the inner silence of Krishna. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸 ...

Weekly Knowledge #93 Rishikesh 19 Mar 1997 India A FRIEND IS AN ENEMY AND AN ENEMY IS A FRIEND In the company of your friends, you lose your centeredness. Your enemy puts you back in yourself. Your friend sympathizes with you and makes you believe in matter. Your enemy makes you feel helpless and takes you to the spirit. So your enemy is your friend and your friend is your enemy! Krishna said to Arjuna: One who is unfriendly everywhere (including himself); his consciousness is stable and awareness is established. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸

Q) Dear Gurudev, I have had thoughts of #Suicide many times in my life. What happens if one commits suicide? Sri Sri : Suicide Is the most foolish thing a person can ever do. It is like, someone is shivering in the cold and he goes out and removes all his clothes. What will you call him? Foolish! You are already feeling cold in a heated auditorium, and you go out into the open and say, ’I am so cold’, and remove your jacket, your t-shirt, your inner garments and throw them all out. Will the cold become any less? No! People who commit suicide find themselves there because they are so attached to life. They are so attached to some pleasure, so attached to some joy, that they want to kill themselves. And when they kill themselves they find themselves in a bigger soup. They feel, ‘Oh my God, this restlessness, these desires which had created such intense agony inside me has not gone. My body has gone but the agony has remained. It is only through the body that you can dispel the ag...