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Sri Sri Visit Gyan Vihar University Honorable Chief Mentor, Vice Chancellor of the University and Members of the faculty, I humbly accept this degree that you have conferred on me. See, today I received one but I gave away many. This is what education should do. What we receive we should give back to society, and as students you have received so much education here, now see how you can put that into use in life. The trouble in today’s world is not because of lack of education but because education is being misrepresented, misused and misunderstood. We need to clear these three things. Education is meant not to just make us tablets of information but living examples of high standards of ethics. Education is to make us such strong personalities, which would spread harmony, which would bring progress in the society and spread love and compassion. This is what I strongly believe. So we need to educate ourselves and people around us. Education is to make one a strong personali...

Astonishment brings wakefulness Astonishment is the basis of spiritual opening. Its amazing how this creation is so full of astonishing things around. But we take things for granted. And that’s when a thought of inertia dawns and dullness comes along. Tamas acts in, inactivity happens and ignorance resides. Whereas a sense of astonishment brings wakefulness. A miracle shocks you; that shock is the wakefulness. And when we are awakened we see the whole creation is full of miracles. The entire creation is to be wondered upon; because it is all a display of one consciousness. From the point of view of an animal, your language means nothing. It is just like howling. If a cat or a dog were to look at you, unless you have trained them for a very long time, they will think you are barking at them, just with a different sound, making no sense. Our language, our intellect, our mind is so limited, its perspective is limited. Our little brain is programmed to one language or f...

What I am saying is that spirituality is not a short-term entertainment, where you read a book and feel somewhat satisfied, and then move on. It is a complete and proven knowledge. With God’s Grace, whatever you desire is not difficult to obtain, I say this with confidence that this is a power that works - Sri Sri

‘Jo ichcha kariho manu maahi, prabhu prataap kachhu durlabh naahin’. This is a proven fact. If for small and frequent intervals we quieten our minds, we will be able to establish that connection with him. Then, whatever you desire, will no longer remain impossible - Sri Sri

Be free from your mistakes In the Srimad Bhagwatam, there is a story of king Ajamila. The king had many vices. When he was on his deathbed, he called his son who was named ‘Narayan'. And when he uttered the Divine’s name, he got liberated. This story builds trust in people that however their past has been; there is no need to waste time in repenting. If you turn to the Divine even at the last moment, you have a chance to be liberated. Instead of brooding over the past, just wake up and acknowledge it. Move forward and don’t get stuck in blaming yourself or others. It is like playing volleyball. You throw the ball and the ball comes back to you again. This game goes on. If you want to get out of this game, acknowledge the mistake. What do we normally do is to justify our mistakes so that the guilt is not felt. It doesn’t work. Whatever justification you give, the guilt lingers on. You resist the guilt and it continues and then distorts your behaviour deep inside. ...

Chapter 1 -- Verse 28 Verse: arjuna uvaca drstvemam sva-janam krishna yuyutsum samupasthitam sidanti mama gatrani mukham ca parisusyati Translation: Arjuna said: My dear Krishna, seeing my friends and relatives present before me in such a fighting spirit, I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up.

You are not alone. All the Gurus and intellectuals in the society are there primarily to solve your problems. The whole world, and your friends and relatives are there with you. So, ‘God is there, He exists’; I have come here just to remind you of this fact. God is there and He loves you a lot and He is in you - Sri Sri

LOYALTY Loyalty is the way in which a mature and integrated mind behaves.  Loyalty indicates undivided wholeness of consciousness and shows richness of the mind.  When the mind is not integrated it is feverish, disloyal and opportunistic. Disloyalty comes out of opportunism. Opportunism is short-sightedness of one's destiny. Integrity or wholeness is essential to be healthy. A divided mind will gradually lead to schizophrenia and other physical and mental disorders. Loyalty is a real strength and will have the support of nature in the long run. Fear and ambitions are impediments to loyalty.  Loyalty is needed both in the material and spiritual plane. Either to destroy, create or maintain any institution, group or society, loyalty is essential. Loyalty means believing in the continuity of commitment. Honouring commitment is loyalty. It takes you beyond the duality of craving and aversion. Responsibility, dedication, commitment are the limbs of loyalty. A l...

Q: Dear Guruji, in the Bhagvad Gita, Krishna says, ‘Bow down to me, I will free you. Follow Me!’ and a common man is also caught up in the ‘me’ and ‘mine’! So how is Krishna different from us? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: One is the person who is capable of taking the sins saying, ‘You give it to me.’ Another is someone who is incapable of taking anything and saying ‘Me.’ There is a difference. When a doctor comes and says, ‘You have fever? I will take care of you’. It is a different issue. But someone who has no knowledge of medicine, if they say, ‘I will take care of you,’ has no meaning. So the space from which Krishna says, ‘Me’, that me is not the body. That is why Krishna himself has said, ‘Avajananti Mam Mudha Manusim Tanum Asritam; Param Bhavam Ajananto Mama Bhuta-Maheshvaram’ . The ‘Me’ in me is a very different me, and not knowing that transcendental nature of mine, people think I am just a human body and mind. So that is the difference. Even when Arjuna asked Krishna to...

Mahasatsang at Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh Formalities are like wrapping paper. When we buy something, it is wrapped in paper. Similarly, in life formalities should be given only that much importance. Rest of the time we should sit informally. That is what we call satsang . Satsang means what? Where we can sit with intimacy and belongingness; sit with heart to heart connection – that is satsang. It is only through belongingness that the disinterestedness towards life can be overcome; once disinterestedness takes over life, all kinds of distortions follow. Dullness and disinterestedness is the cause of all desires and imperfections in life. If you take a look at your own life; let us say you were to live for fifty years, sixty years or seventy years – how do we spend these seventy years? Make an estimate of the time. If you have a life of seventy years, 10% of it we spend in bathing and washing. Suppose we spend two hours every day in bathing, using the toilet – that means ou...

Chapter 1 -- Verse 27 Verse: tan samiksya sa kaunteyah sarvan bandhun avasthitan kripaya parayavisto visidann idam abravit Translation: When the son of Kunti, Arjuna, saw all these different grades of friends and relatives, he became overwhelmed with compassion and spoke thus.

You give someone ten compliments and one insult, the mind holds on to that insult. That is the nature of the mind. When you become aware of this, a shift happens in you. ~ Sri Sri

Verse: tatrapasyat sthitan parthah pitrn atha pitamahan acaryan matulan bhratrn putran pautran sakhims tatha svasuran suhridas caiva senayor ubhayor api Translation: There Arjuna could see, within the midst of the armies of both parties, his fathers, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, friends, and also his fathers-in-law and well-wishers.

Lust is one of the main botherations that many face. Lust grips the mind and tires the body, and dulls the intellect. Lust when indulged brings inertia, and when suppressed brings anger. Lust is nothing but primordial un-harnessed energy. The same when harnessed manifests as enthusiasm, sparkle, sharpness of intellect and love. What are the factors which can sublimate or transform lust into love? Playfulness : People who are in the grip of lust cannot be genuinely playful. When you are genuinely playful, then there is not lust there. Generosity : When you realize that you are here only to give and give, and you feel that you are very generous, lust is sublimated. Lust makes one possessive and not generous. Moderate to less intake of food Remembrance of death Divine Romance Cold water baths Undertaking creative challenges

Patanjali Yoga Sutras - Knowledge Sheet 11 Often people who have dispassion keep blaming the world. They are afraid of the objects of senses and keep running away from them. They think it is a big temptation. How can something tempt you if you are not under its control? The fear of temptation is worse. Tatparam purusharakhyaterguna vaitrushunyam Due to the knowledge of the Self, the person is in a higher state, being indifferent to the qualities. - Patanjali Yoga Sutra #16 Once you know the nature of your being as total bliss, total pleasure, even the fear of the gunas, fear of the world and fear of the senses vanish. It is like a diabetic patient being afraid of sweets. Even looking at the sweet frightens them. It is forbidden. One who has found sweetness in oneself, whether sweets are there or are not there in front of such a person, it does not make any difference. This is paramavairagya or the supreme type of dispassion where one is not scared or running away from the ...

Faith in the world brings you peace of mind. Faith in God evokes love in you ~ Sri Sri

Mahasatsang at Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh ( Sri Sri shares the sholka 'Annadata Sukhi Bhavah' and encourages all to chant this shloka before we eat food. He says, 'Always eat food with this prayer in mind. It means, may the ones who have given me this food be happy.' ) Today I have gotten the opportunity to come here to Azamgarh and be with all of you. I am very happy to be here! It is our responsibility to ensure that our message is heard by everyone, and wherever it is not being heard, it is our duty to reach out to those people. Society has deteriorated not because of bad people, but because the good people are keeping quiet. If we care for each other from our heart, then we will have to wake up now. I keep talking about the four A’s – Agyan (ignorance), Anyaay (injustice), Abhav (shortage) and Asuchi (un-cleanliness). These are four areas that we need to focus on: First, we need to eradicate ignorance. There should be 100% literacy in UP. Every child ...

Chapter 1 -- Verse 25 Verse: bhisma-drona-pramukhatah sarvesam ca mahi-ksitam uvaca partha pasyaitan samavetan kurun iti Translation: In the presence of Bhishma, Drona and all the other chieftains of the world, the Lord said, Just behold, Partha, all the Kurus assembled here.

Faith brings you stabiity, centredness, calmness and love ~ Sri Sri

Chapter 1 -- Verse 23 Verse: yotsyamanan avekse ’ham ya ete ’tra samagatah dhartarastrasya durbuddher yuddhe priya-cikirsavah Translation: Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra.