ART OF LIVING ARTICLES n VIDEOS

 Exciting Update for January’s Berlin Events with Gurudev! We’ve added two online satsangs for everyone to join from anywhere! 🌍💕 The Masterclass, however, remains an in-person-only experience. 🙏 Make the most of these amazing opportunities! 🤗: ⚡ 3 Jan - Satsang with Gurudev from 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm at JW Marriott - contribution basis https://buy.stripe.com/28og0b8zm9LZ1FuaEQ ⚡ 4 - 5 Jan️ - Masterclass in Berlin  https://www.events-artofliving.de/masterclass ⚡ 5 Jan - Satsang with Gurudev from 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm at the Sri Ganesha Hindu Tempel, Hasenheide 106, 10967 Berlin - open to all ⚡ 6 Jan & 7 Jan - Satsangs with Gurudev from 7.30 pm to 9 pm at JW Marriott - registration requested: https://www.artofliving.org/de-en/program/18215 ⚡ 6 Jan & 7 Jan - Online Satsangs with Gurudev from 7.30 pm to 9 pm CET - registration requested: https://register13.artofliving.org/eu/civicrm/event/register?id=2001278&lcMessages=en_GB&reset=1  We can’t wait to share thes...

 

Transcript of today's Satsang with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the Art of Living International Center Q: I loved your tweet about spontaneity and impulsiveness , could you also talk about righteousness and 'right ness' #SriSri: Righteousness is associated with strong perception. When you believe in your perception, then you feel righteous. What you consider' right' is only a perception. When you realize this, you see another dimension; because the perceptions keep changing. A particular situation can be considered right from one perception and wrong from the other perception. This is where the conflict begins. Because to you something is correct and to the other person , it's not right. So it is very interesting to see that when you have an open mind; you perception changes. When your perception changes, your fixed notions change. Then you have an altogether a different scenario. Every time you are angry, know that it is because of righteousness.  People who feel ...

Verse:  bhavan bhismas ca karnas ca kripas ca samitim-jayah ashvatthama vikarnas ca saumadattis tathaiva ca Translation:  There are personalities like you, Bhishma, Karna, Kripa, Asvatthama, Vikarna and the son of Somadatta called Bhurisrava, who are always victorious in battle

Everything here is recycled. The earth is 200 million years old - the Alps, the water, the air. Billions of people have breathed the same air. All the particles in your body are old, you are recycled. Your thoughts and emotions are recycled, mind is recycled. You are a recycled person. Everything here is recycled. Consciousness is recycled - its the same old consciousness. Remind yourself that everything here is recycled material - so relax! Everything goes to where it came from. Recycling brings back purity and hygiene. Knowledge recycles the mind. Tarah says : Recycling makes everything new and therefore a mind that is recycled by knowledge finds everything fresh. Knowledge keeps everything fresh. That is why you can keep recycling the same creation. A mind in Knowledge finds everything fresh. If you dont put Knowledge to the mind, the mind gets rotten. Knowledge brings the mind back to purity. Recycling brings purity and hygiene. Hygiene supports health, and too much hygiene destroy...

Patanjali Yoga Sutras - Knowledge Sheet 9 (Continues from previous post:  Dealing with modulations of the mind .) Is practice alone enough? Patanjali says “No”. There are two oxen, which pull a cart. The two wheels of this cart are abhyasa  (practice) on one side and  vairagya  (dispassion) on the other. What is vairagya? Drishtanu shravikavishaya vitrush’asya vashikara sanjna vairagyam Dispassion is that state of supremacy of consciousness in the one free from the thirst of the perceptible and celestial enjoyment. - Patanjali Yoga Sutra #15 The mind gallops towards the world of passion. You just keep quiet, close your eyes or open your eyes or do anything. Where does your mind go? It travels towards the sense of sight. You want to see something somewhere. Or the mind runs towards the sense of smell, taste, sound and touch. Do you see that? Or it gallops towards something it has heard. It has never seen but it has read some thoughts. This craving for any of these ex...

We are tiny and sweet; delightful like sesame seeds with jaggery. So stay small and sweet and you will truly become big. And if you think you are very big and important in any field or aspect then the downfall will begin  ~ Sri Sri

Verse:  asmakam tu visista ye tan nibodha dvijottama nayaka mama sainyasya samjnartham tan bravimi te Translation:  But for your information, O best of the brahmanas, let me tell you about the captains who are especially qualified to lead my military force.

Chapter 1 -- Verse 6 Verse:  yudhamanyus ca vikranta uttamaujas ca viryavan saubhadro draupadeyas ca sarva eva maha-rathah Translation:  There are the mighty Yudhamanyu, the very powerful Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra and the sons of Draupadi. All these warriors are great chariot fighters

There are three forces: Brahma shakti, Vishnu shakti, and Shiva shakti. You may have one of these predominant. Brahma shakti is the force to create something new. Vishnu shakti is maintenance and Shiva shakti is bringing in transformation, filling in life, or destroying. Some of you have Brahma shakti. You may create well, but you may not be able to maintain. For example, you may make friends very fast, but it does not last long. There are others who cannot create but are good at maintaining. For example, people have long lasting friendships but cannot make any new friends. In such cases, Vishnu shakti is dominant. And then there are others who have more of Shiva shakti. They bring in new life or transformation or they can destroy the whole set up. In Guru shakti, all three shaktis have blossomed fully. So each of you first identify which shakti you have more of and aspire for Guru shakti. Guru makes a group but a group cannot make a Guru.

Meditation is like water to the thirsty. Meditation is the way for inner peace, for upliftment of the spirit  ~ Sri Sri

Q:  Guruji, please tell us what is Chitta? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:   Chitta  is like  Aakaasha  (sky), that which is present everywhere inside us. Consciousness is also known as Chitta  –  Chaitanya Shakti  (conscious energy).  Chiti, Chaitanya, Chitta –  just like water, ice and vapor – are all different forms of the same  Chitta . When it solidifies, it is called  Chitta , when it becomes fluid it is called  Chiti. Q:  Why do we ring the bell in a temple? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:  Because there are so many thoughts wandering in your mind, with the sound of the bells you come into the present. Your thoughts come to a halt. The drummers beat large drums, play the  Naadaswaram ,  shehnai , bells, and conch. All these sounds are made so that your mind becomes quieter. Your mind is like a kid. When a kid is crying, you cry louder than the kid and the kid becomes quiet. Have you noticed that? In the same way, wh...

Happiness should also be controlled. When we are happy, we should channelize our happiness. Sukh mein seva dukh mein tyaag – memorize this formula. When you are happy, do some sevice, and when you are sad or miserable then surrender your sorrow. If you do not have the attitude of surrender, sorrow will never leave you. If one does not surrender even in sorrow, then there is no way out for that person. Surrender and service, both should go together in life. The happiness that we are experiencing must be given a direction. See how joyful we are – we have been meditating since morning and we all feel so good. We must think, what do we have to do so that everyone may experience this joy? Do seva, we have to build a corruption-free, violence-free, and oppression-free society. For that we have to fight against ignorance. There are a variety of superstitions in our country and we have to eliminate those. There is illiteracy which we have to remove. We have to fight against ignorance. To a...

There are two types of knowledge. The first one is pure knowledge and the second one is applied knowledge. Applied knowledge may benefit you directly and immediately but pure knowledge benefits you indirectly in the long run. If there are some things that you have studied or understood that you are unable to put into practice, do not get disheartened. Sometime in the future, if you do not discard the knowledge you have as impractical, it will be of use to you. Often people discard the pure knowledge for its lack of immediate application. In fact these two types of knowledge compliment each other. Applied knowledge without pure knowledge remains weak. And pure knowledge without application will remain unfulfilled. Do not discard or label the knowledge as impractical. Do not label yourself as weak or unworthy because you are unable to apply the knowledge in your day-to-day life. Sometimes when you are alone in nature, silent, taking a walk, looking at the sand on the beach, a bird in the...

Everything in nature, from grass to the sun is beneficial to life. We express gratitude to whatever is beneficial to life. Give thanks to the sun and to the earth. That is why we say, 'Sarva deva namsakaram Keshavam prati- gacchati' No matter whom you thank, all gratitude reaches the one and only God  ~ Sri Sri

Longing is God. It is good to be in longing. And this longing is such that it has no solution. It never fades. This thirst is such that it can never be quenched ~ Sri Sri

A person who argues should not be given knowledge. An argumentative mind is not receptive to knowledge. When someone is in an argumentative mood, then giving knowledge or advice is in vain. In an argumentative mood you feel you know it all. Then you are not ready for knowledge. That is why wise people do not give advice when they are in an argumentative environment. Argument has a purpose. It can bring out the truth if there is no emotion or sense of "I" attached to it. Argument can also have a disadvantage. It can make untruth appear to be truth. A wise man will not take arguments seriously; he will just have fun with them. Wisdom is beyond all arguments. ***** Both a worldly person and a spiritual person will tell you not to do wrong, though the reasons they give are totally different. A worldly person will tell you not to do wrong because it hurts or causes him pain. A spiritual person will tell you not to do wrong because it would only harm you more. ...

Are you looking for proof? Debating within yourself? Are you hanging on to 'wrong knowledge' of how things are? You do not know how things are because the world is fluid. There is nothing solid here. Nobody is solid. Nobody’s mind is solid. No thoughts are solid. The whole world is fluid. Anything can change any time, in any way. The whole world is filled with all sorts of possibilities. But your mind tries to fix everything — thought, people, ideas and places — into definite items or quantities. This is how it is. Your mind has set ideas of yourself, using proof, wrong knowledge or vikalpa , fantasies or fears or dwelling in the past. The four modulations of the mind plus sleep, that is another modulation. Abhyasavairagyabhyam tannirodhaha They can be restrained by practice or dispassion. - Patanjali Yoga Sutra #12 How do you get over that? One can overpower this vrutti (modulation)   through abhyasa (practice) and vairagya (detachment or self-centeredness). Tatra ...

When you happen to be on the top, be totally humble. The more you go up, the more humble you become. Humility is the sign of success. And when there is humility then there are no obstacles. Everything keeps on happening naturally ~ Sri Sri