ART OF LIVING ARTICLES n VIDEOS

 

 Today one person has hurt you, tomorrow someone else will. You cannot control the entire world. Recognize that the problem is not outside; it is in your own mind. You have given the reins of your life in someone else's hands, just take them back! Make the fortress of your mind so strong, that no one in the world should have the right to take your smile away!

 Yesterday Evening, Gurukul witnessed the sacred ritual of "Shankhabhishekam" as part of the Kartik celebrations. This revered tradition involves the ritual bathing of the Shiva Lingam with water poured from a conch shell

Weekly Knowledge #267 European Ashram 24 Aug 2000 Germany PROBLEMS? ONE MORE The first solution to the problem is not to have the problem at all. (Laughter) The second thing is to willingly accept the problem and see it as a challenge. Third, know that the problem is a boogey man, it is not real. Fourth, know that nature has provided you the solution even before giving you the problem. First you met me and then you had a problem (Laughter). When it snows, there are no bacteria since no herbs to heal you grow in that season. In the spring, the herbs come first and then the bugs. In the summer, the shade comes before the summer sun gets strong. So, nature takes good care of you. Sabya: What if the longing is a problem? Sri Sri: Longing ripens you. Do not solve all your problems. At least keep one of them. You need something to munch on - and life goes on... 🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸

‘Navratri’ means the ‘nine nights’. ‘Nava’means ‘nine’, and ‘ratri’ means ‘night’. Nights provide rest and rejuvenation. At night you turn inward (you sleep) and you feel refreshed and rested in the morning. In the same way, Navratri or the Nine Nights is that time (of the year) when you turn inward towards your source. It is the time of the year to spend with yourself, nurturing and rejuvenating yourself through prayers, chants, meditation, fasting, and other spiritual practices, and coming out feeling refreshed, renewed and creative. This is the significance and the true spirit of Navratri. Navratri is celebrated to glorify the spirit in us. The spirit in us alone can destroy all negative qualities (inertia, pride, obsession, cravings, aversions, etc). By turning inward during Navratri, and getting in touch with the spirit within, we can overcome these negative tendencies and invoke the posit...

Devi Durga and the color red Durga  is associated with red. She is depicted as wearing a red saree. Red is the color of dynamism – the ‘moving’ energy. You may be trained and skilled, but if you are not able to move things, people, and efforts in unison, then the results are delayed, and you can’t be effective. When you pray to  Durga , she brings forth dynamism in you to make things move. Durga is also referred to as ‘Jaya Durga’ or the one who brings victory. The Nav Durga The  Nav Durga  are the nine aspects of the Durga Shakti  which act like a shield to ward off all negativities. When you have obstacles or mental blocks, just remembering these qualities of the  Devi can remove your mental blocks. For people suffering from anxiety, self-doubt, fear, simply chanting the names of the Devi  can elevate your consciousness and make you more centered, courageous and composed. Mahishasuramardhini form of ...

Navratri is that time of the year that is rich with colors, tradition, songs and dance. It is also a very sacred time, especially for a spiritual seeker. It is a time when we withdraw from the world of senses and rest through spiritual techniques to uncover the potential for greater bliss, joy and enthusiasm in our lives. This movement from the outer to the inner can happen effortlessly only when the quality of sattva rises in us and  fasting is one of the ways to increase the sattva level in us . What is sattva? This world is made up of five elements and these five elements have  three qualities : Sattva – the quality that brings forth positivity Rajas – the quality that brings forth activity Tamas – the quality that brings forth inertia All spiritual practices such as meditation, chanting, fasting, silence increases the level of sattva in us. When sattva increases, it brings forth knowledge, alertness, awareness and joy in life, as these qualities co...

Weekly Knowledge #256 Bangalore Ashram 07 Jun 2000 India EDUCATION Education has five aspects 1. Information -- Often we think information is education, but it is only one aspect of education. 2. Concepts -- Concepts are the basis for all research. You need to conceive in order to create. 3. Attitude -- An integral aspect of education is cultivating the right attitude. Proper attitude at the right time and place determines your actions and behavior. 4. Imagination -- Imagination is essential for creativity, for the arts. But if you get stuck in imagination, you may become psychotic. 5. Freedom -- Freedom is your very nature. Only with freedom, do joy, generosity and other human values blossom. Without freedom, attitudes become stifling, concepts become a burden, information is of no value and imagination becomes stagnant. 🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸

When I do the Art of Silence Course, I feel hollow and empty. But again after a week I find that I am full of desires and botherations. How can I be hollow and empty all the time? Sri Sri : This is like asking, 'How can I eat once for this lifetime and not have to keep eating every day?' You know, it is such a boring job. Every day you have to cook and eat. If you eat today, again tomorrow you feel hungry. If you eat in the morning, then again in the evening you feel hungry. You cannot eat just once and be done with it because the body has its own nature. The same is with your mind. Entertainment is not enough once. Would you listen to me if I tell you that it is enough to watch only one movie in your lifetime? You need entertainment again and again. Body needs nutrition again and again. To satisfy hunger we eat food. We drink water to quench thirst. We take rest when we are tired. In the same way, spirituality is also like that. To satisfy spiritual hunger, we need to medit...

Weekly Knowledge #221 Bangalore Ashram 15 Sep 1999 India Compassion and Karma There are two types of compassion. One is the compassion of the wise, one is that of the ignorant. An ignorant person's compassion is on the fruit of an action whereas a wise person's compassion is towards the non-availability of knowledge. Compassion for suffering shows ignorance. Suffering comes because of karma, and if you believe in karma, where is compassion? One reaps the fruit of one's actions. If a judge has compassion for all the offenders then the jails will be empty. At the same time, are the judges cruel to the offenders? No; the judges' compassion is for the non-availability of knowledge, not for the suffering of the criminals. It is their karma. Often people think compassion is an act, an action. Know that compassion is your very nature. Then you will see that karma and compassion are not contradictory but complement each other. Suppose two people come to a hospital. One...

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR Posted: 08 May 2012 SKILL IN PRAISING Often, when you praise, you praise in comparison to someone else. In order to praise one person, we put down someone else and when we want to point out somebody's mistake we praise another. Some are stingy in praising, and some are shy. And some others are simply not used to. Some praise with motives, and some others just to elevate. Others praise themselves in order to hide their low self-esteem. The real praise dawns in a blossomed state of consciousness. The praise that comes out of an elevated state of consciousness is simply its nature and is quite different. Normally praise comes out of craving and pride. The praise from a heightened consciousness is always out of fulfilment. Praising can no doubt elevate the consciousness and bring enthusiasm and energy. At the same time it can also bring arrogance. Praising is a skill. When someone praises you, do you take it without shying away? Accep...

Weekly Knowledge #240 Bangalore Ashram 10 Feb 2000 India Worship Do not worship or idolize worship. Idolizing without a sense of  belongingness is always futile.  Such worship only causes fear and distance.  And there are others who are  paranoid about  worship. They get irritated by seeing others worshipping. The modes of worship or idolizing may be different in different parts of the world. Some worship the pope ; others worship the pop stars.  Some are crazy about the politicians. Look at all the children. They  worship  their heroes  all  over  the walls.  Just adoration makes you a fan. Having a sense of belongingness and seeing the Divinity in those whom you adore, makes you a saint. Raghu: You mean we can see Divinity in a pop star or politician. Guruji: If You can;..A Divinity that is distorted ( laughter) Those who worship without a sense of belongingness and those who are against worship ar...

CAUSE OF SUFFERING When you get hurt, it's your karma. You must have hurt somebody sometime and so you got it back now. Nothing happens without a reason. This is the highest knowledge. So, some Masters will always say that if you are suffering, it's not because of somebody, it's because of you only. You better suffer and get rid of it. Instead of that, if you say, "That person is responsible for my suffering", then you are making more karma and carrying it on to the next lifetime. But if you say, "My suffering is because of me, and I take ownership of the karma", then you become free. Saying, "My suffering is due to that person", will continue the karma because that impression will be there in your mind. Why are you not looking inside? Why are you not moving on? Why are you holding onto an event of the past and blaming the other person for your karma? If you do this then you will continue to be miserable. ~~Gurudev HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ...

Neither accept people as they are nor tolerate them. Many people think tolerance is a virtue but tolerance is actually a negative term. If you like something,you do not have to tolerate it. Tolerance indicates a deep sense of dislike. It indicates a sense of separateness,small mindedness,limited awareness. When you are tolerating,it means you are temporarily putting up with it. Tolerance is a potential volcano. If you are tolerating,it means you are still holding on to something. Acceptance is also negative. You accept only that which is not lovable. Question: Do you need self assurance to love people? Only the self is assuring-nothing else. This is our company-The Self Assurance Company. Question: "But aren't we supposed to accept people as they are?" If you do not love them,then you have to accept them. I tell you,do not accept people as they are. Just love them as they are. Tolerance and acceptance come with judgement and separation. -----Guruji at Williams Isla...

HAPPY JANMASHTAMI !!! TODAY IS KRISHNA'S BIRTHDAY BIRTH OF THE CENTER OF ATTRACTION Krishna means the most attractive . . . It is the divinity that is the most attractive; the energy that pulls everything to it. Krishna is the formless center which is everywhere. Any attraction from anywhere is coming only from Krishna. Often people fail to see the spirit behind the attraction and merely hold on to the outer shell. And the moment you try to possess the shell, you will see Krishna has played a trick and you will be left with an empty shell in your hands and tears in your eyes. Be clever like Radha -- don't be tricked by Krishna. Krishna could not escape from Radha, for her whole world was filled with Krishna. If you can see that wherever there is an attraction, there is Krishna; then you are Radha, you are in your center. The mind moves towards beauty, joy and truth. Krishna tells Arjuna, "I am the beauty in the Beautiful, the strength in the Strong, the wisdom in the ...

Weekly Knowledge #239 Oslo 03 Feb 2000 Norway PROBLEM Guruji says: There is no problem that cannot be solved!!! Someone says: I have a few I can give you. (Laughter) Guruji says: When you have a problem and you think it cannot be solved, then you have accepted it then it is no longer a problem; it is a fact. For example: Suppose you think it is a problem that the ocean in Norway is too cold. Obviously, you cannot heat the ocean. If it cannot be solved, you accept it and it's no longer a problem. Only when you are searching for a solution is there a problem and so there is no problem that cannot be solved. (Laughter) The moment you realize there is no solution, a problem ceases to be a problem. The solution is the tail of every problem. Solutions come to you when :      You are calm and collected       You use intelligence      You are not lethargic but active      ...

Weekly Knowledge #236 German Ashram,Bad Antogast 13 Jan 2000 Germany Being with the Guru People have various reasons to be with a Guru. Broadly they can be put in these 5 catagories. 1. You would like to have your wishes fulfilled and because it is more pleasurable. 2. Everything else looks more painful to you and you come for comfort. 3. You want to evolve and become enlightened; you want to know higher Knowledge. 4. You have a vision or goal; you share a vision of the Guru. Missionary or visionary. 5. You are there to just serve and give comfort to the Guru. You are with the Guru because you belong to the Guru. There is no choice. 🌸 Jai Guru Dev 🌸

IMPACT OF DESIRES !! Do you know what entropy means? Entropy is said to rise when there is an increase in the heat or restlessness (due to desires) in the body. Then various kinds of distortions arise in the body because of this. Scientists say that the entropy (of a body or a finite system) is proportionate to orderliness. You must have observed that in the colder regions, there is a greater degree of orderliness at every level. Everything seems to function in a much more organized manner. Also, whenever any distortion or desire arises in the mind, then there is some corresponding sensation or disturbance in the body also. What happens when you go deep into meditation? The mind becomes cool and calm. It becomes still and all its restlessness drops. So, when we get into a state of being a witness, then the mind becomes so calm and clear. This sense of calmness in turn solidifies the state of being a witness. Both go hand in hand. Scientists say that for greater orderliness to prevai...

KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR Posted: 01 May 2012 Mechanics of action The dynamics of how events happen is a big mystery. Only one who is 100% in doing can recognise 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, laziness and unawareness set in. Let the happening be for the past and the doing 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. One who does a lot of work will never say he did a lot. If someone says he did a lot of work, it that means he can do more. He has not done enough. Work does not tire you as much as the "doership" does. All actions happen through consciousness. The world moves because of consciousness. Consciousness expresses the three shaktis as — gyan shakti, ichcha shakti and kr...

Weekly Knowledge #235 Milano 06 Jan 2000 Italy Five Factors That Influence the Mind Place, Time, Food, Past Impressions, Associations and Actions The space -the place you are in.  Every place you are in, has a different impact on the mind. Even in your house, you can see that you feel different in different rooms. A place where there there has been singing, chanting and meditation has a different influence on the mind. Suppose you like a particular place; you may find that a little later it will not be the same. Time is also a factor.  Different times of the day and year have different influences on the mind. Different types of food that you take influence you for some days. The past impressions-the Karmas- have a different impact on the mind. Awareness, alertness, knowledge and meditation all help erase the past impressions. Associations and actions  The people and events you are associated with do influence your mind. Your actions and associations effect yo...