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Weekly Knowledge #175 Montreal Ashram 14 Oct 1998 Canada THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF UNDERSTANDING There are three kinds of understanding: intellectual understanding, experiential understanding and existential realization. Intellectual understanding says yes, agrees. Experiential understanding feels, is obvious. Existential realization is irrefutable. It becomes your very nature. All you hear will simply remain a jumble of words if there is no experiential understanding, which is more on the feeling level. You can know intellectually you are hollow and empty but sitting and feeling you are hollow and empty is totally different. When one gets an experience, one wants to understand more about it and becomes a seeker. If you have only intellectual understanding, you will think you know it all. Most theologians are in this category. Existential realization contains within it both experiential and intellectual understanding. But it is beyond both of these. Question:- How do we get the...

Q. Gurudev are my actions in the present the fruit of past actions or the source of future karma? #SriSri: We will see this in future. Its is part of a chain, it has a past and a future. Past karma give rise to present and present makes the future karma. Lets see.

Q: How come some of the divine forms in Hinduism are depicted in such fearsome manner? For example, Kali wears a garland of skulls. Does it mean there is divinity is such forms too? #SriSri: If you can love the fearful, the fear disappears. Fear and love are not two different emotions. It is the same emotion standing upside down. Since the last 10 years, if you see the toys, the figures and characters that children are using or are fond of, it is very different. It is fearsome. The fearsome characters either bring in valour in you or take away the fear from you. That is the reason that those days, such fearsome pictures were depicted and worshipped. When you worship that, there is no fear left inside you. And I have described the symbolism of the skull and the head. All that is to remove the fear. Skull is used either to create fear or remove fear. In modern days, whenever you see in electrical installations, there is a skull and two bones put in front of that. That is to warn you. B...

Q. Gurudev I work in an organisation where there is lack of leadership and total chaos, I agree with you that chaos brings out the talent in us but what if the chaos is never-ending, where to draw the line? #SriSri: You can end it. If you think its too much and its getting on your nerves you can say goodbye, move on. World is very big. First you believe in your talents. i think chaotic situation is an opportunity for you to bring out your skills. So meditate with a calm mind and think how you should come up . Got it?

Q. Gurudev how to reduce unnecessary compassion? #SriSri: Seems Compassion is your nature. Channel it with measurement to others, give how much ever they need to get.

Q. What can I do to be more close to you and to spend more time with you? #SriSri: Well, you take up some good project, do some work, then you will more chance to interact with me, talk to me. To be close to me you can’t get anymore closer to me because you are already close to me. From your side you should always think that you are close to me, that’s it. Don’t expect me to look at you and smile at you and say ‘hi, how are you doing?’ and all that. And if I say ‘hi’ to someone next to you, then you don’t get upset, saying that ‘Guruji looked at him and smiled but he didn’t even look at me..’, leave all this, this is nothing, okay. Don’t look for these sort of gestures that I may be doing to someone else. That doesn’t in anyway indicate any closeness, okay.

Q. Lord Rama got ‘one-on-one guidance’ from Sage Vashishta , can you also guide me ‘one-on-one’? #SriSri: What do you think I am doing? Forget about all others around you, I am just talking to you only. Even when there are millions, I only talk ‘One-on-One’! Have you ever seen me giving a formal speech, never. ‘My dear Ladies and Gentlemen...’ I never start my talk like that, never ever. I have never done that, I only say ‘my dear ones’.