A SPRITUAL REFUGE

19th December 2004


A spiritual refuge

In the spiritual path, there are three factors: the Buddha - the Master or the Enlightened, the

Sangha - the commune or the group, and the Dharma - your nature, your true nature. One of

the main things in the Buddhist practice is taking refuge in all these three. Buddham Sharanam

Gacchami means ‘I take refuge in Buddha’. Sangham Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take

refuge in the assembly, the Sangha’. And Dhammam Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take

refuge in the true nature of things as they are’.

Buddha or the Master is the Enlightened. The closer you go to Him the more charm you find.

You will never be tired of the Enlightened. The closer you go the more newness, the more

charm, the more love you feel. It’s like a depth without a bottom. Buddha’s company will

always be new and charming.

Master is a doorway. And the doorway needs to be more charming than the world so that you will come to the doorway. Someone is in the street and there is rain and thunder, or hot sun.

They need shelter. They look around, they find a doorway. They come to the doorway. The

doorway is more inviting, more charming, more celebrative, more joyful than anything else in

the world.

Nothing could give that much peace, joy, pleasure in the world. Once you come to the

doorway, you enter the door and see the world from there. See the world from the eyes of the

Master. This is a sign that you have come to the Master. Otherwise you may still be standing in

the street and looking at the door. But once you have entered the door, then you will see the

whole world from the eyes of the Master.

What does this mean? In every situation that you face, you will think, ‘‘If this situation comes in

front of the Master, how would he or she handle it?’’ or ‘‘If this complication comes in front of

the Master, how would he take it?’’ or ‘‘If someone blames the Master like this, how would he

handle it?’’. See the world from the eyes of the Master all the time.

The world looks much more beautiful; not a nasty place. But a place filled with love, filled with

joy, cooperation, compassion, and all virtues. The world is much more fun. Looking through the

doorway, there is no fear. You will look at the world without any fear. You will be in all

relationships with everybody without any fear. Because there is shelter.

From inside the home, you will look at the thunder, you will look at the storm, you will look at

the rain, you will look at the bright sun. Inside you have air conditioning. Very cool, pleasant.

Outside it’s hot. You don’t mind because there is nothing that can really distract you, disturb

you, or take the fullness away from you. Such a sense of security, such a sense of fullness and

joy comes. That is the purpose of having a Master.

All relationships in the world go topsy-turvy. You make relationships and you break

relationships. All relationships can get broken or made up and again broken. And there is

craving and aversion. This is the world. This is samsara. But the Master is not a relationship. The

Master is the Presence. What is necessary is to feel the Presence of the Master, not to make a

relationship. Don’t make the Master a part of your world. You feel the Presence of the Master,

that is eternal. That has been there with you before, now, and will be there in the future, too.

Master is the Presence. World is relativity. And relativity has limitations. Presence is unlimited.

Presence is vast, infinite, and all comprehensive, all inclusive. And the presence of the Masterin one’s life will bring fulfillment to all relations. Every relationship will become complete with

the presence of the Infinity if the Master is in your life.

Living with people

The second factor is Sangha, the group. The group is very charming from a distance but the

closer you get to it, it pushes all your buttons and brings about all the unwanted things from

within you. Any group is very good from a distance or with just a little acquaintance. If you

think some group is very good that means you are not yet completely with the group in

totality.When you are part of that group you will find some bickering will come up. That’s why

you find the other group better than your group. It’s really not the fact because you make the

group. If you are better your group will be better. If you are not better anywhere you go you

will make that group also like you.

Sangha has a reverse nature than Buddha - completely different. Once you are used to a

Sangha you lose the charm in the Sangha. That is essential because while Buddha makes your

mind one-pointed, Sangha, because it is of so many people, can scatter your mind. It will

fragment it. Sangha’s nature will be such though it is very supportive.If it is only repulsive all the

time then nobody will be in the Sangha because our nature is not to be in repulsion. Buddha

uplifts you. Just by Grace, by Love, by Knowledge He pulls you up. The Sangha pushes you up

from down below. Buddha from above pulls you up and the Sangha pushes you up. And the

Dhamma is to be in the middle. Your nature is not to go to extremes. Your nature is to be in

balance. Your nature is to smile from the depth of your heart. Your nature is to accept this

entire existence totally as it is. Do not crave or be averse. Often you crave for Buddha and you

are averse to the Sangha. And you try to change. By changing Sangha or Buddha you are not

going to change.

Moment’s worth

The main purpose is to come to the centre deep within you which means to find your Dharma.

This is the third factor. What is Dharma? Knowing this moment is what has been offered to me

and that is how I take it. A sense of deep acceptance for this moment, for every moment is

Dharma. When this has come up then there is no problem at all. All the problems generate

from our mind; all negativity comes in from our mind.

The world is not bad; the world is beautiful. It is our world that is bad because our world has ‘us’

in it. We make our world ugly or beautiful. So when you are in your Dharma, in your nature, you

won’t blame the world and you won’t blame the Divine.

The difficulty of the human mind is that it cannot be part of the world totally and it cannot be

part of the Divine. It feels a distance from the Divine. It’s its own creation and yet it feels like

blaming the world. It’s not comfortable with the world. Dharma is that which puts you in the

middle and which makes you comfortable with the world. It causes you to contribute to the

world, be at ease with the Divine, and feel that you are a part of the Divine. That is true

Dharma.

Jai Gurudev.

KNOW YOURSELF,KNOW GOD

KNOW YOURSELF --- KNOW GOD



------ Sri Sri Ravishankar



* What is God?

* What is not God?

* What is the definition of God, if there is one?

The moment you define by a word you already have a concept about it.

* What do you think is God?



You describe it as that which is everywhere; which is all-powerful; which is responsible for this creation, for its maintenance, and for its dissolution; which is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient. You say “I want to see God” and when you want to see God as something, as an object, then it’s not everywhere. The moment you see God, there is a distance between you and God; then you are not God. You want to see God, and this wanting to see God as separate from you is again an illusion; and if you are seeing God, then God is not omnipresent!



Like love is felt in the heart, so is God’s presence. You cannot see air, but you simply feel the air. You cannot see heat or cold, but you just feel it. So in the same way God cannot be seen. If you see God, then He is outside there; He is away from you and isolated. God is never an object of isolation. God is the sum total. When you dissolve, God remains. When you are there, there is no God. Either you can be there, or God can be there, not both. So when you meditate, you become one with God. You are God. That is why, it is said, `Tatvamasi’, meaning, “Thou art that”.



So, God is to be felt in the depth of your heart. In deep meditation when your mind is still, calm, hollow and empty, you suddenly feel, “I am not there. There is only one big existence.” So, don’t worry about God. First know yourself then you also know what is God, almost simultaneously.



* Who are you?

* Do you know about yourself?

Just find out about yourself first.

* If you think you are just the body, it is not possible, because body has its limitations.

* If you think you are the mind, that’s also not possible because mind has its limitation, it’s another layer.

* If you know that you are Silence or you are Space, then it is possible; God is also Space. Space is God. Can you see space separately?



There are three types of space:

1. Bhootha Aakash — Outer space in which all this universe is hanging.

2. Chitta Aakash — In your mind, there is a world with impressions, thoughts, dreams; you live in that world, all the visions come in your mind.

3. Chida Aakash — It’s the sky of consciousness that is all permeating; the consciousness, the basis of all creation, that is Divine, that all knows.



Lord Rama himself had asked a question once. He was curious to see so much love, devotion and dedication in Hanuman that he wondered and asked Hanuman what it felt like being Hanuman? Hanuman told Rama — “When I am in body Consciousness, I am your servant; when I think I am an individual — I am in Soul Consciousness, I am a part of you; and when I am in my being Consciousness, when I am in my self then I am you; there is no difference between me and you.”



It’s the same when somebody blames your child; you take the blame don’t you? There is so much oneness; in fact, there is really nothing other than God. God is that which is present everywhere, all the time. Don’t worry too much about philosophy or descriptions of Atma (self) — Paramatma (God). Let’s forget about God and observe this moment; this moment has a mind of its own. The whole existence has a mind of its own. Like you have a mind and it has such intelligence, that’s why it keeps everything orderly. Similarly, this moment is seen by this mind. This mind you can call it Atma or God and that is what you are. Yesterday is not here right now, tomorrow is not here but the present is here, now! Respect this moment, adore this moment. See, this moment is

not flat; it’s very deep. When you accept from the head, you can have the horizontal idea; from the heart you experience the depth; and both together bring true wisdom and knowledge.



What is God and what is Self?

The one beyond Self is God; first reach till the Self at least. The difference between Self and God is just like the Wave and the Ocean. Can there be a wave without the ocean? Space is everywhere; everything is in space. You take all things out from a box, empty it yet something remains still; the space remains as space, can anything touch the space? Can anything destroy space? You cannot make God an object of your sight. If you make it then it is no more God. You can live God, can be God, but you cannot see or perceive God as an object which gives you the path.



As you move into the spiritual dimension of your life, you will come to know your true nature. In ancient India they said, `Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram’.



Satyam (Truth)

When you feel the truth strongly, energy arises. Suppose someone accuses you of stealing a car. You become upset and say, “No! I have not stolen anything!” What is happening to you? A huge force of energy is coming up. When You say, “How dare you say that?’ truth is coming up to confront a lie. Only when a lie confronts you, does truth come up so strongly. When you see that everything is changing, something inside you stands up and says, “No! I am not changing.”

That force within you is truth; it’s always there.



Shivam (Infinity; that which is comforting)

Comfort comes from consciousness and is experienced by consciousness. When the consciousness relaxes itself to some degree that is called comfort. If you have worked all day until you are very tired and you lay down in bed and take a deep breath, there is a sense of your whole consciousness expanding in some manner. Energy moving in a particular way creates comfort. In the spiritual dimension one’s perception and expression of life changes. The small `I’ and `mine’ disappear. You see life as a phenomenon. You are here and you are part of the river, the trees, the mountains, and the whole of nature. Such a soothing comfort comes with this knowledge.



Sundaram (Beauty)

God is ever youthful, ever young. To me, God is very naughty; God loves fun! That is why he has created so much fun around, including all the worry and everything else. All the rat race that goes on, that is also fun. Life is fun! Recognising beauty, loving beauty, surrendering to beauty; life can never be dull.

Head understands head and heart understands heart. Nose can only smell; eye can only see; ears can only hear, ears cannot see. So, heart can feel, isn’t it? We try to put the heart in the head and the head in the heart and it doesn’t seem to work. Your heart feels something is beautiful, head says it is beautiful. We cling on to the word in the mind, we don’t feel it. We repeat the word `beautiful’ and it doesn’t seem beautiful. The same thing goes for love. You talk too much about love, you get stuck in the head and it doesn’t rise in the heart. In silence love emits, radiates. We are not separate. We are all one. I know you all and when you go deep inside you, you know me also. We are not strangers. When we start listening to our heart then we know that all is one and all is God.



GOD stands for Generator, Operator and Destroyer. The present moment has generated; the present moment is operating; and the present moment destroyed the past.



So, you are in God and, God is in you…



Jai Gurudev !

Only Speak Knowledge

July 4, 1995 Ottawa, Canada

ONLY SPEAK KNOWLEDGE

Only speak Knowledge. Don't repeat anything that someone tells you or opinions
about anyone that someone states -- "That so-and-so said such-and-such about
you." If someone comes to tell you such things, discourage them. Don't believe it.
If someone blames you directly, know that they are taking away your bad karma and
let it go. Don't believe in it, and if you're one of the Guru's close ones, you will take all
of the blame of the world with a smile.
Conflict is the nature of the world; comfort is the nature of the self. Amidst the conflict
seek the comfort.
When you are bored with the comfort, get into the games of the world. When you are
tired of the games of the world, get into the comforts of the Self. If you are one of the
Guru's close ones, you do both simultaneously. Trying to end conflict prolongs it.
Face the conflict by seeking the comfort of the Self.
God is alive in the world and has been putting up with all the ongoing conflicts
throughout the ages. If God can put up with all the conflicts, you can too. The
moment you agree to be with the conflict, the conflict disappears.
People who love peace do not want to fight, and those who fight do not love peace.
Those who want peace want to run away. What is needed here is to be peaceful
within and then fight. The whole message of the Gita is to be peaceful yourself and
then fight. Krishna tells Arjuna to fight but be in peace at the same time. Does this
ring a bell?
In the world, you resolve one conflict and another one comes up. For example,
Russia is solved and then Bosnia arises. You make one better, and then another
starts up. Your body gets a cold, then you get better; then your back hurts, then it
gets better. Your body gets better, and then the mind goes. The world runs like this,
isn't it?
Without any intention, misunderstandings happen. It's not up to you to try to resolve.
them. Ignore them and be alive.

Jai Guru Dev

IDEAL WORSHIP

IDEAL WORSHIP


---- Sri Sri Ravishankar


For a flame to go up, you need space above. In the same way, for a man to rise up in his life, he needs an ideal, he needs something to adore and worship. Worship is the culmination of love and appreciation. Worship prevents love from turning into hatred or jealousy, and appreciation into low self-esteem.


In life, if you do not adore or appreciate anything, you will be filled with negativity. And a person who has nothing to worship or adore is sure to fall into depression. Lack of adoration has led to many emotional, psychological and social problems in the society. If you have nothing to hold up high in life, selfishness, arrogance and violence are sure to follow. Adoring and honouring each other in society eliminates stress and fosters compassion and love.


In the previous century, it was thought that worshipping was an uncivilised and unintelligent thing to do. Worship was thought to rise from a slavish mentality. On the contrary, worship can only happen through gratefulness.
In worship, a sense of belongingness, love, honour and respect all  come together. Without a sense of belongingness, worship or idealism can bring low self-esteem. The ancient people knew this so they insisted that people should feel part of what they worship. They encouraged people to worship the sun, moon, mountain,rivers, plants, animals and people.
Worship in a true sense is a sign of maturity and not weakness.
Reason is reeling in the known , Faith is moving in the unknown.
Reason is repetition , Faith is exploration.
Reason is routine , Faith is adventure.
They are completely opposite, yet an integral part of life.


Not having faith itself is misery; faith gives instant comfort. While reasoning keeps you sane and grounded, no miracle can happen without faith. Faith takes you beyond limitations. In faith you can transcend the laws of nature but it needs to be pure. Faith is beyond reason, yet you need to have faith in your own reasoning! Faith and reason cannot exist without each other. Every reason is based on some faith. Whenever reason or faith breaks, confusion and chaos prevails which is often a step for growth.


There are two types of faith.
Faith out of fear, greed and insecurity;
and faith born out of love like the faith between the mother and the child, the master and disciple. Whereas the faith out of love cannot be broken, faith out of fear and greed is shaky.
An atheist bases himself on reason, and a believer on faith. A believer uses God as an insurance policy! He thinks he is special. In the eyes of God there is no `mine' and `others'; all are the same. An atheist rationalises to keep his eyes shut to reality. Only a yogi - a wise one - remains unshaken. For that person has transcended both reason and faith.
You need a balance between faith and reason.


　
Jai Gurudev !

WORDS

 

April 18, 1996 Indonesia

WORDS

We attach meaning to words and we distort them, too. For example, the word"brainwashing."

Like your body, your brain needs washing sometimes. You don't

want to walk around with a dirty brain, a dirty mind.

What is wrong with the word "brainwashing?"

It indicates a clean brain, a clean mind, but it is used in a derogatory manner.

Like that, the word "disillusionment." It is good that you are disillusioned. You have come to reality.

Like purana. It means "that which is new in the town, the most

modern." But it is used in the sense of being old. In the course of time, meanings of words change.

The word "enthused" comes from the Greek which means "God is

with us." Then it came to mean crazy, and now it's changed again.

Don't be stuck with the words. Your worries are words. Your ideas are words.

Wisdom is beyond words. It is the very Being. It is the essence of all words. See and relate beyond words.

Then there is no lie in your life.

If you manipulate words, it is a lie. If you play on words, it is a joke. If you rely onwords, it is ignorance.

If you transcend words, it is wisdom.

* * * *

News Splash:

Guruji was welcomed with the traditional Balinese dance and garlands. Then the

press and TV crews invaded the hotel and splashed the news throughout Indonesia.

All the press people were put into silent meditation and they came out with big smiles. Now they are arranging courses.

Everything was magical. A thousand stars reflected over the Indian Ocean and the cliff side pool.

Surprisingly, this course did not have chaos! The harmony on the

course was so great that the hotel staff spontaneously started observing silence,communicating only through gestures and notes. Mr. and Mrs. Tolani and their whol team did a great job.

After the farewell dinner outside by the lotus pools, we enjoyed a Balinese dance drama from the Ramayana. Afterwards we had a lively Satsang as drops began to fall from the heavens. Everyone was singing and dancing in the rain with Guruji.

Jai Guru Dev.

Are You Happy??

3rd July 2005 Are you happy? What is your commitment in life? You may say you are committed to happiness. Every living creature wants to be happy. Whether it is money, power or sex, you get into it for the sake of happiness. Some people even enjoy misery because it gives them happiness ! To be happy, we seek something. But despite getting it, we are not happy. A school-going boy may think that if he goes to college, he will be more independent, free and therefore happy. If you ask a college-going boy whether he is happy, he feels that if he gets a job, he will be happy. Talk to somebody who is settled in their job or business, you already know what he will say! He is waiting to get a perfect soul mate, to be happy. He gets a soul mate, but he now wants a kid to be happy. Ask those who have children if they are happy. How can they relax until the children have grown up and have had a good education and are on their own. Ask those who are retired, are they happy? They long for the days when they were younger. All of one’s life is spent in preparing to be happy someday in the future. It’s like making a bed all night, but having no time to sleep. How may minutes, hours and days have we spent our life being happy from within ? Those are the only moments you have really lived life. Those were perhaps the days when you were a small kid, completely blissful and happy or a few moments when you were surfing, swimming or sailing or on a mountain top, living in the present and enjoying it. There are two ways of looking at life. One is thinking that, “I'll be happy after achieving a certain objective.” The second is saying that “I am happy come what may!” Which one do you want to live? Seeking a guru Before looking for a guru, it is important to know who is a true guru, and who will guide you to the path of happiness. One who says he is a guru is not a true guru. A guru is not one who claims authority on you. A guru is not one who dictates terms to you. A guru simply means one who brings more joy, alertness and awareness into your life. He is the one who helps you get in touch with yourself, who reminds you to live in the present moment, who pulls you out of your guilt, agitation, sorrow, anguish and allows you to be yourself. Also, a master lives the values he teaches. Enlightenment does not come through authority. Somebody cannot command you to get enlightened. Once life blossoms, and love and compassion become a reality, then silence dawns and the transformation happens. That is enlightenment. It is a personal experience. God is also a very personal experience. It is something akin to pain. If you have a pain in your leg, can you prove it to anybody? Can you show your pain to anybody? Much the same way, the opening of infinite consciousness is also a personal experience. The basic substratum of creation — you may call it God or any other name — opens up to us more and more as we get rid of the stresses and start living in the present moment. And then dawns surrender.

Surrender is not an act. One cannot “try” to surrender. Most often, one keeps wondering as to how to surrender. And this struggle blocks one from being “in” surrender. Surrendering is in your nature. Just like it is a child’s nature to love toys, candies, and ice creams. How can one find his true guru? Just be open and keep learning, and when your learning is complete, it becomes obvious. When you’re on the path, don’t worry about the guru. First look at your own life, your own self. Have trust in yourself. And as knowledge unfolds, you’ll find that there is suddenly a lot of gratitude in you towards somebody and then you can accept him as a master. Live in the moment Life is 80 per cent joy and 20 per cent misery. But we hold on to the 20 per cent and make it 200 per cent ! It is not a conscious act, it just happens. Living in the moment with joy, alertness, awareness and compassion is enlightenment. Being like a child is enlightenment. It is being free from within, feeling at home with everybody, without barriers. Don’t judge and don’t worry about what others think of you. Whatever they think, it is not permanent. Your own opinion about things and people keeps changing all the time. So why worry about what others think about you. Worrying takes a lot of toll on the body, mind, intellect and alertness. It is like an obstruction that takes us far away from ourselves. It brings us fear. Fear is nothing but lack of love. It is an intense sense of isolation. This can be handled by relaxing and doing some breathing exercises. Then you will realise that, “I am loved, I am part of everybody and I am part of the whole Universe.” This will liberate you and the mind will take a complete shift. You will then find so much harmony around. To find harmony, it is not as if you have to physically seek it by sitting somewhere for years and practise. Whenever you are in love and feel joyous, your mind is in the present . At some level, to some degree, everybody is meditating without being aware of it. There are moments when your body, mind and breath are all in harmony. That’s when you achieve yoga. The art of living lies in the present moment.

Jai Gurudev.

Symbolism Of Lord Ganesha

Symbolism of Lord Ganesha---- Sri Sri Ravishankar,

Bangalore Ashram, Aug. '09.

Ganesha is the formless divinity - encapsulated in a magnificent form, for the benefit of the devotee. Gan means group. The universe is a group of atoms and different energies. This universe would be in chaos if there was no supreme law governing these diverse groups of entities. The Lord of all these groups of atoms and energies is Ganesha. He is the supreme consciousness that pervades all & brings order in this universe. The essence of Ganesha is brought out beautifully by Adi Shankara. Though Ganesha is worshiped as the elephant-headed God, the form (swaroop) is just to bring out the formless (parabrahma roopa). He is ‘Ajam Nirvikalpam Niraakaaramekam’. This means Ganesha is Ajam (unborn), he is Nirvikalpa (attributeless), he is Niraakaar (formless) and he symbolizes the consciousness which is omnipresent. Ganesha is the same energy which is the reason for this universe, from which everything manifests and into which everything will dissolve. We are all familiar with the story on how Ganesha became the elephant-headed God. Shiva and Parvati had been celebrating and Parvati becomes dirty. When she realizes this, she removes the dirt from her body, creates a boy out of it and asks him to keep guard while she bathed. When Shiva returned, the boy could not recognise him and obstructed his passage. So Shiva chopped off the boy’s head and entered. Parvati was shocked. She explained that the boy was their son and pleaded with Shiva to save him at all costs. Shiva then instructed his helpers to go and get the head of someone who was sleeping with the head pointing to the north. The helpers then got the head of an elephant, which Shiva affixed to the boy’s torso and Ganesha was born! Does this story sound strange? Why should Parvati have dirt on her body? Didn’t the all-knowing Shiva recognise His own son? Was Shiva, the epitome of peace, so short-tempered that he cut off the head of his own son? And why an elephant head on Ganesha? There is a deeper meaning to all these. Parvati is symbolic of festive energy. Her becoming dirty signifies that celebration can easily become Rajasik or feverish and can take you away from your center. Dirt is symbolic of ignorance and Shiva is symbolic of the Supreme Innocence, Peace and Knowledge. So when Ganesha obstructs the path of Shiva, this means that ignorance, which is an attribute of the head, does not recognise knowledge. Then knowledge has to overcome ignorance. This is the symbolism behind Shiva chopping off the boy’s head. And why the elephant head? Elephant represents both gyan shakti and karma shakti. The principle qualities of the elephant are wisdom and effortlessness. The enormous head of the elephant signifies Wisdom and Knowledge. Elephants don't walk around obstacles, neither do they stop at them. They just remove them and keep walking straight on – signifying effortlessness. So, when we worship Lord Ganesha these elephant qualities within us are kindled and we take on these qualities. Ganesha's big belly represents generosity and total acceptance. Ganesha’s upraised hand, depicting protection, means, "Fear not - I am with you," and his lowered hand, palm facing outwards means - unending giving as well as an invitation to bow down – symbolic of the fact that we will all dissolve into earth one day. Ganesha also has a single tusk which signifies one-pointedness. Even the implements Ganesha wields are symbolic. He carries in his hands, the ‘Ankusa’ (signifies awakening) and the ‘Paasa’ (signifies control). With awakening, a lot of energy is released, which without proper control, can go haywire. And why does Ganesha, the elephant-headed God travel on something as small as a mouse? Isn’t that so incongruous? Again there is symbolism that runs deeps. The mouse snips and nibbles away at ropes that bind. The mouse, which gradually nibbles away, is like the mantra which can cut through sheaths and sheaths of ignorance, leading to the ultimate knowledge represented by Ganesha. Our ancient Rishis were so deeply intelligent that they chose to express Divinity in terms of symbols rather than words, since words change over time, but symbols remain unchanged. Let us keep these deep symbolisms in mind as we experience the omnipresent in the form of the elephant God, yet be fully aware that Ganesha is very much within us. This is the wisdom we should carry as we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi. 　

Jai Gurudev !

DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU??

25th September 2005 Do you have it in you? The first major aspect of good leadership is letting go of control. Are you in control when you’re sleeping or when you’re dreaming? No! Are you in control of any other function in your body? Your heart is pumping all by itself. Your liver functions by itself. The food you stuff in the stomach gets digested all by itself. Do you have any control over them? Are you in control of the Sun and Moon moving around the globe or even the globe rotating on itself? Are you in control of the thoughts that come into your head? So, when you realize you really do not have any control over all major things that are happening in you life, you’ll stand up and laugh. “Oh, what am I thinking, am I in control of something?” Then you will realize that the idea that you are in control is an illusion. And then you relax. And that relaxed state is called surrender. What is surrender? A state of mind, where you are absolutely at home, totally relaxed — with no fear, anxiety, burden or problem. That state is called surrender. Surrender is our very nature; you don’t have to do it. When you are in your natural state of childlike innocence, you are already in a state of surrender. When you cannot surrender, then you make effort, and effort makes you surrender. So when you say, “I cannot relax”, I will say, “Ok, hold your fists tight and tight and tight.” Then, when I ask you to make it tighter and you cannot do that, what do you do? Being tired, you just drop. This is coming to the other end with effort! For a leader, it is also important to be in the present moment. So, what are the qualities of good leadership? How can you be a dynamic, confident and enthusiastic leader? The first quality of leadership is to set an example. A leader doesn’t just order things; he does it so that others can do it. Second aspect is that a leader takes good care of those whom he is leading. Third aspect is that he doesn’t create followers. A good leader creates leaders. And then chain action happens. A leader should delegate responsibility. The fourth quality is that a leader does not depend on authority. He just does a thing, whether authority is invested or not. It comes by itself. The fifth aspect of leadership is that he does not worry about position. The respect that you gain through virtue is very different from the respect you gain through the position. The respect you get through a position is short-lived and temporary. But the respect that you gain just because of your smile, your attitude, your virtues are there with you all the time. You may be a chairman of this committee, a president of that committee, or you are barrister here or governor of that state — these are all momentary, temporary. They come and they go. And the respect you get because of this position is not genuine, it is not from the heart, it is not true. But the respect you gain because you are a nice person, is genuine, it lasts long. It is spontaneous. The sixth quality is that a leader is alert and when challenges come, he is not disturbed. A good leader is one who does not drop things when challenges appear. The seventh quality of a good leader is one who does not care for comfort, but who stretches himself beyond the comfort zone. Anything creative, dynamic and great can happen only when you stretch beyond your comfort zone where we are often struck. We think we cannot do something: just make an effort and put one step ahead, and you will find that that you are expanding your comfort zone. Creativity transcends your comfort zone. Or, when you step out of the comfort zone, your creativity comes into play. The eighth aspect is, a leader should not mix head and heart. If you mix head and heart, you are in a mess! When you have to work, you work with commitment and you live with your head. In life, in situations other than when you are working, listen to your heart. The ninth quality of a good leader is that he should be multidimensional and see from the other’s point of view. Put yourself in other person’s shoes, look from the other person’s point of view. The tenth aspect is that the leader doesn’t depend on one-sided information. When you get some news from one side, don’t take any decision or conclusion till you hear from the other side also. Leader should be a good communicator. The eleventh is that a leader should have a direct approach. Twelfth quality of a good leader is not to judge oneself. You have this tendency of judging yourself, “Am I good? I’m no good.” The self-judgment is an obstruction. Stop doing that. Don’t judge yourself. When you judge yourself, you are judging others also. Then you oscillate like a pendulum. If you feel you’re good, then you are saying that others are not so good. So when you find that others are good, and then you feel that you are no good, you blame yourself. Judgment is very similar to selfblame and blaming others. We have to get out of this vicious circle of self-judgment. That is also the state of surrender. When you have surrendered to the Divine that means that you no longer judge yourself. Self-judgment is not necessary. A child is so innocent, why? Because the child doesn’t judge itself.

Jai Gurudev.

Feeling Lost???

23rd October 2005 Feeling lost? Teen-age” years are the most confusing years. You are no more a kid who can be pacified with toys and sweets, but you have also not matured enough in emotional terms. A new world has just opened up in front of you and it’s such a difficult time. On one hand, there are big highs! On the other hand, there are so many lows including loneliness. A child doesn’t feel lonely, but a teenager does. Not only that, there are also so many hormonal changes taking place in the body of a teenager. He/she is becoming familiar with his/her own body, mind, emotions, urges and difficulties. Suddenly teenagers begin to feel that nobody understands them because what parents say from their standpoint as parents - good or bad - doesn’t appeal to them. Long-term plans don’t exist. Teenagers want immediate solutions, immediate gratification, immediate, immediate… Everything should happen now! Instantly! Teenagers feel that adults do not understand them. And on the other hand, they can’t connect with small kids either. They have reached a stage where they find all the toys, all the simple games that they have outgrown, meaningless. During these complicated years, teenagers need to have hope. They need to develop an understanding about life; what they want to do, how to cope with their wants. There is an old saying in Sanskrit: ‘When your son or daughter turns sixteen, behave with them like a friend’. Don’t be their teachers; don’t tell them what to do or what not to do. Just share their difficulties with them. Be a friend to them; a friend who is at their level. A friend understands them, moves with them, empathises with their emotions and difficulties. If you relate as a friend with them and not as a parent, they will open up to you. Usually teenagers open up to their friends much more than to their parents; it’s a common phenomenon. This also goes for teachers. A teacher should also be a friend - should behave as a friend, talk as a friend. Then the gap gets bridged. Once the gap is bridged, love flows; communication happens. And once communication happens, virtually all the problems are solved. The biggest problem is lack of communication. Dealing with emotions How to deal with our emotions? Big problem! Although we have grown older - beyond the ‘teenage’, we more often fail to grow beyond ‘teenage’ mentally. You know, our body grows in a particular sequence. In the first seven years, the physical body grows but the intellect does not grow; then up to fourteen years, the intellect grows. The period from 14 to 21 years is for emotional maturity. So the general belief is that you become physically mature, then intellectually mature and finally, you become emotionally mature. However, many do not grow to that maturity at all. Lack of emotional maturity is always worrying about your emotions - feeling as though you are a victim of your own emotions: “Oh! I feel like this! I feel like that! What to do?” What will you do? Who cares about your feelings? Why do you worry so much about your feelings? Your feelings keep changing. Sometimes you feel bad; but the bad feeling doesn’t stay with you forever. It changes and you start feeling good once again; but even that ‘good’ feeling does not stay forever. Nobody can feel bad or good ALL the time; the good and bad feelings come like waves. You can’t stop a wave that has already arisen; nor can you make a wave rise just like that. Just as waves come and go, clouds come and go, so also emotions come and go. Waves of different emotion come. And they disappear. But we make it such a big issue: “Oh, I feel good! Oh, I feel bad! I feel this way, I feel that way, nobody cares for me…” - all these complaints keep bombarding our minds. This emotional garbage is so useless; and it is also a sign of emotional immaturity.

Emotional maturity, intellectual maturity, physical maturity; you need all these three ‘maturities’ to be a complete personality. Are you sharp and focused? Are you interested in learning and in growth? If yes, you have matured intellectually. And once you have matured intellectually, do not let emotional immaturity cloud your intellect. By the age of 21, you’re supposed to be emotionally and physically strong, and intellectually sharp. Hence, you acquire the right to vote, because you are supposed to be mature - an adult. But this seldom happens! But what is the big deal about your feelings? I tell you, bundle them up and throw them into the ocean! Once you are rid of your ‘feelings’ you can be happy, in good spirits. Just examine why your spirits go down? More likely than not because somebody said something stupid to you. And why did they say a stupid thing? Because they had some garbage they needed to throw out; and you were there, ready to catch it. And once you have caught it, you hold on to it so passionately! Come on! Wake up! Don’t let your smile be snatched away by anybody! In this world, everything cannot be perfect all the time. Even the best, the greatest of actions, performed with the noblest of intentions, will have some imperfections. It is but natural. Unfortunately, the tendency of our mind is to grab the imperfection and hold on to it. And in the process, we end up making our moods, our minds imperfect. Our souls reel with this nonsense. It is imperative to get out of these cycles, and to become strong and courageous from within. And that which gives you that strength, that courage, that smile and that helps you to become unconditionally happy and loving is what is called spirituality.

Jai Gurudev.

Reaching God

9th October 2005 Reaching God Life is incomplete without union with God. It’s quite natural that a matured mind and blossomed heart strives for this union. From ages philosophies were born, debates happened, music, art and literature have sprung up from this need. Religions, philosophies, practices, customs and austerities have all pointed to one thing — union with the Divine. The common man wakes up to the pain and suffering in his life and wants to be free from it. And he looks for the super power of creation to free him from the clutches of the world. The more he looks at the misery and shortcomings in his life, the farther away he feels from the Divinity, which is his very nature. And his heart yearns for some sort of communication from the other side. For time immemorial man has been striving to lessen this gap between himself and God. There are two ways to do this: one is to elevate mankind towards Divinity — this is called Siddha, one who has attained perfection and the second is to bring God to human level — Avatar, one who is not striving for perfection. Divinity has manifested itself for the sake of mankind. Man rising up to God is Siddha; God coming down, because he cares for you, is Avatar. To communicate directly with devotees, God comes in the form of Avatar. Avatar is the humaneness where you can get a glimpse of Divinity. In the Puranas, all the devas are depicted with human emotions and tendencies. They do normal things — get upset, angry, are in love, etc. Rama and Krishna went through all the experiences of the human mind just to make you understand that God is not too far away from you, but one among you. Don’t look for the supernatural in Avatar — then the whole purpose of coming close to humans is defeated. The expression of God’s love for you on the most understandable human level is Avatar. This concept of Avatar is prevalent in the east — India, China, Japan, Korea, Nepal etc. In these eastern countries, the monarch is revered as Avatar. Nripo Narayano Hari — the king is regarded as Avatar of Vishnu; Vaidhyo Narayano Hari — the doctor is regarded as Avatar of Vishnu. In the west, the concept is that of messenger, but in the east this concept does not exist as the intimacy between you and God is so much, God, himself, comes down. Like a mother would personally go to her child, God’s love for man is so much, he would prefer to go Himself. The east looks from the value of the heart whereas the intellect has the perspective of messenger. The concept of messenger was painful to bhaktas and Sufis — they are more comfortable with Avatar. For an intimate relationship, God comes directly. Your love for God becomes authentic when you are assured of his love for you. In Gita, it is Krishna who first tells Arjuna, ‘You are dear to me’, which enabled Arjuna to surrender. Wherever you feel immense respect, wherever you get a glimpse of Divinity, know it is Avatar. Avatar lies in those who recognise — and the entire creation becomes alive as Divinity. This is the stage before the awareness of “I Am”. The entire phenomenon of creation is the descent of consciousness in various names and forms. And the whole purpose of Avatar is to make you realise that you are part of Him. Avatar is not there to charm you but to calm you, to make you return home. And to make you realise you are that. Once you recognise the Avatar, suddenly the entire creation is filled with ‘that’ and you are that. The descent of God is to make you realise there is no up or down, there is no high or low, there is no ascension or descent! There is no two. Jai Gurudev.

Contradictions In The Gita Help One To Think.

Contradictions In The Gita Help One To Think … Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, ' \Times of India - The Speaking Tree', Aug. '09.

Truth is contradictory; if it is not contradictory, then it is not truth! The Bhagavad Gita is full of contradictions. You can understand it only if you see it in totality.At one point, Krishna tells Arjuna that action is the most important thing and without action one will be nowhere. But after that, He tells him that action is all right but knowledge is better! Then Krishna says, ‘‘You must become a yogi and drop everything around you.’’Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter Six that since he is confused, there is no use talking. He asks him to meditate. Finally, He says, ‘‘He is the greatest amongst yogis who keeps Me in his heart whether he meditates or not. He is the real yogi, because I am with him in whatever he is doing.’’At one juncture, Krishna says, ‘‘Arjuna, there is nobody dear to me, nobody whom I love.’’ And then gives a whole list of qualifications for those He really loves!In another instance, Krishna tells Arjuna to act without looking for the fruit of action. Later, He asks Arjuna to act properly, according to natural law. Then He tells him that he ought to fight if he wants to win the war. So, at this point He is bringing Arjuna’s attention to the fruit of action, but then He also tells him not to worry about the fruit of action.Krishna was like a dear friend to Arjuna. In the Bhagavatam, except for Vidura and Udhava, nobody even thought he was enlightened; they all thought that he was just very smart. The Pandavas and the gopis knew who Krishna was and how complete He was from all angles. But many of them, including Arjuna, did not see him that way. Krishna, however, shows him that He is infinite.Krishna tells Arjuna, ‘‘I will give you a special eye of knowledge, which I haven’t given anybody in ages. I am giving it to you now because it is time.’’ With that, He gives him a vision. For that one moment the universe appears as a manifestation of Krishna to Arjuna. Arjuna sees all of creation, everything – the mountains and the rivers, the past, the present and the future – dissolving in Krishna. For an instant, the whole of life, the universe, all memories play out like a movie and it frightens Arjuna. Then Arjuna pleads, ‘‘Oh! Please show me your simple, natural and friendly face. I like your simple smile and I want to see my friend. I don’t want to see anything beyond. It is too much for me.’’ This is called Vishva Roopa Darshana – the vision of the universal. Thereafter, Krishna tells Arjuna about the yagyas, principles and laws of the universe. Then He talks about sanyasa and how to be centred. Arjuna tells Krishna that what he says is not easy to follow. Krishna says, ‘‘I agree… It is difficult but not impossible. With practice, dispassion and by getting to the centre again, you will succeed.’’ Krishna tried everything. Finally, it was the display of the universal vision that worked on Arjuna. When Arjuna says, ‘‘I give up,’’ Krishna says, ‘‘Think and do whatever is best for you after pondering over what I have said.” And then Arjuna says his mind is now clear. Krishna had to speak through 18 chapters to get him to that point. He could have done it at the very first chapter. But the way this knowledge flows is really beautiful.Everything may appear to be all contradictory from all angles. But that is reality.

Jai Gurudev.

The Love Of The Ignorant And Anger Of The Enlightened

Knowledge sheet August 31, 1995 THE LOVE OF THE IGNORANT AND THE ANGER OF THE ENLIGHTENED The love of the ignorant can be harmful yet even the anger of the Enlightened is not harmful. It can be only good! An example is the school at the Art of Living Ashram in Bangalore. 250 children are enrolled but only 200 come to class on any given day. Fifty children don't show up. Why? They cry at home, "Mother, I don't want to go to school." The mother says, "Oh, la la, don't cry . . . ok." She thinks, "No child in the world is like my child." And so she sticks up for the child and begins to speak for him. She does not see the teacher's point of view. The mother asks the teacher, "Why are you not teaching my child properly? He is so innocent, so lovely." So, what happens -- the child grows up spoiled. The love in the mother's ignorance has spoiled the child. The child will never learn the alphabet, never learn to read or write, but the mother says, "Oh, never mind, there are sheep to look after and fields to tend." The mother's love in ignorance has spoiled the child. The anger of the Enlightened is a blessing. There are many instances of this in the Puranas. Once a Master was traveling in the middle province of India with a disciple following him a few yards behind. Some boys who were rude, rough, and abusive began to throw stones and tease the disciple calling him names. This went on for some time as the boys followed the Master and the disciple. They came to a river. The Master and the disciple got into a boat in order to cross. The boys got in another boat which started to sink in the middle of the river. The Master slapped the disciple across the face. The disciple was so surprised as he had not said a word back to the boys in response to their taunts. He had been such a good disciple and yet the Master had slapped him! The Master said, "It is your fault. You are responsible for their boat sinking. You did not respond to their abuse. Nature has now punished them in a worse way because you did not have enough compassion to quell their insults." The slap that the Master gave took away the karma of this event such that it would not be carried into the future of the boys. It also served to take away any little bit of joy the disciple may have felt at seeing the boys' boat sink! Thus, it also took away the karma of the event for the disciple. So, the anger of the Enlightened is a blessing! Jai Guru Dev

God For The Disbeliever's Soul

GOD for the disbeliever's Soul . --------- Sri Sri Ravishankar

You have always thought of God as a father, up in the heavens somewhere. But can you see God as a child? When you see God as a father, you will want to demand and take from Him. But when you see God as a child, you have no demands. God is the very core of your existence. You are pregnant with God. You have to take care of your pregnancy and deliver this Child into the world. God is your child who clings onto you like a baby till you grow old and die. This child clings on to you crying for nourishment. Sadhana, Satsang and Seva are the nourishment.It is difficult to see God as formless and it is difficult to see God as form. The formless is so abstract and God in a form appears to be too limited. So some people prefer to be atheists. But atheism is not a reality, it is just a matter of convenience. When you have a spirit of inquiry, or are in search of truth, atheism falls apart. With a spirit of inquiry, you cannot deny something which you have not disproved. An atheist denies God without first disproving it. In order to disprove God, you must have enormous knowledge. And when you have enormous knowledge, you cannot disprove God! For one to say that something does not exist, one should know about the whole universe. So you can never be 100 percent atheist. An atheist is only a believer who is sleeping! In fact an atheist is someone who has a concept of God! For a person to say, “I don’t believe in anything”, means he must believe in himself — so he believes in himself about whom he does not even know! An atheist can never be sincere because sincerity needs depth — and an atheist refuses to go to the depths. Because the deeper he goes, he finds a void, a field of all possibilities — he has to accept that there are many secrets he does not know. He would then need to acknowledge his ignorance, which he refuses to do, because the moment he is sincere, he seriously starts doubting his atheism. A doubt-free atheist is next to impossible! So you can never be a sincere and doubt-free atheist.* When the atheist realises his ignorance, what does he do?* Where does he go?* Does he go to a Guru?* What does a guru do to him?Atheism is when one does not believe either in values or in the abstract. When an atheist comes to the guru, what happens? You start experiencing your own form and discover that you are indeed formless, hollow and empty. And this abstract non-form in you becomes more and more concrete! The guru makes the abstract more real and what you thought as solid appears to be more unreal. Sensitivity and subtlety dawns. Perception of love, not as an emotion, but as the substratum of existence becomes evident. The formless spirit shines through every form in creation and the mystery of life deepens, shattering the atheism. Then the journey begins and it has four stages.1. The first stage is Saarupya (to see the formless in the form) ie, seeing God in all the forms. Often, one feels more comfortable seeing God as formless rather than with a form, because with a form, one feels a distance, a duality, a fear of rejection and other limitations. In life all our interactions are with the form, other than in deep sleep and in Samadhi. And, if you do not see God in the form, then the waking part of life remains devoid of the Divine. All those who accept God to be formless use symbols, and perhaps love the symbols more than God himself! If God comes and tells a Christian to leave the cross or a Muslim to drop the crescent, perhaps he may not do it! To begin with, loving the formless is possible only through forms.2. The second stage is Saamipya (closeness) ie, feeling absolutely close to the form you have chosen and reaching out to the formless. This leads to a sense of intimacy with the whole of creation. In this stage, one overcomes the fear of rejection and other fears. But this is time and space bound.3. The third stage is Saanidhya — feeling the presence of the Divine by which you transcend the limitations of time and space.4. Then the final stage is Saayujya, ie, when you are firmly entrenched with the Divine. It is then that you realise you are one with the Divine. There is a total merging with the Beloved and all duality disappears.Take care of your God! Atheists lurk around the corner ! Doubts, disbelief and ignorance are the atheists in your mind — so you better take care!

Jai Gurudev.

Inner Grace

INNER GRACE ------Sri Sri Ravishankar Everybody asks for blessings. Usually people say, “Guruji, please give me blessings”. Even if someone doesn’t want anything, they need blessings! Whichever Guru you go to, the only words which come out are, “Give me blessings”. And these are mere words tumbling out of your mouth. But how do we obtain blessings? We have not learnt this.There is no dearth of blessings. You get more blessings than necessary. There is sunlight, a burning blaze of bright light all 12 hours of the day, but your doors and windows are tightly shut. Then,how is it possible for light to enter? If the sun’s light has to reach you, you cannot sit in a dark room and keep chanting on a microphone, “I want sunlight, I want sunlight!” This will not bring the sunlight in. You have to open the doors and windows, so that light may enter on its own. When you ask for blessings, you should have an honest and clean mind. When you have a truthful mind, that mind becomes capable of receiving and absorbing blessings. When does the mind become truthful? When there is nothing to hide, no dirt in the mind and the mind is open. Blessings should only be asked with an open mind.If somebody asks, “How are you?”, you answer saying “I am fine”. You,in reality, will not be fine at that point in time. In spite of that, you say, “I am fine, doing very well and on top of the world” and you are boiling inside ! When you communicate without hiding anything inside you, with an open and innocent mind, only from this level will you acquire the capability of receiving blessings. Now, why are we not honest in this way? That is because we are not communicating with ourselves. We are not living with the real truth in us. We are under the illusion that we may get something in this world of objects. The most common comment that people make often is that politicians are not honest. Why are not many politicians honest ? That is because their mind is only outward bound. They are always calculating and keeping watch of how much and what they can loot. If they want to loot people then it is not possible to be honest. Why? This is because they are dependent on somebody else. If you have to depend on somebody, then depend only on the divine power. The powerful God is the strength of the powerless.It is not that we always obtain whatever we wish. Many a times, our desires will not be fulfilled. There are many times when we regret our desires and wonder why we ever wished for them. Isn’t it ? You desire something and then you regret as to why you desired it. We live under the illusion that we will live happily when we obtain all objects of our desire. You should keep observing your desires. Only then you will know whether you will really derive happiness from your desire or if you will land in more trouble because of the desires.It is said , “Daivadheenam Jagat Sarvam, Mantradheenam tu daivatam ” which means that the whole creation is under the control of Gods and the Gods are under the spell of mantras. All that you are seeing in this gross world is just a reflection arising from the subtle world. The one who works in the subtle world is known as Devatha or God. Surrender to the Gods in the subtle plane. This is known as “Ishwara Pranidhaana”. God does not mean that you simply visit a temple and break the coconut and come back after offering a prayer. There is one honest corner in our consciousness. Just go and sit there. The moment you sit in that silent, honest corner of your consciousness, that very moment, you are tapping divine energy. “All the forms in the world reside in my consciousness,” this experience will gradually begin to happen to you. You will realise that you are not only the body. You are that consciousness which is very vast and spread everywhere, on all sides. It is necessary to realise that you are not just the body. “Who am I? This body is only a small window, that is all. I am really the Sun. When the Sun enters the window, does the window itself become the Sun? No. Sun only enters through the window. Moonlight is entering in, but the Moon is very far away. In the same way, I am far away from the body. In spite of being far away, I am still in the body”. This feeling should arise in you again and again. For that you need honesty. This requires practice. Then, even if you don’t need, blessings will always be showered on you! Jai Gurudev !!

True Identity

TRUE IDENTITY-----

Sri Sri Ravishankarji

A person identifies himself with a particular race, religion, culture and nationality, and he will fight for that, die for that.. and others will die with him too. Instead, share a broader perspective - that first and foremost we are part of the Divine.Our second identity is that we are Human Beings.Third, we are male or femaleFourth, is our nationality, the country to which we belong.Fifth, is our religion.If the order of identification is understood, then human values are honored. But if we identify with a particular religion or nationality, forgetting that first we are part of the Divine, and human beings then we bring misery unto ourselves and others as well. We have to have proper priorities. Everything is changing around you - your body, mind, priorities, friends, foes.. Everything is constantly changing. For this change to be recognized a reference point is needed - and That is your BEING! Wake Up! and see that you have a bigger identity than your gender! You identify yourself with the spirit. You are not just a piece of flesh and bone! You are Spirit! You are Life! This is when you need to know the knowledge. That you are spirit. You are the sparkling, scintillating consciousness! When you identify yourself with that, all complexes dissolve and fade away.

The ancient rishis said put it into a sentence “Tatvamsi” - “THOU ARE THAT”. Don’t think you are just amino acids, carbohydrates and proteins moulded into either 2 different forms - male & female. There is something beyond that - the spirit, the conciousness, the Bliss that you are, the joy that you are… Look to the Love that you are! Love is God, God is Love - because both are the same ethereal phenomenon. When you come sit near the Master, you cannot but catch his etherealness in you. When that happens, then the Master says - “What do you think you are? Do you think you are a solid body? Do you think you are a set of concepts, ideas and emotions?” No, No, No, Don’t Mistake it! This Love that you are feeling - that is what you are. Thou art That!

Love is not just an emotion, it is your very existence.

Jai Gurudev !

Life And Love

Life and Love ---------

Quotes by Sri Sri Ravishankar

" If you just look into all the pleasures or joy that you get in life from the world, from anything---they all come with a tax. You have to pay a tax for them. And this tax is sorrow. The direction of life is towards one thing: that is love. You be prosperous and have no love, that prosperity has no value. You are on spiritual path but you don’t experience love, then that spiritual path is no path, it is very dry. When we express love too much, then also it disappears, dies out. It’s like when you keep the seed on the surface of the soil, not a little deep inside, it doesn’t grow.All these different desires for experiences, for living, for knowing -- they arise and they get fulfilled and they move. Is there anybody who has not fulfilled any desire? Or is there anybody who has fulfilled all the desires? Is there any end for it? Want, or desire, arises when you are not happy. Have you seen this? When you are very happy then there is contentment. "Contentment" means "no want."To your very dear and loved ones, you say this: "If you need me, I am here. I am here for you. I am here to make you comfortable." Those are the moments that you have really lived your life. There is no way---not by any action or by words---that you can ever convince anybody that you really love them. The more we try to do it, the more we are doing the contrary. When you tell somebody you love them, make sure you are not saying it out of your "vasanas," your own cravings, your own impressions, your own craving for some joy.If you make someone feel guilty about their mistake, then you have not forgiven them. That guilt itself is a punishment. See a mistake as a mistake , not as "my" or "his" mistake. "My" mistake means guilt over oneself ; "his" mistake means anger towards the other person. Someone else throws a garbage and we are ready to take it all in. Someone got hurt and they are throwing all anger, frustration; and you hear [them]. You say, "Oh, why did so-and-so say such things!" And you immediately grasp those things, and you store it in your mind. Now not only that person has been in misery, you have shared that misery with that person, taken it on you.Why ? The question mark is like a hook. That means you hook the past. So you ask, "Why did it happen?" and you hook the past, hook with a question, and you go on grumbling and grinding and grinding in your mind. If you are against someone, you have no freedom from them. If you find fault in someone, and your mind is set against them, know that you are stuck with them, glued with them! Super glue!See the nature of mind: if there are ten good qualities and one negative, the mind clings on to that one negative. Ten compliments and one insult, the mind will forget all the ten compliments. It hangs on to the one insult and goes on and on and on about it. To break free, you have to totally surrender. There is no freedom at all without surrender, and when you surrender you get infinite freedom. The greater your surrender is, the greater your freedom, that much the load is taken off of you.The greatest power is in surrender---surrender to the Divine. How can we not see this? That everything in the body is happening by itself. Everything in creation is happening by itself. The flowers are blossoming, the leaves are becoming green, the petals are becoming yellow, the sun is rising, setting---how could one be so blind not to see an "unseen hand" behind this whole creation? If a flower does not remind you of the eternal Truth, then it has not fulfilled its purpose.Life begins when we step out of the small chattering mind. How do we do that ? Through samadhi ! When you meditate, you are not just bringing a harmony within yourself, but you are influencing the subtle layers of creation, the subtle bodies of all the different levels of existence in the creation. The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched, pure and ever green, blissful area of our Self. Bondage is not anywhere outside. It is in the mind, in the consciousness. The transcendental principal, the fourth state of our consciousness, rules over all the other influences of all the planets or cosmic rays. So, if you could meditate, you nullify all the undesirable effects of the cosmic rays, the cosmos. Singing, chanting, meditating can eliminate all those undesirable effects.The purpose of every practice — spiritual practice, meditation,breathing techniques, and kriya, all this — is to uncover something that blocks the expression of Divine Love.Let go of all your efforts, searches and desires, for God can be felt only in deep peace and stillness.Our senses have a limited capacity to enjoy, but the desire in the mind to enjoy is infinite. This is where opposition begins: the mind wants to enjoy, but your body is too tired to enjoy. You sit and think; you sit and feel. Do you think that feeling just remains with you? It reaches far beyond this Universe. Your intentions, your feelings get spread much faster than the radiation. It is spread all over this globe and far, far beyond.When you see this whole flow of events in life as temporary, as nonexistent, then, even when someone scolds at you, you smile.The Divine is only waiting for you to dig a little deeper into yourself, that is all.

Jai Gurudev !

Simple Steps To Reduce Stress....The Vedic way.

SIMPLE STEPS TO REDUCE STRESS -- THE VEDIC WAY ! 1. Pray 2.Go to bed on time. 3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed. 4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health. 5. Delegate tasks to capable others. 6. Simplify and unclutter your life. 7. Less is more. 8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places. 9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together. 10. Take one day at a time. 11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it. 12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases. 13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc. 14. K.M.S - [Keep Mouth Shut] -- This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble. 15. Do something for the K.I.Y - [Kid in You] everyday. 16. Carry a good Book with you to read while waiting in line. 17. Get enough rest. 18. Eat right. 19. Get organized so everything has its place. 20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life. 21. Write down thoughts and inspirations. 22. Every day, find time to be alone. 23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray. 24. Keep a folder of favourite scriptures on hand. 25. Laugh. 26. Laugh some more! 27. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all. 28. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can). 29. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most). 30. Sit on your ego. 31. Talk less; listen more. 32. Slow down. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good 'Thank you GOD ' . Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. God has a way of turning things around for you. God says, 'Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.' Jai Guru Dev.

Guruji's Discourse On Janmashtami 2008

GURUJI ON SRI KRISHNA 5103 years ago Sri Krishna was born. Gokul means the family/society where there is knowledge. If you look at Krishnas life its amazing. As a friend, child, thief, musician, husband, teacher, lover from every aspect He was the best and complete. He was an uncrowned king. We still remember His journey from Brindavan to Dwarka. Krishna said 4 kinds of people worship me : a)Miserable people b) Those who want something c) Those who want to know what is life d) Gnanis. Know that I am not separate from the Gnani. Gnani is Me and Im Gnani.Radha is longing and Krishna is love. Vasudeva (Ananda) brings Krishna to Gokul when every one is sleeping. This means when the senses sleep Love comes out through Ananda. Rama and Krishna are completely opposite in nature. Rama was born in the noon and Krishna midnight. Rama was always a sishya, i.e. a student throughout His life, whereas Krishna was always a teacher. He was a Guru even to His mother. Rama respected every one. Every one respected Krishna. Guruji's discourse at Bangalore Ashram, Srikrishna Janmashtami, 23 Aug. 2008:-- Krishna said I am the consciousness. Those who think that I am the body are mistaken. During the war, Krishna was imparting bhagavat gita to Arjuna. Krishna told arjuna that he had given the same knowledge to one Vamsi . Arjuna was puzzled because the person whom krishna refers to lived millions of years ago and so questioned Krishna as to how that was possible. Krishna told Arjuna that we have had many life times before. The only difference is that I remember them and you don’t. Krishna told Arjuna that everything here is recycled. Guruji then beautifully made us aware of the recycled phenomena. We take grains and it gets converted to this body. After sometime our body gets back to earth. And from earth grows the grain. Everything here is recycled. Even the air that we breathe is recycled. It enters our body, leaves the body, travels all over the world, gets purified by trees and comes back into us. Flowers and leaves fall from the tree and become manure and from manure, the tree grows and then the flower blossoms. After the war was over, Arjuna told Krishna that the knowledge he received was so good but he forgot what Krishna said. He asked Krishna if he can repeat the knowledge that he imparted. Krishna answered in the negative and said ” I was in a state of bliss at that time and the knowledge came. Now I am not in that state and therefore can’t give the knowledge”. Guruji then typically remarked. Isn’t this what most of us go through. We get some knowledge but forget them. There are many aspects in Krishna’s life which has not come into light. Do you know that Krishna was a perfect student? He went to Rishi Sandeepani and studied sincerely under his guidance. He was also a perfect friend. When kuselan (sudhama) came to see him, krishna washed his feet and welcomed him. Sudhama was totally engrossed with krishna that he forgot to ask what he came for. Yet, sudhama got what he wanted.Krishna was born in the eastern part of India and went on to live for 125 years. Even during his last days, Krishna was so youthful. There was no sign of old age. This is because of the spirit that is within! Krishna told that there is no difference between you and me. It’s all the same spirit that resides in us. Guruji then continued, “Have you seen children?” They are so attractive. Do you know why? He said, “It is because spirit dominates the mind and intellect. When Mind and Intellect dominates, we look otherwise. He also asked, “Have you looked into the eyes of people who have lot of faith and hope”. Their face is so charming. It is because Spirit dominates the mind and the intellect. Govindh is a beautiful word. In Sanskrit, Go means Knowledge and Vindh means giver. Govindh is one who gives knowledge. Go also means Wisdom and Pal means protector. Gopal is the one who protects Wisdom. Go also means Journey. It is the journey towards Truth. The English word go is derived from the Sanskrit word go. Go also means the cow. Cow both moves and protects us by giving milk. But we remember only this meaning (cow) of Go and have forgotten the rest. Guruji then said that Krishna is the sweetness in the sweet, brilliance in the brilliant. You can go on saying like that. Krishna is also the light. Guruji also reminded everyone who has not yet read bhagavat gita to do read it. JAI GURUDEV ! __________________

How To Be Happy......Always!!

HOW TO BE HAPPY --- ALWAYS ......

Every moment that you spend here on this planet, know that you are here for a unique, big purpose, far greater than just to eat, sleep and talk. You are here for a greater cause. Just remember that. For our growth, and to strengthen our lives, we need to follow some rules. These rules are called "yama" (social ethics) and "niyama"(personal ethics). They are the first two steps (or limbs) of yoga of inner union.

YAMA....There are five rules to living peacefully in society and the environment:

The first rule is"ahimsa" or non-violence. Non-violence unites you with the whole of creation. Just as you don´t harm yourself, you don´t harm the rest of creation. Everything is part of you, so how can you harm anything? Ahimsa is the practice of yoga, of not harming, and realising that everything is here.

The second rule is "satyam" or truthfulness. You don´t lie to yourself, do you? You can´t lie to yourself. If you are weaving beads, you don´t say, "I am not weaving beads." You are, and you know it. When you have chocolate in your hand, you don´t say, "I don´t have chocolate in my hand." You do have chocolate in your hand!

The third is "astheya", meaning, not missing what you don´t have at this moment, nor wishing things were different from what they are at the moment - not regretting. Astheya is not: "I wish I had a voice like that person! I wish I could sing like that person. I wish I were young like that person. I wish I could run like that person. I wish I could be as intelligent as that person..." It is not comparing yourself with others, and wishing for what they have and you don´t have.

Fourth is "brahmacharya", meaning, not interested in the shapes and forms of the body. The mind, here, sees beyond the physical, to the infinite. Brahmacharya is keeping the mind on bigger things. "Brahma" means big; moving in bigger things. "I am small", "I am a man", "I am a woman", "I am a good person", "I am a bad person", "I am hopeless" - all these are small identifications.

Fifth is "aparigraha", meaning, not taking what people give you. You know, it is surprising that you often take the insults people give you, much more than their compliments! Right? Sometimes, they are not even "giving" you these insults - they are simply taking the insults "out of their pockets", but you grab them, and keep them very safe with you! If someone is giving you garbage, they may not even really be giving you the garbage - they may simply be throwing it out, but you collect the garbage and hold on to it very safely! This is what most people do. They are ready to bounce up, take negativity and keep it to themselves. Don´t take anything from anybody, including insults! Of course, compliments don´t really bother us! They just go to our heads! What really bother us are the insults, the hurt, and all the negative words that we take from people. Don´t take them! Do you understand? This is aparigraha.

Niyama : There are five rules for one´s inner development:

The first is "shaucha", everyday cleanliness. It includes showering and keeping yourself clean, wearing clean clothes, and seeing that you don´t have bad breath. If someone stinks, they don´t notice it, but those sitting next to them do!

The second is "santosha" or contentment... happiness. Be happy! If you don´t take a step towards being happy, nothing in this world can make you happy, and you go on complaining about this and that. Once, a farmer was complaining that the apples on his trees were not too good. Then, one year, he had very good apples! He had apples in plenty - three times more than the usual crop! Then he started complaining about having too much work to do, about having to pick all those apples, about how many were rotting, and about how the prices had gone down! There´s no end to complaining - but life goes on anyway! It flows like a river. How do you want to live the rest of your life - the remaining 30, 40, or 50 years? Smiling... or grumbling, feeling horrible about yourself, and blaming the whole world? So, the second rule is to be happy and content.

Third is "tapas" - forbearance or penance - meaning, something is uncomfortable, but you still put up with it happily. It´s like people who go on marathon walks for 20 miles or 20 kilometres. If we had to simply walk 20 kilometres, we would grumble, but when it´s a marathon, then one says, "Oh! I am going to walk!" Whether you walk in a marathon, or you walk because your car broke down, your legs go through the same pain! But when you think you´re in a marathon, you come back the same, sweating and tired, but with a smile: "Oh! I did it!" This is tapas - willingly taking it. Suppose you have to travel in a plane for a long time - say eight or ten hours - what do you do? If you were asked to sit for ten hours, you would never do it, but in a plane, there is no way out! You have to sit... with a seatbelt on! You can watch TV to keep your mind occupied, but you still have to sit! So, willingly accepting opposites is tapas. This makes your body and mind strong. Whatever you can change, change. What you cannot change, accept. If it is too cold, put on a sweater. It´s as simple as that! When it is raining very heavily, and you get wet, inspite of an umbrella - get wet!

Fourth is self-study - "swadhyaya". Observe your mind, see what your mind says, how you behave, how you act, how you feel... Do you feel good? Do you feel bad? If you are feeling bad, just observe, you start feeling good again. When you are feeling good, observe. All feelings - good or bad - will change. Swadhyaya is self-study, self-observation.

Fifth is "ishwara pranidhaana", meaning, love for the Divine. Surrender to the Divine. When you feel you are helpless, you say, "Oh, God! You take whatever it is that I am feeling!" These are the ten rules that will make you strong, and feel whole and complete.

Take a challenge - "Come what may, I am going to smile today and be happy!"

JAI GURUDEV .

Conflict And Innocence

CONFLICT AND INNOCENCE Bangalore Ashram 2000. Fights can only happen among equals. When you fight with someone, you make them equal. But in reality there is no one at par with you. When you keep people either above or below you, then there is no fight. When they are above you, you respect them.When they are below you, you love them and you feel compassionate. Either submission or compassion can take you out of a fight in no time. This is one way to look at it when you are tired of fighting. When you are well rested, just fight and have fun. The same is true of the mind. As long as the mind thinks it is equal to the senses, there is conflict. When it realizes that it is bigger than the senses, there is no conflict. And when the mind is smaller than the senses,like in animals, there is no conflict. When the mind is caught up in the senses, there is constant conflict. When it transcends the senses, it comes back to its true nature, which is innocence - in no sense. Does this make sense? (Laughter)...... Jai Gurudev !

Amazing Words From Guruji!!

Amazing Words of our Dear Guruji. Make your Home Gods home and there will be light, love and abundance. Make your body God’s abode and there will be peace and bliss. Feel your mind is a toy and God and you will watch and enjoy all its games. See this world as a play and as a display of God himself and you will repose in the non-dual self If your generous, blessing comes to you as abundance. If you are lazy blessing comes to you as hard work. If you are hard working, blessing comes to you as happiness. If you are pleasure loving blessing comes to you as dispassion. If you are dispassionate blessing comes to you as knowledge of the self. Jai Gurudev.

What Is Life,Why Am I Here???

25th June 2006 What is life? Why am I here?

Certain questions indicate the maturity of our mind. Do you know what those questions are? They are: What is life? What is the purpose of my life? Why am I here? What do I want? If these questions arise in your mind, it is a sign of the mind or intellect getting matured. Otherwise the mind is just in routine doing the same thing again and again, not even introspecting looking into the source of life. These questions are vital. Where am I? Are you aware you are on this planet Earth? Have you ever thought “I am on planet Earth and this planet is in the solar system”? So, I am in the solar system. The solar system is just a dot in the Milky Way. So, I am in the Milky Way. This expansion of awareness to the macrocosm and being aware of where you are in this body is important. Just sit with your eyes closed and ask yourself “where am I in this body”? Am I in the head, in the nose, in the heart? Where am I in the body? Then the sharpness of the mind happens, awareness happens. You are able to perceive that you are nowhere and you are everywhere in the body. A shift in the quality of awareness happens instantaneously. And it is this awareness that can eliminate stresses and sorrows from life. This awareness is called wisdom. Every living being wants happiness, everyone wants to be in love. Everyone wants to be loved and everyone wants to give love. Right? There is not a single creature on this planet that doesn’t like love. And do you know that love is the cause of all misery also? Love is the cause of jealousy, anger, hatred, fear, everything. The basis of all problems in the world is again love! You have two choices. You can be indifferent or be in love and go through the suffering. Is there any other third hope for being in love and not facing all the miseries? Yes. It is through awareness. When we raise our consciousness, we become more aware of the sensation that is happening in the body and we see that the sensations change. An intense sensation that is pain and an intense sensation that is pleasure, both become pleasurable. Love and pain, they are very closely related. The symbol of Jesus on the cross means that the cross is pain and Jesus is love. One is with the other. The transformation of this pain into bliss, the love into bliss is what happens with awareness. The same happens with doubts. Have you noticed doubts are always about something positive? We never doubt anything negative in life. You never doubt someone else’s anger or your anger. You never doubt your depression. Nobody ever doubts his/her depression. But when one is happy, one doubts, am I really happy? If someone tells you they hate you, you don’t doubt it but if someone tells you they love you, you say: “Really? Are you sure?” If we can doubt in the negativity of people, we become close to the reality. Do you see what I am saying? We take it for granted that everybody is a hoax or a fraud and then we try to find somebody we can trust. It becomes so difficult in the world. Sometimes you have a lot of doubts in your mind. But when you increase the energy level in your body, you will see that the doubts disappear. There is more clarity in the mind. Confusion goes away from the mind. Without this awareness the mind shrinks. When the mind shrinks, the joy diminishes. Whenever we are happy, we feel that something in us is expanding and the expression of sadness is the contraction of mind. Meditation is a technique where the mind expands and relaxes. And whenever we are relaxed, we are expanding automatically. It is worth knowing this expansion because then nothing can disturb us or take our smile away. Otherwise, some small things can throw us off the balance. It is not worth letting your mind or your life undergo such suffering, such misery. Do you see that?

Jai Gurudev.