Mistake As Not A Mistake

Guruji's Knowledge Sheet: Mistake As Not A Mistake Blessed are those who don't see a mistake as a mistake....! !!But it is hard not to see your own mistake. Outwardly you may justify yourself or prove your innocence to someone else, but a mistake pricks a conscience. Do not justify yourself. Instead, feel the prick of the mistake. That very pinch will take you out of the mistake.A mistake means something that brings misery to you in the long run. So why would someone knowingly commit a mistake?While pointing out a mistake to someone, do you consider him as separate from you and go on pointing out his error or do you make him feel a part of you? When you point out a mistake to someone, does it make him more stressed, or does it create more awareness in that person? Often you do not point out someone's mistake when it is required. Not pointing out a mistake -- with due consideration to time and place -- is also a mistake.

When you make a new mistake, it is not a mistake; you have learned a valuable lesson. But when you keep doing the same mistake over and over, it is a BIG mistake. A mistake simply means you have missed taking a lesson that has come your way.Do not lament over your mistake. Just take the lesson from it. You will not be judged by your mistakes, but by your virtues. Mistakes are of the earth. Virtues are of the Divine.Wise is the one who learns from others mistakes.Less wise is the one who learns from his own mistakes.The fool keeps making the same mistakes again and again and never learns from them.

Sri Sri

Jai Gurudev

Let It Be

Let it be---

Sri Sri Ravishankar

Times of India, Feb.12 - 2010

This Valentine’s Day, make the Divine your valentine. See the Divine in your valentine and make the divinity your valentine. Have the same love for everyone, with different flavours. You cannot behave the same way with everyone, but you can love all of them. Love transcends behaviour and etiquette.Abiding in the Self, you become the valentine for the whole world. Spirit is the valentine of matter and matter is the valentine of the spirit. They are made for each other. If you hold on to matter and do not respect the spirit, then matter is not pleased. If you honour the spirit, then you will care for the world, and when you care for the world, it will take care of you.Keep your heart in a safe place; it is too delicate. Events and small things make strong impressions on it. A precious stone needs a setting around it - gold or silver - to hold it; in the same way wisdom and knowledge are the settings that will hold your heart in the Divine. To keep your heart safe and your mind sane, you cannot find a better place than the Divine. Then the passing time and events will not be able to touch you; they will not create a scar.There are three kinds of love. The love that comes out of charm, that which comes out of comfort and divine love.The love that comes out of charm does not last long. It comes out of unfamiliarity or attraction. In this, you lose the attraction fast, and boredom sets in. This love may diminish and bring along with it a fear, uncertainty, insecurity and sadness.The love that comes out of comfort and familiarity grows, but it has no thrill, no enthusiasm, joy, or fire to it. For example, you are more comfortable with an old friend who is a familiar person rather than with a new person. Divine love supersedes both the above. It has an ever present newness. The closer you go, more charm and depth come to it. There is never boredom and it keeps everyone on their toes.Worldly love can be like an ocean, yet an ocean has a bottom. Divine love is like the sky which is limitless. From the bottom of the ocean, soar into the vast sky. Ancient love transcends all these relationships and is inclusive of all the relationships. Let love be. Don’t give it a name. When you give it a name, it becomes a relationship, and relationships restrict love.Often, one experiences love at first sight. Then as time goes on, it decreases, decays, turns into hatred and disappears. Ancient love never decays. Although its mortality rate is high, love dies very young. After a few days, weeks, months, or years, it dies. In society, you say love is never a tree, it is a seasonal crop.When the same love becomes a tree with the manure of knowledge, it becomes ancient love that goes from lifetime to lifetime. That is our own consciousness. You are not limited to this present body, this present name, this present form and the present relationships around you. You may not know your past, your ancientness. But just know you are ancient, that is good enough.Pain goes with love. Because you love someone, even a small action can hurt you. And in hurt, you feel very delicate, very deep. Love also creates the same sensation. Separation creates the same symptom. If you don’t love somebody, you will never feel hurt by them. Understand and accept this. Then that hurt will not turn into a sore feeling. Rather, that very hurt will take you deep into dispassion and meditation.

When love glows, it becomes bliss;

when it flows, it is compassion;

when it blows, it is anger;

when it ferments, it is jealousy.

Let love be. Don’t give it a name!

Jai Gurudev

Immortal Love Is Within Reach

Immortal Love is within reach---

Sri Sri Ravishankar

Deccan Herald, Feb.8 - 2010

Some say the purpose of life is to ensure that one doesn't come back to this planet because it is bereft of love. They feel if there is love then why is life so painful? All that one want in life is love. Every human being is longing for a love that doesn't die out, a love that doesn't cause pain, a love that grows and stands forever. By taking a multilateral view of life, one can see life in a different way and realise that the purpose of life is to achieve this kind of love and blossom in that ideal love.Suppose you are immensely successful and have all the riches at your command but there is no love in your life, then life would not really be worthwhile; it would appear barren. But still most of the people lead a loveless life. Have you ever thought why this happens? It is your ego that prevents you from achieving that love. As long as there is ego, there cannot be love. And when there is love, there is no sign of ego. What is ego? Ego is simply being unnatural. Half knowledge brings ego but when knowledge becomes complete, ego drops and simplicity dawns.The question arises that if the ego is so unnatural then why does every human being have an ego? We have the ego because it is necessary in some way for our growth in life. That doesn't mean it should not have been there from the very beginning. Ego is necessary, but with knowledge you can now grow out of it. In the Narada Bhakti Sutras one sutra says: "Knowledge is one of the aids to uncover the naturalness". Through observing oneself and deep into ones self in meditation one can overcome ego.Often, when someone shows a lot of love you do not know how to respond, you feel obliged and bound. This is because you are not natural. There is an ego coming in between. The ability to receive genuine love comes with the ability to give love. The more you are centered and natural and know that love is not an emotion it is your very existence, the more you feel at home with any amount of love expressed in any manner. A seed has a covering or shell over it, and when you soak it in water, it sprouts and then the shell peels off. Similarly, the ego is a necessary unnaturalness that develops as you grow. When you were a child of two or three years, there was no ego; you are in a state of total, innocent, blissful love. Then the ego forms a cover. Knowledge uncovers this shell and make you a child again; natural, simple and innocent. When you are natural, simple and innocent, there is no ego. The ego is not a substance; it is a non-substance, much like darkness. Darkness is only lack of light. There is nothing called an ego that has substance. Ego is just a lack of total development, a lack of total understanding. It is just a lack of maturity or lack of knowledge.

Jai Gurudev

Wake Up To Universal Consciousness

Wake Up to Universal Consciousness

Sri Sri Ravishankar

DNA, Feb.7- 2010

This whole creation is a play of Shiva, the dance of one consciousness, one seed, which has manifested into a million species in the world. The whole world moving in an auspicious rhythm of innocence and intelligence is Shiva. Shiva is the permanent and eternal source of energy, the only eternal state of Being.

Shivratri is when the Shiva tatva and Shakti become one.There is a story related to Shivratri, about the union of Shiva and Shakti. The primordial and dynamic energy is wedded to the transcendental. Shiva is the silent witness, the chidakasha and Shakti is chitti or chidvilasa, the energy that plays and displays in the infinite space. Shiva is the formless Being; Shakti is the manifestation in the field. This is the recognition of the dual aspect of matter and energy, prakriti and purusha, the dravya and guna - substance and its qualities. Recognising the underlying non-dual nature of Brahman is Shivratri.Shivratri is the night to celebrate the wakefulness of one universal consciousness without falling into the unconscious sleep state. It is an occasion to awaken the self from all sorts of slumber. The jaagran in Shivratri is not just forcing oneself to be awake or singing bhajans aloud. It is about keeping awake and being inward and being consciously aware of the inner rest that sleep anyway brings everyday. When you surpass a certain layer of sleep, the rest in samadhi or Shiva sayujya happens.Shiva is symbolically represented by the linga. The Divine is beyond any gender, so the Divine is called Ekalinga, or one gender. That one gender is the Self, the Atma. Beyond the body, mind and intellect, and beyond likes and dislikes, that Self is only one, it is Ekalinga.Shiva has been associated with destruction. Transformation can only happen after destruction. Shiva is that factor of transformation.Shiva is a very simple lord, he is innocent - Bholenath. One just needs to offer bel-patra [leaves of the vilva tree] to him. But in this simplicity is a deep message. Bel-patra offerings signify the surrender of all three aspects of ones nature - Tamas, Rajas and Sattva. You have to surrender the positives and negatives of your life to Shiva and become free. The greatest offering is yourself. To offer ones self is the key to happiness in life.Kailasa is the legendary abode of Shiva. Kailasa means where there is celebration. So wherever there is happiness and celebration, Shiva is present. Whether in sanyasa or sansara, you cant escape Shiva. Feeling his presence all the time is the essence of Shivratri. Lord Shiva is always depicted with eyes closed with a snake around his neck. He may appear to be sleeping but this indicates his inner state which is fully awake, like a snake.He is always painted blue in pictures. Blue signifies the vastness of the sky. The moon on his head depicts everything within him. So all the ghosts, dead, devil, everything is included in his gana. In Shivas procession all types of people are present. So also in this world, all belong to that supreme soul. It is said “Sarvam shivamayam jagat”. This whole world is Shivamaya.Shivratri signifies being aware of everything you have and being grateful about it. Be grateful for the happiness which leads to growth, and also for sadness which gives depth to life. This is the right way of observing Shivratri.

Jai Gurudev

Be One With The Universe

Be One with the Universe---

Sri Sri Ravishankar

The Pioneer, Jan.30 - 2010

There are five types of restlessness. The first is due to the place you are in. When you move away from certain places, streets or houses, you immediately feel better. Chanting, singing, or the innocence of children playing and laughing can change this atmospheric restlessness. If you chant and sing, the vibration in the place changes.The second type of restlessness is in the body. Eating the wrong food, eating at odd times, not exercising and overworking can cause physical restlessness. The remedy for this is exercise, moderation in work habits and following a simple diet.The third type of restlessness is mental restlessness. It is caused by ambition, strong thoughts, likes or dislikes. Knowledge alone can cure this restlessness; this includes seeing life from a broader perspective, knowing about the Self and realising the impermanence of everything. If you achieve everything, so what? After your achievement, you will die. Knowledge of your death or life, confidence in the Self and in the divine can all calm down mental restlessness.There is also emotional restlessness. Any amount of knowledge does not help here. Sudarshan kriya helps. With it all emotional restlessness vanishes. Also, the presence of a guru, a wise person or a saint, can help calm emotional restlessness.The fifth type of restlessness is rare. It is the restlessness of the soul, when everything feels empty and meaningless. Do not try to get rid of this feeling. Embrace it! This restlessness of the soul can bring genuine prayer in you. It brings perfection, siddhis and miracles in life. It is also needed to get that innermost longing for the divine. Satsangs and the presence of enlightened people soothe the restlessness of the soul. Do not look for the divine somewhere in the sky. See god in every pair of eyes, in the mountains, water, trees and animals. See god in yourself. Heightened awareness brings you close to the reality. For this you have to increase your prana. When you have reverence for the whole universe, you are in harmony with the whole universe.

Jai Gurudev

Action And Reaction

ACTION AND REACTION Action is out of conscious decision. Reaction is out of impulsiveness. Impulsiveness creates a chain of Karma. Reaction, as well as non-action, both create karma, but a conscious action transcends karma. Conscious action does not create new karma whereas non-action can create karma. For example, a soldier shooting in war does not create a karma; a policeman using tear gas does not create a Karma, and if you are a doctor and you do not give medicine to a patient in need, you are incurring a karma. Through knowledge and devotion, transcend all karmas and be free! Jai Gurudev.

Consciousness

EXPANSION OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS PEACE Consciousness moving on the surface of the body is stimuli, which cause pleasure. When consciousness shrinks, then the sensation of pain and suffering arises. Suffering is the shrinking or contraction of consciousness. When consciousness moves through the body in limited channels, pleasure is experienced. Repeated enjoyment of the stimuli causes inertia and dullness. Often cooks don't enjoy their own food. Listening to the same piece of music loses the charm, people in the sex industry don't enjoy sex. If the stimuli are observed, then consciousness expands and becomes peace. With awareness the stimuli lose their significance; whether they exist or not makes no difference. When the sun is there, then whether the candle is lit or not makes no difference. To realise that all pleasures are just stimuli and that you are more than the stimuli brings freedom. Pain is nothing but consciousness wanting to expand and to become free. Freedom basically is liberation from the craving of the stimuli. Pain is not a permanent state. The natural tendency of consciousness is to expand, to become bliss. Like the natural tendency of water is to flow downward, and the natural tendency of air is not to be under pressure, the natural tendency of consciousness is to expand and to be at peace. Like the person who is an insomniac and has forgotten how to sleep, most of us have forgotten to be at peace and in bliss. What about the pleasure in Satsang? The pleasure of Satsang takes you towards expansion. JAl GURU DEV