New Year Eve

As we flip the calendar, we need to keep flipping our mind as well. Often, our diaries are full with memories. See that you don’t fill your future dates with past events. Allow the space for creativity to dawn. Celebration of the New Year allows you to be wise. Learn and unlearn from the past, and move on. In the past year, how many days were you in sanyas? How many days were you struggling, being caught in maya? Turn back and remember the whole year. Do not run away from anything. Do not reject anything. Do not go away from anything. At the same time, let your attention be on the self. This is a delicate balance. That balance is yoga. A poor man celebrates the New Year once a year. A rich man celebrates each day. But the richest man celebrates every moment. How rich are you? If you celebrate every moment, you are the Lord of Creation. Review the year while you celebrate. This is your homework. Compare your performance in the year before last and smile.- Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

TESTING

Testing is part of ignorance. You only test that of which you are not sure. If God is testing you, that means God doesn't´ know you well enough. How could people ever think that God is testing them? God does not test you because he knows you in and out and your past, present and future. He knows your strengths and weaknesses and he alone gives you strength. He doesn't test you. Only you can test yourself. Only when you do not have confidence, then you test. If you are confident, why would you test? If you are testing yourself, you do not know yourself. Are you testing God? God will never pass your test because He will never show up for your test. If He shows up for your test, then He is not God (laughter). Whether you get this or not - just laugh! - Sri Sri

Businessman

The Divine has given you all the small pleasures in the world, but has kept the bliss to Himself. To get the highest bliss you have to go to Him and Him alone. Don't be too smart with the Divine and try to fool Him. Most of your prayers and rituals are just attempts to trick the Divine. You try to give the least and get the maximum out of the Divine and He knows. He's an astute businessman; He will trick you even more. If you go underneath the carpet, He will go underneath the floor. Be sincere in your attempts. Do not try to outsmart the Divine. Once you get the bliss, then everything else is joyful. Without the bliss, joy in anything in the world will not stay. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

GOD IS MANY

Sri Sri: Why should you think God is only one? Why can't He also be many? If He has made man in His own image, what image is He? An African, a Mongolian, a Caucasian, a Japanese, a Filipino? Why are there so many types of man, and so many varieties of things? There is not just one type of tree, not just one type of snake, cloud, mosquito or vegetable - there is not just one type of anything, so why should God be only one? How could this consciousness that manifested this whole creation and loves variety, be monotonous? God seems to love different varieties. He must be of infinite variety Himself. God can manifest in many names, forms and varieties. Some schools of thought may not give God the freedom to appear in His many forms. They want Him in one uniform! You change your appearance to suit the occasion. When such is the case, how could you think there is no variety in the Spirit. The ancient people knew this and that's why they cognized the Divinity as infinite qualities and forms. The Spirit is not dull and boring. The Spirit which is the basis of creation is dynamic and ever changing. God is not only one, but is many!!! When you accept the variety of Divinity you cease to be a fanatic or a fundamentalist. Tommy says God is many, God is One, he made so many just for fun. || Jai Guru Dev ||

Awakening God

Sri Sri: Who Wakes Up First? You Or God? You wake up first. God is still asleep. When you wake up first, you experience pain and pleasure. You become aware of the shortcomings of the world and its beauty. Then you cry for help and seek the ultimate and then you wake up God. And when God is awakened in you, there is no "two." When both God and you are asleep, there is inertia. When the "I" is asleep, there is no experience. God is in you in seed form. When he wakes up, you cease to exist. God is asleep in every particle in this universe. It's you who wakes up first and then you awaken God. And when God wakes up, neither you nor the world remain. The rishis made a mockery. They created a practice of awakening God every morning. They call it Suprabhatam service. Many find this ridiculous because they don't understand the depth of it. Only awakened God can see that God is asleep everywhere. [Laughter.] Brinda: Why should we wake up? Sri Sri: Because you are not asleep. If you were asleep, how can you ask the question? Bill: Once you are awake, can you go back to sleep? Sri Sri: If you have not had tea, of course. Bill: Who wakes us up? Sri Sri: You figure that out. || Jai Guru Dev ||

Owning God!!

Sri Sri: Suppose you go to God, get a boon, and walk away. When your intention is to get a boon, then you are in a hurry. Another person who knows he owns God is not in a hurry for anything. Infinite patience comes up in him. When you know you own God, you are not in a hurry to get something out of God. Your hurry to get something throws you off balance and makes you small. Have "eternal wait," infinite patience. When you have infinite patience, you will realize God belongs to you. Either through awareness or through practice you reach the same spot. Question: What do you mean by "owning God?" Sri Sri: The Divinity belongs to you. It's not like shopping at the supermarket in a hurry and rushing back home. When you see the whole store is at home, you are not in a hurry to shop. You are at ease. Question: To develop patience do we just observe the impatience? Sri Sri: Just observe the thoughts and feelings and don't regret about it. When you know you are part of the divine plan, you stop demanding. Then you know everything is being done for you. You are taken care of. Usually we do it the other way: we hurry the mind and are slow in our action. Impatience means hurry in the mind; lethargy means slowness in action. Patience in the mind and dynamism in action is the right formula. || Jai Guru Dev ||

Just Feel Generous

When You Feel Stuck In Life And Not Growing, Bombarded By Desires, When There Is Dryness, Lack Of enthusiasm, no juice, what do you do? Here is the solution.... FEEL GENEROUS.... right away, not tomorrow. Either a princess or a pauper can feel generous. Generosity is the quality of the spirit. When you feel generous your life becomes abundant, full of compassion and love. Question: Is generosity the same as being grateful? Answer: No. Gratefulness always has self concern. You are grateful because you have something or you get something. Generosity is an expression independent of external circumstances. No one can make you feel generous. That is something that you have to do yourself. Essentially, generosity is not an act. It is a state of consciousness, but it cannot but find its expression in an act. Question: What about passion? Answer: Passion indicates scarcity. Dispassion is abundance. Dispassion without generosity makes you self-centered, causes more dryness. You dont´ have to think about what you have done in the past. That only brings doership. Just feel generous. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

Friendly By Nature

Examine your friendships, they are often for a cause. There are several reasons for your friendships: 1. You make friendships because you have common enemies. Fear and threat to survival can bring people together. 2. You make friendships because you have a common problem. You talk about your problems and become friends. For example, sickness, job dissatisfaction, etc… 3. People get together because they have common interests. For example, through business or a profession (doctors, architects, social workers, etc…) 4. You make friends because you have common tastes. You have similar tastes in sports, movies, entertainment, music, hobbies, etc… 5. People become friends because of compassion and service. Out of compassion and pity for someone, you become friends with them. 6. People become friends merely because of long-term acquaintance. Brave are those who nurture friendships for only friendship’s sake. Such friendships will never die nor become soured for it is born out of one’s friendly nature. Only through wisdom can one become friendly by nature. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

Freedom from Groups

Normally in the world people with similar tendencies group together; intelligent people group together, fools get together, happy people get together, ambitious people get together and disgruntled people also group together to celebrate their problems! (Laughter) There is a saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” The disgruntled people get together, they complain and pull each other down. A frustrated person cannot be with someone happy because the other is not dancing to their tune. You only feel comfortable when the other person is in tune with you. Intelligent people do not feel at home with foolish people. Foolish people feel that intelligent ones are not humane. One with wisdom feels at home with the disgruntled as well as the happy, foolish and intelligent. Similarly, people with all these tendencies also feel at home with the wise. Just turn around and look at what goes on in your group – are you grateful or grumbling? Take responsibility to uplift the people around you. That is Satsang, not just singing and leaving. The wise person is like the sky where all birds can fly. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

Freedom From Groups

Normally in the world people with similar tendencies group together; intelligent people group together, fools get together, happy people get together, ambitious people get together and disgruntled people also group together to celebrate their problems! (Laughter) There is a saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” The disgruntled people get together, they complain and pull each other down. A frustrated person cannot be with someone happy because the other is not dancing to their tune. You only feel comfortable when the other person is in tune with you. Intelligent people do not feel at home with foolish people. Foolish people feel that intelligent ones are not humane. One with wisdom feels at home with the disgruntled as well as the happy, foolish and intelligent. Similarly, people with all these tendencies also feel at home with the wise. Just turn around and look at what goes on in your group – are you grateful or grumbling? Take responsibility to uplift the people around you. That is Satsang, not just singing and leaving. The wise person is like the sky where all birds can fly. Sri Sri Jai Guru Dev

Tendencies And influences

Life moves by dual (two) factors: inner tendencies and outer influences. Inner tendencies form your attitudes and behavior, while external influences makes strong impressions in your mind. Often your tendencies generate external situations. And situations around you can form tendencies within you. This is what is called Karma. Both these factors - the tendencies from within and influences from outside, can either be beneficial or harmful. It is the awareness that filters the outer negative influences and it is the awareness that corrects and annihilates the unhealthy inner tendencies. This awareness is called Gyana. The purpose of education is to develop this awareness, so that you can be selective about your tendencies and influences. It is practically impossible to resist the external influences and the inner tendencies without raising one’s consciousness. This can be gradual or sudden. And that is how a human being has both free will and destiny. Freedom is when you have a say about your tendencies and your influences. And only awareness and impeccable devotion can bring this freedom. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

Nigrah, Agrah, Satyagrah & Duragrah

Nigrah means control. Agrah means insistence. Satyagrah means steadfast determination. Duragrah means blind adamancy, reckless stubbornness. These four will give you progress when practiced for a limited period of time. They give limited results, positive or negative. But if they stay on for a longer period, they eat away the potential of life. One has to transcend all these four to attain peace. Freedom is when you transcend all four. They are inevitable to streamline life but you need to transcend them to be free. Give your own examples and discuss nigrah, agrah, satyagrah and duragrah. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

Your Golden Cage

Honor reduces the freedom. Your fame, honor and virtue can limit your freedom. Nobody expects a good person to make a mistake. So the better person you are, the higher the expectations people have of you. It is then that you lose your freedom. Your virtues and good actions are like a golden cage. You are trapped by your own good actions, for everyone expects more from a good person. Nobody expects anything from a bad person. Most of the people are stuck in this cage of prestige and honor. They can not smile. They are constantly worried about keeping up their prestige and their honor. It becomes more important than their own life. Just being good or doing good to keep the prestige and honor is worthless. Prestige and honor can bring more misery in life than poverty. Many desire fame, but little do they know that they are looking for a cage. It is an art to be dignified, and yet not be suffocated by it. Only the wise would know this. For the wise one it is natural to be in honor, and he has no concerns even if it falls apart. Despite having fame or prestige, he will live as though he has none. A wise person can handle any fame without feeling suffocated, for he is crazy too! By doing good in the society one gains prestige, then enjoying the prestige and honor, one loses their freedom. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

Sutras

Life becomes a game! The first step to fun is relaxation. What tires you is anxiety and ambition for tomorrow. The anger and hatred of yesterday are also clogging our mind. In the same way feverishness pulls down our enthusiasm. In deep relaxation, you will find everything funny. Life becomes a game! Conflict and Resolution Conflict is always emotional. Resolution is intellectual. Emotional conflict can’t be dealt with emotions. Similarly an intellectual argument cannot be dealt with the intellect. The emotional side of it has to be considered. If you observe carefully there is a stream of emotions behind an intellectual argument. Life is a fine balance between the emotions and the intellect. When to use what, is the real wisdom. And how do you gain that wisdom? The answer is meditation, meditation and meditation. Self Realization The desire to have self realization - This is the highest desire, the only one worth pursuing. Whether you acknowledge this or not, everyone has come to this planet with this desire. If you have recognized this it’s very good. Trust Trust in yourself. Have faith in your choice of actions and the path you would be following. If you don’t trust yourself, how can you trust the Master? It is enough to have faith in your self. A Master or a Guru does not remove the doubt, but He creates more doubt. The more you burn in the fire of doubt, the stronger you come out to be. Truth is never afraid of doubt, and truth can never hide. Atheists 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. Jai Gurudev

Drop your Self Image

"How do you make everyone happy?" Guruji : "Become me." "How do we become you?" What stands between you and me is your self image. Your self image restricts you from being me. Self image whether good or bad causes misery. When you think good about yourself in a very subtle manner you think bad about others. Then anger, jealousy, hatred - everything follows. When you think bad about yourself you feel low and again you start getting angry and you hate everyone else. If you think good about yourself you are in trouble and when you think bad about yourself you are in greater trouble. So drop your self image. Jai Gurudev

Te Rational Mind

We Usually Do Only That Which Is Purposeful, Useful, And Rational. Everything You See, You See Through The rational mind. But an intuition, a discovery, new knowledge goes beyond the rational mind. Truth is beyond the rational mind. The rational mind is like a railroad track that is fixed in grooves. A plane has no tracks. It can fly anywhere. A balloon can float anywhere. Some people step out of the rational mind in order to rebel against society. They want to break social law but for the ego's sake. They do it out of anger, hatred, rebelliousness, and wanting attention. This is not stepping out of the rational mind (though they think it is). We step out of the rational mind when we do something that has no purpose. Accepting that, as an act, makes it a game. Life becomes lighter. If you are stuck with only rational acts, life becomes a burden. Suppose you play a game without a thought to winning or losing, just act irrationally. Making an act without any purpose attached to it - it is freedom - like a dance. So just step out of the rational mind and you will find a greater freedom, an unfathomable depth, and you will come face to face with reality. Reality transcends logic and the rational mind. Until you transcend the rational mind you will not get access to creativity and the infinite. But if you do an irrational act in order to find freedom, then it already has a purpose and a meaning. It is no longer irrational. This knowledge sheet has already spoiled it's own possibility. Break the barrier of the rational mind and then find freedom for yourself. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

Usefullness Of Fear

Nature has put an amount of inbuilt fear in all living beings. This fear makes life defend itself, protect itself. Like salt in the food, a little bit of fear is essential for people to be righteous. Fear of hurting someone makes you more conscious. Fear of failure makes you more keen and dynamic. Fear moves you from carelessness to taking care. Fear moves you from being insensitive to being sensitive. Fear moves you from dullness to alertness. Total lack of fear may lead to destructive tendencies - a distorted ego knows no fear. Neither does the expanded consciousness! Whereas the ego dismisses the fear and moves in a disruptive manner, the wise one acknowledges the fear and takes refuge in the Divine. When you are in love, when you are surrendered, there is no fear. Ego, too, knows no fear. But there is a difference, like that of heaven and earth, between these two types of fearless states. Fear makes you righteous; fear brings you close to surrender; fear keeps you on the path; keeps you from being destructive. Peace and law are maintained on the planet because of fear. A new-born child knows no fear - it totally relies on its mother. Whether a child, a kitten or a bird, when they start becoming independent they experience fear which makes them go running back to their mothers. This is inbuilt by nature to sustain life. So, the purpose of fear is to bring you back to the source!! - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||

What Enhances Your Beauty

WHAT ENHANCES YOUR BEAUTY? When your mind is ,not complaining. ..responsible. ...courageous. ...confident ....and hollow and empty, you are inexplicably beautiful. A person who cannot correct or act has no right to complain. And when a person can correct or act, he will never complain. Complaining is a sign of weakness. Complaining is the nature of utter ignorance where one does not know the Self. Complaint takes away the Beauty that is inborn in you. And it shows up more on the one who is on this path. Worldly mind is a complaining mind; Divine mind is a dancing mind. Just complaining without indicating the solution is irresponsibility. When the solutions are not workable, finding alternative solutions is Courage. For external beauty, you put on things; for real Beauty, you have to drop all the things. For external beauty you have to have Make-up; for your real Beauty you only have to realise that you are MADE-UP! Jai Gurudev.

FAITH AND REASON

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! (A sentence to be pondered on.) 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 rationalizes to keep his eyes shut to reality. Death shakes them both! When someone close dies, an atheist eyes are opened, and a believer's faith cracks. 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. - Sri Sri || Jai Guru Dev ||