Thursday, October 29, 2015

Imperfect Is The New Perfect

Sat, 03/07/2015 Bangalore, India
(Below is a continuation of the post Are You Perfect?)
See, the world is like this, there is pleasure and there is pain. This is the nature of the world. Some or the other reason will always present itself for you to be upset. Sometimes it could be the behavior of the family, or the behavior of a friend. If the family is okay, then it could be neighbor who is causing problems. And if the neighbor is also good, then it could be the dogs on the street who keep barking all night, not letting you sleep. And if that is also not there and you have no problems, then also you are not satisfied. Then you start interfering in the lives of people who have problems, and you try to solve their problems.
So this life is very mysterious, that is why it is called maya (illusion). In some way or the other it gets you entangled into things, which then brings you frustration and fills your mind with negativity. That is why it is said, 'This world is maya (an illusion), don't get caught up in it'; because this is what happens, you get caught up in all these different situations and unnecessarily fill your mind with all kinds of negativity.

If you have made it a habit to get frustrated then no one can save you. You will have to get out of it with your own self-effort, and with the help of knowledge.

No matter how good a place you are at, you will still be unhappy if you are caught up in negativity and frustration. And if you have made it a habit to be frustrated then no one can save you. You will have to get out of it with your own self-effort, and with the help of knowledge.
If you live in society, then it is only natural that sometimes you will be praised and sometimes blamed.
Suppose you are working in a company, you cannot expect your boss to behave in a way that is convenient to you. How can you expect perfection from your boss?
Suppose you have a taunting boss who has taunted you three to four times, and you label him as 'Hopeless', then you start behaving like that with him or with her. Your perception puts you in a reactive mode.
You need to correct your perception, and understand that there is imperfection in the world. And people have the right to be imperfect, and you have no business correcting them. They have not asked you to develop them or correct them. So you better know that this is how the world is; things are like that!
Now, what happens when you accept that things are like that and people are like that? When you accept, suddenly you find a witness consciousness dawning inside of you that makes you so centered and deep.
This doesn't mean that you should not point out any mistakes of anyone and just accept everything as it is. No! I was driving past Kanakapura road and I saw garbage on the side of the road and I told my secretary to immediately call the Panchyat. They have been given two vans to pick up the garbage and so it needs to be done immediately.
So we have to keep acting in this way, but without getting into frustration - this is the secret. It is very easy to wash your hands and sit in the corner and feel, 'I don't have anything to do with all of this. And let thing run the way they want to run'. And it is very easy to get frustrated and keep complaining. But the finest balance, and the finest path is taking action without frustration.

Don't get frustrated about people and situations around you, and don't get frustrated with yourself for repeating the same mistakes. Neither of this will help you.


Frustration is like somebody just waiting to run in your home, and you have to keep them out. It is waiting in so many corners, just finding a way to enter inside. So keep a guard at all your entrances and prevent frustration from entering into your home.
Now we keep getting frustrated with others, that is a common thing. But sometimes we also get frustrated with our own self; we become dissatisfied with our own self, because of small insignificant things.
So maintaining equanimity is Yoga. Come what may, not letting frustration creep into yourself, then the intellect functions better; the brain functions better and you get ideas on how to handle different situations.
So don't get frustrated about people and situations around you, and don't get frustrated about yourself because you are repeating the same mistakes again and again. Neither of this will help. And this is a very delicate balance: to keep the enthusiasm alive in you, without allowing frustration to enter. And acting when it is needed and where it is needed.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Are You Perfect?

Sat, 03/07/2015 Bangalore, India
In society, in day to day events, there are so many chances to get frustrated, and when such things happen, there is nothing you can do. Something or the other keeps coming up to get frustrated about. Do you see what I am saying?
You want perfection and perfection is not available, and so you get frustrated. You want someone to do things on time and if they don't do it, then you get frustrated. You want things to be done in the way you want, and if it does not happen, you get frustrated; isn't this the case?

You want perfection, and when perfection is not avaibale you get frustrated. Isn't this the case?

Just turn back and look into your own life; how many incidents have occurred in your life where you were frustrated? Can you even count them? How many of you feel that you cannot even count them? (Many in the audience raise their hands)
Sometimes you feel that it is not even in your hands, or it is not even in your capacity. This is the case from the small things to the big things.
For example: the biggest problem in the world today is the ISIS. The other day I was discussing with the Prime Minister of India, and he was saying, 'What to do with the ISIS? It is such a huge problem in the world. They are killing so many people every day'.
All the big governments are frustrated, they are not able to do anything. America is frustrated, Europe is frustrated, India is frustrated. Many countries are frustrated. People in Iraq, people in Iran, and many other countries are frustrated. This is a big problem, you can't do anything about it.
Okay, now that is all happening very far away, but what about the problems right here on Kanakapura road. We have given the Panchayat here two garbage collecting vans to collect the garbage and keep the place clean. But every day when you drive by, you will see garbage spread on both sides of the road. Our volunteers have gone there, they have collected the garbage and put in the garbage dump, and they have educated the people not to dump garbage on the road, but even then there is garbage. It will be fine for two days, on the third day it is the same thing. When we ask them, they say, 'We did not do it. Someone from the city came and did it'.
From the autorickshaw they just throw the garbage, and then the cows go and eat it, and when you see the cows eating it, you feel so frustrated.

You want everything to be perfect, and in the pursuit for perfection you forget to see your own imperfection, and how you can improve. 


Now coming to an even more local problem. You teach Sadhana to people, you teach them meditation and still they don't do it. And then they say that they are depressed.
Someone says, 'I have pain'. You give them medicine but they don't take it. Doctors all over the world have this problem. Patients come and are given medicines, but they don't take it; they put it under their pillow or somewhere, and then they say that nothing happened. It is not that the medicine did not work, they never took the medicine. So you can imagine how frustrated the doctors get.
Like this, in life, you will have 101 reason to get frustrated.
We have some very talented people but they have some minus points. Now if you look at the minus points then the talents are gone. So, you don't see a very perfect person but your intention is to see everyone as perfect. When you are looking for perfection everywhere around, I tell you, you forget to see the imperfection inside of you. You want everything to be perfect, but are you perfect? You have to look for that.
When you are perfect, you will stop pointing out imperfections and you will stop getting frustrated about the imperfections of others, and instead contribute to their growth; to them becoming perfect.
This is our dilemma, we want others to be perfect; we want organizations to be perfect, nations to be perfect, people to be perfect, and in this pursuit we forget to see our own imperfections, and how we can improve on them.
When we start looking within, a whole new dimension opens in front of us. It is then that we are able to educate people without getting frustrated. And this is when we can become a good teacher, and a good leader.

When you start looking within, a whole new dimension opens infront of you. It is then that you are able to educate people without getting frustrated.


If leaders are frustrated then what will happen to the people they are leading. Just recently I met this gentleman who told me, 'Oh, I am so frustrated, nobody is following my lead, nobody is following my instructions, nobody is listening, and nobody helps me'.
I said, 'Come on, you are the leader. You have to correct them. Whatever resources you have gotten, you have to manage with that. Whatever talents are available in your team, you have to build on them'.
See, everyone has flaws, and everyone has some very good points as well. But if you only see the flaws, then you will miss out on their plus points. Overnight nobody can become perfect, gradually people become perfect, and we need to encourage them to become perfect. So this is a management science: how to manage your mind, your environment, and how to ensure that frustration doesn't seep inside of you. For some or the other reason, frustration is just waiting around the corner to seep into you. And once it takes charge of you, I tell you, you become really useless.
Many times when people are complaining, you will see that there is so much frustration in them, and they don't do anything about it. People who complain don't do any work, and people who work hard, they have nothing to complain about because they are busy working. They know that things are this way. How many of you have noticed this?
Those who do not do any work, they keep finding fault in other people. They find fault in small small things. They are not able to see the good in other people. So we must ensure that we do not let frustration seep into us.
Many people get so frustrated with the world that they say, 'Let me just go and stay in an ashram', and so they become an ashramite. After becoming an ashramite, after two or three years, they feel, 'I have done so much sadhana, not let me relax a little', and in this way they get caught up in conflicts with others around them feeling 'This person did this to me', 'That person did like this to me'.
Like this, they get caught up in conflicts and keep lashing out at others. When this happens, know that you have lost your center.

Everyone has some flaws and some good points. But if you only see the flaws then you will miss out on their plus points.


'See, he got to sit in the front, and I am all the way at the back', thoughts like these keep running in the mind.
'He is driving with Gurudev every day, but I don't get to drive with Gurudev'. All these kind of inconsequential things bother our mind, and hurt us like a thorn somewhere inside. Now why does this happen? This is because we expect a lot from others and we forget about ourselves.
We need to keep our attention on ourselves: What is my contribution to this world. What have I done for others. How useful have I been to the people around me?
If our thoughts are moving in this direction, then we will not blame others or hurt others. Otherwise, we are always finding fault in others and lashing out of them.
Many times people will come to me and say, 'Do something about this person. He is not right'. They advise me on what I need to do.
I say, 'First you become alright. Take a look inside your own self'.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Sri Sri's Message On Mahashivaratri

Tue, 03/17/2015 Bangalore, India
Today on Shivaratri, the matter and consciousness unite. The subtle world and the gross world come together and that is the celebration.
When we violate the laws of nature, that is when disturbances happen. All these floods, forest fires and other natural calamities are nothing but the anger of nature. It is nature's fury, and nature's fury can only be calmed by the transcendental divine consciousness, that is Shiva. Shiva alone can calm the fury of nature.
There are three types of disturbances:
1. The disturbances in the mind
2. The disturbances in soul
3. The disturbances in nature
So Shivaratri is the night on which we pray to the divine for us to be free from all types of misery: mental, physical, emotional, social and natural calamities, and we pray for the divine to bestow peace on everyone.
The secrets of nature are hidden. See, now we know about WiFi, but the secret of WiFi was there from a long time ago, but it was hidden. And it is a blessing from the divine that science is developing. And this is what is said in the Vedas, 'It is only through your intervention, through your blessings that science gets manifested, and the secrets in natural revel itself'. The unfathomable universe, which no mind can reach; the secrets of that universe, only you (Lord) can reveal to us'.
So today we pray with our heart and soul for peace in the world, peace and progress in society, progress of knowledge, and happiness for every individual.
The divine accepts you however you are. If you feel like you are like a thorn, you are still accepted. If you are like a leaf, you are accepted. If you are like a fruit or a flower, you are accepted. However you are, and whatever stage of evolution you are at, the one divinity accepts you, and that is truth and that is beauty. The synonymous of Shiva is benevolence, truth and beauty, and the three are inseparable.
So tonight is the celebration of nature rejoicing the presence of benevolence, truth and beauty.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Tough Times Make You Stronger

Fri, 02/13/2015 Bangalore, India
Dear Gurudev, in my workplace, most of my colleagues drink alcohol, enjoy with girls and do such things. When I try to mix with them I get negative vibrations and my energy is getting drained. I just want to escape from them. How do I accept them and mix with them?

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Take The Best And Leave The Rest

Sat, 02/14/2015 Bangalore, India
(Below is a continuation of the post When Love Becomes Eternal)
How to know that the girl I like is the one I am looking for, and if I am the right person for her?

When Love Becomes Eternal

Sat, 02/14/2015 Bangalore, India

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!
Before I had said, 'Let divine be your valentine', today I am saying, 'Let nature be your valentine'.
Let us preserve nature, water, the environment, the plants, the air and the energy. This is our responsibility. So let nature be your valentine. This is the message of Valentine's day this year.
Let nature be your valentine.
This is the message of Valentine's day this year.
Let us preserve nature, the environment, the plants, the rivers, the air and the energy. This is our responsibility. 
It is very difficult to express one’s feelings; feelings are inexpressible. At the same time you cannot hide them. On one level it can never be hidden and on another level you can never fully express your feelings.
Mankind has been making efforts from time immemorial to express the inexpressible. All our gestures and actions are only to express our feelings, yet it remains unexpressed and that is the beauty of it, that is how love continues, and this is when love becomes eternal.
If love is totally expressed, it is finished, nothing remains of it. But it doesn’t happen that way, when you express there is still something which remains unexpressed and you feel it is not enough. It is only when you break up you say, ‘Enough is enough!’ When the pond of love dries up you say, ‘Enough is enough, no more'. But in love, you cannot feel it is enough, it never reaches completion.
Anyone in love will say, ‘I cannot fully express my feelings’. There is an effort to express oneself and Valentine’s Day is one such occasion when people try to express their love.
You don’t need to ask people, ‘Would you be my valentine?’ You should take it for granted that they are your valentine and they love you. You should never doubt anyone’s love for you, take it for granted that everyone loves you, that’s it! 
Sometimes some people don’t express love. Some may express every now and then, some others may express in another life time! Sometimes, someone who is rude and rough and does not behave nicely, they do have love for us, but they have reserved it for the future years or for future lifetimes. When you look at it from this perspective, then from your side you will feel secure, complete, accepted, and you will feel that oneness with this whole universe.
So, this Valentine’s Day you can say, nature is my valentine and I love nature. You become a flower yourself. You don’t have to buy a rose and offer it, imagine yourself to be a blossoming rose.
Someone who is rude and who does not behave nicely, they do have love for us, but they have reserved it for the future years or future lifetimes.
When you look at it from this perspective, then from your side you will feel secure, complete & accepted. 
There are many flowers which are so fragrant, but do not have the texture or the beauty of a rose. There are some other flowers which look so beautiful but are not as fragrant as a rose. A rose has both beauty and fragrance and that’s why it is called the queen of flowers. You yourself are the queen of flowers, you yourself have beauty and fragrance.
This is what is expected of any beloved. They should not just look beautiful, they should exuberate fragrance. Some may have that fragrance, but if their actions are not what you perceive as an expression of what true love should be, then communicate that to them. Communication is very important.
Valentine’s Day is one such day when you communicate your love.
In the world, people go to two extremes. Like in India, people never express their love, especially in the rural areas. They have a lot of love but it is all hidden and buried. It gets expressed in action, but they don’t verbalize at all.
Most of your parents would have never told each other, ‘I love you'. Parents would have never told their children, ‘Oh, I love you my dear'. They would have never said it in their whole life. It is not that they don’t have love, they have a lot of love, but they don’t verbalize it.
In the occident, there is a lot of expression. ‘I love you’, is said so many times even if there is no feeling in it. We verbalize quite a lot in the West and here (in the East) we don’t express it at all. I would say, we should be somewhere in the middle, not too expressive, or not without expression at all. The best of the East and West is sharpness of the mind and softness of the heart.
The whole of life is an education for oneself and for others. Every event educates us and something good comes out of every event. Taking life easy with sincerity, and commitment to your goal is the Art of Living.
We need both a civilized behavior and an informal atmosphere. If you are too informal then you push and pull and go over others. This may appear very rude to some people.
In Asia, it is a problem. People feel so much at home that they don’t see who is sitting in front and they go all the way above them. If you come from another culture, it would appear very rude and uncivilized. But, here there is a sense of belongingness. At the same time, in some cultures they are so strict and disciplined and want everything to be perfect that they cannot tolerate small things going wrong. It throws one off balance and the mind gets so muddled. We have to get out of that mindset as well. We have to feel at home and be in the moment.
If something happened in the morning, there is no need to carry it in our minds all day. The incident or event happened and it is over. Somebody jumped a queue or someone sat where you had planned to sit, or things didn’t happen on time, all these things can upset you for a long time. You have two choices, either get so up-tight and unhappy about how things don’t happen on time, or you see the present moment as inevitable and do your best and keep smiling.
Suppose you’re stuck in traffic, you have two options, get frustrated and unhappy or sing!
The whole of life is an education for oneself and for others. Every event educates us and something good comes out of every event. Taking life easy with sincerity, and commitment to your goal is the Art of Living.