01/20/2016 Bangalore, India
Do you know what is a sign of good health? A cool head, a soft belly and warm feet. This is a sign of good health. When your body, mind and spirit - everything is in place then everything is okay. If you find that your feet are cold, head is hot and your stomach is hard, then something is seriously wrong. When you are sick this is what happens -- the head gets hot, feet get cold and your stomach becomes hard. There was an old saint who used to say, “Pav garam, pet naram aur sir thanda, aisa nahi ho to maar danda”.
We should pay attention to this. When you do meditation have you observed how the stomach becomes soft! How many of you observed that when you did meditation and paid attention to your belly, how it became soft? Cool headedness, warm feet and soft belly sign of good health .Cold feet and hard tummy is a sign of some problem. It may not be very serious. but you have to take it seriously.
How do we increase our passion for meditation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You want to meditate, that is good enough. Intellectually understand the benefits of it. If you meditate, the structure of your brain changes, your stomach becomes softer, your feet become warmer, your heart becomes larger, and your intellect becomes sharper, what more do you want? These are the many temptations given to you!
Do you want to be intuitive, innovative, energetic and charming? All this meditation can give you. Anything more? In spite of all these, if you still don’t have interest to do anything, I would like you to go and check up your vitamins. You may have a serious vitamin D deficiency, or B12 deficiency, or intelligence deficiency (laughter). So fix yourself.
See, the moment you say - I want to have more passion, you already have it my dear. I want to love something, that means you are already loving it. These are emotions which you cannot pump it up or buy it in a market.
How do you run The Art of living in 155 countries at such a pace and with such peace?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I simply don’t run them at all. (laughs). That is the secret - it all happens with some divine law. See, knowledge has organizing power. If you are in knowledge, then everything happens. When you are in a center, the circumference is already there. When you are centered, you are equi-distant from every point in the circumference. So when you are centered, it has tremendous organizing power because the centeredness itself will bring it to you, and that is knowledge. Self knowledge has organizing power because the higher self has organized this entire universe in its perfection.
Why don’t you ask me - why are these hibiscus flowers all so perfect in their color and in their texture. There are millions of hibiscus trees, and millions of hibiscus flowers blossoming. The jasmine is blossoming and are so perfect. The fragrance of the little flowers are the same way throughout. Why don't you ask me how is that this coconut is so nice and tender with such sweet water! There are a million things and zillion things to be amazed about in this creation. And you see that power, that consciousness which is the basis of whole creation, has tremendous organizing power and infinite knowledge. When we are with it, it manifests within us also. A little bit here and there.
How do we balance commitment and feelings?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Feelings change but commitment should not change as fast as the feelings. We simply have to acknowledge that feelings change very fast.
I remember there was one lady who used to come and ask me for blessing when she was to go for shopping. She would say, "Gurudev, I want to go for shopping, give me blessings". I felt it very strange. People ask blessings when they are sick, or they want to achieve something, but shopping? What on earth would make you ask for blessing for shopping? She said, "Every time I go for shopping, I buy a new dress and when I come home, I don’t like it. Then I go and exchange it. Even before buying it I ask them if I can come and exchange the colors if I don’t like it? This happens every time, and my husband is in trouble all the time. So this time let me choose something that I don’t have to exchange". So our mind is such, our feelings are such that it keeps changing all the time. If we base our lives only on our feelings and moods, we will be ruined. Will be nowhere.
It is said that to find Narayana one needs infinite patience. Then why is Lakshmi regarded as Chanchal or fleeting.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just understand what Chanchal means. Chal means what? Movement. Chanchal means one which moves very fast. If you don’t have to go to the market and spend any money, then why do you have to go to the bank to get the money? It does not make sense. If you have money, what for do you have money? It is not worth anything if you are not spending it. Wealth is circulation. If you have a pot of grains, you have to sow them back in the soil to get more grains. If you just keep them for too long, they will decay. So wealth grows and wealth is sustained when there is movement. In ancient times the people knew this secret and that is why they say Lakshmi is Chanchal.
Narayana is always there. The word nerves or nervous systems comes from Narayana. Nara means nerves. Narayana means the consciousness which is housed in the nervous system. If it is not there, you would not even have been able to ask this question that you are asking, or understand anything. So you are Narayana, and for you to sustain yourself, you need means, and means have to keep moving, and that is what Lakshmi means.
During the silence program, is talking to oneself also not allowed?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Is it such a compulsion that you have to talk to yourself? What do you need to talk to yourself? I am very good, or I am very bad, I am in Bangalore? Is that what you want to remind yourself? Just gather all your energy which you waste in talking and talking all the time, and experience the silence just for a couple of days. You will be astonished that there is so much depth inside of you, such vastness is inside of you.
Gurdev, I am getting distracted and disturbed by lot of comments and behavior of others. I am unable to let go. Please help me.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If it is so difficult to let go, then just hold on to it tight, I tell you. All the comments that others make about you, note it down, print it, and repeat it every day to yourself in the morning, afternoon and evening. Without that, don’t have breakfast. Just do this for two days and see. I tell you, on the third day it will be gone.
I am telling you this seriously - write down everybody’s comment about you which you cannot forget, and then tell me if it works for you or not. If it doesn’t, then I will suggest something different to you.
In the world, we see so many successful people who do not meditate. We also see many meditators who are not successful in terms of name, fame, money, achievements, etc. How do we explain this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, what do you call a success? Is it just having a big bank balance? People may have had a lot of fame and name, and a big bank balance, but they may be unable to smile, or they may not be having a good night’s sleep, and many cannot enjoy their meal. Do you know that?
To me, success is the undying smile on someone’s face. To me, success is the confidence in a person that he can win, that he can overcome any obstacles, or any situations in his life.
That is success! Look at some of the wealthy people, they are so scared of even making friends with anybody. They think that their friends are just there for their money. They get into that state of paranoia. Do you call this success? There are many so called famous people, that even if you squeeze them, there is not an iota of joy in them. I don’t call it success.
Well, if you want to be successful and famous, you can do all that, but you have to keep a healthy body and healthy mind. For that, you need to meditate my dear! Meditation is not a direct way to success. It is like watering the root of a tree. When you water the roots, then there are fruits, are flowers and greenery. If you don’t want to meditate, don’t meditate. There is no compulsion. Get thoroughly stressed, and be stressed. If stress can bring you success, well, you should go for it. Who asked you to meditate?
Wake up, please wake up. Meditation is not an obstacle for you to be dynamic and successful in your life. In fact, it helps you. If some people are meditating and they are not successful, it is their choice.
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