Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Dance of the Divine


December 28, 2012

Bad Antogast, Germany

1848
Q: Dear Gurudev, can you please tell us more about the lineage of the masters?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, we do not know when it exactly began, since it goes back many thousands of years.

The knowledge of YogaMeditation, and the knowledge that the whole of the universe is created by One energy, has been passed down through the tradition of the Masters.
 
 
The Creation and the 
Creator are like the 
dance and the dancer. 
Can you separate a 
dance from the dancer? 
No! It is impossible. 
That energy, which we 
call God, or Love, is 
permeating the whole of 
creation, and every 
particle of the universe.

 
 
Usually when you create something, the creator is separate and the object is separate. 
For example, if you were to create a candle, you would think - this candle is different from me, and you would keep it apart and away from yourself. You would think, ‘It is my creation but it is not me.'

So, this is usually what people think, the Creator and this Creation are two separate things. But if you say God is omnipresent, meaning present everywhere, he must be present inside the Creation as well. 
Where is the space for something to exist outside of it, if something is omnipresent? Isn't it?! 
If I am all powerful, can there be something else which is more powerful than me? Not possible. 
So the Creation and Creator are not two different things. There is only One thing.

Now, how do we understand this, that the Creator and the Creation are one? Through the example of a dance and the dancer. Can you separate a dance from the dancer? No! It is impossible. 
If you have to see the dance, you can only see it through the dancer. 
A painter and his painting are different. A painter can paint a painting and move away, and there will still be a painting. But a dancer cannot move away from his dance.

So the Creation and the Creator are like the dance and the dancer. 
That energy, which we call God, or Love, or Light, is permeating the whole of creation, and every particle of the universe. 
This is the essence of the ancient knowledge, and this is exactly what modern science, and quantum mechanics explains as well.

The whole world is made up of One field; One energy. 
This solves so many riddles of the theologians.

Q: How can we turn thoughts of lack into thoughts of abundance?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The very thought that you want to do it, means you have already started moving in that direction.
Look at what your requirements are and you will see that they will always be met. Whatever you need always comes to you. But do not take it to an extreme and say, 'Let me just do nothing and let everything come to me', no, that is not correct. 
You have to put in your efforts, and you have to have courage. These two things bring you wealth.

There is proverb in Sanskrit that says, ‘Udyoginam purusha-simham upayati Lakshmi.' 
It means that great wealth comes to one who has the courage of a lion and who puts in all his efforts. Therefore put in all your efforts, and be like a lion. 
Do you know, the lion is the laziest animal. It is the lioness who hunts for the prey and presents it to the lion. The lion just goes and eats the prey. The lioness does the work. 
The lion does not even do the work of hunting the prey. He is lazy, yet he is the king of the forest and has the confidence. 
So this is what you need to have - confidence and the sense of majesty of a lion
Then you must put in your 100% efforts, and that is when wealth comes to you.

 
 
Whatever you need always 
comes to you. You have to 
put in your efforts, and you 
have to have courage. Have 
the confidence and the 
sense of majesty of a lion. 
Then you must put in your
100% efforts, and that is 
when wealth comes to you.

 
 
Do not be feverish about it, just take up a project and do it. 
Later on, you will see that you will get wealth as well, along with it.

Q: Dear Gurudev, you said there are different types of prana, could you please talk a little bit more about that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are ten types of Prana (the subtle life force energy). Of these, there are five major and five minor kinds of Prana. Today let me just talk about the five major types of Prana.

The first major type of Prana is called Prana which arises from your navel upwards to the top of the head.
Then there is another type of Prana that goes downwards from the navel, and it is called Apana
When the Prana level is too high, you cannot sleep; you can get insomnia and you feel very jittery. However, if the Apana level is too high, you feel so dull that you do not even want to get off the bed. 
Have you had this experience? Sometimes you feel so heavy, gross, and dull. This is due to the imbalance of Apana.

The third type of Prana is Samana which is present as the digestive fire in the digestive system, i.e., in the stomach. It is the agni or the fire that helps digest the food. 
Samana is that which helps indigestion, and it also helps other bodily systems. It helps in balancing the system.

Then there is Udana Vayu or Udana Prana which is somewhere near the heart region and is responsible for emotions. 
In Sudarshan Kriya, people cry or they laugh, and you find that all these emotions well up. This is due to the Udana Vayu. So this Udana Vayu is responsible for all the emotions.

Then the fifth type of Prana called Vyana which is responsible for all the movement in the body. It is spread all over the body. 
In Sudarshan Kriya, you feel some tingling, some energy all over the body. Have you all experienced this? 
What happens in Sudarshan Kriya is, all the five Pranas get balanced, and that is why you cry, or you laugh, and you feel a tingling all over the body. That is the specialty of Sudarshan Kriya. 
You also tend to feel very hungry after the Kriya, is it not so?

So, these five Prana in the body run our lives. 
If Samana is imbalanced, then it gives rise to digestive problems, and you cannot digest the food properly, or you may experience nausea. All this happens because of an imbalance of the Samana Prana.

When Udana Prana is stuck, you feel an emotional block that also affects your thinking and your mind.
When the Vyana which is all over the body is imbalanced, then you have joint pain, or movement trouble, and either you become too jittery and restless, or you may feel like you do not want to do anything. 
Moving around anywhere in such a state gives discomfort and creates restlessness in the body. All this is caused by theVyana imbalance.

 
 
Be passionate about 
knowledge, be passionate 
about doing service, be 
passionate about thinking; 
or about anything. Some 
passion definitely needs to 
be there in life. You can 
have a passion for wisdom 
as well.

 
 
After Sudarshan Kriya, you would have noticed that all these imbalances go away. Has this not happened to all of you? 
All earlier discomfort in the movements of the body, or its circulation, or some pains due to Vyana imbalance, all disappeared after Sudarshan Kriya.

So these are the five different Pranas. 
There are five other sub-ordinate Pranas as well, but that we will discuss that another time.

Q: How compatible are love and dispassion for a life companion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You need both, passion and dispassion in life. 
Usually we think, ‘When I have passion, how can I have dispassion? If I am dispassionate, how can I be passionate about anything?’ 
This is what the normal concept is in the minds of people. I tell you, it is not that way. 
It is like, breathing in is passion, breathing out is dispassion and in-between the two, is compassion. You need all three.

You need to be passionate about something in life, otherwise you will go into depression. 
Be passionate about knowledge, be passionate about doing seva, be passionate about thinking; or about anything. Some passion definitely needs to be there in life. You can have a passion for wisdom as well. So passion is essential!

Dispassion is essential as well. Without dispassion there is no joy; no happiness. You will be miserable if you do not have any dispassion. 
And of course, compassion is needed in life. So all three are essential.

Q: What happens if we do not make it to liberation this time around. Can we be with you in our next lifetime?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, of course. Do not worry about it.

Q: Dear Gurudev, I wonder why so many couples cannot get children. What is happening in the Western World?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, that you have to ask the doctors. They will give you the right diagnosis. 
We cannot generalize about this. Of course one of the reasons is alcohol and the use of intoxicants. That is no good. 
People start drinking alcohol right from their college or schooldays. That is no good. This world would be a far better place if people keep away from intoxicants.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Give A Chance For Miracles To Happen


December 28, 2012

Bad Antogast, Germany

1845
You have heard of many Guru stories, isn't it? So now I am going to tell you a Devotee story.
In the last week of November, I was touring in some of the remote places in the state of Maharashtra. Some villages and districts that I have never been to. There were a lot of people who came to meet me.
In one village, I told my secretary, ‘Three people have lost their mobiles and they are very poor people. So put three new cell phones in my bag.'
When I went there, there were 2,000 to 2,500 volunteers and a crowd of around 200,000 people.
In the volunteers meet after the program, I said, ‘Three of you lost your mobile phones. I know about it. Those of you who have lost your mobile phones, please stand up’, and only three people stood up.
There was a lady who had stood up, and I told her, ‘Look, you were crying in front of my picture last Thursday. You did not know what to do, how to face your family because an expensive mobile phone was lost, which must have been worth two to three months of earnings. Here, take a new one.'

 
 
I tell you, we should give
miracles a chance to
happen in life. Nobody’s
life is devoid of miracles.
Only we don’t believe in
them. We think miracles
are a thing of the past. I
tell you, it can happen
even today, in the present.

 
 
When I was doing this, one boy from the group came up to me and he shared his story. He was in an advanced course and his wife was at home, and he had to talk to her. There was no battery on his phone and he had forgotten the charger at home. So he put the phone in front of my picture and asked, ‘Gurudev, let the phone be charged.'
The next morning, when he woke up, the phone was fully charged.
This boy showed me his phone and said, ‘Look, for one and a half years I have thrown away my charger, and now I only keep my phone in front of your picture and it gets charged.’
He threw his charger away!
I said, 'This is really something. Even I need a charger for my phone, and my devotee charges his phone by keeping it in front of my picture.'
See how powerful devotees can be.

I thought this is a very exciting story. So I came back to Bangalore and there were about 150 people from Russia, Poland and all over Europe, and I shared this story with them, ‘Look I can’t charge my phone without a charger and see this devotee threw away his charger and he is charging his phone every day keeping it in front of my picture.'
So the 150 people there said, 'Yes, it happens for us also.'
My saying this did not surprise them at all.
One Russian said, ‘It happened to me also. One day, I too put my phone and prayed that it should get charged, and it indeed did get charged!’
Devotees from Poland and Scandinavia also shared the same experiences.
Another person shared their experience and said, ‘My car ran out of petrol and the fuel marker had come to zero showing me that the tank was empty. But I kept driving, and drove 117 kilometers on an empty tank.'

How is it possible? This seems to break all apparent laws of nature.
I tell you, we should give miracles a chance to happen in life. Nobody’s life is devoid of miracles. Only we don’t believe in them.

All the cultures and philosophy in this world are based on miracles. In fact they thrive on miracles.
Just remove all the miracles from the Bible and you will feel as if the Bible does not exist.
Similarly, if you take any scripture in the world, it is full of miracles. But we think miracles are a thing of the past and not of the present. I tell you, it can happen even today, in the present.

Once, I was at Boston airport and a devotee bought food for me, and for the four others who were travelling with me. Do you know how many people were with me? A large number of around 60 to 70 people, and the food which was meant for four people was shared between 60 people. Everybody ate food.
It makes you wonder - how is this possible?!

 
 
When you are in a state
of love and devotion, your
energy is so strong, that
what you think impossible
starts happening. When
your heart and mind are
pure and clear, then
positive energy rises in
you. But if your mind is
full of negativity; or if you
are complaining, then no
miracle is possible.

 
 
There is a scientific explanation for this also.
The whole world is nothing but vibrations; everything is vibrations. Matter is nothing but vibrations. Matter and energy are the same, they are just vibrations.
See, when you go near an automatic glass door, immediately the glass door opens.
Just imagine if this was a phenomenon that would have happened 100 to 200 years ago. People at that time would have gone crazy. They would wonder as to how this is happening. You simply go and the door opens.
Today, we know that this is because of bio energy. There is energy emitting from our body.
Do you know, there are locks that can be opened only by one person.
You must have heard of biometric locks. If it is your energy that is embedded in that lock, then nobody else can open it. Only when you touch it, will it open.
That means that everyone is emitting energy.

When you are in a state of love and devotion, your energy is so strong, so big, that when you want a cell phone to get charged, it simply gets charged.
It is just like an intense energy of the biometric lock. When you move near the door, the door opens because your energy is caught by that little box above the door.

Similarly, the entire universe is just made up of energy. It is all energy. So give a chance for miracles to happen.
When is all this possible? It can happen when you are hollow and empty.
When both, your heart and mind are pure and clear, then positive energy rises in you. But if your mind is full of negativity, and if you are stressed out; or if you are complaining about this and that, and grumbling and griping, then no miracle is possible. Even regular work which has to happen does not happen. Simple things do not happen because energy is low and negative.
When energy is high, what you think is impossible starts happening.

Even from a scientist’s point of view, miracles are indeed possible.
Nothing is impossible. You simply need to know the mechanics of how it all works, and in what state of consciousness can all this happen.

How many of you here have had that experience of a miracle? (Many raise their hands).
See! All of you here have experienced some miracle or another. So when we feel that deep connection, when we feel that love and devotion, it all happens effortlessly.

Now, if you were to ask me, 'How do I increase my devotion?'
I tell you, there is no way to increase. Do not try to do that, just relax.
This is the problem actually.
Many people ask me, ‘How do I surrender? How do I increase my devotion?’
I tell you, there is no way to do that. But, if you ask me, ‘How I can get rid of my negativity?’ I would say, ‘Yes there is a way.'
How? Just wake up and see! Wake up! Let go of the negativity. Think, ‘So Hum and So What!' These two things are there.
First, when faced with a problem or with negativity, just think, ‘So what? It is okay.’ And then, ‘So Hum’ (literally meaning ‘I am That’; it refers to the individual self identifying with the Divine Supreme Consciousness).
This way you can get rid of negativity and keep your spirit high.

 
 
When faced with a
problem or with negativity,
just think, 'So what? It is
okay.’ And then, ‘So Hum
This way you can get rid
of negativity and keep your
spirit high.

 
 
You know when someone is not feeling good, they pull everybody down around them. And if you talk to them, you will see that not only are they feeling down themselves, they try to pull everyone else down as well. This is their job.
If you do not like a person, you go on blaming them, and if someone else likes them, you tell them also, ‘Look that person is no good.'
Also, there are people who say it in such a different way that you may fall prey to their negativity. They say, ‘Look, I do not want to create a bad opinion about that person, so I do not want to talk about them. I do not want to spoil your idea or impression about them.' But the harm is already done.
Do you see what has happened? The doubt has already been put in your mind.
So people who do not have high energy try to pull everybody down when they are miserable, and then they feel happy seeing everybody else is unhappy.
They do this unconsciously. They are not conscious about this, they do not know they are doing it.

There is a story in the Ramayana.
The monkeys in Lord Rama’s army wanted to make a bridge between India and Sri Lanka and all the troops were preparing for it. So what they did is, they would write ‘Sri Ram’ on every stone and then put the stone in the water, and the stone would float.
Now, when Lord Rama himself arrived, he was surprised to see that all these people were writing his name on these stones and putting them into the water, and they were floating. So he wanted to try whether he can do it. So, he took a stone and wrote ‘Sri Ram’ on it, and put it in the water, but that stone sank, it did not float.
So the devotees told him, ‘You do not know what devotion is. You cannot do what we can do.’
So it is said that devotees are one step higher, and they have huge power.

Love is the most powerful thing on the planet. Do not let anybody, any situation, any cause, any reason destroy that.
Our love is so fragile and we make it so vulnerable that simply by listening to some people’s negative talks, their negativity gets into our head and we start destroying our own high energy.
Now that does not mean you have to be blind. We need to be intellectually sharp and logically correct, and at the same time, maintain that beautiful gift that one gets, called love. This we need to protect, just like how you protect a child.
How do you protect a child from falling, and from getting lost? You protect a child by keeping a watch on it all the time, where the child is moving, where it is going, and what it is doing. In the same way we need to protect this inner treasure. Once we have it, we need to protect it. This is very important.
Give a chance for miracles to happen. It is not that you simply sit and make it happen by saying, ‘I want a miracle to happen now.' It is not like that.
I tell you, when you insist on a miracle to happen, it is as foolish as someone trying to impress you with a miracle.

 
 
Love is the most 
powerful thing on the 
planet. Do not let anybody,
any situation, any cause,
any reason destroy that.

 
 
Never go to somebody who tries to impress you with a miracle and says, ‘I am going to create something out of thin air.' This is not the right thing at all.
Do not run after miracles, but at the same time do not block them from happening.
Someone who is centered, someone who is enlightened, will never try to make a miracle. Miracles simply happen; they are a part of life. Just let them happen.
Do not try to impress somebody or create something, that is no good.
Do you see what I am saying?
It does not show maturity and blossoming of your consciousness.
We do not need to impress anybody at all. If someone tries to do that, they are not where they think they are, or where they are expected to be.

The power of love and devotion is so much. And all this (Satsang, Seva and Sadhana) is just an aid to make that happen. Sit in Satsang and just see how the energy in you rises. There are so many inspiring stories that you get to hear.
You all have had some inspiring stories, and you should write them down and share them because this will inspire others.
Why I am saying this is because when you hear that something good is happening to someone else, it uplifts you too.
In today’s world you hear so many negative stories all the time. You hear of robbery committed, or a rape committed. You hear of someone cheating someone else, and many other crimes being committed around you.
When you hear all this, you lose interest in life. Many young people lose interest in life just listening to negative stories.

In the summer, I was in Canada, and a couple came to see me.
They said, ‘Gurudev, our 18 year old son committed suicide. He was a very brilliant young boy. He left a note in which he wrote, ‘Mum and Dad, I do not find this world the right place to live in. There is so much crime happening every day. I do not want to live in this world and I am fed up with it.''
Do you know how he formed this opinion? Just by watching the news.
In his note, the boy further wrote, ‘I am sorry I am bringing you misery and sorrow, but I do not want to continue living.'
So the boy wrote this note and later killed himself.
We must all resolve to bring positive news to everyone around us because this universe is ruled by love; by the light.
The light brings so many gifts to you and so many miracles are possible.

 
 
Our love is so fragile and
we make it so vulnerable
that by listening to some
people’s negative talks,
their negativity gets into
our head and we start
destroying our own high
energy.
We need to protect this 
inner treasure, this gift 
called love.

 
 
Every day I receive thousands of e-mails from people across the world expressing gratitude and narrating the wonders happening in their lives.
It does not look good if I put all those letters out, before you; but I tell you, you should write your experiences and share them with others. Bring a ray of hope to all those who are desperately in need of it.

You do not have to make up stories. Creating false stories is altogether another extreme. That is not good. But whatever good that is happening in your life, at least that you must bring to the lives of others. You should make people aware of it.
Write all the wonderful things that are happening in your life.
Keep it short though, not too long. Sometimes people write such long stories that you do not even wish to read it completely. After reading just one paragraph you feel like closing it. So, write your experiences, but it has to be short and crisp.
You should write about any authentic experience of yours that you know and wish to share. That is what can actually inspire.
You know, when we share something authentic, it has a very positive impact on the lives of others. This is how we need to inspire people towards the light, towards life, and towards love.
This is needed much more today than ever before.

Every day I get so many letters from people.
There are stories of doctors who had given up hope, and who had said that somebody is going to die within six months and yet they are alive, years after the incident.
So many healings have happened. There are thousands of such letters.

Today, our mind set has become such that we do not believe in this field of energy any longer. We tend to believe more in chemical tablets that are prescribed to us. However, you must not swing to any extremes. Do not think, ‘Oh, Gurudev has spoken about the field of energy, so I am not going to take any of my medications. I will throw them out.' No! We must not act this way.
We must take the advice of doctors, but at the same time, what I am telling you is, give a chance for miracles to happen.
That is the essence of it.

Monday, January 28, 2013

The Dance of the Divine


December 28, 2012

Bad Antogast, Germany

1848
Q: Dear Gurudev, can you please tell us more about the lineage of the masters?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, we do not know when it exactly began, since it goes back many thousands of years.
The knowledge of YogaMeditation, and the knowledge that the whole of the universe is created by One energy, has been passed down through the tradition of the Masters.
 
 
The Creation and the 
Creator are like the 
dance and the dancer. 
Can you separate a 
dance from the dancer? 
No! It is impossible. 
That energy, which we 
call God, or Love, is 
permeating the whole of 
creation, and every 
particle of the universe.

 
 
Usually when you create something, the creator is separate and the object is separate. 
For example, if you were to create a candle, you would think - this candle is different from me, and you would keep it apart and away from yourself. You would think, ‘It is my creation but it is not me.'

So, this is usually what people think, the Creator and this Creation are two separate things. But if you say God is omnipresent, meaning present everywhere, he must be present inside the Creation as well. 
Where is the space for something to exist outside of it, if something is omnipresent? Isn't it?! 
If I am all powerful, can there be something else which is more powerful than me? Not possible. 
So the Creation and Creator are not two different things. There is only One thing.

Now, how do we understand this, that the Creator and the Creation are one? Through the example of a dance and the dancer. Can you separate a dance from the dancer? No! It is impossible. 
If you have to see the dance, you can only see it through the dancer. 
A painter and his painting are different. A painter can paint a painting and move away, and there will still be a painting. But a dancer cannot move away from his dance.

So the Creation and the Creator are like the dance and the dancer. 
That energy, which we call God, or Love, or Light, is permeating the whole of creation, and every particle of the universe. 
This is the essence of the ancient knowledge, and this is exactly what modern science, and quantum mechanics explains as well.

The whole world is made up of One field; One energy. 
This solves so many riddles of the theologians.

Q: How can we turn thoughts of lack into thoughts of abundance?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The very thought that you want to do it, means you have already started moving in that direction.
Look at what your requirements are and you will see that they will always be met. Whatever you need always comes to you. But do not take it to an extreme and say, 'Let me just do nothing and let everything come to me', no, that is not correct. 
You have to put in your efforts, and you have to have courage. These two things bring you wealth.

There is proverb in Sanskrit that says, ‘Udyoginam purusha-simham upayati Lakshmi.' 
It means that great wealth comes to one who has the courage of a lion and who puts in all his efforts. Therefore put in all your efforts, and be like a lion. 
Do you know, the lion is the laziest animal. It is the lioness who hunts for the prey and presents it to the lion. The lion just goes and eats the prey. The lioness does the work. 
The lion does not even do the work of hunting the prey. He is lazy, yet he is the king of the forest and has the confidence. 
So this is what you need to have - confidence and the sense of majesty of a lion
Then you must put in your 100% efforts, and that is when wealth comes to you.

 
 
Whatever you need always 
comes to you. You have to 
put in your efforts, and you 
have to have courage. Have 
the confidence and the 
sense of majesty of a lion. 
Then you must put in your
100% efforts, and that is 
when wealth comes to you.

 
 
Do not be feverish about it, just take up a project and do it. 
Later on, you will see that you will get wealth as well, along with it.

Q: Dear Gurudev, you said there are different types of prana, could you please talk a little bit more about that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are ten types of Prana (the subtle life force energy). Of these, there are five major and five minor kinds of Prana. Today let me just talk about the five major types of Prana.
The first major type of Prana is called Prana which arises from your navel upwards to the top of the head.
Then there is another type of Prana that goes downwards from the navel, and it is called Apana
When the Prana level is too high, you cannot sleep; you can get insomnia and you feel very jittery. However, if the Apana level is too high, you feel so dull that you do not even want to get off the bed. 
Have you had this experience? Sometimes you feel so heavy, gross, and dull. This is due to the imbalance of Apana.

The third type of Prana is Samana which is present as the digestive fire in the digestive system, i.e., in the stomach. It is the agni or the fire that helps digest the food. 
Samana is that which helps indigestion, and it also helps other bodily systems. It helps in balancing the system.

Then there is Udana Vayu or Udana Prana which is somewhere near the heart region and is responsible for emotions. 
In Sudarshan Kriya, people cry or they laugh, and you find that all these emotions well up. This is due to the Udana Vayu. So this Udana Vayu is responsible for all the emotions.

Then the fifth type of Prana called Vyana which is responsible for all the movement in the body. It is spread all over the body. 
In Sudarshan Kriya, you feel some tingling, some energy all over the body. Have you all experienced this? 
What happens in Sudarshan Kriya is, all the five Pranas get balanced, and that is why you cry, or you laugh, and you feel a tingling all over the body. That is the specialty of Sudarshan Kriya. 
You also tend to feel very hungry after the Kriya, is it not so?

So, these five Prana in the body run our lives. 
If Samana is imbalanced, then it gives rise to digestive problems, and you cannot digest the food properly, or you may experience nausea. All this happens because of an imbalance of the Samana Prana.

When Udana Prana is stuck, you feel an emotional block that also affects your thinking and your mind.
When the Vyana which is all over the body is imbalanced, then you have joint pain, or movement trouble, and either you become too jittery and restless, or you may feel like you do not want to do anything. 
Moving around anywhere in such a state gives discomfort and creates restlessness in the body. All this is caused by theVyana imbalance.

 
 
Be passionate about 
knowledge, be passionate 
about doing service, be 
passionate about thinking; 
or about anything. Some 
passion definitely needs to 
be there in life. You can 
have a passion for wisdom 
as well.

 
 
After Sudarshan Kriya, you would have noticed that all these imbalances go away. Has this not happened to all of you? 
All earlier discomfort in the movements of the body, or its circulation, or some pains due to Vyana imbalance, all disappeared after Sudarshan Kriya.

So these are the five different Pranas. 
There are five other sub-ordinate Pranas as well, but that we will discuss that another time.

Q: How compatible are love and dispassion for a life companion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You need both, passion and dispassion in life. 
Usually we think, ‘When I have passion, how can I have dispassion? If I am dispassionate, how can I be passionate about anything?’ 
This is what the normal concept is in the minds of people. I tell you, it is not that way. 
It is like, breathing in is passion, breathing out is dispassion and in-between the two, is compassion. You need all three.

You need to be passionate about something in life, otherwise you will go into depression. 
Be passionate about knowledge, be passionate about doing seva, be passionate about thinking; or about anything. Some passion definitely needs to be there in life. You can have a passion for wisdom as well. So passion is essential!

Dispassion is essential as well. Without dispassion there is no joy; no happiness. You will be miserable if you do not have any dispassion. 
And of course, compassion is needed in life. So all three are essential.

Q: What happens if we do not make it to liberation this time around. Can we be with you in our next lifetime?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, of course. Do not worry about it.
Q: Dear Gurudev, I wonder why so many couples cannot get children. What is happening in the Western World?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, that you have to ask the doctors. They will give you the right diagnosis. 
We cannot generalize about this. Of course one of the reasons is alcohol and the use of intoxicants. That is no good. 
People start drinking alcohol right from their college or schooldays. That is no good. This world would be a far better place if people keep away from intoxicants.


Saturday, January 26, 2013

Being Born Again


December 27, 2012

Bad Antogast, Germany

1908
Q: Can you please explain why we should avoid rebirth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you wake up and see, in life there is so much misery, and misery is what you don’t like. You don’t want misery. 
What we don’t want to have is called misery, and it is there in life. 
Between husband and wife, father and mother, mother and daughter, daughter and son; with friends and with enemies, there is misery. Even your body brings you misery. Anything you do, there is some misery.

 
 
In life there is dependency. 
Where there is dependency 
there is misery. What is 
miserable is not pleasant, 
and you don’t want to have 
it. So people say, `I don’t 
want any more rebirth. 
Enough is enough.’

 
 
When you are born in this world, you are dependent. When you are a baby you can’t even get up on your own, somebody has to lift you and somebody has to wipe you. 
From the time you are born you are dependent, and even in old age you become dependent, but money gives you a false opinion that you are independent. That is why it is called Maya. Maya means it creates an impression. 
If you give somebody a few dollar bills, they come and work for you, and that gives you the feeling that you are independent. 
In life there is dependency. Where there is dependency there is misery. What is miserable is not pleasant, and you don’t want to have it. So people say, `I don’t want any more rebirth. Enough is enough.’

Just imagine, you have to go to school again, be whacked, and then go to college and go through all the teenage crises again. 
Look at all those teenage children, their faces swollen; so angry. The are angry at their parents and they don’t know what to do. 
See, it is not just your enemies who bother you, your friends also bother you. 
Everything is a botheration. 
Your mind is occupied by your friends as much as it is occupied by your enemies. So they all bother you. Moreover, keep all botherations on one side, your mind is your biggest botheration. 
Nothing in the world can bother you as much as your own mind, I tell you. 
In fact, others seem to be bothering you, but it is not others, it is your own mind.

You want freedom from your own mind and so you say, ‘I don’t want another birth.'
But once you know that it is your own mind that is bothering you, and not somebody else, then that is wisdom. And when wisdom dawns then you say, ‘I don’t mind if I have to be reborn ten times, or a hundred times, or a thousand times, I will come.' 
Then you realize life is joy, life is bliss. This is wisdom!

Yesterday I said, mind is our best friend and mind is our worst enemy. It sees an enemy in a friend and a friend in an enemy. Your mind can twist, distort, create it’s own hell and it’s own heaven. 
So what we really want is freedom from the mind, but you say, 'I don’t want to be born again.'

Q: How to deal with people with a very big ego, especially when their behavior is affecting life and others in a bad way?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Let them have a big ego, why are you bothered? 
You nurse an even bigger ego than them, there ends the story. 
In fact you will find you have a bigger ego, I tell you. 
Let others have an ego, so what? Why do you sign on a contract of destroying everybody’s ego, or making everybody’s ego smaller? 
If someone has a big ego, nature will teach them. One day or the other, they will become miserable. Leave it to them. Let them enjoy the music.

 
 
You want freedom from 
your own mind and so 
you say, ‘I don’t want 
another birth.' But once 
you know that, it is your 
own mind that is 
bothering you, and not 
somebody else, then that 
is wisdom.

 
 
Why do you become so miserable looking at the ego of others? I don’t understand that. You do what is required of you, as much as you can do, and move on. That is it. 
In life we should just move on. 
If someone is nasty to you, you can get up and shout at them, or scream at them, ‘Why did you do this thing to me yesterday; the day before and ten years ago?’ 
But I tell you, you are certainly spoiling this moment as well by talking about a mistake that happened yesterday or a month ago. You are spoiling the beauty of this moment. 
I would want you to make a decision right now, ‘I don’t care what happened in the past, right now I am not going to spoil this moment’, finished.

The world is like an ocean, these sort of things happen. They happen and they go away as well. Friend become enemies and enemies become friends for no apparent reason. 
How many of you have had the experience, that even though you have done only good to certain people, for no reason they have become your enemies? (Many raise their hands)
You wonder, ‘Oh my God, I did only good to this person, why is he blaming me? Why has this person become an enemy?’ 
Also, there are people to whom you have not done any favor and yet they have helped you a lot. How many of you have this experience? (Many raise their hands
See, whether someone becomes your friend or your enemy, it all works on the strange laws of karma. That is why, put them all in one basket and relax. This, I have adopted as my policy. 
You do so much good to one person and still if that person is angry with you, or they blame you, what do you do? 
So, don’t go on chewing on that and spoil the present moment with the past. 
Isn’t that a good idea? This moment let us celebrate.

In the past I used to listen to people, all their stories and their blaming one another. Suddenly I realized, ‘No, I’m not going to listen to anybody’s complaint any more. I don’t want to spoil this moment’s energy.’ 
Deal with your things, that is your karma. This is what the ancient people used to say. 
They would never sit like counselors and listen to all your stories. They’d say, ‘Come on, wake up this moment; now (snapping his fingers)', and that would bring a huge change in the mind, in the energy, and in the time. 
But you don’t start doing that right away, then you will be called the most insensitive and rude person. Got it? 
Do it slowly. You have to listen to people, which I have also done for so many years. But a point should come, especially with people, when you have to say, ‘Okay, now no more.' Sometimes it happens, old people at home go on and on. They enjoy complaining. How many of you have experienced this? (Many raise their hands
See! They enjoy complaining, and when someone listens, they complain even more. At those moments you should just put on music and say, ‘Hey come on, let’s dance. Stop complaining.’

Q: Gurudev, you said that 2012 was going to be the year of 'Nanda' (bliss). How come it was such a hard year?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The year of Nanda is not yet over, it will be over end of March.There are still three months more. 
You know, it is good when things churn inside you, then you wake up. 
It is not that it happens only in the outside world, but even in the spiritual field, it happens. People come here for spirituality but they get caught up in so many other things.

 
 
Why do you become so 
miserable looking at the
ego of others? I don’t 
understand that. The 
world is like an ocean, 
these sort of things 
happen. They happen 
and they go away as well. 
Friend become enemies 
and enemies become 
friends for no apparent 
reason.

 
 
The other day a person came to me, and I said,‘Why did you come to me? You came to me for knowledge, and you have left the knowledge and you are thinking about all other things.'
That person said, 'This person said like this to me.’ 
Come on! If the world is bad, it is for a good reason; so that you better straighten yourself up. When you don’t see your own flaws, you see flaws in everybody else, and you think, ‘Everybody is bad, only I am good.' 
I tell you, people who think like that are seriously wrong. They are not saadhaks (spiritual seekers). To be a saadhak is to look at oneself and see, 'What should I correct in myself, let me correct that.' 
You cannot complain that it is cold in Germany in winter. It will be. It is good to stay indoors. 
So, catch hold of wisdom. That is the only truth and the only reality. And that is what all this knowledge, meditation and sadhana is for. It gives you such inner strength that you can walk with a smile under any circumstance. Isn’t that what everyone is aspiring for? 
Such an inner strength, that come what may, nobody can snatch your smile. 
This is most needed.

Q: How does one achieve and maintain inner strength?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: By waking up to this knowledge. 
It should not be that just once a year you come, listen to some knowledge and go away. Make it part of your daily routine, so that it is maintained. 
Also, humility is important. Sometimes, people get so numb to knowledge. They think, ‘I know it all.' 
One should not get into that arrogance, ‘I know the knowledge, what is there to know.’ The constant revival of knowledge; of the same points that you know, and reliving it is important. 
It is not a very tough or difficult task, and even if you lose the knowledge for a moment, it just comes back. Knowing that it comes back, you don’t really lose it, it is there.

Q: Dear Gurudev, can you tell us why it’s good to come out of the comfort zone in which we feel safe and secure, and do things that we don’t like doing, or which we don’t feel comfortable doing.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Coming out of your comfort zone time and again will expand your ability and your strength; you become stronger. 
You are so caught up in your comfort zone. That is the cause of your fear, your anxiety, and your bondage. Your comfort zone is your bondage. 
Sometimes when you wake up and say, ‘I am going to get out of this’, it brings that strength back to you.

Q: Why do people that we love commit suicide? Do they not feel our love?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, it is because they are not exposed to the knowledge and they don’t know what it is to be alive, or what it is to die. 
They have no idea about their prana, or about their life. They are so obsessed with their comfort, so they commit suicide. People who want extreme comfort are those who commit suicide. They have no forbearance; they can’t bear a little discomfort. 
That is where you need more prana and more energy.

 
 
Deal with your things, 
that is your karma. This 
is what the ancient people 
used to say. They would 
never sit like counsellors 
and listen to all your stories. 
They’d say, ‘Come on, wake 
up, this moment; now', and 
that would bring a huge 
change in the mind, energy, 
and in the time.

 
 
The more you tell someone not to commit suicide, they’ll say, ‘No, I want to commit suicide.' Sometimes I tell them, ‘Okay, commit suicide, but climb Mt. Everest and from there you jump. Don’t hang yourself at home. Go for some adventure and if you die, you die. Good luck.’
It is stupid to commit suicide. They have not been exposed to this beautiful knowledge and they don’t know the value of life. That is why it is very important for us to teach everybody about their breath. 
When prana level is really low, that is when thoughts of commiting suicide arise. When the prana is high, this thought will not come. 
No crime will happen if prana is high. You will not be violent to yourself or others when your prana is high. That is why Sudarshan Kriya, pranayama, meditation, all these practices need to be taught to people.

Also, such people who have such tendencies should engage themselves in serving others. 
In ancient India, nobody would be given knowledge unless they break their bones to do some seva. 10 to 12 years, people would stay in a monastery and they would do so much service. Only then they would be given some knowledge. 
When the body is fit from doing so much service, so much work, then the mind is fit and humble. It is like training in martial arts. Have you seen martial art training? Mind and body are coordinated. 
You are trained like that in the army as well, so that your emotions are not all over the place, and you are not thinking of 'me' all the the time.

Q: Dear Gurudev, when we have some problems or decisions to make and we get the answer from the voice inside us, how do we know who is speaking? Is it our mind, intuition or the Divine itself?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is all the same, don’t worry about it. There is no need to analyse it too much, just be at ease. When we are at ease, the right answer comes up. 
Intuition cannot come by forcing ourselves. It is a natural phenomenon.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Mind - Friend or Enemy?


December 26, 2012

Bad Antogast, Germany

1836
Q: How to overcome the mind which bothers me?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is its nature. 
Do you know you are bigger than the mind? Wake up. Let the mind be there.

Q: Gurudev, how do I recognize my soul mate?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First you should recognize your soul and then your soul mate. 
You don’t know yourself, you don’t know who you are. You don’t know anything about yourself. You don’t know your mind; your own mind drives you crazy
One minute it wants something and the next minute it wants something else. The mind keeps changing its mind all the time, and it gets caught up. 
That is why in the Bhagavad Gita, there is a saying, 'Your own mind is responsible for your bondage and for your liberation,' there is nothing else. 
Your own mind, if it acts like your friend, it also acts like your enemy. 
If your mind is trained well through Sadhana (spiritual practices), it befriends you, and it helps you. Otherwise your own mind behaves like an enemy. Isn't this so true? It is so true!

 
 
Your own mind, if it 
acts like your friend, it 
also acts like your enemy. 
If your mind is trained 
well through Sadhana, 
it befriends you, and it 
helps you. Otherwise 
your own mind behaves 
like an enemy. 
This is so true!

 
 
I want to tell you an incident that happened last week, just before I came here. 
In front of the Ashram we have a signboard of the Ashram. It so happened that a particular political party, their people came and put their posters on that signboard, just to create mischief. 
They put big posters because there was a birthday party of the head of that political party. So our security people and others, naturally they pulled it down because people coming to the ashram couldn't see the signboard and didn't know where to go. 
Now, the local leader of the party got very wild and he started screaming and threatening one of our teachers saying , I’m going to bring a lot of people and we will have a demonstration. And in front of that we will do hunger strike', and these very angry exchange of words happened. And our security people also said, 'Yes, you come. Let us see, we are also very strong.'

So, when I was driving to the city for another program, my secretary told me this story. I told him, 'Call this local leader and talk to him.' 
So my secretary called him and told him, 'Gurudev has just come, he wants you to take a basket full of fruits, a garland and a shawl for the person who has a birthday, and give him blessings from Gurudev', and he agreed. 
Then he asked, 'Why did they pull out our posters?'
My secretary played innocent and said, 'Oh, you had some difficulty, is it so?! Why didn't you tell me? You should have informed me. Gurudev has just come, he was on a tour. He heard there was a birthday party and he wants to send blessing. So you go and take these things to your leader and give him blessings.' 
The whole situation got defused and he felt very empowered. So now he could go to his boss with a garland and blessings from me, and he also got access to his superior in the party. 
All the big drama he was going to create ended with one phone call. He could go to the boss of his party with pride and say, 'Gurudev has sent me to give you a garland.' 
So, he felt empowered and our people felt relieved.

See, when you know how you can defuse conflicts, it is easy. 
All that it cost was a phone call. But not every trick works everywhere. In different places you have to work differently. Sometime you have to take a tough stand, put your foot down and say no. Sometimes you have to be diplomatic and skillful.

Always there will be people who try to create mischief, you need to have skill to handle all those situations.
The ancient people said that there are four ways to deal with any situation - Sama, Dana, Bheda and Danda
1. Sama means with dialogue, with persuasion, with some discussion and communication
2. Dana means forgiving. 'Never mind, everybody makes mistakes', and so you give them a chance
3. Bheda means being indifferent. Being a little tough and making a point
4. Danda mean taking a stick, which is the last resort

Usually we use the last two ways in beginning itself. We don’t go with the harmonious path. You must first take the harmonious path, and then give a chance, and then discriminate, and finally, if nothing works, Danda, which is take a stick. 
These are called the four skillful ways of handling any situation.

 
 
Wake up and see, the whole
world is like a dream. Some 
people act good and some 
act bad, but everyone is 
going to die, and the world 
will be finished. 
So, what is it that you are so 
bothered about?

 
 
Q: Gurudev, you have said that we shouldn't give explanations to people. But if we have something on our heart that is heavy and feel the need to talk about it, then what to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no one rule for it, sometime you want to speak and become calm and sometimes speaking doesn't help in any way.
Wake up and see, the whole world is like a dream. All those thoughts have gone, the behavior of people will disappear. Some people act good and some act bad, but everyone is going to die, and the world will be finished. 
This set of people will all go away. Then new people will come and they will all die. Then another set of people will come, they will fight among themselves, they will hug, love, kiss, do everything, and they will all die.

Seven billion people on the planet today and all these seven billion people will all die. It is only a matter of a few years. In another hundred years, do you think the same people will be here? Not one person who is here today will be alive. And two hundred years later, even the grandchildren will not be there. 
See, the world is like a river, there is fresh water flowing every moment in this river. What is it that you are so bothered about?

If you want to leave something behind, it should be some knowledge that would help someone; that would be useful to someone. Not what he said, what she said, and what do you think about so-and-so situation. Come on, this is all nonsense! Throw them out of the window. It has no meaning. 
Hours together you waste in explaining, why you felt the way you were feeling and how and why others are feeling the way they are feeling
Do you know, when the time changes, the mind also changes. There is a beautiful science about this. You can also get a clue from the astrological chart, how the mind is connected with time.

Sometime, we will start a course on the connection between mind, time and the planets. See, I don’t want to say astrology because it has been misused and misinterpreted so many times. It is a one of the most disorganized science today. 
No doubt astrology is a science but it has been distorted so much that you can’t even see what the original is.

There are twelve constellations and nine planets according to Vedic astrology. 
It is said that when Jupiter transits in the eighth place from the time you are born, it has an impact on your mind. 
Similarly, when Saturn transits the eighth place, it makes your emotions go topsy-turvy. 
When Jupiter is in the eighth place, you lose all your wisdom. But that is only for eleven months, and in these eleven months, it is only for three months that it makes you so miserable. Unless and until you are in deep spiritual knowledge or enlightened, this will definitely affect your mind. 
But if you know, 'These are the three months that are going to be a little difficult on my mind and emotions', then you will not take decisions, or do thing in those months.

 
 
Every two and a half days, 
the mood of the mind 
changes. If you are 
miserable, it won't exceed 
two and half days. There 
will be a break and then 
it may come again. Like 
this, the cosmos has an 
influence on the mind.

 
 
Similarly, every two and a half days, the mood of the mind changes. 
If you are miserable, it won't exceed two and half days. There will be a break and then it may come again. 
Like this, the cosmos has an influence on the mind. 
What can protect you from this influence is satsang, meditation, chanting. All this is like putting on an armour. 
An arrow was coming, but you have an armor, so it didn't really hit you. 
So, singing and chanting 'Om Namah Shivaya' so many times makes an armour around you and protects you from being affected by all these crazy things.

We do Yagnas in the Bangalore Ashram for the welfare of the whole world and for all of our devotees. There is a small Yagna done six times every month, and during Navratri we do a big one to bring peace, prosperity and protection to the world and all our devotees. 
These are the ways of the ancient people. We will have more knowledge and courses on this in the future.

Q: Where do the thoughts come from?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This thought came to you just now? Where did this thought come from? It came in you, so why don’t you sit and see, where it is coming from?
The moment you sit and think what is the origin of thought the mind goes blank. That indicates from where thoughts are coming. 
You are the source from where thoughts, ideas and emotions come – that inner space. 
It is like someone asking, 'Where do the clouds come from?' 
Clouds are just hovering in the sky. In the same way, in our inner sky, there are three akashas – one is the outer space, the second is the inner space where thoughts and emotion come, and there is the third space which is a witness. Where there is nothing, just bliss.

Q: How to get a faith that never shakes?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If it is true faith, let it shake. 
Truth will never go, and if the faith is with the truth, let it shake. It will never get lost. 
In fact, you should doubt as much as possible. 
You can say, 'Don’t doubt', only when a thing is not a genuine thing. 
If it is genuine gold, I tell you, go on scratching as much as possible. But if it is just rolled in gold, or gold polish, then you say, 'Don’t scratch too much because it will disappear.' 
With true gold, any amount of scratching will not make it go away.

Doubt is simply lack of energy. When you are high in energy, where is the doubt? 
Doubt comes when the energy is low. True faith is that which you shake a hundred times and it still stays on. That is true faith, and it will remain.

 
 
What can protect you from 
this influence is satsang, 
meditation, chanting. All 
this is like putting on an 
armour. An arrow was 
coming, but you have an 
armour, so it didn’t really 
hit you.

 
 
Q: You said we come to the Ashram and regenerate - why is the world not an Ashram?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: To me the world is my Ashram. 
But when you come in a physical place, or in an Ashram where there is always meditation happening, that place holds those vibrations. 
See in your home, there is a place for dining, a place for resting, and a place for garbage. Like that, in the world, there is a place for everything.

I would love everyone of you to make your home an Ashram. And what is an Ashram? It is a place where there is wisdom and where there is love. It is a place where anybody who comes is welcomed and given some food so that they can come and relax. 
If you can create such a power then the whole world is an Ashram. In fact, when you go and be with nature in the forest or in the woods, it is all an Ashram only. 
I say that every tree in the world is in my own garden; in my own ashram. This is the fact, but sometimes when you feel that this is not helping, that you need a place where you can go and energize yourself, then you come here (Ashram). 
It will be very obvious for you to feel the energy here. Just like in your home, you can be anywhere, but if you want to feel the aroma of food, you have to walk into the kitchen. You can eat anywhere, but in kitchen or dining area, the aroma is there.

Q: Does the soul have an aim?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, the soul definitely has an aim, to become one with the super-soul. The small mind's aim is to become one with the big mind. 
Every wave wants to wash the shore and become one with the ocean, which it already is!

Q: What is time?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The distance between two events. 
What is distance, if you ask me, it is the space between two objects.

Q: How to go back to the source?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just by being quiet, unlearning and unwinding you will get back to the source.
Q: Can you tell us about Kali Yuga.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are four Yugas; time is divided into four aspects. 
1. Satya Yuga, when there is a lot of positivity
2. Treta Yuga, when the positivity goes a little down
3. Dvapara Yuga, when the positivity goes a little more down, and 
4. Kali Yuga, when positivity goes down even more
This is what is said about Kali Yuga. But I tell you, within Kali Yuga there is Satya Yuga
The days when you feel happy, know that you are in Satya Yuga. And when you are totally miserable, you are in Kali Yuga
In that sense, within the big Kali Yuga also, there are good times.

 
 
The moment you sit 
and think what is the 
origin of thought, the 
mind goes blank. That 
indicates from where 
thoughts are coming.

 
 
Q: You said truth is contradictory. Can you give us an easy way to understand this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Milk is good and milk is bad. 
Milk is good if you drink one glass, bad if you drink two litres. Got it?!

If you come to Bad Antogast from Freudenstadt, you have to go straight down and turn to your right. But from Oppenau, you have to go straight and turn left. 
Both instructions are true, but they are contradictory. 
Truth is spherical, it is not linear. When anything is spherical there are multiple ways to get to that.

Q: Is India on the verge of becoming the country it was 2,000 years ago?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If the politicians let it happen, it will. 
The politicians have become a problem in Italy, in India, and in Greece. It is the politicians who are driving the country towards bankruptcy. 
Each country has enough resources and good people. There is dynamism, but corruption is taking the nations to a primitive, medieval era.