Stop Beating Yourself Up Over Past Mistakes

11/11/2016 Bangalore, India

(Below is a continuation of the post Understanding Chakras And The Kundalini Energy)

I try to forget the mistakes I made in the past and move ahead. But the people around me keep reminding me of those past mistakes. What should I do? Sri

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Smile and move forward. If they are not able to forget the mistakes of the past, then that is their problem. You should forget the mistakes of the past, just drop it and move ahead. You are not the same person as you were in the past when you committed those mistakes, you have changed. When you came to the spiritual path, when you gained this wonderful knowledge, then your entire life has changed. So have complete and unshakeable faith in this fact.

In the ancient times, when people used to approach a Guru, then they would even change their birth names. Why was this done? It was to signify that you have taken a new birth altogether when you have come to the Guru. You have become a new person when you gained access to this knowledge. The mistakes you committed in the past out of ignorance do not exist anymore in light of the knowledge you have now received.

Ignorant people around you may sometimes do such things, but you should have compassion for them instead of feeling hurt or angry. Think that, “Oh, they are still stuck and do not know that I am a totally different person now. I have changed”. This faith you must develop in yourself. There is no need to fall into self-pity.

Gurudev, I have heard that meditation helps to unravel or unlock the granthi (knots representing energy centres or nodes) in the navel region. And when the energy centre of the navel region opens up, only then can the individual soul (Atma) rise to unite with the Paramatma (Divinity or Super soul). I wish to understand more about this. Please explain.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

It is correct. As we meditate, the knot or the energy centre in the navel region opens up. When the heart centre blossoms and opens up, we feel joy. We experience different sensations and emotions only when the different energy centres of the body open up. But it is not correct to say that only then does the soul unite with God. You are never outside God. There is nothing beyond the Divine. Even if you wish to, you cannot ever be outside or separate from God. That from which you are born, That in which you exist and sustain yourself, and That in which you ultimately dissolve back into is God. This is what is told in the Srimad Bhagvatam also:

Janmaadhyasya yatonvaya-aditaratascha-artha eshvabhigna-svaraat.
Tene Brahma-hridayaa aadikavaye muhyanti yatsurayaha |
Tejovarimrudam yata vinimayo yatra trisargomrusha.
Dhamna Sva-ena sada nirastakuhakam Satyam Param Dhimahi ||
(Srimad Bhagvatam, 1.1.1)

The verse means: God is omnipresent. You know, we often say, “I AM”. God is not separate from the individual soul; God resides within us. The soul is not separate from the Divine. Knowing this eternal truth, simply relax and just be.
See, there are some things that you should seek and know about, and there are some things that you should simply take for granted as the truth, and relax. You cannot possible understand everything, and you cannot simply assume or take everything for granted. Your mind and intellect is limited; it cannot comprehend the infinite Divinity. You cannot know the Divine; you simply have to take it for granted that the Divine is present in you, all around you and at all times.

If someone tells you. “My dear, this is poison”, then you do not say “No, first I will drink it and check for myself”. You would not survive to tell what happens afterwards. So, in some cases you simply need to believe and take it for granted. If you are told that a certain galaxy is so many light years away from our galaxy, or if the Earth is revolving around the Sun – then you will have to agree and accept that fact for certain. People have proved many facts scientifically. Now then if you argue and say, “No, I will check it for myself and only then agree”, then that is foolishness. But if someone says, “Oh! This is very sweet”, then you need not necessarily agree to it. You can taste it if you like to check for yourself. So you should try to know some things, and you should simply take somethings to be true, without a doubt.

I am a Roman Catholic from Europe and recently did the Vedic Wisdom Course at the Ashram. It is a really beautiful course. However, we do not have the concept of Gotras (unbroken line of paternal descent) in Christianity. During the initiation of the Gayatri Mantra they gave us a Gotra. Through some people I came to understand that only the Hindus have Gotras and Nakshatras (Birth star or constellation). What should I follow now? Please guide.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Nakshatra refers to the star in which the Moon was present on the day and time you were born. There are 27 stars and the Moon moves through each of these stars. Each star has four divisions. You must have studied this in the Vedic Wisdom series. According to your birth date and time, your star can be determined. It is not difficult at all.

You should speak to the Vaidic Dharma Samsthana Desk (VDS Desk) and consult the Jyotish department there. They will tell you the star under which you were born. And wherever you are studying, that is your Gotra. Gotra means the college or the group in which you are studying. If your whole family has graduated from Stanford or Harvard or New York University, then you take the name of that institution wherever you go, right? In a similar manner, the Gotras were formed in the Vedic tradition. By mentioning a Gotra, one could convey that he studied under so-and-so Rishi in so-and-so Gurukul, and then the whole family gets connected to that school or tradition.

When you are doing your Sadhana, then you belong to this Gotra. Your DNA definitely reflects the things that you do here. It has nothing to do with the religion you follow, and does not interfere with it at all. Religion is a very different thing. The Gotra can depict the impact of your Sadhana on your DNA. So people who do the Sudarshan Kriya, Pranayama and meditation – when they visit an Ayurveda doctor for a Nadi Pariksha (check-up), the doctor can immediately tell and will ask you whether you are doing these practices. So your pulse will tell that you belong to this system of practices.It gets ingrained in our DNA and that is what is broadly called as Gotra from the ancient times.

Gurudev, how can I know whether what I am experiencing is because of my Karmas from my past lives, or is it because of my actions in the present life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Whether the action is from a past life, or something done 10 years back, or done just yesterday, or even 10 minutes back – it really does not matter. Ultimately, all Karma is Karma, that’s it. That is why it is said that the ways of Karma are mysterious and unfathomable. One cannot understand it totally. That is why we say that you should not worry much about Karma. Just keep moving ahead.

Gurudev, all the great saints and enlightened Masters consider Tyaag (sacrifice) and Vairagya (dispassion) as the means to attaining Moksha (final liberation). Is the desire for Moksha not a kind of greed or desire after all?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes, it is true that intense desire or greed for Moksha is also a kind of desire ultimately, but that is the final and the last desire that one has to let go of. One needs to cultivate or have this desire for Moksha to overcome and drop all other kinds of desires and feverishness. When even this desire (for Moksha) drops off, one experiences totality and bliss.

I do my Sadhana very regularly. How can I know for sure that my bad Karmas or their ill-effects are getting cleansed and removed?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I tell you, drop everything and just become a Sharanagati. Being a Sharanagati means to have this firm faith and belief that all your Karmas have been cleansed. There is no balance that remains to be cleared anymore.

Why are you still stuck with analysing your Karmas? Just become hollow and empty. In fact, you actually have become hollow and empty – so take this truth for granted and have faith. Many times other people will advise you to do this or do that (to get rid of past Karmas) and you will get carried away into thinking “Oh! I still have to do this; I still have to do that to clear my Karma” and so on. You will get exhausted if you go on thinking like this, and even those who give you such advice will get tired after a while. Come to the present moment and know that life is new and fresh every moment.