Dhanvantari Day

 

Today is celebrated as Dhanvantari Day where the fraternity of Ayurveda honours the founder of Ayurveda.

This ancient science of Ayurveda is time tested and has proved time and again that it has no side effects!

It’s time that the world community recognises Ayurveda and brings the goodness of it to the people of the world!

How to fast during Navratri

 

We fast to cleanse our body as it is essential to give our entire digestive system a break. Here are some essential tips to follow:

1. Fast with the right understanding. Either we overeat or fast too much. Neither is good.

2. Fast for yourself and not to please God! Fasting is to detox your body and feel rejuvinated.

3. Fast because your body needs rest. All year through, you overwork your liver, pancreas and stomach. If there was a labour court for the body, these organs would have complained there!

4. While fasting, eat fruits or light food that is easy to digest. Don't eat anything or everything, just because the food has been tagged as "fast" food.

5. Have a lot of water. Purifying the body with water can bring a lot of balance in the system.

6. Fast as per your body type. Check with an ayurveda doctor to know your body type.

Follow the above and dive deep into the vastness of the consciousness to discover your inner beauty. Happy Navratri!

Message for the New Year 2021

2020 has made us wiser; it was a challenging year - all those who were on the run or never sat at home were forced to sit at home. Those into service like frontline health workers put their heart & soul, put their lives at risk. Places of worship like temples, mosques, even ashrams were shut down. Hotel industry and tourism almost disappeared. 

But there’s 1 thing - the zeal/enthusiasm didn’t stop, the flame was alive. Our experience in caring /sharing for people has only grown.

Human mind has enormous capacity to adjust, accommodate and acclimatise to any eventuality. Many have discovered another dimension in their life - the spiritual dimension, that you don’t need to go to any place of worship to be spiritual and can sit and meditate wherever you are to find peace amid the chaos. These dimensions have made our lives richer. 

Innovative spirit has been coming up in many parts of the world. Innovation comes when the mind is calm, serene and relaxed. This time gave us an opportunity to do things that we were either postponing or complaining about that we didn’t have the time to do. Now we say goodbye to 2020 and get ready to welcome 2021.

The coming year will definitely give us the much-needed spirit of enthusiasm and willingness to care & share for each other and move towards more progress in our personal and social life. 

There are people who get stuck in time, then those who flow with time, then those who change time and there are others who surpass/go beyond time. As meditators / people in conscious living, you all have the ability to beyond time. That is spiritual wisdom. Know that you are beyond the body and events. This glimpse will make the foundation of love, thought and compassion unstoppable, irrespective of situations, with a smile & sense of celebration.

There are people who could not see through the year and exited the planet earlier and the families could not even say goodbye to them due to COVID-19. I tell them - there is a strength within you, of deep inner silence, through which you can bring peace, not just to everyone around you, but to realms that are unfathomable, which are beyond our apparent reach. Continue to meditate; your deep connection with with the silence within you will bring peace and solace to those who have crossed over as well.

Let’s welcome 2021 to bring more happiness and remove any traces of fear or uncertainty that we may have harboured or carried on with us. Let’s use wisdom to uplift our spirits in these times.

Art of Living is a global family and in the new year, we celebrate our 40th year. We will spend this year in reflecting on the path this movement has walked through. All those who have spent decades, many years, in AOL should recollect, write and compile their stories/ experiences for posterity. This is the icing on the cake, the real thing is the profound inner silence. In this 40th year, let’s spread the fragrance to all those in need so that people can feel the transformation in their lives and lead a happy, healthy life.

All those who are sincere, intense seekers - this would be a year in which you’ll go deeper in wisdom and be the lighthouse for the whole world. 

We’ll do some celebrations in the year-end, after the pandemic and uncertainties looming over the entire planet are over. In this, ayurveda will help, yagnas (ancient ceremonies), they will all help.

And, this year will have many surprises for us all! Yes, pleasant surprises!

Customs, superstitions and science

You need scientific experiments to be conducted to prove or disprove any custom. Unless an experiment is done, you can’t say whether a custom is wrong or right.

For example, in traditional homes, before going to the toilet, people would tie the sacred thread around their ear; many times this looked absurd. The explanation given was that maybe the sacred thread is long, hanging down too much, tie it on the ear, so it does not get caught anywhere.

However, a scientist in New York published a study which stated that the back of the ears and the ear lobes are connected to the bowels. So when the ears are squeezed, the blood pressure comes down and the bowel movement is better.

So the custom does have an impact on the system. This is why you cannot say that it is superstition; although at one level it was a superstition, on another level, there was a scientific validation to the practice.

Similarly, people thought the use of turmeric in food, and washing vessels was also a superstition! In a lot of the food preparations, they would put a Tulsi (basil) leaf on top of the food after it was cooked. 

Scientists in the eighties targeted turmeric for a long time, saying, ‘Oh this is just color, pigmentation; it has no big value, there is nothing sacred about turmeric, it does not add any value to the food.’ By the nineties, scientists discovered that turmeric is the best antioxidant.

The Ayurvedic Vaidyas (physicians) said that turmeric acts as a vayasthapan, i.e., a process that stops aging; but nobody believed them. MBBS doctors would say all this is nonsense. Later, scientists proved that turmeric is very good for health; it even stops cancer. So, you cannot discard any practice unless it is proven wrong.

Again, I am saying that we have to keep an open mind; maybe it is proven right at one time and disproved later on.

There was a big wave in this country that peanut oil is very bad. In South Indian homes, they would use only peanut oil and gingelly oil (sesame oil). A company that wanted to promote palm oil said coconut oil is bad; these other oils are bad; palm oil is the best oil. Suddenly everyone started using palm oil.

Now research has disproved that, and found that groundnut oil, i.e., peanut oil is very good, it is the best; they sing the glory of peanut oil. In fact, people used groundnut oil here for centuries, millennia! In Tamil Nadu, gingelly oil is called Nalla ennai, i.e., very good oil. It is supposed to do so much good to our system.

Since the oil market had to import all that Malaysian palm oil to India, some researchers made these sorts of stories. The research was funded by the company, and it created a wrong impression. So, the research conducted should be authentic, and we should keep our mind open for further research. In the future, if another research comes up and says this is wrong, we should not hold on to it, we should be ready to embrace it.

The beauty with the ancient Ayurvedic System is that it is time tested for 5,000 years! That is why tradition cannot be overlooked. Having said that, many times tradition has been interpolated; a lot of things have been kept in the name of tradition.

For example, people say you should apply hot kheer (rice pudding) on the body of a small baby, then the child will grow well; or dangle the child upside down for a few minutes, maybe some God will be pleased or something; these are all stupid things. These practices are very remote; maybe some people follow these practices in the name of religion in some villages; it is ridiculous.

I am not saying that we should follow all that tradition is saying; simultaneously, you cannot totally discard tradition; the middle path has to be chosen.

If someone has passed away or a child is born in the house, they have sutak, i.e., they are untouchable for ten days. This would be practiced by very close relatives. They won’t celebrate anything or go to anyone’s house; no one will take or eat food from their house. 

What is the reason behind this? Whenever someone dies, people are overcome with such grief that the vibration of their grief is in their homes, in their atmosphere, so they are free from all obligations, that is all. It is not that if you touch somebody, something will happen to you. It is just the vibration for ten days is like that, filled with grief.

Suppose someone has no grief! If someone was sick in the family for a long time, when they die, the family is happy. They say, ‘Okay, well he got liberated, I am happy for him and I am happy for myself.’ Then there are no negative, depressive, sad vibrations, because they are happy for them! Everybody has to go some day!

Similarly, when a child is born people are very excited, too happy; even then the vibrations are not calming. So people say at such times also one is free from all obligations. But, people stretch it to such an extent that it does not appeal to your intellect.

When the menstrual cycle happens a woman is supposed to take good rest. So, it is just to keep that barrier, to tell women not to get involved in any work, that this tradition is maintained. It is to let women just rest, sleep, relax, read, do some knitting or whatever. Otherwise, when women start working, they do too much work.

About the rice and cooked food; in the ancient days, cooked starchy food was sticky. It would usually overflow from the pot. You touched the pot and then touched anything else, everything would become sticky. If you touched the food, it would stick to your hands, so it would be better to wash your hands; this is the reason. Today you don’t touch it by hand, you use spoons.

In those days, the hygiene consciousness was so good; so when you touched starchy foods, you have to wash your hands. They would even keep fruits separately. However, someone should do research on these customs.

Even the Jews have a similar tradition; if you touch milk, then you don’t touch meat; they have certain rules. 

The Japanese also have such customs; orthodox Japanese people keep separate set of cups and vessels for guests; they have a separate cupboard in which the guests’ washed vessels are kept. They don’t use the guests’ vessels and they don’t let anybody else use their vessels either. I was very surprised to see this in Japan. Even in India, some people used to follow this tradition of keeping their cups and plates separate. In Japan, this is very prevalent in the traditional family homes and in monasteries.

Many of these habits do not have a scientific background, or reason for it, then we should stop practicing them. If some practices are there, we should see if it is good, or at least do some experiment in that direction.

The practice of Ayurveda can truly enhance the quality of your life

Ayurveda is the study of life. Ayur is life and Ved means to know. 

According to Ayurveda, life or existence is not a rigid compartment, but a harmonious flow. Even the five elements (earth, water, air, ether and fire) of which the whole universe is made of, are not tight compartments of defined objects. They flow into one another. Each of the elements contains the other four.

The subtlest element in us is space, which the mind is made up of, and the grossest is the earth element, which our bones, marrow, the skin and the structure are made of. This is further divided into three Doshas — Vata, Pitta and Kapha. This is a way to understand our physiology, its characteristics and its reflections on the mind.

When an illness arises, it comes first in the thought form, the subtlest aspect, then the sound form, and then the light form, which is in the aura. It is only then that the illness manifests in the body. Simple symptoms arise in the fluid form, which can be eradicated, and then it manifests in the grossest form, where it needs medication. But with the practice of Ayurveda, the illness can be nipped in the bud.

The holistic approach of Ayurveda includes exercise, breathing and meditation. 

Breath is synonymous to life. Our life is our breath. Our breath is our life. It is very interesting to observe the relationship between breath and the different Doshas in the body, namely Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These three Doshas affect certain parts of the body more than the other parts.

For example, Vata Dosha is predominant in the lower part of the body — stomach, intestine, etc. Diseases like gastric problems and joint aches can be due to the Vata imbalance. Kapha dosha is predominant in the middle part of the body. Cough is mainly a result of Kapha imbalance. And Pitta affects the upper part of the body — the head. Short temper is a sign of Pitta.

How do we bring good health to our system? 

The first remedy is calming the mind, coming from the subtlest aspect of creation, the ether. If your mind is bottled with too many impressions and thoughts, and it is draining you of your resistance power, then that is where the body is preparing for some illness. If the mind is clear, calm, meditative, and pleasant, the resistance in the body will increase and it will not allow any illness to come into it. The skillful use of breath and meditation can calm the mind.

Then comes the air element. Breathing, aromatherapy, etc., come in this category. Next is the light element, wherein color therapy is used to heal. Before an illness manifests in the body, you can see it in the aura of a person. And by energizing our system with the prana or life energy one can clear the aura and prevent the illness.

Next is the water element. Fasting or purifying the system with water can bring a lot of balance in the system.

The final recourse would be medicines, medicinal herbs and surgery. All these come in when other things fail and the illness becomes inevitable.

Everything is connected

The Sun affects the planet Earth, so does the Moon. Though the moon only reflects the light of the sun, its energy affects the water, and the mind. This is scientifically proven, which is why when someone goes crazy, they are called lunatics. (The word lunatic is derived from the word ‘lunar’ because the mind is connected to the moon.)

Similarly, there are various energies at play; it is the connection of the macrocosm and the microcosm. Don’t think of it as a connection with the physical planets only, but the cosmic energy is somewhere and somehow related to this planetary position. That is what is discussed in Jyotish Shastra.

The macrocosm and microcosm are inter-linked. For instance, certain vibrations – like the bio-dynamic energy – are related to birds, planets, grains and parts of our body. For example, Saturn's energy is connected with the crow. The vibration of the crow, the planet Saturn, the sesame seed and teeth in the human body are all linked, connected. There must have been tremendous amount of research done on this in the past, and it invites people of the future to find out more.

Similarly, goat, the planet Mars, chick peas and the liver are connected. We know for sure that the liver and chick peas are connected. And we know that for hair, nails and teeth, sesame seeds definitely help. For instance, as per Ayurveda, if you take some gingily (sesame seed) oil and gargle, it helps mouth ulcers, pyorrhoea and other dental issues.

The ancient people have written these things. There seems to be some deep study conducted in the past or it has come from intuitive awareness. This throws a challenge for scientists to conduct studies, and prove or disprove it. If you think it is wrong, you have to disprove it, and if you think it is right, then you need to prove it! Isn’t it interesting how all these are connected – you hair, nail, teeth? Of course, everything is connected to everything else, but some are more direct.

Specific herbs have an effect on specific parts of the body. This Ayurveda Materia Medica was sung in the form of poetry thousands of years ago in the Vedas. It is the only Materia Medica in the world that is in the form of poetry. Hence, practitioners, i.e., Vaidyas, Ayurvedic doctors, found it easy to memorise and learn all about the organs and their impact. It is wonderful listening to these poems, and it is amazing how all of it was in a poetic form. These poems come from deep inside, from an unknown corner of our consciousness, which is why a lot of this knowledge is based on intuition. And something which comes out of intuition is always correct.

Your Mind Is Like A Mirror - I

A gardener is working in the garden. When you really work in the garden, you will definitely get dirty. Your hands will get dirty. Your gloves will get dirty. Your clothes will get some splashes. But after you come inside and wash up, you don’t identify yourself with the mud that gets splashed onto you while you’re working in the garden, right?

In the same way, while we are in society, moving amongst people, their emotions get splashed onto our subtle mind, and we identify with them. This is what becomes a problem. We identify, “Oh, this is my emotion. This is my anger! This is my greed!” Whether the emotions are positive or negative, we identify with them. And then we try to get rid of them. It’s not an easy job. It’s like the gardener who thinks some mud that is on him will not go away.

Similarly, you’re working in your office, and you are peaceful. You have done a good meditation. But your boss is uptight, and there is some problem, and you get agitated. Someone else’s agitation has latched onto you. and then you think, “Oh! I am angry.”
The clever thing to do is, to not identify yourself with the emotion which has nothing to do with you. You can realize, “I am different from the emotions. The emotions are different from me.”

In Ayurveda there is a practice called Dhootnadi. You go to a doctor on behalf of someone and show your pulse to the doctor. While you’re showing your pulse, you think of the person for whom you have come to collect the medicine. This is called Dhootnadi. It means checking the pulse of a messenger. A messenger comes to collect medicine from the doctor, the messenger’s pulse is taken by the doctor, and the doctor gives the medicine for the person for whom the messenger has come. This is Dhootnadi, reading the nadi by taking the pulse of a messenger. It works because anybody you think of, their emotions and their state of mind latches onto you. Are you getting what I’m saying?

Your mind is like a mirror. When it is like a mirror, whatever comes in front of you is there, reflected in it. But the mirror doesn’t cry “Oh, I got dirty” when a dirty picture comes in front of it. And it doesn’t jump up and say, “Oh, I have got these wonderful qualities.”
When you’re driving, you can see in the mirror that there is a garbage can behind your car. Just imagine the mirror identifying itself with the garbage can. Or, imagine the mirror identifying with some beautiful scenery. In both cases, what would you say? It’s a stupid idea, it’s not the case. The mirror is neither the garbage can, nor the scenery. And that is exactly how it is with our own consciousness.
Our consciousness is like a mirror. Different images come onto it, and they all move away. If we know this, then we’re free. But if we get attached to any of those images, that is bondage. So, wake up! Wake up and see it is a mirror.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is the ancient Indian system of natural and holistic medicine. When translated from Sanskrit, Ayurveda means “the science of life” (the Sanskrit root ayur means “longevity” or “life” and veda means “science”).

While allopathic medicine tends to focus on the management of disease, Ayurveda provides us with the knowledge of how to prevent disease and how to eliminate its root cause if it does occur.

Core Principles

The knowledge of Ayurveda was passed on orally through a lineage of sages in India until it was collated into text more than five thousand years ago. The oldest known texts on Ayurveda are the Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and the Ashtanga Hrudaya. These texts detail the affect that the five elements found in the cosmic system - earth, water, air, fire, space – have on our individual system, and expound on the importance of keeping these elements balanced for a healthy and happy life.

According to Ayurveda, each person will be influenced by certain elements more than others. This is because of their prakriti, or natural constitution. Ayurveda categorizes the different constitutions into three different doshas:

• Vata dosha, in which the air and space elements dominate
• Pitta dosha, in which the fire element dominates
• Kapha dosha, in which the earth and water elements dominate

The dosha affects not just the shape of one’s body but also bodily tendencies (like food preferences and digestion), and the temperament of one’s mind and emotions. For example, the earth element in people with Kapha dosha is evident in their solid, sturdy body type, their tendency for slower digestion, their strong memory, and their emotional steadiness. Most people’s prakriti is made up of a combination of two doshas. For example, people who are “Pitta Kapha” will have the tendencies of both Pitta dosha and Kapha dosha, with Pitta dominating. By understanding the qualities of our natural constitution we are better able to do what is needed to keep ourselves in balance.

Ayurvedic Lifestyle

Ayurveda places great importance on one’s pathya, or lifestyle (eating habits and daily routine). Ayurveda also provides guidance on how to adjust our lifestyle based on the change of seasons.

A happy mind lets you stay calm; make better decisions and improve the overall quality of life. Fill in the form below to learn how a dash of happiness can revamp your life.

Almighty never denies you self-realization

Bangalore, 7 February 2012

Q: Guruji, the season is changing once again. Can you please tell us the importance of ‘Ahar Vihar’, food and lifestyle to be maintained with every season. How does it impact us?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Ancient people have done a lot of research on that. Also the modern nutritionists have done quite a bit of research, and if you go and Google, you find a lot of things on what to eat in this season. Today all knowledge is available on the fingertips, correct!
According to Ayurveda there are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha seasons. Now when the summer comes, it is the Pitta that will go high, so you have to take things which calms the Pitta.
Nature is such that it produces only those things which are good for that season. Like in winter pumpkins and gooseberries grow. These are necessary for winter and in summer, they cut watermelons and sugarcanes and make sugarcane juice. This is the season of watermelon. Watermelon never comes in winter and they would not grow watermelon in winter. Watermelon comes up only in this season, now.
So the fruits, vegetables and everything, nature has done it in such a way to suit us according to the time and season. But now, we have gone so far away from nature and our body has also gotten adjusted to that. Otherwise when you are in a climate where bananas, papayas and mangoes grow, there apples do not grow. But now we eat apples also here. We bring apple from other regions. Where apples are grown, bananas don’t grow there in the same climate. Pears, apples, peaches, berries, strawberries and cherries, they all grow in one climate. Is it not?

Read more at What Sri Sri Said Today


© The Art of Living Foundation

Naadha Vaibhavam – The other force which binds us all together is Music

Chennai, January 30, 2011

The purpose of music is to create silence deep within you and the purpose of silence is to create dynamism in life, so that silence which doesn’t create dynamism is no good and that music which doesn’t create silence, peace, harmony within one self is no good either. This is a great Yagna where hundreds and thousands of us have joined together and are singing because music binds us all together. Across race, religions, continents, there is one power that unites everyone other than love and that is music. Music touches the heart of everyone, so whether you are a musician or not is immaterial, everyone should sing. When you start singing you become a musician. 

Music cleanses your feelings, makes your feelings softer, lighter and if the feeling are purified, the thoughts get purified; you know the right thought comes to you. The intuitive aspect in you wakes up and this is what spirituality is. Music and spirituality is so intertwined, one cannot be without the other especially in this country music and spirituality were never perceived as separate things. It is so wonderful to see 5700 musicians on the stage, many more wanted to come but I was told stage can only take this much. I am seeing them also singing along and this is what we want and there are so many others around the world who are participating in this event, they are also singing.

Everything is possible when there is divinity, when there is divine grace and music is that way where in you go deep into yourself, relax! There is one power that is underneath all the living beings in the planet including trees, birds and animals, that one power that is underneath all of us you start dancing when you are singing with all your heart.

In a place where there is music, where there is art, where there is dance, where there is meditation and yoga, how can there be violence there?

Yoga, Pranayaman, Meditation, Ayurveda and eating food which is grown organically, we must resolve to incorporate these into our life.

So shall we do a short meditation? Meditation is not concentration okay, it is de-concentration, it is deep relaxation, huh, de-concentration. Meditation is the journey from movement to stillness, from sound to silence. We are responsible for our happiness. So we take responsibility to keep our enthusiasm, our happiness high, for that you have to meditate and do pranayam and all this and also social service.

Have a combination of both – sensitiveness and strength

Montreal, Canada, Nov. 25: 

Q. How can I not see ugly feelings behind ugly words?
Sri Sri: Sometimes people say words and they really don’t feel that way. Don’t you do it sometimes? As children, you say things that you don’t really mean. Kids usually say things they mean. As we grow older, our feelings and words grow apart. They are not the same. Now, don’t worry about what other people are feeling. Feelings are fleeting. One day they feel good, next day they don’t. Don’t bother about this. Simply acknowledge that that person is not feeling good and that they are here to work on it. Our being angry that someone is feeling bad doesn’t make sense. Sometimes their feelings change but your feelings remain the same. Someone puts a doubt in your head and then they forget but you hold on to it. The same is with senior citizens who complain but then forget while you hold on to the complaint.

Look at the present moment - now, now, now! Wake up NOW! Everything else is stupid. All that has happened has gone into emptiness. Everything dissolves into emptiness. Your entire past - wiped out! All the things that you felt are gone. Good or bad, they are gone. So, wake up to the truth of the present moment. Divinity is in the present moment. This is yoga. Yoga is being established in the moment. And moment does not mean fleeting moment. The moment has the depth of infinity; it has all the past and all the future.

Who cares what you feel? Throw your feelings into the ocean. A little sensation or discomfort arises. Who cares? Are you doing what you want to do? And, in doing what you want to do, are you keeping the delicacy of your consciousness or are you being like a bulldozer (I will do whatever I want)? Being like a bulldozer is being insensitive. Being oversensitive and very weak and being like a bulldozer are both not correct. The best combination is being sensitive and strong. This is wisdom and this is what we have to work on.

The effect of past actions is limited. Past actions definitely affect you e.g. you drive fast, get a ticket, and you have to pay. Get three tickets and you have to surrender your license, no doubt. But don’t brood over it. Wake up. When you wake up, even the consequences you fear will not happen. You will be forgiven in that moment. The moment we acknowledge our mistake, we are forgiven. So you are innocent every moment you are awake. Now! Now! Now!

Take the challenge. Whenever someone is nasty towards you, do something so nice that it takes them by surprise. You will suddenly find there is a shift happening. If it does not happen also it is fine. At least you have done something good.

The world is a very funny place, I tell you. Either it is very entertaining or it is such a pain and so miserable! You can’t take it. Sometimes, you do so much for someone and they turn their back and do things that harm you. Many parents say, ‘I did so much for my children and now they are dissociating from me.’ Not just with parents, but same with employers, friends, siblings, and even spouse. Speaking of spouse, there are four stages of marriage. First stage is mad for each other. Second stage is made for each other. Third stage is mad at each other. The fourth stage is mad because of each other.

Q. Some days I feel so much love for the Divine. Other days, I feel like praying for desires.
Sri Sri: Just be natural. When prayer is happening, don’t create a conflict and confusion in yourself. Don’t say, “Oh it will happen anyways!” But prayer does not have to happen by compulsion.

Q. Please tell us what is so special about the tip of this nose?
Sri Sri: All the sensory nerves end in the tip of the nose. There are two points that are important for alertness and focus of the brain - the ear lobes and tip of the nose. They are the marma points. These are the secret points. If you keep your attention on the tip of the nose, your focus improves, especially for children. In the Jain tradition, they can multiply 100 numbers (avadhan). They focus on the tip of the nose. It’s amazing! They are faster than computers.

Shathavadhanis, as they are called. Avadhan is the technique of holding memories in your consciousness. It is like a photographic memory. People who follow this technique, Avadhanis, can tell you what date was Tuesday in 1700. This knowledge was systematically erased. That is the unfortunate part.

Q. What does ayurveda have to do with meditation?
Sri Sri: Ayurveda is a complete science. It describes dincharaya (daily routine) and ritucharya (seasonal routine). Dinacharya includes meditation for balancing of the three doshas (mind or body type). The mind has an impact on the body and all its doshas and gunas (three qualities of nature: sattva, rajas and tamas). So, the mind, breath, herbs - they are all linked. Similarly, ayurveda helps one to meditate deeply.  Too many thoughts indicates high pitta (one of the three doshas). So pitta must be treated. In ayurveda, combinations are referred to as ‘yoga’. For example, when two herbs are put together it is called yoga. So that concept of yoga is similar to meditation and to ayurveda.

Q. Where do you see The Art of Living 25 years from now?
Sri Sri: I leave that vision to you. Now each of you must think about how you want The Art of Living to blossom. It’s for you to think about. Today, The Art of Living is all over the world. See it was not too long ago that cell phones were introduced. But it has reached all nooks and corners of the world. Why? Because, it is useful. Similarly, the knowledge of how to connect to one’s mind, how to handle one’s emotions - this knowledge is useful and it will spread.

Q. How do you initiate your disciples? Do you choose your disciples?
Sri Sri: Don’t limit our relationship. Let love be love, don’t give it a name. For a master, no disciples exist. But for a disciple, the Master exists. See, if you do the Sudarshan Kriya, you are initiated.

Q. Does one have to become a teacher to progress on the spiritual path? Knowledge, experience or faith, which comes first?
Sri Sri: See, from a little experience knowledge develops, and then faith happens. They are all intertwined. In The Art of Living, we say first experience and then you go up, step by step. It’s good to become a teacher because then you can teach others and there is so much joy. But don’t think you must become a teacher. You still hold the same status whether you are a teacher or not. Don’t think that you are more evolved because you are a teacher.

Q. How does one come to embrace nature? Especially the terrible rain, snow in this country?
Sri Sri: I enjoy this weather. Maybe you should go to the Sahara desert and see how nice it is to be in such a cool country. It is in your mind. Accept it, or move to Florida!

Q. I have been on the path for so long, but I still get attracted to violent and non sattvic partners. What can I do? The attraction is almost irresistible.
Sri Sri: What can I say? Go for it! It will be beneficial to the nearby doctors and hospitals if you keep breaking parts of your body with violent partners! See, it’s about patterns… when you recognize that this is your pattern, wake up and say, “I will not be a victim of this pattern!” You have that strength! You will be given that strength.

© The Art of Living Foundation

Life should be lived lightly, easily, with no stiffness, no walls, unassuming, free and at home with everybody.

August 15 2010, Malaysia

Q: I have a very nice family, a lovely and caring husband and three lovely daughters, no financial problem, but on and off I have disturbed moods and emotions without reason! Is this problem inherited from my father as he is a major depression patient? And my grandfather committed suicide long long ago; my father hated my grandfather so much!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Listen, everything changes! Every cell in your body changes in one year and when you are on the spiritual path, this is accelerated. However the past has been, you simply dump it, drop it, okay!

Yeah, people didn’t know how to handle their mind in those days, but now you know, okay!

The concept, ‘Because of my hereditary problem I am having this mood swing’ will not let your mind be free.

It can all change and it is changing. With the practice of pranayama, you must have already noticed a change. It will continue to improve. Few more advanced courses and little more meditation will also help.

Q: I take a lot of allopathic medicines for body aches, but still I suffer pain here and there in the body.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We don’t take care of our body, we don’t do enough exercise. We eat all this food with so many chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers and all that… all those pesticides get into the body and they cause all this pain, once you detoxify yourself, you will see how this pain will go.

Q: Dear Guruji, I like a person C and E. The problem is I do not know whom to choose. C loves me a lot where as I find it a challenge to love E. So whom should I chose?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: you know what I say in all these cases, choice is yours, blessing is mine!

If I make a choice for you, then anytime you will have any fight with that person , you will say, “I did not choose you. Its only because of Guruji that I married you”. Then not only you but I will also be in trouble! So, the best thing is you choose, okay and know that you will choose only the best. Whomsoever you choose will be the best for you. The other one which you have not chosen is never going to be best for you. This much I assure you.

Q: How do I let go of the past?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We must always see the past as destiny, future as free will and live happily in the present moment. We do the other way round, what we do? We think the past was free will and the future is all destiny, and you remain in the present inactive and miserable, this is what foolish people do. What do intelligent people do? The intelligent people see the past as it is gone, done, finished and that was meant to be, it was destiny. Something good has happened and you have learnt something, and something bad has happened and you have learnt. Both ways you have learnt, so past is destiny. We can create future now, our spirit has the capacity to see what we want. Future is free will, we are happy and one with everybody in the present. We should find every reason to be happy but what we do, we do the other way round, we find every reason to be unhappy.

Yeah of course challenges come in life, pleasant things happen; unpleasant things happen so what, huh!

Q: I am feeling bliss that I have come to know of the ‘Art of Living’. I am a Buddhist; can I become an ‘Art of Living’ teacher?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, sure! Definitely. You truly understand and live what Buddha has said.

Q: Dear Guruji, I am in this course (advanced course) but this time around I slept through all the meditations. May I ask what is wrong with me?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah, not only you but others also notice that you are sound asleep. It’s okay. You know when your body is so tired, you must have been up late night and so much of stress might have accumulated. If you fall asleep never mind, that is why the program is for four days.

First reason could be that your body could be very tired, second the food must be very tasty and you must be eating a little more than required, and if you take yogurt and a little heavy food in the afternoon, sometimes then you will fall asleep. So, you can reduce the food, just one spoon less, two spoons less. Eat a little less food; drink more juice or vegetables or fruits. Third is if you lack oxygen, if you have not done some little exercise or take a walk, brisk walk or a little jogging in the morning then also this may happen. One or two rounds of bhastrika also help.

Q: Course will be perfect without translation, when can we stop?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Okay now listen, this is your concept. Just imagine if you were on the other side and I would speak only Chinese, don’t speak any English, and there would be no translation, then what would you do? ‘Oh, please let me have translation’. Don’t keep the concept in mind, ‘oh translation is bothering me’. No it does not matter, let it be there. Listen to it like music.

You know people who cannot read Chinese, we find it so beautiful when we go to Hong-Kong, because all these Chinese letters look like decoration. All the sign boards look like decoration, some rangoli or some designs. The entire Hong-Kong is decorated with design boards everywhere. It does not bother but if you know the language, you will be reading all the boards and it will be bothering you more. When you don’t know, it looks so nice.

Q: How we all can make this world the best place to stay and when?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I am happy that you have this thought and you are in the right place. Let us all join together, we will do some nice things.

Q: What is love, and how to find peace?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I have spoken about all this in the Narada Bhakti Sutras. Different types of love and what is love? Listen to those tapes.

Q: Dear Guruji, I desperately need one good job and visa for some country, please help me!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah, you pray, you do meditation. Whatever you ask for, you are getting it, right! How many of you are getting whatever you desire? You wish and you are getting, your work is getting done. How many of your wishes are coming true? (many raise hands)

Q: I want to go to India with my family members.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah you’re welcome to come. We will organize, I think in the stadium also many people wanted to come to India the other day. If it’s a long big group then it will be fun. Some good travel agent here, any travel agent here? Then we will make arrangements and sometime all must come, it’s just very close from here, just four hours.

Q: How to improve memory and be more creative and imaginative?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How to improve memory? I will tell you next year, let me see whether you remember the question!

You do have good memory; If you think you don’t have, little more pranayama, and there are some ayurvedic things for memory, you can take Brahmi and Shankapushpi, these herbs are good for memory.

Q: How to overcome the air in my stomach and deal with constipation as it makes my emotions go bad, really bad, especially during working hour?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Food, food, food, change your food habits. Is there an Ayurvedic doctor here or Chinese doctor? They can suggest some herb, in Ayurveda, there is something called Triphala. So every night you take two-three tablets of Triphala which cleanses the body and constipation will go, hah! That is a very general medicine, harmless. Do we have Ayurveda here? Let’s work towards getting these herbs, they are very useful.

Q: When two kids like to fight with each other, what should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Just join them! See that they don’t have sharp things in their hands. Children should fight, they fight and they come back again and they hug each other, they love each other, they can’t be without each other. But it is the adults, it takes them months, years and sometimes even lifetimes to shake hands. Kids are not like that, they fight a moment and next moment they are hand in hand with each other, better you don’t get involved in their matters. Children live in the moment, kids live in the moment, so they fight now and they forget now and this is the beauty.

Q: How to become a teacher of the ‘Art of Living’?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah, in the end of the course, there will be a list and whoever wants to become a teacher should give his/her name. If you want to become a teacher, you can.

“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”

~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

© The Art of Living Foundation

'Love is the magic which binds everything together'

Orissa, Feb. 2:
Q: Guruji, the atmosphere in this satsang is so beautiful. What is the magic behind?  
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I know only one magic – love. It is the magic which binds everything together.
Q: Guruji, why are people moving away from religion and culture?  
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, the enthusiastic crowd here. I am not feeling the same after looking at this crowd. If we walk on the path of religion, others will also do the same. The youth is moving away from religion because of the way religion is presented to them. The people who present religion have no smile on their faces, no joy flows out of them.
At the same time any religion should be practical which can be integrated into our lives.
Q: How does one know who his true Guru is?  
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I suggest that you don't bother too much on who is true and who is not. You see what is it that you need. You take knowledge and then continue to move on. There are so many Gurus today and you should move ahead thinking yourself to be one of them. You are not less than any of them. But we need to adopt a balanced approach. There should neither be guilt or self blame nor arrogance or pride. On the spiritual path, both of these attitudes must not be there. There is only loss involved either way. And hence one should move on that middle path.
Q: Guruji, the youth is getting disappointed today because of chaos in society and corruption in politics. What is your message to youth?  
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: All the youth should stand up now and start moving ahead together. When you all work in group then there is no such task that can’t be accomplished.
Q: Guruji in Orissa, the Sri Sri University is going to be established. How can we connect to it and get benefitted?  
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Bhubaneshwar is not that far from this place. You should all join in and contribute. I invite all of you there. You send your children to study there and you also visit the place. It’s not my university but yours.
Q: This question is also related to education. Can you please talk about primary education?  
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Work for primary education is going on and it will continue. We are providing training to teachers as well students in all schools. Parents will also be involved in yoga, pranayama and meditation.
Q: I'm confused – should I take Ayurvedic medicines?  
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We definitely need to adopt certain things from Ayurveda. When there is a stomach disorder, lots of thoughts disturb us. When vatta or pitta in the body gets imbalanced, too many thoughts arise in mind. There is Triphala (an Ayurvedic tablet) which balances the three imbalances in body. It is good to take Triphala for one– two months. You can take one–two tablets or one spoon of Triphala churna before going to bed. It increases energy levels in the body. Vitamin C also provides you immunity. Sometimes allopathic doctors prescribe medicines for 15 – 20 days for stomach disorders and that adversely affects the liver and body. There is Devati which you can take. It is very effective in curing fever also. Ayurveda has this specialty of correcting disorders and diseases without any side effects. And hence we should adopt Ayurveda. All these are home remedies and one should keep this with oneself. And if at some time some disease prolongs then one should definitely consult doctor.
“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”
~ Sri Sri Ravishankar


© The Art of Living Foundation
For Global Spirituality

‘I am independent means I am inner dependent’

Bangalore ashram, Jan. 26:

Q: Guruji, during the course I feel very good but once I go out, I feel misery again. What to do to get rid of that?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Imbibe this knowledge. Independence means depending on the inside. Your independence is only when you are dependent on the inside. You are miserable when you want things from others for your comfort. How much can you take? And even if you take everything, it is of what use? This is what I think. I am independent means I am inner dependent. So I want nothing from anybody. Just this aphorism, reminder of this, time and again, will take your mind, which is sticking to the outside, come to its center. You will feel the relief. Misery simply means you are stuck to the outside. Joy means you are in your element which is inside. If you depend on others for your comfort, you lose your joy. First, have this faith that nature will provide whatever I need or I deserve, it will never happen that nature doesn’t provide you with what you need. Secondly, I want nothing from anybody. And third whatever I have, be it be intelligence, great voice, qualifications, skill is only for others and not for me and I serve others as much as I can. Finish! Where is the misery then?

Q: Guruji, you love each one of us so much. I feel my love for you is much less as compared to your love for me. How can I increase my love for you?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No way, you can’t increase your love. It is already there. You simply have to relax and realize it is there. Never question or doubt your love. You think, ‘Oh, others are having tears in their eyes and I am not having any’. Never mind, never look from at things that angle. Every child from the mother’s womb is complete. It is not that the first child is more complete than second and third is further less. Every mother knows that every child is full, complete. Same way your love is total, complete, at its height. Never doubt that and never compare it with others. If you feel your expression of love is less, it is because of your selfishness. All that you can do is be generous, be less selfish and you can’t do it overnight. Day by day, slowly be more generous, be more centered, and be more dispassionate. Then the love which is inside you, will start expressing itself. Even in the expression of love it should not be too much or too less. It should be the middle path. The problem in the world is that in the West, they express love too much. Husband and wife keeps on saying ‘honey’ and then they become diabetic (laughter), can’t touch honey any more. (laughter) It is just the opposite in the East, they never express love at all. Both ways are extreme. There should be a middle path. It’s like you want a seed to sprout, it neither sprouts when buried deep down in the soil nor when it is put on the top. It needs a little bit of soil and put in it and that’s it. Take the best of the orient and the best of the occidental. That is the middle path.  

Q: What is surrender? Does that mean doing nothing and letting nature do whatever it wants to?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This word ‘surrender’ has been used, misused and confused so many times. I think we should use some other word. (laughter) Just relax, be in your element, feel the connection, have a sense of belongingness. In fact, the connection is already there, you simply have to feel it. This is a better word. What is it that you have that you can surrender? Worries, anxiety, tension, and depression! And those, too, you don’t know how to surrender. I want to be done away with this word ‘surrender’. I want none of you to use this word hereafter. It’s like a straw out of which juice has already been taken out, like sugarcane straw that you keep chewing and nothing comes out of it. Some better word is to be used now. Let go, relax, feel the connection and that’s it.  

Q: How to be one pointed on the path? There are so many distractions pulling us back.  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: With wisdom, you come back. This very question tells you that that you are coming back, in fact, you have already come back, you are not distracted. Through wisdom or misery, you are brought back to the center. When you go off center, you are beaten, you start crying and then come back to your center. The wise come back to the center through wisdom. The not-so-wise face problems here and there and then come back to the center. This is the law of nature. This is how things are.

Q: In my country, most people are of the opinion that you can’t raise a child without a non - vegetarian diet, as the body will lack amino acids and the brain won’t function properly. What should I do?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Ample research has been done to contradict this theory. Look into that. There are millions of people who are vegetarian in the West and they are very brilliant. In fact, all the genius people in the West, including Einstein were vegetarian. Many of the top scientists have been vegetarian. This theory that the brain doesn’t work needs to be questioned.

Q: While Ayurveda is considered to be an indigenous system of medicine then why did English (allopathic) medicine have permission by a government to take over Ayurvedic medicines? Also English (allopathic) medicine claims to have a faster recovery rate?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know, statistics show contrary to this. Even in modern medicine, the probability factor of medicine not affecting is very high. Research says that the placebo effect with modern medicines is nearly 40 percent. 40 percent of the effect from medicines being administered can be brought about using a placebo. Modern medicines are being discovered every day and those which were used 10 – 12 years ago are being discarded. The problem is that these pharmaceutical companies have a lot of western interest. It is the economy which is ruling modern medicine rather than their effectiveness. I feel we should have a combined, holistic approach. Ayurveda has some very good qualities, allopathic medicines also have some very good aspects and also homeopathic. Holistic medicine is the best. It is wrong to completely discard modern medicine and it is equally wrong to discard natural cures, ayurveda. In case of emergency, allopathic does well and ayurveda has a unique way of attending to the root cause of disease. Not only symptoms but also healing without side effects. Today, much research has been done on this and many have experienced this. For instance: The probability of remission of piles by allopathic treatment is very high but in the case of Ayurveda it is less than one percent. These are the things one should adopt about Ayurveda. Ayurveda is, anyways, adopting modern methods of investigation. So, the best is to adopt the holistic approach. Our aim is not to benefit pharmaceutical companies but people.  

Q: What is the spiritual path? How does one know if one is on the spiritual path?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Anything done to uplift your spirit, to make you walk towards the truth, that brings up human values within, that connects you to the innermost and outermost is spiritual. Meditation, pranayama, yoga, service, singing, chanting, creating happiness around you are all part of spirituality. If you create misery, then that is not spirituality. If you can create joy, it is spiritual. But not momentary joy. Such joy, in the long term, creates misery that is not spiritual. Alcohol, drugs can create momentary joy but they are not at all spiritual. That is the spirit.

Q: Krishna is ‘bhavana bhahit’. What does that mean?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have used some phrase, you tell its meaning. God is hungry for feelings. He doesn’t need your sweets or flowers. So if you sit with feelings, that is enough. See Krishna everywhere. Lord Krishna says in the Gita, “Wherever you see in any form, I am there. I am knowledge in a knowledgeable person, wherever there is knowledge I am there, I am strength in the strong, beauty in the beautiful, all is me”. Read the Gita deeply and best is to meditate. Be a yogi, yogi is the best.  

Q: Why do some people not smile at others but are happy with themselves only? What is good? To maintain happiness with oneself or to be happy with people around also?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: (Jokingly) Ok, somebody didn’t smile at you and was smiling at himself being adjacent to you, is that your problem! (laughter) The world is like that, some people don’t smile at you, you don’t smile at someone. Leave others. Are you smiling? We maintain our smile that is good enough.  

Everybody has one’s own set of problems and if that much compassion has arisen in you then you go and ask, ‘What is your problem? Why are you not smiling? Do you need any help?’ But then see whom are you asking (laughter) and in case you are slapped by someone, then give them your second cheek too. (Huge laughter) If that compassion is there, then ask everyone, ‘Why are you not smiling?’  

Once in Switzerland, we were waiting for some conveyance and we saw that nobody on the road was smiling. I thought, everything is here and still people are not smiling. I had so many flowers with me and so I asked the devotees who were accompanying me to give flowers to those who were not smiling on the road and ask them to smile. That was such a fantastic program. After that we raised a wave called ‘Spread your smile’ in Netherland, France, Germany, Switzerland where people give flowers and said, ‘ Please smile and make others smile by passing on this flower’. Some people were shocked initially that nobody till that day bothered about their smile and suddenly somebody coming and asking them to smile.  

But if you are in India, take care before giving flower to anybody. (laughter) Be a little cautious before giving a flower here in India. In India, if a girl smiles at a boy it is taken in a different sense. It is not normal, and a boy giving a flower to a girl is not taken as a very nice gesture. (Huge laughter) But in Europe, it is not considered bad. (Somebody from audience asked, ‘Let’s start this in New York also’.) Yes, we are doing there also, something called ‘A Rose of friendship, Pass it on’.  

Q: Guruji, I am from Kerela. I want to ask – what does it mean to do puja (worship)?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is a saying that talks about puja. Yen ten prakaren, Yatra kutrapi dehina, Santosham janaye pragya Tadaye vishva lochan Create patience in people. When you bring a wave of happiness, wherever you go, that is puja. Whatever way when you create happiness and patience, that is puja, truly worshiping God. How beautiful it is!

Q: Guruji there are mental hospitals for mentally challenged people, what is the place for people who are in love with the Divine?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: For them, this whole world is their own. Such madness is welcomed everywhere. Everybody will invite them; everybody will welcome them and would love to talk to them. Because they know, we spread such fragrance.

Q: I feel lustful at times. What to do and how to get rid of that?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When there is no joy in life then lust increases in you because then you get joy in that only. But when you find joy in life otherwise also, then the frequency of such desires starts reducing. When you start finding joy in sadhna (spiritual practices), joy in service, joy in satsang, joy in devotion, joy in surrender - that is the only way to come out of lust. No other way exists. When all are done together slowly, you come out of lust. Otherwise, you will have to wait for age. May be then you will be out of it. You won’t be capable physically to do it but you get rid of it from the mind or not, that is not sure.No guarantee is there. Usually very old people see all obscene stuff and try to get satisfaction from it.  

Q: South Indians are deep into rituals. Are rituals very important to reach the spiritual path or the ultimate goal?  

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Man can’t be without ritual. Let’s be clear about it. Today is the Republic Day of India. What happens today in New Delhi and the capitals of other states is a ritual. There is a particular way you walk, a particular way you hoist flag, a particular way you behave. It is a national ritual. Even in communist Russia in Kremlin, three guards shot three gunshots in the sky everyday and perform a ritual.This is a ritual. Human beings can’t be without rituals. If your ritual is meaningful and environment friendly, then all the more better. A wise ritual is offering flowers, lighting a candle, creating love, planting a tree, distributing sweets, these are rituals with more meaning. And not killing an animal, that is not at all a good ritual. We don’t have any right to transgress other life. Violence or anything that pollutes environment can’t be a ritual. It is not a kind gesture to nature. If caring for the planet is considered a ritual or worship, that is the best ritual. In ancient Vedic times this is what they designed or considered. In one other school of thought around the world, going to temples and give bali (animal sacrifice) is a ritual. I won’t approve of those inhuman rituals. Ritual should be something that uplifts your spirit, that which elevates your spirit. In ancient times they call ritual puja. Puja – pu means out of fullness and ja means born out of it. So when you do something with full of gratitude, it is ritual. Even that has been distorted today. Human beings can’t be done away with rituals altogether. You can’t say, 'I don’t want ritual at all’. Have you noticed in homes where no ritual is performed, the energy is low? For there is no celebration, no vibrancy. Performing some sort of ritual, some sort of chanting or reading in home creates positive ions in the atmosphere and also has a good impact on children. That’s why I would say don’t be stuck too much with ritual but also don’t drop rituals altogether. Adopt a middle path. Like on Christmas you light a candle, you put up a Christmas tree. On Diwali you light lamps, decorate homes, exchange sweets, burn a couple of incense sticks. Also on Eid you clean homes, perform prayers, there is function. Whenever there is little bit of ritual, it creates a good atmosphere especially for children and develops a healthy, social, religious and spiritual kind of mind. Don’t you think so?  

“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”
~ Sri Sri Ravishankar



© The Art of Living Foundation
For Global Spirituality

‘Your faith, your love, your beauty, your truth is a 100 times more powerful than the doubt’

26th December 2009

Q. Thank you very much for all I have received from you till today. Even I know you are available on an emergency basis, twenty four hours. I am ashamed to ask you a help. When someone of your family passed and relationship between you and this person was not clear, what can you do to help the process to help that person live peacefully and also to be peaceful yourself? Thank you Guruji.

Sri Sri: Whenever you have to console a bereaved family, keep silent! Too many words does not make any sense there or have any meaning. Someone is in grief, you just be with them, with peace in your heart. They will absorb the peace, they will bask in your peace. They will absorb your peace - they will feel comfortable, happy. So when you are peaceful, you radiate it. They will absorb the peace and they would feel that inner calm, inner peace. So don't have to say, ‘Oh poor thing! This thing has happened with you. Oh, it shouldn't have happened.’ Talking all that type of pity or sympathy is not going to help either you or them. So just be with them and say, ‘God will give you strength’. Just give that to overcome this situation. This is the only thing that you should do. ‘God will give you strength’ or the person who departed, take their name and say, ‘That person will give you strength to go over this tough time, this difficult time.’ These one or two words are good enough. Don't talk too much but just be with them. Few minutes- you being with them will help them. OK?

Q. Dear Guruji, how can we teach the world that there is abundance of food, love for everyone? We don't need to fear lack, and therefore be greedy?

Sri Sri: We have to spread spirituality. We have to make people realize the importance of spirituality. They will have to meditate. Only through meditation would they ever feel the inner richness, inner abundance. Whatever you feel inside, that’s what you project outside. If you have fear inside, you will project it outside. You feel lack inside, and you will feel lack everywhere. So, that abundance has to arise from within. For that, one has to do meditation course like this, no?

Q. Dear Guruji, despite being on the path for almost six years now, we didn't worry about what the results would be later. You know, when we started, so many people ridiculed us and we didn’t mind any of those humiliations. None of those humiliations stopped us from working and reaching out to people. We keep doing it, because we know what we are doing is good and it’s not for our sake that we are doing it, we are doing it for the simple fact that it brings benefit to people. If not today, tomorrow they will understand, recognize it. Right? So you need not be a football of others’ opinion. As long as we know that we need to continue doing this and it helps people, it makes our life worth living. So we continue doing this.

Q. Dear Guruji, what can you do when you doubt the Master? How to overcome the doubt? How to prevent it from happening?

Sri Sri: You know, your doubt is always about something that is good. You only doubt the honest, you never doubt the dishonest. You doubt happiness, you never doubt depression. If you are depressed and someone asks you, ‘Are you depressed?’ Then you are very sure, you don't say, ‘Well, I am not very sure!’ With happiness you say that, ‘Well, I am not sure whether I am happy or not.’ So we doubt love. Someone says, ‘I love you so much’, you say, ‘Really?’ If someone says, ‘I hate you’, you never ask, ‘Really?’ You doubt! So our doubt is always about something that is positive. And doubts - they come and they go. Doubt more. I won’t say, don't doubt. Doubt as much as you can. See I tell you, it will fall away by itself. It cannot stand. So doubt more. A Master only encourages the student to doubt more. He will not clear the doubts. In fact, the job of the master is to create more doubt so that you can bake well and become really solid. Because if not today, ten year later you may get the doubt, better get the doubt right away! Get as much as you can. Once they come, they don't come back again. Same doubts don't arise twice. Different doubts keep coming and when they come, don’t push them under the carpet. Don’t shelve it under, go with it. And a time comes when you become solid. It only makes you stronger, powerful, focused and responsible. I would say, good! Doubts have come about the Master, let them come. Hmm? Cook with them. They are fuel by which the mind can really cook. Hmm! And you will see that you are much stronger than your doubt! Your faith, your love, your beauty, your truth is a hundred times more powerful than the doubt. The faith is like the sun, the doubt is like a cloud. No amount of clouds can cover the sun for long. They just come and they disappear. Yes, there are some cloudy days and it can be there, let it be. The sun will eventually shine.

Q. Beloved Guruji, I have a new job that gives me economic and social stability, it’s good. On the other side, it is based on lies and on taking advantage of peoples' faith. The environment is polluted and colleagues poison me with depression and dishonesty. Still I work hundred percent and I give a good example. But I feel this situation is not good for me. What do you suggest me to do?

 Sri Sri: In a situation like that consider yourself like an oasis in the dessert. Just imagine even the oasis disappears from the dessert, how will people survive? So, your being there has a good influence on the people and keep influencing and see if you can create even one two, three or four people like you in the same work environment. It can change. You have the power to change your situation. On request from people like you who are in the corporate business environment, we tailored our course and changed its jargon, its processes to fit to the corporate world. We call this the APEX course. Today the World Bank and many other institutions are taking it and they are benefiting greatly by this. Yes? So, do it!

Q. Dear Guruji, I feel that my coming to you now has become an ego issue. I come to you to see what you will say to me or to get attention from you and not because I feel deep love and gratitude. I would like to feel the true deep love and gratitude like I have been before. I want to serve out of love and not out of feeling that this is what I am expected to do.

Sri Sri: You know, feelings are like clouds. They are like the waves on the surface of the ocean. They arise, they come and they go. They change. We shouldn’t be bent too much by our feelings. Do you see what I am saying? Life moves with commitment, not just feelings. And love is a gift. You can't force anyone to feel love. Your wanting to feel love becomes a hindrance to feel love. Just relax. I have spoken about this in the Bhakti sutras. When you want love, that want itself is turning or delaying love from manifesting. So all that you need to do is to let go and relax. You will see your nature is love. Love is always there. It will manifest when it should. Like the sun is always there but it comes at its own time. Yes? The sun doesn’t come up all the time though it is there twenty four hours. But it is in different places. In the same way, all the beautiful feelings in your life are there with you all the time. You can’t forcefully manifest them. They will manifest at different times in life. And that’s why be more relaxed and take them as they come. Yes?

Q. Sometimes I get very angry. It is like something gets inside me. How can I get rid of this inner demon?

Sri Sri: I tell you, there is no demon inside. No! If anybody tells you, don’t listen to them. Just walk away. There is no demon inside you. Got it? You are pure light. You are born of light. You are light. All that you need to do is wake up, little more silence, little more meditation and observe the sensations. Start observing the sensations in the body, in the mind. Yes? And such an outburst of anger comes and then subsides. It will take little time so that it doesn't arise at all. The more we are in the state of dispassion or centeredness, lesser is the anger. Behind the anger is a desire for perfection. Wanting perfection makes you angry. Want brings anger in us. So when you keep observing, the want dissolves. You loosen up from inside. You start blossoming from inside. You will see, you will get very few opportunities where you have to get upset. It is ok to get upset once in a while, doesn't matter.

Q. I want to become a therapist but since I have become spiritual, I have come to realize that western psychology is not everything. How can I combine western and eastern psychology?

Sri Sri: Yes, sure! You must! Western psychology gives certain ideas about behavioral patterns, certain impressions and effects of certain chemicals in the mind. Whereas eastern psychology studies the nature of consciousness, studies consciousness itself! So it will be very useful that you would like to combine the both. You study eastern and then you study western so that you can explain to the west what the east says. Because the eastern psychology or knowledge of consciousness is time tested, it’s age old. Ten thousand years, this has been practiced. Hmmm? And it should be interesting. If you take one aspect, say suppose love and examine how love is viewed in both eastern and western psychology. It’s very interesting. Hmmmm?

Q. Dear Guruji, how old are the Vedas? Do we have all the Vedas now? I hear we may have lost some knowledge?

Sri Sri: You are correct! There are four main Vedas. Vedas means a collection of poems- verses heard by Rishis, sages when they went deep in meditation. When someone went deep in meditation, they heard something and whatever they heard, they started telling their students, disciples. So these were truths which were derived or heard and downloaded from the cosmic consciousness. They had a way to download it in those days. The downloading is - close your eyes, meditate and what you notice, what you see - you click and then you download it. Surfing! Surfing around and downloading. So Vedas were downloaded like that. More than one thousand sages or those who are called Rishis - Rishi means the one who saw or one who heard. They saw it, they heard it and they wrote them. They didn't write themselves, they recited and told their students and they recited and so for a long time it was just passed on from one to another - verbally, vocally. That’s why they are called Shrutis. Originally these Vedas were divided into four. Originally the Rigveda had so many- twenty one different branches but today only three are available. Similarly, Yajurveda has some two hundred and eleven branches, but today only few - five or six - are available. Similarly, Samveda – thousand different Samvedic hymns, branches were there. Today only three branches are there. Rest is all lost. During the medieval times in India, when there was so much repeated aggression, those Vedas were all lost.

Q. Which Veda has medical knowledge?

Sri Sri: It is called the Ayurveda. It is the subordinate Veda of the main four Vedas. So both, the Atharvaveda and Rigveda - the first and last Vedas have a connection to Ayurveda. So all the Ayurveda stories are so very, very beautiful. It’s said that one thousand Rishis were sitting and meditating. And a Rishi named Bharadwaja told them, ‘You keep awake. We are going into deep trance, meditation and we are going to say just what we see. But there should be somebody to note down, write everything down’. They told once person, ‘You don't meditate. You sit, watch and note down everything’. And that is how Maharshi Bharadwaja noted down, wrote down in a forest when thousands of the Rishis meditated together and they were downloading it and then they were saying it. Bharadwaja went from one to another, to each person and started noting them down and that is how the Ayurveda books were written. So even today, after so many thousands of years, it holds good. It is a Materia Medica - which herb is for which part of the body and what functions, what are the combinations, what one should do and what one should not. Everything about health is written. When the British ruled India and the man who was in charge of India, the British gentleman, wrote to Queen Victoria of England saying, ‘You know, people should come and learn plastic surgery over here. How people can fix your nose, your skin, your legs,’ he said. It’s amazing that when knowledge was zero or nothing in England, it was so advanced in India. Lord Macaulay said in the parliament, that if you want to rule this country (India), first you must destroy the spirituality. Much has been written about Lord Macaulay's statement. He said, ‘I traveled the length and breadth of India and I did not see one beggar, one poor man. And people know science and medical things so well. 88000 medical institutions were there only in the south of India.’ He said, if you want to rule this country, you must stop this. So they systematically closed down the medical institutions, Sanskrit colleges so that people could no longer read the books. You know, when all your books are in Sanskrit and they shut down all the Sanskrit schools by rule, your next generation gets no access to the knowledge and that is what exactly happened in India. There is a whole presentation about Lord Macaulay's vision that they could rule India only by doing this. Anyway, that is all history. What I am saying is that Ayurveda is still very potent knowledge- it’s a science even today. Hmmm? But many books are missing. Many were burnt down. India had a very crazy king at one point of time, he was called Aurangzeb. He came to power by putting his own father in jail who was the king then. And then he burnt big libraries in India like Nalanda. History says that the books in Nalanda library burned for six months. He called all the scholars and he told them, ‘What is in your library?’ They said, ‘A lot of knowledge.’ He was very fanatic. He took the Quran and asked, ‘Do you agree that this book has all the knowledge that is there in the library?’ They said, ‘Yes’. He said, ‘Then what is the use of having a library and so many books? Burn them down. Then one of them said, ‘No. There is other knowledge that is not in this book.’ Then Aurangzeb said, ‘Then they shouldn't exist. Anything which is not in this book shouldn't exist anywhere, it is not correct. It is not God’s! Burn them down. Thousands of years ago, philosophy of the Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Sikh were available; medical, archeology, astronomy, metallurgy, engineering, science - all these books - were available. They were all burnt down. So whatever people could take overnight and memorize it, those things remained and it continued. So these are all past histories.

Q. In Muslim countries we have some resistance even with some new teachers. One of them read on the internet that the translation of the word Sohum is ‘I am god.’ It is not ok with Islam. Can you explain what it is meant and what is the intention by Sohum?

Sri Sri: Sohum is the natural sound of breath. When you breath out the hum is there. Sohum is the natural sound. If you read it the other way round, it is Humsa. Humsa is that which uplifts, that which floats, that which discriminates. That consciousness which discriminates right from wrong, from the permanent to impermanent, from the beautiful to ugly - discrimination. Sohum does not mean ‘I am God’, it is ‘I am that’. What is the ‘that’? ‘That’ could be love, ‘that’ is truth, ‘that’ is love, ‘that’ is the beautiful space, ‘that’ is what I really am! First I think I am just the thoughts, the emotions, the mind, but the true realization, I am not the thought, I am not the body, but I am that! What is that? It is the experience that is beyond words! That truth which is beyond comprehension! That beauty which is beyond any imagination. That reality which you cannot totally catch. That love is what I am! And if love is God or God is love and I am love then I am God too! Jesus said love is God! And said, I am love! I am that, I am. This is there in the Bible also. I am that I am. Thou art that! All this is there. But it is not the meaning that is important. What is important is the vibration of the sound. The sound Sohum, has some definite vibrations in the cosmos and that helps our spirits to blossom and that is what is most important.

 Q. Dearest Guruji, I sit here with you and after all that happened in my life in the past, today I know it was worth going through it to live and experience what I feel today. Fullness, love, gratitude, excitement and inspiration. All because of what you have given to this world. Eternally yours!

Q. Does the strength of the Guru lie in the fact that he represents a symbolic father who helps to heal the wounds from the real father?

Sri Sri: The wounds need to be healed, that is more important. Whatever relation you put, whatever attachment you put, it is secondary. See the world from a fresh eye, from a fresh look. Anybody who has inflicted pain to you, know that they have done it because they have no knowledge. They were deprived of this spiritual knowledge. That is why they were behaving that way. They were handcuffed, they were blindfolded, they were dumbfounded and they acted the way they acted. They are victims themselves. See them from this angle, you will feel compassion for them and you will feel grateful for what you have got in your life, ya?

 Q. Please explain to me how we are responsible for how we feel? For example when we see a beautiful girl, a thought appears and then pleasure comes to me. But yesterday in the video, I understood it is the opposite. Why the desire appears only with beautiful girls? How do we choose that?

Sri Sri: I think you forgot how you felt when you were five year old. When you were five, six, seven or eight- year-old, it was not a beautiful girl who attracted you it was beautiful food that attracted you! I will tell you a story. There were people of three generation- father, son and grandfather. They all went out for a holiday- vacation. So the youngest of the family, the grand child was so excited, he got good food. And the adult, the father, was so attracted with the beautiful girls at the camp. He said, ‘What a beautiful day! I saw so many beautiful girls here. I had great time!’ Now the grandfather's turn had come. The grandfather said, ‘It was such a relief here. So nice. We came out to this holiday camp. I had such good bowel movement! I never had like that before! What a relief!’ He said, ‘You both talk childishly. He talks about food, you talk about girls but in my age you will understand what the really happiness is’. So when someone is so old if they have a good bowel movement, that is great relief for them. They get good sleep, that is heaven for them. So, wait for some more time and you will see what is more beautiful in life!

Q. Dearest Guruji, I had a question in my mind when we were speaking about energy centers today, in the knowledge tape. I feel constant energy in my second chakra but I don’t have any desires to do sex because I know it leaves me tired and dull. On the other hand my creative energy has not manifested itself. I would like to use my creativity and write, sing, dance, etc. How will it come to this point? Please show me a way. Give me ability to make my creative energy alive.

Sri Sri: Ya! Continue your meditation. If a particular chakra has been used a lot then automatically energy goes there quite a bit. But it will keep moving, definitely moving. You focus more on navel center and then dance, sing. Singing and dancing, that is all part of our practices. You know, it uplifts you in more than one way.

Q. Dear Guruji, I can’t forget this guy. He is not good for me but still I am in love with him. Even though I haven't seen him in ten months and I hardly know him. Can you explain?

Sri Sri: Wait till you find somebody else. Then you will forget all about that guy. Our mind is very strange. You know, the greatest, real stranger to us is not somebody else but our own mind.

Q. Dear Guruji, only today I have fallen in love with nine people. One cute Serbian, one beautiful Croatian, one irresistible Bulgarian, one very nice German, two gorgeous Italians, and two delightful Russians and one really hot Indian. Clearly I can't make up my mind. Can you please help me?

 Sri Sri: I tell you the choice is too little for you. Go for more! Only nine? We have one ninety four countries in the planet! Don't be in a hurry to choose right away. Go slow. You know? Good! We have come to rise in love and on the way, it doesn't surprise me if you keep falling in love here and there. But don't be in a hurry to choose. Hundred and ninety two countries in the United Nations, Right?  

“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”
~ Sri Sri Ravishankar



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