How to get true freedom

 

Life moves by dual factors – inner tendencies and outer influences. 

Inner tendencies form your attitudes and behavior, while external influences make strong impressions in your mind. Your tendencies often generate external situations, and situations around you can form tendencies within you. This is called karma. 

Both these factors – the tendencies from within and influences from outside can be either beneficial or harmful. It is awareness that filters the outer negative influences and it is awareness that corrects and annihilates the unhealthy inner tendencies. This awareness is called gyana. 

The purpose of education is to develop this awareness so that you can be selective about your tendencies and influences. It is practically impossible to resist the external influences and the inner tendencies without raising one’s consciousness. This can be gradual or sudden.

This is how a human being has both free will and destiny. Freedom is when you have a say about your tendencies and your influences, but only awareness and impeccable devotion can bring this freedom.

Peace is the nature of our spirit

 

There are usually two sides to a civil conflict and no matter who strikes first, eventually both sides are wounded. Conflict arises in the first place because both sides stick to their stand, yet to resolve the issue, both need to be made to rise above and look at the larger picture. Breakdown of communication is a major cause in escalating the dispute and thus, dialogue is an important tool in resolving it.

When I visited Latin America in June 2015, we sent a message to meet with the leaders of the Colombian rebel group FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). They responded positively and we had a very fruitful meeting in Cuba. The armed conflict between the Colombian government and FARC has been going on for five decades, claiming more than 220,000 lives and displacing over 7 million people. Though they engage in violent acts on the outside, yet inside every culprit, there is a victim crying for help. When the victim is healed, the culprit disappears. I told them that I understood their plight but non-violence was the only way towards social justice. They adopted the Gandhian way immediately and soon declared a unilateral ceasefire. The government also reciprocated with a ceasefire a few days later.

People who take to violent means due to a sense of injustice, can be engaged in dialogue if approached the right way. From their perspective, they are fighting for a cause out of righteousness. In a way, their passion, commitment and the spirit of sacrifice is commendable. When outer dynamism, which they have in abundance, is complemented with inner peace, they can prove to be a boon to the society. Many of our free tribal schools in terrorist-affected regions are being run by former extremists. In fact, in the beginning, they threatened our volunteers to close them down. But when they saw that these efforts were benefiting their own communities, they became volunteers themselves.

Yet terrorism arising out of religious fanaticism is very different. It is blinded by a doctrine that is not open to any discussion or dialogue. For them, people who disagree with their scripture or think differently have no right to even exist. On my visit to Iraq in November 2014, I offered to have a dialogue with the Islamic State group; they responded with a death threat! If even a small part of the world lives in such darkness, the world cannot be a safe place. So far, the horrible atrocities that they were committing were limited to the region under their influence but the mass exodus of millions of refugees that they have now caused affects the whole world.

If the neighbor’s house is on fire, it is only a matter of time before the fire reaches your own doorstep. To prevent the spread of this fanatical mindset, religious leaders can play a big role in imparting a multi-religious education and an education in peace. There is a need to bring a shift from the idea of “sole ownership of heaven” to an ideology of “many paths to One Goal”. Honoring diversity as an essential characteristic of our planet can help us move from merely being tolerant of our differences to celebrating them.

Turbulence is a part of this world whereas making peace is the nature of our spirit. If with a strong resolve and skill, we are able to remain centered in peace, it does not remain limited to just us, it begins to calm down the turbulence around us as well. Let us resolve to be established in peace inside and be dynamic in action to bring it to the world outside.

Qualities of a Great Teacher

 

The guru or the teacher always wishes for the student to win. And a good student wishes for the victory of the teacher. This is a very strange and unique idea about the teacher-student or guru-shishya relationship in India. The student knows that if his/her small mind wins, it is going to be miserable but if the teacher wins, it is the victory of the big mind, victory of knowledge which will only bring good and joy for everyone. So the student wishes for the victory of the big mind or guru. It is healthy because if the student feels that he knows more than the teacher, that would mean the learning has stopped and that his arrogance has killed the wisdom.

Another quality that a good teacher needs to have is lots of patience. A student may be a slow learner but the teacher’s patience can turn the student around. Parents may have to deal with only one or two children but teachers have many more in their classrooms. The situation is more testing and stressful. To handle it, you need to be centered. You have to set an example because children watch you carefully. They learn only half of the values from their parents and the rest are from their teachers. They observe everything you say and do. They observe when you are calm and composed, and when you are tensed and angry.

Teachers should understand where the student is coming from and how to guide them step by step. For example, Lord Krishna was such a good teacher. He took Arjuna step by step to the final destination. Arjuna was initially very confused. When a student is growing, he goes through a lot of confusion because his concepts are breaking apart. You first learn that the sun rises from the east. Then later, you are taught about the planets and their movements. So your concepts break. A good teacher knows this and guides the student through this confusion. And sometimes create confusion too when it is needed.

Be loving and strict at the same time. You find teachers who are very loving and teachers who are only strict. It is rather a delicate combination – firmness coupled with love. Some children are rebellious. They need more physical contact, more encouragement and more pats on the back. They need to be made to feel that they are loved, that you really care for them and that they belong. On the other hand, with children who are very timid and shy you can use a little firmness to help them stand up and speak out. You can be a little tough with them and, at the same time, you can be loving. Often the reverse is done. Teachers are strict with rebellious children and liberal with shy ones. Then that behavior pattern stays. You need to be tough and sweet both, otherwise you won’t be able to guide the student to where you want to take them.

Educating a child should be holistic and not just a process of stuffing their heads with information. Just coming to class and learning a few lessons is not really the education that a child needs. We have to see to the total development of the body and the mind because they are linked. Human values like sense of belongingness, sharing, loving and caring, non-violence need to be cultured for the sake of the mind and the body. These principles are the basis on which you can start building your idea of human values.

Inner peace within us will help deal with violence in the world

 

Some years ago, I went to Iraq to take stock of our relief and rehabilitation work there. We were asked to stay in the Green Zone, the safe zone. There were 12 vehicles and two tankers provided for our security. They said that the Red Zone was quite risky and there had been bomb blasts a few days back. But I insisted on going there. They were worried but since I was their guest, they could not refuse. There, I went to a village that had only Shias because all the Sunnis had been driven away from there. They welcomed me. I sat and spoke with them and told them I wanted to bring a guest that evening and they agreed. So I brought with me a Sunni imam who was among those driven away from that village. When they met and spoke to each other, the villagers decided, “We will welcome back the 8,000 families that were driven away from here.”

When there is a conflict, there is a breakdown of communication. There is no trust. To bridge this gap, you need a channel of communication, a way to connect with all the sides of the conflict. There are some who are extremely sensitive and lose their temper and then there are those who think they are ‘sensible’ and righteous to such an extent that they don’t care about the impact of their actions or inactions. Neither can make good communicators. We need a blend of sensitivity and sensibility. A crucial characteristic of a peaceful person is how best he can connect with everyone.

Corruption begins where a sense of belongingness ends. You will see that people take bribes only from those they have no belongingness with. Nobody takes a bribe from their loved ones or those they connect with. Another example of connection can be, how you probably behave when you go abroad and you meet someone who says, “I also studied in XYZ College.” What happens to you? You feel a sense of connection and this connection improves communication. Then conflicts simply disappear.

‘The other’ is always a threat. But with multi-religious and multi-cultural, value-based education, the threat can disappear. Ultimately, the thought process changes when perception changes, opening the door for cooperation and peace.

We have many identities in life. First, we are part of one light, one human race. Our subsequent identities are with gender, nation, and religion. There is violence in the world because our priorities have been reversed. For these identities to be in the proper order of priority, we need inner peace so that we are sensitive to others’ needs and respond appropriately.

A world without violence

I have this crazy idea… a world without violence. This might appear to be utopian thinking, but we need to dream and we will get there! If we instill pride in being non-violent, in being compassionate, in being helpful to others, our lives will take a new direction. And that should be our unwavering commitment.
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It is saddening to see the impact of gun-violence on our families and society. An ABC news report indicates that there are more gun retail stores than grocery stores in the U.S. When we have not provided education in non-violence, or equipped people with tools to control their aggressive tendencies, we cannot afford to have so many gun stores making it easy to pursue deadly acts of violence.⠀
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Aggressive tendencies can occur in anybody; it is quite natural. But one should be taught how to handle that aggressive tendency in a healthy way. When conflict arises in the mind of an individual, perception, observation and expression are impacted. This in turn impacts communication with the other party. In a conflict zone, the first thing that is needed for resolution is an improvement in the communication between the parties. This can happen only when the mind is calm and is able to respond, rather than react. In order for the mind to be calm, mental traumas need to be relieved. The rhythmic breathing and meditation techniques that the volunteers of The Art of Living use have been quite effective with relieving mental and emotional distress.⠀
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The ignorant are fanatically religious, the so called intelligentsia are fashionably atheist, and the wise are genuinely spiritual. It is time that we encourage our young people, our children, to see beyond limited identities and to associate with the common humanity that we are all part of. It is time to tear down the walls between cultures and celebrate diversity. It is time to connect at the heart-to-heart level and let go of the negative emotions. This is how we can create a violence-free, stress-free society.

Wisdom Alone is Not Enough - It Has to be Useful

Life is a combination of simplicity and complexity. On one side life is very simple, on the other side, it's very complex. While complexity makes life interesting and aids for the growth, simplicity gives it breathing space. And it is both at the same time. How? You eat some food and you feel the food is digested, correct? But if you look into the process of digestion, it is a very complex thing. First the carbohydrates gets converted in the saliva, then it goes to the stomach and mixes with the gastric juices, then it takes some time there and gets digested. Then it goes through the duodenum and then it gets absorbed in the intestine and then some goes out, some goes up. The essence of it goes in the blood. So, in life also, darkness goes and light comes; wisdom dawns and ignorance fades away - this is a simultaneous process. You are washing a cloth, you are putting soap on it, the dirt is going away and the brightness is coming up simultaneously.

In life, when knowledge is to come up and ignorance is to go, you need a Guru; you need the Guru principle. So knowledge and then movement in life (meaning progress). It's not just enough to have wisdom; wisdom also has to come into action. It has to be useful.

If a great scientist says, "I have all the knowledge", what is the use of having all that knowledge? Did you use it in practical life? Someone knows all about organic farming, but if they have not done any farming, what is the use? You can have the knowledge and you can die with your knowledge. Have you made use of the knowledge? Did it get utilized in the society, in the world? It's one thing to get knowledge, another thing to be able to transmit it to others and utilize it.

Movement of knowledge is an important aspect as well. Okay, you use your knowledge, but what is the use if there is no result? What is the end product? How much benefit has it produced? You had the knowledge of organic farming and you did so much work, but later on, nothing came out of it.

I want to share one incident with you. Long time ago in the late 80's in the Bangalore Ashram, a gentlemen came from England. He said, "I want to do horticulture, plant lots of trees", and I said, "Okay". With all enthusiasm he bought pots and we got him the seeds. Whatever he wanted we gave him everything. So he brought the seeds and he put the seeds but his education was not for tropical climate, his education was for the arctic climate. So in the pots he put all the seeds, he put all the nutrition it needed, everything. Seeds were sown, water was being given every day, and finally we found there was not one sprout. Not one of those 100 odd pots became a sapling. So the achievement was zero.
A villager who was around that place, we just gave him a quarter of the resource which were given to the educated person, and he sowed some seeds and grew many tomatoes and many other things as well. So often we think that people have knowledge and they use their knowledge, but achievement happens with something else. Usually we brand it as luck and leave it.

Two gentlemen open shops next to each other. One shop is flourishing and the other shop goes down. In such a situation what do we usually say? It is luck. They are both doing the same business. Hasn't this been the experience? How many of you agree with me? Especially in Toronto. You will see that there are people opening similar types of restaurants, and one's is flourishing and another's is going down. You don't understand why this happens. This is where your eyes open to something beyond logic because we are programmed to think only in a logical way.
Logic means what, connecting to what you already know. Linking the known to what is not known, but it need not be. The truth need not bend to that logic. If you say you will come by road to Canada all the way from India, you will never make it. Somewhere you will have to take a ship or a plane.
If you say I want to go by road to Australia, forget about it. Can you go to Australia by road if you don't take a ship? Isn't it an Island? Yes, confirmed. So logic is like saying, "I will go only by road. I won't take ship because it's one planet earth". Come on wake up, some places you have to go on a ferry. You have to use the ferry. Ferry is the faith that one has to use beyond logic, beyond the shores -- that which takes you across the shores is a ferry. 

Achievement is possible with that unseen law, with that unseen force that is called Sattva. So it is said, "Kriyasiddhi satve bhavati mahatam nopakarane". 
Any action finds fructification not just by means, but by Sattva. You may have many means to achieve something, but it doesn't happen. Why? Sattva was lacking, and Sattva means wisdom, harmony and a sharp intellect.

Guru represents that exalted intellect. An intellect from the other side. Do you see what I am saying? An intellect which is beyond logic. What we know as intellect is that which is within logic, but is there an intellect which is a step beyond logic? Is there an intelligence beyond logic? Yes, that is the Guru principle. So achievement and success happens by that energy called Sattva, which means the Guru principle.
In the words of devotees, you will say grace, or 'Guru's grace'. If you are scientific you say, some unseen force, some other power makes things work. That's why a very advanced scientist always is in wonderment. He admits that he know less -- and what he does not know is only growing more and more.

The more you know, what you don't know grows more. So spiritual science, spiritual knowledge belongs to that realm of the unknown and unseen. And for that you definitely need a guide from that realm. Yes!

God resides in hearts that are full of devotion

Madanpur, 21 January 2012


You (referring to Naxalites) are not having a party there in the forest. You empathize with the poor and feel for them. We are all with you but don’t resort to violence. Leave the gun, come forward. We will vote for you and bring you forward in this country. You assume leadership because when honest and selfless people take responsibility and serve the country, they do it honestly. They don’t want anything for themselves but for everybody. This society needs such youth today. You shun the path of violence. Whatever Karl Marx and other communist leaders have said about equality, removal of ignorance, etc., Lord Krishna had already spoken about all this thousands of years ago.

We first need to remove ignorance, illiteracy, and stop child marriages. All the women here take a pledge that girls will not be married before eighteen years of age and boys before twenty one years. Here, children are forced to get married at the age of ten or twelve years. This practice must be stopped. Boys and girls should only be married after 18 years of age. Until then, they should be allowed to study.

Eradicating ignorance is our primary duty. In the state which was home to the Nalanda University and great scholars such as Chanakya, it is a crime if its people remain uneducated. About fifteen to twenty years back, schools here used to be empty – they were not ready to teach anyone and even the people were scared of sending their children to school. But now, the situation has changed. So let’s take a pledge today that we will provide hundred percent education and send our children to school.
Where there are no other schools except government schools, we are ready to open schools in those regions. We already have a school running here.

These days in Bihar, we don’t find people to perform pooja or to teach yoga and pranayama. So, we will train all those who are interested in learning these. I don’t want any man or woman here to be unemployed. The Art of Living runs a project for the unemployed youth. There are so many jobs available in our country. There is a need for business. I meet so many industrialists who tell me that they don’t find people to work. There is a shortage of drivers, cooks, plumbers, electricians, masons in our country – in every field, we can involve people. The statues of our gods and goddesses are made in our neighbouring country, China. Can’t we make these statues here in India? You take this project in one of your villages. You will make all the Ganesha statues required in Maharashtra. This way, the money which is going to another country will be used here.
Women can make papads (a snack) and other Bihari delicacies here. So much work can be done. Bihar has water and sunlight. However, there seems to be some problem in planning.


We should plan in a way that everyone gets justice, especially the farmers. Everyone should live happily. We should all work towards that. We have to first remove ignorance and then work towards creating justice. Caste discrimination should be removed. Our Vedas and Puranas talk about more than a thousand Rishis. Only a few of them were Brahmins. The rest of them were from different castes and communities.
In those times, there was no casteism like what exists today. Everyone is a shudra by birth. Who is a shudra? The one who runs around crying. Doesn’t a child do that? So every child is a shudra, but when he comes into knowledge and stops crying, then he becomes a ‘Dwija’. This is what is written in our scriptures. Therefore, all saints have got equal respect here, irrespective of their caste. It is a crime to discriminate on the basis of caste. This should not be done. All the youth present here take this pledge not to discriminate on the basis of caste and to consider everyone equal. Live in harmony and respect all.

Read more at What Sri Sri Said Today

© The Art of Living Foundation

Knowledge removes the darkness of ignorance in life

Pune, 15 January 2012

True education I believe is that by which the individual is strengthened and can be away from sorrow. If someone criticizes, one can listen to the criticism boldly, and when one has to offer criticism or comment, one can give them with patience and confidence, without hesitation. There should be no timidity, there should be joy, and a sense of mental fulfilment – this is knowledge. Knowledge removes the darkness of ignorance in life, makes you joyful. Without knowledge, we remain depressed in life. Whoever is depressed, understand that he lacks knowledge. What is the reason for sorrow? Whatever you have received, will eventually go away, we will leave it all behind. Nothing is going to stay here; everything will change. Nothing will remain static here, neither our body, nor our home, our profession, our prestige – we will go beyond all these one day. Then what is the fear about?

So, it is extremely necessary to eradicate ignorance. In many villages, people do not send their children to school. They do not study. Educated people are becoming scarce in the villages, in the backward regions. We need to impart education.

Similarly, in every region, we need to obtain knowledge. What food and how we should eat it, we have no knowledge of it. We eat only carbohydrates – potato, rice, roti – we only keep eating these. Potato is starch and carbohydrate, so is rice and roti. We get only one nutrient in our diet. By adding a little bit of lentils, the meal is not balanced. That is why acidity is generated, people fall sick, they get diabetes.

If you go to North India, what they eat is brinjal, potato, and tomato, only these three things. Besides this, they cook no other vegetable at home. If anything else is cooked, it is during festivals. So much oil and chillies, along with potato, brinjal and tomato. These three have zero nutritional value. They contain no minerals. Okra/Lady’s fingers (bhindi), ridge gourd (turai), bottle gourd (lauki), carrots and many other vegetables – we forget all these. There are so many vegetables in India – parval (pointed gourd) these are not grown. Different kinds of vegetables should be grown. One should have knowledge of food.

So, ignorance has to be eliminated, and next, injustice has to be put to an end; wherever there is injustice in the name of caste, in the name of religion. Recently, a communal violence bill is being introduced by the government. If you look at it, it is rather scary; a draconian bill. Even in the Lokpal Bill that is being introduced, one who lodges the complaint gets two years’ punishment, the person against whom the complaint is being lodged gets six months’ punishment!
Read more at What Sri Sri Said Today

© The Art of Living Foundation

May everyone's tears become sweet tears of love!

Mahasatsang at Orrisa, 22 November 2011

Satsang means the uniting of hearts with hearts, communicating through the heart. All these formalities are only on the surface but your meeting with your Self is satsang.

This year the Art of Living has completed thirty years.
I remember thirty one years ago, one year before the Art of Living started, I had come here to Bhuvaneshvar. Bhuvaneshvar was a very small city at that time. There was only one street. There weren't as many houses then.
I stayed for a month in a house on the road that went to Puri. There I used to be in silence throughout the day and in the evenings I used to meet with people. Many learned people used to come and visit me from Puri, and we used to have discussions. Many people wanted that I should be appointed to the post of Shankaracharya of Puri but I did not want it at all.
When I visited the Puri Shankar mutt, it was mismanaged and run-down. Swami Niranjananand Saraswati has managed it extremely well now. But back then, thirty years ago the mutt was in a very bad condition. Many people wanted and tried to get me to take it over. But in my heart I felt that I had come here to do something else. Something else was yet to come.

So in the last thirty years, Art of Living has spread to 151 countries in the world. If you go to the last city of the Arctic pole, Tromsø (Norway), you will find people practicing pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and chanting ‘Om Namah Shivaya’. If you go to the southernmost city of the Southern hemisphere, Tierra del Fuego in Argentina, there also you will find Art of Living.
I myself was surprised, when we went to Tierra del Fuego; one thousand people were sitting in the hall singing bhajans, doing pranayama and satsang. I said, 'wow, so it has reached this far!'
There is an old saying, ‘Swadeshe pujyate raja, vidwan sarvatra pujyate’. A king is honored only in his own country, but one who is learned is honored throughout the world.
And who is learned? Not one who has only read books, but a learned person is one who has applied this knowledge to his life.
And with this goal in mind, our University has been started.

Our main goal will be not to turn out individuals with only knowledge from the books, but learned individuals who have implemented this knowledge in their lives. In whose life there is joy, happiness and creativity - a personality that would win wherever he or she goes. Such a personality has to be developed and this is the objective of our university.Taking the very best from the West and the best from the East and combining it to make an effective educational system - this is my desire. So a combination of science and wisdom; just one will not do.
In science alone, the entire western world has remained incomplete. People are so unhappy. In spite of so much scientific progress they are facing such economic degeneration and are so heavily in debt. 30-40% of the population is suffering from mental diseases and problems.
So our country should adopt the good things from there like their science. Their deficiency is because our knowledge is not there. So we should given them the knowledge from the East and incorporate the knowledge of sciences from the West in our country. Then we can be complete as individuals.
This is the reason why I want this university to strengthen individuals through both self-knowledge as well as science.


Since ages Anga, Vanga, Kalinga were renowned for education. In India, one used to go for education to Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, but now for some time Kalinga has fallen behind.
It is now time to come forward once again and for this work all of you will have to get involved. Everyone will have to participate and it is my desire that we should bring 100% literacy to Orissa and for this we all have to work.

Read more at Wisdom from Sri Sri

© 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