Look around and see who is not smiling. Now for the next few days you should take care of them.

July 22nd, 2010 - Hartford, Connecticut

Q: I am often outraged by the injustice happening around me, but realize there is also a need for love and understanding. How can I balance these feelings?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When many bristles are put together to make a broom, they are far more effective in sweeping a large hall than they would have been individually. Similarly, as sangha (group), you can achieve more. Whether it is for service or justice, you should work in groups. This is very important. Injustice is there. It is your work to turn it around. In Chinese, there is one word for both crisis and opportunity.

If you only see the problem, you become frustrated. This is no good. Work with the group and just see what you can do. In many parts of the world there is so much corruption. Money is required for everything. When our sangha stood up against corruption, we accomplished a lot.

Our youth refused to pay any bribes. When officers see this kind of conviction, It was so refreshing for them. They are also human beings after all. For our Ayurveda projects, we needed 10 different licenses. People said it would take two years just to get these! We applied for the licenses and resolved not to give any bribes. We said that we were prepared to go there 50 times if necessary. Within one month, we had all 10 licenses! So do fight against injustice, but without anger. Fight with a calm and serene mind. This is said even in the Bhagavad-Gita.

Q: My father recently passed away. How can I know how he is, where he is and what he thinks of me?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Those who have passed on to the other side shower their blessings on you. They don’t judge you and have no concerns about you. They know you will be taken care of.

Q: On one hand, desires need to be dropped, but is it okay to have a desire for liberation? When will that get dropped?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, it is okay to have a desire for liberation.

Q: If God is within us, why does God not guide us all towards good deeds alone? Why is there so much crime and violence in the world?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Imagine a movie with no villain. Imagine there is only a hero who is eating, sleeping and generally just hanging around with nothing to do! Would you watch such a movie? Opposite values are complementary. Thorns and petals both exist. You have the choice to pick up either the thorns or the petals. God is there within. He is sometimes sleeping and hiding, sometimes awake and dancing. After some sadhana, God is awake. Then He is rocking. Awaken the God and Goddess in you! A stone does not feel, but a living being does. Waking the godliness in you is essential. This is why there are particular hymns sung in India in the morning, ‘Wake up and bless us, O Lord’! On one level, it sounds ridiculous. It is the parents’ job to wake up children, but in this hymn, human beings are singing to the Gods to wake up and bless the creation. This is a paradox, and in this paradox, is hidden a deep secret of existence.

Q: Why does love always come with attachment? Is it possible to love your partner and still be dispassionate?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Attachment brings pain, but nothing comes without pain. We came into this world in a lot of pain. The process of birth itself is very painful. For nine months, we were comfortable and then suddenly the ocean around us disappeared and we had to come out! Attachment happens when your focus is not on the Being, but on the outside. Wanting to control, possess and hold on brings pain. When we are relaxed and content, love transforms to bliss. Demand and control only bring pain. Wisdom, along with love, is the answer.

Q: How can I control my anger?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Anger comes out of your love for perfection. Create some space for imperfection around you. Make a list of all the things you consider to be wrong. Then have people around you do everything on that list! When you get angry, just observe that sensation. Observe how your teeth are clenching and how the mind becomes. Take a few long deep breaths and see if it changes. However, I have no experience, since I myself have never had this problem. So my advice may not be authentic. You should ask others. There are many here who will tell you. After regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya, anger tends to settle down.

Q: What is the whole point of this life? We are born, we study, we work and then eventually one day we die. I am losing my passion for life.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Good. You are on track. What you are saying is like our intro talk. Imagine we live for eighty years. Out of that, twenty-five or thirty years we simply sleep. Ten years we spend in the bathroom. Another ten years, we are stuck in traffic. Then so many years we spend being sad and miserable. Ultimately, only some two or three years we spend in prayer, service and so on. Good that you are thinking along these lines. You are definitely on the right track.

Q: What to do when a loved one is diagnosed with a potentially terminal condition?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Bless them. Carry on, Sing, dance, meditate. If you think too much about the illness, it pulls down your energy. Medical attention is required, but have faith also. A turnaround can happen at any time. There is divine grace that is present with you. Anytime, anything is possible.

Q: Is it possible for all of us to get enlightened?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Definitely. Anytime! The seed is there. It can sprout anytime. It can become a big tree anytime.

Q: For fifteen years I’ve been with the same job and my boss doesn’t respect me at all. Should I quit and start my own business? Please give me some direction.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Choice is yours, blessings are mine.

Q: The knowledge in the Vedas contains the truth and laws of nature. Is modern science also a part of this body of knowledge?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes. Knowledge is infinite. Many scientists of modern age are the rishis (sages) of today. They explore the universe. All are to be honored, whether ancient or modern.

Today’s quantum physics discoveries are startling. There is so much similarity to Vedic knowledge. For instance, dark matter and String Theory are both present in the ancient knowledge. Dr.Hans-Peter Dürr, the physicist has told me that whenever he is giving a lecture, he feels as if he is speaking on Vedanta. The whole universe is made up of one substance, and not two. This is Vedanta. Ancient rishis and modern physicists both say the same thing.

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

Ego is the biggest problem. Yet it is very easy to overcome

Continued from the previous post..

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s talk at Ganesh Temple, New York

Q: Silence, music and logic are the three essential ingredients you have spoken of. How does logic relate to knowledge or consciousness?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Logic is essential. If you see an idol of Goddess Saraswati she is sitting on solid rock. She has a book in one hand which is logic. In the others she has rosemary beads for meditation and veena (a musical instrument). Logic, music, mauna (silence) are all essential for total development of consciousness. Knowledge is logical understanding of existence.

Q: Please say something about spiritual materialism.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I am hearing a new word today. Well, don’t divide life: this is spiritual or this is materialistic. Take a holistic view of life. In a temple there is food. In that sense both material and spiritual aspects are there. Music is both a form of entertainment and spirituality. We even put ornate clothes on our deities. Ancient people never separated the spiritual and material. They enjoyed putting precious jewels in temples.

In South India, in Madurai, kings gave away most of their precious jewels to the temples. Everything co-existed. In the same way you can treat work as worship. It is sacred. Spirituality has entered our material life. Action is sacred. Lord Krishna says, “Janma karma samay divya”. All actions are divine.Lord Krishna himself was very much of the material world except for his discourse to Arjuna. All he did was materialistic. He ruled the country, advised as a minister, and so on. Life should not be compartmentalized. Materialism and spirituality are not opposed to each other.

However, money earned through unethical means is never spiritual. It will pinch your heart. The spirit is awake in you. It is your natural instinct. If you have a plate full of food and someone comes to you, you will not be able to eat it alone. It is such a natural part of your life that you cannot renounce one for the other. Every spiritual person has to do charity. You want to be compassionate, but how can you be when you have nothing to give away. Charity cannot happen with an empty bowl.

Narayana is the pinnacle of spiritual life and Laxmi is the symbol of wealth. Both Narayana and Laxmi go together. Saraswati sat on a rock. The knowledge that you have gained will always be with you. Laxmi sits on a lotus which floats on water. You will never believe what happens in the share market. Wealth is unsteady just as a lotus floating on water. These are the eternal symbols that convey truth. Grasp what is needed. This is very important.

Q: In Celebrating Silence you say that ambition indicates lack of self-confidence. Is this so?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If I say, “I have successfully lifted this bottle of water”, this indicates I was not confident that I could have done it. Being ambitious is when you are not confident of achieving something. ‘I ran ten miles. I did not think I would do it’ - Claiming success indicates your limitation. You are unaware of your huge potential. But the attitude should be ‘ I ran ten miles? I don’t realize that I can also do 100 miles’!

Q: I have recently begun meditating. Through this I have experienced God and power of spirituality. I don’t realize what is happening when I meditate. How can I continue to progress on this path? Can you be my Guru?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I think I am doing my job. If you face any issues, have questions related to energy, yoga or meditation, you can contact me or one of the teachers at any time. It is good to follow one technique at a time. It is not good to mix techniques. When you have a deep experience, it is better to consult a trained teacher. And you can always email me.

Q: What happens to the soul after we pass away?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: What happens when a television set is switched off? The screen will go blank but TV waves are still being projected. Our bodies are like a TV screen. Of course the relay station is elsewhere. (laughter)

Q: How can one conquer the ego?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The tendency of the ego is to say “I am not crazy, I am proper. Ego is the biggest problem. Yet it is very easy to overcome. It is a one-day job. Just act like a crazy person. Can you do that? For one day. Done! Make people believe you have gone completely crazy. It is the best antidote for ego.” If you cannot do this, can you simply behave as a child for the rest of your life? No third option. Be a baby for the rest of your life or a crazy person. Be one who has attained the essence. Apart from this, keep the ego. Don’t try to get rid of it. Do this slowly. Otherwise it is impossible.

When people laugh at you, can you relax? When people point at you, just relax. Smile and accept it. A mother has no ego. Whatever the children say, she accepts. If they kick , does the mother get perturbed? If you are unperturbed, you have conquered the ego. Ego is just a feeling of having a wall between you and others. There is no wall. You belong to me and I belong to you. You are accepted the way you are.

Naturalness is the antidote for you. Be spontaneous! Ego cannot stand spontaneity. Ego wants to present everything properly and prepare beforehand. Children are so spontaneous. They make mistakes. Never mind making mistakes. Just be like a child. Anybody can say anything about you.

Another block we often have is to feel something is not practical. No need to practice anything. Our own mind is saying it is not practical. We wanted 2,000 Hindustani classical musicians to perform together. Every teacher said it was impossible. A choir in India! It is not like here with so many people and that many styles. They have their own octaves. We had a program called Antarnaad. You should see it on Youtube. There were 2,750 singers. Only one day of practice! Make the impossible possible. We should remove the block in our own mind. Top musicians were spellbound at the Antarnaad event.

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

There is a common thread in all different religions

Continued from the previous post..

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s talk at Ganesh Temple, New York

Q: Why are there so many different philosophies?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why not? God loves diversity. What if there was only okra to eat? But you have potatoes, tomatoes, beans, all kinds of fruits, vegetables and flowers. God seems to love diversity. He has created so many of us in different shapes, features and colors. He is definitely not a military person, an army general. A spirit that loves diversity must be diverse in itself too. That is what the rishis (Ancient saints) found in meditation. There is only one Ganesh and one Vishnu, but in so many different forms. See unity in diversity and celebrate diversity. Our rishis in the past had spoken of tolerance, acceptance, diversity and equal opportunity.

Why the difference? Find the common thread in different religions. According to different places, there are different customs. Time has created differences. There was one Buddha, now we have thirty-two forms of Buddhism, one Jesus Christ and now seventy-two sects of Christianity, and one Prophet Mohamed and now five different sects of Islam. In Hinduism, the variations cannot even be counted! But everyone believes in the Vedas, the Upanishads. How many different sects? Why should they not be there? Let it be there. See unity in diversity.

Q. How do we stop blaming ourselves for failures?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First of all, don’t pay any attention at all to the mind. If we pay attention, that's it. Instead, pranayama, meditation and yoga are very good solutions.

Q. Many Indians, settled here in the States, are not happy because they feel their children or families are being prevented from making progress in life. They are not coming up for whatever reason. What is the solution for handling this stress?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Is your question that people are not happy in spite of prosperity? Bring them to me. Bring them to the teachers. They will have no choice but to smile. Stress can be eliminated through stress management, dispassion and through a broader outlook to life. When you are 90 yrs old what do you want from this life? What do you want to take? What do you want to give? What impressions do you want to give to the world? What impressions do you want to take from the world? Just ponder. Just be with these few questions and the stress will leave you. Dispassion and breath uplift you. A little bit of devotion or bhakti uplifts you.

Q. Do you ever get angry? What is the solution to anger?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This is a very important question. In the 55 years of my life, I have never said a harsh word. I could not do it. The worst I have ever said is, “You stupid.”

Sometimes I want to show anger and people don’t believe me. That is my problem. Things work better with some anger. Anger is good if you are aware of it. It should last only as long as a line drawn on a water surface lasts. Some carry over anger from the previous day, previous month, or ten years ago. The mind suffers. Get out of anger, frustration, jealousy and greed. Meditation will help. Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and yoga are the answers.

Q. What is the place of thought in a free mind?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Where does thought come from? It comes from a free mind or an un-free mind? Thoughts are not free. So, you have answered the question. Free your mind of thoughts for a few moments. When astonished, shocked, in deep love, samadhi, meditation or deep sleep, your mind is free from thoughts. You get energized then.

Q. How do we locate the queen bee within us?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditate, meditate, meditate, meditate, and meditate.

To be continued in the next post..

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

'Music, knowledge and silence are ingredients for development of the consciousness'

Excerpts from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s talk at Ganesha Temple, New York

There are three essential ingredients for the development of consciousness - Music, knowledge and silence. Knowledge is logical understanding. With a few moments of silence practiced every day, we can shift our awareness. This is called Patrata. Building the capacity of the intellect can happen in a few moments of silence. This is all that is needed. The purpose of music is to lead to a space of silence and the purpose of knowledge is to lead to a space of wonderment.

Mindfulness

What is happening right now? (Laughter) Sense of mindfulness, yes? I am not saying anything and you are waiting to catch something. Are you aware of this? Instead of catching something, put your attention into the waiting. This is mindfulness. It is meditative awareness. Are you getting what I am saying? What happens when you are mindful? Suddenly a shift starts happening within you. From the scenery, you are going towards the seer. Now you are the seer and the scenery. You are looking at me, trying to understand what I am saying.

Take your attention back to yourself. You are sitting.. reading..

Observe your breath. In your mind, understand something. All the time you are saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and having a private dialogue in your mind. It is like having a discourse with yourself. Are you getting what I am saying? The shift from scenery to the seer happens with yoga. It happens with Ujjai breath and meditation. It brings up an ocean of compassion within you. It makes the intellect sharp and attentive. You become more intuitive and aware. You become friendlier and more confident.

3 levels of trust

There are three levels of trust. First, when you have confidence in yourself, you are able to trust people around you. This is the trust in the goodness of people in society. There are so many good people here (laughter). Then, trust in something that is not seen but felt. It is too big to understand, yet cannot be dismissed. Lastly, there is trust in the divinity. Before your trust in God, you need to have trust in the goodness of the world. The world contains more good than what we think of. There are only a few confused, misguided and stressed out people who are involved in all sorts of violence. In general, the world is good.

The first law of spirituality

We often blame the world and this leads to blaming ourselves. The first law of spirituality is to stop blaming others as well as yourself. Have you taken this first step? Can you do that? Without this, there is no point in going ahead. Stop blaming others and yourself. Then see what happens. Such a burst of energy and enthusiasm come up at once. I don’t mean you should never find fault with yourself. Find mistakes in yourself and correct them. You must acknowledge your weaknesses and move on. This is different from blaming yourself. Have faith in yourself and in the goodness of society. Have faith in the essence of this whole creation.

Do you use cell phones? You need a SIM card for a cell phone to work. If you don’t have a SIM card and you are dialing a number, you cannot reach anyone. Similarly, most of our prayers are not getting connected and that is why they are not being answered. My dear, you haven’t put in the SIM card.

Now, you have put the SIM card but you are in the basement. Again it doesn’t work! You are not in range in the basement. It cannot pick up the signal. Similarly, you need a battery. You need SIM card, battery and range and only then you can call anyone, anywhere. In this way, our spirit needs to be calm, serene and settled. Knowledge, music and silence are the three things which make life complete. Prayers get answered. Keep singing with emotion. With faith, silence, confidence and knowledge, prayers get heard.

Are you all still here?

What is this soul? We have heard so much about it, about self-realization. What is soul? What is self?

Want to know it? How many here have studied Physics or Chemistry? Everyone here must know a little about Physics. Our body is made up of billions of cells. Each cell in the body has a life. You use body scrub to get rid of dead skin cells. So many cells are born and dying every day. You are not an individual person. This is how the ancient rishis or sages referred to it. You are a walking township. Purusha is a town. The soul lives in the town or the body that moves around. Do you know that in your intestines there are 50,000 bacteria?

This body is changing everyday. Yet something is also not changing. To understand this, you should study a beehive. You have seen a beehive? What keeps it there? The queen bee. Once the queen bee is gone, everything disappears. In the same way, your body is made up of billions of atoms. There is a queen bee in your body. Each body is a beehive full of honey. Locate the queen bee within yourself and that is meditation. Billions of atoms are present throughout your body. It is the same in a human body as in an ant or an elephant. The outer size of the body is irrelevant. It is the unknown or atma (self) which is non-changing. It always remains. Nothing can shake you with this knowledge. You will feel at home with everybody. Nothing will disturb you. This is the essence of spirituality.

To be continued in the next post...

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

Guru Purnima message by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

America, Hartford

“Among the 12-13 full moons in a year the Vaishakha Full Moon is dedicated to Buddha (his birth and enlightenment), Jyeshtha Full Moon to mother earth and the Aashadha Full Moon is dedicated to the memory of masters. This is Guru-Purnima.

It is the day when the disciple wakes up in his fullness and in the wakefulness he can’t be but grateful. This gratitude is not of dwaita (you and me), but of advaita. It is not a river moving from somewhere to somewhere, but is the ocean moving within itself. So, gratefulness on Guru-Purnima symbolizes that fullness.

The purpose of the Guru Purnima celebration is to turn back and review and see in this last one year how much one has progressed in life. For a seeker, Guru Purnima is a day of significance, is a day of New Year. It is the day to review one’s progress on the spiritual path and renew one’s determination and focus on the goal, and to resolve what one wants to do in the coming year. As the full moon rises and sets, tears of gratitude arise and repose into the vastness of one’s own self.”

You know, our body has millions of cells, and each cell has its own life. Many cells are being born every day and many are dying. So, you are a moving town. So many cities are on the planet Earth and planet Earth is revolving and moving around the Sun. Same way, there are so many cells and so many living beings inside you and you are moving around. You are a moving township. Like in a beehive, there are so many bees which come and sit, but there is one queen bee. If the queen bee goes away, every other bee goes away. In the same way, there is an atom in our body, the queen bee. If that is not there, everything else goes away. Locate in that, in that tiniest of the tiny atom, the atma or the self. It is everywhere yet nowhere. That is the queen bee and that is what you are. That is what the Divine is, and that is the Guru principle. Like there is fatherhood, motherhood, there is Guruhood also. You all have to play Guruhood at least to somebody. You do play, you keep giving advices and guiding people consciously or unconsciously, and give them love and care. But do it with 100 percent without expecting anything in return. That is living the Guruhood, living the self. There is no difference between the Divine, you and the Guru Principle. It is all coming to one thing, the queen bee.

Meditation is relaxing and reposing in that atom. So, think of all the things that you could be grateful for, and ask what you want. And bless everybody. We receive, but not just receiving is enough, we should give and bless those who are in need.


“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

Life becomes pure when there is dedication.

Continued from the last post..

Q: Guruji, what importance, if any, should we hold on to what the Pundits, Astrologers and the Psychics say about our future and its course?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Take it with a pinch of salt. Take it lightly, everything will change. You know, what your Astrologer says, you don’t have to believe one hundred percent. Astrology is a science, but not all astrologers are scientists. You have to take it with a pinch of salt. It can change also.

Q: Beloved Guruji, I have been practicing to give a percentage of my income to uplift the society for the last twenty years. Would you please elaborate on the idea and power of charity as a spiritual practice? Love and Gratitude!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Ya ya, giving something back to the society is very important. You know, there is a proverb that says, “Rice is purified by a drop of ghee on it”. You know ghee, butter, a little fat. It was a practice in India, but we didn’t see any scientific basis for it.

Lately, when we spoke to a scientist doctor, he said it is good to have a spoon of ghee, the clarified butter, on rice, because that prevents one from having diabetes. You know why? Rice or any food, starch or carbohydrates quickly gets digested, but it takes a little longer to digest that if it has a little bit fat. Then there is less chance of you getting diabetic or heart problems. So, a cardiologist said, “it is necessary to have a little fat in carbohydrates so that it becomes complex to digest it”. I said, “look, this was said some thousands of years ago. They said, ‘rice gets purified with a drop of ghee.’ ”.

In the same way the money gets purified by charity. When you give a portion of what you have earned for a good cause then the rest of the money that you have is pure money. Similarly, the mind becomes pure by meditation, body get pure by bathing, by a shower; mind becomes pure by prana, pranayama and meditation; Intellect becomes purer by knowledge, by wisdom. See, what we are listening make us pure. There is something that happens in you when you are listening to knowledge or read Yoga Vasistha. Right? You listen to Ashtavakra and that wow sprouts from within. Knowledge makes the intellect pure. And life becomes pure when there is dedication.

Q: Dear Guruji, many of us who are on the spiritual path desire self-realization not only for ourselves but for society at large. Has such an enlightened human society ever existed on this planet, and is it utopian for one to desire this for our society in the future?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You should desire for utopia, you should have dream. You know, what you think impossible, you should really dream for it and make it possible. We did one village like that in India. There was a notorious village, notorious in the sense that nobody would go into the village after five or six o’ clock, because of robbers, thieves, full of crime and a lot of problems. This village was adopted by one of our teachers, and you know, what he turned that whole place into in three months? Unbelievable! He took this village and made everyone do the course. Now, everybody in the village, Young and old, sing and dance in the satsang everyday. They have made a rule that anybody, who smokes or drinks or any substance abuse, will be fined. So, the village is free of smoking and drinking, the entire village has become organic, and they have a shop without a shopkeeper. I have also brought a CD of this village.

In my last trip, Swami Pragyapalji told me that we have such a village, and that there is a shop without any shopkeeper but the shop runs very well. People take the needed stuff and put the money in the basket there. People were all astonished that the village has been running like this since the last two and half years. A shop without a shopkeeper and nobody steals. And they have removed locks from all the doors. No door has any locks, no house has any locks and it has become the most self-sufficient village. It has pure drinking water and the entire village is painted in pink color. Everybody chose to have pink color on their walls as a symbol of unity. Both the government of India and government of Maharashtra gave this village cash awards calling it the most ideal village. So, one teacher, if you could imagine something that is thought of as utopia, made it possible.

After seeing this, 180 villages are on the way to become ideal villages.

In New Delhi, few volunteers thought to clean the Delhi for Asian games are coming. In India, there is lot of garbage here and there, and people don’t keep streets clean. They would take things out and dump those in streets. So, they started with this idea to clean Delhi.

They thought to forget about government for everyone keep blaming the government. You cannot imagine what a group of few ‘Art of Living’ volunteers have achieved? They inspired one million people to come up and take the brooms, take the plastic bags and segregate the garbage, and clean the whole city. They could gather one million volunteers in a city of 15 million people, and they are doing this from 12th of September. The Delhi government, who was never cooperative with the ‘Art of Living’, in the sense they never came to any of our functions, suddenly woke up and decided to help them. Now, the government is announcing the great job done by the ‘Art of Living’ volunteers.

So, you should think, plan and dream what you really want. It may not happen immediately but you can achieve that.

Q: How do I overcome and move beyond the physical desires?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It depends on what is your age. If you are a teenager or just out of teenage, then it is quite but natural. There is nothing you can do about it. Keep yourself busy. If you have too much free time, only sex will occupy the mind. Have you noticed in your exam times, or when you are too busy, or you have to take a challenge, or you are going on a sports trip, or when your mind is occupied and engaged, then sex is not a big issue, it is not so compelling. But when you are too free, that is when it takes over the seat. Now, sex is not bad, but the obsession is horrible. One type of sex is when you try to satisfy, and if you do not get satisfied, there is another type that starts happening.

So many different distortions and tendencies would come up in the mind. The best thing is to do pranayama. Pranayama helps. Then, watching your food will help. If you eat too much, so much energy is there, and it needs an outlet to go somewhere. And if you are not creative, then it definitely takes the other route. So, a little bit say on the food. It is said if you cannot control your tongue, you can never control your genitals, because your tongue and genitals are connected. Sex and food are very much linked. So, your obsession can be controlled if your food is lighter and moderate in amount.

Pranayama can help you to control excessive tendencies. Music and dance will help. Some creative art, painting, writing story, and appreciating beauty will help. When you are more happy, inclination towards sex is less. But if you are miserable, restless and unhappy then inclination towards sex is much more. So, by all these things and keeping yourself busy, you can sail through the tough time. Because when you indulge in it, later on you don’t like it, and not going into sex makes you completely nuts. So, you are in a limbo sort of state. This is very difficult in teenage time; there is no way out of it other than keeping someone very very busy.And then the middle age crisis! I am analyzing all these different age groups when one has to overcome these hurdles. Still, if none of these works, just wait for the time. As you grow older, it will simply disappear. You know, time will take care of it. When you are 60, 70 or may be 80, sometime it has to drop of you. Mind, sometime, will become cool. At least then, something will wake up from within.

Q: Why do we experience death and rebirth again and again? What does it do for us?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Well, Ground hug day!

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

Love with wisdom is bliss. Love without knowledge or wisdom is pain

Continued from the last post..

Q: Please, please, please, please answer my question. Dear Sri Sri, when there is love, why suffering is also there in a relationship?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Love with wisdom is bliss. Love without knowledge or wisdom is pain. Why is there pain in love? That is what you are wondering or questioning about! It is not love which is giving you pain. If it is just purely love, that means you just care for someone, you want the best for them, and then there is no pain. But when you want something in return from them or you have demands from them, then there is pain. Small things like you love somebody and they didn’t smile at you, that is enough! You love somebody and they are interested in someone else, they flirt around or complement someone, good enough for you to burn the next 24 hours or days. Jealousy, hatred, greed, arrogance and attachment are all love’s distortions. Love by itself doesn’t bring a misery. That is why knowledge and centered-ness are so important. If you centered, you can handle all these distortions, they come for a while and they disappear.
Doesn’t matter, I will handle! I can easily manage people from falling!

Q: Another question on love. When you were here last time, you said not to say ‘I love you’ too much for too much expression of love destroys it all. Now, my husband never says it. What to do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Listen! I have no experience of all this and what husband and wife say to each other!
May be, you should ask your husband why does he love you so much. May be he is waiting for you to say. This is a chance when you can say and look at his face.

Q: Where do negative thoughts come from? If they come in me, does that mean I am negative or bad? I refocus on thoughts again and again, but they come back. I judge them, I don’t like them and I think about judgment, but I am not able to get rid of those? What should I do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Now, there is a problem. You chase them and they come to you multiplied. Just give them a tight hug and you will suddenly find they have disappeared. They are scared of your hug, but they are fond of you chasing them. So, they come back again for you to chase them again, again and again.

If too many negative thoughts are coming, reason is lack of circulation in you. Do a lot of exercises. I think you have too much free time to sit and think. If you keep yourself busy, less of negative thoughts will come. If you are constipated, for sure you will have negative thoughts. So, set your bowel movements correct. That will also help you. If vatta, pitta or kapha imbalance comes, then also you will have too many negative thoughts. Ayurveda herbs will help for that. You can take 2-3 triphla tablets in night, and something to soothe your nervous system, like shatavari. These herbs calms and soothes the system.

The company you are in can also affect the mind. Company of people who are negative, can also affect the mind.

One last thing that affect is time. Certain times, certain planetary positions and certain cosmic energies can all affect your mind. But all this will pass. Don’t be paranoid about anything. Just know that time moves on.

Q: What is the relationship between seeker, guru and the Divine?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The beginning, middle and end of a same line. It is the seed, the plant and the tree.

Q: Beloved Guruji, I see you in my thoughts and my dreams. I am free and completely surrendered in my thoughts and dreams. But why is my experience different when I meet you here. Also why don’t I get to spend time with you in person?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You are spending time with me here. You take up some project and you will definitely get to spend time with me.

Q: Guruji, is there any particularly good direction to sit in to practice our spiritual practices, and also when you are sleeping?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Any direction is OK. Usually, you face the sun if the sun is there, east and west during sunrise and sunset respectively. When sun has already set and it’s dark, usually we face the north.

But that is not so important.

Why do we face the sun in the morning or evening? This is because force of energy is from one direction. So, if you are sitting facing one side and force is from the other side that means there is no balance on the other side. Suppose, you have one light here, and no light there, then there is an imbalance between the right and the left. So, sitting accordingly balances the right and the left. You are to balance right and left for meditation. So, it is said that way.  But it is secondary, not even secondary, it is tertiary. It is not that important.

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

The aura of body is mind.

Q: An ‘Art of Living’ teacher once said that God created us and He is perfect. So, we are perfect. That’s believable. We are perfect, so shouldn’t an engineer’s work be perfect? How come it is not?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The question is perfect and the answer is even more perfect. Everything in the universe is moving from one level of perfection to another level. Milk is perfect and when it turns into yogurt, yogurt is perfect. You take out cream from yogurt, and that is perfect, and then you make butter, and that is also perfect. This is one way of looking at it. The other side of looking at it is, the milk got spoil and you make cheese out of it. When yogurt got spoil, it became imperfect and you took butter out of it. This is another way to look at it. It all depends on how you look at it. It’s imperfection that gives value to perfection. Isn’t it so? How can you call something perfect? Because there is something which is not perfect. So, the existence of something which is not perfect is absolutely essential to understand something that is perfect. So, the imperfect makes the perfect, perfect!

Q: I was wondering what exactly the mind is. Is it a little space in our brain or is it universal? And yes, I want to tell you that you rock.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Mind is energy which is all over the body. See, every cell in your body is emitting some energy and the totality of all that energy around you is what you call the mind. Mind is not present at some point in the brain, but mind is all over the body. There is so much deep knowledge about consciousness; we should sometime go much deeper into it. We will understand more. The more you understand, the more wonder-struck you are. Wow!

You know, people have phantom hand, that means they really don’t have a hand, but they feel they have a hand and they feel sensations like itching or paining in that hand. People who have lost their hand or leg in a war or accident, later sometimes, they feel they have a phantom hand or a leg. Though, they don’t have it physically. That explains or gives a clue that the mind is not just in one spot, it is all around the body. The aura of body is mind. We think that mind is inside the body, it is the other way around - Body is inside the mind. Body is like the wick of the candle and mind is like the glow all around.

Q: Dear Guruji, we have come here to appreciate silence more and more. I love it here but there are times when I would rather be alone and stay in silence. When I go to office or any social place like that, do you think too much silence is a bad thing?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Balance! Balance in life. Anything too much is no good. Too much talking is no good; too much silence is not for you now.

Q: I know that destiny plays an important role in life. Our failures and success in life are connected to destiny. But what role are we playing in our lives?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You make the destiny. What you did yesterday is a tomorrow’s destiny, and what you do now is destiny day after.

Q: The history of ancient India is filled with the accounts of enlightenment, yogis taking on supernatural states of awareness and capabilities. Yet, to help me understand, how does one interpret such stories? Are these methodologies with allegorical significance, or they point to the untapped potential hidden in each one of us?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do you know about the first airplane? Who flew the first airplane? (‘Wright brothers’ came the answer). This is what we hear or read in the books. Absolutely wrong. 50 years before Right brothers, one man from Bangalore, Subray Shastry, he went into meditation, in silence and then he went to meet a yogi. The yogi took him to deeper meditation, and he started recognizing the engines, he downloaded all that! He wrote a book called ‘Vaimanik Shastra’ and then he flew the plane in 1800 with a parsi gentleman. Parsis are the migrants of Iran to India who follow Zoroastrian religion. The parsi gentleman funded him to make the first plane. They flew it on the chaupati beach in Mumbai (or Bombay). This appeared in the ‘London times’ newspaper also. These two were put in jail by Colonial power, and they took and confiscated all the diagrams that he had made. A documentary of this came on television recently, with the newspaper cutting from England and the diagrams that he had cognized. He had made five different diagrams and this is available even today in a book called ‘Bhardawaj Vaimanik Shastra’ – The science of plane by Rishi Bhardawaj. He explained what type of engine that a plane has which takes off straight like a helicopter, and one which goes running and then takes off.

You can find all the details in the website http://www.bharathgyan.com/

More from the same conversation in the next post..

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

Wisdom quotes by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

  • "Spiritual blossoming simply means blossoming in life in all dimensions - being happy, at ease with yourself and with everybody around you."
  • When there is boredom, there will be frustration also; they are twins. But if they dominate your life, that is misery. And if they just come as a fleeting moment and touches you and passes away, if they are like salt in your life, it's okay. It adds taste. But if the salt is taken for a meal, you have trouble.
  • If you want to grow in Divine Love, you have to drop the pride and all the artificial walls that we build between ourselves and others. Through these walls, we keep judging others, and we think others are judging us.
  • An uncommitted mind is miserable. A committed mind may at times experience rough weather but it will reap the fruits of its toil.
  • The ultimate purpose of life is to be of service.
  • The sattvic intellect is one that just does the job joyfully and is unmindful of the results. Let things happen or not happen--either way they don't lose their enthusiasm.
  • Abundance is a state of mind within you. If you just look at "lack," the lack increases in life. See what you have, and then abundance increases.
  • "Faith is realizing that you always get what you need. Faith is a giving the Divine a chance to act."
  • Whatever feeling is there in you at the moment, be with it one hundred percent. Share it with the Divine.
  • Love is that phenomenon of dissolving, disappearing, merging, becoming one with the infinite. Love is that phenomenon of total letting go.

“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
art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

The center of gravity in the body is the solar plexus, and the center of the solar system is the sun.

July 15, 2010
Montreal Ashram, St. Mathieu du Parc, QC


Q. A question from someone on ART Excel Course: When the cops or anyone in the military shoot or kill anyone in war does it count as their good or bad karma?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Let us take the policeman. A policeman is doing his job to keep peace in society, so it is not a bad thing. In the military, one who is following orders, is only doing his job. The man who gives the orders, gets the karma.

Q. Can you please talk about our connection of our solar plexus and the sun? How to strengthen the connection, strengthen our nervous system and increase our immunity?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Pranayama and meditation. Simply know there is a connection. You are connected to the air all around. Whether or not you know, the connection is there. The center of gravity in the body is the solar plexus, and the center of the universe is the sun.

Q. Until 18 months ago I never believed in spirituality. Art of Living has changed my thinking and made an impact in my life. However there is something missing in my life and I don’t know what it is. The daily practices help keeping me smiling, but there is still unhappiness within me. Please tell me how to rejoice from within as well.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A couple of advanced courses, (a couple of hollow and empty meditations). And listen to Ashtavakra Gita.

Q. Does your mission of lifting up the world get heavy at times? If so, what helps?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: All your work helps. When you write and talk about it. Prejudice in the world needs to be overcome.  It’s much less but that hurdle needs to be overcome. And all of you can help. Everyone can help in reducing the prejudice.

Q. The Bhagavad Gita is very close to my heart. And yet there is a passage in it that confuses me. It is when Arjuna wishes to flee the battle and renounce the world. But Krishna urges him to fulfill his duty by staying put and fighting.How is this advice understood with the principle of non-violence, a concept also central to the Gita? Is it similar to the notion of a just war in Christian and Islamic theology?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The whole essence of the Gita is to act without being attached to the action. It's all about yoga, not about war but your attitude. When you are faced with a situation like war, how do you manage yourself? The worst situation in life is when you have to face a war and when you have to fight not with an enemy, but with some of your own people. When you have to fight with your own brothers and sisters, how do you handle the situation? It's easy to fight a war with an enemy, someone you don’t like. But fighting with someone who is part of your own family is the worst thing.

If you can manage your mind in the worst scenario, then you can manage yourself in any situation. Given the extreme example of how you can manage the mind, the consciousness, yourself, that’s the whole essence of the Gita, not the war. Skill in action is yoga.

A similar knowledge was taught by Ashtavakra, in the palace. When your spirit is very high and you want liberation, that was Ashtavakra's state. And when your spirit is so low, totally desperate, completely broken and depressed, that was Arjuna’s state. At that time the same knowledge of the Self was given to him in the Bhagavad Gita.

Q. I have a question about karma. Can we wipe out past karma, can a Guru wipe out our karma? Can we start afresh?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes.

Q. Is it humanly possible to love the Divine as much as the Divine loves me? I want to love the Divine more and more but this stupid ego, mind and body get in the way. How to stop it from coming in the way?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The nature of love is such that it always feels it is not enough, not sufficient. In love, you will never feel that’s it, enough is enough. When you are in love you think you should do more, give more and love more. That sense of wanting more, that sense of in-completion. That’s why love is infinite. Infinite has no end, no boundary - more and more, never bored. Boredom means boundary.

Q. I heard you say this and I also strongly believe God is everywhere. How important is it to do Puja, or go to a pilgrimage place like Rishikesh, or take a bath in sacred places?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It's like you have food at home and sometimes you go to a restaurant also. You don’t go to a restaurant because you don’t have food at home. Everything is everywhere and you enjoy the flavors equally.

Q. Can you explain the meaning of accidents and illness in our life? What does it mean when they keep happening to us, even when we do actions to take care of ourselves, like coming to this course?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, whether you come to the course or go shopping, it is the same. If you don’t stop at a red light or stop at a green light, someone will hit you. They don’t see you. When you falter with the traffic rules, or someone else falters, then you are in trouble. You are not in isolation; you are in connection with many other factors in life.

Q. Can you say something about angels, do they exist?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes they exist. Angels are so filled with good intention, they are very benevolent. They do exist, not just in the physical bodies sitting here, but there are others in the ethereal bodies too.

Q. I have a strong tendency to be future-oriented. Always planning, imagining and having expectations from the future, clearly this doesn’t serve me. Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to free myself of this tendency. Please advice.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: More knowledge and meditation.

Q. As a young person I look forward to growing old. Yet one of my greatest fears is some of the mental illnesses which afflict the elderly. Is it possible for the human condition to transcend such illnesses? If so, what are the steps one should take to master them?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You are doing the right thing already - This knowledge, this path, yoga. As you keep growing older, keep practicing yoga, take proper food, proper rest, proper attitude in life and yoga.

Q. Is there life on any other planet in the universe?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes there is.

Q. Can you please say something about Sri Aurobindo and what his message and life were about?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know, when you are asking about Sri Aurobindo, you already know. He wished more and more people would meditate. So the seed he had sown meant greater access to the collective consciousness. It's happening now. Those days it was very dull, although a few French people really caught on to it.

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Montreal ashram July 12, 2010


That which you don't want done to you and you do it to others is wrong

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

'Just smile through. Take things as they come'

What Sri Sri said today:

July 10, Vancouver, Canada:


No technique really works (laughter). It is you who makes it work. That is called shraddha. Shraddha can be roughly translated as faith. When your intention and attention are there, manifestation happens. If your intention is not there it will not work. Sudarshan Kriya works because there is an intention behind it. For anything to work, you must have intention and attention. Then manifestation happens.

Now we will do some pranayama. Let’s begin with alternate nostril breathing. Check your nostrils. You know, when the left nostril is active then the right brain is active. And vice-versa. The right brain is music. The left brain is logic. So those who have the right nostril active would understand me better. If both are active you are in meditation. However if only the right nostril is active, no meditation happens. Your state changes every time you open and close your eyes. After food, the right nostril should dominate. When the right nostril functions the metabolism is 50 percent higher. When the left is functioning, our metabolism is much slower.

Active nostrils change because they live in an ocean of prana(energy). Breath moves from right to left nostril depending on the situation. If you are driving around a church, temple or any place of worship, both nostrils will become active. The prana of both, the body and spirit, is up in those places. When people are in full devotion in a place of worship, this happens. When you meet a spiritual guide both your nostrils will become active. When you meet a spiritual person, your own voice will tell you.

Q. Guruji, please promise to come to Vancouver every year now.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know, my year has 700 days. (laughter)

Q. When we meditate you say don’t put any effort, but a part of you wants to put effort because there is a feeling that there is nothing to do. What to do with that?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do bhastrika, asanas. Put effort in that. When you sit for meditation you don’t need to put any effort. See for catching a train you need to make an effort, but once you are inside the train with your baggage you needn’t keep running inside. That would not get you to your destination any faster. Once you have boarded you can simply relax. Just as on a flight, all seats will reach at the same time to the same place.

Q. How to control desire?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Be in the now. Desire is wanting to be happy tomorrow. Be happy and joyful now. Like children, if you ask them what they want, they will say nothing. Because they are happy with 'now'.

Q. Guruji, can you see the aura of other people?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Is this a big deal? You can also see.

Q. How to get rid of fatigue and headache?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yoga and pranayama.

Q. How do you know if an answer is coming from within or from the rational mind?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is no criteria. The calmer and serene the mind is, the right answer will come to you.

Q. How does one stop the flow of negative thoughts?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Negative thoughts are due to three reasons. If your blood circulation is not good, if the lymphatic system is not ok or if bowel movement is irregular. In all these cases negative thoughts are likely. You can go on a fruit diet and cleanse your intestines. Then, pranayama will help. Take Triphala (an ayurvedic supplement) for a few days. Do yoga, pranayama and meditation. You will definitely find a difference. Group sadhana (practice) will also help.

Q. Are thoughts internal or external?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Thoughts are in the mind. The mind is all around you. Both inside and out.

Q. Why do we cry in front of God and how can we bring ourselves closer to God?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It makes you feel better when you release the tears. The impressions go themselves. You don’t need any effort to make yourself close to God. God is the closest thing to you. There is no escape from God! However you are, good or bad, God is all around you. Like there is air all around you. Whether you are awake or asleep, air is all around. When you feel hot, you stand in front of the fan. The fan is just blowing the air ,which is already there. Satsang is like a fan. The Master is like a fan. Only then do you feel the blow of the air.

Q. Please explain the meaning of Sat Chitananda.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sat is “that exists.” Chit is “that knows.” Ananda is “bliss.”

Q. How does one get over past childhood problems?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It’s already gone. If you think it is still in the mind, then rub it off. De-link the pain from the memory. But if you put effort in trying to do that, you bring the memory back. However, in meditation you feel the pain as a sensation and not as connected to an event. In the Art of Silence Course, during the Hollow and Empty Meditation, you observe pain as a sensation. The very first experience of life was pain, coming out of our mother’s womb through such a small passage. Before that you were in bliss. You didn’t even need to eat. Then suddenly the water got drained and you came out crying. Have you noticed the expression on a newborn’s face? It is as though they came out from ten hours of hard work! The first experience is that of pain. Then the child looks into the mother’s eyes, and then the mother experiences the love.
Don’t see pain as an event.

Q. How does one deal with separation anxiety?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Ujjayi breath. You are in the ocean of breath.

Q. What happens to a relationship when someone passes away? Does it end or does it continue into the next lifetime?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Both are possible. Some end and some continue to the next lifetime.

Q. How can we come out of yes and no in the mind?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just smile through. Take things as they come.

Q. Is it our responsibility to give birth to a child? Or can we leave this in God’s hand?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you feel you want a child, go for it. Simple. Even this thought of wanting a child may be from the universal thought.

Q. How can one always remain committed?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do you want an answer? You are committed to getting an answer? Let me see how long you can hold on to that commitment. You know, there is nothing like one commitment. It does not work like that. From time to time you have to take on commitments in life. That is part of your nature. If you are weak, you will drop your commitment everyday. If you are strong, you will stick to it. How does one become strong? Pranayama and meditation.

Q. Why do people meditate? Is it alright to sleep during meditation?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It’s fine unless you are snoring and troubling others! (laughter) Meditation is deep rest. What is samadhi? It is equivalent to a million years of rest. If you meditate even for a second and sleep before and after, never mind. Even if it is sound sleep. So what?

Q. Please speak about forgiveness toward ourselves and others.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t do it, if it is hard. Go the easy way. If it is hard to forgive, never ever forgive. If it is easy to hold a grudge against somebody, keep it with you all your life. In that case you should be happy with it. Can you be happy with a grudge against somebody? If somebody made a mistake, it is their problem and not yours. You just go the easy way.

The struggle is that we want to forgive but we can’t. We should look at every culprit as a victim. If the person was unjust to you, clearly he was not happy. Otherwise, he would not have done it. He was not as refined and cultured as you. Whose mistake is that? If that person was enlightened, or had knowledge he would not have done it. So be compassionate.

Q. Please talk about domestic violence and how one can live with it?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Domestic and social violence both arise out of stress. We never teach people how to handle stress. No one is given spiritual knowledge. Don’t you think this knowledge of meditation and Sudarshan Kriya should reach everybody? This knowledge of non-violence should reach all.

Somehow we have to reach this knowledge to people. You cannot tolerate domestic violence. Educate people. Put your 100 percent to bring them to knowledge and meditation. Through this, you will see how their whole attitude changes. There is a village of 600 people in Nanded Province in India. It had the usual challenges of a village - alcohol, debts, etc. One 'Art of Living' teacher took it as a challenge and started teaching courses in small groups. Within a few months there was a huge change in. Today everyone gathers together in the evening and sing together. Nobody drinks or smokes, or takes tobacco. There is no crime. There is one store in the village that runs on trust, without a shopkeeper. It has been running in this manner since three years without any theft. The entire village is organic. Nobody is unemployed. There are no locks on doors in the entire village. All the houses are painted pink to show unity. They keep it so clean. They are self-sufficient and environment-friendly. They have received the “Most Ideal Village” award. One hundred and eighty villages of Karnataka and altogether 500 villages are now following this model. Every person does pranayama.

A lot needs to be done. We have 140 schools in areas where there are no roads or electricity. We have a good number of children studying in these schools. They receive free education. First generation literates achieve such good grades in school. The President of the World Bank asked us how our projects are successful. I explained that money is not always the reason. Love and spiritual energy make projects successful.

Q. How does one handle fear of death?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you isolate and think only of yourself then you will have the fear of death. Once you are in service, there is no fear of death. Terrorists are committed to something so they are not afraid of life or death. If you want to do good for others, your commitment to it will take care of this fear.

Q. What is your advice for people on planet Earth? How can we live such that after 50-100 years we would still have fresh air to breathe?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Care for nature, like native communities worship nature. Honor the environment. In a place in India if you cut one tree, you have to promise you will plant five of the same kind within the next forty days. There is a whole ritual in which one who is cutting the tree speaks to it, telling it that after cutting it will be useful to us. We must care for nature, not exploit it.

Q. What to do if you love someone but the other person doesn’t love you enough?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do not ask them “Do you really love me?” Ask them “why do you love me so much?” Tell them they love you too much and “I think I don’t deserve this.” You have to go on this trip and do everything with style. Any problem in life should be handled with style.

The whole of life is a game to be played. It is not a struggle. Nothing can destroy you. You are a drop of immortality, a drop of something eternal. Your spirit is eternal. And it is alright if this does not ring a bell right now. I will just say what I know and some day you might authenticate it. Do not be afraid of anything. We have no choice.

Q. How were you able to establish three centers in Pakistan?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The people of Pakistan are very good. They just do the Sudarshan kriya. We have teachers there. When you are stuck in concepts, you are in the box. It is when you get an experience that you can come out of the box.

Q. Please speak about what will happen in the year 2012.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The year 2012 is a fascination. It has become such a sensation. No news is good news till it has become a sensation. We will have more work to do. People will become more spiritual. It will become a necessity and not merely a fashion. The Golden Age is already here.

I think now I have said everything. Many things can be said without words. Some things can’t be said with words and some cannot be said even without words. Even if you say, you may not grasp it.

You are so fortunate. Remember these words when you go home. You are very fortunate. You are so amazing and beautiful. Remember this knowledge. Spread joy and smiles. Lessen worry and bring more joy in everyone’s lives. You do this job and let the Divine take care of you. Smile at everyone.

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

‘Perfection in mind is keeping our mind in peace’

What Sri Sri said today

Surrey, Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, July 9:

Excerpts from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s talk at the Lakshmi Narayan Temple

Our voices should be strong. The voice of truth and religion is weak. When the voice of violence is strong, it creates trouble. When the voice of love is strong and the voice of violence is weak, that is satyayuga (the age of truth). The voice of Lord Rama should be stronger than Ravana’s. Only then can he win. It is the same with Lord Krishna.

It is when life feels like a struggle that we must focus on knowledge. Even Arjuna was not first told to fight. He was told to be in knowledge and meditation. Only then should we work. Always be in knowledge and then work.

To get knowledge we don’t need to go to the Himalayas. Knowledge can come even in the activities of everyday life. Wanting perfection in work sometimes creates anger. If somebody does something wrong, it can create anger.

There are three types of perfection:
  1. Perfection in mind is keeping our mind in peace.
  2. Perfection in speech is to speak only when needed. No need to get into fights.
  3. Also there is perfection in action. Perfection in action is not 100 percent possible.


However, perfection in mind and speech can be obtained by sadhana (spiritual practices), seva (service) and satsang (music and meditation). Once our mind and speech are perfect, work will also become perfect automatically.

I am very happy that the temple authority here is securing the culture of India. The culture of India is to accommodate everyone. Nobody is different. We have made everybody our own. For instance, the Guru Granth Sahib expresses Brahmgyan in simple language. This is the special aspect of India. We should not keep this knowledge within us. We should share so that everybody gets the benefit. This is also important.

Often people ask, “Why do we pray to so many gods and goddess?” The Paramatma (the Divine) is one, yet called by different names. Just as with the same flour, we may make noodles sometimes and on another occasion, samosa (an Indian snack) or something else. It is still all the same flour. In the same way, it is the same Paramatma that we evoke through different names, forms and colors.

The meaning of aarti is complete happiness. Only when our life’s radiance is around God, do we get complete happiness. We should dive into the meaning of all rituals and then we will be happy and make others happy. We have to get rid of unhappiness. We all should do pranayama. We should focus on our breath everyday for 10 minutes or so. This is called pranayama and kriya. Through this, people can experience bliss. To be in bliss is total rest. The kriya also helps to maintain health as well as purifies the mind, intellect and emotions. It helps us to come out of our guilt and be in the present moment.

Do you use a cell phone? If you keep on pressing numbers but there is no SIM card inside, will it work? Now if you have the SIM card and no range, will it work? If the range and SIM card are there, but no charge, will it work?

Sadhana is the SIM card, range is faith. If you pray and claim that God didn’t hear, you don’t have a SIM card. No prayer will work. The charge is satsang. Temples and Gurudwaras are places to charge up. If we fight in a temple or Gurudwara, then also the pure energy will be lost. God will not be there.

Where all are happy, God comes. When the mind is happy our work gets done and we are able to bless others to heal themselves. All powers are hidden within the Self. Atma gyan (Self knowledge) will bring these out. If you bless people, everything will manifest. If you have a cell phone but don’t dial the number, will that work? You have to connect to yourself, prakriti (your nature), atma and paramatma. Then everything will manifest. That is why we have made a lot of blessers*. Blessers are already happy. They can bless people and heal them.

A village has been transformed from a very badly reputed place in Maharashtra, India to a model village. People were fearful to go there. Now 700 families are in satsang there everyday! We have found that there are no locks needed in that village anymore. There is only one store with no store-keeper. People go there to buy food, and they themselves put the the price of the commodity taken in the boxes. This has become a model village with clear water and every house is colored in pink. People do their own cleaning. They have switched over to organic farming. There is no chemical farming. Everybody is employed. For the past three years this village has been running like this and 180 more villages are moving along the same track. Nobody drinks alcohol or smokes.

We can make this dream a reality. We can make it happen. We have got everything and we are sitting here, keeping our mind free, clean and pure. Our only condition is you have to leave all your tension, stress, worries, pain. All these you must leave here and go home with a smile. Life is to be lived with happiness. We should not live life with sadness nor make others sad. Leave every unhappiness here. I am here only to remind you that God is there and He is your very own.

Thirty minutes of meditation will make you look brighter. We should all meditate for thirty minutes everyday. We should all go to temple and sit with our eyes closed for a few minutes. Do not leave a temple without meditating.

* Graduates of Art of Living’s Blessing course

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

Our Connection to Nature

12th July 2010

The realities explored in science and spirituality are often assumed to be unrelated to one another. Both find their basis in a spirit of inquiry. Modern science is objective analysis, while spirituality is subjective understanding. Science explores the outer world with a series of questions beginning with the basic query, “what is this? What is this world all about,” while spirituality begins with the question, “who am I?”

In the ancient world these two forms of knowledge were not in conflict, but were understood to have a deep and subtle connection. Man’s knowledge of himself complemented his understanding of the universe and formed the basis for a strong and healthy relationship to the creation in which he lived. It is the disconnect between these two types of knowledge which is causing many of the challenges that we face as a global community today.

Ancient wisdom describes human beings as having five layers of experience: the environment, the physical body, the mind, the intuition and our self or spirit.

Our connection with the environment is our first level of experience, and one of the most important. If our environment is clean and positive, it has a positive impact on all the other layers of our existence. As a result, they come into balance and we experience a greater sense of peace and connection within ourselves and with others around us.

An intimate relationship with the environment is built into the human psyche. Historically, nature, mountains, rivers, trees, the sun, the moon have always been honored in ancient cultures. It’s only when we start moving away from our connection to nature and our selves, that we begin polluting and destroying the environment. We need to revive these attitudes that foster our connection with nature.

Today we live in a world where many have become greedy and want to make quick profits and achieve quick results. Their actions disrupt the ecological balance, and not only pollute the physical environment, but also stimulate negative emotions on a subtle level, within themselves and also in those around them. These negative energies expanded and compounded again and again are the root cause of much of the violence and misery in this world.

Most wars and conflicts are triggered by such feelings, and result in damage to the environment, which then takes a long time to restore and repair. We need to attend to the human psyche which is the root cause of pollution, both physical and emotional. If compassion and care are kindled within our selves, they will form the basis for a deeper connection to, and care for, both others and the environment.

In ancient times, if a person cut one tree, he planted five in return. The ancient people did not wash clothes in holy rivers; only ashes from cremation were submerged in the river so that everything dissolved back into nature. We need to revive traditional practices of honoring and conserving nature.

Nature has its own means of balance. If you observe nature, you will see that the five elements which form its basis are opposed to each other. Water destroys fire, fire destroys air. Then there are so many species in nature – the birds, reptiles, mammals; all these different species are hostile towards each other, and yet nature balances them out. We need to learn from nature how to balance opposing forces, within ourselves and in the world around us.
Above all, we need to be able to experience our world with an open mind that is free from stress, and from that place we need to create the means of protecting our beautiful planet earth. For this to happen, human consciousness must rise above greed and exploitation. Spirituality, the experience of one’s own nature, deep within, provides the key to this vital relationship with oneself, with others and with our environment. This connection to our own essential nature eliminates negative emotions, elevates one’s consciousness and creates a spirit of care and commitment for the whole planet.

What would help to elevate our consciousness and deepen our connection? Here are a few basic and effective pointers:

1. A proper diet. Our food influences our mind. The Jain tradition has done much research on the effect of food on the mind. Ayurveda and Chinese systems and many other native systems the world over have recognized the effect of food on the psyche. Modern science confirms that food can have a direct bearing on our emotions. Emotionally disturbed children tend to eat more and suffer from obesity. A properly balanced diet has a positive impact on our emotions and thereby on our consciousness.

2. Light to moderate exercise.

3. Panchakarma. In the ancient medical system of Ayurveda, there is a process of internal cleansing called panchakarma that involves massages, a prescribed diet and cleansing. This has helped thousands of people to come out of stress and behavioral disorders and is also a curative for many illnesses.

4. Yoga, Pranayama and meditation. These are extremely vital to induce a sense of respect for one’s own body and the environment. They help to maintain a toxin-free system and thereby reduce the occurrence of emotional disturbances.

5. Music and dance. These can bring rhythm and harmony in the body-mind complex; especially music that is not too loud and violent. Music that is soothing and creates a gentle sway and rhythm in one’s system, like folk and classical music.

6. Nature. Spending time in nature, observing silence and engaging in prayer is very congenial for helping us to reflect on our own mind.

7. Last but not the least: service to the less fortunate.

Reference From..

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

The best thing in life is to have a balance between emotions and intellect


Q: How to have celebration when I feel tired with service?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That means you have not completed your service. And when service is done with the spirit of celebration, then it does not tire you or wear you off. See you have been so enthusiastic for two –three days, but I don’t see any of you tired. You gain so much silence with meditation, and you should take care of that. There should be moderation in activity, moderation in talk, moderation in everything. Do not over do in anything.

Q: Guruji, we get plenty in life yet a feeling of dissatisfaction remains with unfulfilled desires, which really give pain sometimes. How to deal with them?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You have done the basic course. What did you learn in the basic course - There is failure sometimes and there is success sometimes in life, and you have to accept both. You can never be satisfied with a failure, it will give pain only. Then what to do at that time? There are two methods for that-‘so what?’ and ‘so hum’! So you have these keys to handle the situation!

Q: Guruji, I was doing service today and I must admit that I did service only to draw your attention.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Never mind! You know, don’t feel guilty that you did service to get attention. At least you did service!  And as you will move on, you will improve. Many times people also ask questions just to draw attention, I know that! But don’t make the habit to have just attention, do both.

Q: We have heard you saying that plenty of blessings are being given here, but how much amount we can receive depends totally on the capacity of our container. So, is there a way to increase the capacity or size of our container to have more?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
yoga increases your capacity, your skills. Yoga, Pranayama, Dhyan- all the things which you are doing here increase your capacity and your qualities. Service does that too.

Q: How should the breath be –long deep one or restful slow ones?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You should take long as well as restful breaths sometimes. When you take long and deep ones, it gives you prana, and slow and restful ones will give you rest and meditation.

Q: In the modern world today, many suffer from diabetes which cannot be cured fully with allopathic medicines. Can it be cured by yoga?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Some types of diabetes can be cured with the combination of yoga and ayurveda , but they may not work in certain type of diabetes.  Here at the Research Center, some research has been conducted by Dr Vedamurthacharya who has published 43 papers on it. You can talk to him. He has tested on over 1000 diabetic people, who after doing sudarshan kriya and following proper diet have overcome diabetes.

Q: I have to struggle all the time for every work, and I don’t get the satisfactory results either. What should I do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why do you have to put these ideas in your mind- ‘I have to struggle for everything, and I don’t get satisfactory results’?  You only put this sort of affirmation on yourself –got it? It may be like that at sometime in the past, but it may not be like that in the future.

Q: What should I do to increase concentration?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do more advance courses.

Q: What should I do so that I get enlightenment? I want enlightenment, I want to see God.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You want enlightenment? You want to see God? Do service and just relax!

Q: I do sadhna every day, but I want to be with you all the time and if I see other people talking to you, I keep hallucinating that you speaking to me only. Sometimes I feel any gesture of yours works and I feel alright, but today while meeting our entire group, you didn’t even see or look at me. So, I don’t know if that is obsession and how do I get over it?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, the moment you knew it was obsession, you already got over it. OK? So, it is OK to draw attention for a while but you don’t have to draw attention all the time. You be happy, be centered, keep doing service, sadhna, satsang. Don’t sit and do analysis –“Was it devotion or was it hallucination?”- Analysis makes it even worse.  Just be natural, move on, and take it as it comes-OK? Got it? See, we always get what we need. This basic principal we must keep in mind and keep moving.

Q: For doing any work, I think Guruji is asking me to do it. It works, but it has hampered my normal living.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You should have a balance - what your inner voice says, what your gut feeling is, and then use your inner strength rest of the time. The one hampering you-that’s called ‘yoga maya’. Sometimes ‘yoga maya’ comes in mind and says things which are not correct also. That’s why we shouldn’t lose our intellectual discrimination ability while ordering and understanding to inner dimensional consciousness. This state happened to Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa also, and to many enlightened people in the world that the inner vision comes, a voice comes. So, go with a balance. Go slow with both intellect and feelings. Got it? Your feelings are as important as your intellect. Many people survive only on intellect and some survive only on feelings. The best thing in life is to have a balance between emotions and intellect, between heart and the mind.

Q: Guruji, in Geeta what does Lord Krishna mean by the world as play of gunas?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If we start about Geeta, it will take a long time. So, not now. You read again. Sometimes you read and immediately understand it, and sometimes you read hundred times and then understand the same thing.

Q : Sometimes I feel good and sometimes bad. How to balance?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Keep silence for a few days and then essential right things will come out.

Q: I have been doing sudarshan kriya for last 6 years and living totally a new life in terms of getting over negative emotions etc. But I have a small problem of forgetting things; my memory is not as sharp now as it used to be. How to get on with this problem or I should leave it?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You should take ayurvedic medicines- brahmi, and shankhpushpi etc. as per  your age. And the food habits that we have in our country is not good for memory power because we eat so much starch, so much of carbohydrate and so little vegetables. So, change your diet. Have more intake of proteins, vegetables and fruits, and some ayurvedic supplements like brahmi etc. This, along with your pranayama and yoga will improve memory.

Q: You say, choice is ours and blessings are yours. For two-three years, I have not been able to decide my career. I take up jobs and then leave. Can you choose one for me?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Any career you choose, after sometime you may feel oh, this is not the right one. People who have become doctors say, ‘we should have become engineers’, those who are engineers may feel they should have been lawyers and make easy money! So every profession has its dark side. That’s why I say you move on in any profession of your choice and do it. And I chose one career for you? No way! I refuse to. You chose the profession; I give the blessing. My blessings are there.

Q: Guruji, what is Time and can we modify time and its speed?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Time is distance between two events or happenings. It appears longer in sad moods and shorter in happy moods, and its speed can be modified by silence.

Q: In your discourse on Narada Bhakti Sutra, you say everything is illusion. Then if everything is illusion, does that mean there is no need to do anything?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
First you hear the full talk. Making concepts after hearing half or one tape is not advisable.

Q: Whenever I meet you, I don’t feel satisfied. I feel you give more time to others than me. Today also in darshan line, you never looked at me and moved ahead. And whenever I get a chance to talk to you, I just don’t know what to talk! Then I think, “Oh! I forgot to ask this, forgot to tell this”. The analysis starts in my mind. What to do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
How can I not see you? I leave none unseen, I see each and every one-all who come to visit me in the darshan line. And you forget to ask or tell anything on meeting me, that’s OK. You have told it now, got your chance, yes?

Q: We heard that Abhimanyu learnt one of the difficult and tactful war act called ‘chakravyuh’ while he was in his mother’s womb. So, is it possible to learn something while in womb also?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, it is true.

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation

‘You continue through the events, untouched by them’


Vancouver, July 10:

Take 15 seconds to greet the person next to you. Just familiarize with the person next to you. We convey more through our presence than our words. Our presence conveys reality. Communication happens through vibes. We often say this, “I don’t get good vibes.” It is so true. True communication happens through the vibrations. I may stand here for two hours talking about love and it would not mean anything. Yet just a look from a baby says everything. If you are stressed and angry, those vibes will be communicated to others. Neither at home nor at school has anyone taught us how to handle these vibes. There is a way. See, life from a broader perspective. In your body, there are billions of cells that are born and die everyday. When you use a face scrub, it removes the dead cells. Many cells are born and many die, but you remain the same.

In the same way, see the world as changing. You continue through the events, untouched by them. You are a diamond. Nothing can shake you. Nothing can ever reduce your love. We are above all incidents. Someone may praise or blame, but nothing can touch you. You are like a glowing lamp, a flower that is ever fragrant. Are you are still here? Is it too airy-fairy? It appears to be a dream but it is true. You are connected with everyone in the universe. Whether people acknowledge or not you are the heart of the universe, heart of this existence. This is exactly what spirituality is. Recognize that you are the center of this entire existence. You are not the small ego. Rather you are the consciousness that has no boundaries. It is so vast. Every child has this from birth, but somewhere we enclose ourselves into these limited identities. We must see through this veil. Meditation is one important tool for this.
Are you all here? What is happening now? Want to hear more? What next?

Real intelligence is not what we communicate verbally. Are you with me? Verbal communication is incidental. It merely fills in the gaps.

Meditation has three golden rules to follow. First, be relaxed and comfortable. For the next 10-15 minutes, sit with a thought that “I want nothing.” Got it? If you say, “I want to drink water,” you are not meditating. The second rule is, “I do nothing.” For these next 10 minutes, ‘I do nothing. I want nothing and I do nothing.’ The third rule is “I am nothing.” If you think you are intelligent, forget it. Yet if you think you are stupid, you are in the same boat. If you think you are too poor or too rich or very holy, forget about it. If you think you are a sinner, forget about it. So you are nothing! You want nothing, you do nothing and you are nothing. These are three golden rules for meditation.

Q: In a world full of jealousy and hatred, how do I go on a path of humbleness and serenity?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Don’t label the world. Some people are this way, but don’t pay too much attention to them. Just move on. Let them get cooked in their jealousy. It is alright. That which you put attention on, will grow. Manifestation follows intention and attention.

In the 55 years of my life I have never said a bad thing about anyone. It is my nature. At the most I would have said stupid. I never said or wished bad. If your intention is clear, I tell you, you will move on. If someone is jealous, what do you do? Just move on. Your attention should be on something higher, on the blossoming.

Q: I have seen people around you grow beyond their capacities. How do you motivate and inspire them?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The president of the World Bank asked me the same thing, “How come all your projects find success? We also start many projects, but all do not find success.” It is not just the money, but your intention, attention and clarity that work. If we change the way we look at things, we find everything starts from within. If they are better inside, they get better outside. You become the agent for change.

Q: How can someone free the body from an overactive mind?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sudarshan Kriya, meditation, some yoga and proper food will take care of this.

Q: I just want to thank you for all the blessings. Why is that every time I see you I cry?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Oh my god, you are taking away my reputation! Every time people see me they smile. Yet tears of love and gratitude are also very precious. When the heart opens it brings tears to the eyes.

Q: How can one find the purpose of life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Become calm and listen to your inner self. Do you all have cell phones? What do you need for the cell phone to work? If there is no SIM card, will it work? If there is a SIM card, but you are far away, will it work? You need a SIM card, signal and the battery must be charged. So all three are required: battery, SIM card and closeness to the tower.

Even if you have all three but you don’t dial, will it work? You need to do that much. The spiritual connection is the tower. Self-effort is that little dialing and meditation is charging. Then our prayers will be answered. Sometimes the prayers are not answered. Why? Because there is no SIM card. You have the ability to bless and grant others’ wishes when the mind is serene.

Q: I feel very uncomfortable in the presence of some people even if they are total strangers. Why does this happen?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Take it as an exercise. Meditate. Go deep into yourself. You will find this discomfort goes away. You give it too much importance. If you realize you are bigger, the vibrations will change. When you change they will also change.

Q: How can you find a purpose for living if you have lost your self-respect?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Self is not lost, so the self-respect is not lost. Come on, wake up. You are loved and accepted by many. You are a precious flower of this planet. Do something useful. Do not think only about yourself.

Q: What causes anger?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Your desire for perfection is the cause of anger. Leave room for imperfection. Perfection in action is almost impossible. Only 95 percent perfection is possible in action. Though, perfection in speech and mind is 100 percent possible.

Q: What is the solution for peace in Afghanistan?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Remember there were Buddhists there. The forefathers of Afghanistan were pioneers of yoga and meditation. Just realizing this, people would become less fanatical and more broad-minded. By thinking only they will go to heaven and all others go to hell, they create hell for others. We need to be broad-minded. Every child should know a little about the Upanishads, Quran, Guru Granth Sahib and so on. The holy book Guru Granth Sahib, for example, contains the essence of all the Upanishads. So it is very important that every child should know about the Guru Granth Sahib. They will grow up with a broad mindset. The sacrifice that Sikh Gurus have made is unthinkable. Without that, yoga and meditation would have disappeared from this planet. The Sikh Gurus lived a life of sacrifice. They protected the Brahma knowledge, the universal knowledge. Every child should know a little bit about this.

Q: Why is meditation difficult to follow?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are three things to start a good habit: greed, fear or love. First, if someone says they will give you a million dollars for not missing your practice, will you do it? You would say “I will do for five more days, just to be safe.” If you have promised your loved one you will not smoke, you will keep the promise. If your doctor says you will die if you do it, then also you will quit smoking. I prefer love over greed and fear. A Guru is a symbol of love and commitment.

Q: How can one have a successful relationship?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I can give some advice on this.

First for women: Are you all ready? Never step on the ego of your man. Never tell him that he is good for nothing. If you do so, he will become like that. Always praise. Tell him he is the best. Give him compliments.

Now advice for men: Never step on a woman’s emotions and never comment on her family. She may complain about her family, but you better keep quiet. The moment you start joining her she may attack you. Never step on her emotions. If she wants to go shopping, give her your credit card. Her emotions need to be taken care of.

To both men and women: I advise not to ask for proof of love. “Do you really love me?” Imagine what a burden it is to prove that you really love and care for someone. Even if you find some lack just say, “Why do you love me so much?” Even if the Spring has died out, it will start again. Ask only questions that are useful. Never ask someone to prove their love. Take it for granted.

“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

art of living TV
© The Art of Living Foundation