Where there is thirst, water will also be made available

Q: Guruji any particular message you want to give us, anything at all?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Have a vision. Move with confidence. I am with you. Move with that vision in
your life and share this joy with others. The happiness that we have got, we need to bring this joy to more and more people around us, don’t you think so? How many of you feel your lives are transformed?
Audience: Yes
It is our duty to share and spread the happiness that we have got.
Q: Guruji, I did the course a few days ago, my experience was awesome. I am from
Dhanbad in Jharkhand and I want a lot of people from Dhanbad to experience this. Also I want you to come there to address the youth and guide them on to the right path.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes sure. You work there.
Q: Guruji, Do I have your blessings on me?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have a lot of blessings. I shower blessings in abundance.
Q: Guruji I love you.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have no choice.I haven’t left you with an option.
Q: Guruji, please take us along with you. I need to have a long conversation with
you. It is not possible here in one minute. We have to reach college in 5 minutes. Please do some miracle so that we can spend whole day with you.
Sri Sri: Where to take you along. I am everywhere. I keep on coming and going. You are studying at present. Do your studies properly, ok.
Q: Guruji I love you, and please be with me all the time.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sure
Q: Guruji, when are you coming to my home? I want to cook Rice pudding (Kheer) for
you and serve it to you.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you have to make a wish then make a great wish. This is just a small wish. If many people wish to do the same then I would have to change my name to Ganesh. So make a wish that everyone stops the use of alcohol and drugs, and takes interest in meditation. More and more people start to walk on the spiritual path and start to live in knowledge. Drop your small wishes and start blessing people with the wish that their work is done. This knowledge has such power that you can do anything in the world. All of us have that capacity. You start using your
will power, mind power. This will benefit you and others also. How many of you have already experienced this?  See a lot of people have such experiences. You know you keep stepping up from success to success. There is no option of stepping down.
Q: Could you please tell us something about ego and surrender.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Ego is something that restricts your blossoming. Ego is you not having enough
confidence in yourself. Ego is not wanting to be a fool. One who doesn’t want to be a fool ends up being a fool. So you have no choice. You either have to accept that you are a fool and become wise or not accept that you are a fool and really become one. Egotism does not like that. It says I am not a fool. I am somebody. Trying to impress someone else and become a real fool. Got it? Self confidence is that which gives you comfort. At home feeling, simply a sense of naturalness with everybody. Sense of belongingness with everybody. And not minding being a …
Audience: Fool
Q:Guruji is there any special message for us?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Special message is that that you are very special. All of you. When I say you, it is not for any one person but for us. All of you are very special.
Q: Can a husband fast for a good wife on Karva Choth (Indian Festival)
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you keep a fast your whole body is cleansed. When toxins are removed from the body your mind gets sharpened. Then whatever wish, whatever goal you have in mind gets fulfilled. This is a faith, a law and it also has a scientific base. But along with fasting you need to strengthen the determination in mind. So on that day you have only one thought in the mind, that good happens for your spouse. In ancient days people used to fast with this wish only. It’s all the power of mind. That’s it. But if your mind is somewhere else and you don’t eat then it won’t have that much benefit. Yes but the machinery (body) gets a little
rest. The liver keeps on functioning 24/7. So this was a way to give it rest. Ok?
Q: What is sattva and what is it’s contribution in our lives?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sattva means that which brings harmony, that which makes you happy, that which makes you enthusiastic, that which brings knowledge in you. This is all sattva.
Rajas makes you go too much up and too much down. Either you get too excited and you feel I can’t even handle this excitement or it is so down. This is rajas.
Tamas is when you feel so lazy and so negative that you don’t want anything. You dislike everybody. That is tamogun. So When you feel tamogun get up and start working, then rajogun
will come. Then when you are too much into action, I would say just sit back and
relax then you will get into satva. So, before meditation do some exercise. When
you do all this the restlessness or rajas in you calms down. Then you are able
to meditate. Didn’t it happen to you today? (Audience:Yes). How many enjoyed the
meditation. Raise your hands (Lots of people raised their hands). You meditated
nearly 20 minutes.
Q: How do we rise above our senses?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You were sitting in meditation now? Your eyes were closed? Did u have any wish except to listen to my voice? That means in a way ears were also closed. Mouth was also closed? You were not speaking anything? So all senses were shunned, and then only you were able to meditate. Meditation happened, yes?. When you sleep for 6-8 hours, you remain in your senses or in non-sense.  Are you getting it? So rest. Be satisfied in the mind. Be happy. And when you are in that state of Divine love, nothing will bother. See, during exam time lust doesn’t bother you. When does it disturb you? When you have nothing to do, when you are sitting
idle, isn’t that right?
Q: This is for the youth of Yes+. What seva/service can be given to the youth of Yes+ ? We tell them to organise courses and bring more people into the knowledge. Is this enough or can something else can be done?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know you can do these things. Speed it up, and mainly introduce people to do more meditation, and courses.
Q: How to make the most important decisions in life, decisions that change our entire life?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: So far what are all the decisions you have made. Are you happy with all these
decisions? (Response: Somewhat, and somewhat not). So life will continue like that, got it? Sometimes you made good decisions, and then you see the positive side. See everything has a positive side and everything has its lapses. So if you focus only on the lapses then every decision you make you will regret. But if you see the positive side then you will be happy and contented. And the more you are happy and contented more such things will happen in life. Got it?
Q: I don’t easily get things in life? Recently, my case was going on and it got dismissed?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Listen, you have made this notion in mind that you don’t get things easily in life. Who has said this? First remove this label from your mind ok? Whatever you want you
ask for that and go ahead with confidence, ok? Don’t think that you always fail, your things get haphazard. This is wrong. It doesn’t happen like that. Everyone faces some problems initially. It has never happened that nobody faces no problem initially, and it will never happen like that.
Q: I did the Basic course 4 days ago. Somehow I have gathered courage to ask this question. I haven’t ever heard you before. But this moment I am getting some vibrations. It’s different. I don’t know if I am able to express it or not. I want to ask what is the essence, the power in you?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I have no idea.
Q: How do we free ourselves from bad karmas of previous births?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sri Sri sings “Paap kya punya kya to bhulade, kal kal kal ki chinta mitade” Forget what is bad karma, what is good Karma, be free from the worries of tomorrow. There is
nothing greater than Pranayama which can make you free from your past impressions. Seva, Satsang & Sadhana
(Service,Dance & Celebration and spiritual practices) will help.
Q: I have been listening to your talks and reading your knowledge sheets. Now I want to reach that level where I am able to live that knowledge, to be sensitive like you, being able to listen to the pain of plants also. I too want to reach that level.
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Ok, where there is thirst, water will also be made available. And if you have any conflicts in mind, don’t worry. Aren’t conflicts reducing in mind. This will continue to happen. Increase the level of Sattva in you & Conflicts won’t remain with you with time.
Q: I am not able to sustain any work I do. What should I do?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Whatever work you do you’re not able to sustain it for too long. You don’t need to sustain it for too long. Do you sustain it for sometime at least? Sometime? Good. Then slowly increase that sustainability little longer, little longer, little longer.
Q: Sometimes I am confused whether it’s my mind or whether it’s my true self. How do I clarify which is which?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know doubts always come when something is positive. Do you know about it? How many of you don’t know? Raise your hands. You know if someone tells you ‘I love you very much’. You say ‘Really’? But if someone tells you ‘I hate you’, you never say ‘really’, - correct? And similarly you doubt your capabilities; you never doubt your weaknesses. If someone asks you are you happy you say oh I’m not too sure. But you’re so sure about your depression. Correct? So that’s why our doubt is always about something that is positive. We doubt in the honesty of someone, we never doubt in the dishonesty of someone.
Q: What do you mean by atheist?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Atheist? You know it is very difficult to be an atheist. Because an atheist says ‘I don’t believe in anything’. If he really says I don’t believe in anything then he should not even believe in the words that he is saying. I say I should not believe in anything except myself. That’s what he should say. And ask him do you really believe in everything that you say? Then that means you are stagnant. You are not progressing. Because when you progress in your life everything changes. So it is extremely difficult to be an atheist. If you have to be an
atheist you have to say I don’t believe in anything that means even that word that you say you don’t believe, you don’t believe in it also. Got it?
Q: Guruji in your weekly knowledge you have said never to have an ambition. Will you please comment on that?
H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I haven’t said like that. Be ambitious but don’t be over ambitious.
(From the Office of H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)
© The Art of Living Foundation

H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar key note address - Verbatim - WHO Conference , Oct 6 th, Sri Lanka

Om shanti shanti shanti , Honorable Minister, His Excellencies and Dignitaries on the dais, friends and distinguish guests.

As I was listening to our Honorable Minster of Health speak about mental well being, it came to my mind, you know the word for health in Sanskrit is SWASTHA that means one who is established in oneself, SWA means self STHA means one who is established in self, If you go to Bali island in Indonesia they greet you with OM SWASTHI RASTU – (may you have health), meaning well being, mental, physical, emotional, it includes everything, total well being.
In the east, as it was being earlier mentioned that 2500 years ago we have had this education, common masses, I would take it even further back 5110 years it was in Bhagvat Gita concept of well being, social well being is mentioned and even earlier Maharishi Patanjali made this whole treatise on yoga and how you can be happy physically, mentally and socially. If someone is obsessed with hatred, anger and jealousy they are not considered to be socially well, of course it is an ancient concept to have this mind which is a container of all knowledge, which is a container of intelligence, emotion and life force as such cleansed to keep it healthy and to get rid of this jealousy, hatred etc.
If you analyze today's problem there is hatred in society, there is greed, there is fear and because of this, depression sets. It was appalling to hear that depression will be the Number 1 disease in the coming decades in the world.  In Europe nearly 30% of the population suffers from mental depression, 30% of the population!!! I was invited to address the psychiatrists
in  Europe and they said you know "we expect this rate of mental depression to go up to 48% in the coming decade'' and you can't feed half the population Prozac or other anti depressant, you need other ways, you have to change life styles, bring certain changes in our life styles and educate our self, what I would call as mental hygiene, you know dental hygiene, oral hygiene we teach people how to keep their teeth intact but we are not teaching how to
keep our mind SANE or behavior pattern SANE.
I am happy that the World Health Organization has taken up this project now. It should have been taken a few decades before. We could have saved our planet from so much of this terrorism, hatred, ethnic conflicts, religious strives and emotional upheavals, traumas, but never the less we are now taking action. It has to take a fast track -educative and preventive programs
throughout the world, even if one small pocket of the planet is left uneducated about mental well being you are not in a safe world. Terrorism is one such example of extreme mental sickness. So, in this august meeting, we will all have to sit and think of how we can reach sanity to every nook and corner of the planet. One idea is to bring the spiritual knowledge, ancient knowledge we have in this part of the world, bring a more secular, scientific attitude or temperament so that spirituality is accepted by all sections of society.  It has
to be free from dogmas. Scientific and secular spirituality is what we need, that would give to the world a mind which is healthy which can take any stress or pressure that the modern society is posing in front of us.
It is unfortunate that in some countries yoga is banned. Yoga is a very simple way to keep your system free from stress, to keep happy, to keep contented. I think it is just because of lack of education. If the World Health Organization takes such a role to convey to the people, countries, and the health ministers of the various countries where they are trying to ban or
partially ban yoga and yogic practices, to realize the importance of it.
And usually we say there are 4 sources of energy, 1st source is food that everybody agrees and we all know and there is lot of education on nutrition today and the 2nd source of energy is sleep, you give someone enough food and you don't let them sleep they go mad, they go insane. A good amount of sleep, not too much and not too little, someone sleeps 10hrs everyday they get duller and duller day by day.  So the right amount of sleep 6 to 8hrs of sleep
would give you enough energy not less. 3rd source of energy is breathing as our honorable guest from Thailand emphasized on the breathing. I would say most of the illness can be handled through breathing exercises, proper breathing can improve the blood circulation, neurological health, physical health and mental health - breathing is very important for energising our system. 4th source of energy I would say is a happy mind, meditative mind.
A meditative mind gives you so much energy. You might have experienced in your own life you know, when there is a function at home and you have to work 16-18hours a wedding or housewarming ceremony or any new project which is very emotionally dear to you, you work 18hours, 20hrs you don't get tired but in the office you are asked to take 2 more hours to work you feel exhausted, so the mind plays an important role. The commitment in the mind, the focus in the mind brings lots of energy too. So meditation is the 4th source of energy. So you need to educate the population on this, and all the 4 different sources of energy so that they can benefit by attending to them.
Mental well being to me is improved perception, improved observation and improved expression. Like, the body grows from the time you are born to the age 21, 22 and then the body starts deteriorating, our mental age, our mental well being should grow simultaneously from childhood we need to keep improving our perception, observation and our expression this has no age, usually psychologists say 50 or 40 it stops, middle age our mental observation, expression starts deteriorating. I say if you are practicing yoga or meditation this doesn't happen. There is no decay of your mental well being. You know the other day a psychologist came to me, he has opened a clinic and says ''Guruji, please give me blessings ''. I said ''what?!!’’, I don't get patients, please bless me so that I get at least 3-4patients, I can break even, I can make some
money”.  Asking me to give blessing so that patients come to them, probably the psychologist would be happy to hear that there is one suicide every 40second so that there is dearth for patients.
There is a taboo about mental well being, it is not that there no mentally sick people but unlike going to a doctor if you have some other illness, if you are mentally not well you go to a doctor then that is taboo, there is stigma attached to it, so you feel very down, the family and the society looks down upon you. We need to correct this through education, educating people you know it is ok to go and see psychiatrist / psychologist and it is normal. In some countries it is a fashion, at least one member in a family goes to a counselor in Argentina, if you go to Buenos Aires you find lot of people go to psychologist even though they are well, they have no mental illness. It is a sort of fashion to go to a psychologist / psychiatrist / counselor, to talk about how you feel and what's your problem in your life, but in South Asian countries you have big taboo about it. We have to get rid of this stigma , we have to get rid of the stigma no doubt, also, we have to educate people in our own ways of meditation, of yoga, breathing techniques, of spirituality of community living, community service, singing, dancing,
participating in social activities, games, all these can help in the mental well being.
You know, I heard that a very well know industrialist in India, he would call all doctors at his house, anyone says he is a doctor he would invite him / her and give them the fees, take the prescription whatever they give and then get all the medicines as well ! So his attendant asked him,'' why do you call all these doctors?'' , he replied,'' so that they will live, make a
living'' Then the attendant asked, ‘why do you buy all the medicines they prescribe - Unani, ayurveda, alopathy, homeopathy- why do you buy all the medicines sir ???''. He replied,'' so that the pharmaceutical companies can live''. ''But sir, you don't take any of these medicines??''...he replied,'' So that I could live myself!''(laughter). You know the irony is medicine is not the answer for all this, placebo effect has demonstrated to the world over and over that it is not just swallowing pills that you can get well or taking more and more of these vitamins and minerals that you are going to be better. You need to
attend to lifestyle, you need to attend to your food habits, you need to attend to how you interact with people, what are you taking from every interaction.
As I am speaking, see if you observe the mind, mind is saying ''yes or no'', mind is accepting that which it already agrees and knows, or every few minutes mentally we go for a cappuccino or a cup of tea, or presence of mind is not there! And this is a problem in our schools and colleges, children say we study for who day but nothing remains in our mind,
retention power has become so less, you ask today's youth to narrate one movie or story he has seen, you know he can't do it completely he will mix it up with 2/3 movies that he has seen, because the stimulus bombardment to our mind is so high we are not recuperating that energy, that mental energy, a sense of well being. We are not attending to the container; we are simply dumping things into the container. Information is being pumped into the container; we are not
expanding the capacity of the container or attending to its cleanliness.

Mind is our container, container of our life, we need to expand it and this happens through a few moments of silence, few moments of meditation, few moments of deep relaxation and I am so glad that this breakthrough has happened in the world today through the World Health Organization recognizing this mental well being. Recognizing that the people's behavioral pattern had to be attended to, otherwise they are not healthy. You know in many meetings people
sit and talk for hours together and argue and counter argue really not being aware of what they are saying. I would like you to ponder on this, - come up with practical solutions, and create teams, combined efforts of NGOs, governmental agencies, civil society, everyone together, religious bodies, religious institutions should get on to this project, a combined effort of all
of us, of this different aspect of society, to make society, the world, a better
place, a better human being for the coming generations. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
(From the Office of H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)
© The Art of Living Foundation