Wisdom from Sri Sri: Soul

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Friday, September 11, 2009

‘Keep your mind peaceful’

6:37 AM |

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What H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said today

‘Keep your mind peaceful’

India (Art of Living, International Center, Bangalore), September 10:

Q. If mukti (liberation) is our nature then why are we in bondage?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Who says mukti is our nature? Our nature is bliss. Love and enjoyment can put you in bondage, if it is devoid of knowledge. With knowledge, the same love, the same enjoyment leads you to the experience of liberation.

Liberation and bondage go together. If there is liberation, there will be bondage and vice-versa. Liberation is valued because of bondage. If there is no bondage, what is there to be liberated from?

Similarly we can be liberated, that is why we experience bondage. With the desire for liberation we come to know that we are in bondage. If the desire for liberation has not risen then you will not even come to know of bondage.

Q. Sometimes while doing seva I lose interest. How to avoid this and what could be the reason for this?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Live life with moderation and balance. When you try to avoid the situation, it persists. Upanishads say tat vananeeta upasita , worship the Lord as if He is a forest. A forest has everything - tiger, sheep, cow, parrot, crow, flowers and thorns.

It is always in balance. We never see imbalance in a forest. It is complete in itself, it is pure and there is place for everybody in it. Worship the Divine like He is a forest, with fullness and equanimity.

Similarly in life, there is happiness sometimes and sometimes, sorrow. When one tries to escape from a situation then it persists. Thus, there is the first principle of the Art of Living, accept people and situations as they are. This is the path of nivriti – when you have to establish within yourself. When we are established within ourselves, then our capabilities, strengths, intellect and enthusiasm to work increases.

When all this is risen, then return to pravritti (action) and work with awareness and enthusiasm. Not only with awareness or enthusiasm.

Life is a combination of pravritti and nivriti.

Q. What is jeevan mukta awastha, the state of liberation from life?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A state where the four desires- jeeveshna, lokeshna, vitteshna and putreshna end or dissolve. That is jeevan mukta awastha. Dying while alive, experiencing that I am not there. The enjoyment and happiness in this state cannot be put in words.

Q. I wish to surrender all my powers. Help me to have a vision of the Infinite (Brahma Darshan).

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Brahma ka darhan nahi hota hai, Brahma hi toh darshan karta hai - the Infinite cannot be seen as it is the Infinite that sees. The seer is Brahma. Do not try to have a vision of it, just be at peace. Surrender the desire and be at peace.

Do that which has to be done, leave that which has to be left and be at peace. Be at peace before doing something and be at peace after doing something. Anyhow keep your mind peaceful.

Q. Can we achieve a goal within time? Please tell a way so that we may achieve a hundred percent result.

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is a sukti in Sanskrit - Kriya siddi bhavati mahta, kriya siddhi bhavati satve mahta . An act is perfected by satva. The higher the satvaguna rises in us, an act is achieved easily and without hurdles. When rajoguna and tamoguna are increased, then it takes longer to complete a work.

Thus, to increase the satva, follow a satvic diet, meditate, do satsang, pranayama and yoga. With all this, sadbuddhi (good sense) is developed.

Q. I want to quit addiction to intoxicants and have come to you with a lot of hope.

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Good. You have come to the right place. If you wish to get rid of a bad habit then there are only three ways for it.

The first is your love for knowledge, the Divine or some dear one - whether parents or Guru. By promising some dear one that you will quit the habit you will be able to get rid of it. This is the best way out.

The second way is greed. If you will not consume intoxicants for six months then you will get ten million rupees or that your luck will shine and you will succeed in everything. The third is fear - if one day you do consume intoxicants, then you will suffer a loss of one million or you will have to suffer from a major ailment.

If such a greed or fear enters you, even then you will be rid of your addiction.

Along with these three ways, do yoga and pranayama. The best is that along with yoga and sadhana (spiritual practices), you take a vow that you will not indulge in addictions. Take a vow for forty days, then six months and then a year. After that, you would have come out of the habit and won’t look back at it.

Q. No matter how much I try, I end up running after the Divine. Is this devotion or lack of self respect?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, no one can take away your self-respect. Yet it is seen that devotees sometimes go so mad with love that they forget everything else! I would say fine, you have ran enough. Now sit at one place. Look within yourself. When you will look within yourself, then the Divine will run after you. Not only the Divine, but the whole world will run after you! Relax and be at peace and do as much seva as you can.

Q. How does the Divine look so lovable and beautiful?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Look within yourself, you are no less!

Jaisa drishti, waisa srithti. Jaisa nazar waisa nazaare, nazariya. As is the vision, so is the world. Only a jeweler can know a jewel. Only the one who is beautiful can recognize beauty. Only those who are lovable will recognize love not everyone. But everyone has the capacity. If everyone recognizes what is within (the love and beauty) then the whole world seems Satyam, Shivam Sundaram. In the whole world the blissful consciousness will be seen.

Q. How to maintain consistency in whatever good work one does?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: After this (inconsistency) happens sometimes, then you get the answer as well. You come to realize that this should be done and it feels good to do it.

You did something good and then left it. Leaving it gave you a pinch. Then you resumed it and then left it again. Two, three times when you feel the pinch, you understand that it (the good) should not be stopped. If we do not learn from our mistakes, we will never learn from someone telling us. Your own mistake can teach you more than listening to lectures for hours. What you learn from your mistake is permanent, the rest is just what you have heard.

So it is alright if you make a mistake, but do not keep on repeating the same mistake again and again. Then you have not learnt anything! Make new mistakes but don’t repeat the old ones. Learn from it and move on.

Q. Why is it that doing something wrong is easier than doing the right thing?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Is it? I thought to do a wrong deed, requires a lot of effort. See if you like something very much then all your energies go into that direction. Is it easy to slap someone? I don’t think so, I find it very difficult. If you think it is very easy to call someone names then it would be because of an old habit. A lot of people cannot use bad words, even if they wish to.

We have to bring a transformation within ourselves and bring in human values in our life. Make an attempt for it. Even if you try and do a good action, its result will be good. Even if someone does a wrong action very easily, its result would be very bad.

Q. If the soul is hollow and empty then how are impressions formed on it?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are no impressions on the soul. Impressions are formed on the mind which is linked with the consciousness. The consciousness covers the soul. Only that covering has the impressions.

No fragrance or smell sticks to space but only in the space within the vessel. For instance, if garlic is kept in a pot, its smell will be there even after the garlic is removed. That is because of the empty space inside the pot.

Similarly, all the impressions are formed on the gross and subtle body not on the pure consciousness. The pure consciousness is like space.

Q. Please explain how is it possible for me to give my hundred percent and yet not be feverish?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You forget about feverishness now and just give your hundred percent.

(From the office of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)

Labels: Divine love, Habits, Liberation, Self esteem, Soul

Sunday, August 23, 2009

'When action and meditation are balanced then life blossoms naturally'

11:54 PM |

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What H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said today:

'When action and meditation are balanced then life blossoms naturally'

India (Art of Living International Center, Bangalore), August 20:

Q. How to live without expectations?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you know that joy from expectations is lesser than unexpected joy, that is sufficient. You need not try to achieve this, it happens effortlessly.

Q. What is atma (soul)?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Who is asking this? Because you have life, you are asking. Since you have a mind you are asking this question and since you have a body, the mind asks.

One way is neti neti ( I am not the body, I am not the mind). The other way is ‘I am all’ (I am the mind, I am the body, I am the life force). Atma (soul) is the ocean, the life force is the wave.

Who made this beautiful body? The atma has to create, sustain and destroy. Just like how the water becomes vapor, then forms a cloud. The cloud then gives rain. The power to move from the form to the formless is there in every cell.

Q. How to attain moksha (liberation)?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Through knowledge. If there is bondage, there is liberation. To be free from ignorance you need knowledge. The mind should turn inward. Silence takes the mind inward and helps to recognize ‘Who am I’.

Q. How to attain silence?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is why you have come here. As your interest grows then silence deepens. Knowing what is permanent and what is changing is viveka (discretion). Thoughts are changing but the knowledge (learning) is with us.

In a shop you buy a vessel. The vessel is permanent but not the milk, or the rice which you fill in it. Houses will stay but the people change. The people who built the Tanjore temple have gone but the stones remain.

In our life some things are permanent - love, vairagya (dispassion) are like this. Knowing this difference is viveka.

Q. What makes a habit good or bad?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you see those who smoke, are they in bliss? No, but if you tell them not to smoke, their face shows anger and hatred. There is no joy in smoking but there is sorrow without it - this is a bad habit.

Those practices which bring short term effort but long term happiness are good practices. Knowing this is viveka.

Q. It is said that women cannot study Vedas (scriptures). Why is it so?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: At some point of time some selfish people said this. Some Brahmins made this mistake. Women from all castes can studythe Vedas. But you must convey it properly. Traditionally, if the rituals we follow are useful, then continue them. If they are foolish, drop them.

Q. What is the importance of rangoli*?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : It is our practice. Keep clean, take bath, and make a rangoli. Those who come to see you, even before they enter your home, they see something beautiful. The environment looks beautiful. Little ants and insects enjoy the food that is used to make the rangoli. Look at the villages where the practice is not there - the roads look messy. These little practices energize the body also.

Q. Why is discipline so important?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Discipline brings freedom. When we have discipline in some areas, we have freedom in them too. Bhakti (devotion) is beyond this, it transcends this. You don’t need to practice discipline where there is devotion. You need discipline only for what is not close to your heart. You need discipline to exercise, not to play cricket. When we have a sankalpa (intention) and we do it, it is good for us. If we don’t do, nothing happens to God, only we feel the pinch sometimes.

Q. Can mantras change what astrologers predict?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Mantras have power. It is good to chant. That is not to say that what astrologers say is not true. We should practice dana (charity), yagna (vedic ritual) as good vibrations come to us then.

Q. What is karma? Why are some people happy, some poor etc?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You will understand the law behind all this, when you explore your depth.

Q. How to make this life blossom?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Life blossoms in rest. Two things are important in life- when we are in Nivriti (meditation), we have to see everything as ok and believe that it is all being done by God and He is watching over. When we do this, strength, wisdom and devotion increase and then Pravritti (action) comes up automatically.

When we come to Pravritti and see fault in everything, then we can correct it but if the fault-finding tendency stays forever then we get frustrated. Thus we need a balance of both - ‘It is ok’ and ‘It is not ok’. We should also have the strength to correct what is not ok.

Pravitti is knowing that if it is not correct, we can and will correct it. The belief that everything is ok, will be ok in the future and ‘I am ok the way I am’ is Nivriti.

When Pravitti and Nivriti are balanced, then life blossoms naturally.

Q. What is the purpose of dreams?

H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : There are five kinds of dreams:

1. Dreams in which old experiences repeat in the consciousness.

2. The ones that display your desires and fears.

3. Intuitive dreams - that foretell what is going to happen.

4. The dreams which are not related to you but to the place where you are sleeping. For instance, if you are sleeping in China you may see dreams in Chinese.

5. This type is the mixture of all the other types.

99 percent of the dreams that you have belong to the fifth category, so it is wise not to give much importance to them. The wise believe this world itself to be a dream. Whatever we experience through the sense organs is the impression of the world on us. What you did a few hours ago is just like a dream in the present moment. It’s a memory. There is not much difference between a memory and a dream.

*Traditional colorful floor decorations

(From the Office of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar)

Labels: Discipline, Dreams, Expectations, Habits, Karma, Liberation, Silence, Soul