Interesting points to remember.

 

Interesting points to remember..

    Sri Sri:

 

* What can I do for the society? Don’t worry about your needs. Your needs will be taken care of, even before the need arises in you! This is called siddhi.

 

* Society wants only that from us, which we are capable of giving.

 

 

* Society believes that you are better than what your best qualities, and better than your worst qualities. So forget about what society thinks.

 

 

*Just concentrate on what you can do for society. Thinking in this direction is sadhana. When you celebrate sadhana, it is called satsang. Often people say, “Look at him, he’s doing sadhana.” But when you look at him, he looks unenthusiastic, and tired. A person who does sadhana should be bright, and cheerful. True sadhana is that which makes you, and others happy. That is utsav (celebration).

 

 

                                                      Jai Gurudev                            

                                                                  

 

  

Two ways of looking at life, you choose..

 

Two ways of looking at life, you choose..

    Sri Sri:

It is inevitable that sometimes one feels negative and down. Nobody wants it, but it happens. Life is 80 percent joy and 20 percent misery. But we hold on to the 20 percent and make it 200 percent! It is not a conscious act; it just happens.

There are two ways of looking at life. One is thinking that, “I will be happy after achieving a certain objective.” The second is saying that “I am happy come what may!”

What is there for you to get depressed? You are here for a few years on this planet. And as long as you are here, you can as well be happy. What are you waiting for to be contented? Which five-year plan is it of yours to be happy? It’s like preparing your bed for all night and when you are ready to sleep, it’s already dawn. Instead of preparing to be happy all the time, make your conscience happy now and remain naturally happy like children.

 

 

                                                      Jai Gurudev                            

                                                                  

 

Applied..

Applied..

 Sri Sri: You know, the cause and effect is again an illusion, on one level. Some of you have this problem;”OK…I read all these books, I know all these knowledge. But in practical life, it’s not applicable. So what is the use?” How many of you have this sort of question? Think.!!!!!

My dears you should know. There are two types of Science. One is the pure science, another is the applied science. You learn about Thermodynamics. aerodynamics, but all that you learned in physics, are not applicable in every day’s life. Is it? But the knowledge of it helps you in some point of time!!
You can just learn, being a mechanic, how to repair a car. You take a diploma course; sit with a mechanic, he will tell you how to fix a car. But that is not enough to be an Engineer. An engineer should know the whole mechanics, the whole dynamics of how the car functions. Right?
Thus, all the theory you read, may not come to you in day to day use. But never discard them. Sometime in your life, they will come to your use. Your help. It should just be there. At some point of life, in time, that will come to help you!! If you see only practical applications of knowledge, then nobody will study physics, chemistry the PURE science. Without pure science, there is no depth. There is no deep understanding of mechanics. There is no further innovation. How can you do innovations when you don’t have depth of the knowledge about it? Right? Similarly, all these studying, knowledge hearing though you may not feel applicable in life now, some point of time when there is a dire need, THESE WILL COME UP. And they do help your life. There are two types of help. One comes direct and other comes indirect. Like that, there is one kind of JOY which is direct, eminent…other kind of JOY which is indirect, which we do not obviously see the connection, like brushing your teeth everyday doesn’t give you any great joy directly, but it prevents you from toothache. It helps you in not having toothache. So in this manner it leads you in happiness, joy in direct manner. Seen with disciplines some time the disciplines like YOGA, MEDITATIONS etc may not give you an immediate pleasure or joy or happiness, but in indirect way, IT GIVES YOU HEALTH.

 

 

                                                      Jai Gurudev

                                                                   

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Real Beauty

 

Real Beauty

 Sri Sri: Consciousness is beauty and Creation is an expression of consciousness. Beauty is present in all creation. Eastern philosophy believes beauty is the nature of things, while western thought sees it as perception. Perhaps beauty is both subjective and objective.

The East emphasizes subjectivity; it sees beauty as the nature of existence – as Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, an objective phenomenon. In the West, where objectivity is emphasized, beauty is seen as a subjective phenomenon. But as the old proverb goes, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Beauty bridges the subject-object divide.

Be calm and serene; turn within and you can get a glimpse of beauty. Every experience of beauty is happening within, and is superimposed on the object outside. Beauty is a state of mind. If your mind is calm and collected, it perceives beauty everywhere. If agitated, even the most beautiful things can annoy. Perception of beauty varies with the level of intelligence. For an average person, garments and accessories are the symbols of beauty. For the more sensitive, the sparkle in your eyes or a smile on your face is beautiful. Others see beauty in innocence. A child captivates your attention with its innocence and smile.

For the intellectually inclined, beauty lies in intelligence. However good looking a person is, she will not be found attractive for long if she lacks wit and intelligence. Whenever the mind is captivated, it is close to the Self or pure consciousness. That’s why temple idols are decorated with clothes and jewellery and the room is enhanced with incense, flowers and food is offered to lure the mind away from the five senses and make it still.

                                                       Jai Gurudev

                                                                   

                                                                       Experience the power of Meditation :  http://powerofmeditation.org

 

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                      Wish you all a very Happy Janamashtami.         

Your Choice

 

 

Your Choice

 Sri Sri: If you think I have no will power, you will never have it. You have locked your own hands, put a label on your forehead that you are weak.
Invoke the valour in you, take a pledge. You have all the force available for you when you need it. You have all the strength and energy.
If someone were to tell you that if you do pranayama for thirty days you would get one million dollars. You will not miss a single day. You may forego sleep, food but not the pranayama. Greed can bring in that power within. Similarly fear- if someone says you would fall sick if you don't do pranayama, you would not miss it.
Love, fear, greed- any one is good to increase will power.
To know intellectually what is good and should be done, you may take it easily and remain in your comfort zone.
Then will power goes down. So enhance your valor or love something with all your heart. Dedication to the cause, fear or greed- these can increase your will power.
Egoistic people are much better than other people because egoistic people have a sense of valour. It is easy to make them commit, get out of lethargy.
People with no ego have lot of love, surrender, it’s easy for them. Someone who has neither ego, nor valour, nor love, nor devotion, nor greed has no will power. Either become greedy or fearful. But these are very low category. Other one is enhance the love, surrender, true knowledge and enhance your valour.

 

 

                                                       Jai Gurudev

The roots of misery

 

The roots of misery

 Sri Sri: The root causes of misery are ignorance, craving, hatred, and the fear of unknown

What is ignorance? It is when you view something that is not permanent as permanent, something that is not joy as joy and that which is not self as self. Thinking you have certain thoughts and emotions when you do not is ignorance.

You feel the body is not changing, but the body is changing all the time. In 24 hours, your blood changes. In five days, the lining of your stomach changes. Doctors say the skin changes in a month. Every year, the cells in your body undergo some sort of transformation. Your body is like a river, always flowing, always changing. With every passing year, your body is new. Your mind is new. As you are awakened to this truth, you can identify your old fears or yourself.

Ignorance is holding on to the past and an image of who you are. People think that it is a good thing to know who you are and have an image of yourself. I tell you, if you have an idea of who you are, you are finished, you are stuck! You should not know who you are. You are changing every moment and you must keep the possibility of change open. A fixed idea about who you are destroys you totally. It stops your growth and limits your possibilities.

 

 

 

                                                       Jai Gurudev

How to overcome grief (of a dear one's death)

How to overcome grief (of a dear one’s  death)

 Sri Sri: There are four ways:

1. Know that you have the strength. The problem has come, the grief has come. You can’t do anything about it.

2. Realize that everyone is going to die one day. Everybody here will go under the soil. It will all happen in the next 100 years. Someone has gone earlier.

3. Look at those who have greater troubles than you. When we see people who have greater difficulties, and start serving them: our problems will disappear. See what is happening in Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

In Iraq, the plane will land in circles. If it lands in a straight line, it can be targeted and shot. The amount of fear that people have …..

People in Sri Lanka don’t even know if they’re coming back, once they leave for their jobs in the morning. If you are a Tamilian, they will whisk you away.

When you see the bigger problems on the planet, then yours will become small.

4. The Divine is with you. Offer your problems to the divinity and relax. We must have that confidence.

If we are calm, then we can spread peace.

If we are happy, then we can radiate and spread happiness.

 

                                                       Jai Gurudev

Keep life within

 

Keep life within

 Sri Sri: The cause of suffering is when the seer becomes one with the scene and forgets one’s true nature.

Forgetfulness of one’s self is the root cause of pain. The self becomes one with the objects that are all around the self. This is because of lack of perception. You think “this is me”. Then the problems begin.

 

There is a story which children in India read during their childhood, about a wicked king who has to be killed. Only the life of the king is in a parrot in another place, which means that the only way to kill the king is to kill the parrot.

According to the story, the king’s life is not within him and he will not die even if someone tries to kill him. To kill the king you have to go to the island where the parrot is and into a fort where the parrot is caged. The fort is guarded by cobras and anyone seeking to kill the king has to get past all of that.

When the person attempting to kill the king manages to get inside the fort, he finds that there is a cage there and the parrot inside it. Only problem is that he cannot touch the cage because if he does it will burn him. So he has to kill the parrot without touching it, the same way he has to kill the king without touching him.

 

In the same way, you keep your life somewhere else, and not within you. Your life is somewhere else, in the bank account. You have not just deposited the money in the bank. Along with the money you have also deposited your life. If something happens to the bank account, you will have a heart attack. Do you see what I am saying?

 

Whatever you think of as more important becomes the cause of suffering. So, when you see the difference, then the seer separates from the surrounding you will ask yourself, “What is all this?”

That’s when the true meditation happens.

 

 

                                                      Jai Gurudev

Contentment

 

Contentment

 Sri Sri: “By contentment the greatest joy can be gained.” Happiness or contentment gives you the greatest joy Just cultivate this habit of being happy This is just an attitude, .

“Okay I will be happy. I will work through this” and that brings you the greatest happiness in life. It cannot be compared to anything.

When you are not happy from within, nothing can bring you pleasure. If you try to appease somebody who is so depressed, if you try to make them happy, even if you take them to nice movies, still they are not interested.

But when there is Santosha from within, they even enjoy the company of a stupid person! If people are above your standards, you are not comfortable. With people who are stupid, below your bench mark, you are not comfortable. People who are par with you, you are envious of them and not comfortable with them.

Then, who are you comfortable with? You are left with nobody!! If you feel that you are much more intelligent than the people around you and if you feel they are all fools, then good. Enjoy their company Fools make this world more fun. If there are no fools, then the whole world will be totally devoid of fun.

The biggest problem with lovers are, they love each other and start demanding each other. “Look how much I love you. What did you do for me?” or, they say “do you really love me? Prove it to me now?” Proving each other’s love becomes a burden.

You are the source of happiness. Nobody else can make you happy other than yourself. You need to say without saying, “Hey come on. You can’t put me, down and take my mood off ”. This should be the message from you.

 

                                                       Jai Gurudev

As you sow, so shall you reap

As you sow, so shall you reap

 Sri Sri: Kleshamoolaha karmashayo drushtadrushta janmavedniyaha.

 Suffering has to be undergone because of the karma bank; Some bear fruit in this birth itself whereas some bear fruit in their next.”

Maharishi Patanjali says that there is no other way and you will have to suffer this in this life. You have to undergo this suffering, this misery, not only in this life, but also in the coming life, because they form as karmâshaya, as a bank of karma which is reserved!

But through meditation this karma can be washed off right now, here. Before the body drops, you get rid of the karma and lessen the sheaths of ignorance over you. Otherwise there is no escape for you from there. Drishta adrishta janma vedanîyaha means some will give you fruits in this life itself and some will stay back with you to give fruits in the next life. Now, some people have an argument. They ask, “If you put your fingers in a fire, will it burn today or tomorrow or in your next life? There is nothing like karma. Every action has got its repercussion, but it has to happen immediately. It does not come with you to your next life.”

Not all the seeds you sow take the same amount of time to reap. Some seeds sprout in two days. Peanuts take five days. A coconut takes several months. A mango tree takes ten years to give fruit. Similarly, different karmas will give fruit at different times. As you sow, so shall you reap.

 

 

                                                       Jai Gurudev

Shoucha (inner and outer cleanliness)

 

Shoucha (inner and outer cleanliness)

 Sri Sri: If there is no shoucha there can be no Santosh. If you are in constant touch with other people, then you are not letting your energy to be your energy even for some time. You are always trying to be in association with somebody .

So, you are lost. You do not know who you are. You do not know yourself. So keep some distance and some time for yourself once in a while. Learn to know what your real strength is, what your real weakness is and what your true spirit is. This is shoucha and with shoucha comes Santosh or happiness.

You can come home happily and say with a smile, "today the entire job that I did flopped! There was no success in any of the work I did today." Anyway everything has flopped, so at least do not let the mind also flop. You should have the guts to say "come what may I am not going to give up the smile on my face because I am much more than the event or the circumstances. Everything comes and goes, but I continue in spite of all the situations."

Just turn back and look at your life when you were a kid. How many times have you cried? You cried as though hell has fallen on your head. You thought that was the end of the world and then sobbed and sobbed and then went off to sleep. So what happened afterwards?

 

The sadness or sorrow is only in the circumference. It is like a cloud covering the light that you are. The nature of your being is joy. That needs to be uncovered. Again, you need not make a mood out of it. When somebody has passed away, you cannot say "Okay, now I am going to be happy" and smile and dance! No, you should not do that. The ancient people had designed a methodology for this. They said that, if anyone dies in a house, the people of that house are in ‘ashoucha' for 10 days. For 10 days you can mourn and cry Even if you do not cry, they will bring some professional criers in some parts of India! There is a whole drama of crying which happens. Later these people collect the two or five hundred rupees and go happily , laughing the moment they are out of the gate and leave the house. But they really cry when they are in the dead person's house. This is to bring out the emotions of the near and dear of the dead one, so that they can be genuinely happy after the 10 days. After 10 days of mourning, on the eleventh day , they usually distribute sweets to the people, have a celebration, wear new clothes, have a family get together and have a feast.

On the day of the final rituals, they take some ghee and water and put it on their eyes which give a cooling effect and then they decide. "Okay, now we get on with our life." If a spiritual person passes away, then even this not there. Then every moment is a celebration because the sprit is all pervading. In the same way, there is shoucha when a child is born in a house for 10 days. You are so excited because a new soul has come into your family. So be with all the excitement and happiness for 10 days. You are free from all the social rules and obligations for you to enjoy 100 per cent.

Then come back to your commitments and responsibilities.

                                                       Jai Gurudev

 

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Satya(Truth)

 

Satya(Truth)

 Sri Sri: Satya does not mean just speaking the truth. It is total commitment for truth. It is not just words. Unfortunately people mistake Satya to be just speaking words. Many people consider being blunt as being truthful.

When you are established in truth then the fruits of action will follow.

When you become established in truth, any action you do will become fruitful. Many people do their actions, but their action does not bring about results because there is no truth consciousness inside. When there is truth consciousness inside, when you are established in the truth, the fruit of the action will follow the action immediately. It is the quality of the consciousness. Even if you lie, if you are bold enough to say that, ‘I am telling a lie right now’, you are speaking the truth!

When you lie, your consciousness is not straight-forward or strong. A person who is committed to truth is committed to the presence of the being. For them, success comes easily. The ancient saying in India is Satyameva jayate meaning ‘truth alone triumphs’. Truth will eventually win though it may appear not to be winning.

Satya or truth means ‘to be with what is right now, to be with something that is not changing’. It is not just the words but it is to be truthful in one’s life, heart and presence. Truth is not what we speak, but what we are.

 

J

 

                                                       Jai Gurudev

 

                                                          Trigger a Revolution for Peace. Speak Out :  http://voiceofnonviolence.org/component/option,com_php/Itemid,8/

                                                                   

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Sthira sukham asanam

 

Sthira sukham asanam

 Sri Sri: What is asana? Sthira sukham asanam. That which is steady and which is comfortable is asana. Usually, when we are comfortable, we are not steady. We are not sitting erect. And, when we are erect, we are so stiff. We are not comfortable. You get it? Asana means that posture when you are erect, steady and at the same time comfortable.

 

You know, when you are happy, you are so up and when you are unhappy, you are so down. Your mind swings up and down, up and down. You are too much excited or you put yourself down. This is called dwandwa or duality. Asana is that which enables us to maintain the equanimity. Asana is not just doing exercise. Whichever posture brings you comfort and stability that is asana. Now, what is comfort? You have to define this. This is a very delicate issue. What is comfort is very different for different people. Shorter your comfort zone, the more miserable you are. This is because life is vast. But you are comfortable only in a limited sphere. Then your life becomes miserable.

 

Your happiness depends on the extent of your comfort zone. So asana is something that depends on your comfort zone. A baby would have done all the yogasanas from the time it is born to the age of three. A baby is born with adi-mudra (thumbs at the base of little fingers and covering the thumbs making a loose fist) and when it sleeps, it sleeps in chinmaya mudra (index finger and thumb slight contact and other three fingers touching the centre of the palm). Have you seen babies sleep? They do not sleep with their palms open like adults. They put on chinmaya mudra. You can examine a baby anywhere in the world whether it is Mongolia, Africa, South America, Russia, Asia everywhere, all the babies they, do yogasanas. So you have no choice but to be a yoga expert from your birth! The asana is only a reminder for us to reinvent, reuse those postures which we were doing in the past as baby.

 

                                                       Jai Gurudev

 

                                                          Trigger a Revolution for Peace. Speak Out :  http://voiceofnonviolence.org/component/option,com_php/Itemid,8/

                                                                   

                                                                       Experience the power of Meditation :  http://powerofmeditation.org

 

                                                   Explore the amazing avenues of Yoga :  http://www.artoflivingyoga.org                                          

 

What money can't buy

 

 

What money can’t buy

Sri Sri: Money gives one a sense of freedom and ownership. We think we can own anything or anybody’s services with money. Ownership of something means total control of its existence. When we pay for some land, we think we own it although the land continues to exist after the owner dies. How can you own something that outlives you?
Money gives the idea that you are powerful and independent, blinding you to the fact that we live in a world of interdependence. We depend on the services of many people. By paying a few currency notes, we abdicate the fact that we depend on them. Instead of feeling grateful, we take it for granted.
Dependence makes one humble. Most people with money are arrogant because of the independence that money brings to them. Humility is taken away by this false feeling of independence.
Human values have been eroded so much that we measure people in terms of their net worth! Can money reflect a person’s worth? Calling someone a millionaire is not a compliment; it is a disgrace to the dignity of humanness. You cannot put a value to human life.
When people lack faith in divinity, their abilities and the goodness of people, they suffer from insecurity. Money can temporarily provide an illusory sense of security. Wealthy people suffer from insecurity because they do not know whether their well-wishers are genuine.
Wealth is attained through one’s skills, inheritance or corrupt means. Each means brings its consequences. The motive for corruption is peace and happiness, which remain elusive when the means are corrupt.
But renouncing money is no good. There are people who blame money for social ills and consider it evil. Rejecting money brings arrogance. Some people renounce money and take pride in their poverty to draw sympathy.
Ancient sages never denigrated money. They honored it as a part of the Divine and transcended the grip of its illusion. They knew the secret that when you reject something, you never transcend it. They honored wealth as Goddess Lakshmi. She is born out of Yoga that transforms bad karma and brings out latent skills. It also brings up ashta siddhis - the eight perfections and nava nidhis -the nine types of wealth.
It is this wisdom of Yoga that transforms one from arrogance to self-confidence, from meekness to humility, from dependence to interdependence, from a limited ownership to oneness with the whole.

 

                                                       Jai Gurudev

 

                                                          Trigger a Revolution for Peace. Speak Out :  http://voiceofnonviolence.org/component/option,com_php/Itemid,8/

                                                                   

                                                                       Experience the power of Meditation :  http://powerofmeditation.org

 

                                                   Explore the amazing avenues of Yoga :  http://www.artoflivingyoga.org