Knowledge Sheet 56

Never link money with happiness. Even the poorest people are happy, if you see. In fact they are more happy. But money can create a false notion of security to you: You think if you have money, you have everything. The idea of money is for comfort. Isn’t it? Why do you want money? For comfort. But money can give you only one type of comfort. Physical comfort. It doesn’t give emotional and spiritual comfort.

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: Sadhna is the real currency that you can use anywhere

What is stress? When there is too much to do with too little time, or we want a lot but we don’t have enough resources, this causes stress. Also if the resources are there but our ability is not, then also we get stressed. So, how can we manage stress and live more in the moment? With certain energy you can do this. When you meditate, you can increase your ability. When you meditate, you are able to get rid of stress. Eliminate stress by bringing more energy into the body.

Now love is our very nature. You know, I can stand and talk to you for hours about love. It doesn’t mean anything. We can read love through our lives, not through books. You can listen to someone speak on love, but if you have a puppy, the puppy goes mad jumping all over you the moment you come back home. This says much more than reading books all night about love. We can read through our presence and our own lives. Here, I will come to meditation and breath. By doing breathing exercises, we can make our lives so positive. Many of us have had the experience of going to meet somebody and wanting to avoid them. Some people you meet and you just don’t feel like talking to. You feel compelled to avoid them. WIth some Others you feel like conversing. People will have the same experience of you also. Without reason they may avoid you. You want to connect to a person but your stress has created such vibes around, that people are repelled. Here again you must do a bit of pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and yoga to increase the positive vibes around you.

There are so many stories to tell. A teacher was in Botswana and some four terrorists came there. They wanted to steal everything. They were so aggressive yet the teacher looked at them with such positive vibes and said, “hey, my friend what do you want? Some money? Ok, we’ll give you money.” The calmness and serenity in them shook the terrorists. Usually, what they have seen is people panicking. Here someone was looking at them with a human eye. They just took some money and left with it. They didn’t harm anyone. And I tell you, I have so many people emailing me such stories. There are stories of robbers having a change of heart. So, in a similar manner people who are antagonistic towards us can be positively affected if we ourselves live in a space of love and free from stress. I tell you, it is not too easy. It’s challenging but we need to move in that direction. We should first extend peace and compassion to others.

Nature has put compassion at the very core of every human being. Love is the central point for each one of us. Stress is only at the periphery. Negativity is only the circumference. We should dream for a world which is free of violence and hatred. Let us all believe in that first of all. Otherwise, we become paranoid. When we become fearful, we lose our strength. The times when you are afraid are when you need more strength. Yet that is when you don’t have it. It is like forgetting your wallet at home and you are in a shopping mall. Suppose you are in the shopping mall and you don’t have a credit card or any money. What do you do? You will look at everything and come back with nothing. But each one of us has this power of love. We are in no debt. There is this amazing unconditional love but we have no access. We have not had access to that somehow. It’s like having your wealth at home without having the key to the almirah (the place where you store your treasures). You have lost the key but you say “oh, I have that there.”

So, we need to wake up to the power that we are made up of, that is love. Like our body is made up of amino acids, carbohydrates and protein, our spirit is made up of love. It is love that gets distorted and becomes all other negative emotions. Why do you get angry? Because you love perfection. When you love perfection, you can’t but get angry. Why are you jealous? Because you love somebody so much that you want them all for yourself. Jealousy is another distortion of love. Greed is your love for objects. You love things more than you love people. This is called greed. If you love your own glorification, it is arrogance. You love yourself more than anybody else. So, love gets distorted and manifests in all of these negative emotions. It is wisdom which can keep love pure. Love without knowledge or wisdom is misery. Love plus wisdom is happiness. It is as simple as that.
Just a few moments every day reflect on your own life. What am I? Who am I? What do I want? Where do I want to go in my life? You may not get an answer for any of these questions but certainly the question itself is very valuable to you. We can use them to sharpen our mind a little bit and connect with our spirit.
The term for spiritual practice,sadhana, is evolved from money. “Dhana” means money and “Sa” means true wealth. That is the real currency you can use anywhere. Money is important in life but keep money where it belongs to. Do not keep it in the head or in the heart. We often misplace money. We keep it in our head while our pockets are empty. Keep money in the pocket but don’t keep thinking about money. You know, how someone becomes rich? Someone becomes rich when they do something useful for society. How did the cell phone companies become rich? They made something which everybody needs. The newspapers make something that everybody needs. So, you too should do something which is useful for everyone. Then you will become richer. If you keep thinking about yourself all the time, you will only keep thinking. That’s it. If you selflessly serve and leave your needs to society, society will take care of you. You will not experience lack even for one day. Do service without worrying about money or your own needs. Society will take care of it, or by trusting in God. It comes to the same thing. You trust in God and ask whatever you need. Those things will always be taken care of when you have confidence and deep faith. And if you do something that is useful for people, you will automatically make money. If people need milk, you supply milk. If people need groceries, you supply groceries. Work on that which is most needed in society and your needs will be met.

Mahatma Gandhi believed in non-accumulation. In fact it is one of the principles of yoga. You don’t need to accumulate a lot if you are dedicated to service. We need to do something. Pick a goal and it will bring more meaning to your life. When you are working with an idea rather than money as your main goal, you will see that money will anyways come. In the 'Art of Living' we never take money factor into the plan. We just start a project and find that the money somehow comes. Whatever is needed, and when it is needed, it comes. You don’t need to have too much but you should not have any lack. Pranayama and meditation make your life such that there is no dearth of anything. You lack nothing. There is a proverb in India that says - you are aspiring for nuts but they come to you when you have lost all your teeth. What’s the point of getting nuts when you don’t even have teeth? You need to get something when you need it. Right? If you have money to buy sweets, a great air-conditioned room and wonderful home and bed, but you are an insomniac and have diabetes, then what is the point of that? So we must create that positive energy around ourselves. This cannot happen just by worrying and thinking.

Q: What is your inspiration?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are two ways of going about work. One is wanting to do something for which you can always find an inspiration. Another is since you already have something, so you want to do it as an expression of joy. It makes all the difference whether work is done as an expression of joy versus expecting some joy. So, I’m not expecting joy in doing something. Rather, I am doing everything as an expression of joy. Everything is happening spontaneously. People find it very hard to understand this. These people ask me, “What is your motivation?, What is it that you want by doing all of this?”. I say, "nothing. I want nothing". It’s a little hard to understand at that time. For instance, suppose you have seen a nice movie. So many people who saw Avatar told me, “Guruji, you must go.” By canvassing for a movie you enjoyed, you are not getting anything. You are not getting paid for canvassing for that movie. You go around telling everybody, “oh, that movie is so good, you should watch it.” What do you get by that? You just tell people because you enjoyed watching it, and you want to share that happiness with everybody. Infinite joy is what we’ve all been born with. I give joy by sharing myself with everybody. So, we need to bring this shift from the joy of receiving to the joy of giving.

Q: Are you frustrated with what has been happening on Wall Street?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Wall Street has lost the trust of people, as have the government and the church. We need to bring spirituality, the type of spirituality that Mahatma Gandhi spoke about, into politics. We need to spiritualize politics, socialize business and secularize religion. Religious leaders need to worry more about people than their institutions. They should care for people more. At the same time politicians should think about the values that leaders like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and George Washington had. This country had Lincoln. He was a great visionary. There have been leaders who have given their whole lives in service to the people rather than out of a desire to achieve something. There is the Lincoln Memorial here, but it was not Lincoln who asked for it to be built. He stood for justice, equality and truth. That is real spirituality. I consider the founders of this nation and also the founders of India, South America and South Africa as people who had zeal. They were innately spiritual in their nature. This indicates how spirituality relates to politics. The backbone of business is trust. If lost, it cannot survive too long. So businesses should practice corporate social responsibility. We should care for one another. Otherwise, when we lose love for people, when we have no friends, we think money brings us happiness. It doesn’t.

Q: If God is omniscient, why do we praise Him or pray to Him?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Your praise is not for God’s sake. It is for your sake. You praise God, and that praising uplifts your own spirit. You imbibe all those good qualities in you. It’s not that God, when praised, becomes very happy and places those boons on you. You cannot bribe God like that. We pray to God. We do it in every religion. We seem to think that by praying we are appeasing God and by not praying we are annoying God. I don’t think so. Prayer is your innate call. You want something and you pray. Meditation is even better than prayer. The culmination of prayer must be meditation. Meditation is telling God, “I am here to listen to you. What do you want to tell me? Let thy will be done". That is meditation.

Q: Who is your inspiration?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are two books you can read to find an answer to this. One is 'Guru of Joy' and the other is 'Walking the Path'. I would say my inspiration is every child. I want to see everyone to be like a child. Of course, I must say my mother was a great force. She was always concerned that I had to do better. Anything I did, she would say that you had to do better. So, she was pushing me all the while.

Q: Despite so much research there’s not yet a cure for HIV. Is there any hope and what is your message to those afflicted with HIV?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Those who are living with HIV and AIDS must remember that we are all going to lose our body one way or another. Everybody is going to die. Now lift your eye above this body consciousness to know your spirit. Spirit has no disease. Spirit is beyond it. Keep your mind alive, energetic, loving and happy. People with disease die and people with no disease also die. Sometimes they die out of nowhere. Sometimes sick people live longer and many times healthy people suddenly die. All possibilities are there. So, know that you are more than the body. You are consciousness. You are light. Honor that light. Please don’t sit and brood over it. Look ahead and engage your life in educating others who are not informed about HIV. And instead of seeking solace, become a giver of solace to others.

Q: Is homosexuality evil?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I don’t think so. Eastern philosophy does not even say that it is evil because you are made up of both male and female DNA. In your DNA, you are half your mother and half your father. Both male and female aspects are in you. In some people the male is more dominant, though your physical body is female. Then you become lesbian. And if your female aspect becomes more dominant and you have a male body, these tendencies may come up at different times. So don’t label yourself as wrong or feel guilty. These tendencies come and go. Many people, who are straight, suddenly have these feelings, and then they are so shaken within themselves. Many people come and talk to me about this problem. Similarly, people who label themselves as gays or lesbians suddenly find their preferences changing. So, all this is fluid. Our tendencies and mind are fluid. I tell you, we should not blame ourselves at any cost. Self-blame is a sin. When you blame yourself, you can never settle down. When you haven’t settled down, you can never focus on anything.

Q: How do you let go of someone you love?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You must know that love is your nature. Love doesn’t mean possessiveness. Love is not “Oh I love you so much, don’t go anywhere. Sit next to me all the time.” That is not love.

Q: What brings about the misuse of power?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Misuse of power is immaturity. Someone who is not mature misuses power. Such power do not stay long because it’s not power at all. It is only an illusion of power.

Q: The Vedas say that God is one and true scholars call Him by many names. Today religions have moved away from this truth of inter-religious harmony. What can we do as individuals to bring that harmony back?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: To bring harmony between the religions, we must uplift everyone to a spiritual level. Spirituality is the common thread. There was only one Jesus, but how many sects of Christianity are there? Seventy-two. There was only one Prophet Muhammed and how many schools of Islam are there? Five. There was only one Lord Buddha and how many types of Buddhism are there? Thirty-two. There was one Lord Mahadeva. How many sects of Jainism are there? Four. So many different schools of thought. Yet the six far Eastern religions had no conflict at all. There was never a conflict between Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism or Shintoism in the world. They always co-existed in harmony. The thing is, Middle Eastern religions have had conflict throughout history. Judaism, Christianity and Islam always had conflict. I was told of a particular incident in Japan. When President Nixon visited Japan for a conference, on one side of him was a Buddhist monk and on the other was a Shinto priest. He asked the Shinto priest, “what is the percentage of Shintoism in Japan?” The Shinto priest replied – 80 percent. He then turned to the Buddhist monk thinking there would be 20% Buddhists in Japan. He asked, “What is the percentage of Buddhists in Japan?”. The monk said 80 percent. President Nixon was so confused. He asked how it was possible. Both priests said that it was possible. You know, that type of harmony existed between religions in the Far East because nobody tried to convert anybody. Religious conversion was not an agenda. Uplifting human consciousness was the main goal. Giving the knowledge was the main goal. It was not about saying, ‘my way is the only way and follow it and go to Heaven, otherwise you will go to Hell’. People, who think that only they have the key to Heaven, create such Hell for everyone else. So, a grounded understanding of religious philosophy is essential. If every child knows little bit about all the philosophies of the world, nobody will grow up to be a terrorist. You know, Einstein said that the best book he ever read was the Gita. He said that it has contributed so much to his understanding of the world and about life. Einstein has read it several times.
The Matrix movie was based on Hindu scripture, Yoga Vashista. The main point was about the whole theme of consciousness. It is an excellent book describing the relationship between mind, consciousness and the universe around us.

Q: What does it mean to live completely in the present moment?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Drop the wanting of this answer because the question is already in the past.

Q: How can one experience true love in a relationship?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I can give you three suggestions. One is for men, one for women and one for both. Women should never step on the ego of a man. Women should always boost the ego of a man. Even if the husband is a stupid, the wife should say, “You are the most brilliant man I have ever seen.” You should always praise him. He shouldn’t have to prove himself to you at home because the world requires him to prove himself. He should find peace at home. You should say, “You are the most brilliant man I have ever seen. Just the fact that you don’t use your brain doesn’t mean that you don’t have it. You are the most brilliant.” So, praise your man all the time.
Now there is one suggestion for men. Never step on the emotions of a woman. She may complain to you about her family but you should better not join the bandwagon. She may turn it around. She may take a U-Turn and say, “How dare you say such things about my family. What do you know about my family?” So if she is complaining, you just listen. She is paying lip service. If you say something and you hurt her, it is not worth it. When she wants to go for a religious service or a meditation program or retreat, don’t stop her. And when she wants to go for shopping, just give her your credit card. This will keep peace at home.
There is a suggestion for both men and women. The key to keeping peace at home is that you stop demanding love. You normally say, “Do you really love me? You don’t love me the same way. You have changed. You are different.” Asking people to prove their love for you is such a psychological burden. Just imagine yourself in their place. Imagine if someone demands from you to prove your love for them. What would you do? You’d say, “Oh my God, how long do I have to prove my love for this person?” One day, two days, three days, four days and then you feel like enough. This is what happens. There is a book called ‘Celebrating Love’ that you can read. There are many ideas about love in the book. We don’t know how to receive love unless we know how to give love. How can we express that love? Our expression is something that we keep looking for. So, don’t demand that others express their love. Instead, you should ask, “Why do you love me so much?” Especially on a day when you disagree or they are being nasty, you can say “why do you love me so much? I don’t deserve it!” Even for someone who is angry, you say, “you love me much more than I deserve”. Their attitude would change. Love would spring up in them. If you start demanding, you are destroying love.

Q: Survivors of war and disaster sometimes feel guilty about being alive when so many around them have died. What message do you have for these people?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Life is eternal. That’s it.

Q: What’s the fastest and easiest way to avoid stress and depression?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Inside every culprit there is a victim crying out for help. We need to heal the victim. We all have to try to do some work in this society. You know, we can create a violence-free society, disease-free body, confusion-free mind, inhibition-free intellect, trauma-free memory and sorrow-free soul. This should be our mission.

Q: In your books, most of the examples come from the Hindu tradition of the Gita, not so much from the Koran and the Bible? Have you read the Koran, the Bible or any other religious books other than of your own religious tradition?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I am not a theologian. I speak from my experience. One of the scriptures that I usually quote from is of course the Gita. I also quote from the Bible. I am not averse to any religious scripture in the world. What I am averse to is fanaticism of any sort. You need to study every religion or scripture before you can come and talk about it. So, since I have not studied all of the disciplines like Bible and Quran, I must spend at least four to five years studying each before speaking about them. Yet the essence of all these scriptures are spiritual values which I think I can very easily find in my life. I can easily speak on the essence of the Bible. That is why I say unless you become like a child, you can’t get so far. This is true because every child has that freedom. The child inside you is alive. You are still that innocence. That is spirituality. It is when you meditate, when there is unity among diversity and oneness with the whole universe.

Q: Is it ever possible to be free from desires?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. Otherwise you could never sleep. If the desire haunts your head, you can’t sleep. You let go of the desire so you can sleep. At different times, different needs arise in your body and mind. So, you do not sit here and worry about what you are going to have for tomorrow’s dinner. You know that you have come here for a different purpose. An intention is different from the desire. An example of intention would be the thought that you want to go to New York, and you sit in the car and you drive. You go through Philadelphia and New Jersey. You take the turnpike or I-95 North until you get to New York. This is an intention. Desire is when you sit in the car and say, “I am going to New York, I am going to New York, I want to go to New York, I want to go to New York.” Continuously chanting like this may lead you ending up in the mental hospital. You won’t end up in New York. This is the difference with a sankalpa (an intention). An intention with attention and it will manifest. If the intention becomes a desire, it only brings grief whether it’s fulfilled or unfulfilled.
You know, in the 1960’s and 70’s we had the Hippie Movement. It was created out of abundance rather than lack. All of these people had everything in abundance. People who go to drug abuse or who are indulging in alcoholism are lacking in spiritual education or knowledge. They are seeking an experiential validation of their spirit. That is what leads to depression. There are large populations suffering from depression in the world today. According to statistics it will rise to as much as 50 percent in the coming decade, half the population will be depressed. We need to change this and Prozaic is not the solution. The solution is meditation and yoga.

Q: Any suggestions for people who suffer from allergies?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditation, pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya will help. Also, there are two books all should pick up - Celebrating Silence and Celebrating Love. Last time I traveled to the U.S., I came through JFK. As I was passing through security, the man behind the X-ray machine in the next row came to me and showed me the book ‘Celebrating Silence’. He asked, “Are you this person?” I looked at it and said, “Looks like that”. He asked me to sign the book. I said that usually I only sign the customs form! I gave my signature and he told me, “Someone gave me this book on my birthday last December and since then my life has changed. I’ve just read one page here and there over time and it has made such a difference”. He has not done a meditation course or anything. So, it would be good if all read it. It is not any big philosophical text but just snippets of wisdom. ‘Celebrating Silence’ and ‘Celebrating Love’. Also you can put on a meditation CD to relax. After a while, you won’t need any extra support.
You have come now, so drop all your worries here. Give me all your worries, botherations and problems. I want you to go home knowing that you are not alone. You can heal and bless other people. I tell you, it’s not only Guruji who gives blessings and healing. Everyone has this power to heal and to bless. So, anyone of you who wants to do that, you have to do a little bit more meditation, pranayama, kriya and you will have the power to bless others. There are seven billion people on the planet. So, we each must come up with this ability to bless others.

Jai GuruDeva!

knowledge sheet 55

One of the names of Lord Shiva is Virupaksha - meaning one who is formless yet sees all. We know that there is air all around us and we can feel the air as well. But what if the air also starts feeling you? Space is all around us, we identify space. But what if space also recognizes and feels your presence? This happens. Only we don’t know it. Scientists know this and they call it the theory of relativity.

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: Life becomes pure when there is dedication.

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!

Jai GuruDev

knowledge sheet 54

We need to wake up to the power that we are made up of, that is love. Like our body is made up of amino acids, carbohydrates and protein, our spirit is made up of love. It is love that gets distorted and becomes all other negative emotions. It is wisdom which can keep love pure. Love without knowledge or wisdom is misery. Love plus wisdom is happiness. It is as simple as that.

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: Self is the ocean and mind is a wave

Q: I feel happy and peaceful here. My heart is really contented. All negativity comes when I go out. I encounter all problems like corruption and bribery. How to face these problems? How to maintain the same positivity when I go from here?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You forget a strength in you – Prayer and power of your Sankalpa (positive intention). You keep doing practices and your things are taken care of. Don’t ask for small things in your prayers. Ask for big things – Let government be good and stable, Let this knowledge reach out to many more people. It is up to you to make a divine society. You can start a collective moment. There are many good people and a very few people who cause disturbance, but their influence looks like they are many. You come together and you will find what difference you can make.

Q: How to overcome self pity?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The moment you recognize, you stop it. That is it. If you are asking for someone else, then only they can come out of it. Only meditation can help. Do advance course.

Q: Many people have started preaching their own practices like Sudarshan Kriya. What to do about it?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Many people have started their own things. These kind of wrong practices don’t work in the long run. Don’t worry about all of them. People try, get headache and then they come here.
The spiritual practices like Sudarshan Kriya are not only at physical level. It is the divine grace which works.
One can do 21 days teacher training, and spread this knowledge everywhere after becoming a teacher.

Q: How to transform negative energies into positive energies?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is what we all have to do, and that is what we are doing. Let us get more and more youth together and change this atmosphere in society.

Q: Is memory a blessing or curse?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Forgetting bad things is a blessing. Forgetting good things can be a curse.

Q: What is the best thing to do after one recognizes one's mistake?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Recognizing your mistake and going forward is good. There is no point in hiding or justifying. Save the mind. When the mind is established, you can’t do mistakes even if you want. With the knowledge of the self, all negative emotions like fear, anger and sorrow disappear.

Q: How to achieve excellence while following the middle path?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It will happen. Your intention is enough. Main thing is Sadhna(Practices and self effort), next is awareness, and third is - no feverishness.

Q: What is difference between self and mind?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Self is the ocean and mind is a wave.

Jai GuruDev!

knowledge sheet 53

When mind is free from lust, greed, possessiveness, arrogance etc., when the mind is in the pure form with which we were all born with, then nature listens to you. You are a child of nature and nature loves you. When that manifests, when you are clear then two things happen - your wishes get fulfilled and you can fulfill others’ wishes also.

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: ‘Enlightenment is a connection with the universal spirit’

Q: Does man need money or God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Some think God is money. Many think money is God and very few know that God himself is money. God is love and when you have richness of love in you, you will see how abundance flows in life. There is a saying in sanskrit: ‘Udyoginam purush sindh mupayi tilaxmi’ God comes to you in the form of money - wealth is a consort of God. Consort of God, spirit of God comes to you as abundance when you put effort, to one who is working and not to one who is lazy. And one who has confidence and courage. So the one who has courage and confidence, and who puts in effort will get money. Don’t keep buying lottery tickets and sit at home. This is the biggest problem - you want money but you don’t want to do anything. So we have to put in effort. Money is just a means not an end in itself. You will need that but is it everything? No. You may have a lot of money but if you can’t eat, you can’t sleep well at night then that money is of no use. It loses it’s utility. So many people come here who have a lot of wealth and are depressed. They want to quit everything, their job, everything.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that in the next 20 years, 40–45 percent of the population will be depressed. What’s the point in having so much money and prosperity in the world when so many people are getting depressed? That’s why you need to have balance in life, balance of material and spiritual life. Isn’t it? Often people think spirituality means do nothing and sit quietly. No, it is not so. You should work. Even in the ashram there are 600 people who work -day and night. There is no Sunday and no Monday for them and they work round the clock. People come here all the time and they work. Kitchen people are working so hard. The kitchen never takes rest. You have any idea how much food they cook everyday when there is no big program? 600 – 700 Kg of rice is being cooked daily, 70 Kg of salt is put in, and 100 kg of vegetables are cut every day. So much of work they do. The housing department works tirelessly. And they are still smiling. And there are people who go and work in the fields. They are working in slums. There are teachers who are working worldwide. They work day and night. In Karnataka, itself, we have 78 slums and there are many different classes being run, educational classes, computer classes. Seva is a part of spirituality and definitely you can’t do charity with an empty bowl. You need money for service. But here nobody worries about money and charity happens, everything happens spontaneously. So these are some of the things we need to keep in our mind. You have money, you earn money, it’s good but you should keep aside some part for charity, whatever your capacity is 3 – 10%. Keep it aside. Along with it do your spiritual practices daily.

Once in a year, keep seven days completely for spirituality and then you don’t sit and calculate money. You come here and be 100 percent here, and take care of your health, do yoga, pranayama, meditation and learning. It is a very common experience when businessmen come here leaving their jobs for some time and do seva, meditation and the advance course, they start getting better contracts. Their wealth on the other side starts increasing. What they used to get putting in a lot of effort, starts to happen with very less effort. That is when sattva in you rises. Sattva is positive harmony within you and when that dwells up, your work outside also becomes smother and better.

Q: What is enlightenment? When is one said to be enlightened?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you say a word, you have already heard a definition for it. I would say enlightenment is a connection with the universal spirit, realizing that you are part of it, you are that. Living unconditional love without any effort, you don’t have to put any effort for that. Being like an open book, being natural and all these qualities are there in every individual. It only needs a little nurturing and then it starts blossoming. So when you walk, walk like you are enlightened, you are open, you are like a child, and you are free - emotionally, mentally and intellectually. Enjoy the freedom. When you don’t have any cravings and aversions of your own, then you can give yourself a certificate that you are enlightened. But you should be over all your cravings and aversions. Clear heart, clear mind and clarity in action are all part of enlightenment. If you look at a child of two-three years, or a baby of six months - there is unconditional love in his eyes. Every baby has all these qualities but minus wisdom. When you grow old keep all these qualities in you like innocence, and have the depth of wisdom along with it. That is what it is.

Jai GuruDev!

knowledge sheet 52

A very good beginning point. See that you don’t become cynical and frustrated. Skepticism is perfectly alright, but not cynicism. That drains your energy. One can be skeptical to begin one’s journey and I would very much appreciate and welcome that. Because you would have gone through skepticism, the faith will be strongly built.

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: ‘Get back to beauty and power that is within’

When we become like children, then we realize that we have greater power. It is within each and everyone. Realizing this, is most beautiful. Beauty is not in clothes. It is in the inner quality. Appearance is beautiful, but if anger, jealously or greed finds a place, then it reflects in the personality, and all the beauty is lost.

How to get back to that beauty that we are born with? Go anywhere, to the North, South, West or East, one finds every child beautiful. Children radiate joy and love. As we become adults, we learn skills and gain abilities but we somewhere miss maintaining the inner beauty, that spark of love in our life. Can we maintain those powerful skills and yet retain that beauty we were born with? I would say yes, that is what The Art of Living is all about - Making life a celebration; dream about a stress-free, violence-free society, disease-free body, confusion-free mind and sorrow-free soul. Tell me who doesn’t want all this? It is possible. In the last 30 years of The Art of Living, we have seen that everybody needs love in every corner of this planet. And that is what we spread.

Talking about this Russian tour, I feel absolutely at home. Nice people here. I want this sweetness to be maintained. But we see it is disappearing in the younger generation.

There is more stress accumulating in youth, and we need to see that our younger generation is free from stress and depression. The World Health Organization says that 30 percent of Europe is suffering from depression! Let us all take commitment that we will not let it happen. We want to see a happy world. I want every tear to be turned into a smile. That is why all this yoga, pranayama and kriya are so important to relieve this stress. In the ballet, we observe the whole body can balance on the toes. One leg in the air and one firm on the ground makes the dance. A solid material and spiritual foundation makes a dance. Spiritual experience is having one foot in the air and the other firm. That balance is power. We find ourselves in trouble when we lose this balance.

The ancient spirituality always united people of all cultures and religions. Don’t you think this is what we need today? In the name of religion, so many wars and terrorism are coming into picture. One solution is that everyone gets back to spirituality. Get back to beauty and power that is within. We communicate much more through our presence than the words. I have said all that I want to say.


Q: What is the visualization of God in ancient India?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: In ancient India, they described God as beauty. A disciple once asked what God is. The Master replied – Truth, beauty and love. That is God. Is God sitting in heaven giving a little finger? No, it is only in the painting. God is truth, beauty and love. It is that field and energy present in the entire creation. When can you appreciate beauty? And what doesn’t allow you to appreciate? When mind is bombarded with worry, anger, hate and tension, you can’t even smile from your heart.
Though you are sitting in a ballet, but you can’t appreciate if you are angry. You can only appreciate when you are in the present moment.

Q. What is the future of St. Petersburg?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is in your hands.

Q: What do you say on the rumors of destruction of the world in the year 2012?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I want to tell you a story. In 1999, when I was in North America, there was a rumor that everything will shut down in 2000. People sold homes and stored food for six months - Milk powder, dry vegetables etc. Oh my God! Then also I told that there would be no disaster and everything would be as usual. Now again, I am assuring you that it is only in the movie. The world will continue. In fact, transformation will be there from greedy materialism to humanism. Children will be more aware of spirituality. There is a bright future for the world. Don’t think of any disaster. A disaster is already happening. This is because we have exploited the planet. We have put so many dynamites to take minerals, and hence earthquakes have become dominant. The weather! Russia never had such hot temperatures. So we have to care for the planet Earth. Plant trees and do all that is needed to reduce human greed. What do you think?

Q: How do I feel more energetic repeating the same old routine everyday?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First look into the mirror and give a big smile to yourself. Ok? Then do breathing technique, little bit of yoga and meditation. Give some time to yourself everyday and you will be more energetic and beautiful.

Q: How to make someone dear to you understand that something is useful for them and they must go for it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Keep pursuing gently and have patience, they will all understand. First you should have the conviction that this is good for them, and they will get it. How to get a thought or a desire manifested is very simple. First intention and keep attention on it and then manifestation will follow.

Q. You travel so much…
I feel at home with everyone and everywhere. I don’t find anyone a stranger. I often say that I am a child who refuses to grow up.

Q: I am running after a dream since long. How to get that fulfilled?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Be practical in taking care of your daily needs and see what the reality is at that point. You have a dream and you want to achieve something. But that dream or idea may not match the reality that is right now. So understand the present reality and match it with your dream. This is what everybody has to do.
See, suppose you are teaching mathematics to a student. First you should know the present state of the child’s mind. If the child can’t count two plus two is four, there is no point in teaching the multiplication table. Do you see the practicality now?

Q: How are science and spirituality related?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Science and spirituality were never in conflict; in fact they are very complimentary. In India, it is always said, ‘Before you try to understand the nature of your spirit, you should understand the five elements of creation Earth, water, fire, air and ether’. So once you understand the five elements then you understand intellect, ego and self. All is the nature of the spirit. Spirituality is knowing who am I, the subject analysis. Objective analysis is science, and they go together. Scientists were always encouraged.

Q: People around the world need these stress relieving techniques. How can we contribute?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is why I keep traveling. So, we have to keep practicing, have to sit in groups and do some pranayama and some meditation. We have to renew our energy time to time. When you eat, your stomach becomes empty again, it is quite natural. Like that when you are happy and joyful, sometime when being so busy and engaged in so many activities, you seem to collect all that dust and your energy seems to go down. Then it is the time to recharge again. So we will meditate now for few minutes.

Jai GuruDev!

knowledge sheet 51

What to do to always be happy? First, drop the feverishness to hold onto ALWAYS and you will find yourself happy. And then, if some moments of unpleasantness creep into life, accept that also.


{Knowledge Sheet}Subject: ‘When you are free from stress, you have a sense of belongingness and understanding’

Russia, Sept. 10:
Q: I feel very shy while interacting with people. What is the remedy for the same?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know, when you have a sense of belongingness, shyness disappears.

Q: What is the fastest way to feel belongingness and unity?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When you are free from stress, you have a sense of belongingness and understanding. This is what happens when people undergo The Art of Living program. It happens so naturally.

Q: Should yoga become an integrated subject in school, especially if training/practicing can help our students to achieve something higher?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, certainly. In several countries, they have already made yoga compulsory in schools.

Q: Do you follow any religion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, I am a born Hindu. I continue to be a Hindu, but the programs we teach are very secular. People of any religion can practice it.

Q: Please tell us what does ‘one word family’ mean to you and what should we do to make this family happy?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: What family means to me? The whole world is one family for me. You know, I feel absolutely at home wherever I am. I never have a feeling of being in a country or land that is not mine. I never felt strange anywhere. My concept is to see the whole world as one family; of course family is a very important institution, it is the foundation of a society.

Q: What shall we do to always be happy, because as I know your concept is to relax and attain happiness by that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: What to do to always be happy? First, drop the feverishness to hold onto ALWAYS and you will find yourself happy. And then, if some moments of unpleasantness creep into life, accept that also.

Q: You have a very big dream in bringing world peace. If, in our lives, we meet people who follow orthodox and rigid ideas and are ready to die and harm other people, how should we deal with it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: We need to deal with such people with patience and we have to educate them, it’s not an easy task. First, we should begin from prisons. When one amongst them joins us in spreading peace, it is much easier.

Q: Do you have any special courses or programs to help the people working honestly in mass media to reduce the stress?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. You know, this program that we teach is very useful in reducing stress, irrespective of whether you are in a media company or in the corporate sector or in aviation. Stress is a common factor in any work place and this will definitely help people get out of stress. Mainly, what we need to see in the world today is a violence-free society, a disease-free body, a confusion-free mind, an inhibition-free intellect and trauma-free memory. You know, we nurture so many types of inhibitions; if ten compliments are given to you and only one insult is given, your mind locks onto the one insult. So we need to bring a change to that - a trauma-free memory and a sorrow-free soul. This is the birth right of every individual and this is what these practices bring to you.

Q: In today’s world, people really think of survival. How to deal with it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is a natural concept where survival is the first thing. It is a natural instinct but when self-confidence and vision is infused, survival will naturally be included in it, without any kind of fear. I have spoken about this in our books - Celebrating Silence and Celebrating Love. You can read these books when you have a question.

Jai Gurudev!

knowledge sheet 50

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.


{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: "Accept that you are unaware of your own potentiality"

Q: What can we say to people in our satsangs who keep bringing in knowledge from different gurus?

"Accept that you are unaware of your own potentiality"

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 02:21 AM PDT

Q: What can we say to people in our satsangs who keep bringing in knowledge from different gurus?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Listen and let go. Don’t engage in too much discussion with them. Let everyone air their own opinions. The main thing is being with your own contemplation.

Q: How does one balance work and life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How do you balance on a bicycle? There is no “how.” You just do it.

Q: How can I sustain the peace of meditation, the “all is well” feeling?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How do you sleep at night? You simply drop everything. When you wake up, you are fresh and have the energy and dynamism to deal with the situations. It is the same with meditation. You will see the contrast if you don’t meditate for some time.

Q: How do I break the cycle of feeling victimized whenever I go through difficulties?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You have already broken it the moment you realize the pattern. You realize it is your own mind’s making and that it has happened over and over again. This realization will come in its own time. And when this happens, be happy and grateful. Imagine where you were five or ten years back. How have you changed? How much better it has become since then. Put your attention on this. The more we are grateful, the more grace we will have in our life.

The first step to fun is relaxation. What tires you is anxiety and ambition for tomorrow. The anger and hatred of yesterday are also clogging our mind. In the same way feverishness pulls down our enthusiasm. In deep relaxation, you will find everything funny.

Q: How can I become more disciplined?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why do you want to be disciplined? It will make you happier? It will improve your fitness or health? So it is the love for being in shape or the fear of becoming unhealthy that will keep you disciplined. Love, fear and greed bring discipline. If someone says you will get $1 million for being disciplined in your life, that will make you so.

Q: How can I feel your presence in my everyday life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You already feel it, no?

Q: How does one deal with the loss of a loved one?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When a dear one is lost, just bear it. Be with that moment. Let time take you out of it. There is no “dealing” with this. Just be in the knowledge.

Q: Is there a higher purpose to art?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There is no purpose to art. It is an expression of happiness. For the onlooker, art brings a sort of solace and comfort. For the creator, it is just an expression.

Q: I always run into obstacles when there is something I really want to achieve. What should I do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Whatever intention you put, that will manifest. Do not label yourself. There should be no “always.” Accept that you are unaware of your own potentiality. You may think you always have some difficulty, but thinking so is what points the intention in a negative direction. Just know that whatever you want will happen.

Q: How to get rid of hurt and anger?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Do Sudarshan Kriya, breathe, sing and meditate. There is no point in brooding. Move on in life. Don’t waste today for what happened yesterday. Wake up and say, “I have the valor and the courage to overcome this.” With someone else’s anger, you must play all your tricks to calm them. Then leave it to God. Educate and ignore. Give them some time. Ask for pardon and most people will not hold the grudge. If they do, it is only out of ignorance.

Q: What if we feel we have got more in life than we deserve and are afraid to lose it?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Be grateful and prayerful. Know that whoever has given it to you cares for you and would not take it away. Do service. Put your attention on giving back to society. This is giving back to God. If negative thoughts, insecurities, doubts come into the mind, chant Om Namah Shivaya. This itself will put you on the right track. Take the past as destiny and the future as free will. What was meant to happen, happened. We tend to do the reverse. People who are foolish think the past is free will and the future is destiny. This only makes you miserable in the present.

‘Om Namah Shivaya’ has been there for thousands of years. The five elements are represented there and each sound in the mantra corresponds to one of them. For instance, Om is the life force or divinity. Chanting energizes our psyche, our inner self. It is very powerful and we should chant this everyday. It will keep away depression. Just try this. You will see that whenever you are low, saying Om Namah Shivaya removes the negativity.

Q: What is your advice to parents?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Know how to ride a horse! When you sit on horseback, you must move with it. You have to rock with the motion otherwise your back will hurt. Parents have to rock. You have to swing with them, know them and gently guide. Sometimes you tighten the reins, sometimes loosen. It is the same with kids. Put your foot down sometimes, but also give them freedom.

Q: Can you tell me what is the right career for me?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I leave the choice to you and give my blessings.

Q: How do I come out of negative patterns in my life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Once you see yourself acting in a pattern, you are already stepping out of it.

Q: You say that choice is mine and blessing is yours. How do I know I have made the right choice?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Time will tell. If it has come with a blessing, it will be good.

Q: How do I find strength in myself?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Be well rested and have your heart in the right place. You need both mental and physical rest. Thinking “Oh I have done so much!” will only bore you down. Just know that you will have enough time and energy to do what you were born to do in this life.


“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”

Jai GuruDev!

knowledge sheet 49

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.

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: What we need is inner richness and outer dynamism

What do you do when you are stuck in traffic? (Audience lists out suggestions) You can honestly pray to God to clear it. You can enjoy the music playing in the car. You can take the nearest exit. You can just enjoy the traffic or chant a mantra. Now what should we not do? Complain. Just stop this and you will be able to keep your enthusiasm. We come into the world with it but somewhere along the way it is lost. As we grow up, we switch from positive over to negative mode. So just see the traffic jam as an exercise in testing this, in pushing those buttons.

Every event is an opportunity to deepen your wisdom. An unpleasant event somewhere kindles the deep wisdom we are born with. Whether positive or negative, every event kindles this in us. If an event overpowers us, we lose our emotions and intellect. Then we need help. That is where communion comes in. We sit together and sing and the load is lifted off. Everyone must take some time in life to dwell on the truth. This is satsang, to be in the company of truth. Keep on encountering truth in our lives. Just a few moments can bring such peace, stability and strength.

People think this is something boring. They feel knowledge is so serious. I say follow knowledge and fun follows you, but follow fun and only misery will follow. Self-knowledge is that which makes you lighter and like a child again. It brings enthusiasm from within. That is exactly what spirituality is.

Realize that everything is ok. All is well. Then you can go inward and meditate. When you meditate, everything is ok. When you come out of meditation you find that everything is not. You become aware again of all the problems in your life, in the world. You must do something about this. Meditation is smiling within and service is bringing the smile to others. So first you must go inward and be in the space of “all is well.” Know that you are protected and being taken care of. This confidence has to come. That is meditation.

Then when you come out, in action you can see what is not right and work for it. Do not do so out of obligation. Let it come as your very nature rather than as a duty. If you feel duty, there is no beauty. Just serve and smile. Smile and serve. Often we don’t smile in service. People get burned out and start irritating others in the name of service. And often people who are happy do no service! Both kinds of people are walking on just one foot. You need both qualities, inner richness and outer dynamism.

“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”

Jai GuruDev!

knowledge sheet 48

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.


{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: "Good to be in space of, “I don’t know”, then you have a chance of knowing"

Guruji spoke these beautiful lines just a day before Guru Purnima in USA

I am reminded of a story! It happened 5000 yrs ago, when Lord Krishna sent Uddhava, who was his close associate and a very wise man with so much of wisdom of many techniques and meditation to the place of gopis and gopas, who were full of devotion, always singing and dancing. So, he went to give them some wisdom, to talk about liberation, but none of them were interested in listening to that. They all said, “no, tell us some story about Lord Krishna, tell us what is happening in Dwarka, where he is. We don’t want to hear all this wisdom etc, you can keep that to yourself. But tell us what news you have of Lord Krishna? Come let’s sing and dance. We have heard enough of wisdom, now is the celebration time.

We have longing and love, and nothing else. We don’t care for the wisdom, we are happy with longing and we are happy with love. So, let’s sing and dance”. That’s the story –that’s all they wanted to do. See how love makes you crazy! But it is good to be crazy, at least sometimes in life. That’s when all the boundaries drop; you feel one with everyone around, and one with the whole universe-and that’s called- ‘Guru tattva’..

Guru tattva is the principal., is wisdom and tomorrow is celebration of Guru purnima. From ages, this knowledge and wisdom have been passed on in this world for thousands of years. So, tomorrow we express our gratitude and gratefulness to the tradition of all the Masters of the past. Like there is fatherhood, motherhood, there is also Guru hood! Guru hood is, ‘I want best for you, I want nothing for myself’.
Everyone has a little bit of guru hood in them. So, be a guru at least to somebody.
Of course, the ‘Art of Living’ teachers have played that role. When they come and sit on that seat of a teacher, the whole consciousness shifts, then they are different, isn’t it? And you all are hollow and empty and imparting to others what they need. So, you become a mirror in the world- that is guru tattva, no inhibitions, no impressions, just pure reflection of the being. So, that’s what we will celebrate tomorrow. Many more are arriving tomorrow; today we will sing couple of songs.

Guru tattva is the principal. Now, any questions?

Q: What do you say about doubts? Should we have no doubts?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : No, I never said you shouldn’t have doubts, you should have doubts, have as many doubts as you can, for truth can never be concealed by doubts . Yes, doubt can’t defeat the truth, so you doubt as much as you want, but finish it quickly otherwise you will be wasting so much of time. Have as much of doubt as you want and then get over it.

I remember one incidence which happened in Sweden. There was a public meeting/ gathering and a journalist was sitting right behind. He came forward to me and said- “I want to ask you a question”.

I said- “yes, go ahead.”

He asked, “Are you enlightened?”

I said, “No”.

But he insisted, “No, please tell the truth. I know, you are always making fun, always kidding, please tell me the truth”.

I again said, “No”.

You see, my answer of NO should have finished the conversation there, but he won’t listen and kept insisting, “No, no, you are not telling the truth, tell me the truth, are you enlightened? I want to know the answer right away”.

See when you say , ‘no’ –it finishes , there is no need for further proof or explanation, chapter over, but this person won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I said, “So what takes you not to take a ‘no’ for answer? You should be happy with the answer now”.

But he said, “No, I don’t believe it!

I said, “You see, there is something inside you which is telling you something, some deeper inner feeling saying –this is not correct, right? So you have the answer then!”

So often, you listen to your own inner voice but doubt it from the surface mind but deep inside your heart and mind are saying something, you feel something different- a gut feeling and that is what you always rely on and not on what someone else says, isn’t it so? If someone says, “I love you”, do you take them on face value? No, you look at their face, you look at them and even without looking at them, you feel something deep inside. So, what I am telling you is generally true. And every one has this faculty of intuition and what can overshadow this faculty is your greed.

Greed can overshadow the faculty of your intuition, being over ambitious can overshadow your intuition. Do you understand what I am saying? Wisdom gets covered with greed, feverishness or with over ambition. So, doubt as much as you can!

Q: Dear Guruji, I have never been a spiritual or a true religious person. How can I learn to let go and believe?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You don’t have to label yourself- I am spiritual, religious person etc. No need for it.

Just be natural, beautiful, good human being. That’s it!

If someone is not a beautiful human being and says, ‘I am a spiritual person or a religious person’, what is the use of that? What good he or she is for? Isn’t it? The purpose of spirituality is to make you a beautiful human being, the purpose of religion is to make you a righteous person, connected to the universe, to the universal spirit. And that’s what spirituality is and that’s what a simple, natural, normal human being is! Got it? Right, so it is better not to label yourself.
If you think you are a believer or a non believer, then even a non believer is a wrong label. Someone who says, ‘I am a non believer, I tell you, this is not true. You simply can’t honestly be a non believer; there is no honesty in it. Somewhere in some corner of your consciousness, you believe something; you know something, for your consciousness is very ancient. You don’t know your consciousness, it is so old, so ancient, there are so many layers, so many impressions on our mind, on our consciousness- it is such an amazing phenomenon!

Q: Dear Guruji, I heard and understood the truth, but it is not my experience, please help me realize the truth . Yours truly.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Good! Good to be in space of, “I don’t know”, then you have a chance of knowing. If you think, you know then you are stuck with the concept. In the Upanishad, it is beautifully said, “one who says, ‘I don’t know’, he knows, and the one who says he knows, doesn’t know!”

Q: Dear Guruji, recently scientists have said that they can create life in a laboratory by manipulating and intervening the genes. Isn’t this contradictory to spirituality and religion, with man creating life and giving consciousness to innate objects?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Not at all. You have heard this saying – ‘God made man in his own image’. Right? So, whatever God can do, man can do too. God made man, created him as his own image. It is written in the Bible. Right? There is a story about it in Mahabharata epic also, written some 5000 years ago.
So, test tube babies are not new phenomena. Queen Gandhari , from one embryo, had put pieces in hundred pots and created hundred types of kids. But what quality the kids came out with, that you all know! So, there is a big question about the risk, but this is a fact that Gandhari created 100 children in hundred pots. So, test tube babies or creating life in lab is not a new phenomenon. It was done some 5000 years ago also!

Q: Guruji, are we influenced by mistakes from previous birth? If so, then how does one prevent getting influenced by that or find a way to remove that influence?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You don’t have to make too much effort. Just do your practices, your Sudarshan kriya, sing and meditate and all the bad karmas and impressions, they will get washed away by themselves. And with few advanced courses, few hollow and empty meditations, all impressions get released.

Q: Dear Guruji, is it true that it is not the devotee who chose the Guru but the Guru chooses the devotee? If yes, then what took you so long to choose me?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Ha, Ha, Ha!! Let’s not go in the past! Let’s look ahead, having great times. Great days, yes?

Q: Guruji, when you meet terrorists and naxalites, don’t you get frustrated with their attitude and lack of knowledge?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : This is like asking a doctor- Don’t you feel sick of seeing the sick patients?!!

Q : Can you give me a suggestion – how to be calm when your spouse is always mad at you?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Well, an answer coming from me won’t be authentic! There are many experienced (spouses) ones here, you can exchange notes with them! But if someone gets angry so often then you get used to it, and it doesn’t bother you so much anymore, isn’t it? But if they are sweet and then get mad at you then you get more bothered about it, right?

There is a very popular story in India. A gentle man got married to a woman who was very shrewd. She would do everything against his will. Whatever he will say, she would do just its opposite and he was so bothered and sad about it. Divorces were not that common those days in India, so he was stuck with this situation. Then, when you are stuck in a situation, you go to a wise man, so he went to meet a yogi.

The yogi whispered something in his ears and three months later when the yogi met this gentle man again, he was beaming with happiness. He came and told the yogi- “Your formula worked, now we have peace at home!” The formula was-whatever he wanted, he said just the opposite to his wife! So if he didn’t want to wear a green shirt that day, he would say- “ I want to wear a green shirt”, and she wouldn’t do that for him anyway! So, you only need to know the pulse and do accordingly.

If your spouse is all the time angry, then I know you might have experienced and found how to handle it , and how to increase or reduce the volume, right? Interesting! May be (with such people), you should try this for one month or two months, and take them by surprise. If they are angry, praise them, and love them so much. Don’t be too predictable with anger.

“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”

Jai GuruDev!

Knowledge sheet 47

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.

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: 'Don't be a football of other people's opinions'

France, 30th July 2010.

Q: Why does a desire arise? Where does it come from? What is the purpose?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: All desires have got one goal, and that is happiness. If a desire brings unhappiness, it has not reached its goal. The goal of desires is to bring happiness. So, that is the purpose.

Where does it come from? It comes when you are not aware of your Being, your Self. Desire is your wanting to stay in the moment. Desire is to experience joy. Joy is only in the moment. And when you are in the moment, there is no desire. When you are joyful, when you are satisfied, there is no burning desire at that time.

Q: Why is it that people who are not on the same path don’t understand us and take it against us? I don’t understand.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Let them talk. So what? Take it. It doesn’t matter. We don’t insist that everyone talk only good. By their talking, you don’t become negative.

So, don’t be football of others’ opinion. Let anybody say anything. It doesn’t matter. When you are clear in your heart, and what you do is right, what you want to do is right, you just do it. What do you say? (Clapping from the audience.)
Q: Please can you teach me how to be connected to the faith?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Trying to connect to the faith is trying to connect to the air around you. ‘I want to be connected to the air.’ My dear, you can’t be but! You are already connected. Relax. Why do you try to connect to air? Are you getting what I am saying? Doubt as much as you can. I would say, you should doubt as much as you can. A point comes when you no longer can doubt, the truth will stand up. Truth can never be destroyed by doubt. Do you understand what I am saying? Truth will stand. Doubt can cover it, delay it for some time, drag on for some time, but it can never destroy the truth. Therefore, when people have doubts, I say, ‘doubt as much as you can. One day those doubts will fall off.’ If you are lucky, it will fall off immediately the way it comes. Unlucky ones hang on to it for a little longer time. That’s all. Unlucky ones will carry the garbage on their back for some long distance. Lucky ones know that they carry garbage and throw it right there. Two steps, and they drop their garbage. Otherwise one carries on the shoulder for a long distance.

Jai GuruDev!

knowledge sheet 46

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.

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: 'Enlightenment is unconditional'

Q: Because I travel a lot to places where vegetarian food is hard to find, and I have to eat with office colleagues. I eat wrong foods and find energy is really low. What to do in such situations?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know when people have some allergies they don’t eat those foods for which they have allergies just because of company. Suppose you have milk allergy, and because the company is all drinking tea and milk, you’ll not say, ‘Ok, I’ll also drink.’ Because you’ll suffer. Right?

So similarly, in any company you can choose your food, you can say ‘Ok. I am going to eat only chips, or vegetables, or bread...’ You are not compelled to eat non-veg if you don’t want to. Ok? Or unhealthy food. You don’t need to drink Pepsi or Coke if you don’t feel it’s good for you. Right? See, when people drink lots of Pepsi and Coke, it burns the lining of the stomach and the intestine. Later on you develop so many problems. All these carbonated drinks should be avoided. Someone had demonstrated, in a cup of Pepsi they put a tooth, a tooth which had fallen. It dissolves! If teeth can dissolve (which stay for a long time in nature) in Pepsi Cola. It is so corrosive. And that corrosive fluid can cause so much damage to our intestine, our brain, our nerve cells. So we must keep healthy eating habits and propagate them.

Today is much better than 30 years ago. 30 years ago when we started, people were very allergic to vegetarianism and spirituality. But today, it has become a fashion. Because we make a trend. And we create a trend and keep it moving.

Q: I want to serve you. Where do I go?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: There are so many opportunities here. Bad Antogast needs several people who would like to do some service in the German Ashram. Come there. There are other places also.

Q: I am feeling confused between two men. One is father of our son. But I am not really happy with him as a woman. One is somebody to whom I feel really connected. What can I do? Shall I stay with the father of our son to protect the family life or shall I follow my heart?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Very difficult question! It depends on how old your child is. And if the child needs both parents’ love and care, then you should attend to that first. Children’s life is very much important. We need to sacrifice some of our personal wishes for the sake of the child when they are growing up. You know that. You have been doing it. So protect the family. Must be the first thing. Many times you have to let go of some of your temptations. Let go some of your personal ambitions. Ya?

It’s very important. Children need both, father and mother. So, as far as possible…
If it’s impossible because the husband is so bad or the wife is so bad, then you have to go your separate ways. Then there is no option. But, as far as possible, give the children a good family life.

Q: How to increase the belongingness and Satva in energy, to be able to bring more people into this path?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: This question, I leave it with you. Keep asking this question. Time to time you get ideas and do those ideas. And get people to be peaceful, happy, what we call satvik. Satvik means harmonious. The harmony within yourself and the harmony with your world.

Q: Dear Guruji, I don’t want to get married but I find living alone very difficult too. No one to talk to or do things with, I end up watching too much TV. What to do and how to cope?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Ya, when you are living alone, this’ll be the problem. That is why the ashrams are created, where many people are there and they have so many things to do together. Everyday satsang. You are busy. Taking a project and working on a project. France needs help. You can come and join the French team.

Q: Is anger related to ego? Several Rishis in the Hindu tradition have been known to be very short-tempered. How did this affect their peace?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Not several. One of the Rishis is known for his anger. But always good happened through his anger. That’s why I say, even the anger of a wise man does so much good, and love of an ignorant person causes more problems.

See, an illiterate mother, an uneducated mother, she doesn’t like her children going to school because the young ones they cry when going to school. Then she says, ‘No, no. Ok, don’t go to school.’ They say we don’t want to study. She says, ‘Ok, don’t study.’ Her love for her children so that they don’t need to study hard or go to school has spoiled their whole life. Isn’t it? So, even the love of an ignorant person does harm. And even anger of a saint always does good.

There are so many stories about one sage, his name was Durvasa. In India, if someone is very angry, they say ‘Oh, he is a Durvasa!’ means he is someone who gets angry at the tip of the nose. At the drop of a hat. Just gets upset. But he would come back to normal immediately.
This is to say, don’t feel bad about yourself if you have anger. Even a Rishi had some anger. So, you don’t have to be too hard on yourself by blaming yourself. That is just to give you self confidence. To make you feel, you are ok, inspite of your little bit anger. That is only one rare case. That is to say that enlightenment is unconditional. It is what? It is unconditional. You can’t put any condition on that freedom. Just to tell you, there is no conditioning. So it’s possible to get angry also. And, sometimes anger can also do good.

Jai GuruDev!

knowledge sheet 45

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?”

{Knowledge Sheet} Subject: `Once you have come on this path, know that only something good will happen to you at every step'

First, have confidence in yourself that only good will happen to you. Once you have come on this path, know that only something good will happen to you at every step. So, this confidence that ‘Only good can happen to me’. And then opposite values are complimentary! So, if you seem to have some loss now, it is only for some bigger profit, some good will happen. So, first is to have this definite intention, definite confirmation.

Second is to know that there are good people on the planet, very kind and compassionate people, and people will help us whenever we are in need. The world will help us when we need it. There are very few bad people. Even bad people are bad only from outside. From inside, they also have some good thing. Someone who is 100 percent bad does not exist on the planet.


So, everybody has some good thing and how we enhance that goodness, is our place of work. That is what we are born to work at.

'People are good! The world is good! Good people are here! And when I need, they will help me'. There will be no insecurity in life with this conviction.

Thirdly, there is a universal power that is inside of me, outside of me, and everywhere in the universe. That power is responsible for everything in the universe. All the diverse creation is because of this power and that power cares for me. Some people call it God, some call it something else. But it does not matter what one calls it. There is a power, there is a spirit. That is so compassionate, and it is with you and will help you. It is also helping you now. See, when you were a child, when you could not even wipe your nose, when you could not even stand up, didn’t nature take care of you? (Affirmative, 'Yes,' from the audience.) And when you get old, you need someone to help you. Right? Somebody will take care of your needs. So, when you were very young, someone took care of you, and someone will definitely take care of you when you will be very old. So, who is putting this thought in that someone’s mind to take care of you? That is the power. So, you have always been taken care of?

Even when you are capable and strong, you must know that there is a power that takes care of you. So, if we just understand this, a great relaxation happens, and the insecurity in the mind goes away, all the fear goes away. Great relaxation, confidence, trust and everything comes. All that is needed in life just come up. So, when we were incapable, we were taken care of, and if we become incapable, we will be taken care of. Now also, we are taken care of and we should also do the same thing. We should also take care in whatever possible manner, wherever it is necessary. This is human life.

Human life has two purposes. One is how much you take, and second is how much you give. So, what is that you can take in the world? You cannot take all the money out of this world. You may earn millions of dollars, but you will have to leave it here. It cannot go with you. The millions of dollars or euro you earn come to help to take care of your food, clothing, a little comfortable bed and room to sleep, and travel a bit here and there. That is all. It cannot bring happiness. We should not expect money to bring us happiness. If we do it, we are not intelligent. If we think money is going to bring us happiness, it is like saying, “I can eat coins and get rid of my hunger”. You need an eatable to get out of your hunger, and not Euros or coins. That is all. It cannot bring happiness. You should not expect money to bring you happiness. You can buy an eatable with Euro, that is a different thing.

Ultimately, happiness cannot be bought by money. We must know this very well. So, get all this comfort in life. But what is it you should get? Comfort is a small thing. But what is it that you can take with you? What can go with you is knowledge. What gets imprinted in the consciousness is knowledge. So, how much knowledge have you gained? Knowledge is not what you read in a book, but it is awareness. How much awareness you have gained? How much broadness in your mind has come up? And in giving, how much love have you given back to the world.

So, how much love have you given?

And how much knowledge have you taken?

These are the only two things that will be asked, and that makes life more fruitful. So, we are all on the right track.

Are you all happy? (A loud, 'Yes!') This is so nice and fortunate. We completed Guru Purnima few days back – 25 July. That was the day we celebrate the knowledge and the love together. Full moon is the symbol of love. It is lovely to walk in the full moon. Moon is very romantic. Isn’t it? So, knowledge is not dry. Knowledge is so romantic and so full of love. That is what we celebrated few days back – Guru Purnima. We thanked all the Masters of the tradition. From thousands of years, the tradition has kept this knowledge intact. So, everyone feels so grateful for the beautiful knowledge we have received in our lives. That is the celebration when you feel so grateful for something that is so life transforming, something that is so important for our life to be uplifted. We feel more grace flowing into our lives. More gratefulness and gratitude means more grace. More grace means more happiness, more knowledge.

Jai GuruDev!