Knowledge Sheet

After reciting 18 chapters of The Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, ‘You think about it, analyze it, if it appeals to your mind and if you agree then you accept it.’ This means the strength that is within us; the strength of the soul is what gives us this freedom. So now we have to utilize it in the right direction. So whenever we are happy and joyful, we should make an effort to spread this happiness, this joy to minimum ten other people. Will you all do it? Everybody?

Subject: 30th Anniversary of the Bangalore Ashram

An Ashram is a place where there is no shram/effort. Keeping the mind at peace and letting divinity flow through you is effortlessness. And when does that happen? When you are at ease with yourself and the surroundings. And this is, in fact, the significance of the Ashram – where you are at home.
Today is the 30th anniversary of the Ashram. This was a barren land before that, and there was nothing but rocks. The land has been transformed into a beautiful place. This has all happened because of the meditation, seva and satsang.

When you have experienced inner peace, then either the Ashram has no significance or all the places become an Ashram for you. Yet till then, the Ashram and its vibrations, do have an impact. So, on this occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Ashram, be at home, be at Ashram, and be at peace with yourself. Wherever you are, make it an Ashram. Every home becomes an Ashram, this should be our wish!

Jai Gurudev

Knowledge Sheet

In life, there should be all types of prosperity – usually money is associated with prosperity. Satisfaction is true wealth. The air, earth and time are also wealth. The right usage of time is very important. There is a wealth in knowledge. Its nectar should be in our consciousness. Whatever we have, whatever we can give, should be shared. We must practice charity.

Subject: With satsang, sadhana and seva our faith becomes very strong

More happiness we share with others, more happiness we experience.Do you agree with it? Don’t just say yes. First you think and if you agree, then accept that. One can travel the whole world, but only in the Indian tradition you will see that even when the best of knowledge is spoken, one says, ‘You think about it, only if you find it’s right, then accept it.’

After reciting 18 chapters of The Bhagvad Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, ‘You think about it, analyze it, if it appeals to your mind and if you agree then you accept it.’ This means the strength that is within us; the strength of the soul is what gives us this freedom. So now we have to utilize it in the right direction. So whenever we are happy and joyful, we should make an effort to spread this happiness, this joy to minimum ten other people. Will you all do it? Everybody? In my opinion each person has the capability to give happiness to a thousand people. Each one of you can bring light to the lives of a thousand people or more.

Like I said, spirituality is the only way through which we can be free from depression. Whether our society gets freedom from misconduct, corruption, injustice or not, we must spread spirituality. In every house, we must tell people to meditate, to get together and have satsang. In whichever village, people have gotten together and done satsang, all negativities have gone away. Mahatma Gandhi had once desired for an honest society that is now becoming a reality in many villages in India. Even in Gujarat, in many villages, this work is ongoing where people have left alcohol, drugs and with much joy and love are serving others.

One thing that is very important for you to remember: In everyday life, you may experience some lack here and there. Your mind gets upset or someone has tears in their eyes… this is all part of life, which keeps happening. It has never been like everything in life is perfect, ideal or rosy-rosy. It has never been like that, but to deal with problems we need strength and patience and that comes through sadhana. Don’t think of life as separate from sadhana, your life itself is your sadhana. Understand this and move forward. Don’t think that just by closing my eyes for a few minutes and doing something, sadhana is done. No! Whatever you do, walking, moving about, getting up or sitting down, smiling or getting angry, whatever you do in life is sadhana. We need to look from this perspective and then we experience so much relief. When in yourself, this cool breeze of relief and peace starts to flow then you will see how people around you will also start to feel the same. Already many people are feeling it, isn’t it?

It is said that devotion was born in Tamil Nadu, raised in Karnataka and blossomed in Gujarat. So here in Gujarat, devotion blossomed and became complete. Where is the blossoming of devotion? It is in service! We must do as much seva as we can. This does not mean we have to do what we cannot do. No. We have to do as much as is possible for us; and there is nothing as big or small service, the fruit of all service is the same. We must not feel that I have to do that service which is important or big, no, what is important is to have the feeling to be of help to others, and we serve with that feeling. It is in your nature to help and you are helping by doing that. That’s it!

If any of you are feeling ‘I am doing a lot of seva, remove that from your mind today. Who are you doing seva for? Without doing something we cannot live. That’s why we are doing something and if others are benefiting by us doing something, then it is a very good thing, isn’t it. So we must not feel proud of our seva or proud of our good qualities, this is what we need to offer into the fire of knowledge. So offer your negative qualities, also offer your good qualities and good actions, and live life smiling, feeling light and at the same time being immersed into the depths of knowledge.

You don’t have to work very hard to achieve love and peace in your life; this is easily achieved in a state of rest and such rest we can experience when there are no small botherations lingering in the mind. Then you experience deep rest; and desires linger in your mind when you do not have faith. When you are thirsty then only the desire for water arises, but what will happen if you sit and think about water all day? Do you understand what I am saying? What does desire mean? A lack of faith that I am going to get what I need. So with satsang, sadhana and seva, our faith becomes very strong and all work gets done like it’s getting done in your lives right now.

How many of you have experienced that what you desire is getting fulfilled? So whatever you desire is getting fulfilled, then you should desire for big things. What is the use of desiring for small things? There is no fun in that.

I am not saying do this, do that, I am saying do nothing. Now just five minutes before I said spread happiness, now I am saying you don’t have to do anything. Just relax… the contradiction between these two states only is life. That’s why if you read the Gita you will understand everything is contradictory. Gita is our very life; it is not only a holy text. Gita is for everybody, it is our life and in life there are contradictions.

Jai Gurudev

Knowledge Sheet

There are three levels of existence - Outer world, subtle world of different energies and Divinity or God. All the yagnas being performed here aim to achieve both spiritual and material benefits. When you go deep inside yourself, from where everything has come from, you experience the Supreme Peace. Only when you are in deep meditation, these mantras have effect. These are very powerful and beautiful and enrich the subtle creation.

Subject: Diwali is a time to drop everything and start afresh

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s address at Annam Brahm, an event that showcased 5,600 vegetarian food items. This initiative also brought to the forefront the unifying power of food. People of all religions participated in this event with the aim to showcase the unique cuisines from different communities.
Sri Sri:
“We are part of a Smashta Jeevan - An individual human being is connected to the whole universe, with all its life forms. Birds, animals and the life of people should be respected. When we care for nature, nature cares for us. It makes us complete and completeness is the basis of a human being. We need to take care of plants and animals. One of the most divine expressions is to plant a tree. Then we need to take care of people. Ladies while cooking should take out one handful of grains everyday and once a week or once a month should feed the poor. It is said that two to three hundred years back, there was not even one poor or hungry person in India. Such a complete and capable country we had.
Once again we must resurrect this country to that state. We should all work towards this.

Life without joy,
Heart without compassion,
Mind without imagination,
And Intellect without intuition is incomplete.

Life is all celebration. Celebration happens when all come together, and a society without celebration is no good.

Gujarat is full of celebration. The amount of dance people do out here, one will hardly find anywhere else in the world. The whole of Gujarat rises to dance during Navratras.

We are having Diwali. Greeting each other and singing with each other, we light the lamps on Diwali and celebrate. A single lamp is not enough, and we have to light the lamp in every field. Let the light shine on spiritual, social, financial and all other fields – This is the message for Diwali. While involving in daily activities, we do get upset with each other, we get upset and we make others also upset. But how long can you burn in that fire? Diwali is a time to drop everything and start afresh. That is why in this region, Diwali is immediately followed by the New Year. So, on this occasion my wish for everybody is to have the light of wisdom and spirituality in their lives, and the waves of joy keep rising in all hearts.

Today is Annam Brahma – the topic is food. It is said in all our Upanishads that Food is Brahma, and one should honor it. Like they say "Jaisa ann vaisa mann" – The state of your mind depends on your diet. Pure vegetarian food keeps our mind perfect, intellect sharp and body fit. That is why many scientists today are switching to vegetarianism.

We are not even aware of the huge variety of food which is there in India. From Tripura to Kerala and Kashmir to Kanyakumari, whatever type of dishes people eat, are present here today.


We offer prayers before eating. The food that we eat absorbs the vibrations. Respecting food means respecting farmers, we should always keep in mind that the one who is producing food should always be happy, because that is the origin of the thought cycle. This is our beautiful tradition, with such deep science behind. Food makes us experience the chaitanya (the consciousness), that is why it is called Brahman.


India is famous for its contribution in seven spheres. First is the variety of clothing available. Then is the huge variety of food. After this comes Nritya and Sangeet (Dance and Music) – India is being recognized in these fields also. Then comes tourism - Pravaas Udhyog, and the I.T Industry, and of course India is making its name in the field of Spirituality - Knowledge industry. Like this, India has made an extraordinary mark in these seven spheres. We have to popularize it. It is very important today. These things should be recognized as a world heritage.

Jai Guru dev

Knowledge Sheet 68

Life without joy,
Heart without compassion,
Mind without imagination,
And Intellect without intuition is incomplete.

Life is all celebration. Celebration happens when all come together, and a society without celebration is no good.


Subject: ‘In the rush of our daily lives, we forget that Divinity is within us’

There are many meanings of Dhantaras. In life, there should be all types of prosperity – usually money is associated with prosperity. Satisfaction is true wealth. The air, earth and time are also wealth. The right usage of time is very important. There is a wealth in knowledge. Its nectar should be in our consciousness. Whatever we have, whatever we can give, should be shared. We must practice charity.

Today the priests performed a yagya with Vedic rituals. Prayer is an expression of showing your gratitude towards God. Eight years ago we performed a yagya here. Since then there has been no famine. Earlier there were parch lands everywhere, today there is greenery all over. We should thank Goddess Laxmi for bringing prosperity to Saurashtra.

Divine love is not somewhere far, it is with me right here. If we have this faith, then we can never feel separate from Divine love. I have come to tell you that you can never be far from God. If you understand this today then I will consider my work done.

Devi and Devtas are forms of God. Honor them and rest deep in your subtle Self.
Is there only one type of sweet, then how can God be of one kind? Yesterday 5,600 types of dishes were displayed. 35,000 children, who had never seen these many varieties of sweets, ate from the spread.
Two years ago an event called Brahma Naad was organized in Delhi where 1,200 sitarists performed.
People said it’s not possible. Yet to make the impossible possible is our work. In Pune, 2,700 vocalists came together. Then the Gujarat team came up with this idea of Annam Brahm.

All this is a part of Goddess Laxmi. There are eight kinds of wealth that come in everybody’s life.
We rekindled this spark of Goddess Laxmi in our consciousness.

Just know that whatever you want, you will get.
Lord Krishna said that leave all religions and come to Me, I will liberate you from all your sins.
But we do just the opposite. We keep clinging to religion and start our journey to save ourselves from our own sins.

In the rush of our daily lives, we forget that Divinity is within us.
Let us all take this sankalpa - Remembering again and again that the Divine music is within us, my family and I take this commitment that people all over the world should stay happy.

Jai Gurudev

knowledge Sheet 67

When you don’t want anything in return, that is called unconditional love. Not even a thanks or a sense of gratitude or gratefulness. A lot of times people help others but these little expectations are there and that is what bugs them and pulls them down. That is also a condition.
Unconditional love comes naturally as your consciousness blossoms. You can’t force it on yourself or cultivate it. I don’t know how to cultivate it. It’s simply a phenomenon.

Subject: Knowledge nugget from Delhi

In life if you want satisfaction, then you need an ice factory in the brain, a sweet factory in the mouth and a compassion factory in the heart.

Whatever demands you have, surrender them to the Divine. As dukh (sadness) means tyag ka bal (strength to surrender) and sukh (happiness) means seva ka bal (strength to serve).

Q: Any amount of positivity I try in life, small failure makes me feel low?
Sri Sri: How are you feeling now? Failures come in life - do you do sadhana everyday? Chant Om Namah Shivay for ten minutes everyday. The energy you get from chanting is amazing

In China, there was a popular person who had seven diseases. He started chanting Om everyday for two hours and the diseases got cured. Sage Patanjali said this many years ago: if we chant Om every day, it reduces negative energy at home.

There are many health problems because of the number of chemicals used in food, soap and also radiations. We should keep our food satvic, do chanting and pranayama.

The incidence of cancer is increasing nowadays because we don’t give enough importance to food.

Q: How to do samarpan (surrender) in bhakti (devotion)?
Sri Sri: In the same way how we have sweetness in sugar.

Q: You always say we should be like children. I was careless and fearless as a child. Now as an adult a new fear has come.
Sri Sri: Just relax and keep doing sadhana. Don’t worry.

Jai Gurudev

Knowledge Sheet 66

In this world, there is place for ignorance also. If someone is blaming you, it is out of their ignorance. And if it is not ignorance, it is mal-intention or jealousy and I would club all these emotions as part of ignorance. So, the best is you move on and don’t get stuck because you have no way to control other’s opinion and you don’t need to - everyone can have their own opinion. The best formula is to educate and ignore.

Subject: ‘Let the light in my life and wisdom around me always be there’

This fortnight is the period of the Divine and we do puja every day. Today is the concluding day and also Sharad Poornima/full moon. Each poornima (full moon) is associated with a very significant event in history.
Buddha Poornima, the full moon day in the month of Vaishakh (usually falls in April or May) is connected to the birth, enlightenment and attainment of Mahasamadhi by Gautama Buddha. The next Poornima is dedicated to Rishi Vyasa. Sage Vyasa was the master of both the realms – material as well as spiritual. He knew the ways of the world, and that of the spirit as well. Veda Vyasa organized the entire knowledge, and there was no knowledge about which he didn’t know. Guru Poornima is the day on which all the Masters of all the Traditions are venerated. The last full moon is dedicated to Anant or infinity. Celebrating infinity – no boundaries – no beginning or end.

This month’s full moon is called Sharad Poornima. The brightest and without any blemish, it is supposed to stay longer too, the full moon of Celebration. It is said that Divine dance happened on the day between Lord Krishna and the Gopies – symbolic of grateful devotees. It is said that Lord Krishna danced with all the Gopis under this moon so many thousands of years ago. Sharad Poornima is known for dance and celebration. It is the time when devotees feel the presence of the Divine in their life. This moon is also dedicated to beauty. The sky is clear and the largest moon shines brightly. Our mind and the moon are connected. When the moon is full, the mind is also full. The energy on the day is very high and celebration will keep it up. But this energy needs to be channelized.

With every full moon, we find an excuse to celebrate - Celebration with the spiritual flavor.
The period of last fifteen days was a Divine period. We do all poojas and yagyas. What is pooja? Reciprocating what Divinity is doing to us. God makes Sun and Moon go around us, showers flowers, rain and fruits. Imitation of that Divine expression is called pooja. Pooja is the most natural way of showing one’s gratitude.

We conclude this beautiful period doing pooja with a playful heart and keeping this intention, “Let the light in my life, the enthusiasm and wisdom around me always be there. I take the light of life into me. I accept wisdom and love.”

Divinity is everywhere like the air. Yet you feel the air near the fan. Similarly, Divinity is everywhere but you feel it more near the fan. Knowledge, yagya and Guru are like the fan. Near these you feel the presence of Divinity.

Jai Gurudeva!

Knowledge Sheet 65

Karma! The ways of karma are unfathomable. Karma is like an ocean. This is not one lifetime. In many lifetimes, we have done so many actions and they all have repercussions. Which karma has sprouted from which seed and what fruit this karma will give is very difficult to pin point. That is why it is said ‘gahana karmanogati’ . Unfathomable are the ways of karma. That’s why don't worry about the karma, just be active and follow your conscience.
Act with conscience!


Subject: Navratri: A Journey to the Source

The festival of Navratri is celebrated with prayers and gaiety in the beginning of the Ashwin (autumn) and the beginning of Chatira (spring). This period is a time for self-referral and getting back to the Source. During this time of transformation, nature sheds the old and gets rejuvenated; animals hibernate and life emerges back afresh in the spring.

According to Vedic sciences, matter reverts to its original form to recreate itself again and again. The creation is cyclical, not linear; everything is recycled by nature - a continuous process of rejuvenation. The human mind, however, lags behind in this routine cycle of creation. Navratri is a festival for one to take the mind back to its Source.

The Mother Divine is recognized not just as the brilliance of intellect (buddhi), but also the confusion (bhranti); she is not just abundance (lakshmi), she is also hunger (shudha) and thirst (trishna). Realizing this aspect of the Mother Divine in the entire creation, leads one to a deep state of Samadhi. This gives an answer to the age-old theological struggle of the Occident. Through wisdom, devotion and nishkama karma, one can attain advaita siddhi or perfection in the non-dual consciousness.

Kali is the most horrific manifestation of Nature. Nature symbolizes beauty, yet it has a horrific form. Acknowledging the duality brings a total acceptance in the mind and puts the mind at ease.
Though Navratri is celebrated as the victory of good over evil, the actual fight is not between good and evil. From the Vedantic point of view, the victory is of the absolute reality over the apparent duality. In the words of Ashtavakra, it is the poor wave which tries to keep its identity separate from the ocean, but to no avail.

The three primordial gunas are considered as the feminine force of our magnificent universe. By worshiping the Mother Divine during Navratri, we harmonize the three gunas and elevate sattva in the atmosphere.

The inward journey nullifies our negative karmas. Navratri is a celebration of the spirit or prana which alone can destroy mahishasura (inertia), shumbha-nishumbha (pride and shame) and madhu-kaitabh (extreme forms of craving and aversion). They are completely opposites, yet complementary. Inertia, deeply ingrained negativities and obsessions (raktabeejasura), unreasonable logics (chanda-munda) and blurred vision (dhoomralochan) can be overcome only by raising the level of prana and shakti, the life-force energy.

The seeker gets back to the true Source through fasting, prayer, silence and meditation. Night is also called ratri because it brings rejuvenation. It gives relief at the three levels of our existence – physical, subtle and causal. While fasting detoxifies the body, silence purifies the speech and brings rest to the chattering mind, and meditation takes one deep into one's own being.

The nine days of Navratri are also an opportunity to rejoice in the three primordial qualities that make up the universe. Though our life is governed by the three gunas, we seldom recognize and reflect on them. The first three days of Navratri are attributed to tamo guna, the next three days to rajo guna and the last three days to sattva guna. Our consciousness sails through the tamo and rajo gunas and blossoms in the sattva guna of the last three days. Whenever sattva dominates in life, victory follows. The essence of this knowledge is honored by celebrating the tenth day as Vijaydashmi.

Though the microcosm is very well within the macrocosm, it’s perceived separateness is the cause of conflict. For a gyani (wise), the entire creation becomes alive and he recognizes life in everything in the same way children see life in everything. The Mother Divine or the Pure Consciousness itself pervades all the forms and has all the names. Recognizing the one Divinity in every form and every name is the celebration of Navratri. Hence, special pujas honoring all aspects of life and nature are performed during the last three days.

Jai Gurudeva!