Gurujis knowledge 24th Dec + observe negative thoughts

 
Wishing everyone a Happy 2008 ( hope the year of the Rat brings you lots of peace, harmony and goodwill )
 
You can read all the knowledge below on http://gurujiskripa.blogspot.com also. Previous emails of mine are all posted on the site.
 
Guruji had recently advised (in delhi) to read the Bhagvad Gita. I have it in PDF format in English and Hindi. People interested can write to me on rges@hotmail.com and i will send the file to you.
 
At the same time you can also join The Art of Living Facebook group also. There are regular news posts of Art of living activities and you can share contacts, info of your chapter with other Art of Living members.
 
To see more details and confirm this group invitation, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=617780872&k=5VG2P4URQ4TAYGAIUCYZ
Everyone can join Facebook. To register, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=617780872&k=5VG2P4URQ4TAYGAIUCYZ&r
 
Pass the message to all and lets have a wonderful start of the new year.

Jai Gurudev,
Rajesh (Moscow, Russian Federation)
 
 
===================================
*24th December 2007***
**
*Bangalore** Ashram*

Guruji conducted moonlight meditation… followed by the question and answer
session.

*Question:* Guruji logically there is no reason to be happy. But happy state
of mind doesn't follow any logic. Is happiness related to logic?

*Guruji:* (laughter) The whole exercise in life is to balance the head and
the heart. When you are too much into head, u should just let go, and relax,
sing and dance. You know your sleep is a gift to you. Do you know that?
During sleep the mind gets so much of rest! But meditation is the ultimate
rest to your mind.

*Question:* Guruji, life was becoming weaker and weaker everyday. Then one
day you came. You charged up with so much of love and blessings. What is the
guarantee that it is going to stay for ever?

*Guruji:* (laughter) It's a life time guarantee. For many life times. Here u
know, the charge never finishes. Its not a disposable cell, what u call
it?!!? The sun the moon the starts don't finish. Do they finish? When Lord
Krishna said, "I am the sun the moon, the light in the sun… ", people did
not understand! The mind is like the rays of the moon. The whole world is
made up of one energy. I recently heard something; someone was telling that
Einstein had said that, "If u have not studied physics u loose out
something, but if you have not studied spirituality you loose out on
everything". I totally agree with that. Many are surprised to hear that, but
I was not!

*Question:* Guruji, often I don't realize how seva is happening and
sometimes I think I am doing it. Who is it actually who does?

*Guruji:* Who is the one who is observing? When you focus on that you will
know that, First the eyes are seeing, then the mind, then the intellect, go
on with this … and you will see that there is nothing! That's why Lord
Buddha said "Anaatma". He said, "I could not find the self anywhere, though
I searched and searched". Then Lord Shankaracharya came and said, "Its all
Maya" temporary". Then he said, "Who is the one who could not find? That is
the one"!! He totally turned around the whole picture to a new dimension
with a new sentence! You are the one and you are never away from the self!
That's why we do, "I am".. Have you done the "I am"process today? Advance
course…
During the process you must had several pleasant and unpleasant experience.
Its ok.. huh…they come and go, what remains is the self.

*Question:* Guruji how can I eliminate conflict with my wife. I want to make
her happy at the same time cannot agree to everything she says. Can you
help?

*Guruji: *Why do you want a bland life? (laughter) Life should be spicy,
interesting. Its absolutely ok to fight! You just tell yourself, today let
her scream, I am not going to get angry on her!! You stand like a rock and
keep smiling!! See how things turn around! Just one day you do that, and you
will see you are so potent to end a conflict or may be begin a new one!!
(laughter)!!

*Question:* Guruji why are there so many spiritual institutions? Do we need
so many? Why cannot people follow one institution?

*Guruji:* No come on… You never ask why are there so many cinema halls? You
never ask why are there so many shops, so many restaurants, so many
parties?!!? Why do we wear so many different types of cloths!??!?! This
question is not relevant at all. There are so many avenues to bring the
knowledge. So many different methods to are there to get to the knowledge.
Only the Zihadis say such things. We want only one thing! Only one way! Well
things may not be the way you want it, but let me tell you they all have
their own importance. Rigveda said something beautiful. It said for those
who don't believe in him, he is there for them also!! Swami Vivekananda
came, he found an institution. Then Rishi Aurobindo came he formed another
institution…. We have take up a different way through yoga and
meditation…There is no conflict with one another! There is one common thing
I think in all and that is meditation.

*Question:* Guruji I got your blessings today, how long will the blessings
last?

*Guruji:* (Laughter) depends on what you are going to use it for. I am ready
to give you a blank cheque. But what will you use it for!??!

*Question:* Guruji give me bhahma gyan?

*Guruji:* I am ready to give you and that's what is what you are doing here.
Relax and let go. Become hollow and empty. And only when you are hollow and
empty you are ready to take it.

*Question:* How different are you from mother and father?

*Guruji:* I don't want to get into this conflict. How different am I or how
similar am I! You find out all that! Some people find both… so you figure
that out.

*Question: *Guruji what is the best way to serve the society as a future
doctor?

*Guruji:* You know you should keep this question. This is a very good
question. How best can I contribute to my society!! But don't try to do
something which is not required! (Laughter!!) Have you heard the story of
the scout boys? I think I have told it to you before. Ok…ok I'll repeat!
There were three scout boys. One day they were given a task to do some
service. So they went on the road and were wondering what seva to do?!?!
Meantime one of them saw a old lady who was standing across the road. The
scout boy came upto her ands asked "Would you like to cross the road?" The
old lady said, "No thank you". The scout boy insisted her that she should
cross the road! Finally he forced her to cross the road. Meantime the other
boy who saw that came running and said, "I am going to drop her back from
where she came"> which means the other side of the road. So he forced the
old lady to cross the road again. The third boy came running and said "Well
I cannot loose out of seva". So he got the old lady to cross the road
again!!! (Laughter!!) We have to bring people to knowledge and spirituality
and meditation.

*Question:* Is there a way to handle success without conflict?

*Guruji:* Yes… yes. You can handle success without any conflict. Because the
concept of conflict is there in your own mind. If your mind is free there is
no conflict at all!! That's why in Narada Bhakti Sutra it is said,
"aatmarata virodhite"… Rejoice in the self without conflict, and that's is
real devotion.

In Service,

*Smita Roy (From Ashram)*

 

Observe negative thoughts

Observe negative thoughts
Sri Sri Ravishankar

There is a lot of talk about positive thinking. Positive thinking means - you get a negative thought and you try to think positive.

A thought has already come in us, whether positive or negative. You just observe it. It is already gone. But positive thinking means bringing back that which has
gone. We catch hold of a thought and go on like that. To erase the negative thought, we try to force a positive thought on it. But negative thoughts simply
don't go away. They go somewhere deep inside. They remain there. The more you try to force the positive thought, the more, somewhere deep inside, the negative
thought is growing. A slight fear is happening, you are hitting a duality, a conflict. Observing thoughts as thoughts, emotions as emotions, opens us to our
true Self, the godliness within us.

Do you mean just the observing from some centre is enough, rather than trying to change it?

Yes. The very observation changes it. When you observe, all that is negative falls away. And the nature of positive emotions is - they grow. If you observe when you are angry, the anger will fall away. And if you observe if there is love, love grows. And the attempt to erase simply strengthens the negative? Is that what you are saying? Just observing and letting go is the simplest? That is the best and the only way. Observe. Observe that thoughts come and they pass. A negative thought
comes because of stress. If you are put under great stress, on that day, or the next day, you will get negative thoughts and become frustrated. All negative
thoughts come out of your frustration. Instead of trying to do something with those thoughts that have already arisen, which are of no use, attend to the source from which they bubble up. If the source is clean, only positive thoughts come. And if negative thoughts come, you observe, so what! They come and they vanish in no time.

GENEROSTIY IS QUALITY OF SPIRIT / 3 TYPES OF LOVE

GENEROSITY IS THE QUALITY OF THE SPIRIT

GENEROSITY IS THE QUALITY OF THE SPIRIT

When You Feel Stuck In Life And Not Growing, Bombarded By Desires,
When There Is Dryness, Lack Of enthusiasm, no juice, what do you do?
Here is the solution.... FEEL GENEROUS.... right away, not tomorrow.
Either a princess or a pauper can feel generous. Generosity is the
quality of the spirit. When you feel generous your life becomes
abundant, full of compassion and love.

Question: Is generosity the same as being grateful?

Answer: No. Gratefulness always has self concern. You are grateful
because you have something or you get something. Generosity is an
expression independent of external circumstances. No one can make you
feel generous. That is something that you have to do yourself.
Essentially, generosity is not an act. It is a state of
consciousness, but it cannot but find its expression in an act.

Question: What about passion?

Answer: Passion indicates scarcity. Dispassion is abundance.
Dispassion without generosity makes you self-centered, causes more
dryness.

You dont´ have to think about what you have done in the past. That
only brings doership.

Just feel generous.

Jai Gurudev...!

THREE KINDS OF LOVE

THREE KINDS OF LOVE

There are three kinds of Love. The Love that comes out of Charm, that
which comes out of comfort, and the Divine Love. Do you see what I am
saying?

The love that comes out of charm does not last long. It comes out of
unfamiliarity or out of attraction. In this you lose the attraction
fast, and boredom sets in, like most love marriages. This love may
diminish and bring along with it fear, uncertainty, insecurity, and
sadness.

The Love that comes out of comfort and familiarity grows. But this
Love has no thrill, no enthusiasm, joy, or fire to it. For example,
you are more comfortable with an old friend who is a familiar person,
rather than with a new person.

The Divine Love supersedes both the above. The Divine Love has ever
newness. The closer you go; there is more charm and depth. The Divine
Love has comfort, enthusiasm, and familiarity. There is never boredom
and it keeps everyone on their toes.

Worldly love can be like an ocean, yet an ocean has a bottom. The
Divine Love is like the sky which is limitless, infinite. From the
bottom of the Ocean, soar into the vast sky.

Jai Gurudev...!

yes+ course in presence of Guruji in Germany

Dear ones, 
 
Can we give some real last, last, last-minute push to this? It's a real wonderful initiative! Guruji is inviting all Youngster to the Ashram!
 
With much love
Jgd
Christoph 


 
Invitation to a special edition of Yes!+ course with Atika in the presence of Guruji...  

26.12. - 30. 12. 2007 in Bad Antogast 

(aged between 18 – 35) 

  
At the beginning of this month, the CCS World Youth Forum in Brussels has taken place. 
 
We (50 participants from more than 20 countries) got to present our views on leadership and ethics in business to a large audience of hundreds of top business leaders and academia during the CCS symposium in the European Parliament. 
 
Part of the program was the Yes+ workshop, which gave us insightful knowledge about leadership, our own mind, and about managing (stressful) everyday situations. We also learned some special breathing techniques that greatly improve concentration and reduce stress, as well as energize your body and mind. 
 
But besides all those useful things we learned, we had the best time ever! Therefore, we are putting our efforts into organizing another Yes+! workshop in a beautiful place in the Black Forest in Germany. 
 
We want you to be there too, the more people, the more fun! Just come and experience this wonderful course, we ensure you that we are going to have great time. 
 
All the best,
The participants of the CCS World Youth Forum 2007
  
Some of our experiences:


"After this program if feel so strong and enthusiastic about facing the challenges of live...and everything in my life became so much easier and more enjoyable." Martin 


"This program gave me so much energy, that now I do 2 times more work then before and the experience of this program itself was just great fun." Sebastiaan 


"I learned to enjoy every moment of my life much more fully and to live without regrets, by giving my 100% into it everything I do." Alia 

NEW !!! Questions & Answers with Guruji.......

Questions & Answers with Guruji.......

Questions & Answers with Guruji……

Q: When does a child have the first thought?

A: A child first has feelings. In the first week or within the first month the child has feelings. And it starts to recognize things in the first six months but cannot put a name to them. Also a child has memories of past lives upto the first three years. Sometimes the child will also say something and the parents will just disregard it but if they listen carefully the
child may say things about the memories of the past lives. But only upto three, four years old.

Q: What is the origin of thought?
A: What is the origin of this question? (laughter) Just sit for a while and ask yourself that - then you'll see that this thought also comes from that quiet space.

Q: What is the connection between suicide and rebirth? What happens to the people who commit suicide?
A: Their souls wander for a while and then they are re-born.
Q: That's it?
A: (Laughs) That's it? Suicide is like when you're feeling very cold and you take your jacket off. How are you going to feel then? It does not make sense.

Q: I've been fighting all my life - with my mother, with situations etc. How do I get out?
A: First of all ask yourself have you been fighting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? Hmm? Is that possible? You know we tend to generalize and eternalize our problems. And so the problems continue. We say everyone in Bangalore is sick. How can that be! Just we happen to know 5 or 10 people are sick and we think everyone in Bangalore is sick. Remember you the center of your consciousness - you can change things.

Just put this thought in your head when you wake up in the morning that today my mother is going to be happy. Maybe the first day it won't work, the second day it won't work but the third day you will see your mother is happy.

Q: My boss told me that if all the CEOs and MDs had done the Art of Living course - they would only be doing positive thinking and they would not have been able to make much progress.
A: Just ask your boss - that if lot of stress and negative emotions causes
creativity and progress - why do you not see it in Afghanistan and Lebanon - where the situation has been so stressful for so long. Do you see any great creativity coming out of these places? Just ask him that.
This is a wrong notion that creativity comes out of stress and negativity.

Q: (Something about dowry and violence related to dowry)

A: The people who commit violence for dowry are doing wrong but it will not help just to condemn such people or just punish them severely. They have to be cured - some understanding of the problem has to be there.
That's why in the olden days each village/town had a purohit. He kept an eye on the people in the town and if he saw some tendencies - he could take action to correct it at an early stage not let it get to the violence. Puro-Hit - Pur means city - `hit' means welfare - the one who cares about the welfare of the city. That tradition needs to be revived where there is someone wise in the town, who is immersed in knowledge and meditation and can attend to these matters.

Q: What is the connection between karma and free will?
A: They are mixed like fat in milk. If you remove the cream from milk - there is still some fat in the milk, so there is still some karma in the free will. If you make milk into curds also there is still some fat in it - only when you churn it and make buttermilk then the fat is taken out - so if you take all karma out - if you are free from karma then there is free will - then the actions can be without karma - that is an enlightened soul.

Q: Something about doing service when you don't feel like it.
A: Yes, you should still do it. Don't think that I am not being true to myself - I don't really feel like doing this seva but I am doing it. It's okay. Sometimes you will not feel like it but still do the seva.

Q: How to develop the ability to work hard?
A: Don't work hard, work smart!

Q: How to work smart?
A: (Laughs) Smart does not mean tigdambaazi (being cunning) Don't get mistaken about that. I'm not saying be cunning. But it is not great achievement to work very hard for a small task. If someone says they have worked very hard then I ask - why you don't have intelligence? (laughs) when you are completely relaxed, the action that
springs from that is intelligent action - when you can do little but achieve a lot that is smart work.

Mind space - Sri Sri

MIND SPACE...... see what Guruji says..

The mind has two abilities – one is to focus, the other is to expand
and relax. When you put a thread through a needle, the mind is
focusing. When you are looking at the empty sky, the mind is expanding.
This ability to focus and expand should come simultaneously in the
consciousness – all the confusion is between this focus and
expansion.

Continue doing whatever you are doing. Be at peace in your mind. Let
go of everything. Put away all your worries; they are nothing. When you
let go, you will realize you are peace. What is stopping you from
knowing that you are at peace? You are not letting go; so let go. You
know when you watch the sky and move at the same time, it appears as
though the sun is moving. It looks as if the moon is moving, but
actually it's the clouds that move. Have you experienced this
illusion?

You are the background of all the phenomena, like a movie screen.
Whatever happens on it, the screen is untouched in the background. So
you are the background on which different phenomena move – they
happen and vanish!

Tomorrow is another day – another morning, afternoon, evening,
midnight, and then tomorrow's gone. Some days you have highs, some
days you have lows. But where are they all? All gone! Till this
moment, all is gone. Right now, right now, right now. This is
awareness; this is knowledge.

What's happening now? There is some `yes' and `no'
going on is your mind, with awareness of thought like, "Oh! I feel
good!" and other such things, you are lifted to a completely
different level of existence. Much higher than thinking, "Oh! So
and so said this, so and so said that". "That person is jealous
of me" – all garbage. The whole game is happening inside you.
In that space, time rolls.

The mind is part of Time; a reflection of Time. One is born out of the
other. That's why, when you are happy, time moves quickly. If you
don't know how time passes, then you are happy. Somebody is in the
hospital; then even half an hour seems so long. You are waiting for a
train, or there is delay in your flight. You are all alone and you have
read the entire newspaper and still you don't feel time passing.

You can see this on the railway platforms in India. People lean over to
see whether the train is moving. I once saw an old lady doing this and
told her, "Mother, the train is very big! If it moves you can't
miss it; but if you lean over, you will fall down. Sit in the train and
relax. It makes a big sound, it's not an ant."

I remember an incident in school. A classmate had difficulty in walking
and I would accompany him home. His house was situated before mine.
About a hundred feet away from his house, he would run. I would say,
"You will fall down, don't run," but he would not listen.
He would eventually fall on his doorstep. There was no use in my going
with him all the way. Time appears to be very long when the house is so
near. It would hardly have taken him three or four minutes more if he
walked normally. Time appears to be very long when the mind is not
here.

~~~ Sri Sri

Jai Gurudev

pass this message.

!! JAI GURUDEV !!

The Art of living Foundation cordially invite you to a talk on Health through Breath on 6th January 2008 From 5.00pm to 7pm by Dr. V . Kochupillai, Retired Chief Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital & Professor & Head of Department of Medical oncology AIIMS New Delhi at Kalida Marriage Hall Mulund(W).

Dr. V. Kochupillai will discuss various effects Sudarshan Kriya - a unique breathing Process taught at the Art of Living workshops on:-

1) Brain functions & physiological parameters.

2) Effect on stress & depression

3) Effect on Ageing

4) Effect on immune system

5) Effect in post traumatic stress disorders

A little more about the speaker ….

Dr . v. Kochupillai has over 30 years of teaching & research experiences .she has Published more than 170 research papers & is a winner of several national & International awards One of her key areas of interest has been the effect of yogic Breathing practices on health .she has initiated &co-ordinated various pathbreathing Research projects on the effect of 'Sudarshan Kriya' on health .she has also organize World conferences on scientific aspects of deep breathing exercises, consciosness & spirituality.

Please forward this info to all AOL teachers, voluteers and make sure to have maximum no of Doctors attending this session. This session is open for every one.


For Further Detail
Contact Nisha Barve 9819386466

Knowledge Sheet 134

Knowledge Sheet 134 - A Wise Man Is Happy Even In Bad Times
And
The Stupid One Is Unhappy Even In Good Times
Dec 31, 1997
German Akademie Bad Antogast, Germany

People who are willing to serve will have good times even in the bad times. when there are problems such as famine or war-torn countries, the Red Cross people will be fine as they are serving. The more relief they bring, the happier they feel. And people who are selfish and who just want to enjoy themselves will be miserable even in good times. Often the organizers of a party do not enjoy the party because some little thing is missing, they forgot to invite somebody, somebody did not come or some little thing went wrong.

A wise one is happy even in bad times. And the stupid one is unhappy even in good times.

You make the time good or bad. People usually blame the bad time and wait for the good time. Even if an astrologer says that you have a hopeless time, you can make it a good time!

Like weather, time has its own impact on you. But your Satsangs and Sadhana are your shield, your protection! So realize that you are more than time and that you can move the time by your connection to the Divine.

Don't feel shy to speak about human and spiritual values. Time has come now to call the whole world!

THE ALL is calling,

The Ball is rolling!

Time is milling,

The Soul is willing...

Riddle : The next year is three times the same and yet only one. What is it? Figure that out.

BE EVER NEW, HAPPY YOU !!!!
Jai Gurudev

Sacred space - cyber wisdom

Looking Within by 'SRI SRI'

Looking Within by SRI SRI

When someone is anxious, they are unaware of time. They are not
aware of the moment that is passing. This is because their focus is
on the event, on the happening, rather than on the moment. When
someone is waiting for a train to arrive, they wait and wait and
wait. Next time, try and be aware of the moment.

When the mind is lost in the moment, then that is yoga. When you
wait for nothing, yet you wait. It adds a different quality to the
conscious mind. This aspect sharpens the mind, the intellect and the
heart. This is the yoga of action.

This is the next sutra in Patanjali's second chapter known as
Sadhana Pada. Sadhana pada is a `practice on the path'. Tapaha
swadhyayeshwarapran idhanani kriyayogaha is the sutra and it
means "Endurance, self-study, devotion to the divine constitutes the
yoga of action."

Kriya yoga is the yoga of action. Action is a part of creation.
There is activity in everything in creation. Right from a little
atom, to the sun, to the moon, and stars, there is activity. There
is nothing that is stable or static in this world. Everything is
busy, active. The Brahman, the infinity, is filled with infinite
activity. There is absolutely no silence at all!

Even in sleep there is activity. You think you are sleeping, but in
sleep, there appears to be more activity. The body grows more in
sleep than when you are awake. Do you know that? In the child, every
cell is multiplying as he sleeps. That is why a growing child sleeps
longer. The young sleep longer than the elderly because there is a
lot of activity, mostly metabolic, going on in the body. The body is
built when you are young. If you deprive somebody of sleep, their
growth is stunted.

Even in silence, there is activity. At the same time, in every
activity there is a corner which is silent. Krishna tells
Arjuna, "Arjuna, do you know who is really intelligent and clever?
One, who sees silence in activity and activity in silence. That is a
truly intelligent person."

Now, how does one see silence in activity and activity in silence?
It needs sharpness of awareness, alertness of the mind and keenness
of the senses. That keenness can come when there is skill in your
activity. That skill in activity is Kriya yoga or the yoga of
action.

What is Kriya Yoga? It comprises of three parts. First, there is
Tapas, which means endurance or acceptance. Say for example, you are
traveling in a plane on a long distance flight. You have been
sitting for long and you find your legs are getting numb. You are
tired, yet you keep sitting. You feel heavy, yet you keep sitting.
You cannot say. "Oh! I cannot sit any longer; I am going to get out
of the plane." No way! If the plane is delayed or held up in the
air, you still have to sit there. There is no choice. Now, if you
had a choice, you would not sit for eight hours like that in one
place. But in a plane you sit, accepting it, willingly, without
grumbling. That is tapas! In the same way, if you are hungry, you
say, "No, I am fasting. I want to have a cleansing diet. I want to
cleanse my body. So I am just going to fast on juice or water." You
decide on your own to do some action, which is not usual. and you do
it, without grumbling. Tapas is really experiencing the opposite
values without grumbling.

You know that it is beneficial and the result of this action is very
good, and therefore you go ahead with it however difficult it is.
People go to the gymnasium. It is difficult and gives no pleasure
yet one does it. Why? They know that it is good for their system.
This endurance is called tapas.

Second is Swadhyaya or self-study or introspection. This means
observing your own thoughts and emotions. Where do these emotions
come from? Where do the thoughts come from? What is happening inside
you? Studying yourself is swadhyaya.

Third is Eashwara pranidhana, which means devotion to the divine or
love for the divine.

These three things make up Kriya Yoga.
~ SRI SRI

Q and A Part 2 Nov 23-25 (GURUJI)

Subject: Q and A Part 2 Nov 23-25

(On the previous day Guruji had asked for 'intelligent' questions)
Q: Guruji when we see you we get very feverish. Please don't call this an
unintelligent question.
A: That is not even a question, is it? It's a statement! Yes, it is apparent
(laughing) that there is feverishness. I have come to accept it now.
And people don't realize that when you bend down to touch my feet - the person
behind thinks there is no one in front and bends down also and soon we have a
pile of people (laughter) Sometimes when I am walking very fast and devotees
are trying to touch my feet - it gets very tricky - a few times I have escaped
tripping. It's been very close.

Q: Something about thoughts during meditation
A: Don't be dissappointed if you have thoughts during meditation. Just embrace
the thoughts - don't resist them. Don't feel 'Oh I didn't meditate well today'
- just embrace the thoughts. Accept them.

Q: All that you have achieved - do you look at it as your achievement, a gift
of God, part of nature?
A: I would say - it is a gift of God. Everyone has a role to play, that's all.
Everything in this universe has a role to play - that is actually the essence
of advaita. There is One Consciousness and everything in it is part of That.
See, to make something important you need many things that are unimportant. So
you can say that the unimportant things are important to make the important
things important! Got it? (laughter)

Q: What do you find challenging or something that you don't like?
A: When people who are not intelligent but think they are intelligent ask
questions that they think are intelligent but are not really intelligent.
Unfortunately in today's world such people have a lot of influence - it's sad.

Q: Have you ever committed a mistake?
A: (Smiles) Have I ever committed a mistake? (Chuckles) Sometimes I wonder why
I started all this (puts head back and laughs)

Q: How come some negative actions have a positive result
A: Yes, it is possible. Each negative action can have some positive associated
with it - depending on the way you look at it. Karma is not knowable - in the
Geeta Krishna tells Arjuna this - that Karma is so deep that it cannot be known
- see if you plant a coconut tree - it may take fruit in three years - with
mango trees - it can be a different number of years - if you plant moon - it
will sprout overnight and if you put your hand in the fire - when you will feel
the pain - immediately, no? So karma can be immediate or take some time - it is
very deep and it is unknowable.

Q: What was before the Big Bang?
A: Read this book called "The Parallel Universe" by Michael Kokoc. He talks
about the dark energy - e.g. look at the two stars in the sky - they are
separated by space - so he says that there is a great energy that is keeping
the two stars apart. This is dark energy - and we are aware of only 0.03
percent of the actual universe. It's there in his book - read it. I have only
read 3-4 pages (laughs) but you can read more...

Q: Guruji, I have dreams that come true at times. A few days ago I dreamt that
my mom had died and when I called home - I found that my pet had died. This
disturbs me a lot. What should I do?
A: See, dreams are a mix of our fears, desires, some events or impressions of
the past, some premonitions of the future - so don't be too involved in them.
Just move on.

Q: Guruji, People are very worried at my home that something is wrong. They
asked me to consult you.
A: Haan, don't worry. Just ask the people in the house to change Om Namah
Shivaya - don't worry. Ok?

Q: What is Maya? What is reality?
A: Anything that can be measured is Maya. So whatever you see can be measured,
right? You can say two kilo grams of rice, one litre of water and so on. But
can you measure love? Can you say two units of love? Three pounds of Truth? No?


Q: (the following day there is a follow-up) But even negative emotions cannot
be measured - like misery, frustration.
A: Haan. Yes. But if you look at it. Darkness cannot be measured but darkness
is just the absence of light. Unhappiness is not truth. Your true nature is
love, joy, bliss. That's why I say "fake it till you make it" - it's not wrong
to say that. Because you are faking it right now. Your true nature IS joy, is
bliss. Your problems are not true, your misery is not your true nature - so in
fact when you are sad you are faking it!

Q: We are with you in 2007? Where will you be in 2107? I want to play with you
even then.
A: You are asking in front of all these people. Everyone may get the same idea
(laughs) Where will I be in 2107? I am not so foolish as to make plans for 2107
now. All my plans are made done spontaneously in the present moment.

Q: I am confused? Should I pray to God for what I want or let God decide what
is good for me? What is the right thing?
A: No, it's fine to pray for what you want but also say that if there is
something better than this for me, please let me have that. (laughter) You can
do both!

 

Big Mind - Jai Gurudev + The only thing you must remember

BIG MIND......JAI GURUDEV

BIG MIND

You know there is a Big Mind and a small mind. Sometimes the Big Mind
wins over the small mind and sometimes it is the other way around.

When the small mind wins over, it is misery and when the Big Mind
wins, it is joy.

Small mind promises joy and leaves your hand empty. Big Mind may
bring resistance in the beginning but fills you with joy.

The word Guru means great. Jaya means victory. Deva means one who is
fun-loving, playful, light. One who is playful is often not dignified
and when one is dignified, he is often not playful.

Jai Guru Dev is victory to the Big Mind in you that is both dignified
and playful. That is what Jai Guru Dev means: "Victory to the
Greatness in you."

You do not say victory or hail to the Master as he has won over
already. You say victory to your own Self, your own Mind, which is
being veiled by the small mind.

Jai Guru Dev

THE ONLY THING YOU MUST REMEMBER.............

The only thing you must remember is

how fortunate you are.

When you forget this you become sad. Sorrow indicates

(I) your negative qualities, and
(ii) your attachment to your positive qualities.

When you think you are too good, you blame the world; then you become
sad. The purpose of sorrow is to bring you back to the self. And self
is all Joy. But this is possible only through Knowledge -- awareness.

Knowledge or awareness leads sorrow towards the self. With lack of
Knowledge, the same sorrow multiplies and does not get completed.
Knowledge completes sorrow.

With the power of Knowledge you transcend sorrow. In this path you
have everything. We have this beautiful Knowledge which has all the
flavors in it -- wisdom, laughter, seva, silence, singing, dancing,
humor, celebration, yagyas, caring, complaints, problems,
complications, and chaos to add color.

Life is so colorful!

Jai Guru Dev

on tour with Sri Sri (upto 12thmarch 2008)

 

Date(2007)	Location
19th - 26th Nov	Bangalore, India
30th Nov - 5th Dec	Brussels
6th - 7th Dec	Ethiopia
13th Dec - 18th Dec	Bangalore, India
20th Dec - 31st Dec	Germany
30th Nov - 4th Dec	Brussels
5th Dec	Germany
6th - 7th Dec	Adis Adaba, Ethiopia
10th - 12th Dec	Hassan, India
13th Dec	Tumkur, India
14th - 16th Dec	Bangalore, India
17th Dec	Mysore, India
18th Dec	Bangalore, India
19th Dec	Trivandrum, India
19th - 22nd Dec	Chithradurga, INdia
24th Dec - 3rd Jan	Germany
4th - 5th Jan	Delhi, India
6th Jan	Hyderabad, India
7th Jan	Hubli, Vizaq, India
8th Jan	Tanaku
9th Jan	Vijavada, India
10th - 18th Jan	Bangalore, India
23rd - 25th Jan	Davos
27th Jan - 17th Feb	Bangalore, India
18th Feb - 20th Feb	Germany
21th - 24th Feb	Canada
25th Dec - 2nd Mar	Los Angeles, USA
3rd Mar	Germany
4th Mar	Mumbai
5th - 8th Mar	Surat
9th - 12th Mar	Mumbai

Who is Guru? + Experience sharing from Pakistan (You Tube Video)

Who is Guru?..

"Just enter the door of the Master and come home. Only the Presence
of the Master will bring fulfillment to all your relationships. The
Presence is vast, infinite, stable and centred."

~~ H.H. Sri Sri Guruji

Gurudev

Words by themselves are inadequate to express what a master or a Guru
brings to one's life. His presence, his love, his grace and his
shining light can uplift one from the miseries and the sorrow that life
brings us. One knows one has come to master when there is a sense of
completeness; the feeling of a child peacefully sleeping on the
mother's lap without any worries.

Gurudev chants a Sanskrit shloka every time he starts a discourse. It
means that Ishwara that is the Divine, Guru the Master and Aatma the
Self are one and the same.

When the sadhak (spiritual seeker) is ready on the path, The Guru
himself manifests. Many seekers chant, meditate and do other spiritual
practices, but they find a lack. They feel the need for somebody to
guide them on the path. Sometimes on the path, one feels lost. There
is emotional disturbance, confusion, guilt and there are doubts. You
need somebody to say with reassurance: "Yes, this is the path. You
just be there. It dosen't matter if you fall this way or that way, I
am with you."

It is like mathematics. The technique is taught, but still certain
problems may be going wrong, and the teacher comes around and shows you
where you are going wrong. And, then you've solved it! To learn an
ordinary subject like mathematics, we need a guide. So on the spiritual
path, the need for a guide; a teacher is so much greater! Somebody who
is like a friend with whom you can share inner most feelings, who is
disciplining like a father and caring and loving like a mother. Maybe
one in a million many not need a master, a Guru. They may be able to
walk the path alone, but the majority needs a Guru.

The Guru comes to the disciple. The disciple never goes to the Guru
because he does not know who the true Guru is. One who is ignorant
cannot know what knowledge is! It is like the divine has itself
manifested in the human form. We are comfortable relation to a physical
form. So, when that is the state, the Divine manifests in the physical
form that is the Guru. He takes one along the path and then when the
disciple is mature enough, the Guru lessens the dependence on the
physical form and the craving for the physical form. Even though the
craving is very beautiful, the Guru takes the disciple beyond those
limitations and starts showing him increasingly that `I am with you!
I am your very Self, your Aatma! Guru is antar tam; the inner essence
that dispels all the ignorance and darkness in our lives.

And, the Guru also shows you that `I am in everybody.' The Guru
is speaking, acting and manifesting through each and every particle of
creation. In fact, Guru means that which is vast, boundless. His body
is the entire space. Fortunate are the ones who really come to the
master!

`Tumhi sarva prana sa pranadhar saratsara' – `You are
everything; you are even the source of my life breath, the very essence
of my life.' Being without a Guru is like a ship in the endless
ocean that has lost direction. Fortunate are those who graduate from
being a disciple to becoming a devotee. The disciple has a goal in
life. He wants to get enlightened or get knowledge, but a devotee does
not want anything.

The Guru tatva is infinite. Any amount of explanation is not enough.
Talking about it is beautiful, but feeling the Presence goes beyond mere
words. The language of the enlightened masters is silence. The very
Presence speaks. The master discourses in the silence and all the
doubts are dispelled.

Jai Gurudev..

=================================================

 

Experience sharing from Pakistan - An old video, but interesting.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPZ0jP9TSos&NR=1

=================================================

Ashram satsang and knowledge session with sri sri on 23/11/2007

Ashram satsang and knowledge session with sri sri on
friday 23.11.07


 
............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ..

Q and A with sri sri

Sri: Nahi …Light ki zaroorat nahi..abhi meditation
karenge…what is the time?...8.10- 8>15?
How are you all?...Mast hai…

Basic Course Participants kahan hai?...U all are
enjoying…?..YES…

Corporate course participants? ..Uall are
enjoying?... YES…

Organizers from different parts of india ?..U all are
enjoying..?. .YES…

How are ur meetings going on?..

What about others ?...Everybody else..Sab log khush
hai..?...YES…

Dhyaan kar lete hai…Look at the moon…

And we continued to go deep in guruji's guided
meditation on moon…

After the meditation…

Sri: Was it good?...How many people liked
it?..EVERYONE? ..

Now what shall we do?...talk a few things..

Q: guruji can u say something about the NANDIGRAM
experience…
A:Yesterday we spoke on that ..

Q:hmmm…any questions?.. .

Q: (was in kannada…so not mentioning the details)

Q:What is the importance of hard work?..
A: Smart work is necessary ..not only hard work

Q: in kannada once again…

Sri: Har mohale mein satsang hona chahiye (every
colony should have satsang)..thats why in old times
they used to say.."NAGARSANGKIRTA N"..PRABHAT
PHERI..means they would go to every house in the
morning and take them along to join satsang..Mahatma
Gandhi used this practice to the maximum benefit..

Q: Swamiji does a human being recognize himself?
A: The one who recognizes himself is a human
being..and the one who doesnot recognize himself is
not even an animal..Even a Dog recognizes himself..One
child asked me guruji..why and how animals can make
friends without the problem of language across any
country or border..then why we human beings need a
language to make friends…on which I answered to him
that Human beings also know one language across the
globe..THAT of SMILE..even if they don't understand
each other's language thet understand the language of
smile..

Q: Guruji..something wrong is happening at my
home..everyone is very afraid at home…I am here in the
course…Mummy has asked to ask you
A: Say OM NAMAH SHIVAYA..tell them all to say OM NAMAH
SHIVAYA..and do meditation.. everything will be ok

Q: How to become a smart worker from a hard worker
A: Tigdambaazi karke nahi…if u do any such trick, it
will all be out in short time..We take pride in the
fact that WE DID HARD WORK ..aree..if you are
intelligent enough then why di u need to do HARD
work..( everyone laughs)..SMART WORKER is the
One who does not take a long time to do a great
work..In short time who do great work are Smart
workers..

Q; ..Again in kannada..

Q: Guruji ..if ashram is our home why do we have to go
back after the course is over?
A: You cant stay at home all the time, you have to go
out for work.

Q: Guruji will u talk something about atma, atmahatya
and punarjanam?
A: Yes its true that those who do atma hatya( suicide)
their soul lingers around for sometime and gets a body
later again.Its like you are feeling cold and whatever
shawl you are wearing that also you remove..then you
feel more cold.For the removal of whatever karmas and
misery , you get this body this means, if we remove
and destroy that means only ,then whats the use…

Q: How can I know that I will be taken care of?
A: Whatever you sow shall reap.If you say to yourself
that everytime I am fighting, that karma you sow for
yourself.wake up and see if all 365 days did u
fight?..You know we eternalize the problem .If you say
that you are always wrong, you throw that seed in
universe and that comes to you. To know that you are
wrong, you have to be aware that you were right some
moment.Everybody is sick in Bangalore we say…how can
all the people in Bangalore be sick?..

Take a fresh look at life…If 10 times u fail, 11th
time you may succeed…Put the positive thought in your
mind.Dont say that my mother is angry everyday, say
that ya today my mother will not be angry- put this
sankalpa in your mind and may be 1st day 2nd day 3rd
day it wont work but 4th day it will.

You utilize the power of your consciousness, instead
of being the victim of your situation, you should know
that you are the central point.

Q: People do so much wrong on the issue of dowry..how
can we help?
A: Those who do wrong in the name of dowry do it out
of ignorance,they have not been educated properly,
they are the victim of their own cravings and vaasnas
.Its easy for us to punish such people , but it will
be a great work if we can remove that animal instinct
from such people and bring out the human instincts in
them.Previuosly there were Purohits in every village
who would take care of ever body, Purohit means
someone in a village who is a well wisher of
everybody..but these days everyone is entangled in
caste creed and religion.By hatred we cannot amend
things..hatred gives birth to hatred…only by
compassion can we convert hatred into love..The
meaning of giving a term( sazaa) is also this
only..people are given terms in jail and closed behind
them only with the intention to get an improvement
in them

Q: why do we get the fruits of previous life's actions
in this life. And what iof we are doing something
wrong in this life without even being aware that we
will bear its fruits in future?
A:When we sow a seed of coconut tree , the tree grows
in say 10yrs or so..when we sprout a lentil say moong
it grows the next morning , but when we put our hand
in fire, we get burnt immediately…
That's why in bhagvad gita, Krishna tells
arjuna..karmon ki gati bahut gehri hai {< the momentum
of karma is deep enough( I cannot translate more
closer than this)}…we cannot understand it so easily,
many intellectual people also could not understand it,
so don't try to understand this. Just know that some
karmas give fruits now and some give later.

Then a team of YLTP participants from Karnataka just
waived to guruji..

And followed a long discussion from guruji's side on
kashmiri issues and here guruji mentioned that all
the kashmiri pandits and dogris and other minorities
should unite in Kashmir to make the situation better
for themselves in that state.Many things were spoken
on this issue , the details of which I cannot write
here in exact verbatim.

Q:All Human beings make mistake ..have you ever made a
mistake guruji..?
A: yes ( laughs)..sometimes I say why did I start this
whole thing

Q: Spiritual fanatcism also occurs these days with
materialistic fantacism.A lot of young people now a
days are going for a spiritual drive and leaving their
families.Previously it was said first we have to go
through brahamcharya then grahast jeevan then
sanyas..now a days many youngsters go directly for
sanyas…?
A: Some people like to take high jumps and leaps,but
that is not for everybody.If some people are mature
enough, they can, but not everybody..they may
fracture their leg in such event( laughs).yes,
youngsters should definitely take their family's
advise.But sometimes family people are also
miserable.If you want to get miserable, you can be so
whether single or married.If you are in knowledge ,
you can anyway be happy, whether single or married.

Love's wisdom + Faces of infinity ( Knowledge sheet )

LOVE'S WISDOM....

LOVE'S WISDOM

I chant the name of my beloved in every breath. The beloved is
faultless - perfect. But being in love I have lost my reputation.When
there is so much love, you take total responsibility for any
misunderstanding. You may express dismay for a moment on the surface.
But when you do not feel that in your heart, you arrive at a perfect
understanding. You are in a state where all problems and differences
slide away and only love shines through.

Usually we get stuck in our differences, because we have lost sight of
ourselves. In the name of love we try to manipulate and control the
other person. This is natural that when we love somebody, we want them
to be perfect.

You can never see the pits in the ground from the top of a hill. From
a plane the earth looks so smooth. So also from a state of elevated
consciousness, you do not see the pitfalls in others. But if you come
to the ground you always see the holes. And when you want to fill the
holes, you have to see them. You cannot build a home being airborne.
You cannot till the land without looking at the pits, filling them,
removing the pebbles....

That is why when you love somebody you find all the faults in them.
But finding faults destroys love. Instead of filling the pits we run
away from them. When you love somebody and see their faults, stay with
them and help them fill the pits. This is wisdom.

========================================================

 

Knowledge Sheet 132 - Faces of Infinity Dec 18, 1997 Bangalore Ashram, India You have many faces. Only you don't face them. When you come face to face with your faces then conflicts, confusion and chaos arise in you. From time to time in different phases, different faces appear. As you come close to your Being, all the faces melt and leave you as the Space that you are. At the gross level, you identify yourself as somebody. At a subtle level, you identify yourself as some energy or an incarnation of some angel, saint or prophet. When you go beyond even this identity, you are whole, holy, Brahman - Purna Brahman Narayana.

Jai Gurudev     http://gurujiskripa.blogspot.com/

10 WAYS TO RISE YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS

10 WAYS TO RISE  YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS

1.Forgive yourself and others:

Life is too short to hold on to regrets, grudges, miscommunications,
or disappointments. Free yourself by forgiving and letting go of any
negative energy you're holding on to about yourself or others. The
process of forgiving yourself and others will result in your feeling
light and free; it will raise your vibration.

2. Practice gratitude and appreciation:

Whatever you focus on grows. So, when you focus on every thing in
your life you feel grateful for all and the wonderful people you
appreciate, the universe hands you more to feel grateful about.

3. Live each day as though it were your last:

Then you will be living in a state of light, love and unconditional
contribution. What would you say to the people you care about?

4.Meditate or pray:

You open up a direct link between yourself and the spiritual realm
when you meditate or pray. You will come closer to your creator
energy, raise your vibration experience, peace, clarity, joy and
connection, as well as a perfectly balanced state between your
mental, physical, emotional and spiritual realms.

5.Suspend judgment:

One judges another to feel less guilty about one's own misgivings.
Judgment energy is dense, dark and heavy. On the other hand,
unconditional acceptance is light, free and accepting. Let go of
judging and criticising yourself and others. Everyone is on a
different path and some appear to be farther ahead on their path than
others. Neither path is better nor worse than another. Raise your
consciousness to one of acceptance

6. View every experience as a gift:

If you look back at occurrences in your life, you can easily see how
even the worst situations you experienced in your life ended up
teaching you invaluable lessons and therefore resulted in putting you
in perfect place for your continuing development. When you view every
experience — the good, the bad, and the ugly — as a gift, life flows
more like a gentle, inspiring breeze.

7. Stay consciously aware of all your thoughts and feelings:

It is easy to fall into negative patterns of complaining and feeling
like a victim of society and your life. When you catch yourself in
the negative zone, don't feel badly about it and beat yourself up.
Simply choose to switch your consciousness to one of gratitude and
positive thinking.

8. Treat your physical body as your temple:

Your body is the only vehicle you've been given for this ride called
life. The better you care for your body by eating a healthy, balanced
diet, and by implementing a regular exercise routine, and by giving
your body the rest it requires, the more you will experience
increased energy, vitality, joy and freedom.

9. View the world through the eyes of a child:

Children are enthralled by the process of observing and experiencing
the wonder and beauty in every single thing. They can't get enough.
Look at every tree, sunset, cloud and human being as a child would
and you'll be in a constant state of wonder, joy, surprise,
acceptance and enlightenment.

10.Give love, love, love from your heart:

It's all about love. Love is the highest vibration. Allow yourself to
receive love unconditionally from others. Give love from your heart
unconditionally to yourself and others and you will experience the
highest state of consciousness possible.

JAI GURU DEV

KNOWLEDGE + DIWALI Article

HAPPY DIWALI TO ALL - RAJESH GEHANI     Knowledge Sheet 129 - Memory Nov 27, 1997 Bangalore Ashram, India It is memory that makes you miserable or wise. Memory of events and experiences of the changing finite binds you, and memory of your nature liberates you. Memory of the ever changing relative, however good or bad, brings bondage. Memory of the non-changing self elevates awareness. Memory of past events and worldly concerns constricts the vastness of the self. It is all a matter of where you are, of what you are. If you are ignorant, it is because of your memory. If you are enlightened, it is because of your memory. Forgetfulness of the trivial is ecstasy. Forgetfulness of the infinite is misery. Q. How does one get rid of unpleasant memories and limitations? 1. Know the impermanent nature of the world and events. 2. Know the non-existence of past events right now and accept them. 3. Be dispassionate and centered. Memories of Self are gained by service to the noble. 4. Increase prana - So Ham! So what!! 5. Have Divine company / presence. 6. Go to the moon!!

Jai Gurudev         GURUJI ON DIWALI   Diwali festive mood is nearing.. let us see what Sri Sri says on Diwali...... ... * Time and space are infinite. * Grains of sand are countless. * Atoms in the universe are innumerable. * So also the stars, the galaxies. * The same is with the life on this planet. Neither is there a beginning nor is there an end, because it is all spherical. A sphere has neither a beginning nor an end, nor a goal, nor a direction. Truth has no direction, no goal. Truth itself is the goal and truth is infinite. Feeling or experiencing the infinity within this finite body, living the timelessness within the time span of life, uncovering the bliss within the misery. This is what you are here for. Today is Diwali - the Festival of Lights. The streets and buildings are lit up with colorful lights. The four aspects of Diwali: 1. The lights: Symbolic of spreading the Knowledge. 2. Fire crackers: When the explosion happens outside, the explosion inside is diffused. 3. Gift exchange and distribution of sweets: Sweets dispel the bitterness and renew the friendship. 4. Feeling abundance: Brings awareness and gratefulness for what one has. When true wisdom dawns, it gives rise to celebration, and in celebration you may lose focus or awareness. The ancient rishis knew this so to maintain awareness in the midst of gaiety of celebration, they brought sacredness and puja to every celebration. Celebrate the Knowledge and feel the abundance, for "those who have will be given more"!       YOU ARE ALWAYS CONNECTED TO GOD YOU ARE ALWAYS CONNECTED TO GOD Q: How can one be spiritually connected on all levels of consciousness at all times without any doubt? A: Whatever is there is all spirit. Spirit is nothing but energy. So, if you understand in that perspective, everything is made up of energy. You are always connected with God. There is not a single moment when you are separate from God or spirit. Even if you don't want, you can't be unconnected. Even if you want to be disconnected, you can't. That's God that is spirit. So, spiritual plane is not a moral plane pr a mental plane. It's beyond those. It is ever existent and there all the time, all the time. Trying to connect to it, we accumulate pressure. We feel we are not connected. And all spiritual practices are to bring home this awareness, "Yes, I am connected". Recognition, you are that already. Now, what is the doubt and when does the doubt arise? Your doubt strengthens your faith. You never seem to doubt your dreams. Only in waking state of consciousness your doubt arises. Have you observe this? In a dream you are on horseback and the horse is flying in the sky. You don't ever doubt whether it is possible or not. You never doubt it. In dream there is no doubt, everything seems to be okay. Doubt is the sign of intellect. Whenever intellect pokes in, it gives rise to a doubt. Only, we have to understand this phenomenon. And your doubt cannot be answered by some one else by questioning. Impossible. Every effort to clear a doubt will give rise to so many such doubts. Doubt is a big question mark. This question mark is also so closely connected to the point where sorrow also arises in life. Have you watched or observed or asked why you are so happy? Have you asked why there are beautiful things around? Why there are so many colors and such wonderful things in creation? But when there is a pinprick and pain you ask why. Of all people, this happens to you? Why this difficulty? Why this pain or suffering? You can drop every question, you can drop every doubt. That's a step of the enlightenment. A Master or teacher never answers all your questions. He just sees that you could drop your doubt. Every question can be transformed into a wonder. See, what is the difference between a question and a wonder? Think on this. "Oh, See! How colorful this is !?" You are questioning there but does not expect an answer. That's a wonder. Question that arises in joy is wonder. Wonder always comes out of joy because it is your nature. You are joy. Question comes out stress, tension, sorrow, and an answer is given. See, many people go to ask different questions and then they are not really satisfied with the answers. That will produce more questions in the mind. So, it's a multiplication of questions over a period of time. ANUTTAROBAVA, the answerless. The answerless is a state of joy. That is the spiritual plane where you wonder every moment, wonder what is there? What is this? Wonder brings joy in life. When you have nothing to wonder and you are intellectualizing everything and you have understood everything, there is no joy in life; it is as good as death. Children when they are so enthusiastic, they keep asking questions, they keep wondering. They are not particular about what answer you give. Whatever is said, they are happy with it, they are satisfied. In fact, they are wondering. They are wondering at everything. A child wonders looking at its own hands and fingers. A professor, who thinks he knows everything, doesn't wonder about anything; see his face, see his life-it's so dull. He knows everything there is to life; there is no energy, no enthusiasm. One who knows and knows not, is wise. This is a saying in India. One who knows not and knows that he knows is a philosopher. It's like a psychologist. Psychologist has never studied his own psyche, his own mind function, never meditated and never gone into the depth of mind. Simply studying about it in books will not help. A true psychologist should go within and see every level of consciousness and experience them. Then, he has really studied psychology. Everywhere in the world they simply study but not practice psychology, experience what consciousness is. So, drop this idea that you want to be connected. Every spiritual experience cannot come with intellectual analysis. It can only come out of feeling it. You feel in the depth of your heart that you are connected. And if you feel in the depth of your heart you are not connected, do some deep meditation, do some breathing, Kriya and the experience will tell you, "Yes, I am connected."

Q & A with Guruji - 1st Nov. Session

*1st November 2007 **Bangalore* * Ashram*

*Question and Answer*

*Question:* Guruji what quality of the Buddha appeases you the most?

*Guruji:* If you look at Buddha's life nothing seems unappealing to you.
Even with Sri Rama and the same with Bhagwan Mahavira!! They all lived in
Satwa, and in total Satwa everything that we do is perfect, every action and
every thought. Your whole existence becomes an example.

*Guruji talks on the Vedas:*

The story of the Vedas happened like this that, Ved Vyasa, one of the most
venerable ancient Guru, went to Brahma for knowledge. Brahma showed him the
entire mountain of knowledge and said, "take whatever you can"! Vyasa went
to the huge mountain but it was impossible for anyone to carry the whole
mountain. He took whatever he could by his hands. There came out the four
Vedas!! They are the Rig veda, Shama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. In
the Vedas again there are several sub division. There are 18 Angas. Like the
astrology(jotishsha stra), the grammar(vayakarana) , the karanas(logic) ,
Chandashastra (Music), Virukta (words), Kalpa, siksha. And again in the
Shiksha there are 6 upangas. They are Vaisheshik darshana, Sankhya Darshana,
Yoga darshana, Karmadarshana etc.

And in the Yogashastra, there was one called Patanjali, who attained the
height in the yoga. He was the master of the Yogashastra. When we say Yoga,
we just don't mean a few asanas(exercises) , we mean uniting. When the mind
unites with the soul, when the body unites with the breath, and when the
soul unites with the paramatma, yoga happens.

There is this story on Maharshi Patanjili. There were thousands of disciples
of Maharshi Ptanjali. One day they were all at the session with Maharshi.
Maharshi had a rule that there will be a curtain in between Maharshi and the
student. No one was supposed to see the Maharshi. This continued. The
students were taking knowledge from the preceptor and the preceptor
showering the knowledge to the disciples. One day something happened! One of
the students wanted to go to the toilet. He thought why disturb the Guru
anyway the Master will not able to see (since there was a curtain in between
them)!! He silently slipped off the class and went to the toilet. On the
other hand, among the rest of the students, one felt the terrible urge to
see the Maharshi. He whispered to the other fellow disciples that they
should see their teacher, and the teacher being all compassionate will
definitely forgive them and will not be upset on then.

So suddenly one of the disciples got up and removed the curtain. And as he
removed the curtain off, there happened a terrible disaster!! Everyone who
were present there turned into ashes!! All the disciples who were present
infront of the Maharshi Patanjali just turned into ashes!! In the meantime
the only disciple who had gone out to the toilet returned. Maharshi told the
student that he had done a great mistake by going out of the class without
the preceptor's permission!! And now the boy has to undergo a curse!!
Maharshi cursed him to be a Demon(Brahmadaitya) and that he should sit on a
tree and write down all that he learned from Patanjali. The boy immediately
turned to a demon and went up the tree and started writing that entire he
learnt from the Maharshi. He was writing on the leaves of the tree. It is
said that there was a goat sitting at the base of the tree. The disciple who
turned a demon kept writing on the leaf and throwing each leaf on the ground
and the goat started eating all the leaves one by one!!

Now who are those disciples who turn to ashes? Why did they turn to ashes?
Why was that only disciple saved? Why did he become a demon? Why was he
asked to write all that he learned? Why the goat did eat away all the
leaves? These are the questions that you should think and ponder.

There are two kinds of disciplines.

A) Sashana

B) Anusashana

Sashana is some discipline which someone else impose on you. Like you pay
taxes. (laughter) Most of the times you like to avoid such rules. Given a
chance you would like to break the rules.

Anusashana is self discipline. When you impose on yourself. Like you brush
your teeth! No body is going to fine you or take you by hand coups if you
violate the rule. You may loose some teeth maximum that may
happen!!(Laughter! !) Like fasting on Saturdays, or Mondays or some people
don't eat sour taste on the Friday for the sake of the Santoshimaa! ! This is
something that you inspire yourself to do. Do you see what I am saying? That
is anusashaana.

So the first sutra of the Patanjali Yoga Sutra says "Ataha Yoganusashana"

The second sutra says, "Tada yoga chitty Bitti Nirodaha"

There are seven levels of existence. The body, the breath, the mind and
memory, intellect ego and the self. In the mind there is memory. Even when
we close our eyes, we are thinking so much about the other events. Events
that has already happened. Like again in the dream. In the mind when the
thought stops flashing, yoga happens!

The third sutra of Maharshi Patanjali is "Tada drishte swaroope avasthanam"

You know many years back in Karnataka, when villagers used to go for watching
a movie, they used to get so involved with what was happening in the movie!!
Like if the hero was getting beaten up they would be throwing stones on the
screens and sometimes go ahead and tear off the screen itself!! (Laughter!!)
The women would do the entire make up and when they come to the movie and
see that their favorite heroin is in trouble and crying, even they start
crying!! Their entire make up goes off! (Laughter!!) They get so much
involved with the movie. Do see this?

So when the focus shifts from the scenery to the seer, from the object that
you are watching to the one who is watching, yoga happens.

Anybody has any questions?

*Question:* Guruji you mentioned in Asthavakra Gita that gandhiji preached
non violence but he died a violent death. That may be what he believed in
his life. But Guruji even Jesus died a violent death while he was preaching
only compassion and a love and non violence to people. Why is that?

*Guruji:* You know its not just one life. It's about several live times.
Life has many many forces! Also because it carries a lot of impression of
the past!!

*Question: *Guruji what is the relation between Panchakosha and seven layers
of existence?

*Guruji:* You find the relation and tell me. (laughter!) Find whatever
relation you want to!! It is related. Like the Anandamayee kosha is the
inner most in 7 layers but in the Panchakosha it is the outermost.

*Question: *Guruji how can I see you in everyone and everything?

*Guruji:* No need to see me in everyone and anything! Just be natural and be
yourself!! That's enough!

*Question:* Guruji how to be centered?

*Guruji: *First find out what is it that is taking you off the centre?
Living in the present moment keeps you in the centre. When you say "oh that
person has behaved with me like this etc, he is no good", know that you are
not in the centre. Centered means free from opinion. If you have a fight
with someone and the next moment can you go and again stand in front of that
person and forget about the old fight? It's ok if you pick up a new fight!
(Laughter!!) Because if you are picking up the old fight, knows that you are
not centered. Life is a mixture of everything, pleasant and unpleasant. If
you are sticky with the pleasant or unpleasant then you are not centered.
You know people who can love intensely can also hate intensely. It's just an
emotional swing. When you can go beyond love and hate, you can truly be
centered. You everything has its opposite. Like love has its opposite as
hate. Pleasant has its opposite as unpleasant. Only devotion has no
opposite. Having devotion is being centered. Let it be anything. It could be
your devotion towards science, music, to your parents, children, wife, and
husband. Then you are centered!

*Question:* Guruji how to let go in the mind when someone insults you?

*Guruji:* When you see your whole life as a dream then you experience
freedom. Your intellect experiences freedom. And you are very witty when
your mind is free. Have you all experienced being witty at some point of
time in your life? In such a state, you are not angry, you are not
ambitious, and you are not obsessed and fearful. So what is the state of
your mind then? You are calm. So in such a situation, when someone is
actually insulting you, you can be witty, and turn the whole situation! So
it neither affects you nor does it affect the other person!!

Q & A's with Guruji in 2nd November 2007

*2nd November 2007***

*Bangalore** Ashram*

* *

* *

*Guruji:* So we saw that there are two kinds of experience Pleasant and
Unpleasant.

There are 5 kinds of Brittis that is responsible for the unpleasant
experience.

*Pramana*

*Viparyaya*

*Vikalpa*

*Smriti*

*Nidra*

How to stop these brittis?

*A) **Abhyasa (by Practice)*

*B) **Vairagya (by Dispassion)*

The next sutra says, "*Tatra sthitobhayase* "

By establishing in the self, on the seer permanently. By just being in the
moment. The mind vacillates between the past and the future. We need to
bring the mind in the present moment. And how do we bring the mind in the
present moment? By practicing yoga (abhayasa). It does not happen in one
day! It needs practicing continuously. One or two days you may drop out, but
it should not be the other way.

You know someone asked a person, "Why are you crying?" The person replied,
"I am not crying, my face itself is like that!" (Laughter!!) When you
complain from morning till night, then your face becomes like that grumpy!
There are some parents who go on scolding their children. After a while it
doesn't affect the children at all. They become thick skin! Like a buffalo.
So whatever you practice consistently then that becomes like your nature. If
you cry, scold and have negative thoughts that becomes your practice. It
becomes almost like your nature! Do you see what I saying?

'*Nirantar*' continuously… Not to leave it practice for a long time. You
know these priests in the temple are so used to continuous chanting, they
hardly feel any thing. Its like a part of the daily activity. While if you
look at the visitors who go to the temple, they offer with so much devotion
that they have better experiences that the priests! Auspicious ness.
Similarly when you sit for meditation, just know that it is a very very
auspicious thing that you are doing. When we do it with sacredness then we
become strong within us. When you fold your hands, you know you join your
hands, infront of the deity or anyone, it means you are joining your mind
too. This means that the mind is also uniting! Sacredness! For example, if
you pick up a book, if it is any other book you can casually pick up. But if
it is a book like Bhagwat Geeta, or the Guru Granth sahib, you pick it up
with so much of reverence. Automatically your mind unites, it gets focused.
Do you see this? The mind gets attached to the sacredness!

In India we pray to the river, this way you feel the river is sacred then
you pray to the river. You don't contaminate the river. You keep it clean.
Similarly, the mountains, you feel sacredness towards the mountains, then
you don't try to blow it up by a dynamite burst! Then we even pray to the
women, and this way you feel sacredness towards women. Also when you see
sacredness towards the cows you protect them, right? You don't kill them.
Therefore when we see sacredness, then the consciousness starts revering
back, starts respecting. Yoga is unity. You are uniting with your beloved,
which is your self. You must make it a practice to do yoga continuously.

*Abhayasa (Practice)*: Whatever you practice, it becomes a part of your
nature. Like for example it you practice sleeping in the afternoon then
wherever you are you will feel sleepy. Whether you are in the office, or in
the bus or anywhere, you feel sleepy. Similarly if you inculcate the habit
of smoking then it's difficult for you to leave it. I heard from certain
people, that initially when you start smoking you don't like the taste. But
just to show off you start it with the influence of some friends. Then one
day it becomes your habit! Then it starts smoking you! Similarly alcohol!
Man gets cling on to the negative very easily. To get attached to the
positive it takes time. Gunas (good values) are our very nature. It is in
our very system. We are made up of something which is only good. But it is
hiding somewhere.

*Vaigagya (Dispassion) *: When does greed come to our mind? Some people tell
the others "Do this and you will become a millionaire. " Immediately the
person agrees, "oh really? Ok ok I'll do it!" if you want to make someone
greedy then just make the person see or hear something! (laughter!!) With
more greed the mind wanders.

There are two kinds of greed

A) Greed towards the object and

B) Greed towards the human being, which is called lust.

The more the greed increases the more one burns out within. To calm the burn
one needs to get dispassion. Until the mind focuses towards the truth you
don't be dispassionate. So longing for the object is called Avairagya. And
the longing for the truth and knowledge takes one forward in life. All the
crimes all over the world are happening because of the greed! Therefore when
the mind is under total control then it is centered and that state is called
dispassion.

Apart from these two that we have spoken there is one more. In this state
when someone gets more than the person had thought of. Then the dispassion
dawns in you. The mind shifts from trivial things. For example you like
sugar; you are eating sugar, and then suddenly gives you gulab jamun! Then
you get dispassionate about the sugar. Similarly if you are holding to a
torch and there is bright light from somewhere, will you still hold on to
the torch? No, you will let go of it. That's why they say that when you get
a Divine love in love from a Guru in your life then small trivial things
don't attract your attention any more! The great Shankaracharya said, I am
so totally immersed in my self that I have no time to look into what's
happening in others life! And there is no two! Who else should I look into?

There is yet one more kind of Vairagya. It is called Smashan Vairagya. In
this state, whatever you cannot achieve in your life you get dispassionate
about it. And you say"oh it was no good"! That which you did not get in your
life, because you could not do it, you thought it's not worth doing it!

Will end it here for today. Does anyone have any question?

*Question:* Guruji I have just finished the Part I program and I feel that
the Sudarshan Kriya is the best scientific process of releasing stress from
one's system. I think the course should have the mane of the 'Science of
breathing' instead of the 'Art of living'!! What are you comments?

*Guruji:* (Laughter) you know not too many people appreciate science, but
everyone loves art. I can tell you among 6 billion people in the
world, 5.99billion people appreciate art. Even the scientists love
art. The top
scientists of the world are either a piano player or a guitar player or a
something. Ever our President Sri Abdul Kalam plays Veena! However the ideal
situation is where we have a balance of both science and arts. So I thought
in this way Art of Living will reach out to all the people who are in need
of the science. Look at this turban, (Holding a decorated colorful cloth
turban in His hand), this turban is made by some of our devotee girls, and
then they pasted some shiny decorative things on it. Is n't it a beautiful
art? Life when appreciated becomes art! Otherwise it lands up in a lot of
crime. Today there are so much crime all over the world because people have
forgotten to appreciate life! But I'll tell you a real secret! I never kept
the name 'Art of Living at all'!! Initially when we started, people were
coming up with several names! Some called, 'way of life' then some one said,
'real way of life'!! yet someome again came up with the name 'real art of
life' (laughter!!) Further that got changed, then someone said, 'real art of
living'. In course of time the word 'real' got dropped off and we are left
with the "Art of Living"!!

*Question:* Guruji can I ask you a simple question? What is the truth?

*Guruji:* (Laughter!!) Can I give you a simple answer to that? That, which
is not false, is the truth. And what is false? That, which is affected by
time and space. There has been this absolutely mind boggling definition
given by the great "Adishankaracharya" . It is like this, If I say, "it is
raining now". Will this sentence be true tomorrow? Will this sentence hold
good day after? No! Again when you are dreaming, You are dreaming something
and you feel that whatever is happening in the dream is true!! Like I heard
about this scientist who dreamt all night of fighting with a lion and woke
up with a broken leg, because he was kicking the wall all
night!!(Laughter! !) I am explaining it a little long and elaborate though
the question was simple! (laughter!!) Shankaracharya said, "Trikalabhaditam
yat satyam". That which is not affected by the time and space is the truth.

*Question:* Guruji how does one wake up before this life gets over?

*Guruji:* Are you awake now?

*Devotee:* No.

*Guruji:* You are not awake now? That means you are awake. If you are lying
down with your eyes closed and not sleeping then you will know that a
question is asked and you will answer. That's exactly you are doing right
now!

*Question:* Everywhere we go the only topic of discussion is global warming!
How do we react to it? What is that we need to do to combat it?

*Guruji:* It's true. We need to think about our actions related to
pollutions etc. But I tell you often people make it exaggerating. Do you
remember how the situation was during 1999 end of December? So much we
heard!! All the computers will shut down! Everything will clash! There will
be famine!! People got scared and were buying large quantities! So many
things! In India it was much less, but I tell you in the US and other
countries, it was horrible! Some people hype up and take advantage of the
insecure mind of the common people! Similarly AIDS is another issue. There
are some reports which say that 50 crore people are suffering in this
country!! (Laughter!!) Unbelievable figures!! There are 100 crore people in
this country and out of that 50 crores are suffering AIDS?!?! Is that
something you can digest? I tell you there are several crores of money the
NGO's and the govt. is getting from the foreign financial institutions.
Where are the money going? There is this place called Vidharva, an NGO
collected huge fund by saying that everyone in that village has AIDS!!
Thankfully the villagers in that village were very strong. They chased those
people out! I tell you India is in a much better position.

*Question: *Guruji, how to handle transition in life?

*Guruji:* With patience and perseverance. There are two things that can
happen.

1.) When there is a quick transition, you are too shocked. In that case
anyway you don't handle the situation, the situation handles you!

2.) The second thing is when the transition period is slow, even then if
you look at it the situation is actually handling you! Take it easy and move
through it!

*Question:* Guruji I am forgetting what I learnt yesterday since I am too
much in the present moment! What should I do? How should I write exams?

*Guruji:* (Laughter!!) But the more you are in the moment the more your
intellect gets sharpened! You know while I walk several people talk to me.
There are some people who think that oh Guruji did not listen to me! I often
point it to them and tell them you are telling this to me for the third
time! I can also tell the places where you told me the ather two times!!!

 

 

JAI GURUDEV

 

RAJESH