INTERESTING DEFINITIONS

INTERESTING DEFINITIONS   School: A place where Papa Pays and Son Plays.  Life Insurance: A contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die Rich.  Nurse: A person who wakes up to give you sleeping pills.  Love Affairs: Something like the game of Cricket where one-day internationals are more popular than a five day test match. Tears: The hydraulic force by which masculine willpower is defeated by feminine waterpower.   Lecture: An art of transferring information from the notes of the Lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through "the minds of either"  Conference: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.  Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.   Dictionary: A place where success comes before work.  Conference Room: A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on.  Classic: Books, which people praise, but do not read.  Smile: A curve that can set a lot of things straight.  Office: A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.  Etc.: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.  Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.  Experience: The name men give to their mistakes.  Atom Bomb: An invention to end all inventions.  Philosopher: A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead.  Diplomat: A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.  Opportunist: A person who starts taking bath if he accidentally falls into a river.  Optimist: A person who while falling from Eiffel tower says in midway "See I am not injured yet."  Miser: A person who lives poor so that he can die rich.  Father: A banker provided by nature.  Criminal: A guy no different from the rest....except that he got caught.  Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.  Politician: One who shakes your hand before elections and your Confidence after.  Doctor: A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you by bills.

குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்களின் புதிய தமிழ் புத்தகம்

குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்களின் அற்புத ஞானம் அடங்கிய புதிய தமிழ் புத்தகம் அண்மையில் பெங்களூர் ஆசிரமத்தில் வெளி இட பட்டது. அனைவரும் வேண்டி படித்து பயன் பெறுமாறு கேட்டுகொள்கிறோம் 

இலங்கை யாழ் மண்ணில் ஆன்மீக எழுச்சி

குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்களின் சீடர் ஸ்ரீ அலெக்ஸ்ஜி அவர்கள் இலங்கை  யாழ்பாணத்தில் ருத்ர பூஜை , சத்சங்கம் நடத்தி , கலந்து கொண்ட ஆயிரத்திற்கும் மேற்பட்டோருக்கு ஆசிகள் வழங்கினார் 

Supporting Anna Hazare..

Today, the Art of Living Ashram was lit with candles of hope against corruption by around 5500 youth leaders from towns and villages across the country. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar led a meditation "Satyam Param Dhimahi" (Let Truth, Divinity and Knowledge shine through me) Sri Sri has been a pioneer of the India Against Corruption movement along with Shri Anna Hazare and Shri Arvind Kejriwal. These youth volunteers of The Art of living have reached out to 40,212 villages in India.

குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்கள் தலைமையில் பெங்களுரு ஆசிரமத்தில் 5500 பேர் ஒன்று கூடி ஊழலுக்கு எதிராக போராடி வரும் திரு அன்னா ஹசாரே அவர்களுக்கு ஆதரவு தெரிவிக்கும் வகையில் மெழுகுவர்த்தி ஏந்தி போராட்டம்  நடைபெற்றது. 

German Evangelical church reporting about #Sri Sri's work against corruption

http://www.evangelisch.de/themen/gesellschaft/inder-sagen-der-korruption-den-kampf-an46759
ஜெர்மனியின் இவான்ஞ்செலிகல் தேவாலயம் குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்களின் சேவையை பாராட்டுகிறது 

நார்வேயில் குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்கள்

Spiritual leader and founder of The Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar addressed hundreds of people on the need for  a 'Violence-free, Prejudice-free' society at the Oslo Congress Centre on Aug 8, 2011. 
குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்கள் நார்வேயில் மக்களிடயே உரை நிகழ்த்தினார் 

 Spiritual leader and founder of The Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with Fabian Stang, Mayor of Oslo, Norway. Hundreds of people gathered at the Oslo Congress Centre on Aug 8, 2011, in an open meeting and meditation for Sri Sri's talk titled  'Violence-free, Prejudice-free' society. 
ஒஸ்லோ நகரின் மேயருடன் குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்கள் 

Making of a spiritual India

Making of a spiritual India 

 

 Sri Sri Ravi ShankarFrom a country of snake charmers to a hub of IT and spirituality, the image of India has changed in the past few years. Only the power of spirituality can help resolve the problems faced by people in the modern day world. It was this same power that Mahatma Gandhi used to help us secure freedom. 


Today, we need to begin a revolution for building a strong and a spiritual India. While India has been fortunate to have one entire generation that dedicated itself to the cause of freedom struggle, there is another that has driven the country into the morass of corruption and crime.

  What is needed today are people of character and honesty to check corruption. Corruption begins where a sense of belonging ends. Lack of spirituality has led to corruption.
 Corruption is present in many levels of society; the first level is in the minds of the general public and that needs to be eliminated. We tell God that if you do this work of mine then I will offer something to you.  Let alone our bosses, we don’t even spare God. Secondly, there are bribes that happen on the official level. The third level of corruption, is on the ministerial level, for that quite a bit of work is happening with the Lokpal Bill.

 It is a lack of faith, belongingness, human values, sacrifice and service attitude which is a cause of corruption. Selfish motives and a sense of insecurity is also one of the reasons. It is when you feel so insecure and think that money is the only power or strength, then you become corrupt to the core. There is a lack of role models and examples at the helm of affairs. Also lack of stringent laws and no punishment meted out to the corrupt people encourages corruption at all levels.

Corruption starts where belongingness ends. Nobody will ever ask for a bribe from his or her family or own people. The means through which we can spread belongingness is spirituality. Work hard, be self-sufficient and stand on your own feet. We have to instill this belief that whatever is yours you will get. Inner strength and awareness needs to be awakened in people. With this, we need to bring a big change in the country.

 The younger generation now has to resolve to save the country from corruption and crime. They have to take responsibility on their own and strive for development and realize that they have a huge potential and strength to achieve whatever they want. They need to believe that they can be creative and productive without losing the humanness that they are all born with. Youth yearn for enhanced enthusiasm and spirituality is that which kindles, sustains and enhances enthusiasm.

 

Today's youth need to develop themselves as universal people to attain a holistic personality, where there is appreciation for all ways of life and culture. They have to learn the right things from every one - be it teamwork from the Japanese, precision from the Germans, decency from the British and marketing skills from the Americans. And above all, human values from Indians. 


With one sixth of the world’s population, India now needs to take her rightful place on the world stage. In order for this to occur, her people need to become more confident and take more pride in their cultural and spiritual roots. We need to harness her spiritual values to fight terrorism and other social evils. Inter-faith harmony on the basis of an all-inclusive spiritual movement is needed to prevent our young minds from turning to violence.

 The younger generation now has to resolve to save the country from various evils. We have to take responsibility on our own and strive for development. The government of the day must concentrate more on “gross domestic happiness” rather than “gross domestic product”. Prosperity has meaning when there is happiness. Let us not lose our happiness in the run for prosperity.
 We have to maintain this as well as become prosperous and one of the strongest Nations in the world. Let us begin a revolution for building a strong and spiritual India.

Let us join our hands together to lokpal....

Dear All fellow Indians,

This is the time to wake up......

Let us join our hands together to lokpal....

Let the government drop the Jokepal...

JAIHIND!!!!

Who is God - Sri Sri's Talk in Tamil

கடவுள் என்பவர் யார் ?? குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்களின் விளக்கம் 

நாகர்கோவிலில் அன்னா ஹசாரே போராட்டத்திற்கு ஆதரவாக மெழுகுவர்த்தி ஊர்வலம் நடந்தது

18.8.11 அன்று நாகர்கோவிலில் அன்னா ஹசாரே போராட்டத்திற்கு ஆதரவு தெரிவித்து ஊழலுக்கு எதிரான இந்தியா அமைப்பு மற்றும் குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்களின் வாழும் கலை அமைப்பு இணைந்து மெழுகுவர்த்தி ஊர்வலம் நடத்தியது. 

After Norway: A Call for a Violence Free and Prejudice Free Society

Tamilnadu Press Coverage abt Sri Sri & Anna Hazare Meet in Tihar

Beware of the Government Lokpal Bill

Beware of the Government Lokpal Bill My dear friend, I reviewed the Government.s Lokpal bill in great detail. I am deeply concerned and not to mention alarmed with what I learned from it. Government has completely ignored the wishes of the common man and made a mockery of our hard fought struggle for strong anti-corruption laws. I have summarized the most troubling aspects of the government version here and suggested possible steps that everyone of you can take to help in this movement. We had been demanding that an institution called Lokpal should be set up for central government and a Lokayukta should be set up for each state government through the same Bill. Lokpal would receive and investigate corruption complaints against central government employees and politicians. Lokayukta would do that job in respective states. However, the Cabinet has rejected our demand. Only a few senior-most officers in central government have been brought within the jurisdiction of Lokpal. All officials and politicians in state governments have been left out. What does that mean? It means that rampant corruption in Panchayat works would continue as it is. Through the use of RTI Act, many people across the country have revealed how payments are routinely made for ghost works. Check dams exist only on paper. List of beneficiaries of various government schemes contain bogus names. Wages of poorest people are denied and siphoned off under NREGA. Social audits in several states have exposed corruption running into thousands of crores in NREGA. Medicines are routinely diverted to black market from government hospitals. Teachers do not turn up in government schools. They pay a part of their salaries to Basic Shiksha Adhikari to mark their attendance. 80% of Rs 30,000 crores of ration subsidy is siphoned off. People living below poverty line are turned away by ration shopkeepers because their rations are diverted to black market. Much of this money reaches the party coffers or the senior-most politicians. All this will continue even after the enactment of government.s Lokpal Bill because all of this is outside its jurisdiction. In cities, roads would continue to break after a few months of being constructed. Flyovers would continue to collapse. Streetlights will still not light up. Parks would continue to remain dilapidated. The builders would continue to fleece ordinary consumers. You would still need to pay bribes to get your passport or income tax refund. Building plan will not be passed without a bribe. Government.s Lokpal Bill does not cover any of this. Adarsh Housing scam is not covered under Government.s Lokpal. Reddy brothers will continue to loot our mines and minerals. Commonwealth Games, Fodder scam, Taj Corridor Scam, Yamuna Expressway scam, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha scam, Cash for vote scam . none of these scams are covered under Government.s Lokpal Bill. Members of Parliament and MLAs would continue to take bribes to ask questions or vote in Parliament and legislative assemblies because Lokpal would not have the powers to investigate them. Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, MPs, MLAs, municipal councilors, sarpanches, judges, all state government employees, all Group B, Group C and group D employees of the central government . all are out of the jurisdiction of Government.s Lokpal Bill. Interestingly, if any citizen makes a complaint of corruption against any official to Lokpal and if it lacks adequate evidence, then as per government.s bill, the citizen would face two years of minimum imprisonment. And the government would provide a free advocate to the corrupt official to file a case against the citizen. But if the citizen is able to prove that the official has indeed indulged in corruption, there is just six months of minimum imprisonment. Therefore, rather than the corrupt and corruption, the government bill is targeted against those who dare raise their voice against corruption. In short, it discourages people from reporting acts of corruption! 13 people, who had dared to raise their voice against corruption, were murdered in the last one year. We had demanded that Lokpal should have the powers and duty to provide protection to such people. Government Bill does not have any such provision. Government has retained its control over CBI. So, CBI would continue to avoid taking action against a future Raja until Supreme Court admonished them. Accounts of Quattrochis would continue to be defrozen in secrecy against national interests. CBI would continue to be used to arm twist Mayawatis, Laloo Yadavs, Jayalalithas and Mulayam Singhs into submission. Corruption money would continue to be siphoned off to Swiss accounts. Government.s Lokpal Bill is also unconstitutional. Prime Minister does not enjoy any immunity from investigations under the constitution. Exclusion of Prime Minister from Lokpal Bill is unconstitutional. Selection and removal of Lokpal members will be completely in the control of the government. Out of 9 member selection committee, five will be from ruling establishment, thus effectively giving powers in the hands of the government to appoint the most corrupt, pliable and politically loyal people as Lokpal members. High Courts and Supreme Court would continue to take more than 20 years to dispose appeals in corruption cases because our plea to set up special benches to hear such appeals has also been turned down. Government says that there are 1.25 crore government employees in the country. Government refuses to bring them under Lokpal Bill because it would need large number of anti-corruption staff to keep a check on them. Isn.t that an absurd excuse? India is a huge country. Obviously, it has large number of employees. Can the government leave them unchecked and allow them to loot the people and the country? Under law, corruption is a crime . as heinous as murder or rape. If tomorrow, the incidence of murders or rapes increases as much as we have corruption now, would the government turn around and say that this country has 120 crore population and since they would need large number of policemen to check crime, they would not do it? The country seems to be in the clutches of highly corrupt people. It has been reported that in the Cabinet Meeting, the Prime Minister, including some of his other Cabinet colleagues, kept pleading that PM be included within the Lokpal Bill. However, the corrupt within the Cabinet had the last say. The Prime Minister was rendered helpless, though one wonders the reasons for his helplessness. What are our options? Some people feel that Anna is unreasonable. They say that an indefinite fast is a brahmastra and should be used as a last resort. Haven.t we already reached the end of the road? Friends, I must confess that the road ahead is extremely challenging. Government is on a path to try and crush the movement at any cost. We need the active participation of every single Indian in order to fight back. If the Government.s bill becomes law we are literally gifting our country to the corrupt people to further plunder our resources. Like I have said before its now or never. Let every citizen in this country take one week.s off from his normal work from 16th August, the day Anna starts his indefinite fast, and take to the streets . in front of his house or at the crossings or in parks . with a tricolor in his hands shouting slogans against corruption. Let students take off from their schools and colleges. Let everyone take to streets. If this happens, we will achieve our goal within a week. Government can crush one Anna but it cannot crush 120 crore Annas. Government can impose section 144 on one jantar mantar. But it cannot impose a curfew on the whole country. Can we count on you support to participate in one final attempt to save our country from the corrupt? Arvind Kejriwal India Against Corruption (IAC) http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org Interactive voice response: 0-92-12-12-32-12 Give missed call at 022-61550789 to stay connected To learn more about Lokpal please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=c8zUo9np1b8

YES PLUS COURSE EXPERIENCE..

ASHWIN CHANDRASEKAR SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE

http://youtu.be/XRNlpkN1Rcc

Shimoga - The Birth Place of Sudarshan Kriya (Tamil)

குருஜி ஸ்ரீ ஸ்ரீ ரவிசங்கர் அவர்களுக்கு 1982 ஆம் ஆண்டு கர்நாடக மாநிலத்தில் உள்ள ஷிமோகா என்ற இந்த இடத்தில் தான், இன்று உலகில் ஒரு ஆன்மீக புரட்சி செய்து கொண்டு இருக்கும் சக்தி வாய்ந்த சுதர்சன கிரியா பயிற்சி கிடைத்தது. அதை பற்றிய காணொளி ..கண்டு மகிழுங்கள் 

Sri Sri Answers...

August 03, 2011

Q: Guruji, did Gopis ever meditate when Krishna was there?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Did Gopis meditate? Whether they meditated or they did not meditate, how does it matter? It is an old story. But meditation has to be second to life; walking, talking, sitting, doing, everything you are in a state of meditation. Krishna did meditate, every morning, in his routine, he used to wake up at 4 o’ clock sit for one hour and meditate. And then he would honor the scholars, and then 8’o clock he would take a round of the city, meet the general public and then in the evening he would celebrate in his style (with mischief).

Q: Can dispassion and longing go together?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

They have to go together, that is wisdom. Longing is one side and dispassion is the other side. Where there is no dispassion, longing can turn into bitterness. If there is only dispassion, then there is no juice and we need some juice in life, some thrill, some fun. And spirituality is full of juice; full of thrill, enthusiasm, joy. Unfortunately spirituality is perceived as such a dull, boring, serious thing - it is never like that. The Divine is full of juice. It is juicy, and spirituality is so juicy. So anyone who has gone close to the Divinity, to the source has always become very juicy, not dry.

Q: How can we realize the whole word is a game of the mind?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Oh! You have not realized that? Tell me, how many times your judgments have proved to be wrong? Many times? nearly 80% of the time all your judgments have been wrong; 90%? (Answer – 70% to 80%). Whenever you have a judgment about somebody then you found yourself wrong, right? So that has taught you it is all maya, right? Your mind teaches you that it is all maya. You sit and you have some fear, you have apprehensions, you imagine things and suddenly you find all that is all wrong. It is all the making up of your own mind. At that moment, ‘Oh ya this mind is maya’, and that is what is the play. Just look at your own mind, you look at somebody, you judge something and then your find out it is not true. All these wrong perceptions, understanding, concepts, wrong ideas and judgments are good enough to tell you your mind is an illusion.

Q: What role does Karma play in our life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Everything is karma my dear! You’re asking a question it is karma; karma means action. And to listen to your question - that is my karma. But then, to answer it or not is my choice and your karma, got it? Everything is karma.

Guruji's Gayan Satsang - This is a new policy; don't try to make anybody happy, you can't

Bangalore, May 18:

I have seen that swamis, sadhus and people in ancient times would not like to listen to any conflict anywhere. If someone came and complained to them they would just plug their ears and say, “You deal with it.”
See, if you are part of the solution, your energy is high. But if you are talking about problems and problems, your energy comes down.

In the world there is always a play of positive and negative; some problems come, some challenges come and solutions also come behind it. The ancient people would simply focus on keeping their energy high. If your energy is high then when people come to you their problems will get solved.

Usually what happens when you talk to people? You get stooped into their level of problems. They talk to you about their problems and what happens? You get carried away into the problems. So just try this: one day let everybody come and complain 100 things to you, you simply keep your energy high, your sight inward, your mind inward as though nothing has happened. You will suddenly feel there is a freedom within you.
You try this: at home your mother-in-law will complain, your husband will complain, anybody can complain about anything, let the world go topsy-turvy, but hold onto the idea - I am going to keep my energy high. You just take one such step and see, because problems and challenges come so that you can turn your mind inward.
Instead of turning our minds inward when problems come, what do we do? We chase the problem and when we chase the problem we get totally drawn in that direction, dragged in that direction and then our energy goes down and we collapse. Isn’t this what happens?

Many times, in the name of compassion and sympathy you get drowned. Your compassion does not really help at all in solving the problem. It may be very shocking because in compassion the problem multiplies, and it doesn’t get solved.

Any problem comes so that a person can turn inward and look inside, get into a state of dispassion and calmness. Instead you give reasons and try to pacify the person. Pacifying a person in a problem is the worst thing. You should not pacify them. Let everybody bear their own cross. Bear your karma. If you are miserable it is your karma, if you are happy it is your karma. So you change your karma. This attitude makes a person more independent.

You show compassion and then they want more attention. You feel more compassion and give more attention and then neither compassion is there nor can you give any more attention. Only tension remains. It breeds tension in you, ‘That poor person is so upset and I have to make them happy’. Making someone happy is a big burden. Don’t try to do that at all. This is a new policy; don’t try to make anybody happy, you can’t.

There is a Sanskrit proverb that says ‘Kashtasya sukasya nakopi data’. Nobody gives happiness or misery. It is created by one’s own self, one’s own mind. When someone says ‘problem’, just turn and run in the other direction. Say deal with it, you deal with your own problem. Then you see independence comes, interdependence comes in people and that is how you make yourself self- sufficient.
I am talking about this to sadhaks, to all of you who are already on the path. But don’t use this when someone in the street is crying and they want a lift and you say, ‘Guruji said let them deal with it, I am out.’  If you have  space in your car you should go attend to them. That compassion is needed there, but not in relationships. When you are relating with people, random acts of compassion are essential. To someone whom you do not know, be compassionate.
Be passionate about dispassion.

Just see your own mind keeps getting bogged down by that person’s feeling, that person’s tension and this lady’s misery and this person’s unhappiness - what can you do and where have you gone? What has happened to you? You are completely shattered. That is why they say cut all these cobwebs around you, all these strings around you, only one string to the Divine, only one string.
Even there, don’t say, ‘Guruji didn’t look at me, maybe God is angry with me’, this and that, no! Everything is prasad, if I am kicked out, it is a Prasad. If I am scolded, it is Prasad. Everything is prasad, This attitude is the best attitude. So: no attention, no tension. Good!

Q: Guruji, if we do that people will think we are so insensitive.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Let them say what they want. That is what you are trying to do, please them. ‘No I am not insensitive, I am sensitive.’
As I said, you do your job, whatever you should do you do, but don’t sit and listen to their problems, and don’t get carried away by it, got it!

Q:  In the Part 1 course they have explained the three sounds and when they are put together they sound ‘Om’, ‘Amen’ and ‘Ameen’. I don’t understand how the three sounds form ‘Amen’ and ‘Ameen’.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: No it’s similar, ‘Aa’ and ‘Ma’, two sounds are definitely there, it’s very similar.
If you see, English is a distortion of Sanskrit. Lots of words in English are derived from Sanskrit; I would say nearly 50 percent; brother: bhratru, sister: svasa, mother: mata, etc.

When the language changes usually distortion happens.
In Bengali, there are a lot of changes that have happened, ‘Vishnu’ become ‘Bishnu’; ‘Vishwas’ becomes ‘Bishwas’. The Bengalis say ‘eat water’, ‘jal khabe’; ‘khabe’ means eating but they say ‘jal khabe’. ‘Jal’ becomes ‘jol’; ‘jol khabe’. Every language has got its own characteristics, isn’t it?

In English also they change the pronunciation; instead of ‘West Bengal’ they say ‘Best Bengal’. Don’t ‘baste’ food; for ‘waste’ they say ‘baste’. That is how it is. You have to accept it.

‘You like bhite, you always bear bhites’; they are actually saying you always wear whites. ‘Guruji always bears bhites’ - that is the typical pronunciation. In Gujarat ‘lawn’ becomes ‘loan’ and ‘hall’ becomes ‘hole’; ‘the loan is in front of the hole.’

Q: We always perform Tarpana on Amavas in reverence of the departed souls of the beloved ones, is it really something scientific or just a ritual?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Well, Tarpana means ‘to satisfy.’ ‘Tarpa’ comes from ‘tripti’, which means fulfillment. Your ancestors had some wishes. Fulfilling them or taking them to be fulfilled, don’t crave for anything. That is exactly what Tarpana is: remembering the people who have departed once in a year.
In Christianity and in Islam also they do this for departed souls, particularly once in a year. So in India, in the ancient days, on amavas (moonless night) they kept remembering all the ancestors and they kept the full moon day to remember all the different manifestations of the Divinity. It is not only that every amavas you have to do something, but remembering them and doing some good work in their memory is good.

Q:  Guruji, you have told us that the Guru’s work is to confuse the disciple. Then who will we go to for answers?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Where else can you go? Anywhere you go you will get more confused, isn’t it? From where the confusion has come, the answer will also come.

Q: Guruji, sometimes we are in a free state of mind when we can talk to anyone and sometime we are not. How to get that state of mind back?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You mean at home with the wife? It does happen and people complain, at home my husband does not speak, but when some guest comes my husband speaks a lot. When I am alone with him he doesn’t speak at all; this is the problem, right? Your mind is such - sometimes you want to speak and sometime you have spoken so much that you have exhausted everything. You don’t feel like talking and so the prana has to go up for you to feel like talking more. That is nature. You don’t have to force yourself to talk, so be free.

Q: Jai Gurudev, you are so attractive, is this the bondage in my path? If I get stuck in your form what should I do to see beyond the form?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: So that you get detached from everything else - and then this will also automatically dissolve. You will see me more, much different than the form.

Q: Guruji, please talk on angels, what is their role and purpose. Does everyone have a guardian angel that looks after them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, angels are just positive energy.

Q: What is Swara Yoga, could you please articulate on that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: First do alternative nostril prayanama and then go more deep into pranayama then you will see how the breath in the nostrils change throughout the day.

Q: Guruji, can we do Tarpana for ourselves when we are alive?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, become contented through meditation. That is Tarpana.

Q: Tell us something more about prarabdha and sanchita karma.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sanchita karma can be reduced by devotion, whereas for prarabdha karma some of it will have to be undergone; you have to experience it.

Q: Guruji, my boss wants me to be diplomatic and feels it is very important for communication but I am a very straight forward person and cannot be diplomatic. What is the right thing to do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Why do you put a label in your head ‘I am a straight forward person’ and why should a straight forward person not be diplomatic also? A straight forward person need not be rude all the time. Now you hide your rudeness behind that fact that you are straight forward, no you cannot justify the rudeness that way. Straight forwardness is necessary and diplomacy is also necessary, you have to have both. When you meet someone who is blind, you cannot tell that person, ‘You are a blind person’. You may say I am just straight forward, I am just saying the right thing, but you shouldn’t do that. So diplomacy is part of life; that is a skill you need to have. Diplomacy need not be that one is not being straight forward because it is not the opposite of being straight forward, not at all. These two things should go together.

Q: Guruji, how do you come to know what is going on in our minds even though we are thousands of kilometers away. How do you fulfill all our desires?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: That is my secret. If you attend the blessing course you can do that as well.

Q: Guruji, during amavas and Diwali we are told not to wander about at night and not to use sharp tools, what is the reason behind that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know, the moon has an impact on the mind. On full moon days, you feel different; new moon days, you feel different. In the ancient days they used to say, since amavas is such a dark night, not to use sharp things as you may hurt yourself. That is what they said in the past but today with electricity that doesn’t apply.

Q: Guruji, what happens to the letters that are sent to you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: They all come to me, don’t worry.

Q: Guruji, some people say that you must not go to funerals and some people say you should go to funerals. Which is right?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes, we can go for funerals; there is a social responsibility. There is no problem in going. Usually, once you return from a funeral, you take a bath because the energy changes.

WITH SIVAKASI COURSE PARTICIPANTS

EID MUBARAK

MAY ALL THE JOYS OF LIFE BE

SHOWERED ON YOU . . 

EID MUBARAK. 

JAIGURUDEV

Terrorism, Fear and Spirituality - Sri Sri Ravishankar

The Norway shootings, where Anders Behring Breivik, calling himself a "crusader" for Christendom, killed 76 people, has shocked the world. This incident has brought forth a serious issue facing humanity -- that of prejudice, intolerance and fear psychosis. The mindset responsible for such an act is most dangerous. Whatever religious color a terrorist may wear, or reason one might hold to justify such behavior, the basic issue is a failure to realize the importance of diversity and the underlying spiritual unity of humankind. Lack of interaction between cultures, and prejudice against other cultures, can take individuals and entire societies into such disastrous situations.

Multi-cultural and multi-religious activities are necessary to remove prejudices and phobias from young minds. It is absolutely essential that all nations embrace multi-cultural and multi-religious educations and celebrate diversity. When a child grows up thinking that other religions or cultures are not good, then he or she becomes ready to take other lives or give up one's own due to the prejudiced mindset. Understanding a little about other cultures, religions and customs will help a child develop a sense of connectedness and a sense of belonging with everybody. When a sense of connectedness is present, one cannot harbor hatred for others.

All religions emphasize the principles of nonviolence, peaceful co-existence and values of friendliness, compassion and service to society. These common principles need to be highlighted and introduced early on in a child's education. Even a small section of people with prejudices and misconceptions can prove dangerous to society. Unfortunately, in every religion today, there are people who are narrow-minded and thrive on creating phobia, prejudice and erroneous perceptions about other cultures and religions. Closed mindsets, limited interactions, and a sense of disconnectedness with other cultures and communities can lead to situations that can spark such violent acts.

Spiritual education is crucial to help individuals deal with anger and hatred. Without a means to control them, anger and hatred can lead to a situation where one loses sight of reason. When the ability to reason is lost, human values of tolerance and compassion are lost. Respect for life, which is the basis for all human values, is also lost as a result.

Terrorists have no respect for life. In reality, terrorists have no religion, no nationality and no philosophy, for they are blind to reason. Lack of spiritual education gives rise to domestic and societal violence on one hand, and suicidal tendencies on the other. When a person is frustrated, angry or hateful, you cannot expect brotherhood and non-violence to prevail. The sense of connectedness in society depends on how people are oriented to the principle of Ahimsa or nonviolence. If the values of nonviolence, love, friendliness and compassion are strongly ingrained in an individual, frustration or disappointments can be handled better.

We accept food, art and music from around the world. In the same way, we need to learn to accept knowledge and wisdom from every part of the world as well. We live in an age of globalization -- we need to globalize wisdom also. Even if one part of the world lacks these human values of friendliness, tolerance and compassion, the world will not be a safe place, because that part can breed terrorism.

We need to address the root cause of these incidents of violence before it is too late. Often, peace-loving people are not proactive in promoting peace in society, and those who are proactive lack peace within. A combination of peace and dynamism is needed in society today. Though this may seem idealistic, it is not impossible. It is possible through right education and orientation. Each one of us can play a role in educating people on the human values of friendliness, compassion and non-aggression.

Human values are social and ethical norms common to all cultures and societies, as well as religions. They represent a melding of social progress and spiritual growth. Religious and community leaders should rethink how they can reduce extremist tendencies in their communities. When attention is given to the spiritual aspect of one's life, it brings up responsibility, a sense of connectedness, compassion and caring for the whole of humanity. Spirituality upholds and sustains life. It breaks down the narrow boundaries of caste, creed, religion and nationality. Spirituality gives an individual awareness of the life present everywhere. It is only through this awareness and the uplifting of human consciousness that violence in the name of religion can be eliminated.