I am sure you will find some of your own questions here.
Thank you
Alan
Together-Divine
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Satsang today
Ques: what is the first thing and the last thing I should do to remain connected to the Self throughout?
#SriSri: Meditation. First when you wake up like you brush and wash your teeth, first thing is meditation. And the last thing is also meditation. In between also meditation flows in life. Anything you do, do It with mindfulness with awareness. I would always call it awareness, nowadays they call it mindfulness! Take life as a sport. Life is a struggle when you have no knowledge. With knowledge the same life which you considered as struggle turns out to be a sport. In sports you are happy, whatever is the outcome. And when you are feeling a struggle, anything is still not satisfactory. Victory is as disastrous as a failure. That’s when you feel that the journey itself is a struggle. But when you see the journey as a path, as singing and dancing.. you know when people sing and dance they keep going round and round, there is no purpose in going round like this. When you are walking straight you have a purpose you have a goal you have to reach there. But when you are going around it is a game. Horse racing you do within the tracks, horse race is done in the tracks. It’s just a game. In racing horse is not supposed to reach somewhere. Similarly all the planets are going round and round! They are giving you a message that the Universe is enjoying it’s a game! In word the ancient Rishis callled it as ‘Leela’. Leela means a game, fun. They never saw it as Shri Rama’s Sangharsh or struggle, they said Rama Leela, Rama’s game. So when life is like a game, the whole thing, the approach lightens up, from both sides. You feel light and it lightens up as well.
#SriSri: Meditation. First when you wake up like you brush and wash your teeth, first thing is meditation. And the last thing is also meditation. In between also meditation flows in life. Anything you do, do It with mindfulness with awareness. I would always call it awareness, nowadays they call it mindfulness! Take life as a sport. Life is a struggle when you have no knowledge. With knowledge the same life which you considered as struggle turns out to be a sport. In sports you are happy, whatever is the outcome. And when you are feeling a struggle, anything is still not satisfactory. Victory is as disastrous as a failure. That’s when you feel that the journey itself is a struggle. But when you see the journey as a path, as singing and dancing.. you know when people sing and dance they keep going round and round, there is no purpose in going round like this. When you are walking straight you have a purpose you have a goal you have to reach there. But when you are going around it is a game. Horse racing you do within the tracks, horse race is done in the tracks. It’s just a game. In racing horse is not supposed to reach somewhere. Similarly all the planets are going round and round! They are giving you a message that the Universe is enjoying it’s a game! In word the ancient Rishis callled it as ‘Leela’. Leela means a game, fun. They never saw it as Shri Rama’s Sangharsh or struggle, they said Rama Leela, Rama’s game. So when life is like a game, the whole thing, the approach lightens up, from both sides. You feel light and it lightens up as well.
Ques: How well does being religious help me in my spiritual quest?
#SriSri: It’s a different dimension. A little religiosity is good in life, it adds a flavour. A flavour which is needed for both yourself and for the society to continure. See you don’t need to go to a temple, church or a mosque, somewhere to go and pray and meditate. But just imagine if nobody goes, what will happen? If everyone says God is in my home, in my heart then one generation wil be okay but what will happen to the coming generations? This whole system will collapse, right? So we need to preserve this ancient system, ancient culture, it’s a world heritage. So temples are not just a place to find God. It’s a place for socio-cultural activities. In that sense I feel that it is good to keep that heritage alive.
#SriSri: It’s a different dimension. A little religiosity is good in life, it adds a flavour. A flavour which is needed for both yourself and for the society to continure. See you don’t need to go to a temple, church or a mosque, somewhere to go and pray and meditate. But just imagine if nobody goes, what will happen? If everyone says God is in my home, in my heart then one generation wil be okay but what will happen to the coming generations? This whole system will collapse, right? So we need to preserve this ancient system, ancient culture, it’s a world heritage. So temples are not just a place to find God. It’s a place for socio-cultural activities. In that sense I feel that it is good to keep that heritage alive.
Ques: I have more affinity to my knowledge sheets, rather than my studies. Please tell my parents that it is okay.
#SriSri: It’s good that you have affinity towards knowledge sheet but you have to study also, put your effort. You don’t have to put much effort in knowledge but in other knowledge, it requires some effort because your interest is not there. So whatever comes to you as effortless is part of your enjoyment is part of your fun. But anything we need to put effort in helps you in some way in the long term as well.
#SriSri: It’s good that you have affinity towards knowledge sheet but you have to study also, put your effort. You don’t have to put much effort in knowledge but in other knowledge, it requires some effort because your interest is not there. So whatever comes to you as effortless is part of your enjoyment is part of your fun. But anything we need to put effort in helps you in some way in the long term as well.
Ques: Is there some mechanism for thoughts to manifest?
#SriSri: Intention, attention and manifestation follows. You have an intention, you first offer the intention. Offer it to the Universe, to the higher spirit, to someone very dear to you, saying, this is my wish. So it could be your parents, your ancestors, Guru, your personal angels or Gods and Goddesses or to Guru. To anyone you offer what your real intention is and have patience. Know that it will be done. If it is good for you, it’s going to be done. If it’s good, it’s going to happen.
#SriSri: Intention, attention and manifestation follows. You have an intention, you first offer the intention. Offer it to the Universe, to the higher spirit, to someone very dear to you, saying, this is my wish. So it could be your parents, your ancestors, Guru, your personal angels or Gods and Goddesses or to Guru. To anyone you offer what your real intention is and have patience. Know that it will be done. If it is good for you, it’s going to be done. If it’s good, it’s going to happen.
Ques: How do I become like Bhakt Prahlad? Will it happen automatically or do I need to put any effort?
#SriSri: It’s like asking Me how can I like something. How can I like mango, how can I like banana? You have no way to like, it will simply happen. Your very desire that you want to be like Bhakt Prahald, know that you are already on the path, you are already on the way. As your vision broadens, you go for the highest. Prahlad went for the Highest. You know ‘ahlad’ means happiness. ‘Prahlad’ means bliss. So even this story of Hiranyakashyapu, his goal was Prahlad, bliss. Today you find everyone around like Hiranyakashyapu. You know what Hiranyakashyapu is? Hiranya means money and kashyap means seeing only money, nothing else! No relationship, no father, mother, nobody. Money is there then that is biggest. If money is there, they can drag their parents to court.. they are Hiranyakashyapus! What do they want? Their goal is to bring up Prahlad, bliss and bliss cannot be a captive of Hiranyakashyapu. It will always go towards Narayana. Only the highest Self can bestow the highest bliss. For that courage needs to be there. Narasimha is courage, courage like a lion. So when the human consciousness is roaring like a lion, and it has authority, like a king of the forest.. You know a lion does not go and look for things and ask people, it there. It doesn’t even go for prey, it’s the lioness who preys and brings in the food. It just sits there resting confident, like a king. So when your consciousness assumes the role of a King, is stable, then Pahlad sits on the lap and Lakshmi sits on the other lap. Wealth comes to you and Prahlad, bliss is already there. Bliss prays for the highest being, highest Self. That is the whole story of Prahlad and Hiranyakashyapu. It’s so beautiful! And who is not only looking for money? One who is a lion, he doesn’t go looking for money. He knows money will come automatically. And it will come without effort. So He destroys Hiranyakashyapu and uplifts Prahlad who is Ananda, bliss. That is the inner meaning of the story.
#SriSri: It’s like asking Me how can I like something. How can I like mango, how can I like banana? You have no way to like, it will simply happen. Your very desire that you want to be like Bhakt Prahald, know that you are already on the path, you are already on the way. As your vision broadens, you go for the highest. Prahlad went for the Highest. You know ‘ahlad’ means happiness. ‘Prahlad’ means bliss. So even this story of Hiranyakashyapu, his goal was Prahlad, bliss. Today you find everyone around like Hiranyakashyapu. You know what Hiranyakashyapu is? Hiranya means money and kashyap means seeing only money, nothing else! No relationship, no father, mother, nobody. Money is there then that is biggest. If money is there, they can drag their parents to court.. they are Hiranyakashyapus! What do they want? Their goal is to bring up Prahlad, bliss and bliss cannot be a captive of Hiranyakashyapu. It will always go towards Narayana. Only the highest Self can bestow the highest bliss. For that courage needs to be there. Narasimha is courage, courage like a lion. So when the human consciousness is roaring like a lion, and it has authority, like a king of the forest.. You know a lion does not go and look for things and ask people, it there. It doesn’t even go for prey, it’s the lioness who preys and brings in the food. It just sits there resting confident, like a king. So when your consciousness assumes the role of a King, is stable, then Pahlad sits on the lap and Lakshmi sits on the other lap. Wealth comes to you and Prahlad, bliss is already there. Bliss prays for the highest being, highest Self. That is the whole story of Prahlad and Hiranyakashyapu. It’s so beautiful! And who is not only looking for money? One who is a lion, he doesn’t go looking for money. He knows money will come automatically. And it will come without effort. So He destroys Hiranyakashyapu and uplifts Prahlad who is Ananda, bliss. That is the inner meaning of the story.
Ques: Why is there so much violence in the worl? Is peace less powerful than violence?
#SriSri: No. Peace is much more powerful. Violence is spread on two counts. One is lack of education or ill-educated people. They spread violence. We have not taught people how to handle their own mind. They are not taught, neither at home nor at school. All it needs is peace education. If you are not educated how to brush your teeth from childhood, you would not be having any teeth even when you are a teenager! So like dental hygiene is taught world over to keep good teeth, mental hygiene needs to be taught to keep a violence free mind. This education is lacking, and that’s why peace appears to be far away. It’s not far away. In fact if you look at it, there are very few people who indulge in violence. Among seven billion people on this planet today, you think all the seven billion are struggling with violence? No. Just a handful of, not even one percent of the world’s population is engaged in violence. Not even, one percent! But its effects appears to be very big. Because today media will highlight that as a hard news. Seventy thousand people coming and doing meditation is no news at all but one letter from somebody becomes a big news! A letter of threat becomes an international news item! So this is how we have developed our society. We need to de-program this tendency.
#SriSri: No. Peace is much more powerful. Violence is spread on two counts. One is lack of education or ill-educated people. They spread violence. We have not taught people how to handle their own mind. They are not taught, neither at home nor at school. All it needs is peace education. If you are not educated how to brush your teeth from childhood, you would not be having any teeth even when you are a teenager! So like dental hygiene is taught world over to keep good teeth, mental hygiene needs to be taught to keep a violence free mind. This education is lacking, and that’s why peace appears to be far away. It’s not far away. In fact if you look at it, there are very few people who indulge in violence. Among seven billion people on this planet today, you think all the seven billion are struggling with violence? No. Just a handful of, not even one percent of the world’s population is engaged in violence. Not even, one percent! But its effects appears to be very big. Because today media will highlight that as a hard news. Seventy thousand people coming and doing meditation is no news at all but one letter from somebody becomes a big news! A letter of threat becomes an international news item! So this is how we have developed our society. We need to de-program this tendency.
Ques: If I have only one hour to choose between Seva, Sadhana and Satsang, what should I choose to experience total oneness with the Divine?
#SriSri: I want to tell you a secret. Want to hear it? It’s not time. It’s not effort. Not at all. ‘japa tapa sadhana kachu nahi lagata karasata nahi kathari bhajo re bhaiya Rama Govinda Hari’. It’s not the huge effort that you make. Two hours I have to do the Sadhana. No. Just feeling the connection is good enough… twenty minutes you relax. That is important. Who should make an effort? One who has not yet come into the path. But if you are on the path, you have a Guru, you have a path, effort is not needed. It’s not needed at all. And effortlessness is meditation. You will say it is so easy to say but mind is occupied with so many other worldly issues, because I don’t see this to be temporary, these all appear to be very permanent. This is the biggest issue we have every day. You just wake up and see two hundred years before, none of this was here and two hundred years later none of this will be there. Nothing will be here. Everything is just a dream! Even take till this moment, whatever happened is like a dream. This morning you woke up, you brushed your teeth, you did all that, is it not like a dream now? Yesterday you took bath, you did all that.. is it not like a dream now? Day before, last month or last year, turn back and see everything that happened till this moment, good, bad, ugly everything is like a dream. Similarly another ten, fifteen years will just run – good, bad and ugly, everything will finish. If you broaden the vision and see the past and the future, everything is like a dream, you don’t need any Sadhana. But don’t take this as an excuse!(laughs) If you wake up you will find that there is something that is permanent and that is where you are. It requires no effort. If you love somebody, you don’t have to make an effort to remember them.. Someone you are deeply in love with, do you have to make an effort ‘ Oh I have to today sit and remember them’ and to call them ten times? No. It is there right in the mind. So that is what is the main thing, ‘smaran’ (remembering). All these puranas are filled with those type of stories like Ajamila did everything and in the end he called ‘Narayana, Narayana’ and he became liberated. It sounds very funny! But they just wanted to make point that what is important is that connectivity. If you feel connected, job is done! If you don’t feel connected you do hundred times for two hours, three hours, eight hours, you sit and do something, it’s of not much use. Some use is there, but not much use. At least at that time you don’t bother anybody!
#SriSri: I want to tell you a secret. Want to hear it? It’s not time. It’s not effort. Not at all. ‘japa tapa sadhana kachu nahi lagata karasata nahi kathari bhajo re bhaiya Rama Govinda Hari’. It’s not the huge effort that you make. Two hours I have to do the Sadhana. No. Just feeling the connection is good enough… twenty minutes you relax. That is important. Who should make an effort? One who has not yet come into the path. But if you are on the path, you have a Guru, you have a path, effort is not needed. It’s not needed at all. And effortlessness is meditation. You will say it is so easy to say but mind is occupied with so many other worldly issues, because I don’t see this to be temporary, these all appear to be very permanent. This is the biggest issue we have every day. You just wake up and see two hundred years before, none of this was here and two hundred years later none of this will be there. Nothing will be here. Everything is just a dream! Even take till this moment, whatever happened is like a dream. This morning you woke up, you brushed your teeth, you did all that, is it not like a dream now? Yesterday you took bath, you did all that.. is it not like a dream now? Day before, last month or last year, turn back and see everything that happened till this moment, good, bad, ugly everything is like a dream. Similarly another ten, fifteen years will just run – good, bad and ugly, everything will finish. If you broaden the vision and see the past and the future, everything is like a dream, you don’t need any Sadhana. But don’t take this as an excuse!(laughs) If you wake up you will find that there is something that is permanent and that is where you are. It requires no effort. If you love somebody, you don’t have to make an effort to remember them.. Someone you are deeply in love with, do you have to make an effort ‘ Oh I have to today sit and remember them’ and to call them ten times? No. It is there right in the mind. So that is what is the main thing, ‘smaran’ (remembering). All these puranas are filled with those type of stories like Ajamila did everything and in the end he called ‘Narayana, Narayana’ and he became liberated. It sounds very funny! But they just wanted to make point that what is important is that connectivity. If you feel connected, job is done! If you don’t feel connected you do hundred times for two hours, three hours, eight hours, you sit and do something, it’s of not much use. Some use is there, but not much use. At least at that time you don’t bother anybody!
Ques: What is the purpose of human beings, our existence?
#SriSri: You are here to find that out. You have come to this world to know just that. And you have to do nothing. When you do nothing, you will know. And what will you do after knowing? Then also you will do nothing. Let things happen the way they are happening.
#SriSri: You are here to find that out. You have come to this world to know just that. And you have to do nothing. When you do nothing, you will know. And what will you do after knowing? Then also you will do nothing. Let things happen the way they are happening.
Ques: It is said that one glimpse of the Guru make all the karmas go away. I have had some many glimpses of you and still many karmas are there. Are these fresh account of karmas or do I need new eyes to look at you?
#SriSri: Yes, you have to look from the new eyes. This is exactly what Lord Krishna told Arjuna. Lord Krishna was with Arjuna till the 10th, 11th chapter, He was explaining everything to him. He should not have any karma at all. No, Arjuna didn’t have those eyes to look. Then he got the eyes for Vishwaroop Darshan, seeing the whole thing. That which you call as karma, is that which is unpleasant to you. You don’t call something as karma when you are in bliss, ‘Oh this is my karma, I am in bliss!’. You never say ‘Oh when will this karma go, I am do happy!’ When you are happy you don’t consider this as a karma. When you are miserable then you feel, ‘oh this is my karma’. You need the Gyanakasha, the eye of knowledge. With an eye of knowledge, you will see everything in life has a purpose and it is making you powerful, stronger every moment. And anything we create that creates a problem for us is through Aviveka or lack of discrimination or lack of wisdom. So you have to look from the eye of wisdom, then you see nothing really bothers. Problems come and they go and you take it as it comes. And you act on it, whatever you need to act. Suppose you are walking and your chappal breaks, you don’t cry ‘oh this is my karma, my chappal has broken’. But if your car breaks down in the middle of somewhere, you say this is your karma. You have not realized your potential, how much more powerful you are than the events that happen around you. If you wake up and see these are small things that are happening in life, then you are just a witness to it, you are not participating in it. Karma is part of the world and it will continue to be part of the world. As long as you are in the world, you have to do karma and you will be part of the karma, there is not getting away from that! Infinite are the ways of karma. And if you are part of this world, you are part of karma. If you look towards the being, and you feel you are just a witness to all that is happening then you are free. And if you see the Guru is like that. He is free from all the karma, yet He is engaged in all the karma. Got it?
#SriSri: Yes, you have to look from the new eyes. This is exactly what Lord Krishna told Arjuna. Lord Krishna was with Arjuna till the 10th, 11th chapter, He was explaining everything to him. He should not have any karma at all. No, Arjuna didn’t have those eyes to look. Then he got the eyes for Vishwaroop Darshan, seeing the whole thing. That which you call as karma, is that which is unpleasant to you. You don’t call something as karma when you are in bliss, ‘Oh this is my karma, I am in bliss!’. You never say ‘Oh when will this karma go, I am do happy!’ When you are happy you don’t consider this as a karma. When you are miserable then you feel, ‘oh this is my karma’. You need the Gyanakasha, the eye of knowledge. With an eye of knowledge, you will see everything in life has a purpose and it is making you powerful, stronger every moment. And anything we create that creates a problem for us is through Aviveka or lack of discrimination or lack of wisdom. So you have to look from the eye of wisdom, then you see nothing really bothers. Problems come and they go and you take it as it comes. And you act on it, whatever you need to act. Suppose you are walking and your chappal breaks, you don’t cry ‘oh this is my karma, my chappal has broken’. But if your car breaks down in the middle of somewhere, you say this is your karma. You have not realized your potential, how much more powerful you are than the events that happen around you. If you wake up and see these are small things that are happening in life, then you are just a witness to it, you are not participating in it. Karma is part of the world and it will continue to be part of the world. As long as you are in the world, you have to do karma and you will be part of the karma, there is not getting away from that! Infinite are the ways of karma. And if you are part of this world, you are part of karma. If you look towards the being, and you feel you are just a witness to all that is happening then you are free. And if you see the Guru is like that. He is free from all the karma, yet He is engaged in all the karma. Got it?
Ques: If everything is an illusion, then isn’t realization of enlightenment also an illusion?
#SriSri: Yes, first you find all that as an illusion, then you will find all the struggle for enlightenment also an illusion. But that is the second step. You can’t go to the second step without going to the first step.
#SriSri: Yes, first you find all that as an illusion, then you will find all the struggle for enlightenment also an illusion. But that is the second step. You can’t go to the second step without going to the first step.
Ques: How to do you stop people from bullying you?
#SriSri: You don’t need to stop anyone from bullying you. You don’t get bullied, that’s all. How are they going to bully, they are going to say something, right? You act as though you are deaf! The best way to deal with people who bully is to act as though you are deaf, you don’t understand that language. You compliment them, give them a surprise, ‘Oh you are a master in bullying!’ If you have humour in life, you can surf through any tough situation.
#SriSri: You don’t need to stop anyone from bullying you. You don’t get bullied, that’s all. How are they going to bully, they are going to say something, right? You act as though you are deaf! The best way to deal with people who bully is to act as though you are deaf, you don’t understand that language. You compliment them, give them a surprise, ‘Oh you are a master in bullying!’ If you have humour in life, you can surf through any tough situation.
No comments:
Post a Comment