Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

*Moving Past Unpleasant Events* Pleasant connections don't last too long, but unpleasant connections create a scar on the mind and last longer. Now, what is the place of wisdom in all this? Wisdom makes your mind non-sticky. Have you seen non-stick frying pans, in which you can make pancakes? When those non-stick pans were not available, people still made pancakes.  The pancakes would get stuck to the pan, and they would have to struggle each time to get them out. The cleaners had more work to do, to make it ready for the next use. So, events are like pancakes that stick to the pan. Now, just imagine, if you don't clean the pan (referring to the mind), and you continue making more pancakes day after day on the same pan and consuming it.  My Goodness, how unhygienic. For years, you are using the same pan. One side of the pan is all burnt because of the stuck pancakes, and it smells because you have not cleaned your pan.  Yet you continue making pancakes (causing pain to yo...

5th January 1996, Weggis, Switzerland *New Year’s Celebration* New Year's was a grand celebration like everyday and everyone was unusually crazy like everyday. Guruji was fantastically charming like everyday. And a basket full of chocolates was on the couch like everyday. They were in shape of bees today.  And they started flying from the Guru's hand. Joy is dissolving, losing your identity. Rest is dissolving losing your identity. Love is dissolving, losing your identity. Relax and just be. That doesn't mean be lazy. No. Be very busy and just be.  The events come and go, they perish like flowers. But every event and every person contains some honey. Like a bee, just take the honey out of every event and every moment and move on. Be like a busy bee and be in the Being. Question - What is the nectar of life? Gurudev Sri Sri - The infinity and the divinity. How do you like it?   *Hindi Translation* ५ जनवरी १९९६, वेग्गिंस, स्विट्ज़रलैंड  *नव वर्ष का उत्सव* नव-वर्ष भी था ...

Question - Gurudev, you just said that we should not consider anyone as bad. If others treat us badly, how do we react to that? Gurudev Sri Sri - If others have a negative opinion about you, it is their problem, not yours. From your side, do not consider anyone as bad. By doing this, your mind will be clear and pleasant and your intellect will be sharp. Otherwise, the people whom you consider as bad will begin to haunt your mind like a ghost. When such thoughts get into your mind, you will not be able to do something creative.

*Upcoming Vigyan Bhairav’s in India :*   Vigyan Bhairav 2  Date : 5th February  Location : Pune  Vigyan Bhairav 3  Date : 26th February  Location : Mumbai  Vigyan Bhairav 1  Date : 4th March  Location : Delhi  Vigyan Bhairav 1  Date : 11th March  Location : Rajkot  Vigyan Bhairav 2  Date : 12th March  Location : Surat  Registration Link :  https://linktr.ee/vbpunemum

Bichali Did you know that Bichali is the village where mystic saint, Madhvacharya had established a close bond with his contemporary and disciple Appanacharya and even stayed with him for 13 years doing penance? Bichali also spelled as Bichchali or Bichal, is a village near Gillesugur village in the Raichur taluk of Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Bichali is located on the banks of Tungabhadra river. Bichali in ancient times was known as Bhikshalaya, also as Bichali Japadakatti, and Anu Mantralaya (mini Mantralaya).  Located on the river side, the village, flood prone, with scenic surroundings has lush green paddy fields, river spots, rocky hillocks, and sleepy hamlets.This village now houses many holy shrines and is popular pilgrim centre. Over the centuries during the times of saint Madhvacharya (also known as Rayaru) in the 13th century, who propounded Dwaita philosophy, it bacame a famous centre for Gurukula education esta...

Chapter 1 - The Password To Divinity  Day 5  Then the question immediately comes how can God be in Osama bin Laden? How can God be in Hitler? How can God be in something that is bad? You as a physicist, a quantum scientist - Does Osama biatomsp have atoms in his body or not? Does he have atomsp or molecules in his body or not? Was there energy in him or not?  We are caught up in this concept - good or bad, right or wrong. As long as you are in this duality, you can never know God, forget about it. If you are caught up in the movie between the hero and the villain, you can never know the director. A director honours the hero as much as he hours the villain. Wake up, wake up and see. Then you rise to another dimension, a dimension, which is beyond good and bad, right and wrong, which purely places before you the existence as it is and there is no escape from it. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji Ishavasya Upanishad 

Chapter 1 - The Password To Divinity  Day 4  The concept of God is something that has baffled this planet from time immemorial. People who say there is God have a concept and people who say there is no God also have a concept. Otherwise they can't say there is no God.  The atheist also has a concept of God to be able to say that God does not exist. You pity them sometimes because they don't know the existence of Upanishad. They don't see the wisdom here. All this, whatsoever moves or is stationary in this universe, is indwelled by Isha.  Through renunciation enjoy, do not covert any body's earth. This entire universe is permeated by the Divinity. It is not a God who is sitting somewhere whose finger you are trying to catch and he runs away. God is not a person, someone who created this world and is hiding somewhere from it.  God is here, now, in everything. There is nothing that can be away from God. Whatever you see in this universe, not just the pe...

Chapter 1 - The Password To Divinity Day 3 The Rishi says Shanti, Shanti, Shanti three times. At the first level, when your environment is disturbed by you cannot think about or contemplate on knowlege. The environment needs to be congenial. Chanting balances our left and right brain. Left brain is logic, right brain is music. People who are emotional love to repeat things.  When you are in love with somebody you like to say "I love you "several times, not just once. But a left brain person finds it funny and unpleasant. What is the point in repeating? Repetition appears to be boring when you are in the left brain. The same repetition is so palatable when the right brain is active.  Repetition has been a part of all learning from ancient times. Logically understand the knowledge you receive and then to turn it into wisdom, the knowledge you receive and then the turn it into wisdom, to make it a part ot your lite, it needs that emotional integration. That's why...

Chapter 5 - Crossing The Ocean Of Maya Day 35 That company which gets you lost, which doesn't let you learn from your own experience, is bad company. You can gallop on such a horse forever without being aware of anything in your life. That is how people commit the same mistake over and over again and get totally dejected and depressed their whole life - and they do not even know that they are miserable.  They are no doubt miserable and they make everyone around them miserable, isn’t that so? That is bad company. They forget all about themselves. There is no memory of them left, of who they are, what they are, what they want, where they are heading. They have no idea who they were, how they were.  All adults forget that they were teenagers once, and that they, too, had problems as teenagers. When they have teenage children, they think the children are not doing well. Every adult feels that the children don't listen - they forget that they, also, did not listen to th...

Chapter 5 - Crossing The Ocean Of Maya Day 34 Shun bad company. There is a saying by someone, “If you want to Know a person, know him through the company he keeps or the books he reads.” Shun bad company. What is bad company? The company which solidifies your negativity is bad company.  You have some problem, you have a complaint, you go and you talk to someone and they make your beliefs more strong in that negativity that is bad company. And you go to someone else with the same problem, same thought, same negativity.  And they will just make you feel lighter and when you walk away from them you feel that the problem is not as big as you thought it was before. That is the right company. Don't think people who agree with your grievances, with your problems, are your friends. They are not.  Those people who make your negative feelings and your frustrations grow more and more in you may appear to be friends, but they are your enemies. They are bad company. Right ...

In the year 2013, I was 29 and having many health troubles. My friends suggested various healing treatments and Art of Living was one of it. I had never heard of it by then, and decided to join on a whim. The only thing I asked the lady when I paid was whether it can heal my joint pains. I even gave her a smirk, when she said “yes”. After I joined the course, I could hardly sit, and could not do the warm ups either. Somehow, with the tender care from my teacher and my persistence, I finished the course. By the end of it, I was able to walk on toes and heels and do slight warm ups. My teacher still states me as an example   Though I was not aware, people around me started noticing the changes in me. Also, that was the first time I saw the frame of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the hall. I was not drawn to it so I was actually relieved when teacher said, “you need not believe in Him, just believe in your Sadhana (everyday practice)”. On the last day I looked at the photo and sa...

In the year 2016, I came to know that Gurudev will be coming to Gujarat for Diwali (a Hindu mega festival) celebrations. My heart leaped with joy. I had an intense longing to meet Him personally and offer him a gift. I shared my desire with my Art of Living teacher and she told me “Take Sankalpa (an intention to do a good deed backed by a strong willpower) and you will surely get to meet Him”. I went to Ahmedabad to attend the event. Gurudev came on the Darshan ramp. Now, I could give the gift to a volunteer standing nearby who would have forwarded it to Gurudev. However, my heart still wanted to present this gift to Him personally so I just watched Gurudev and decided to instead go to Vasad (Art of Living Ashram in Gujarat), where His next event was scheduled. Just before I was about to leave for Vasad, I was told that my bus has been cancelled! I was heart-broken. I returned to my home and prayed to Gurudev “Either I will gift this to You personally or I’ll keep it with me forever “....

In the year 2014, I secured admission in an engineering college in Nagpur, India. It was here that I was introduced to Art of Living & did my first Happiness Course. The practice of Sudarshan Kriya helped me immensely during some extremely challenging times and it also made me overcome some vices. While I was originally from Dubai, UAE, I felt connected with everyone here and made many friends. In my final semester, I unfortunately failed an exam. The rules of Nagpur University did not allow students to carry any backlogs to the final exam. Thousands of students were barred and I was one of them. I was completely shattered! I was new to the country and had no substantial experience to seek a job. Heartbroken, I decided to move back to my home in Dubai. The bad luck however continued its spell. Upon reaching home, I realized that my family had received an eviction notice & we will need to move out of the house we had rented for so many years. We were forced to move into a small...

I am an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist surgeon by profession. I had been to Amritsar in 1999, where I fell sick and had a reaction to a medication that led to liver damage, raised my enzymes and caused drug induced depression. I was physically very weak. Just then an angel came by as a patient and talked to me about Art of Living. I took the course and started practicing the Sudarshan Kriya regularly. To my amazement, I noticed I had recovered in six months though people with ailments like mine take years to recover! I continued my Sadhana (practice) and weekly Long Kriya until 2004 but later due to my busy schedule the practice became less frequent. In 2008, I again felt I needed regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya to keep myself fit and healthy. As a physician I believed in this practice because I had seen how it benefitted me personally. Some of my patients who were regular in their Sadhana and practiced Ujjai (breathing technique) had much ease delivering their baby! Recently I ha...

In the summer of 2014, we were living in Boston. My husband got a new job offer from Amazon. We were not sure whether to accept it as the position was based in Seattle and would require us to relocate. We came to know that Gurudev was going to be at Boone Ashram during Guru Purnima and decided to seek His guidance. My husband met Gurudev and told him about the job offer. Gurudev did not say anything . He just kept His hand on my husband’s head and walked away. After Guru Purnima celebrations, while driving to the Charlotte airport from Boone, we decided to accept the offer. Next step was to decide about relocation so I called up a friend of mine who I knew was looking to buy a house and told her that we may be selling our house. On Monday, my friend came, saw our house and made an offer! So, with our own house sold, we decided to look for a new house in Seattle. We spent a full day looking at various options. At the end of an extremely tiring and frustrating day, we decided to place an...

In July 2011, Gurudev had announced the ‘World Cultural Festival’ to be held at Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany. The event would mark 30 years since the foundation of The Art of Living. It was going to be a mega event celebrating the rich cultural heritage of societies across the world. As I was based in Texas, USA, my family and friends were naturally apprehensive of my plans to visit Germany only for a weekend! Despite their stiff resistance, my mind was made. I purchased the air tickets, booked a nearby hotel and was all set for the exciting journey! Upon reaching the airport, I realized I had left all of my printed papers at home! I was going to leave the country with just my overnight bag and tickets. I wondered how will I find my hotel in Berlin or even reach the venue without any directions! In those days, even Wi-fi access was not readily available and although I had my cell phone, it was not activated for international roaming. I was in a fix. I remembered Gurudev with all o...

Question - Gurudev, why only one Guru? What is his/her purpose? Gurudev Sri Sri - You forget about the Guru. Just walk your path and grow in knowledge. When you benefit and have someone to thank, that is your Guru. The word guide in English came from Sanskrit word Guru. If you want to play soccer, you need a coach. If you want to play violin, you need a coach. Similarly, in life, one needs a coach for managing the mind, and relieving you of the tensions, stress, fear uncertainty, jealousy, greed, hatred and all these negative emotions. So this is the role of a Guru - to relieve you from all negativity and infuse positivity in you.

*All Cannot Do Seva* Everyone is not fortunate to do Seva or Service. For doing Seva one needs Prarabdha and ability. If I’m asking you to do my Seva. It means you are very special person. Hence I have chosen you to do Seva. Either you have got Prarabdha or you are having special abilities to do Seva. If I select you to do my Seva, I will be paying you something even if I don't pay. Wealth of this world is nothing, I am ready to give you divine wealth. And hence I have selected you for my Seva. Those who do Seva of their parents or elders or anyone, they are very fortunate. They are getting very precious thing even if they don't get any thing.  - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji

In astrology session Gurudev said that when we know that some planet is not so favourable to us during a given period we can have remedy which is as follows :  SUN can be made strong by meditation. MOON & MERCURY by listening to knowledge. MARS & JUPITER by Pranayam. VENUS by singing (Satsang). SATURN by Seva & excercise (Asanas). In a nut shell, sadhana, seva & satsang is remedy for all 9 planets, so continue SSS with SMILE 

Vasant Kusumakar Ras – Benefits, Dosage, Ingredients, Side Effects Vasant Kusumakar Ras is an Ayurvedic medicine in tablet or powder form.  It is used in the treatment of diabetes, diseases related to urinary tract, memory loss etc.  This medicine contains heavy metal ingredients, hence should only be taken under strict medical supervision. Vasant Kusumakar Ras Uses: It is an excellent rejuvenative and anti aging medicine. It is used in the treatment of memory loss, diabetes and diseases related to urinary tract. It improves memory, concentration, skin complexion, strength and immunity. It is also widely used to treat polyurea (frequent urination problem). Effect on Tridosha -  Balances Vata, Pitta. Vasant Kusumakar Rasa dosage: 125 – 25o mg once in the morning, before or after food or as directed by Ayurvedic doctor.  It is traditionally administered along with honey, sugar or ghee Vasant Kusumakar Ras side effects: Self medication with this medicine may prove to be...