Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Q: Gurudev, Buddhists say they do not believe in God. Even Lord Buddha said that we must not worship idols. Now He too was an enlightened being, so what did he mean by that? Sri Sri: Lord Buddha never talked about God. He never really entertained any discussion on God. What He said was – the first thing is to realize that there is misery. People keep denying there is misery, many don’t even recognize it. Many a time if you talk to a sick person, he will say “I’m perfectly healthy and fine”. The more egoistic the person, the greater is the denial. Many times people are very miserable from within, but they wear a mask of cheerfulness or even act confident and dominating on the outside. They will keep pretending as if everything is fine, yet you can see the misery drip from their faces. Every part of their body reflects anger, bitterness, hatred and misery. This is what Lord Buddha has said – that there is misery. Recognize it, and then there are remedies for it. If someone sa...

 In Sanskrit, Upanishad means sitting close – sitting close to the Master, not just physically, but also mentally. It signifies the finite getting close to the infinite, the known reaching out to the unknown. The Upanishads are dialogues between the Master and student from ages ago. There are nearly 100 Upanishads available today out of which eleven are very important. The Master is the embodiment of wisdom and the student represents a spiritual seeker eager to come closer to wisdom. There are so many levels of conflict in the universe. Despite these conflicts how does one get mentally close? First, we invoke peace. One can only come mentally close when there is peace. Where there is mistrust and doubt, there can be no transfer or exchange of knowledge. Thus, all of the Upanishads begin with a prayer for three types of peace: - “Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti” (Shanti is a sanskrit word meaning peace.) “Let us have peace at the physical level, at the level of thoughts and emotions, and ...

There is a beautiful story in the Upanishads which goes, “On the tree of this universe, there are two birds sitting – one is enjoying the fruit, the other is just watching, like a witness”. This story indicates the two aspects in you, that is, the doer and the non-doer. There is one aspect of you that is performing all actions And there is another aspect in you that is not doing anything (the seer) Now you might ask, “How?” On one level, you find that you are changing. Your thoughts are changing, your emotions are changing, your body is changing. Yet at another, deeper level, there is something in you that is not changing at all, it is the same. That is how you know that you are changing. So, you are a combination of both, the change and the non-change, the tangible and the intangible. Similarly, you are both the doer and the non-doer. When to Turn towards Non-doership When you are in activity, you are a doer; when you are retiring, or when you are getting into meditation, ...

There are two basic instincts in human beings and they have been with you in all your lives. -Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji There are two basic instincts in human beings, one is food and the other is sex. These have been with you in all your lives, when you were an animal and now as a human being. You are born of these two: food and sex. It is so beautiful that in this country (India) both connected with the Divine. The food is connected with God. In the Upanishads, it is said "Food is God." When you consider food as God, you will not overeat. Not only do you fill food, but you eat with such honor. No festival in India passes without food. And when you go to the temple, the first thing they give is a little bit of Prasad. Prasad is just some food that is given. Without Prasad there is no pilgrimage or festival. The food is connected with God. Similarly, sex is also connected with God. Otherwise, you keep sex separate and think that this is my material life and th...

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji  No. Can you sit and practice being in Love?   Effortlessness. Virtues are there in you, do not try to cultivate virtues - they are in you already. All that you need is to become a little quiet, a little calm. When you become effortless, calm and serene, virtues, talents and skills all manifest in your life, all come to the surface. All our effort is only to get rid of the stress, get rid of all the dust that we have accumulated. And Karma - our action, Gyana - knowledge, and Yoga are all a way, a path to do this, to achieve this Purity. Actually, 'achieve' is not the correct word. Knowledge is like a detergent - to be put on and then washed off! Same way with action, "I did so much good", "I did this charity," "I did that charity." If you keep thinking this way, taking pride in your charity or the good work you have done, then that becomes a deterrent to your blossoming. There is a proverb in Hindi that say...

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 bu...

Sri Sri's beautiful knowledge on love and entering into relationships : "There is confusion and chaos in the world in the name of love. Love with wisdom is eternal bliss. Love with selfishness or love for individual pleasure, sooner or later will bring misery and heartbreak. If you are in love with somebody don’t think that it will be forever, unless and until there is knowledge or wisdom in it. If your love is there to help others, nobody can destroy it, but if your love is to get something from the other, sooner or later, it will be broken into pieces. Find out what you think love is. Do you think love is only for getting pleasure from others? If yes, then it is going to bring you pain. But if your love is there only to care, and you cannot be without it, then that is what true love is.It is your own nature.Then your relationship will be nurturing and it will last longer. So, if you are entering a relationship, go with the attitude, 'I am going to ...

The whole creation is made up of nature and distortion of nature - Prakriti and Vikriti. Anger is not our nature. So are the other negative points like jealousy, greed, lust, etc. And they are impure because they do not allow the 'Self' to shine through.  Sin is that which does not allow the spirit inside to shine forth fully. Sin is not your nature. You are not born out of sin. It is like a wrinkle in a cloth. It needs proper ironing. Do you know why lust is a sin? It is because lust does not let you consider the other person as a life. You do not honor them as a life. You use them like an object. You make them an object of your enjoyment. You are not looking at the Self in the other person. This is the only reason why lust is sinful. Love is the reverse of it. In love, there is surrender. You see the other person as Divine. You elevate even the matter to the level of spirit. The idol you worship is a stone. But when you worship it, it becomes a living reality. You...

If you have too much love for money, that is called Greed. Too much love for someone is called Attachment. If you have too much love for body parts, it is called Lust, and if you have too much love towards your seat, position, that is called Ego. All these different distortions love, anger, attachment, if you see the basis there is some attachment there. So, love is the mother of all distortions. Does that mean that we run away from love? No. Everybody wants to know how do we find such happiness where there is no pain.  How do we find such love where there are no distortions in it?  Through Knowledge and Meditation. Without knowledge and meditation, love gets transformed into distortions.  If there is knowledge and meditation then Love gets transformed into Devotion, it remains pure and it gets transformed into Bliss, Joy.  ~ Sri Sri Ravi shankarji

Question – Gurudev, when there is love between two people, they decide to get married. Then why does the love cease to exist after marriage? Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - See, when you love a person with an intention to gain something from him or her, and then such kind of love is definitely going to get finished. But instead if there is a deep feeling to give and to do something for the other one, then such a love will never come to an end.If all you think about is ‘What will I get from this person?’, then you are always in a race or struggle to get something from them in the name of love. Such a love will surely come to an end someday or the other.But if you are the one who gives, and thinks about how to give comfort to other one, then such a love endures over time. If you think, ‘How can I keep my husband or wife happy?’ then that love can stay. Also, this thought should come from both the partners. Only then will the love never end between the two. Both of them shou...

Well, if you have not known it, there is no way you can know it! There is not a single being on this planet which or who does not know what love is. On one hand this is true, on the other hand, nobody has known love. Love is not something that you know, it is something that you feel. Why do you want to analyze and put a tag to it? You can go on describing the shades of love, or the types of love that are there, but what are its repercussions? In fact, all the negative emotions are just distortions of love. Your anger is because of love. You love perfection, so you get angry at imperfections. You love people too much, and so it becomes jealousy or possessiveness. You love yourself too much, and that becomes arrogance. When you love objects more than people or more than anything else, then it is greed. Love plus knowledge or wisdom leads you to bliss. Love minus knowledge or wisdom, leads you to misery. We can go on analyzing it, but what is the use? If you have a puppy at ho...

When you have been in love with someone, what happens to you? Nothing comes to your mind, nothing other than just how to impress the one whom you love. You are always thinking about them. Even if you think about yourself, you are thinking in terms of them. You like to wear the clothes that your beloved likes. You like to do things that they like. You like to see that they are comfortable, that they are not hurt, and that they are happy. In a subtle way you are dissolving. Look at yourself. What is happening when you experience that deep love. You start dissolving, disappearing. If you are really in love with somebody, are you there for them? Or are you thinking or making them as an object for you? That is the difference. The beloved says, “I am here for your joy, for your happiness, for your comfort. What is it you want?” That is love. “What is it I can do? I breathe for you, I live for you, I exist for you. Nothing other than that is important for me in this world.” That i...

Q: Gurudev what is better for our spiritual growth? Being married or being single? G: Well, what is better is to be happy whether married or single. You have people who are single and unhappy, thats not a nice thing and you have people who are married and unhappy and that’s not a nice thing. So whether single or married, doesnt matter. What is desirable is clarity of mind and purity of heart. Q: Gurudev, why aren’t you married? G: Well, i am married to a thing called The Art of Living. The organisation that takes me around. It keeps me driving around the globe. Q: Gurudev, is there any such thing as a soulmate? If yes, how do i know if i have found my soulmate? G: You first meet your soul then you will find your soulmate also. When you yourself are in confusion, your mind is in a cloud all the time, you are over ambitious, and you are self centered, then i tell you, you can’t meet your soul and if you have never met your soul then soulmate is very far away. Q: Gurudev is there any spir...

You can love someone for their qualities and not have a sense of intimacy. This type of love gives rise to competition and jealousy.  If love is based on the qualities of a person, that love is not stable. After some time the qualities change and the love becomes shaky.  However, if you love someone because they belong to you, then that love remains for lifetimes. Loving someone because they belong to you, great or otherwise, is unconditional love. Love that is centered becomes bliss.  And when there is so much love you take total responsibility for any misunderstanding. For a moment you may express dismay on the surface. But when you do not feel the dismay in your heart, you arrive at a perfect understanding. You are in a state where all problems and all differences slide away and only love shines through. ~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji 

 There is no success or failure in Love. Love is not a business. Love is not a career. love is not even an act. So there is no success or failure in love. Love is your nature my dear! Whether you express it or not, it is there. If you realize that love is your very nature, you will not think of it as success or failure. Some people may understand you and some may not. When someone loves you, you cannot say that they will be in love with you forever. People who have lived together for 20 years, and had said at one point of time that they were made for each other, suddenly find that they were never compatible, and that they never got along. Suddenly people feel suffocated and want to go their own ways. Love is not an act, love is not even a situation, it is our very nature. If you are in love with somebody don’t think that it will be forever, unless and until there is knowledge or wisdom in it. Love with wisdom is eternal bliss. Love with selfishness or love for individua...

 1. Charm - The love that comes out of charm does not last long. It comes out of unfamiliarity or attraction. In this, you lose the attraction fast and boredom sets in., like in most love marriages. This love may diminish and bring along with it fear, uncertainty, insecurity and sadness.    2. Comfort - The love that comes out of comfort and familiarity grows. But this love has no thrill, no enthusiasm, joy or fire in it. For example, you are more comfortable with an old friend who is familiar rather than with a new person. Divine love supersedes both. It has an ever present newness. The closer you are more will be the charm and depth. There is never any boredom and it keeps everyone on their toes.    3. Divinity - Worldly love can be like ocean, yet an ocean has a bottom. Divine love is like the sky, which is limitless and infinite. From the bottom of the ocean, you should soar into the vast sky. It is beyond relationships. Often our lov...

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji shared his experience few days back at The Art of Living International Center "When I was about 18-19 years old, I was content, happy, whatever I knew I used to teach other people. Then I met a very wise & great saint Maharishi ji. He was world famous and very knowledgable. I saw that these Swamijis have a very different outlook in their ashrams. If you say that you want something you won't get that, such were the saints in olden days. My Guruji, (Pt. Sudhakar Chaturvedi) he is still alive, now he is 118 years old. He used to teach Bhagawad Gita to Mahatma Gandhi. After Gandhiji he never taught anybody else. One day he looked at me and said that you come to me. When I used to come from school for lunch, first I used to go to him. His house was just five blocks away from ours. And he used to make me write three shlokas everyday and then he used to tell it’s meaning. I had interest and willingness to learn new things. I had heard ...

Question - Gurudev, I want to be 100% both at my job and Art of Living. If I give 100% at one, then the other gets compromised. What do I do? Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Need not be! You know most of our trustees in Art of Living and Apex Body members all over the country, they have many other things. They do their business, their job and they are still very busy and engaged. And there are thousands of teachers who do their business. Their businesses are doing very well and they are also teaching Art of Living courses. They are doing both. You should hear their experiences. We had a Teachers Refresher Meet, and we had teachers from all over the country who came. There were 315 industrialists in one TRM alone and they are teaching courses. They said, ‘Guruji, before our business was dull and we were not doing anything. But now we are teaching the Art of Living course and we don't pay much attention to business, but it is also running very well.’ Some of them have mad...

Sc Name : Sesbania Punicea  Deciduous leaves  Flashy Petals  Family : Fabaceae  Found In  Brazil .. Uruguay .. Peraguay.. Reference  Dr Aarati Samant

A cardiologist recommending Sudarshan Kriya to his patients & practices himself. When did you get associated with Art of Living and how? I was introduced to Art of Living by my wife. I learnt Sudarshan Kriya in 1997 when I was in Hyderabad though my moorings in spirituality were laid by my father. He was Principal of an Engineering College in Orissa. I was exposed to different facets of Indian philosophy and spirituality as my father used to organise different spiritual talks in college. As a result I could learn different techniques of Kriya How did it benefit you? Sudarshan Kriya is very different from other techniques. It is fully packed with bodily movement, Pranayama and meditation. In medical profession there is a term called hyperventillation. This is beyond hyperventilation. You can experience What Energy is and vibrations are. Meditation after Sudarshan Kriya is amazing, it happens without any effort. I feel I can explore myself and reach the state of ultimate with this to...

Ayurveda is made up of 2 words Ayu and Veda where Ayu-life and Veda- science. So, Ayurveda is science of life. Aim of Ayurveda is to enable every human to live happy and healthy life and same is of Sudarshan kriya that is to bring smile on everyone's face.  Sudarshan kriya is a controlled breathing technique that connects our body, breath and mind.  It detoxifies body from cellular level thus increases our immunity and make us stress free.   According to Ayurveda when one's immunity (oja) is low, person feels lack of energy, get exhausted without doing anything, has no interest and confidence to do any task and has fear without reason. After practicing Sudarshan kriya, all these problems get solved and it is due to increase in immunity as shown by various reasearch. Ayurveda is based on loka purusha siddhanta which explains that what is present in Loka(universe) in gross form is present in Purusha (living creatures) in subtle form. For example Our universe is governe...

This week we've been studying natural non-caloric sweeteners. In line with this study, let's meet the Miracle Fruit plant (Synsepalum dulcificum) that produces berries with a taste altering compound called ' miraculin'. Synsepalum dulcificum is a shrub from the Sapotaceae family, native to tropical Africa. It is known for its berry (known as miracle fruit or miracle berry). The berry itself has a low sugar content and a mildly sweet taste. It contains a glycoprotein molecule ( miraculin). When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue's taste buds, causing sour foods (like lemon or lime) to taste sweet. The effect lasts for about an hour, until the protein is washed away by saliva  🌷THE PLANT Synsepalum dulcificum is a slow growing, perennial bush that grows up to 4-6 m high. Its simple leaves are clustered at the ends of branches and have smooth margins. The small flowers ar...