Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

🌹PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS🌹                          🌀CHAPTER - 9🌀 ~ Eliminating The Cause Of Pain ~                 🌀DAY - 74🌀 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 " द्रष्टा दृशिमात्रः शुद्धोऽपि प्रत्ययानुपश्यः " " Drishtaa drishi maatrah shuddho api pratyaya anupashyah. " The Self, though it is ever pure and unstained, is just a witness. However, when it becomes one with the buddhi, the intellect, then it gets coloured. It seems coloured. It seems just like somebody who, stuck in their own intellect, continues to be with their thoughts and ideas, as though they are their own. They suffer a lot as a result of this. The Self is the center of the whole creation. The next sutra says, " तदथॅ एव दृश्यस्यात्मा " " Tadartha eva drishyasyaatma. "  Though this world does not exist for the one who is realized and enlightened the way it does for the enlightened, it continues to exist with...

🌹PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS🌹                          🌀CHAPTER - 9🌀 ~ Eliminating The Cause Of Pain ~                 🌀DAY - 73🌀 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 " प्रकाशक्रियास्थितिशीलं भूतेन्द्रियात्मकं भोगापवगाॅथॅ द्रृश्यम् "  " Prakaasha kriya sthitisheelam bhootendriyaatmakam bhoga apavargaartha drishyam " The world which is seen is illuminated. Each thing gives you a message. It gives you an idea of how great the consciousnesses is. Every aspect in this world is an expression of consciousness and everything is active. प्रकाश means manifesting. Everything has manifested out of consciousness. क्रिया - everything in this universe is dynamic. They are not static. Flowers come up. Mountains appear to be static but they are not. They are all dynamic. Every atom in this universe is dynamic. स्थिति means everything undergoes certain stages of evolution. Everything has a stage, ...

🌹PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS🌹                          🌀CHAPTER - 9🌀 ~ Eliminating The Cause Of Pain ~                 🌀DAY - 72🌀 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 " हेयं दुःखमनागतम् "  " Heyam dukham anaagatam " The root cause of pain needs to be eliminated. That pain which has not yet come in life and that sorrow which has not yet sprouted should be nipped right in the beginning. How do we do that? " द्रश्टद्रृश्योः संयोगो हेयहेतुः "  "Drashta drishyayoh sanyogo heyahetuh" The main cause of pain is forgetting that one's Self is separate from one's environment. The Self, the seer and the seen - lack of perception of the Self and the objects that are all around the Self. You think of yourself as you. Then the problems begin. Usually, we keep our life somewhere else and not in us. There was a story in the olden days. The life of the king was in a parrot. So, if this parrot ...

🌹PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS🌹                          🌀CHAPTER - 9🌀 ~ Eliminating The Cause Of Pain ~                 🌀DAY - 71🌀 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 The soul is not satisfied with the physical body coming close. It wants something more. It wants to merge. It wants to vanish and disappear. This is what is called love. In love, there are two expressions - the first is that one wants to disappear into the other, and the other is that one wants to eat the other so that he/she disappears. These are the two expressions that lovers say to each other. They do not know why they are saying. They are not cannibals! Does love make you a cannibal! Really, if that was possible, each one would do it, literally - gulp down their boyfriends or girlfriends. Then, there would be no more worry. They would not have to be bothered about who they are looking at and where they are going. Oth...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 25🌿          ~ Acting Spontaneously ~                   🌱 Day - 140 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 कुत्रापि खेदः कायस्य जिह्वा कुत्रापि खिद्यते । मनः कुत्रापि तत्त्यक्तवा पुरूषार्थे स्थितः सुखम् ॥ कृतं किमपि नैव स्यादिति सञ्चिन्त्य तत्त्वतः । यदा यत् कर्तुमायाति तत्कृत्वासे यथासुखम् ॥ कर्मनैष्कर्म्यनिर्बन्धभावा देहस्थयोगिनः । संयोगायोगविरहादहमासे यथासुखम् ॥ Three factors cause us disturbance: our own mind, the words we hear from others and any little imbalance or discomfort in the body. Discomfort in the body, discomfort from hearing words from some mouths and discomfort from the state of one's own mind. These three instruments of ours (body, words or speech, and mind), are with us for a definite purpose. What is that purpose? This body has its demands, its n...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 24🌿         ~ The Secret Of Mistakes ~                   🌱 Day - 139 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 The awareness about one Self, the world and the Divinity is possible only through the light of this knowledge. We will not see any bad intentions in anyone telling us about some 'mistakes'. They would be expressing what they had seen and what they feel should be improved. We should go ahead and improve what needs to be improved. Thereby, we respect others' feelings. Now suppose, someone came to see you and you slammed the door in their face. You slammed the door because mosquitoes were coming in, but the person felt that you slammed the door in their face! Do you see the difference in level of perception in different levels or consciousness in different people? Now, ...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 24🌿         ~ The Secret Of Mistakes ~                   🌱 Day - 138 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 There is a proverb in Hindi. Ek hi saadhe sab sadhe, sab saadhe sab jaye. It points out that if you do one thing you will achieve perfection and everything will come to you; follow you. But if you try to do everything, they will go away from you. If you do one thing - perfection in the being - then everything else gets perfected. If you bring perfection in your love, in your service, in your being, then everything will come to you. You may know nothing about civil engineering or architecture, but you will be able to give guidance to very experienced civil engineers. You may know nothing about cooking, but you will be able to create recipes that will amaze, and be app...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 24🌿         ~ The Secret Of Mistakes ~                   🌱 Day - 137 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 A person was very nervous to drive me on a snowy day in the USA. It was that person's turn to take me to the lecture hall. I sat in the car, and that person became so nervous and kept repeating that it was snowing; that he should be very responsible and make sure I reached the hall. He repeated again and again that it was snowing and he should not skid. And that is exactly what happened. The car skidded and went off the road. However, nothing serious happened. There was another car following and they stopped. The person driving the car skidded because the mind constantly on it. But, that was good. Once the car skidded, the person became confident. He was able to say...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 24🌿         ~ The Secret Of Mistakes ~                   🌱 Day - 136 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 And do not go on judging yourself. Be aware of your mistakes, but don't judge yourself and think the mistakes are yours. There is a big difference. It is very delicate, though it makes a big difference. If XYZ made a mistake or you made it, it is the same. Whether someone else or you do it, it is the same! See what you can do to get rid of your mistakes, or what you can do to see that others don't make them. What is the difference you perceive when someone makes a mistake and when you make it? When someone makes a mistake, you feel it is not your mistake. You feel you are separate from that mistake. When a mistake happens, do you feel part of that mistake? It doesn't...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 24🌿         ~ The Secret Of Mistakes ~                   🌱 Day - 135 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 हेयोपादेयविरहादेवं हर्षविषादयोः । अभावादद्य हे ब्रह्मन्नेवमेवाहमास्थितः ॥ आश्रमानाश्रमं ध्यानं चित्तस्वीकृतवर्जनम् । विक्लपं मम वीक्ष्यैतैरेवमेवाहमास्थितः ॥ कर्मानुष्ठानमज्ञानाद्यथैवोपरमस्तथा । बुध्वा सम्यगिदं तत्तवमेवमेवाहमास्थितः ॥ अचिन्त्यं चिन्त्यमानोऽपि चिन्तारूपं भजत्यसौ । त्यक्तवा तद्भावनं तस्मादेवमेवाहमास्थितः ॥ एवमेव कृतं येन स कृतार्थो भवेदसौ । एवमेव स्वभावो यः स कृतार्थो भवेदसौ ॥ Your concept that things should be in a certain way, causes pain in your mind. Set concepts in the mind are the cause of distress. And nature loves to give you surprises. God loves fun! He always gives you surprises; sometimes pleasant, sometimes unpleasant! You grow because of bo...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 23🌿       ~ Stepping Into The Big Mind ~                   🌱 Day - 134 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 Someone asked Buddha why he still meditated if he was enlightened. Why did he need to meditate if he has realized God? Buddha smiled and said that he was not doing anything but it was happening. And whatever happened there would happen in so many other minds, too. So many things were happening in every mind. Therefore, he was tasting them all and meditating. That was why Jesus had said that he has died for your sins. It means that if you sin, it destroys something inside Jesus. So it is said that it is better not to sin, because your sin puts something into that Infinite Consciousness that you are part of and which you are not away from. Jesus died for your sins. On one...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 23🌿       ~ Stepping Into The Big Mind ~                   🌱 Day - 133 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 समाध्यासादिविक्षिप्तौ व्यवहारः समाधये । एवं विलोक्य नियममेवमेवाहमास्थितः ॥ Know that the pinch of disturbance in your mind is the cause of the sum total of anything in the world. An enlightened person is more sensitive, and can feel another person's pain when passing by (and even if he doesn't pass by). When Jesus walked and saw somebody suffering, not only did that person suffer but the Jesus also suffered along with him. Everyone's pain is the pain of God. Everyone's joy is the joy of God. That is why we sing, 'Jo dhyave phal pave, dukh vinshe man ka, sukh sampatti ghar aave, kashta mite tan ka, Om Jai Jagdish Hare. Bhakta jano ke sankat kshan mein dur karein, Om Jai...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 23🌿       ~ Stepping Into The Big Mind ~                   🌱 Day - 132 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 The Divine also feels a pinch if the children are not happy. So the best puja, the best form of worship, is to be happy and grateful. But, if you are not happy (despite your intention to be happy), how do you overcome that? Dance, sing, meditate, and dissolve. The mind settles down if you do these instead of encouraging on your sadness. You are adding manure to the seed of sadness that has arisen in you by blaming yourself. Or, you may think that the others are bad. Then you are adding manure that will make the anger grow in you. When the others are bad towards you, you are angry. And when you are bad, you are sad. Go deep into that sadness, and you will see that it is ...

💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐         🌺 ASHTAVAKRA GITA🌺                      🌿Chapter - 23🌿       ~ Stepping Into The Big Mind ~                   🌱 Day - 131 🌱 💐☘🌾☘🍀🍁🍀☘🌾☘💐 Life begins when we step out of the mind. We step out of the small mind through samadhi. There are several kinds of samadhi. Samadhi is silence in the mind through meditation, singing, dancing, intoxicated devotion, and through hundred percent effort in any activity. These are all different flavours of samadhi, and all are present in our very nature just as the ability to sit still, walk straight, jump up and down, dance, lie down and sleep like a rock. When the mind is disturbed, it can be calmed down back into samadhi through these means. When people are worried and tense, they go to a bar and drink. If they go to satsangs and dance, that intoxication can take away al...

I would like to share one of my experiences with Guruji. On the 13th of May, 2011, Guruji was in the Bangalore Ashram for his birthday celebrations. We all knew in advance that he was to celebrate this grand day in the Ashram that year. Like every other devotee, it was my wish also to be a part of the celebrations and get the opportunity of meeting him that day. So I had planned to go to Bangalore on the 12th in order to attend the birthday and get Gurujis Darshan .But a few days later, closer to the date, I realised that I would not be able to make it and would have to stay back in Bombay due to certain personal reasons. So basically I had to cancel my entire plan of meeting Guruji on his birthday because of which I was extremely upset as I really wanted to be there. Guruji was supposed to meet each and every devotee one to one on his birthday and I was not going to be there. But little did I know that he was not going to let me remain upset for long as on the night of His...

Question - Gurudev, do you believe in evil? Gurudev Sri Sri - I don't believe in evil but I know that evil is the shadow of lack of goodness. It is an absence of goodness, absence of love, and absence of light. In India we believe in six types of evil - pride, greed, arrogance, jealously, anger and lust. Any of these distortions of love, or lack of knowledge, lack of wisdom can destroy one's life.

*Guru Gyan:* _(Shiv Sutra_6.8)_ अगला सूत्र है चित्तं मंत्रः। जिसको कहने से मन तर जाता है वह मंत्र है। जिसके सहारे मन छोटापन छोड़के बढप्पन मे आ जाता है...वह मंत्र है। जिसके कहने से इच्छाएं मे रहनेवाला मन तृप्ति की ओर बढ़ जाता है। मन मे इच्छाएं घूमती रहती है....इच्छा, राग, द्वेष चित्त बन जाता है। चिंता से, महत्वकांक्षा से भरा हुवा चित्त दुःख के ओर ले जाता है। ऐसा चित्त तारता नहीं है....टूटता रहता है। ऐसे चित्त को तारने के लिए जो युक्ति है वह है मंत्र। एक मंत्र माने उस मंत्र पूरा लक्षण, स्वभाव तुम्हारे चेतना मे है ....जैसे एक वृक्ष का पूरा सार एक बीज मे है। एक बीज का अर्थ है पूरा वृक्ष....वैसे ही एक मंत्र का अर्थ है पूरा जीवन। तुम्हारे सारे जीवनी शक्ति का एक शब्द मे अगर कहना चाहते हो तो उसी को कहते है मंत्र। मंत्र किसी का नाम नहीं है इसीलिए इसको बीज कहते है....तुम्हारे कामना, इच्छाओं का, तुम्हारे गंतव्य का, तुम्हारे लक्ष्य का बीज। तुम्हारे लक्ष्य को अभी आप देखना चाहोगे, एक वृक्ष का को देखना चाहोगे ....तो वह बीज है। बीज का अंत वृक्ष मे है ....वैसे ही जीवन का, चित्त का अंत मंत्र ...

Chapter 5 - Rest Within  Day 35 The happiness of samadhi radiates waves of joy to the world. It can be interpreted in many ways and seen from different points of view. Those who are realised and those who aim for realisation might have their own view. From the point of view of the siddha, once you enjoy samadhi, the whole world is filled with happiness. When you are happy in samadhi, the happiness is not restricted to you, but spreads all around you. Something is wrong if you think that you are in samadhi while the people around you are unhappy. That cannot be samadhi. The sign of samadhi is that all should be happy. You cannot hide light if it is shining. Its rays travel in all directions. If it does not spread, it is not light. If there is no happiness in the place around you, you cannot be in samadhi at all.  Even if one person achieves samadhi, its effects radiate out to the world, creating happiness for people nearby. The effect when thousands of people enter ...

Question - Gurudev, is Mantra chanting good for our mind? If yes, is it good to continuously keep chanting mantras? Please guide Gurudev @SriSriRaviShankar ji - Definitely it helps! But we should not keep chanting continuously, this is not correct. Do you keep bathing continuously? When you chant the mantra for some time, your mind will become stronger. That is why it called mantra. We can do it for 20 - 30 minutes. If you keep doing it continuously, your intellect will become dull. We should not do it too much. If you stay a lot in water, you will become a fish (laughter). That is why it is referred as mantra-snaan (bath). If someone keeps listening to music, his intellect will stop working. Similarly, someone who keeps doing math and never listens to music, his personality will also be unbalanced. These things are there to balance our left brain and right brain. We should look it from a scientific perspective. From a scientific perspective, we should listen to in music fo...

Question - Gurudev, you always say that the breath is so powerful. How does it work in connecting us to the subtle dimension? Gurudev @SriSriRaviShankar Ji - My dear, in the subtle you are already connected. The breath only makes you realize that you are connected. Your mind is always outside and it does not come back to itself, so the breath is the first step in bringing the outgoing mind inward. It is the doorway or the pathway, and meditation keeps the mind in the inner chamber.

Question:How to cope with children’s expectations when they compare themselves with others and demand the things that others have?  GurudevSri Sri Ravi Shankar ji:  You have to tell children that you can only give them this much and they shouldn’t compare themselves with others. It is important that you don’t give them any false hope. At the same time, we can give them a dream. If you pass or do this, maybe you will get it. Here lies the importance of bringing them up with that sensitivity and belongingness. That is why I say, make your children participate in your life instead of teaching them, then they will not even ask you. They should be a participant in your life, then they will be sensitive towards you, rather than putting a demand on you. Before you become a good father or mother, you need to become a good uncle or aunt. You should communicate more with the friends of your children. They will listen to you. Suppose, if your son or daughter’s friends have an...

Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Family - Malvaceae Common name - Roselle, kaurah saag. Medicinal uses - 🌾The leaves are used externally as a poultice on abscesses, sores and ulcers. 🌾The juice is used as a treatment for conjunctivitis. 🌾H. sabdariffa is used for the treatment of high blood pressure, liver diseases and fevers. 🌾In large amounts, hibiscus tea acts as a mild laxative.  Sugimani Marndi (Biodiversity and Conservation Lab., Ambika Prasad Research Foundation, Bhubaneswar, India.) www.aprf.co.in

Alangium salviifolium (L.f.) Wangerin Family : Cornaceae (Alangiaceae) Common name : Sage leaved Alangium, ankula(odia). (Photo credit - Rajkumari Supriya) Medicinal uses - 🌿Leaves are used to cure asthma, diebaties. 🌿The roots and the fruits are used for the treatment of rheumatism, burning sensation, haemorrhages, hemorrhoid externally. 🌿Seeds are used in hemorrhages, leprosy, skin disease and arthritic. 🌿 The twigs are used for brushing the teeth in India. Sugimani Marndi (Biodiversiry & Conservation lab., Ambika Prasad Research Foundation, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.) www.aprf.co.in

Aspidopterys indica (Willd.) W.Theob. Family : Malpighiaceae (Photo credit - Rajkumari Supriya) Medicinal uses - 🌳Whole plant is used in the treatment of skin diseases. Sugimani Marndi (Biodiversiry & Conservation lab., Ambika Prasad Research Foundation, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.) www.aprf.co.in