Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

I had a beautiful experience during Mahashivratri 2020 at Bangalore Ashram!   I was having a very rough time in my personal life and was even losing faith in Art of Living, even though I have been associated since 2013. I am doing PhD from IIT Delhi and University of Queensland (Australia) so work pressure and high expectations from professors and peers was a challenge and due to it I even left doing kriya in between thinking I didn’t have the time, which is never the case. But somehow I regained little faith back after doing 3 days Padmasadhana and went to Bangalore ashram during Shivaratri. I had bought a gift for Gurudev (a very beautiful, expensive one) whole heartedly and thought to myself whether He will even take it or not, whether I will be able to reach Him in the Darshan line or not. But when I sat in the amphitheater, after going in “bhaav” (devotion) He sent Swami Purnachaitanya (who has been my mentor in personal life) straight to me and he said “Gurudev ha...

Question - Gurudev, when I look around, I see only misery, hate, anger, greed and meaningless violence. How do I know that there is a higher power around me? Gurudev Sri Sri - See, the nature of our mind is when we see misery we magnify it. If ten complements are given to you and one insult is given to you, what you usually do is, you catch hold of that one insult and blow it out of proportion. My dear, I would like to tell you, there are a lot of good things also happening in the society. There is lot of service happening. There are a lot of good intended people around, and if you look into the eyes of these people, you will feel that there is compassion and love in most people's hearts and minds. I agree there is hate, anger and greed. This is because we have not been able to educate them in human values.

Question - Gurudev, how does one cultivate maturity in life? Gurudev Sri Sri - Perception, observation and expression - these three things can bring you maturity. The way you perceive things and observe things all around you. Wisdom doesn't need time at all. You don't need to become old to become mature. You simply need observation, of not just yourself but also of the lives of those around you.

Question - Gurudev, different people have different notions of spirituality. Some think it is escapism, others think it is torturing oneself. What is spirituality according to you? Gurudev Sri Sri - Anything that uplifts the human spirit is spirituality. Anything that brings you peace, joy, love, comfort and motivates you to do service in society is spirituality. We are made up of both matter and spirit. Our body is made up of Amino acids, carbohydrate, protein and all that stuff. Our spirit is made up of love, compassion, generosity, intelligence, all these values. So spirituality is not just sitting and doing something. It is something that invokes, that builds character in you.

Question - Gurudev, how to get close to and help people we love who are closed down, and who have built barriers around themselves? Gurudev Sri Sri - With patience and perseverance. You know, people who have built barriers around them are somewhere insecure inside. They have some prejudice and insecurity. And these are the two important things in society that we need to attend to: prejudice against culture, against gender, and against class. Some people think a particular class of people are all bad. This sort of prejudice and stress and tension in the mindset of people must be attended to. And this we can do only with patience and perseverance.

Question - Gurudev, hearing so many incidences about Godmen, my faith is shaken. How do I know if a saint is authentic? Gurudev Sri Sri - It is a very genuine question that you have. There are people who bring disgrace to their field, and this happens in almost every field. Whether it is a medical doctor, a politician, a spiritual leader or a businessman. There are people who are not genuine. They are not doing what they are supposed to do. But we should not take this to heart and put everyone in the same basket. There are so many good people who are working for the betterment of the society today. So we should not create a prejudice within us. There are people who do not follow the code of conduct of the field they are in, we simply have to pity them, that's all.

Question : Gurudev, What makes one a good life partner? Question - Gurudev, what attributes to look for in a good life partner? Gurudev Sri Sri - I have no idea, or experience. You should ask people who have been successful in finding a good life partner. Maybe you can try this one idea, whomsoever you choose as your life partner, contribute towards their life, and don't demand anything. The moment you start demanding, you become miserable. If you demand from your husband (or wife), that he (or she) should do this, one day or the other, it will make you miserable. The second biggest problem will be your in-laws. Whatever you do, they will not be very pleased and they will comment on it and you will get upset. This you should stop. Win them over with your service and your love. When a daughter-in-law comes, if she is very loving, within the first six months she will win the hearts of the family. This skill you must learn: how to win the hearts of the people. Go with a sense of seva,...

Question - Gurudev, I am a businessman and I want to know how you exported your product to so many countries? Gurudev Sri Sri - The product speaks for itself. When something is so good and effective and it brings peace and joy in one's life, then intelligent people take to it. I have not made any effort to promote something. All this just kept happening on its own. For the first ten years, it was just word of mouth. And then of course, we had many other books and printed material. Many people came up and they wanted to teach in their country, and so it happened.

Question - Gurudev, can you please explain to me what grace means? Gurudev Sri Sri - That is something which cannot be explained. When you feel that you have received something which is beyond your ability, beyond your capacity, then you say that it is a gift. Grace simply means gift. That is closest you can get. By the Grace of God means, I was not worthy of it but he still gave me. That is why you say it is grace. In school you say grace marks. The teacher gets pleased and gives you some more marks, which you are not really qualified to get, but they give it to you out of love for you. Something that is given to you out of love and feeling for you, though you are not worthy of it, perhaps could be called grace. When I think, 'I deserve this', then I demand. Then it is the giver's duty to give me. Grace is always accompanied with gratefulness. When you get what you deserve, you are not grateful for it. But when you are given something which you don't deserve, then you ...

Question - Gurudev, how do we impart this beautiful knowledge by you to our children? Gurudev Sri Sri - It is simple. You can give this knowledge to children by living the knowledge. Because this is how children learn. If we fight at home, then children also learn that and it becomes normal for them to fight because this is what they have seen their parents also do. So these samskaras (tendencies) start coming to children from the womb itself. When we live our life in a particular way from conception itself then those samskaras get into them automatically.

Question - Gurudev, could you please guide me on the path of what I need rather than the path of what I want? Gurudev Sri Sri - You should simply believe that whatever you need will surely be provided to you. And you should chase the laziness out of your life. These are two things that you need to do. If you are lazy and say, 'What I need will be provided', that is not right. And if you are afraid of not getting what you need, that also is no good. So, you should not be lazy and you should have the faith that what you need will come to you.

Question - Gurudev, my wife always complains that I do not tell her 'I love you'. But it is not in my nature to express love through words. Is it necessary to express love? Gurudev Sri Sri - See, there are different ways of saying and expressing love. Just find a way that suits you and say it. If you cannot say it in words, then express it by making some hand gestures. Or you can write it and give it to her. If you are away, in another place, you can send her a SMS. Nowadays you do not even have to write complete words in the SMS. Just sending those smileys and emoticons does the job. So just send those to her, one in the morning, then one in the afternoon and one in the evening. See, it is our duty to try and keep everyone happy. Whether they choose to be happy or not is up to them. Some people will not believe it, even if you express. After receiving your SMS they will ask, 'Do you really mean what you sent?' They might even ask you this. The mind is really very myste...

Question - Gurudev, what is the best way to approach in solving a problem? Gurudev Sri Sri - Whenever there is a problem, we either deny it saying there is no problem or we sit to solve the problem and make it a big issue. Neither of these help. A problem does not disappear when you deny it. And it does not get solved when you sit to solve it. The five steps to solve a problem are :  1. Acknowledge the problem - it is there.  2. See it as a small problem, and do not say it is big.  3. If it concerns people, keep in touch with them instead of avoiding them.  4. Talk less and give time a chance.  5. Get together and celebrate. When you celebrate and put the problem on the back burner, you will see that the problem gets solved in time. So it is wise not to sit to solve a problem. Most of the meetings to solve problems end up in disaster. If you do not have any problem, you will create problems for others (laughter) If you have a small problem in your pocket to solv...

Question - Gurudev, what is Kundalini Shakti? What happens when it rises during Hollow and Empty meditations? Gurudev Sri Sri - Kunda means pot, kundalini means energy in the pot. The body is like a pot. When the energy in the body rises up, it has many manifestations. All different emotions are just manifestations of one beautiful energy. It is one energy that manifests in different regions of the body. At the bottom of the spine, it is inertia or enthusiasm. When it moves up, it is creative or procreative energy (sex drive). When it moves up, then the energy manifests as joy, generosity or greed or jealousy. As it goes up to the heart region, it manifest as love, fear or hatred. Then in the throat, the energy manifests as grief or gratefulness, and so on.

Question - Gurudev, what is the meaning of Sankhya Yoga? Gurudev Sri Sri - Sankhya Yoga is to wake up and see that all this does not exist. There is only One, and everything works through that. See that even thoughts are nothing, everything is just vibrations. Sankhya Yoga means the soul is eternal. Knowing that there is an element in me, which does not perish, diminish, or age. Relax knowing that I am not the body. Just knowing this, and relaxing within the self is called Sankhya Yoga.

Question - Gurudev, medical science says that all the cells in the body are replaced within 1 year. Then why do cells with diseases remain unchanged? Gurudev Sri Sri - Because the memory is stuck to the cells, if the memory changes these cells also change. This happens with pranayam, meditation and yoga. Medicine and knowledge bring changes. Sometimes mind clings to the events of the past, this impacts the cells of the body. With a change of mindset the body also changes.

Question - Gurudev, I have noticed that in some of the guided meditations you have taken, you asked us to keep our eyes open by just 5-10%? What is the benefit of doing this? Moreover, in many statues and idols of Lord Buddha, He is often depicted with His eyes half-closed. Please tell us something about this. Gurudev Sri Sri - When we close our eyes, we drift into the world of our mind, our thoughts and emotions - which is called the Manorajya (literally meaning the kingdom of the mind). When our eyes are open, we are engaged in the outside world. So when you close your eyes only partially, then the mind neither gets stuck in the inner world of thoughts and emotions, nor does it get entangled in the outside world. Then the mind slowly settles down and comes to a state of rest. This is a very beneficial technique for those who close their eyes and drift off into the world of dreams. It is like a siddhaushadhi (a perfect medicine).

Question - Gurudev, some people promote that there is a connection between Lord Shiva and the Rudraksha beads (seeds of a tree used as prayer beads). I came across different types of Rudraksha which have many faces like one face, two face, twelve face and so on. What is the meaning of them? Is wearing them going to help us get Enlightenment? Gurudev Sri Sri - You don’t worry about the different shapes of Rudraksha. It’s just a marketing technique used by those who sell Rudrakshas. The single sided Rudraksha bead is just bigger than the double sided one. The important thing is that you should be Ek mukhi (one pointed in devotion). Never mind whether the Rudraksha you wear has one, or ten, or fifteen faces. I don’t attach much significance to this and I don’t want you to attach also. If Rudraksha is good and it does something good for your physiology, then that is enough. If you feel like wearing it, wear it, otherwise it doesn’t matter if you don’t. Rudrakshas are not a matter of life a...

Question - Gurudev, Ram took birth to destroy Ravana, Krishna took birth to destroy Kamsa, Ayyappa took birth to destroy Mahishi, Bhima took birth to destroy Keejakkan. Which demon are you going to destroy? Gurudev Sri Sri - Ignorance, corruption, dishonesty, cunningness, these are the things that clog society today. We don't need to make an effort to destroy it, just spread the knowledge. Spread the light and the darkness will disappear. There are two things : one is, trying to get rid of darkness, here your attention is on darkness. But if you turn towards light and say you would like to light more lights, then darkness automatically goes away. This is what we need to do. Take a positive attitude. People often say their religion is in danger. They create this fear psychosis. This alarm bell propels people to take some action and those actions are never so palatable. Actions induced through fear can only cause bitterness, but actions which are positive in attitude will bring happi...

Question - Gurudev, why is it that I find pleasure in misery, and an unwillingness in my mind to let go of it? Gurudev Sri Sri - This is my question to you. It is not normal to find pleasure in misery. It does not reflect a verv normal state of mind. and it is not healthy. It is not difficult to overcome this. Do not think that it is difficult to get rid of this state.

Question - Gurudev, sometimes, even after doing one's sadhana and practices, the chattering mind does not stop. How to make it stop? How to be at peace? Gurudev Sri Sri - Dispassion (vairagya) is the only way to make the mind stop chattering. Just realise that everything is a dream. It will all soon come to an end. You know, the chattering (of the mind) is always with regards to a subject, a topic, or with a want. Worries and wants are responsible for the chattering of the mind. Drop your worries and your wants, that is what is called vairagya.

Chapter 4 - Glorify The Divine Day 28 Obsession with sex, food, clothes or music, television or sightseeing, or anything, will only drain you of your precious energy. Are you getting what I am saying? Thinking about it constantly obsession is not letting go, is coming back to the source. This is one method.  See, the objects of senses create an attraction in you, and if you immediately gallop on your attractions, that attraction does not bring fulfillment, it dies out and leaves you in a state of inertia. Any one sense, if you use it too much, will only cause inertia, dullness.  If you are listening to music from morning to night, your brain will become one sided-only your left brain will function, the right brain will not function. You cannot think, logic dies out. You cannot perceive things properly. Your observation, your expression, everything suffers.  And it is the same way with all other senses. If you are using any one sense too much, that particular s...

Chapter 4 - Glorify The Divine Day 27 Once Mullah Naseruddin was galloping on his horse. He looked exhausted, tired. He couldn't even sit. He was lying flat on the back of the horse, hanging on to the horse. His face looked so dull and tired, his eyeballs rolling up.  The horse was moving around and around the same streets in the village. People asked, “Hey, Mullah, where are you going?” He said, “I haven't the least idea. Please ask the horse.” Our senses take us on such a gallop-we have no idea where we are going, what we are doing, what we want.  I had a friend in school. He would turn the radio on and he would not listen to any station for even one minute. He would keep tuning, keep searching, moving from one station to another station, not even two sentences of a song would he listen to he was So restless, he just could not keep from fiddling.  Similarly, we eat and we go on eating and eating. When you are asked what you ate, you don’t even know what you ...

Kasthuri Manjal It is well known for its cosmetic and medical wellness.Kasthuri Manjal has been used as natural beauty product since ages. Did you ever wonder that what in you can attract someone? What is that you need to have so that you may stand out of the crowd? What is that one thing that can win you an opportunity? May it be a good job or a good impression or the attention of that special someone. Well, I don’t know whether you are aware of it but yes, I am talking about that flawless skin. That skin which you cannot leave behind or change unless you put some real efforts to it. If you have an exceptionally flawless skin, you are bound to look gorgeous, which means that you will automatically attract people towards yourself. But in this hectic schedule, we fail to keep up with the changing climate, the pollution, and the harsh sun. Due to which we gradually lose that dream skin. But this can be brought back. Did you ever think of how a small consistent daily act of yo...