Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Question - Gurudev, If we study law, there is a guarantee of becoming a lawyer. If we study engineering, there is a guarantee of becoming an engineer if we put in our efforts. However, there is no guarantee of getting liberation if we keep doing our Sadhana and keep walking this path. How do I be motivated to walk the spiritual path even after knowing this? Gurudev - It is definitely guaranteed. Arjuna asks the same question in the Bhagavad Gita. So, Lord Krishna replies, ‘Nikhikalyanat karat kadastam tatta gakhti' (na hi kalyāṇa-kṛit kaśhchid durgatiṁ tāta gachchhati in chapter 6, verse 40 of Bhagavad Gita), which means one who does good deeds, they never go down. He can never suffer pain, neither in this world nor in any other world. You will always rise to higher levels of existence. You will be born in a good wealthy family, and due to the memories of your old life, you will start with that, where you left off. So do not worry. Your actions and meditation will never go away. Fo...

Light cannot be heard through the ears, It has to be seen through the eyes. Sound cannot be seen through the eyes, It has to be heard through the ears. Likewise, the presence had to be felt, by the heart. God is not an object of senses, but the feeling of feelings, the presence of presence and the sound of silence. Light of light, essence of the world, and the taste of bliss. Our human life is enriched only when we can live this sixth sense of existence, of feeling.

Question - Gurudev, Why is it necessary for us to spread the knowledge of The Art of Living in the world ? Gurudev Sri Sri - We have to spread this knowledge of life to every doorstep and you all have to work for that. People know how to operate mobile phones but they don't know how to manage their own life, mind. We need to bring this education to every nook and corner of the planet - 'How to be happy and make others happy.' 'How to live and let others live in peace.' This education is needed. We need to spread the Art of Living. This knowledge helps us in moving through challenges with a smile, sharing happiness with others, feeling one with everyone and this is the Art of Living. The goal of Art of Living is about having a perfect balance in life. Both inner richness and outer beauty. Don't you want this? Knowledge is ancient and eternal but the presentation of knowledge and reach of knowledge needs an organisation and that’s what the Art of Living movement i...

Question: Guruji, what is the most important knowledge that one should remember when going through difficult times?  Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: If you have a problem in life, do not blame others because it is your karma that brings you these bad experiences. A good seeker or student understands this and does not complain. If the situation you are in is inevitable, tolerate. If it's avoidable, get out of there. If you feel like you can expand your skills, smile. Every uncomfortable situation increases your comfort zone. Every awkward situation is a test of how deep you are in knowledge. Love something of an awkward situation. This will increase your comfort zone. When your comfort zone increases, nobody will be able to press your buttons and you will become so focused and unbreakable. Every pain is trying to shake you, to see if you are strong or not. It is to make you stronger. What happened, had to happen, do not sit down and think that you could have done this or that, it is u...

Question: What is the importance of chanting mantras? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When someone abuses you verbally, how do you feel?  If someone says that you are a donkey, how do you feel? What does it do to you? What does it create? Anger! It shakes you. It creates some negative vibrations; you feel angry. You feel some sensations in the stomach, the head.  If a bad word can create so much physiological reactions in you, do you think a very sweet name, a chanting, which includes a lot of energy of the cosmos, does not do anything to your body?  It is unscientific and stupid to think that a mantra does not do anything to your body. That is not the case! It does.  Mantras bring out all the positive energy inside you. It is called mantra kavach; a mantra creates an armor around your body.

Question: Gurudev, Do you have any special suggestions for us to progress faster on the spiritual path? Gurudev: I would like to take you into deeper knowledge soon. We will go into deeper knowledge, but for that the first thing you need to do is be satisfied. See, in the world there is no end to problems. Some or the other problems keep coming up, either financial, or health related, or relationship related problems. And if none of these are there, there is the problem of someone saying something to you and you feeling upset about it. The mind keeps getting caught up in problems. You should rise above this, and understand that the nature of the world is like that. See, if you have a home which is near the highway, how can you complain about noise? Similarly, if someone has a home in the forest and they are afraid of animals, then what can you say? If someone has a home near the ocean, and they are afraid of water, what can be said to them? Similarly, when you are in the world, there w...

Question - Gurudev, how to let go of people who are no more in our life? Sri Sri - Expand your vision about yourself, about life and about this universe. This universe has been there for at least 19 billion years, and it is part of billions of galaxies. One amongst the billion galaxies is our Milky Way. So the Milky Way is actually very small. In the Milky Way, we have our solar system, which is the size of a dot in the Milk Way, and in that, there is our planet Earth, and in that there is you! One would have to take a lens to see you, and by the time they get to see you, you’re already gone (referring to the magnanimity of the universe in comparison with our existence). What is your life in comparison to the creation? In this multi-verse, planet Earth is so insignificant, and you are even more insignificant. Another factor is time. In so many billions of years, billions of people have walked this planet. There are seven billion people on this planet today, and many are being born ever...

Question - Gurudev, I get doubts in almost every aspect of life. My confidence gets low due to it. Please suggest what I can do to fix this problem. Gurudev Sri Sri - That is not my job. My job is to create more doubts. Doubts are like baking soda, it bakes you well, so get baked! Once, I was in Sweden, I was in a Satsang and there was this journalist who came and stood in front of me and said, ‘Gurudev, you beat around the bush, sometimes you never answer questions directly. I am asking you a straight question now. You should answer me otherwise I am not going to leave you’. I said, ‘Okay.’ ‘Are you enlightened?’ He asked. I looked at him, smiled, and said, ‘No.’ Why to take the headache of proving? When you say no, matter is finished. The conversation ends. Full stop! Nobody in the past could ever convince anybody, or even tried to convince anybody that they are enlightened. If somebody had said that, then they would run into problems, they might be crucified and put somewhere. So I ...

Creation has an arch and five arrows. These five arrows are made up of five flowers; the five senses and he hits you with the five flowers. It is through these five senses you experience something that is beyond the five senses and deep inside you what gets created is a wave of beauty. It produces a sweet honey inside you. When you experience such a wave, your eyes close, you’re not in form but you dissolve into the formless. You come back to your nature. When you experience something so great, so wonderful, and so beautiful be it music, a fragrance or touch automatically your eyes shut, and you sink into that ocean of beauty.  The power, the energy inside you starts moving in a newer direction. Like in meditation, there is a feeling of elevation; it gives you more energy, long-lasting joy & long-lasting bliss. There is a feeling of elevation. Like in the spring, the entire creation just springs up. The birds sing, trees blossom. Like that, when energy is kindled in y...

When you look at the moon, or a colorful scene, or a waterfall, you say, “Oh, so beautiful”. There is a different sense of beauty. But if you look at something smaller, something you think you can possess, something you can take control over, a friend or a painting, or some other thing, your mind says, “I want to have it.”  In that beauty, there is feverishness, then the innocence dies and beauty doesn’t stay for very long. Why do children look so beautiful? From any country, anywhere on the planet, they are fresh as flowers. It is because their minds are clear like crystals, there is innocence in them.  Everyone appreciates the smile that comes from that innocence. There is beauty in it. You can become innocent only when you go inwards. Beauty is an inner phenomenon. Beauty is not in objects or people, not even in the eyes of the beholder. It lies in the heart of every person. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji,

You will not get water by digging small pits in 10 places around the water. This is a path to sadhana, if you have come to the Art Of Living, just keep walking on this path with complete faith and devotion. The Art Of Living has everything that was in the period of Sri Krishna 5000 years ago from today. Laughter-happiness, silence, knowledge, festival dance everything is here. I promise you to keep walking with full faith on this way. You will get everything; you will not be lacking in your life. The wrapping paper may be very fascinating but the real gift lies inside. Right ? Wake up. Others may judge you by the outer behaviour. Never mind. Drop all the labels. Look at the real inner gift that you carry within you. Unwrap yourself. See yourself beyond the opinions of the people. Be with clarity in mind, purity in heart and sincere actions. I am with you.  Be happy. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji,

When you look at the moon, or a colorful scene, or a waterfall, you say, “Oh, so beautiful!” There is a different sense of beauty.  But if you look at something smaller, something you think you can possess, something you can take control over, a friend or a painting, or some other thing, your mind says, “I want to have it.” In that beauty, there is feverishness; then innocence dies, and beauty doesn’t stay for very long. Why do children look so beautiful? From any country, anywhere on the planet, they are fresh as flowers. It is because their minds are clear like crystals; there is innocence in them. And everyone appreciates the smile that comes from that innocence. There is beauty in it. You can become innocent only when you go inwards. Beauty is an inner phenomenon. Beauty is not in objects or people; not even in the eyes of the beholder. It lies in the heart of every person.

“When a yogi sleeps, everybody is awake. And when everyone is sleeping, a yogi is awake;” this is what Lord Krishna says in Gita. What does it mean? It simply means that, when everyone is excited and worried, the yogi sleeps comfortably. The yogi knows that everything will happen for the best and all happenings will be for the general good. A yogi has this confidence. And when everyone else is sleeping, the yogi is awake, the yogi is aware of the truth about life, when everyone is asleep. “What is my end going to be? Where will I go? What is life? Who am I?’ When none of these questions arise in people’s mind, they are asleep. People are lost in watching movies and playing video games. There are people who are playing video games even at a very old age. Man isn’t seeing that death is near. He does not think, “I have filled my mind with so much craving and aversion. And I have done nothing to wash or cleanse my mind.” If you don’t cleanse your mind of impressions, then you carry the sam...

Nobody expects a good person to make a mistake. So, the better you are as a person, the higher the expectations people have of you. It is then that you lose your freedom. Your virtues and good actions are like a golden cage. You are trapped by your own good actions, for everyone expects more from a good person. Nobody expects anything from a bad person. Honour reduces the freedom. Your fame, honour and virtue can limit your freedom. Most of the people are stuck in this cage of prestige and honor. They cannot smile. They are constantly worried about keeping up their prestige and their honor. It becomes more important than their own lives. Just being good or doing good to keep the prestige and honor is worthless. Prestige and honor can bring more misery in life than poverty. Many desire fame, but little do they know that they are looking for a cage.It is an art to be dignified, yet not suffocated by it. Only the wise would know this. For the wise, it is natural to be in honor, and he is ...

In India, there is a proverb, ‘If God is happy with you, He gives you a lot, and if He is very happy with you, then He gives you a slap also'.   This is because every time God gives you a slap, He turns you away from the material world towards Himself; He wants to draw you to Himself.  Drop everything and look at Him. That is why He gives you the slap because He is too compassionate and too happy with you. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji,

Question - Gurudev, Why do people change their partners (girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse) when they used to love their earlier partner so much? Gurudev - lf you know how to row a boat, you can row any boat. But if you don't know how to row, changing boats isn't going to help. Similarly, changing a relationship does not solve the issue. Sooner or later, you will be in the same situation in any other relationship.  Most people look elsewhere for a perfect relationship, but few look within themselves; at the place from where we relate. What is your relationship with yourself? Who are you to yourself? People think, 'Oh, I'm single. l'm so bored being by myself. I need a companion. I need a relationship: lf you are so bored by your own company, think how much more boring you must be for someone else. And two people bored with themselves getting together, will completely bore each other! If your relationship is based on personal needs, it may not last that long. Once the need...

Expectations are a part of life, expectations are natural. But, when they come up, you should simply become aware that by expecting, you are only reducing joy in your life.When you grow in wisdom, you will see that all these impressions drop of and give way to something bigger and something more beautiful. We simply need to know that surprises give us more joy. You give your 100 percent, do whatever you can, and if somebody expects more, it is their problem, not yours. When people don’t live up to your expectations, you get frustrated, and you blame or curse them. By cursing, you lose your spiritual energy. When you bless, your energy goes up. Your own experience tells you time and time again that expectations reduce your enjoyment of life. Yet, most of us do not even realize; having too many expectations about everything, could be a reason for not being naturally happy. Expectation is just our imagination about how things might be. It prevents the mind from being fully with what is ha...

Meditation helps with uprooting the disturbance or disappointment caused by unfulfilled expectations.When you meditate without any attempt to control your mind, you will sooner or later arrive at the conviction that thoughts, feelings and body sensations are arising and disappearing all by themselves without any volition on your part. Your response to those phenomena is also not directly in your control. For example, in meditation, on some days the mind will drift in a daydream for many minutes without you being aware, whereas other days, you are aware very soon that you are daydreaming. Sometimes, you may be annoyed by your thoughts, but on other days you spontaneously accept them or are even amused by them. Meditation also helps us to ‘let go’ of expectations, by allowing the mind to rest more and more in the present moment.By opening the mind to being more aware through regular meditation, we become more and more fulfilled and calm in the moment. The mind gains the ability to sponta...

Every sincere seeker wants to get rid of anger and reach a state of perfection, but is often swept by his or her emotions. What can you do when anger rises in you? You may remind yourself a hundred times that you shouldn’t get angry, but when it comes, you are unable to control it. Emotions are much more powerful than your thoughts and the promises you make. Anger is a distortion of our true nature. We call it a distortion because it doesn’t allow the self to shine forth fully. And this is what sin is.Anger is a sin because when you are angry, you lose your centeredness; your focus is not on the infinite. You are limiting yourself to the small mind to an action which has happened. Sin is just the wrinkle in the cloth. It needs proper ironing. Anger is a sign of weakness and a weak person can get angry very fast. Often anger comes because you don’t accept the present moment and get stuck in the past. Have you ever observed that all your anger is about something which has already happene...

It’s not just the body and mind but the spirit also celebrates. Then celebration dawns spontaneously and life becomes a vibrant fountain of colors. The sacred festival of Holi is not just about outward celebration but also inner wisdom that we must pay attention to. When you are in knowledge, then all the colors in your life coexist peacefully. Harmony in diversity makes life vibrant, joyful and more colorful. One of the messages of Holi is: make friends even with the enemy. Let there be no enemy. Why is an enemy born? When we have animosity within us, then an enemy is born. If we have no animosity left in us, then we would have no enemies either. We shouldn’t mind if someone else considers us as an enemy but we shouldn’t exude any animosity from our side. Life should be full of colours! And each colour is meant to be seen and enjoyed separately. All colors emanate from white, and when mixed again, they become black. Similarly, in life, different roles played by us should exist peacefu...

Let love be. Don’t give it a name. Ask yourself why do you love someone? Is it because of some of their qualities or is it because of a sense of kinship or intimacy? You can love someone for their qualities and not feel a sense of kinship. This type of love gives rise to competition and jealousy. Such is not the case when love arises out of kinship. If you love someone for their qualities, then, when the quality changes or you get used to the quality, love also changes. The relationship can either act as a strength or as a weakness depending on the mind. If the mind is strong then relationships can be a gift to us but if it is weak and not in control, then relationships can feel like bondage. How would you like to see yourself? Happy and bubbling with enthusiasm or dull and difficult to please? Often you like to be pleased, appeased and cajoled. So, you put up a tough, upset face and act difficult to please. If a person has to appease and please ten people all the time, it will be so t...

The mind is like space. Thoughts come and go. Emotions come and go. When you go beyond them, there’s only space. That’s our true nature.  When we identify ourselves too much with thoughts, with feelings and emotions, that’s when we feel stuck, we feel small. But the real, magnanimous You is that space inside where you feel totally at peace.  Those moments when you are totally at peace, or fully in love, you feel an expansion right? You feel boundless, you feel limitless. That is our true nature. That is what beauty is! We are all one in that. There is no two! Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji 

My dear, life is so temporary and fleeting. Your life is short. Where in this short life do you have the time to bother about who said what and why? Why then get stuck in this mess? I tell you, even if God Himself comes and says a few harsh words to you, you should remain smiling and be centred. Think of that as a gift, as a Prasad (blessing or sacred offering). You should make your mind highly centred and unshakeable within yourself, like a pillar. Do not get carried away or troubled by trivial occurrences around you. Otherwise, you get so troubled by trivial and temporary things. Not only do you get troubled, you also trouble others around you. In fact, we end up disturbing others twice or thrice as much. Again and again, you must remind yourself to wake up. Come back to awareness and realise that “I am full and content in every way. God is with me at all times, and whatever is required for me will happen at the right time.” Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji 

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 company, good company, is that which makes you feel the pr...

Question - Gurudev, why do you always say that one should save their mind at all costs? Can you please throw some light on this? Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - When our mind is caught up in events it goes on chewing on it like chewing gum which doesn't give nutrition and it also tires the mouth. Entertaining thoughts are as useless as that. The very nature of the world is to irritate us. The ultimate skill is to move through life without letting the daily irritations and conflicts touch our inner core. Just imagine we are walking 'immaculately dressed' on a muddy road on a rainy day. Vehicles are plying up and down splashing muddy drops all the time. How careful will you be to protect your beautiful dress? So how much more care we should take to protect our mind which is more beautiful than beauty itself (Srutwapi Suddha Chaitanyam Atmanam Athi Sundaram). Protect your mind like a Belgian glass. Even a small scratch destroys its beauty. Drop the small mind and be with the B...