Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

The Master's Voice 27 There are innumerable instances extolling the virtue and indispensable worth of the greatness of The Master and The Saints.  The Saint says, “In the company of The Master, attachment vanishes; and with attachment, illusion or Maaya also disappears. Freed from illusion, we are in position to attain stability and thence Liberation while yet alive. Therefore, seek the company of The Master.” The Saints further elucidate, “Not by listening to preachers, nor by study of books, not by meritorious deeds nor by any other means can one attain that Supreme State, which is attainable only through the association with The Master and the clear quest to find The Lord and know Who am I.” The Master was explaining the above concepts of The Saints, to the Disciples, through an incident in Sant Namdev's life. “Vitthal [Lord Krishna] found His devotee Namdev had not realized the Supreme Truth and wanted to teach him. The Lord sent Namdev alongwith a group of Saints on a pilg...

The Master's Voice 28 Once a Disciple asked The Master, "I want to orient my thought process towards The Lord. How can I do?" The Master answered, "If we feel thirsty, we have to go there where we can find water to drink. Only by drinking water, we can satisfy our thirst. Just by saying water, we cannot satisfy our thirst. Similarly, if we want to Live in The Remembrance of The Lord, then we need to go there where The Lord is waiting for us 24 hours. We need to reach the Silence. When we are in Silence, our Soul is in the state of awakened consciousness and The Lord is eternally present. Just taking The Lord's name will not be sufficient." The Disciple said, "O Lord, it is not so easy. Thousands of thoughts start coming the moment, I close the eyes. My focus is on worldly affairs." The Master, "It is but natural that we are immersed in worldly thoughts, because our orientation is entrenched towards The World. We will have to change our practic...

The Master's Voice 29 The Master always emphasises on Love being the source to connect with The Lord. The Lord is Love; Love is The Lord. The Lord loves His Particles, us and has set norms for our return - unflinching Love for The Lord. The Master's say, “First of all, we need to understand Love. When you talk of love, there is duality – there is the person who loves and the entity called The Lord, who is loved. But the truth is, We are not separate from The Lord. Thus, the first step to Love The Lord is to Love one’s own Self. Let us understand this better. We love money, But Love our child more than money; We Love our own body more than that of the child;  Our love for Sense organs is more than that for the body; We prefer our eye, the most among the organs;  We love our life more than the eye; We love the Soul (atma) more than life. This is the Path of Love, in human life." This is exemplified thus: If the child does something untoward and the government decides to pun...

The Master's Voice 30 The Master's say, "There are nine major emotions in a human being. The highest and most valued amongst them is the love. For union, Love is utmost important and Bliss is its outcome. Only a few blessed Soul experience the greatness of pure Love. Pure Love springs only in pure Heart. It flows naturally like a river towards The Ocean.  When One realises the true nature of Love, he gets immersed in the ocean of Nectar. Life is now permeated by Love." The Saints say, "We can experience Pure Love only by being in the company of True Master. Union with The Master unfolds the boundless love, as we get connected with the source of Love, The Lord." The Master and The Saints are not referring to the physical love that we commonly experience, as human. Like a mother's love for her child. A wife's love for her husband. A child's love for the parents. All are pious and pure in worldly form. But as the time passes by, situation changes, t...

The Master's Voice 31 The Master's say, "Pure Love is natural and always Longs for Union. Pure Love is the Love of The Soul for The Lord." As human beings, we have started to believe that our love for other human beings, and our possession is true love. Whereas, The Master's say, "Any Love which is laced with worldly Attachment is not true love." But, our attachment and attraction towards the worldly things has distracted our focus. Now, the mind has created a new concept of Love, the love of worldly things. How can these distractions be removed, and True Love be ignited? The Saints say, "Love for The Lord shall pave way for Love for The Master because for us, human, it is difficult to Love the invisible Lord. Since, The Master is in physical form like us, one amongst us, but Enlightened and Radiant, we can connect with his teachings and love him.  To light a candle, we use the Spark from a lit candle. The Master is the lit candle, who has come to l...

The Master's Voice 32 The Master's say, "That we Sow, so shall we reap. We can reap the harvest of the seed that we have sown. The genetics cannot be changed." The Saints say, "Similarly, if our nature and habit has been to be in love with the elders and others, then following The Master's Will shall not be difficult. The Master has come to show us what to do in order to advance spiritually. The Master's Will is the same as The Lord's Will. Since, we cannot see The Lord, The Master has come to show the path that we need to tread to be in His Will." The Master's advice, "Adopt a lacto-vegetarian diet;  Avoid drugs, alcohol and tobacco;  Lead an honest life; and Practise at least two and a half hours meditation every day.  The practice of the first three advices shall cultivate our Nature and habit to be a good human, Helpful to all. It enables us to protect our mind from getting polluted. The mind in control is always ready to Live in The...

The Master's Voice 33 The Master's say, "To practice and Live in The Master's Will, we do not have to forsake our family, or go to jungle and mountains. We just need to discipline ourselves and dedicate maximum possible time for Meditation, at least 150 minutes a day. If the time that we spend with Inner self and Silence increases automatically our attention towards external will minimise." Till we allow our senses to be in command, we shall lack discipline. The pleasures of the world will pull us towards it, making it difficult for us to Live in The Master's Will. Once, A Disciple decided to meditate alone, away from his Ashram, to avoid distraction and disturbances. He took a boat and went to the middle of the lake. There, he closed his eyes and began his meditation. He was in absolute SILENCE for few hours. Then, he suddenly came back to sense. In the middle of the Lake, another boat had come and smashed into his boat. The jerk caused by the accident brough...

The Master's Voice 34 Once a Disciple asked The Master, "How will Living in The Master's Will help us in the outer world?" The Master said, "If we Live in The Master's Will than both our worldly and the spiritual requirements get fulfilled. But, we should remember, our arrival in this world as a baby is empty handed, and is the same when we depart from this world. Staying in The Master's Will helps us to understand that pains and pleasures in the outer world is momentary and shall change with time. Whereas, all our achievements within us, is never lost once attained. As and when we sit in The Meditation, we start progressing spiritually from previous state. Our doubts will get dissolved and an unbreakable bond of Faith will set inside us." The Saints say that staying in The Master's Will shall reflect in the following ways in us  1. We will stop trying to change others rather focus on changing ourselves.  2. We will accept people as they are.  3....

The vagus nerve is the most important nerve you probably didn’t know you had.The vagus nerve links the brain stem to the heart, lungs, and gut. It also branches out to touch and interact with the liver, spleen, gallbladder, ureter, female fertility organs, neck, ears, tongue, and kidneys.  The vagus nerve is extremely critical to our overall health and is intimately tied in with multiple organs and systems of the body. “Without the vagus nerve, key functions that keep us alive would not be maintained.” ~~Dr Justin Hoffman Activate and nurture your vagus nerve with Sudarshan Kriya "Health is not a mere absence of disease. It is a dynamic expression of life – in terms of how joyful, loving and enthusiastic you are.” Health is Wealth and Prevention is better than cure. So everyday morning do Sudarshan Kriya, Pranayam, Physical Exercises, meditation.  Sudharshana Kriya is a very powerful technique of Breathing that eliminates  Stress, Fatigue and Negative emotions...

Swamp Bloodwood (Corymbia ptychocarpa earlier known as Eucalyptus ptychocarpa) is a small to medium sized tree from the family Myrtaceae. It is native to Australia. Corymbia ptychocarpa grows up to 20m height under ideal conditions. Being a hydrophyte it is found in open forests along streams, rivers and other moist places. The crown is drooping, with pendulous branching, especially when young. 🌷 The trunk is reddish to greyish brown, deeply ridged. 🌷 Leaves are semi-glossy green, leathery, fairly large (up to 30cm by 7cm), with pale yellow midrib. The leaves are aromatic when crushed. 🌷 Attractive deep pink flowers, with powderpuff like appearance bear numerous filamentous stamens. The flowers are produced in umbels of 3-7 flowers, and attract birds and insects. 🌷 Fruits are cylindrical, explosive woody capsules ("gum nuts"), large (4cm by 3cm). Seeds small, with lightweight chaff to aid wind dispersal. 🌷 ETYMO...

Question - Gurudev, can you please speak about bondage? Why does the soul feel trapped, and what are the causes of bondage? Gurudev Sri Sri - Ignorance is the cause of bondage. And why there is ignorance? There is no answer to that. Why has the Divine first created this ignorance and then the means to get out of it? That is why it is called Leela (a game or play of the Divine). It is like asking, 'Why do we have a football match? Why are there two courts with some coaches and some players on one side, and some on the other side, pushing the ball from this side to that side? Why do they not have their own balls and stay in their own courts?' Then there is no play. So because of ignorance there is a play, there is the game. That is why the whole world is called the Leela of the Parampurusha (the Supreme Divinity).

Gurudev Sri Sri - There is so much peer pressure, pressure to perform well in exams. So they keep reading so much day and night. A youth came and told me that he reads with four big lamps focused on his table and he studies day and night. We need to do care of the brain. You cannot overuse the brain like that. Then suddenly something happens and the fuse goes off. Do Yoga and meditation regularly. It is not enough to do it once in a while.

Gurudev Sri Sri - This is just a practice. It has not been mentioned in the shastras. Do not worry about it. There is no dish that does not have salt in it. Everything contains salt in some quantity. Everything that is offered during a ritual contains some salt in it. Coconut water contains salt. It is said that even fruits contain salt. The air that you breathe has salt in it. There is just a saying to not hand over oil, salt, Chilli (green/red peppers) and water directly to someone. That is why they used to place it on the floor. There is a belief that the vibrations of one person go to the other person if they hand over these items directly. In case you feel affected by the vibrations of another person, sing bhajans or chant Om Nama Shivaya and do pranayama. All the negative effects will go away.

Question - Gurudev, I do a lot for my family members and yet they are all always saying I am wrong. What should I do? How to deal with it? Gurudev Sri Sri - No, don't say that they always say you are wrong. If they always say that you are wrong then it would not bother you or even touch you. You would take it as their nature. Sometimes they would have said that you did right as well. Isn't that so? If you can appreciate them when they say you are right, and when they appreciate you, you should also accept when they don't appreciate what you are doing, and say that you say wrong. You should find a middle path. You know, often, we generalise and externalize the problem. 'Oh, I am always wrong' 'Oh, I am always right', 'Oh, I am always like this', 'Everybody is bad. This sort of generalization and externalization of problems is very common. We should make an effort to step out of that and go beyond that. Just smile. If you feel that they are unreaso...

Question - Gurudev, how do we deal with anger and hatred towards somebody whom we cannot avoid, especially when both are completely at different frequencies? Gurudev Sri Sri - First realize you are magnanimous. If you believe in your magnanimity and your inner beauty, it will become easier for you to handle all such situations. When you don't look within, when you are simply focusing on the behavior of others, it will definitely rattle your mind. Then you try to correct the other person and you will be unsuccessful. People who irritate you, in some way or the other can bring about the best in you. They can bring out the talents and skills in you. See, when everyone around you is wonderful you don't need any skill to handle a situation. It will only happen when there are people whom you think are unreasonable. So it is an exercise, take it as an exercise as much as possible. I know it is not an easy job. At least, you save your mind. I have spoken a lot about this in the books C...

Question - Gurudev, I’m in this Advanced Meditation course but this time around I slept through all the meditations. May I ask what is wrong with me? Can you please suggest to me how to get the best out of these meditations? Gurudev Sri Sri - Yeah, not only you but others also notice that you are sound asleep. It's okay. You know when your body is so tired, you must have been up late night & so much of stress might have accumulated. If you fall asleep never mind, that is why the program is for four days. The first reason could be that your body could be very tired. Second, the food must be very tasty and you must be eating a little more than required, and if you take yogurt and a little heavy food in the afternoon, sometimes then you will fall asleep. So, you can reduce the food, just one spoon less, two spoons less. Eat a little less food, drink more juice or vegetables or fruits. Third is if you lack oxygen, if you have not done some little exercise or forgot to take a walk,...

Gurudev Sri Sri - Yes, Ramayana has a lot of significance. The Ramayana is not just a story which happened long ago, it has a philosophical, spiritual significance and a deep truth in it. The words 'rays' and 'radiance' come from the Sanskrit root word 'ra' 'Ra' means light, 'Ma' means within me, in my heart. So, Rama means the light within me. That which is radiant in every particle of the being is Rama. Rama was born to Dasharath and Kousalya. Dasharath means 'Ten Chariots' The ten chariots symbolize the five sense organs and five organs of action. Kousalya means 'skill'. The skillful rider of the ten chariots can give birth to Ram. When the ten are used skillfully, radiance is born within. Rama was born in Ayodhya. Ayodhya means 'a place where no war can happen' When there is no conflict in our mind, then the radiance can dawn. The Ramayana is not just a story which happened long ago, it has a philosophical, spiritual s...

Question - Gurudev, what is the role of silence on the spiritual path? Gurudev Sri Sri - Silence heals and rejuvenates. Silence gives you depth and stability and brings creativity. While service brings the dynamic experience of the heart. It creates a sense of belongingness. Lack of service can land a person in depression. Service alone can bring contentment in life, but service without silence tires you. Service without spirituality will be shallow and cannot be sustained for a long period of time. The deeper the silence, the more dynamic the outer activity becomes. Both are essential in life. That is why I always recommend that one should attend the Advanced Meditation Program of Art Of Living atleast once every 3 to 6 months.

Question - Gurudev, what is moksha (liberation)? It is said that human birth is the only way to attain it and if that's true, can you please explain how to attain it in this lifetime itself? Gurudev Sri Sri - You go ask children how they feel the day their exams are over. They toss all their books and give a big sigh. ‘It is over now, finished’. That is moksha. One day, in your mind when such a relief comes, 'Yes I am fulfilled. I need nothing in this moment. I am satisfied with life. That is moksha. When you exit the last breath with contentment, that is moksha. See karma cannot be dissolved without a body. So one has to come back to the body to dissolve all the karmas. But moksha is possible only with the body. Moksha means relief from pain, relief from sufferings, relief from ignorance, the whole knowledge is about this only. Moksha is the opposite of bondage. When bondage ends, it is moksha. Moksha is when you find a deep relief in life, from miseries, sorrows, cravings and...

Weekly Knowledge 149 Bad Antogast 15 Apr 1998  Germany Softness And Forcefulness Certain types of people are soft and their softness comes out of lack of courage and forcefulness. There is yet another type of softness in people and this softness comes out of maturity, magnanimity, and the knowledge of the Self. The people who are soft out of lack of courage suffer a lot. And sometime or other they become volatile. Similarly there are two types of forcefulness in people Ö aggression or assertiveness. Some people are forceful in an aggressive manner out of weakness, lack of strength, or out of fear. Others are forceful out of care and love, out of compassion. David: Aggressive control and aggressive support. Guruji: So look into yourself and become aware of what type of softness and what type of forcefulness you have. 🌸Jai Guru Dev🌸   साप्ताहिक ज्ञानपत्र १४९ १५ अप्रैल ,१९९८ यूरोपीयन आश्रम, जर्मनी कोमलता और प्रबलता प्रायः व्यक्ति साहस और प्रबलता के अभाव के कारण नर्म...

Lemon Lemon is one such wonder fruit which is nature’s gift to you. This article will reflect upon some of the health benefits offered by lemon to you as per Ayurveda.lemon can be used as a fresh fruit as well as for purposes such as making pickles, chutney, squash, lemon water juice, etc. It is also used in the preparation of many dishes. Owing to the health benefits provided by lemon it is considered as a wonder fruit. Lemon balances all the three doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha.  You may experience indigestion due to excessive eating or drinking, intolerance to certain foods, or taking pills on an empty stomach. The indigestion can cause burning sensation in the stomach, bloating or gassiness, nausea, etc. According to Ayurveda, cold happens due to an imbalance of the kapha dosha. Lemon is very effective in managing cold and cough. Lemon works on an aggravated Kapha due to its ushna (hot) potency. Lemon juice is very beneficial for the problems related to hair. If you...

Dukkha (suffering) For those who have developed discriminatory wisdom, all life is suffering on account of the pains resulting from change, anxiety and tendencies (samskaras); as also on account of the conflicts between the functioning of the three Gunas and the Vrttis (fluctuations of the mind) (Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.15) Heya-hetu (cause of suffering) The cause of that (suffering) which is to be avoided is the union of the Seer (Purusha) and the Seen (Prakriti) (PY sutra 2.17); This union is caused by ignorance (avidya) (PY sutra 2.24) Haana (removal of dukkha) The dissociation of Purusa and Prakrti brought about by the dispersion of ignorance (Avidya) is the real remedy (for eliminating suffering) and it leads to Liberation of the Seer (Purusha). (PY Sutra 2.25) Haanopaya (technique of removal) Uninterrupted discriminative discernment is the means for the removal of the apparent union between Purusha and Prakriti (PY Sutra 2.26) By the practice of the limbs of Yoga, the ...

Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita (10:26) "Among perfected beings, I am the sage Kapila." The sage Kapila is traditionally considered to be the founder of the Samkhya Sutra; regarded as the oldest of the orthodox philosophical systems in Hinduism.  Kapila Muni is the brother and teacher of Anusuya, also known as “Sati Anasuya” the chaste wife and the mother of Dattatreya. He is considered to be a descendant of Manu, the primal human being, and a grandson of Lord Brahma.    According to the Vedic social system, a man with a grown son may accept the order of sannyasa, thus renouncing all connections with his family and worldly life, and entrust his wife to the care of his son. With this in mind, Kardam Muni took a vow of silence and went to live in the forest as an ascetic, entrusting Devahuti in his son’s care. Kapila instructed his mother Devahuti in the philosophy of yoga and worship of Lord Vishnu, enabling her to achieve self-realization and attain ...

Namaste is a respectful gesture of greeting people in the Hindu custom, has a spiritual import reflecting the belief that "the divine and self (atman, Self) is same in you and me", and connotes "I bow to the divine in you". Also spoken as Namaskar or Namaskaram, this gesture is used to welcome guests or relatives, as well as for acknowledging strangers, and works both as salutation and valediction. The gesture is said to express honor, courtesy, politeness, hospitality and gratitude to the other person.  Apart from being used as a greeting, it is also a part of the 16 Upacharas that are used during formal worship in a temple or some other religious place. When it comes to worshipping a deity, then Namaste signifies ‘greeting the God’. Namaste is part of the daily procedure in India. Hence you would often get to see this gesture in various Indian classical dance forms, in everyday religious rituals and yoga postures. If you practice this gesture in India,...