Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Weekly Knowledge 348 Rishikesh 17 Mar 2002  India Your Nature is Shiva Peace is your nature, yet you remain restless. Freedom is your nature, yet you remain in bondage. Happiness is your nature, yet you become miserable for some reason or another. Contentment is your nature, yet you continue to reel in desires. Benevolence is your nature, yet you don’t reach out. Going towards your nature is Sadhana. Sadhana is becoming what you truly Are! Your true nature is Shiva. And Shiva is peace, infinity, beauty and the non-dual One. Ratri means "to take refuge." Shivaratri is taking refuge in Shiva. 🌻Jai Guru Dev🌻 Hindi translation साप्ताहिक ज्ञानपत्र ३४८ १६ मार्च, २००२ ऋषिकेश, भारत तुम शिव स्वरुप हो शांति तुम्हारा स्वभाव है फिर भी तुम बेचैन रहते हो। मुक्ति तुम्हारा स्वभाव है फिर भी तुम बंधन में रहते हो। आनंद तुम्हारा स्वभाव है फिर भी तुम किसी न किसी कारण से दुखी रहते हो। तृप्ति तुम्हारा स्वभाव है फिर भी तुम इच्छाओं के पीछे नाचते रहते हो। परोपकार तुम्हारा स्वभाव है फिर भ...

Weekly Knowledge 349 Rishikesh 22 Mar 2002  India Praise the Fools! Praising the fool is beneficial for society! A fool when pleased might stop doing harm and start doing good work. In this sense it is wise to praise a fool as he needs motivation. So your praise is meaningful when it is directed towards a fool! A wise man by his very nature will keep doing good work. His attitude does not depend on someone’s praise or blame. So it does not serve any purpose to praise a wise man because your praise cannot make an impact on him. There are three types of people – the wise, the crooked and the immature.  Even if the wise man is scolded or praised, he continues doing good work. The crooked need to be praised to do good work. The immature however need to be both praised and scolded from time to time. 🌻Jai Guru Dev🌻  *Hindi translation*  साप्ताहिक ज्ञानपत्र ३४९  २२ मार्च , २००२ ऋषिकेश, भारत मूर्खो की प्रशंसा करो मूर्खो की प्रशंसा करना समाज के लिए हितकर है...

Weekly Knowledge 350 New Delhi 31 Mar 2002  India WHAT MAKES A REAL HOLIDAY? Rest and happiness make a real holiday. Often people go on a holiday and they come back tired and tanned, and needing a few more days to recuperate! A real holiday is that which energizes and does not wear you out. Remember, nothing energizes you like Wisdom. - Doubts and complaints are impediments for rest. - The moment you set out on your holiday, know that it has begun. Often people expect to find a pinnacle of happiness. Enjoy every moment of the journey as children do, do not wait for the destination. - If you cannot be happy in one place, you cannot be happy in any other place. If you do not know how to row one boat you will not be able to row any other boat. - To get maximum satisfaction out of your holiday you need to do something creative and engage in Seva. - Do not ever forget to make meditation and prayer a part of your holiday. If your days are Holy, then every day is a Hol...

Life is eternal; we never give a thought to this truth. When someone dies we declare that the person is immortal, but the truth is we ourselves are immortal too.  That is why we do not feel that we have grown old. No matter how old a person is, he feels he is never going to die. If someone else dies, we say, ‘oh that poor fellow died’. ‘Everyone else dies but I won’t’, this feeling is there somewhere. There is a stream of awareness within us that cannot be destroyed. To acknowledge and observe that stream is spirituality – ‘I have not changed, I have not grown old, I am just the same‘. This brings such courage and strength in life that nothing can shake you. Examining your life, observing it is spirituality, it is ‘satsang’. Satsang is not just singing bhajans but pondering on the truths of life. What is the most important truth of life – there is an element within me that does not perish, does not diminish and is deathless. If you direct even the slightest attention to...

Weekly Knowledge 355 Palo Alto, California 11 May 2002  USA TWO TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE There are two types of knowledge. The first one is pure knowledge and the second one is applied knowledge. Applied knowledge may benefit you directly and immediately but pure knowledge benefits you indirectly in the long run. If there are some things that you have studied or understood that you are unable to put into practice, do not get disheartened. Sometime in the future, if you do not discard the knowledge you have as impractical, it will be of use to you. Often people discard the pure knowledge for its lack of immediate application. In fact these two types of knowledge compliment each other. Applied knowledge without pure knowledge remains weak. And pure knowledge without application will remain unfulfilled. Do not discard or label the knowledge as impractical. Do not label yourself as weak or unworthy because you are unable to apply the knowledge in your day-to-day life. Sometimes w...