Ayurveda Initiative For Global Health

Sankhya Yoga Chapter 2, Verse 22   vāsānsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya  navāni gṛhṇāti naro’parāṇi  tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny  anyāni sanyāti navāni dehī   The embodied soul casts away old bodies and takes up new bodies, as a   man changes worn-out clothes for new.   Here Lord Krishna says, “When one’s clothes get old, one changes them for new ones. Like that, when your body becomes old – but you still have karma to work out, and you are not yet fully realised – you will take another body. You will come back again into this material field to continue to advance, until the full Realisation awakens.” But then, one will ask, “What is the full Realisation?” Is it the Realisation of the Atma or of the mind? It is the Atmanivedam: the Atma Itself surrenders to the Supreme. Krishna refers to the body as old worn-out clothes. The body will go through the same cycle of birth, life, and death, again, again and again. This kind of suffering is because you are t...

Sankhya Yoga Chapter 2, Verse 21   vedāvināśinaṁ nityaṁ  ya enam ajam avyayam  kathaṁ sa puruṣaḥ pārtha  kaṁ ghātayati hanti kam   Who knows it as immortal, eternal, imperishable, spiritual existence, how   can that man slay, O Paartha, or cause to be slain?   In this verse, Bhagavan Sri Krishna brings to Arjuna’s attention that the one who has the true knowledge of the soul, can never think of harming anyone, or cause anyone to be killed. The thought of harming another person will never arise in the mind of one who has realised Brahma Jyaan or Atma Jyaan – because he is aware. If one has the knowledge that one is not the body, mind or intellect, rather the soul, one will never identify oneself with what one sees on the outside, and believe that one can kill. Krishna is saying that there is only one Consciousness that remains – the existence of the Spirit only, everywhere. And this Spirit can neither die nor harm anyone or anything. Krishna is rem...

Question - Gurudev, how does one achieve and maintain inner strength? Gurudev Sri Sri - By waking up to this knowledge. It should not be that just once a year you come, listen to some knowledge and go away. Make it part of your daily routine, so that it is maintained. Also, humility is important. Sometimes, people get so numb to knowledge. They think, 'I know it all. One should not get into that arrogance, 'I know the knowledge, what is there to know. The constant revival of knowledge, of the same points that you know, and reliving it is important. It is not a very tough or difficult task, and even if you lose the knowledge for a moment, it just comes back. Knowing that it comes back, you don't really lose it, it is there.

Question - Gurudev, what is it about seva that makes people dynamic versus doing office work? Gurudev Sri Sri - See, we have to do something and we keep doing something. When we do something, we want something out of it for ourselves. Now if you do something for which you don't want anything in return, but you just want to be useful in life, that is called seva. An action for which you are not expecting a reward, but you are happy just by doing an action, which would bring benefit to others, that is seva. An action for which you do not want any benefit for yourself, but instead you want to be beneficial to others, that is seva.

Question - Gurudev, is there any specific lesson we can learn from the entire Ramayana? 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 R...