Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Satsang today
21st January 2016
Ques: If human beings are suffering so much, then what is the purpose of human being? How to recover from the suffering?
#SriSri: See life is not only suffering, life is also joy. Nobody is suffering from birth to death continuously, 24x7 and throughout their whole life. Let’s remember this. Life is a combination of enjoyment, pleasure, joy, love and suffering. Pain is inevitable, if there is pain then there is pain. But suffering is when the mind latches on to the pain, thinks about it. So the nature of our mind, or we have cultivated such a habit in the mind, we should not even call it the nature of the mind. Because children do have minds and they don’t have this tendency of latching on to negativity. So as adults what we do is that if there are ten compliments, we forget and we hold on to one negative remark. So ten days of joy gets washed out by one day of conflict. Because the mind magnifies that which is negative. So how to reverse this tendency? That is where yoga comes into play. ‘Heyam dukham anagatam’ – yoga is to prevent the sorrow, which is yet to come, which has not yet come. Suppose you have violated the laws of nature and you have eaten too much or you have not slept then it’s going to having its repercussions on the body and mind. Yoga is avoiding that. So it is not all fatalistic, please don’t think life is fatalistic or we have to suffer all the karmas, no. There are many karmas you can wash them out, you can get over them. But there are some karmas you have to go through. Suppose you are cooking sweet pudding, if the sweet is less you add more sweet, if the sweet is too much you add more rice, more milk into it. This is all you can do. But once that rice is cooked, you cannot reverse it. So in a pudding, one thing you cannot reverse, this is ‘prarabdha karma’. And there are many other things which you can change. And satsang, sadhana, meditation, kriya, all this can change the negative karma.
21st January 2016
Ques: If human beings are suffering so much, then what is the purpose of human being? How to recover from the suffering?
#SriSri: See life is not only suffering, life is also joy. Nobody is suffering from birth to death continuously, 24x7 and throughout their whole life. Let’s remember this. Life is a combination of enjoyment, pleasure, joy, love and suffering. Pain is inevitable, if there is pain then there is pain. But suffering is when the mind latches on to the pain, thinks about it. So the nature of our mind, or we have cultivated such a habit in the mind, we should not even call it the nature of the mind. Because children do have minds and they don’t have this tendency of latching on to negativity. So as adults what we do is that if there are ten compliments, we forget and we hold on to one negative remark. So ten days of joy gets washed out by one day of conflict. Because the mind magnifies that which is negative. So how to reverse this tendency? That is where yoga comes into play. ‘Heyam dukham anagatam’ – yoga is to prevent the sorrow, which is yet to come, which has not yet come. Suppose you have violated the laws of nature and you have eaten too much or you have not slept then it’s going to having its repercussions on the body and mind. Yoga is avoiding that. So it is not all fatalistic, please don’t think life is fatalistic or we have to suffer all the karmas, no. There are many karmas you can wash them out, you can get over them. But there are some karmas you have to go through. Suppose you are cooking sweet pudding, if the sweet is less you add more sweet, if the sweet is too much you add more rice, more milk into it. This is all you can do. But once that rice is cooked, you cannot reverse it. So in a pudding, one thing you cannot reverse, this is ‘prarabdha karma’. And there are many other things which you can change. And satsang, sadhana, meditation, kriya, all this can change the negative karma.
Ques: How useful is Yoga Sadhana (practice of Yoga) in life?
#SriSri: It is very useful. To reach the goal of life, Yoga sadhana is imperative. Through Yoga sadhana, we come to know what is the purpose of life, why we are here. There are two things, we get what we are seeking, that which we haven’t received yet, and we can protect that which we have already achieved through Yoga Sadhana. So one is that Yoga Sadhana helps us to live in happiness, peace, with love because it keeps us healthy, happy, our behavior towards others improves, it broadens our vision. On the other hand, it helps us to grow spiritually, we get answers to questions like ‘Who am I, what am I?’
#SriSri: It is very useful. To reach the goal of life, Yoga sadhana is imperative. Through Yoga sadhana, we come to know what is the purpose of life, why we are here. There are two things, we get what we are seeking, that which we haven’t received yet, and we can protect that which we have already achieved through Yoga Sadhana. So one is that Yoga Sadhana helps us to live in happiness, peace, with love because it keeps us healthy, happy, our behavior towards others improves, it broadens our vision. On the other hand, it helps us to grow spiritually, we get answers to questions like ‘Who am I, what am I?’
Ques: How to instill spiritual values in my child who is ten years old?
#SriSri: Talk to them about inspiring stories of saints, take them to cultural and spiritual centers, temples. Give them the Sanskaras. Tell them nice stories. Make them to do good work, distributing, sharing things.
#SriSri: Talk to them about inspiring stories of saints, take them to cultural and spiritual centers, temples. Give them the Sanskaras. Tell them nice stories. Make them to do good work, distributing, sharing things.
Ques: Why do we get knowledge only through pain? Why do we have to go through so much trouble to get that which is inside us?
#SriSri: Tell me, don’t you have to go through trouble to get worldly things? We work so hard. If we have to buy a house we work so hard, if we have to buy a car we work so hard, to get married, my God, we work so hard! When we work so hard for everything in this life we don’t see it as hard work, but when we have to do even little on the spiritual path, then it seems like so much work. You sit still staring at one place for three hours in a movie hall, but if you have to sit in meditation for 20 mins then all sorts of aches and pains come up! You feel like it is work in the beginning but once you get on to the tracks, then you will not be able to stop.
#SriSri: Tell me, don’t you have to go through trouble to get worldly things? We work so hard. If we have to buy a house we work so hard, if we have to buy a car we work so hard, to get married, my God, we work so hard! When we work so hard for everything in this life we don’t see it as hard work, but when we have to do even little on the spiritual path, then it seems like so much work. You sit still staring at one place for three hours in a movie hall, but if you have to sit in meditation for 20 mins then all sorts of aches and pains come up! You feel like it is work in the beginning but once you get on to the tracks, then you will not be able to stop.
Ques: How do I find my passion in life?
#SriSri: Don’t sit and wait for a passion to arise in you. Just keep working. When you get deeply engrossed in any work that passion will automatically be there. For some people passion is very dramatic, for others it is in the background, it is somewhere deep inside. Don’t look for some magical experiences. You can find them only on the screens or in the storybooks. Even when it happens to you, you find it very normal. You have a deep passion for something, you feel very normal about it. But when you see it in others, you feel ‘Oh, that person has enormous passion, I too want to have it.’ When you start comparing yourself with others then you get stuck.
#SriSri: Don’t sit and wait for a passion to arise in you. Just keep working. When you get deeply engrossed in any work that passion will automatically be there. For some people passion is very dramatic, for others it is in the background, it is somewhere deep inside. Don’t look for some magical experiences. You can find them only on the screens or in the storybooks. Even when it happens to you, you find it very normal. You have a deep passion for something, you feel very normal about it. But when you see it in others, you feel ‘Oh, that person has enormous passion, I too want to have it.’ When you start comparing yourself with others then you get stuck.
Ques: There comes a time in life where everything is not right. You fail on all fronts. What do we do then?
#SriSri: Prayer. Sit and pray and know that this time will pass, you have some laon, you have financial losses, never mind. Move on, things will change. And remember, one day you have to drop everything, whether you are a success or a failure, even if you have bungalows or palaces or whatever you have had, earned and stored, kept in your bank account, everything you have to leave here and go. Without even having the time to pack up! The baggage will remain here, only whatever is in the mind you carry with you. So a little loss here and there should not deter you from your faith, from your commitment, from your knowledge.
#SriSri: Prayer. Sit and pray and know that this time will pass, you have some laon, you have financial losses, never mind. Move on, things will change. And remember, one day you have to drop everything, whether you are a success or a failure, even if you have bungalows or palaces or whatever you have had, earned and stored, kept in your bank account, everything you have to leave here and go. Without even having the time to pack up! The baggage will remain here, only whatever is in the mind you carry with you. So a little loss here and there should not deter you from your faith, from your commitment, from your knowledge.
Ques: My husband and I follow different Gurus which causes lot of obstacles. What to do?
#SriSri: As long as both of you are in the knowledge, it is ok. Don’t fight over the Gurus, at home! Don’t make that as one of the many reasons to fight. So I would tell you that you be magnanimous, be calm, you follow your path. It’s a very personal, private thing. Sometimes you want to go for satsang, and he says no, you should not go, then with a smile you say no, I have to go, I will go. You don’t have to be like a mouse or you don’t have to be like a sheep and follow everything and leave your own path and your life. Life is always a balance, keep that balance. Sometimes you follow, other times, consider others. Suppose it you give everything and don’t consider your wish at all then you will get frustrated very soon. And that tension will mount on you and it will show up in all your relationships. That is why I would say, in some things there is no compromise but in many things you have to compromise.
#SriSri: As long as both of you are in the knowledge, it is ok. Don’t fight over the Gurus, at home! Don’t make that as one of the many reasons to fight. So I would tell you that you be magnanimous, be calm, you follow your path. It’s a very personal, private thing. Sometimes you want to go for satsang, and he says no, you should not go, then with a smile you say no, I have to go, I will go. You don’t have to be like a mouse or you don’t have to be like a sheep and follow everything and leave your own path and your life. Life is always a balance, keep that balance. Sometimes you follow, other times, consider others. Suppose it you give everything and don’t consider your wish at all then you will get frustrated very soon. And that tension will mount on you and it will show up in all your relationships. That is why I would say, in some things there is no compromise but in many things you have to compromise.
Ques: I read a couplet which said, you have to meditate with your mind, actions and words. How is it possible to meditate with actions and words?
#SriSri: Whatever work you do, do it 100%. First you sit and meditate with your mind. Then when you work, you do it 100%. This is what it means. When it comes to words, it means speak good words.
#SriSri: Whatever work you do, do it 100%. First you sit and meditate with your mind. Then when you work, you do it 100%. This is what it means. When it comes to words, it means speak good words.
Ques: Is what is written in the Bhavishya Purana by Veda Vyasa, true?
#SriSri: Yes, yes. It is written in the form of a mystery. There is some aspects which are apparent and some which are in the form of a mystery. And there are some interpolations as well. In Mahabharata somebody has inserted a section saying that even if a mad elephant comes at you, do not take refuge in a Jain temple. In those days, there was no Jain religion and even if it was there, there is no such writing in the original Mahabharata. Some pundit must have just inserted it. We should let go of these interpolations.
#SriSri: Yes, yes. It is written in the form of a mystery. There is some aspects which are apparent and some which are in the form of a mystery. And there are some interpolations as well. In Mahabharata somebody has inserted a section saying that even if a mad elephant comes at you, do not take refuge in a Jain temple. In those days, there was no Jain religion and even if it was there, there is no such writing in the original Mahabharata. Some pundit must have just inserted it. We should let go of these interpolations.
Ques: If you ask for forgiveness many times and it is not given, then what can we do?
#SriSri: You ask forgiveness, once, twice, thrice, but you should know that maybe the person is enjoying one’s asking for forgiveness. So at some point you must stop going on pestering about it. You be centered, ‘Look I have asked for forgiveness, if you don’t give it then what can I do? Nothing.’ But don’t lose your calm and your broadmindedness or your wisdom. Keep it with you. If at all there is anything charming in another person, in any relationship, it is wisdom. When wisdom goes, then all charm goes.
#SriSri: You ask forgiveness, once, twice, thrice, but you should know that maybe the person is enjoying one’s asking for forgiveness. So at some point you must stop going on pestering about it. You be centered, ‘Look I have asked for forgiveness, if you don’t give it then what can I do? Nothing.’ But don’t lose your calm and your broadmindedness or your wisdom. Keep it with you. If at all there is anything charming in another person, in any relationship, it is wisdom. When wisdom goes, then all charm goes.
Ques: Why do we do things which are not good for health?
#SriSri: Because you are getting some pleasure out of it. You must get some pain from it, then you will be able to do it. What you can do is give it up for 40 days. Then after 40 days you will see that you have the strength to say no. In this you can get over it.
#SriSri: Because you are getting some pleasure out of it. You must get some pain from it, then you will be able to do it. What you can do is give it up for 40 days. Then after 40 days you will see that you have the strength to say no. In this you can get over it.
Ques: How to be a good disciple and devotee? What we get from You depends upon our effort. When I put effort I don’t feel it is good enough.
#SriSri: Don’t be too hard on yourself, and don’t be too slack on yourself as well. Walk the middle path. There are those who are too hard on one side and they start blaming oneself all the time. And there are others, who justify everything they do and they are too slack on themselves. This is also no good. So walk that middle path. It is an effort to be on the middle path. It is easy to swing to extrimeties but it takes some effort, courage to be the middle path.
#SriSri: Don’t be too hard on yourself, and don’t be too slack on yourself as well. Walk the middle path. There are those who are too hard on one side and they start blaming oneself all the time. And there are others, who justify everything they do and they are too slack on themselves. This is also no good. So walk that middle path. It is an effort to be on the middle path. It is easy to swing to extrimeties but it takes some effort, courage to be the middle path.
Ques: Do you miss me even when I don’t miss you?
#SriSri: You can only miss a person when you are not with them but I am with u all the time! I am with everybody all the time.
#SriSri: You can only miss a person when you are not with them but I am with u all the time! I am with everybody all the time.
Ques: You say, do not look at the past or future, enjoy the present but my son’s professional and married life is not normal , how can I enjoy and live in the present?
#SriSri: What option do you have? If there is a problem in the marriage, what option do you have? If you lose your cool and centerdness , of what help would it be? You need not enjoy and laugh and party but at least be centered. Keep your calm and centeredness and have faith and have conviction that things will get better. Have this confidence. Look around, it is not just your son and family, so many such incidences are happening all around. See what you can do to contribute, how you can resolve the problems. Think about it.
There is a shloka which is chanted in every function by the vedic pandits which says, let Gods purify my mind , my intellect and my heart, let gods purify all dimensions of the world, let the one who is present everywhere purify me.
What is purity? Who is devjana ? Devjana means divine souls. Divine company always purifies you. See you sit with somebody and talk with them for half an hour but after moving away you find your mind is all clustered and negative. You think bad about this person and that person, it means the person has polluted your mind. But the signs of devjana and good people is that your mind and heart becomes pure. Devatas are not somewhere up in the heaven , they are in your own body , in yourself . So, the divinity in you is that which purifies your environment in all dimensions. If you keep everything clean and pure that is sign of devatas. Cleanliness is the quality of devatas. So this prayer is always offered to devatas to purify us in body, mind, heart and intellect. The one who purifies our mind and intellect is a devata or a devjan. You sit and talk with people and they tell you about what car they bought and how they enjoyed and this aroused a desire in you, or they will talk negative about people and curse them and this impurifies your mind. They will create a million doubts in you and the mind which is filled with doubts is impure. An innocent mind has no doubts. It unites everything. It has trust and confidence. A fearful and doubtful mind which is stressful, angry and agitated, irked and full of hatred, all these minds are impure minds. Asuras make the mind impure and the devatas, the divine energy can only purify the mind. If you are a devata you will purify all. Let there be purity in physical, subtle, spiritual and in all dimensions of life. What a beautiful prayer! At the very instant that you hear the prayer you, feel everything has become pure. If you have divine qualities, with whomsoever you sit, you will arouse more and more faith, wisdom and devotion in them. But if you are a little lacking in divine qualities, you will find fault wherever you go, this adds garbage in the minds of people. So, we should be careful of people who fill you with negativity.
#SriSri: What option do you have? If there is a problem in the marriage, what option do you have? If you lose your cool and centerdness , of what help would it be? You need not enjoy and laugh and party but at least be centered. Keep your calm and centeredness and have faith and have conviction that things will get better. Have this confidence. Look around, it is not just your son and family, so many such incidences are happening all around. See what you can do to contribute, how you can resolve the problems. Think about it.
There is a shloka which is chanted in every function by the vedic pandits which says, let Gods purify my mind , my intellect and my heart, let gods purify all dimensions of the world, let the one who is present everywhere purify me.
What is purity? Who is devjana ? Devjana means divine souls. Divine company always purifies you. See you sit with somebody and talk with them for half an hour but after moving away you find your mind is all clustered and negative. You think bad about this person and that person, it means the person has polluted your mind. But the signs of devjana and good people is that your mind and heart becomes pure. Devatas are not somewhere up in the heaven , they are in your own body , in yourself . So, the divinity in you is that which purifies your environment in all dimensions. If you keep everything clean and pure that is sign of devatas. Cleanliness is the quality of devatas. So this prayer is always offered to devatas to purify us in body, mind, heart and intellect. The one who purifies our mind and intellect is a devata or a devjan. You sit and talk with people and they tell you about what car they bought and how they enjoyed and this aroused a desire in you, or they will talk negative about people and curse them and this impurifies your mind. They will create a million doubts in you and the mind which is filled with doubts is impure. An innocent mind has no doubts. It unites everything. It has trust and confidence. A fearful and doubtful mind which is stressful, angry and agitated, irked and full of hatred, all these minds are impure minds. Asuras make the mind impure and the devatas, the divine energy can only purify the mind. If you are a devata you will purify all. Let there be purity in physical, subtle, spiritual and in all dimensions of life. What a beautiful prayer! At the very instant that you hear the prayer you, feel everything has become pure. If you have divine qualities, with whomsoever you sit, you will arouse more and more faith, wisdom and devotion in them. But if you are a little lacking in divine qualities, you will find fault wherever you go, this adds garbage in the minds of people. So, we should be careful of people who fill you with negativity.
Ques: What can we do about all the terrorist attacks?
#SriSri: There are many things we should all do. One is, the world should unite against terrorism. There should be no soft corner for terrorists of any kind, in any place. What happened yesterday in Pakistan? Heinous crime, attack on a University, a place of learning! How many children are wounded, how many have lost there lives. This is so unfortunate. And this calls from action from everybody. Let us see that one, one prevents the violent mentality in people. That can happen through the induction of people to spirituality at a very young age. Second, wherever they are brainwashed to think that I am going to heaven by killing people, we have to go and reverse that tendency, reverse their understanding. Again here, it calls for united movement across the globe. Even if one country is left in nurturing terrorism, then the world cannot be a safe place. I usually tell this story of two people living next to each other. They had great animosity. One of them thought, what can I do to trouble the other neighbor. So he brought a dog. Someone advised him, just a normal dog will not do. You have to inject something so that the dog becomes mad. So he said ok and he made his dog crazy. When the dog got crazy, it forgot who is the owner and started biting the owner itself. And this is what exactly happened in many of these countries which for some reason promoted terrorism, without knowing it is terrorism and now it has become a big problem for themselves. And there are some countries who have vested interests, they think only they can be strong. This sort of meaningless politics should stop. When I met our Prime Minister, he shared one incident when he spoke to Nawaz Sharif. He said, ‘Look, we had so many wars, neither we got the land nor did we get the heavens.’ So he took him to his mother and told his mother what Modi said. So his mother said, ‘Yes, he is correct. Now we should stop these fights and work together’ See the mother’s heart always goes for that, she said that there should be no fight and we should live together, live and let live.. like that in many other countries there groups who are selfish who have no idea of peaceful co-existence. They just somehow want to be prosperous by themselves and these arms and ammunitions are a means to become prosperous for them, at the cost of suffering for millions of them. There is a great need today for world leaders to come together and commit for non-violence. And that is why in the World Culture Festival that is happening in Delhi, have invited politicians. People ask me why invite politicians to a cultural festival? It makes sense inviting artists. On what basis have you invited religious and spiritual leaders? I said, the message of unity has to go to every avenue of life, every avenue of society. The politicians who come they should understand, they will take back home, people from all the countries are here together and they take a message and give a message to the world, we are committed for peace. Similarly religious leaders, they have great influence on their followers, in their parishes, in their communities. They should go and say, we are for this concept of live and let live and that is why Art of Living is inviting politicians as well as the religious leaders and businessmen, everyone, and media. No one section of society is left untouched in World Culture Festival. We are inviting farmers, we are inviting common man, everyone is taking part in this beautiful program.
#SriSri: There are many things we should all do. One is, the world should unite against terrorism. There should be no soft corner for terrorists of any kind, in any place. What happened yesterday in Pakistan? Heinous crime, attack on a University, a place of learning! How many children are wounded, how many have lost there lives. This is so unfortunate. And this calls from action from everybody. Let us see that one, one prevents the violent mentality in people. That can happen through the induction of people to spirituality at a very young age. Second, wherever they are brainwashed to think that I am going to heaven by killing people, we have to go and reverse that tendency, reverse their understanding. Again here, it calls for united movement across the globe. Even if one country is left in nurturing terrorism, then the world cannot be a safe place. I usually tell this story of two people living next to each other. They had great animosity. One of them thought, what can I do to trouble the other neighbor. So he brought a dog. Someone advised him, just a normal dog will not do. You have to inject something so that the dog becomes mad. So he said ok and he made his dog crazy. When the dog got crazy, it forgot who is the owner and started biting the owner itself. And this is what exactly happened in many of these countries which for some reason promoted terrorism, without knowing it is terrorism and now it has become a big problem for themselves. And there are some countries who have vested interests, they think only they can be strong. This sort of meaningless politics should stop. When I met our Prime Minister, he shared one incident when he spoke to Nawaz Sharif. He said, ‘Look, we had so many wars, neither we got the land nor did we get the heavens.’ So he took him to his mother and told his mother what Modi said. So his mother said, ‘Yes, he is correct. Now we should stop these fights and work together’ See the mother’s heart always goes for that, she said that there should be no fight and we should live together, live and let live.. like that in many other countries there groups who are selfish who have no idea of peaceful co-existence. They just somehow want to be prosperous by themselves and these arms and ammunitions are a means to become prosperous for them, at the cost of suffering for millions of them. There is a great need today for world leaders to come together and commit for non-violence. And that is why in the World Culture Festival that is happening in Delhi, have invited politicians. People ask me why invite politicians to a cultural festival? It makes sense inviting artists. On what basis have you invited religious and spiritual leaders? I said, the message of unity has to go to every avenue of life, every avenue of society. The politicians who come they should understand, they will take back home, people from all the countries are here together and they take a message and give a message to the world, we are committed for peace. Similarly religious leaders, they have great influence on their followers, in their parishes, in their communities. They should go and say, we are for this concept of live and let live and that is why Art of Living is inviting politicians as well as the religious leaders and businessmen, everyone, and media. No one section of society is left untouched in World Culture Festival. We are inviting farmers, we are inviting common man, everyone is taking part in this beautiful program.
Ques: What is important, being a good mother or being a good professional?
Sri Sri: Don’t think there is any conflict between this. You can give time for both, okay. I want to tell you an example, we have one Art of Living Teacher, she is a full-time teacher. She has three children, one is very small, six month old baby, another two years old and another one is four years old. And she would manage and also go for social work, she used to teach courses. Usually people say ‘Oh, I have a six months old baby, I cannot do this, I cannot do that! I was amazed, that how she could do this and that and everything. So you must not think in your mind ‘Oh I cannot do this because of this.’ If there is a will, there is a way, okay.
Sri Sri: Don’t think there is any conflict between this. You can give time for both, okay. I want to tell you an example, we have one Art of Living Teacher, she is a full-time teacher. She has three children, one is very small, six month old baby, another two years old and another one is four years old. And she would manage and also go for social work, she used to teach courses. Usually people say ‘Oh, I have a six months old baby, I cannot do this, I cannot do that! I was amazed, that how she could do this and that and everything. So you must not think in your mind ‘Oh I cannot do this because of this.’ If there is a will, there is a way, okay.
Ques: The basic building blocks that we are made up of, that is molecules and atoms are in motion constantly. Is there anything that is still?
#SriSri: The space in which they are all moving is still. You can’t even know that they are moving unless there is a constant. Unless there is a reference point which is not moving you cannot even recognise movement.
#SriSri: The space in which they are all moving is still. You can’t even know that they are moving unless there is a constant. Unless there is a reference point which is not moving you cannot even recognise movement.
Ques: Do you need to be spiritual to meditate effectively?
#SriSri: Meditation is spiritual! What do you mean by being spiritual? You don’t have to grow long hair or a beard or stay in a cave. You can lead your normal life and when you meditate you are spiritual, when you are kind you are spiritual, when you are ready to sacrifice your little wants for some greater good for others you are spiritual. When you are willing to share what you have, you are spiritual. Don’t you have all these quality? (Yeah) then you are spiritual. As long as you don’t wish bad for others and as long as you don’t do things that harm you and others, you are spiritual.
#SriSri: Meditation is spiritual! What do you mean by being spiritual? You don’t have to grow long hair or a beard or stay in a cave. You can lead your normal life and when you meditate you are spiritual, when you are kind you are spiritual, when you are ready to sacrifice your little wants for some greater good for others you are spiritual. When you are willing to share what you have, you are spiritual. Don’t you have all these quality? (Yeah) then you are spiritual. As long as you don’t wish bad for others and as long as you don’t do things that harm you and others, you are spiritual.
Ques: There are other ways to release stress like exercising, is this an alternative to meditation, is it another form of meditation?
#SriSri: Why you are averse to meditation? You need alternative when you have some trouble with it. Got it? I have not found an alternative thing or a substitute for meditation. Meditation is that which bring stillness, calmness, serenity in you. Exercise is an activity, exercise cannot be a substitute for meditation at all. In fact, if you exercise too much you cannot meditate for some hours. Because the body’s metabolism is high, there is so much blood moving in all direction in the body, heart is pumping faster, the metabolism is higher then meditation cannot happen. When you have high blood pressure then meditation becomes difficult. Now in meditation metabolism goes down, your breathe is very feeble, sometimes almost it’s not there. And that opens you to another dimension which exercises, watching birds or walking in the forest cannot give you. The stillness of meditation that when you sit and do, is un-parallel, it cannot be compared with anything else.
#SriSri: Why you are averse to meditation? You need alternative when you have some trouble with it. Got it? I have not found an alternative thing or a substitute for meditation. Meditation is that which bring stillness, calmness, serenity in you. Exercise is an activity, exercise cannot be a substitute for meditation at all. In fact, if you exercise too much you cannot meditate for some hours. Because the body’s metabolism is high, there is so much blood moving in all direction in the body, heart is pumping faster, the metabolism is higher then meditation cannot happen. When you have high blood pressure then meditation becomes difficult. Now in meditation metabolism goes down, your breathe is very feeble, sometimes almost it’s not there. And that opens you to another dimension which exercises, watching birds or walking in the forest cannot give you. The stillness of meditation that when you sit and do, is un-parallel, it cannot be compared with anything else.
Ques: Guruji, who is or what is ‘purna-brahma’?
#SriSri: Listen, it is very easy to ask ‘what is purna-brahma’. That which is everything is ‘purna-brahma’. You cannot say that ‘this is not brahma’. Understood? That which is everything, it’s another name is ‘brahma’. That which has everything in it is, that which is everything, is ‘brahma’.
#SriSri: Listen, it is very easy to ask ‘what is purna-brahma’. That which is everything is ‘purna-brahma’. You cannot say that ‘this is not brahma’. Understood? That which is everything, it’s another name is ‘brahma’. That which has everything in it is, that which is everything, is ‘brahma’.
Ques: Can we meditate anytime during the day?
#SriSri: Not immediately after food, before meal you can meditate.
#SriSri: Not immediately after food, before meal you can meditate.
Ques: We need to do meditation three times a day and I can’t do it in the afternoon. Can I do it twice in the evening?
#SriSri: Doesn’t matter, you do it even twice, that’s good enough. If you miss a meal in the morning do you eat that also in the evening? Do you say that I missed my lunch so in dinner I am going to have my lunch and dinner. No! You do half-an-hour, twenty minutes that is good enough.
#SriSri: Doesn’t matter, you do it even twice, that’s good enough. If you miss a meal in the morning do you eat that also in the evening? Do you say that I missed my lunch so in dinner I am going to have my lunch and dinner. No! You do half-an-hour, twenty minutes that is good enough.
Ques. How to balance our materialistic lifestyle and spiritual lifestyle?
#SriSri: See you need food, you need a vehicle, you need all that you have, right. If you compare yourself with others what that guy is doing, so I want that, then that is taking you away from your centerdness. There is nothing wrong, you don’t have to feel guilty to take care of your needs. If you feel that I need this, you take care of it. I want this because that guy is doing then that is not a wise desire to have.
#SriSri: See you need food, you need a vehicle, you need all that you have, right. If you compare yourself with others what that guy is doing, so I want that, then that is taking you away from your centerdness. There is nothing wrong, you don’t have to feel guilty to take care of your needs. If you feel that I need this, you take care of it. I want this because that guy is doing then that is not a wise desire to have.
Ques: I enjoy kriya and sadhana a lot, but I also enjoy going to party, is that wrong? Can both go hand-in-hand?
#SriSri: As long as you retrain yourself to the softdrinks in the parties it’s okay.
#SriSri: As long as you retrain yourself to the softdrinks in the parties it’s okay.
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