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- Herausgeber: Aslan eReads
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
Weekly Knowledge Sheets given by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a practice which began from the year 1995 and now, have been compiled into Seven Volume Series of books. This book (Volume I) is a collection of weekly talks, conversations and messages that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gave between June 21 1995 to June 13 1996. An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker is a compilation of excerpts of talks by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the year 1995 - 1996. While these talks often discuss the state of the world at the time they were written, because they discuss human life on the most basic levels - love, hatred, trust, peace, silence, happiness, they are still valuable today. They give us an insight into this knowledge that is so deeply profound, yet so simple, knowledge that does not just remain in the intellect, but is beautifully and effortlessly integrated into daily life. Sri Sri avoids lengthy discussions about the deeper philosophy of life, yet his talks reflect these values to their very core. This book is specially compiled to help readers going through an emotional phase or who need a guidance in life. The reader can go through any one random page (365 chapters for 365 days) for help or can follow as per ones discretion
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An Intimate Note to the Sincere Seeker
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Publications Trust, India
© Copyrights Sri Sri Publications Trust
This digital edition is published by arrangement with Aslan Business Solutions
Digitally Published By:
Aslan Reads -An imprint of Aslan Business Solutions Borivli, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Email: [email protected]: www.aslanbiz.com & www.aslanreads.com
Physical Editions Published by:
Sri Sri Publications Trust The Art of Living International Centre 21st KM, Kanakapura Road, Udayapura, Bangalore – 560082 Email: [email protected]: www.sattvastore.comToll Free: 1800-258-8888
© All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher
ISBN: 978-93-85898-04-4
Layout by: Sri Sri Publications Trust
Contents
Title
1. This Begins a New Practice
2. Close to the Master
3. Prarabdha Karma and Sanchita Karma
4. Only Speak Knowledge; Find Comfort in Conflicts
5. Master is the Door
6. Doubt
7. Fire
8. Habits and Vows
9. Dealing with Blame
10. Today is Krishna’s Birthday: Birth of the Centre of Attraction
11. Asuya and Anasuya
12. The Love of the Ignorant, the Anger of the Enlightened
13. A Liar is Innocent
14. Be a Gopal
15. Silence
16. The Big Mind
17. The Only Thing You Must Remember
18. Freedom and Discipline
19. Discipleship Ends
20. Sakha: Your Reliable Sense
21. Scepticism
22. Shaucha and Ashaucha
23. Boredom and Sadhana
24. Who Are You: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva - or Guru?
25. How to Maintain Intimacy
26. All are searching for sweets; the One who finds them gives them away
27. Overcoming Events
28. The Washing Machine
29. Divine is All Celebration
30. New Year’s Celebration
31. Wrapping Paper
32. Is Guru Satisfied or Unsatisfied?
33. Advice from Hawaii
34. The Most Beautiful Spot in the Universe
35. Indebtedness or Abundance?
36. Abiding in the Self
37. Knowledge and Faith
38. Respect
39. Desire and Joy
40. Faith and Love
41. Questions & Dealing with Desire
42. Blame and Misery
43. Attachments
44. Vivek
45. Words
46. Karma
47. Sanyas & Your Associations
48. Illusion
49. Self
50. Enlightenment
51. Samadhi
52. What You Know
53. Seva is Saviour
54. When We are Joyful
55. Judgments and Good Company
56. God is a Thorough Businessman
57. Surrender and Responsibility
58. Respect Everybody as You Respect Me
59. Doing versus Happening
60. Don’t Be Grateful!
61. Faith, Devotion and Meditation
62. Infinite Patience and Smart Shopping
63. Surrender, Shame and Shyness
64. Special... or Ordinary?
65. Whether You Win or Lose
66. The Well-Baked Pot
67. The Fall that Rises
68. Which is more expensive: your smile or your anger?
69. The Perfect Balance
70. The Nine Nights of Navaratri
71. Celebrating the Silence
72. Sincerity and Blessings
73. In the Solitude of the Self
74. See the Divine
75. Annihilate Conflict
76. Desire and Prayerfulness
77. Faith and Happiness
78. How to Deal with Rude Behaviour
79. Pleasure
80. The Five Aspects of the Universe
81. Self - Reliance and Surrender
82. New Year’s Celebration
83. Padmanabha: the Lotus Navel
84. Bhakti
85. Accept the World at Its Worst
86. Indigestion of Knowledge
87. Unknown Knowledge
Where is He?
Faith of the Faithful
The Music of Life
Gossip
88. Be Loved
89. Seva Blessings
90. Share Your Joy
91. Angels
92. The Eleventh Commandment
93. A Friend is an Enemy, an Enemy is a Friend
94. Simple or Complex?
95. Expand Your Vices
96. The Primal Instinct
97. Satsang is Shelter
98. Three Kinds of Love
99. What enhances your beauty?
100. Drop Your Self-image
101. The World Belongs to You
102. Dedication and Commitment
103. The Way Out of Sorrow
104. The Divine Beyond Time
105. Every Stone is Precious
106. Sensitivity and Strength
107. The Personal and the Impersonal
108. The Golden Veil
109. With Whom Are You At Ease?
110. Let Love Be
111. Make Everything Personal and Universal
112. On Respect
113. Sacrifice
114. Window Shutters
115. Raksha Bandhan
116. Truth Once Found
117. A Big Dilemma
118. How to Get Centred
119. The Five Insights
120. Five Signs of the Satguru
121. Six Signs of a Seeker
122. Yagyas
123. God as a Child
124. Feel Blessed
125. Diwali
126. Love is Your Very Existence
127. Your Expressions of Love
128. Ego
129. Memory
130. Intellect
131. Time and Mind
132. Faces of Infinity
133. Celebration and the Christmas Tree
134. A Wise Person is Happy Even in Bad Times
135. You are Pure Electricity
136. Politics
137. Tolerance and Acceptance are Not Virtues
138. False Security
139. Organisation and Devotion
140. When a Mistake is Not a Mistake
141. Respect
142. Shiva and Vashi
143. Formality and Cordiality
144. You are the Tenth
145. Inside Out
146. Dreams
147. Impression and Expression
148. Tarka, Vitarka and Kutarka
149. Softness and Forcefulness
150. Do Not Follow Me
151. Confusion and Decision
152. You are Privileged
153. The Value of Chanting
154. Intensify Your Longing
155. Faith is Your Wealth
156. Who Wakes Up First?
157. Breaking Beyond the Rational Mind
158. If You Cannot Meditate - Be Stupid!
159. Give Away Your Rights
160. Generosity is a Quality of Spirit
161. The Path of Love is Surrender
162. It Takes Courage to Say “I Am”
163. Do You Know I Have No Mercy?
164. Ego Is Only an Atom
165. Loyalty
166. Do You Love Someone Because They Are Great or Unique?
167. Singing, Communication And Ego
168. Expansion of Consciousness is Peace
169. Dependence, Independence, Interdependence And Oneness
170. Rest And Activity
171. Do It Until You Become It !
172. Silence
173. Do Not Correct Your Mistakes!
174. Yagna
175. The Different Kinds of Understanding
176. The Cause of Return
177. Appreciation
178. What Are the Signs of Love?
179. The Purpose of Life
180. Austerity
181. Focus And Expansion
182. Sublimating Lust
183. Uncertainty
184. Organisation
185. Recycling and Hygiene
186. Bliss
187. Do You Test God, or Does God Test You?
188. Welcoming And Resisting
189. Stimulating the Soul
190. Stretching the Emptiness
191. Love’s Wisdom
192. Becoming Defenceless
193. Diksha
194. Love And Lust
195. Doubt And Closeness
196. Intelligence
197. Attaining Self-Knowledge
198. You And Your Time
199. A Prayer
200. The Noise of Nonviolence
201. Life Is Too Short; Life Is Eternal
202. A Deep Rest
203. Blessing
204. Shortcut!
205. Faith; Nature of Consciousness
206. Success
207. Message
208. Blessed Are Those Who Are Bored
209. Religion And Politics
210. Love And Renunciation
211. Change and Love
212. Thank Superficially
213. Satyam Param Dhimahi
214. Guru Is The Goal
215. How to Conquer Jealousy or Envy
216. Anu Vrat
217. Knowledge As A Burden
218. Protection And Transformation
219. Who Wins?
220. Two Anecdotes
221. Compassion And Karma
222. Negativity Needs An Anchor
223. Life Is A War
224. Spirituality And Celebration
225. Sound Faith
226. Always?
227. Being In Utter Love
HOMAGE TO AMMA
228. Death And Spirituality
229. Aggression As A Way To Overcome Depression
230. Think Fresh
231. The Five Secrets
232. The Wisdom Of Secrets
233. Intention
234. The Nature Of The Five Senses Is Knowledge
235. Five Factors That Influence The Mind
236. Reasons To Be With A Guru
237. Evolution: Not Part Of The Self
238. Varieties Of Spirit
239. The Problem’s Tail
240. Do Not Worship Or Idolize
241. Feel The Pinch
242. Skill In Praising
243. News Flood
244. Form And Formless, Aggression And Intuition
245. The Goal Of All Answers
246. Surrender
247. How To Handle Feverishness
248. How Does A Desire Arise?
249. Ram Navami
250. Desire Kills Joy And All Desires Aim For Joy
251. You Are Nothing
252. Desire For Truth
253. Seekers Beware
254. Is The Guru Responsible?
255. Life Without Wisdom Is Incomplete
256. Education
257. Truth
258. I Am Neither Honest Nor Humble
259. How To Deal With Humiliation
260. Legends
261. Arguments And Wrong Action
262. Virtues
263. Action and Reaction
264. Technology
265. Love - The Question of an Answer
266. Conflict and Innocence
267. Problems? One More
268. Do Not Make a Mistake by Pointing Out Mistakes
269. Wise Are the Ones Who Make You Crave for the Divine
270. Do You Have to be Thankful and Feel Obliged?
271. Divine Love and the Complaining Face
272. The Devotee Becomes God
273. Devotion is Steeped in Mystery
274. Perfection is the Nature of the Enlightened
275. Ignorance of Your Capability Can Expand You
276. Love is the Shadow of the Self
277. Are You a Tourist or a Pilgrim?
278. The Bodhi Tree
279. Nimit - Instrument of the Divine
280. The Problem’s Solution
281. Sacredness and You
282. I am God
283. Atheism is Not a Reality
284. Atheism
285. To Say “Sorry” is a Good Mistake
286. Kick the Ball and Be in the Goal
287. “Important” and “Unimportant”
288. Worship - A Sign of Maturity
289. The Kumbha Mela
290. The Other Side of Friendliness
291. Longing Itself is Divine
292. Back to Space
293. Passion and Self-Reliance
294. The Other Side of Fear - The Usefulness of Fear
295. The Other Side of Ego
296. The Paradox of Sacrifice
297. Divine in the Form and Formless
298. Strength and Subordination
299. Commitment and Convenience
300. Dealing with Blame and Accusation
301. Self-Confidence and Ambition
302. The Dangers of Belongingness and Advantages of Obligations
303. Prestige and Honour - Your Golden Cage
304. Life is a Dream, a Burden or a Joke
305. Reason and Faith
306. Doing Trivial Things
307. Joy and Sorrow
308. Deep Rest and Bliss
309. Five Types of Restlessness
310. Tendencies and Influences
311. Authenticity and Skilfulness
312. Time, Space and Mind
313. Mistakes
314. The Great Pleasure of Rest
315. Worry & Feelings
316. Who is Pleasing Whom?
317. Two Perspectives of the Guru
318. Love & Authority
319. Ganesha
320. Hungry for Power
321. You & Ownership
322. Reverence & Ownership
323. War : The Worst Act of Reason
324. Terrorism : the Cause & the Remedy
325. How to Deal With Anxiety
326. Is War Violence or Nonviolence?
327. Honey
328. Drop Your Intentions
329. Aishwarya & Madhurya
330. Volunteer
331. Adulation
332. Seva
333. Confidence With Humility: the Rarest Combination
334. Dreaming the Impossible
335. Respect & Ego
336. Maya
337. Letting Go of Control
338. Memory: a Hindrance & a Blessing
339. Don’t be Perturbed by Foolishness
340. Glory & Dispassion (Vaibhav & Vairagya)
341. Where Dispassion is Detrimental!
342. Business & Spirituality
343. The Subtle Truth About Virtues
344. Humour & Humiliation
345. Love & Truth
346. An Awkward Situation
347. The True Yajña
348. Your Nature is Shiva
349. Praise the Fools
350. What Makes a Real Holiday?
351. Wake up & Slow Down
352. Communism & Spirituality
353. Was Buddha an Atheist?
354. The Strength of Commitment
355. Two Types of Knowledge
356. Friendship for a Cause
357. Three Types of Dispassion
358. Faith & Alertness
359. Enthusiasm & Dispassion
360. Guru Tidbits
361. Nigraha, Agraha, Satyagraha & Duraagraha
362. Wake Up & Transcend
363. Know Your Group Type
364. Creativity
365. Free Will And Destiny
Message For The New Millennium
Wisdom For Organisers
Introductory Programs:
Landmarks
Cover
Words are too small to convey the Truth Yet they can trigger the flames of wisdom, Shower comfort on the intense longing, Raise cheers of joy and make you Know I treasure your love for me.
Like God his creation, The root its trunk, Unknown, unheard, unseen, In the silent chamber of heart I am in you as you, You are in me as me.
Ha! What a blessing!
–Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Since June, 1995, people around the world eagerly await the Knowledge from Gurudev each week. It started out as a simple note from the Master; later, devotees began to add a weekly “news flash” to carry a fragrance of the events surrounding Gurudev on his extensive travels.
People from various countries assist Gurudev with transcribing, translating, and transmitting the Weekly Knowledge. Next week it could be you.
This first volume contains the Weekly Knowledge from June 21, 1995 through June 13,1996.
June 21, 1995 (Part I) Big Sur, California
1. This Begins a New Practice
This begins a series of weekly notes of Knowledge from Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
Beyond an event is Knowledge. Beyond an object is Infinity. Beyond a person is Love.
Knowledge is beyond events. Every event colours your awareness in some way: pleasure, pain, joy, sorrow, anger, jealousy. Each event gives you a false notion of what reality is. Truth is beyond all the colours of particular events.
Behind every object is infinity. Objects are limited and changing, yet they exist in infinite space that never changes. Reduce any object to atoms; you will find that within each atom is contained infinite space. Beyond all objects is infinity.
Beyond each person is love. A personality changes. A body, a mind, a complex of behaviours is always changing. Beyond each personality there is unchanging love; love is what you are. When you lose your self, you’ll find your Self !
The event behind the event is Knowledge. The object behind the object is infinity. The person behind the person is love.
Maya – delusion – is when you are stuck in events, personalities, or objects. Brahman – divine consciousness –is seeing beyond all these.
See? Just a little shift.
June 21, 1995 (Part II1) Big Sur, California
2. Close to the Master
If you’re not feeling close to the Master, it’s because of you – because of your mind, your ego concepts.
Just being on the levels of formal and informal communication cannot make you feel close. “How are you?” “Where are you going?” “How have you been?” Stop these formal and superficial conversations with the Master. Speak with your heart what is deep in your life, what is important and intimate to you. Don’t just say how much the squash costs – 30 cents or whatever.
Share what you have and don’t judge, “Oh, this is garbage.” The Master is ready to accept garbage of any extent. However you are, he will embrace you. Do not feel shame, shy, or judgmental about yourself.
If you don’t feel close to the Master, there’s no point in having a Master. He is just another burden to you, and you have enough burdens already. Just say, “Goodbye.”
Question:When you play little games with us and push us away, how can we feel close to you?
Gurudev: You should feel more close if you are scolded or ignored, because to ignore somebody takes a lot of effort. When a Master does not even ignore wrapping paper or a flower in a vase, how can he ignore a walking, talking, breathing human being who is connected to him? Once you understand this, you immediately feel close.
Torre: Can we call you every week?
Kenny: Call Gurudev2every week, and if he doesn’t answer the phone, then you know you are loved!
Gurudev: Yes, put that in. (Laughter)
You are with the Master to share the joy of the Master, to share the consciousness of the Master.
For this, you have to empty your cup of what is already in it.
The Master is ready to share. You have only to share from your side.
1 Gurudev thought to send out Weekly Knowledge notes, and everyone liked the idea-so this first week he sent two!
2 People around the world commonly address Gurudev as Guruji (honoured teacher)
June 29, 1995 California
3. Prarabdha Karma and Sanchita Karma
Some karma can be changed and some cannot.
When you prepare a dessert, if sugar or ghee is too little, you can add more. If some other ingredient is too much, it can all be adjusted and repaired. But once it is cooked, it cannot be reversed.
Milk can become sweet yoghurt or sour yoghurt, and sour yoghurt can be sweetened. But neither can be reversed back to milk.
Sanchitakarma can be changed and adjusted by spiritual practices. Prarabdhakarma cannot be changed. And Satsang3 burns the seed of all negative karmas before they are given a chance to sprout.
3 The company of the Master; also refers to a group of individuals who come together to celebrate the Knowledge.
July 4, 1995 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
4. Only Speak Knowledge; Find Comfort in Conflicts
Only speak Knowledge. Don’t repeat anything bad that someone tells you about someone. And don’t listen to someone who tells you that “so-and-so said such-and-such” about you. When someone comes to tell you such things, discourage them. Don’t believe it.
If someone blames you directly, don’t believe in what they say. Just know that they are taking away your bad karma and let it go. And if you’re one of the Master’s close ones, you will take all the blame of the world with a smile.
When you blame someone, you take on their bad karma; When you praise someone, you take on their good karma; Surrender both good and bad karma to the Divine – and be free.
Conflict is the nature of the world; comfort is the nature of the Self. Amidst conflict, find the comfort.
When you are tired of conflicts and the games of the world, get into the comforts of the Self. When you are bored with comfort, get into the games of the world. If you are one of the Master’s close ones, you do both simultaneously.
People who love peace do not want to fight, and those who fight do not have peace. What is needed is to be peaceful within and then fight. Just trying to end a conflict only prolongs it.
Instead, face the conflict while seeking the comfort of the Self. Does this ring a bell? This is the whole message of the Bhagavad Gita - Krishna tells Arjuna to be centred in peace and to fight at the same time.
God is alive in the world and has been putting up with all conflicts throughout the ages. If God can put up with all these conflicts, you can too. And the moment you agree to be with a conflict, it no longer appears as a conflict to you.
The nature of this world is that once you resolve one conflict, another arises. For example, Russia is solved and then Bosnia is in trouble. Or you get a cold, then you get better – then your back hurts, then it gets better. And when your body is fine, then the mind goes. Things in this world run this way, don’t they?
Without any intention, misunderstandings simply happen and conflicts arise. It’s not up to you to resolve them. Just be with them and be alive!
July 12, 1995-Guru Purnima4 morning Montreal Ashram, Ontario, Canada
5. Master is the Door
You are lost on the street. There is rain, thunder, wind and cold; you need shelter. You look around and you find a door. You come to the door because it is more inviting, more charming, more joyful than anything out on the street.
When you enter the door of the Master, you come Home. You see the world from a new perspective. From inside you can still hear the thunder and see the rain, but it no longer disturbs you. Inside there is warmth and security. The world looks much more beautiful – not a nasty place, but a place filled with love, cooperation, compassion. Your fear drops away.
When you can see the whole world through the eyes of the Master, it is a sign that you have come to the Master; you have entered the door. This is the purpose of having a Master.
If you are still seeing the world as before, then you have not yet come to the Master; you are still standing out in the street, cold and wet; you are only looking at the door, you have not yet entered in.
What does it mean to “see through the eyes of the Master”? Just this: Every situation that you face, you are thinking- If this situation comes in front of the Master, how would he handle it? If this complication comes to the Master, how would he take it? If someone blames the Master, what would he do?
The key is to feel the Presence of the Master. The Master is the Presence, not a relationship. Relationships can be broken, mended, and broken again. There is craving and aversion in every relationship. This is the wheel of sansara, the misery of the world. All relationships go topsy-turvy, whereas the Presence is vast, infinite, stable and centred.
Don’t make the Master a worldly relationship. “Oh, he looked at me.” “He didn’t look at me.” “Oh, he said this.” “He didn’t say that.” “Somebody else is close; I am not close.” All this garbage comes into it.
Just enter the door of the Master and come Home. Only the Presence of the Master will bring fulfilment to your life – and to all your relationships.
4 the full moon day in July when one traditionally celebrates and honours the Master.
July 20, 1995 Montreal Ashram, Ontario. Canada
6. Doubt
A doubt is a gray area. Gray is something which is neither white nor black. Now, how to solve a doubt?
Accept a doubt as either black or white.
See your doubt as white and there is no doubt. See the doubt as black and accept it. Either way, you accept it and move on.
See someone as either honest or dishonest and accept him. Then your mind is quiet. Then you are not in the gray area of doubt. Have conviction: “He is dishonest and yet he is still part of me. I accept him as he is.” That’s it. Finished.
Doubt is an unstable state with footing neither on this shore nor that shore. From there tension arises. One way or the other, take a direction and regain your footing.
Have you noticed that you usually doubt only the things that are positive in your life? Negative things you don’t doubt. You doubt a person’s honesty, and you believe in his dishonesty. When someone is angry with you, you have no doubt about his anger. But when someone says he loves you, a doubt creeps in: Does he really love me? When you are depressed, do you ever think am I really depressed? No, you take your depression as a fact. Yet when you are happy, you doubt: Am I really happy; is this really what I wanted? You doubt that you are capable, but do you ever doubt that you are incapable?
See this tendency to doubt the positive things in your life. Put doubt in its proper place and doubt the doubts. Doubt the negative and put your trust more in the positive.
July 24, 1995 Montreal Ashram, Ontario, Canada
7. Fire
The senses are like fire. Whatever you put into your senses burns in this fire.
A fire of toxic material creates pollution and bad smell. But if you burn sandalwood, it creates fragrance.
The same fire that supports life can also destroy. A fire can heat your home or burn it down. Celebration happens around a bonfire. Grief happens around the fire of cremation. A burning tyre creates toxic fumes. A ghee lamp lights your way and purifies the surroundings.
Does your fire create smoke and pollution – or are you like a camphor flame that creates light and fragrance? A saint creates light and the fragrance of love. He is the friend of life.
A fire that creates light and warmth is of high quality. A fire that creates light and a little smoke is of medium quality. The fire that creates smoke and darkness is of low quality. Learn to distinguish these different fires.
When your senses are engaged in goodness, then you will create light and fragrance; When engaged in impurity, you create smoke and darkness.
It is sanyama that transforms the quality of fire in you. Next week we will discuss sanyama.
July 30, 1995 Brookfield, Connecticut
8. Habits and Vows
How to get rid of vasanas (impressions)? This is a question for all those who want to come out of habits.
You want to get rid of habits because they give you pain and restrict you. The nature of a vasana is to bother you – bind you – and wanting to be free is the nature of life. When a soul does not know how to be free, it wanders for lifetimes craving freedom.
The way to come out of habits is vows.
A vow should be time-bound. For example, suppose someone says, “I will quit smoking;” but cannot do it. He can take a time-bound vow not to smoke for five days. If someone is used to cursing and swearing, he can take a vow not to use bad language for ten days. Don’t take a vow for a lifetime – you will break it immediately! If you happen to break it anyway, don’t worry; just begin again. When you fulfil your vow, pick a new starting time and renew it again. Slowly increase the length of your vow until it becomes your very nature.
This is sanyama. Everybody is endowed with a little sanyama. When the mind falls back into its old patterns, two possibilities can happen. One is, you feel discouraged, you blame yourself, and you feel you have not made any progress. The second possibility is that you see it as an opportunity for sanyama and feel happy about it.
Bad habits will clog you and drain your life energy. Without sanyama, life will not be happy and disease-free. For example, you know you should not eat three servings of ice cream or eat ice cream every day. If you do, you will get sick. Just give a positive direction to your life energy and you can rise above any habit through sanyama.
All those habits that bother you, bind them in vows, in sanyama. Take a time-bound vow today and make a note of it. If you break a vow, make a note of it and share the time and date at the next Satsang. Continue it again. Tie those habits which bring you pain in sanyama.
August 10, 1995 Braunlage, Germany
9. Dealing with Blame
When someone blames you, what do you usually do? You blame them back or you put up a resistance in yourself.
How do you feel when someone blames you? Hurt, unhappy, sad, heavy? This is all because you are resisting! What you resist, persists.
You get hurt because you resist the blame.
Know that when someone blames you, they take away some negative karma from you. If you understand this, you will only feel happy about it. .
If you resist when someone blames you, you are not allowing them to take away the negative karma. Even if you don’t react outwardly, you may still be resisting inside.
Actually it’s fine to resist outside, but inside don’t resist. You will feel immediately lighter. You can feel happy: Oh, good, somebody is blaming me and taking some of my negative karma.
The ignorant person says, “Don’t blame me” because it hurts him. An enlightened person also says, “Don’t blame me.” Do you know why? Because it might hurt you. You can tell someone not to blame you out of anger or out of compassion.
• News Flash:
Gurudev arrived in Poland for an enchanting course with nearly 400 people. Every eye filled with tears of gratitude. Then Gurudev came to Braunlage, Germany, where more than 200 people are celebrating the silence.
August 16, 1995 Rotterdam, Netherlands
10. Today is Krishna’s Birthday: Birth of the Centre of Attraction
Krishna means the most attractive. He is the divinity, the energy, that pulls everything to it. Krishna is the formless centre that is everywhere.
Any attraction anywhere comes only from Krishna.
Often people fail to see the spirit behind an attraction and merely hold on to the outer shell. The moment you possess the shell, you will see Krishna has played a trick. You will be left empty with the shell in your hands and tears in your eyes.
Don’t be tricked by Krishna – be clever like Radha. Krishna could not escape from Radha, for her whole world was filled with Krishna. If you can see that wherever there is an attraction, there is Krishna, then you have become Radha. Then you are always in your centre.
The mind moves towards beauty, joy, and truth. So Krishna tells Arjuna, “I am the beauty in the beautiful, the strength in the strong, the wisdom in the wise.” In this way he attracts the mind so that it does not move away from him.
Krishna reveals this Knowledge to Arjuna because he is anasuya. Next week we will see what anasuya is.
August 24, 1995 London, United Kingdom
11. Asuya and Anasuya
There is a certain mind set that always finds fault even under the best conditions. When you give such a person the best possible things, he finds faults. Even with the ideal companion or the most beautiful painting, he will still find something wrong. This kind of mind set is called asuya; it can never know the sacred Knowledge.
Asuya is finding a fault or seeing a malicious intent everywhere. Suppose it is windy and you shut the door, but at that moment someone else was just about to walk in. He will think that the door has been slammed in his face! This is asuya.
You have a friendship, and after ten years you find a fault and decide to break it off. Now you do not see any good from that entire relationship. This is asuya.
The moment you are out of the spiritual Path, you feel that everything on the Path was all wrong. This is asuya.
Asuya is when a child says, “Mother, you don’t love me!” The child’s vision is wrong; if the mother does not love the child, who will? It frustrates the mother.
Asuya is when someone comes to me and says, “Gurudev, you don’t love me!” If I don’t love them, forget about it. Who else in the world will? Yet a Master never becomes frustrated.
Knowledge is different at different levels of consciousness. At a particular point you become anasuya.
Anasuya means being devoid of fault-finding eyes.
Krishna tells Arjuna that he is giving him the Royal Secret because he is anasuya: “You are not finding fault in Me, even though you are so close.”
From a distance, it is easy to miss a fault in somebody; up close, no fault escapes you. Even craters cannot be seen from afar; up close, even a smooth surface has imperfections. If you are interested only in holes, you will not see the larger dimension of things.
Unless you are devoid of fault-finding eyes, there is no point in giving you Knowledge because it cannot blossom in you.
If a mirror is dusty, you can clean it. But if your eyes have a cataract, any amount of dusting the mirror will not help. You have to remove the cataract. Then you will see that the mirror was already clean.
Asuya – fault–finding eyes, give you the idea, “The whole world is not sharp, the whole world is no good.”
Anasuya is knowing, “It is my own vision of the world that is blurred.” And once you discover you have the wrong vision, half of the problem has already disappeared.
August 31, 1995 Here and Now
12. The Love of the Ignorant, the Anger of the Enlightened
The love of the ignorant can be harmful, yet even the anger of the Enlightened is not harmful. It can only be good!
We have a school at the ashram in Bangalore. There are 250 children enrolled, but only 200 come to class on any given day. Fifty children don’t show up! Why? Because they cry at home, “Mother, I don’t want to go to school.”
The mother says, “Oh, la la, don’t cry...okay.” She thinks, “No child in the world is like my child.” She gives in to the child and defends him. She does not see the teacher’s point of view.
So, what happens? The child grows up spoiled. The child will never learn the alphabet, never learn to read or write. And the mother says, “Oh, never mind, there are sheep to look after and fields to tend.” Her love in ignorance has spoiled the child.
On the other hand,
The anger of the Enlightened is a blessing.
The Puranas give many instances of this. Once a Master was travelling with a disciple in the middle province of India. Some boys who were rude, rough, and abusive began to throw stones and tease the disciple, calling him names. This went on for some time as the boys followed the Master and the disciple.
They came to a river. The Master and the disciple got into a boat and started to cross. The boys got into another boat which began to sink in the middle of the river.
The Master slapped the disciple across the face. The disciple was so surprised, as he had not said a single word in response to the boys’ taunts! He had been such a good disciple and yet the Master had slapped him.
The Master said, “It is your fault. You are responsible for their boat sinking. You did not respond to their abuse. Nature has now punished them in a worse way because you did not have enough compassion to quell their insults.”
That slap from the Master took away the karma of this event so that it would not be carried into the future of the boys. It also served to take away any little bit of joy the disciple may have felt as he was seeing the boys’ boat sink! Thus, it also took away the karma of the event for the disciple.
Even the anger of the Enlightened is a blessing!
September 6, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
13. A Liar is Innocent
A dear person whom you trust lies to you and you catch him. What do you feel?
1. Sadness
2. Anger
3. Cheated
4. Disappointment
5. Compassion
6. Let down
7. Loss of respect
8. Wonder
9. Shock
10. Embarrassment
Recently when someone lied to me, I felt happy and more love, for they were not a good liar. Had he been a good liar, he would not have been caught. I thought He is so innocent that he could not even lie properly. He lied and got caught! If he had not been caught, how would ever you know he was a liar?
So... you can never know a good liar.
The person you call a liar is not a good liar... and he is innocent. Isn’t he?
And so... (Laugh), you need not go through all the above listed mental gymnastics. Instead melt and dissolve in love.
September 13, 1995 Melbourne, Australia
14. Be a Gopal
You walk until you come to the ocean. You don’t walk or run in the ocean – you float and swim. Like this, once you come to the Master, seeking stops, blossoming begins.
You seek until you Come to the Master.
Seeking is a desire. Desire is a thought. Thoughts are in the mind. The mind is in the Big Mind. The Big Mind in me is love. Emotions are ripples in love. Love is all Knowledge. Every atom of the Big Mind is crammed with Knowledge. Knowing this, you stop seeking.
You are Knowledge. Every atom in you is shimmering with Knowledge. In Sanskrit, this is called go. Go has four meanings:
• Knowledge
• Movement
• Achievement
• Freedom or liberation
Pal means friend or protector – one who takes care of you. Be a Gopal(go-pal); be a friend in Knowledge. Often you become friends by:
• Gossiping about negative things
• Complaining
• Similar cravings or aversions
• Common enemies or common problems
• Common goals or common addictions
You become friends with someone because you have something in common. But coming together in Knowledge is rare.
Be a friend in Knowledge. Uplift each other in Knowledge.
All Satsangees are Gopals – reminding each other of the Knowledge, coming together for Knowledge. That is Gopal. Be a protector of this Knowledge.
September 21, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
15. Silence
Prayer within breath Is silence Love within Infinity Is silence Wisdom without words Is silence Compassion without aim Is silence Action without doer Is silence Smiling with all the Existence Is silence!
September 27, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
16. The Big Mind
You know there is a big mind and a small mind. Sometimes the Big Mind wins over the small mind, and sometimes it is the other way around.
When the small mind wins over, it is misery; when the Big Mind wins, it is joy. The small mind promises joy and leaves your hand empty. The Big Mind may bring a resistance in the beginning but later fills you with joy.
Jai means victory.
Guru means great.
Deva means the Divine who is fun-loving, playful, light.
Jai Guru Dev means victory to the Greatness in you, victory to the BigMind in you that is both dignified and playful.
Usually one who is playful is not dignified, and one who is dignified is not playful. But the Divine in you – the Big Mind –is both together.
JaiGuruDev need not be thought of as victory to the Master. Rather, it is victory to your own Self, your own Big Mind over the wailing small mind.
October 5, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
17. The Only Thing You Must Remember
The only thing you must remember is how fortunate you are. When you forget this, you become sad.
Sorrow indicates:
1) your attachment to negative qualities, and
2) your attachment to positive qualities.
Your negative qualities make you sad. And when you think you are so great, you start blaming others; this also makes you become sad.
The purpose of sorrow is to bring you back to the Self, which is all joy. But this realisation is possible only through Knowledge – awareness. Knowledge leads sorrow towards the Self. Without Knowledge, the sorrow does not get completed and instead multiplies. Knowledge completes sorrow.
Only with the power of Knowledge do you transcend sorrow.
In this Path you have everything. This beautiful Knowledge is complete with all flavours in it: wisdom, laughter, service, silence, singing, dancing, celebration, yagnas, complaints problems, complications, and chaos to add spice.
Life is so colourful!
October 10, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
18. Freedom and Discipline
Freedom and discipline are opposites. And they are also complementary.
The purpose of defence is to protect freedom. But is there freedom in defence? Do soldiers have freedom? No, they are bound, not allowed to put the right foot down when told the left foot. Their steps are measured; they are unable even to walk with a natural rhythm. There is no freedom in defence, yet this is what protects the freedom of the country!
Freedom without discipline is like a country without a defence. Discipline protects freedom. They both go hand in hand. Understand this and move ahead in life. You have certain restrictions that allow you your freedom. You can focus either on freedom or discipline, and be happy or unhappy.
Fences have a definite place and purpose. If you build a fence all over the entire property, then where will you put your home? Yet a well placed fence protects the property. Love puts you on track. Fear also puts you back on track, as is the case with religions that have put fear as the main motivating force.
Nature itself induces fear in a child at a certain age. A child has no fear when very young; he gets 100% love and attention from the mother. But as he grows more independent, nature brings in an iota of fear; he learns to become cautious. With increasing freedom, the child learns to walk more carefully.
There is a state of absolute freedom, unlimited bliss, the freedom Advaita5 talks about. But the Advaita Knowledge has been totally misused according to people’s fancies and conveniences. We need to be very practical. There must be freedom in the mind, love in the heart, and discipline in action. Fear of losing freedom brings discipline and defence. And the purpose of defence is to eliminate fear.
On this Path, Knowledge is your freedom - and also your defence.
5 the non-dual philosophy of the Upanishads expounded in detail by Adi Shankara
October 17, 1995 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
19. Discipleship Ends
Knowledge has an end. Knowledge completes.
So also does discipleship, for the disciple is aimed at acquiring Knowledge. Once you cross the water, however nice the boat is, you get out.
After twelve years, the disciple completes his studies. The master does a ceremony called Samavarta. He asks the disciple to now behave at par with him and allow the Divine – the Brahman – to manifest; he thus ends the discipleship.
Sakha is a beloved companion in life and death. A Sakha only wants the beloved, he longs only for the beloved. He doesn’t care about Knowledge or liberation. His love is infinite, and infinity can never be full. His love is complete in its eternal incompleteness. There is no end on the path of love...
Arjuna was a Sakha to Krishna, and although Krishna was a perfect Master, he was a Sakha, too.
What are you: a shishya (disciple), or a Sakha (beloved companion)?
October 24, 1995 Montreal Ashram, Ontario, Canada
20. Sakha: Your Reliable Sense
There are three Sanskrit words: sukha, joy; duhkha, sorrow; and Sakha, companion. These have one thing in common: kha, which means senses.
The Self experiences the world through the senses. When the senses are with the Self, that is sukha (joy), because the Self is the source of all joy or pleasure. When the senses are turned away from the Self – in the mud, lost in an object – that is duhkha (misery). Mud, misery, mind – they are all connected.
Sukha is the nature of Self. And all sense objects are a diving board to take you back to the Self. You close your eyes in a pleasant experience: when you smell a flower, when you taste or touch something nice. Sukha is that which takes you to the Self.
Duhkha is that which takes you away from the Self. Sorrow means that you have been caught in an object that has pulled you off your Self.
Sakha is the companion who is there for you in all experiences of sukha and duhkha. Knowledge is your companion, and the Master is the embodiment of Knowledge. If you are stuck in an object, his wisdom pulls you out and leads you back to your Self.
Sakha(sa-kha) also means He is the senses. Sakha is one who has become your senses. It means you get Knowledge through him; he is your sixth sense. As you trust your mind, so you trust him. Usually a friend is an object of your senses, but a Sakha has become your senses.
Sakha means, “He is my senses, I see the world through his wisdom.”
Your head will be in the mud in a few years; in the meantime, don’t put mud in your head while you are still alive! See through the eyes of the Master and you will see the whole world as divine.
• News Flash:
Gurudev spoke at the United Nations 50th Anniversary Celebration on October 22. Here are a few quotes:
“Spiritual education is needed to uncover the knowledge that we are, first, part of the Divine, and second, we are human beings.
“In this age, even when technology has advanced so far, we have cared very little for the emotional and spiritual needs of people. Neither at home nor in school have we been taught how to release negative emotions. Either we regret the past and worry about the future or we get stuck in negativity.”
“A stress-free mind and disease-free body are the birthrights of every human being. Only true spiritual knowledge can help us to handle our mind and bring us back to the present moment.”
“Breathing techniques, meditation, and yoga can be used as powerful tools to release tensions and negative emotions, enabling one to live more fully in the present moment.”
November 1, 1995 London, United Kingdom
21. Scepticism
Ignorance is being a sceptic and not knowing it.
If you think you are a sceptic, you are no longer a sceptic! You already have a clue of something beyond. So, in reality, you can never know when you are a sceptic!
A sceptic is stuck in a paradigm that closes off all other possibilities. But this creation contains all possibilities. As you understand how paradigms shift, scepticism drops.
A real scientist can never afford to be a sceptic because scepticism will not probe into unknown areas of existence. Scepticism is an “I know it all” attitude, and this attitude is unscientific. Scepticism is dispelled by Knowledge.
Do not recognize someone’s scepticism and try to argue. Arguments only strengthen scepticism. Fear of losing one’s freedom brings more resistance and causes more scepticism.
Deep inside every human being there is faith and love – Scepticism is only a thin layer. If you hold in your mind This person is a sceptic, you only empower his or her scepticism.
Your silence and the smile from your heart will dispel any scepticism. There is nothing better than silence to break it. Silence means a quality of consciousness, not just keeping your lips tight.
Scepticism comes only in people who walk with boundaries. Children have no scepticism. They live in their fantasy worlds, worlds of many possibilities. Their worlds are of innocence, joy, beauty, and love.
November 9, 1995 New Delhi, India
22. Shaucha and Ashaucha
When you are miserable, what has happened?
You have gone away from the Self. This is called ashaucha. It means you have become unclean.
In India when someone dies, the close relatives are said to be ashaucha for ten days because they are very sad. They are impure because they have moved away from the Self. After ten days of being with that experience and reading the Gita, being with the Knowledge and pulling themselves back into the Self, then they are called shaucha. They have purged out the impurities that came during those events.
This happens again and again in life. You become ashaucha and you have to get back to shaucha. Go deeper into yourself, then real shaucha happens.
Shaucha’s benefits are clarity of intellect, a pleasing mind, focused awareness, a say over the senses – and thus eligibility to realise the Self.
Shaucha is being disinterested in the habitual tendencies of your own senses. You have the understanding- Oh yes, here is this old familiar tendency coming up again. Come on, I have had this experience enough and still the body craves for it again.
By being disinterested for a moment in one’s own body and senses – just an idea, a sort of distaste – you will find that the situation changes.
Why do people love each other so much, have such an intimate relationship, and then fight? Ashaucha has happened.
If you don’t get a distaste for the tendency of the senses, then distaste for the object of the senses is bound to come; you will blame the person or object.
Your attraction or craving is only as long as you think someone is “other.” When you think they are part of you, the attraction dies out. That is why a husband or wife is not attracted to the partner but to someone else – because the partner has already become a part of them.
When you realise everyone is part of your Self, you enjoy the whole world without a sense of craving.
When ashaucha happens, come back to shaucha quickly. Suppose you get drowned in any worldly event. Just remember: “I have become ashaucha; that is why I am suffering in misery. “Then come back to shaucha. Your practices, meditation, Sudarshan Kriya, service, and Satsang will all help you.
November 15, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
23. Boredom and Sadhana
What is boredom?
Just a repetition without interest or love. That causes a monotonous state of mind and overshadows the Self.
Spiritual practices (Sadhana) are again a repetition whose purpose is to destroy the boredom and reunite you with the Self. A practice itself creates boredom, but as you continue, you penetrate the boredom and destroy it once and for all. Whether the practice gives you joy or boredom, it must be continued. Only your practices, your Sadhana, can overcome the mind.
The Self is love and love is always repetitive. Love letters are simply repetitive and yet there is no boredom there.
If you are so bored with yourself, how much more boring are you to others?
Root out the boredom in you through deep and continued meditation. Wake up and walk upwards.
November 23, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
24. Who Are You: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva - or Guru?
There are three forces: Brahma Shakti, Vishnu Shakti, and Shiva Shakti. You may have one of these dominant.
Brahma Shakti is the force to create something new. Vishnu Shakti is the ability to maintain.
Shiva Shakti infuses new life or destroys the old and brings transformation.
Some of you have Brahma Shakti. You may create something well, but you may not be able to maintain it. For example, you may make friends fast, but your friendships do not last long.
Some of you cannot create but you are good at maintaining – for example, those who have long-lasting friendships but who have difficulty making new friends. Here Vishnu Shakti is dominant. Some of you have more Shiva Shakti. You can bring in new life or transformation, or you can destroy the whole setup.
With Guru Shakti, all these three shaktis have blossomed fully. So identify which shakti you have more of and aspire for Guru Shakti.
Guru makes a group, but a group cannot make a Guru.
November 29, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
25. How to Maintain Intimacy
What breaks intimacy?
• Ego or taking a position
• Desire
• Taking intimacy for granted
• Finding imperfection in oneself or others
• Expectations
• Insensitivity or over-sensitivity
• Lack of vivek or vairagya (discretion or dispassion)
• Judgments
• Grumbling or lack of gratitude
How can you maintain intimacy?
Intimacy is dissolving into infinity, which brings you to the moment. You go beyond the events.
Look beyond the events, dissolve into infinity, and be in the moment.
This is the way to maintain intimacy.
If you attend Satsang, you don’t get much; but if you don’t, you lose a lot. Just to maintain where you are, what you are, you need to attend weekly Satsang.
Now, take an exercise: Every day do individual Satsang and skilfully talk ten minutes of Knowledge with someone – anyone. You are so used to talking gossip. Now, for two weeks, share the Knowledge – especially to those not coming to weekly Satsang.
Say, “Everything is temporary, everything is changing.” Speak some Knowledge on the changing nature of the world.
December 7, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
26. All are searching for sweets; the One who finds them gives them away
Gurudev was on the porch with a group of people.
He sent Kashi to get the sweets from inside the kutir,6 but Kashi returned saying he could not find them. He went again and again, three times, and still he could not find them. Then Gurudev himself went in. He came out with the sweets and gave them to everyone.
This is exactly what happens in life. Many want sweetness in life. Some are searching hard, but only one finds. And when that one finds, he gives to everyone.
Everyone is “blissed in”, and some are “blissed out”, too!
6 a cottage or bungalow
December 14, 1995 Bangalore Ashram, India
27. Overcoming Events
All the problems that you face in life are because you attach over importance to events. The events grow bigger while you remain smaller.
Say, for example, you are riding a motorbike on a busy street and in front of you another vehicle is emitting exhaust fumes. You have three options:
1. You can complain, somehow bear with it, and still follow the vehicle.
2. You can slow down or wait for some time to allow the vehicle to move far away from you.
3. You can use your skill, overtake the vehicle, and forget about it.
As in the first case, most of you stick on the events and are miserable, like inhaling fumes throughout your journey.
In the second case, you don’t get permanent relief, because another bigger vehicle might come in front of you. Running away from events is not the permanent solution.
Wise people use their skill to surmount the event. If the vehicle is in perfect condition, the skill is effective.
Conditioning the vehicle is Sadhana – practice. And skill is the grace of the Guru.
The mistakes you have made in the past have made you humble; you need not make mistakes in the future to become humble.
December 21, 1995 Gyanmandir, Bangalore, India
28. The Washing Machine
Our body is like a washing machine. Our mind is like cloth. Love is like pure water. Knowledge is detergent. Each lifetime is one wash cycle.
The mind comes into the body to get cleansed and pure. But if you put in mud instead of detergent, your clothes become dirtier than before. You will have to go on putting your clothes in the washing machine to get them cleaned. And the process repeats again and again.
Similarly, you will have many more births until you stop repeating the mistakes that you have made.
December 27, 1995 Weggis, Switzerland
29. Divine is All Celebration
A poor man celebrates the new year once a year. A rich man celebrates each day. But the richest man celebrates every moment.
How rich are you? Do you celebrate once a year? Once a month? Every day? If you celebrate every moment, you are the Lord of Creation.
Review the year while you celebrate. This is your homework. What did you do? What did you achieve? How useful were you this past year?
Sit for an hour and think about every week, one minute per week, and see the year’s growth in less than an hour. With a flower, on New Year’s Day, offer the whole year to the Divine.
Spreading the Fragrance
During Satsang, Gurudev opened a small, nicely-wrapped present - a tiny bottle of jasmine perfume. He twisted off the cap and sniffed the lovely fragrance. He poured a small amount on some paper and waved it in the air, wafting the scent to all corners of the hall. Everyone could then enjoy it.
Gurudev explained that it is not enough simply to have the fragrance. We have to know how to spread it. Flowers have fragrance, but it is the wind that spreads it. In the same way, each one of us is wonderful within – we are beautiful, caring, and loving. But we need to know how to spread the fragrance.
Satsang is that wind that spreads this fragrance to everyone.
January 5, 1996 Weggis, Switzerland
30. New Year’s Celebration
New year’s was a grand celebration... like every day! And everyone was unusually crazy... like every day! Gurudev was fantastically charming... like every day!
And a basket full of chocolates was on the couch... like every day! They were in the shape of bees today. And they started flying from the Guru’s hand.
JUST BE Joy is dissolving... losing your identity. Rest is dissolving... losing your identity. Love is dissolving... losing your identity. The message for 1996 is... JUST BE ! Relax and just be. That doesn’t mean be lazy... no ! Be very busy... and just be; The events come and go, they perish like flowers. But every event and every person contains some honey. Like a bee, just take the honey out of every event and every moment - and move on. Be like a busy bee and be in the Being.
Question: What is the nectar of life?
Gurudev: Infinity... Divinity.
January 11, 1996 Weggis, Switzerland
31. Wrapping Paper
All sensory pleasures in the world are like wrapping paper; the true bliss is the Presence inside.
Divine love is the present, yet we hold on to the paper and believe we have already enjoyed the gift. It’s like putting a chocolate in your mouth with the foil wrapping still on. A little chocolate may seep through, but the foil makes sores in the mouth.
Unwrap the present. The whole world is there for you to enjoy. The wise know how to enjoy the gift inside, while the ignorant get stuck to the paper.
Wally told Gurudev: I have some property for you to consider as an ashram in the U.S.
