(I will be soon bringing to you some very unique unpublished talks of Guruji... These are not in the public domain ... so Watch out and coming back for more!!)
Enlightenment is a joke! - A Talk by Sri Sri Ravishankar
Seekers on the spiritual path are curious to know about Enlightenment. What is Enlightenment? I say, ''Enlightenment is like a joke!'' It is like a fish in the ocean searching for the ocean.
Once upon a time, there was a congregation of fish, who got together to discuss who among them had seen the ocean. None of them could say they had actually seen the ocean. Then one fish said, ''I think my great grandfather had seen the ocean!'' A second fish said, ''Yes, yes, I have also heard about this.'' A third fish said, ''Yes, certainly, his great grandfather had seen the ocean.''
So they built a huge temple and made a statue of the great grandfather of that particular fish! They said, ''He had seen the ocean. He had been connected with
the ocean.''
Enlightenment is the very core of our being; going to the core of our self and living our life from there.
We all came into this world gifted with innocence, but gradually, as we became more intelligent, we lost our innocence. We were born with silence and as we grew up, we lost the silence and were filled with words. We lived in our hearts and as time passed, we moved into our heads.
Now the reversal of this journey is enlightenment. It is the journey from the head back to the heart, from words back to silence; getting back to our innocence in spite of our intelligence. Although very simple, this is a great achievement.
Knowledge should lead you to that beautiful point of ''I don't know.'' The purpose of knowledge is ignorance!
The completion of knowledge will lead you to amazement and wonder. It makes you aware of this existence. Mysteries are to be lived, not understood. One can
live life as fully in its completeness, in its totality.
Enlightenment is that state of being mature and unshakeable under any circumstances. Come what may, nothing can rob the smile from your heart. Going beyond the limited boundaries, and feeling ''all that exists in this universe belongs to me,'' is
enlightenment.
Unenlightenment is easy to define. It is limiting yourself by saying, ''I belong to this particular place'', ''I am from that culture'' or ''I belong to this religion''.
It is like children saying, ''My dad is better than your dad,'' or ''My toy is better than your toy.'' I think most people around the world are stuck in that
mental age group, just the toys have changed. Adults say, ''My country is better than your country'' or ''my religion is better than your religion.''
A Christian will say, ''The Bible is truth,'' and a Hindu will say, ''The Vedas are the truth. They are very ancient.'' Muslims will say, ''The Koran is the last word of God.'' We attribute glory to something just because we are from that culture, not for what it is.
If one could take credit for all that exists throughout the ages and feel as though ''It belongs to me,'' then, that is maturity. ''This is my wealth because I belong to the divine.''
The Divine, according to time and space, gave different knowledge in different places. One becomes the knower of the whole universe and can say ''all the beautiful flowers are from my garden.''
The whole evolution of man is from being somebody to being nobody, and from being nobody to being everybody.
Have you observed that young children have that sense of belonging that oneness, that innocence? As we grew up we lost that innocence and became more cunning. The innocence of an ignorant man has no value, and the cunningness of an intelligent man also has no value.
Enlightenment is a rare combination of innocence and intelligence, having words for expression and, at the same time, being very silent. In that state, the mind is fully in the present moment. Whatever is necessary is revealed to you in such a natural and spontaneous way, you just sit and the song of the nature flows through you.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Divine Wit & Humour - Part 1
Q. How do we react with adults when we can see their double standards?
G. You police them. (laughter)
Q. I look for love in many strangers but still am lonely. What can I do?
G. Loneliness can produce creativity. Write novels, love songs. You don’t have to read Mills and Boons! (laughter) Meditate and then you will feel that loneliness has gone. Go like a lion or lioness and contribute to others friendship instead of wanting.
Q. What should I use in my career? Heart or brain?
A. Brain. Use the heart for hobbies.
Q. As a teenager, can I make a difference? How?
A. Keep up the enthusiasm. Don’t fall prey to others efforts to pull you down.
Q. Do we need a Guru at our age??
A. You are trapped asking this question. Why did the question come up? Whenever there is a question, a Guru is needed. He answers for a while and then takes away the question.
Q. What is GOD?
A. Generator, Operator and Destroyer. Some power that creates, destroys and dissolves.
Q. My long term memory deserts me. What to do?
A. What was that..??? (laughter)
Q. Why do you have two Sri Sris before your name?
A. Because three is too much. (more laughter)
Q. I feel depressed. Life seems like not worth living. What should I do?
A. I am here. I need you. You do my work. That’s it! Become like me. Keep smiling come what may.
Q. Is there life after death?
A. You won’t miss it. I promise. Keep some suspense otherwise you will get bored afterwards. (more laughter)
Q. How should I select my life partner?
A. No experience. I am still trying to figure that out!! (total laughter)
Q. What is the purpose of life?
A. Make a list of what is not. When you come to the last thing, you will get it!
Q. The concept of stress relieving is adding to the stress. So why to do it?
A. Is it so? Then stress has not reached its peak.
Q. There are so many corrupt politicians. What is AOL doing about it?
A. Waiting for you to grow up and become honest politicians.
Q. Why do bad things happen to good people?
A. Because they are being foolish. No bad things can happen to you. If you sow neem, neem tree will grow, and if you sow mango, mango will grow. If bad things happen due to some past mistakes, you help them.
Q. How can the AOL course help in AIDS, Cancer?
A. There are lots of studies and cases of improvements. The immune system goes up. Wait and see.
Q. Why don’t you get angry?
A. I try to, nobody believes me.!!! (That brought the whole house down with laughter!!)
G. You police them. (laughter)
Q. I look for love in many strangers but still am lonely. What can I do?
G. Loneliness can produce creativity. Write novels, love songs. You don’t have to read Mills and Boons! (laughter) Meditate and then you will feel that loneliness has gone. Go like a lion or lioness and contribute to others friendship instead of wanting.
Q. What should I use in my career? Heart or brain?
A. Brain. Use the heart for hobbies.
Q. As a teenager, can I make a difference? How?
A. Keep up the enthusiasm. Don’t fall prey to others efforts to pull you down.
Q. Do we need a Guru at our age??
A. You are trapped asking this question. Why did the question come up? Whenever there is a question, a Guru is needed. He answers for a while and then takes away the question.
Q. What is GOD?
A. Generator, Operator and Destroyer. Some power that creates, destroys and dissolves.
Q. My long term memory deserts me. What to do?
A. What was that..??? (laughter)
Q. Why do you have two Sri Sris before your name?
A. Because three is too much. (more laughter)
Q. I feel depressed. Life seems like not worth living. What should I do?
A. I am here. I need you. You do my work. That’s it! Become like me. Keep smiling come what may.
Q. Is there life after death?
A. You won’t miss it. I promise. Keep some suspense otherwise you will get bored afterwards. (more laughter)
Q. How should I select my life partner?
A. No experience. I am still trying to figure that out!! (total laughter)
Q. What is the purpose of life?
A. Make a list of what is not. When you come to the last thing, you will get it!
Q. The concept of stress relieving is adding to the stress. So why to do it?
A. Is it so? Then stress has not reached its peak.
Q. There are so many corrupt politicians. What is AOL doing about it?
A. Waiting for you to grow up and become honest politicians.
Q. Why do bad things happen to good people?
A. Because they are being foolish. No bad things can happen to you. If you sow neem, neem tree will grow, and if you sow mango, mango will grow. If bad things happen due to some past mistakes, you help them.
Q. How can the AOL course help in AIDS, Cancer?
A. There are lots of studies and cases of improvements. The immune system goes up. Wait and see.
Q. Why don’t you get angry?
A. I try to, nobody believes me.!!! (That brought the whole house down with laughter!!)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Rendezvous with Sanskrit!
I know the title is quite cheesy and if Simi Garewal were to read it she would sue me for copyright!!
Nevertheless, I must tell you how this beautiful language has enchanted me for such a long time!
Now that I think of it, I find it very strange that I chose French over Sanskrit in my high school days for a third language. The thinking then of course was that as an international traveller, learning an international language will be of great use and help me fast become a global citizen!
Little did I know then, that the language, which I had sidelined in ignorance, was in fact more international than any other language I could've ever imagined ... that in fact it contained within itself the roots of several languages ... that in fact it was the mother of ALL languages!
Did You Know -
That Sanskrit is the mother of all the Indo-European languages including Greek, Latin and English?
That the word Human was in fact derived from the word Aum?
That Inter and Interior have been derived from Antar?
That the Latin word Octo and the German word Acht have been derived from Ashta meaning eight?
That the words Band, Bandage, Bind have been derived from Bandh meaning lock?
Another interesting example is the Latin word Frater & English word Brother - both have been derived from Bhraatra meaning brother, fraternity - If you pronounce Bhraatra, you can slowly arrive at Brother - its easy to see that their mispronounciation over a period of several years helped evolve the latter word!
There are thousands of such examples! The list is endless!
Also interestingly enough, some of the most modern scientists in the high-tech field of computers, have discovered that Sanskrit is the best language for the latest generation of Artificial Intelligence machine-systems. It has the most perfect syntax amongst all languages and scientists view it as the perfect programming language as well!
I found that the best part about Sanskrit is, that the entire language is root based which not only helps you construct new words & concepts easily but also deconstruct existing words & concepts effortlessly. I have observed (and it resonates with anyone who has the remotest idea of mantras) that the more we are familiar to a sanskrit word, the sooner it reveals its meaning to us! When I was learning Guru Pooja, a significant part of the meaning was understood by me simply because I knew several roots and another significant part revealed itself to me as I kept chanting it everyday!
Its high time we paid homage to our great heritage and devoted some of our time to studying the most beautiful language of all times!!
The following are some good places to begin with (that is, if you have not already):
http://www.gosai.com/science/sanskrit-enlightenment.html
http://www.iimb.ernet.in/~mahadev/samskrit_why.pdf
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Sanskrit.htm
Vande Samskritam!
Vande Mataram!
Nevertheless, I must tell you how this beautiful language has enchanted me for such a long time!
Now that I think of it, I find it very strange that I chose French over Sanskrit in my high school days for a third language. The thinking then of course was that as an international traveller, learning an international language will be of great use and help me fast become a global citizen!
Little did I know then, that the language, which I had sidelined in ignorance, was in fact more international than any other language I could've ever imagined ... that in fact it contained within itself the roots of several languages ... that in fact it was the mother of ALL languages!
Did You Know -
That Sanskrit is the mother of all the Indo-European languages including Greek, Latin and English?
That the word Human was in fact derived from the word Aum?
That Inter and Interior have been derived from Antar?
That the Latin word Octo and the German word Acht have been derived from Ashta meaning eight?
That the words Band, Bandage, Bind have been derived from Bandh meaning lock?
Another interesting example is the Latin word Frater & English word Brother - both have been derived from Bhraatra meaning brother, fraternity - If you pronounce Bhraatra, you can slowly arrive at Brother - its easy to see that their mispronounciation over a period of several years helped evolve the latter word!
There are thousands of such examples! The list is endless!
Also interestingly enough, some of the most modern scientists in the high-tech field of computers, have discovered that Sanskrit is the best language for the latest generation of Artificial Intelligence machine-systems. It has the most perfect syntax amongst all languages and scientists view it as the perfect programming language as well!
I found that the best part about Sanskrit is, that the entire language is root based which not only helps you construct new words & concepts easily but also deconstruct existing words & concepts effortlessly. I have observed (and it resonates with anyone who has the remotest idea of mantras) that the more we are familiar to a sanskrit word, the sooner it reveals its meaning to us! When I was learning Guru Pooja, a significant part of the meaning was understood by me simply because I knew several roots and another significant part revealed itself to me as I kept chanting it everyday!
Its high time we paid homage to our great heritage and devoted some of our time to studying the most beautiful language of all times!!
The following are some good places to begin with (that is, if you have not already):
http://www.gosai.com/science/sanskrit-enlightenment.html
http://www.iimb.ernet.in/~mahadev/samskrit_why.pdf
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Sanskrit.htm
Vande Samskritam!
Vande Mataram!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Coorg - Cool, Refreshing & Full of Grace!
Guys,
We had a blast in Coorg! How the 6 days zoomed by is still a mystery to both of us!!
We bring you the latest updates from Coorg...
The trip it seems was full of -
Sight Seeing... and...
Sight Seeing...... and...
Loads of Chess... and...
Loads of Chess...... and...
Excellent Room Service from Club Mahindra folks!
An excellent Ayurveda Center found us visting quite often and in the process we ended up meeting Vineeth!
Vineeth was my therapist and during Shirodhara ended up burning my forehead with extra hot oil! Worried that we would complain & that he would be severely reprimanded, he prayed with intensity to Guruji.. only later relieved to find out that we were devotees! When we got talking, he confided to me that seeing our cool behaviour to the incident, he knew that we were from the Art of Living!
We chatted on and soon found out that Vineeth had been an Ashramite for five years and had worked as a therapist in the Panchakarma center for all those years. His aunt is suffering from Cancer and to help support her, he had to shift to Coorg. He has now been working at Club Mahindra for a little more than one year.
A little more probing and we soon found out that his aunt is none other than our very own Girija, the lady doctor who works in the ashram emergency clinic. It was simply amazing to find out that she has survived Cancer for more than three years when doctors had written her off with a year max! Two Sudarshan Kriyas daily, Ayurvedic medicines and tons of Guruji's blessings had done it's magic yet again...
It was blessing indeed to be reminded of Guru's Grace even in a seemingly unconnected holiday of ours!
Jai Gurudev!
We had a blast in Coorg! How the 6 days zoomed by is still a mystery to both of us!!
We bring you the latest updates from Coorg...
The trip it seems was full of -
An excellent Ayurveda Center found us visting quite often and in the process we ended up meeting Vineeth!
Vineeth was my therapist and during Shirodhara ended up burning my forehead with extra hot oil! Worried that we would complain & that he would be severely reprimanded, he prayed with intensity to Guruji.. only later relieved to find out that we were devotees! When we got talking, he confided to me that seeing our cool behaviour to the incident, he knew that we were from the Art of Living!
We chatted on and soon found out that Vineeth had been an Ashramite for five years and had worked as a therapist in the Panchakarma center for all those years. His aunt is suffering from Cancer and to help support her, he had to shift to Coorg. He has now been working at Club Mahindra for a little more than one year.
A little more probing and we soon found out that his aunt is none other than our very own Girija, the lady doctor who works in the ashram emergency clinic. It was simply amazing to find out that she has survived Cancer for more than three years when doctors had written her off with a year max! Two Sudarshan Kriyas daily, Ayurvedic medicines and tons of Guruji's blessings had done it's magic yet again...
It was blessing indeed to be reminded of Guru's Grace even in a seemingly unconnected holiday of ours!
Jai Gurudev!
Focus & Relaxed!
You know i used to watch so many in AOl put a big round chandan tika on their forehead and then put a smaller red Kumkum dot within that bigger round chandan tika. I am sure you must have noticed it too.. I too do it sometimes... it actually feels and looks great!
For months I wondered what does it signify.. And finally the answer came...
Do you want to guess what it stands for?
Ok... let me begin... the yellow chandan tika is a symbol of relaxation.. and ....
you guessed it right... the red kumkum dot within it is a symbol of focus...
Thus when you put both together, you are focused and relaxed at the same time!
Cool na??
For months I wondered what does it signify.. And finally the answer came...
Do you want to guess what it stands for?
Ok... let me begin... the yellow chandan tika is a symbol of relaxation.. and ....
you guessed it right... the red kumkum dot within it is a symbol of focus...
Thus when you put both together, you are focused and relaxed at the same time!
Cool na??
Monday, November 2, 2009
What's in a Name?
II Shree Ganeshaya Namaha II
Guys, this is my first post!
So here goes....
First things first! You must be wondering how this blog came about and I am sure the Title must have intrigued you ...
Well it just happened within a matter of few seconds I would say... Yesterday we had the last day of my first course as a co-teacher and we had 500+ YES+ participants gather at our Vashind Ashram site. That experience itself deserves a post... maybe soon. As we were leaving the venue to come back to Thane and one of the volunteers just handed me a card which had several blog addresses printed on it - Bau and Dinesh da's, Saleel da's, Virat & Vasudha's, and Dipti Unny's. And one of my course participants innocently asked me - "Bhaiya, which one is yours?" For a moment, I hesitated, not knowing how to answer the question, not knowing why I hadn't started a blog so far. That moment the blog got created in my mind first and this morning into being!
Creating a blog was so simple, hardly a two minute job. While registering, I was asked to enter the Title of the Blog. I had not thought of anything until then and suddenly something came up "The Light Within".. and the moment I recited it to myself, I felt an immediate connect with it and decided this was it!
Interestingly, the web address has more than one pun in it -
dlitewithin is not just about "the light within", its also about "delight within" and "feeling lite within" - all of which is possible through Guru's Grace and Sudarshan Kriya!
I hope you enjoy this place and seek the light within!
Jai Gurudev!
Guys, this is my first post!
So here goes....
First things first! You must be wondering how this blog came about and I am sure the Title must have intrigued you ...
Well it just happened within a matter of few seconds I would say... Yesterday we had the last day of my first course as a co-teacher and we had 500+ YES+ participants gather at our Vashind Ashram site. That experience itself deserves a post... maybe soon. As we were leaving the venue to come back to Thane and one of the volunteers just handed me a card which had several blog addresses printed on it - Bau and Dinesh da's, Saleel da's, Virat & Vasudha's, and Dipti Unny's. And one of my course participants innocently asked me - "Bhaiya, which one is yours?" For a moment, I hesitated, not knowing how to answer the question, not knowing why I hadn't started a blog so far. That moment the blog got created in my mind first and this morning into being!
Creating a blog was so simple, hardly a two minute job. While registering, I was asked to enter the Title of the Blog. I had not thought of anything until then and suddenly something came up "The Light Within".. and the moment I recited it to myself, I felt an immediate connect with it and decided this was it!
Interestingly, the web address has more than one pun in it -
dlitewithin is not just about "the light within", its also about "delight within" and "feeling lite within" - all of which is possible through Guru's Grace and Sudarshan Kriya!
I hope you enjoy this place and seek the light within!
Jai Gurudev!
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