Often we face dualities in life - one or the other - and it becomes seemingly difficult to choose because both are good options. Mind is divided because both are good choices; if any of them was a bad option, it would be a very simple decision.
Seva or Knowledge is one such choice. You have only limited time or some time restrictions - what to do?
Both are important! Neither can be skipped!
Without Seva, knowledge has no application. When you know something, your first impulse is to act on it. Without Action, without Seva, knowledge has no end. You will not get satisfaction.
Without knowledge, Seva will become dry. Whatever seva you do, if it does not help you reinforce the knowledge, then you will feel empty from within. You will feel sucked out of energy. Without knowledge, seva will become an effort and that will weigh you down.
Hence both are required! Both go hand-in-hand!
If you are unable to do both, means either you are not managing time properly or you are not being creative enough to find a solution.
For example, Swati has to maintain certain time at home and if she does both seva and knowledge session then she is practically unseen at home. One solution could be doing Seva with the group and listening to knowledge individually. Another could be Knowledge in a group and Seva individually. Both could be accomplished!
Jai Gurudev!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Acceptance - The Key of All Keys!
If you study the Course Sutras carefully you will notice that there is a common thread amongst them all - and that is Acceptance!
Acceptance is at the heart of all the five sutras!
'Opposite values are complimentary' is nothing but accepting that life is full of opposites! Sometimes high, Sometimes low!
'Accept People and Situations as they are' is definetely about accepting whatever comes your way.
'Don't be a football of other people's opinions' is about accepting other's negative opinions about you and not getting pushed around by them.
'Don't see intention behind other people's mistakes' is all about accepting other people's mistakes.
AND
'Present moment is inevitable' is all about accepting the present moment as it is - whether pleasant or unpleasant!
All the five sutras are, in this perspective, off-shoots of the common underlying key in life - "ACCEPTANCE"!!
Jai Gurudev!
Acceptance is at the heart of all the five sutras!
'Opposite values are complimentary' is nothing but accepting that life is full of opposites! Sometimes high, Sometimes low!
'Accept People and Situations as they are' is definetely about accepting whatever comes your way.
'Don't be a football of other people's opinions' is about accepting other's negative opinions about you and not getting pushed around by them.
'Don't see intention behind other people's mistakes' is all about accepting other people's mistakes.
AND
'Present moment is inevitable' is all about accepting the present moment as it is - whether pleasant or unpleasant!
All the five sutras are, in this perspective, off-shoots of the common underlying key in life - "ACCEPTANCE"!!
Jai Gurudev!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sri Sri University Update!
Dear One
Jai Gurudev
It is our great honour to share with you that the Sri Sri University is taking majestic strides towards its launch in the academic year 2010-11 in August this year.
In its inaugural year the following programs are being launched
1) Post graduate program for MBA in Agriculture
2) Undergraduate program for Bachelor of Science in Agriculture/Horticulture
3) Post Graduate certificate program in Osteopathy
4) Certificate program in Training for Ayurveda Therapy
5) Centre of Excellence in Vocational Training for rural youth
-All the above are handpicked based on a number of wide ranging criteria. There is a robust plan to launch programs in medicine,engineering,management, vedic sciences, governance & law etc in the coming years
-For the programs being launched this year, subject matter experts have begun to craft the curriculum. We have also begun filling key positions with best in class talent.
-A leading architectural firm has been identified to conceptualise the master plan for the grand SSU grounds. Construction is 85 % complete for the facilities required for the programs this year
All these efforts are getting further catalysed by the upcoming 4 day Orissa state visit by Gurudev starting on 30th of Jan.
This is a mammoth project and huge work still needs to be done to ensure that Sri Sri University becomes a truly world class university!
Your active engagement and involvement is critical to the success of this project. You have been a great supporter until now and we are confident of it in the times to come too
You can participate by,
- recommending professors/faculty/experts for the courses being launched this year
- raising funds, identifying grants , looking for support in kind ( eg computers)
- offering your time on a sabbatical /permanent basis towards the set up/as a lecturer/as a domain expert etc
- any other ideas/information/advice/suggestions
Write to us about your interest and we will share more details with you. Whatever you can do and how much ever you can do, is important and significant. So join in right away
Look forward to hearing from you
Let us create History together!
Please share and contribute by sending me an email @ pcrathi@gmail.com
Jai Gurudev!
Piyush
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Everything is Possible!!
Here's a Guru Story that's been one of my favorites.
This was a few years back, at a time when I used to frequent Bau's residence @ Parsi Colony every few days. I used to land up in the evening and all the old timers (Upasana, JD, Anjana, Nihar, Rashmin, Manisha, etc) used to be hanging out there.
Once I was there and at 12 midnight, Bau had a sudden urge to eat Shrikhand. Me and Hetang very eagerly ran down to the nearest shop and came back empty handed in 10 mins. Seeing us return so soon was enough for Bau to use his discretionary veto powers. He simply asked us to go search again and not come back until we had Shrikhand in our hands! With a big sigh, and an even bigger sleepy look, we headed out to King's Circle to search for our sleep-saviour - the Shrikhand!
We searched and searched and searched and kept searching for at least a couple of hours. With Bau, Failure was simply not an option! We simply dreaded returning home without being successful!
We asked every person on the road about the clue as to where we could find Shrikhand at this late hour in the night! Driving from one place to another, we kept our eyes wide open to see if there was any dairy shop open at all!
We came across at least three dairy shops which had milk in them but no Shrikhand. The search continued....
Finally, to our surprise (pleasant one that is), we happened to cross a half open shutter in Dharavi! I suddenly put the brakes on and the car came to a screeching halt. We looked back and saw that it was indeed a dairy shop. We drove back and asked the shopkeeper if he stocked any shrikhand. Much to our delight he said "YES"! We screamed a big "Yeee!!!" and felt a big lift in energy!
We couldn't contain our excitement and bought two packs of Shrikhand and rushed home. We felt we had climbed mount everest and felt completely on top of the world!
I realized four things in the process:
1. With Patience & Perseverance, Everything is possible!
2. Overcoming a challenge brings enormous energy and confidence!
3. When Failure is not an option, you end up finding ways to become successful!
4. When you have a task at hand, all inhibitions break and you break out of your self-limiting boundaries!
The anti-climax to this episode however, was that Bau, had gone off to sleep by the time we reached home with the Shrikhand!
We did feel a bit disappointed, but, the lessons were learnt nevertheless!!
This was a few years back, at a time when I used to frequent Bau's residence @ Parsi Colony every few days. I used to land up in the evening and all the old timers (Upasana, JD, Anjana, Nihar, Rashmin, Manisha, etc) used to be hanging out there.
Once I was there and at 12 midnight, Bau had a sudden urge to eat Shrikhand. Me and Hetang very eagerly ran down to the nearest shop and came back empty handed in 10 mins. Seeing us return so soon was enough for Bau to use his discretionary veto powers. He simply asked us to go search again and not come back until we had Shrikhand in our hands! With a big sigh, and an even bigger sleepy look, we headed out to King's Circle to search for our sleep-saviour - the Shrikhand!
We searched and searched and searched and kept searching for at least a couple of hours. With Bau, Failure was simply not an option! We simply dreaded returning home without being successful!
We asked every person on the road about the clue as to where we could find Shrikhand at this late hour in the night! Driving from one place to another, we kept our eyes wide open to see if there was any dairy shop open at all!
We came across at least three dairy shops which had milk in them but no Shrikhand. The search continued....
Finally, to our surprise (pleasant one that is), we happened to cross a half open shutter in Dharavi! I suddenly put the brakes on and the car came to a screeching halt. We looked back and saw that it was indeed a dairy shop. We drove back and asked the shopkeeper if he stocked any shrikhand. Much to our delight he said "YES"! We screamed a big "Yeee!!!" and felt a big lift in energy!
We couldn't contain our excitement and bought two packs of Shrikhand and rushed home. We felt we had climbed mount everest and felt completely on top of the world!
I realized four things in the process:
1. With Patience & Perseverance, Everything is possible!
2. Overcoming a challenge brings enormous energy and confidence!
3. When Failure is not an option, you end up finding ways to become successful!
4. When you have a task at hand, all inhibitions break and you break out of your self-limiting boundaries!
The anti-climax to this episode however, was that Bau, had gone off to sleep by the time we reached home with the Shrikhand!
We did feel a bit disappointed, but, the lessons were learnt nevertheless!!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
BATIQ (Beautiful Answers To Interesting Questions) Part 2
Q: Can we chant sanskrit mantras without knowing their meanings?
A: Yes, something is better than nothing. Initially one uses mantras, then one progresses to meditation, kriya etc. Ultimately, one needs only silence to realize the divine.
Q: How does God appear?
A: How does the sun rise? Have you seen a sun rise? No? Then you must get up early & see how the sun rises. The universe is a complex thing, full of mysteries...
Q: There are people who are in the wrong path. How can we change them?
A: If you want to change them because you get hurt, you cannot change them. If you want to change them because they will get hurt, they will change automatically. (Thunderous applause that kept resonating for a long long time. People were lifted straight to the heaven with his reply)
Q: If God resides inside our hearts why should we go to the temples?
A: When God resides in your heart you can take God along with you and show him the outside world including the temples. There existed a practice of sitting in the temple for some time after the darshan. This is mainly to close ones' eyes and spend time with the Lord inside.
Q. What does one do when spirituality starts disturbing your social life?
A. Spirituality can never disturb social life, it is a matter of managing your time skilfully.
A: Yes, something is better than nothing. Initially one uses mantras, then one progresses to meditation, kriya etc. Ultimately, one needs only silence to realize the divine.
Q: How does God appear?
A: How does the sun rise? Have you seen a sun rise? No? Then you must get up early & see how the sun rises. The universe is a complex thing, full of mysteries...
Q: There are people who are in the wrong path. How can we change them?
A: If you want to change them because you get hurt, you cannot change them. If you want to change them because they will get hurt, they will change automatically. (Thunderous applause that kept resonating for a long long time. People were lifted straight to the heaven with his reply)
Q: If God resides inside our hearts why should we go to the temples?
A: When God resides in your heart you can take God along with you and show him the outside world including the temples. There existed a practice of sitting in the temple for some time after the darshan. This is mainly to close ones' eyes and spend time with the Lord inside.
Q. What does one do when spirituality starts disturbing your social life?
A. Spirituality can never disturb social life, it is a matter of managing your time skilfully.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Divine Wit & Humour - Part 2
Q: You are so full of knowledge that is equivalent to gold.
Where does it come from?
A: I have a mine with me.
Q: Have you ever had a question that you didn't have the answer to?
A: Yes, this question! (Laughter)
Q: I keep forgetting you. What should I do?
A: See when ever you know you have forgotten me, you are reminded of me and that's good (Laughter)
Q: Guruji who are you? Mahatma or God?
A: I am your servant. You make me run for all your small small works. (Laughter)
Q. Guruji kya aapke man mein hamara hridaya hai?
A. Sirf man mein hi nahin tum poore ho mujhme! Ab agar tum apna man kahin aur rakh aaye ho to alag baat hai (Laughter)
Q. Guruji main apne Aham (ego) ka kya karun?
A. Kuch mat karo usko apne paas rakho , wo meri hai. kyunki agar aham ko chod doge to aham chodne ka aham ho jayega (Laughter)
Q. Guruji do u have any worries?
A. Do I look like worried man to u?(Laughter) My only worry is that you should not worry.
Q. I want u to be forever with me
A. There is no choice for you !!!
Q. Guruji I want to get God
A. Do u have nothing else to get? (laughter). Good to have this thought- how much u want - how intensely u want God which matters.
Having fun with your Guru?
Where does it come from?
A: I have a mine with me.
Q: Have you ever had a question that you didn't have the answer to?
A: Yes, this question! (Laughter)
Q: I keep forgetting you. What should I do?
A: See when ever you know you have forgotten me, you are reminded of me and that's good (Laughter)
Q: Guruji who are you? Mahatma or God?
A: I am your servant. You make me run for all your small small works. (Laughter)
Q. Guruji kya aapke man mein hamara hridaya hai?
A. Sirf man mein hi nahin tum poore ho mujhme! Ab agar tum apna man kahin aur rakh aaye ho to alag baat hai (Laughter)
Q. Guruji main apne Aham (ego) ka kya karun?
A. Kuch mat karo usko apne paas rakho , wo meri hai. kyunki agar aham ko chod doge to aham chodne ka aham ho jayega (Laughter)
Q. Guruji do u have any worries?
A. Do I look like worried man to u?(Laughter) My only worry is that you should not worry.
Q. I want u to be forever with me
A. There is no choice for you !!!
Q. Guruji I want to get God
A. Do u have nothing else to get? (laughter). Good to have this thought- how much u want - how intensely u want God which matters.
Having fun with your Guru?
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Rishi Vidyadhar Ji - A Rishi and Disciple in Letter & Spirit!
I have been wanting to put up this blog for quite a while now and now seems to be the perfect moment - I just completed an Advanced Course with Rishi Vidyadhar Ji on Sunday and what an amazing experience it was!
Rishi Ji is simply fabulous! I used hear about him from an old friend and teacher, Bhavesh, when the latter used to work with us in Thane. Bhavesh used to share experiences of advanced courses with the erstwhile Raju Bhaiya (now Rishi Ji of course) and how superb he was. I used to be in awe but never got (rather took! - disempowered speech you see!) an opportunity to be with him on an advanced course.
Finally the opportune moment came when Rishi travelled to Mulund and conducted the advanced course in the Gurudwara hall. Knowledge was simply flowing (it was no wonder having done 361 advanced courses at the time of this post) - What deep insight this person had into life - all of course he contributed to Guruji!
I had then vowed that I will keep repeating courses with him regularly so that I could keep learning lots of newer stuff from him. I kept my promise and recently completed an advanced course with him in Kalyan. Some tidbits from him during the course (Remember though, this is only a sample and you need to be with him to experience his divine presence) -
That's why he is a Rishi - A river of knowledge!! Gyan Ganga!! A disciple in the truest sense - a thorough disciplinarian - lives by Guru's words - lives the knowledge!
Do take the first opportunity to be with him on an upcoming advance course!
Rishi Ji is simply fabulous! I used hear about him from an old friend and teacher, Bhavesh, when the latter used to work with us in Thane. Bhavesh used to share experiences of advanced courses with the erstwhile Raju Bhaiya (now Rishi Ji of course) and how superb he was. I used to be in awe but never got (rather took! - disempowered speech you see!) an opportunity to be with him on an advanced course.
Finally the opportune moment came when Rishi travelled to Mulund and conducted the advanced course in the Gurudwara hall. Knowledge was simply flowing (it was no wonder having done 361 advanced courses at the time of this post) - What deep insight this person had into life - all of course he contributed to Guruji!
I had then vowed that I will keep repeating courses with him regularly so that I could keep learning lots of newer stuff from him. I kept my promise and recently completed an advanced course with him in Kalyan. Some tidbits from him during the course (Remember though, this is only a sample and you need to be with him to experience his divine presence) -
- Om Namah Shivaya chanting is very powerful - (not the 108 one, the prolonged one which is available on a CD in divine shop) - Om Namah Shivaya chanting has the power to nullify karma dosh and vastu dosh! It reinforced what Guruji had said when he came home. We told him about some vastu abnormalities in the house & asked what to do and he said "kuch zaroorat nahi, roz om nimah shivaya chanting karo, sab theek ho jayega"
- Mind's tendency is to become obsessed then possessed. We want to get something in a hurry, we become obsessed by it and then when we acquire it, we become possessive about it
- Leaders first participate and then contribute; this is a key attribute of leaders; participation is the first step towards effective leadership and then second step is contribution
- MBA = mujhe bohut aata hai :-)
- All of us must memorize all the 365 knowledge sheets given by Guruji! (I have started on that path now.. hope to accomplish by March!)
- One who has 50 desires in a day = Bhogi ; One who has 1 desire in 50 days = Yogi ; One who has no desires = Bhakt ; One who works to fulfill other people's desire = Bhagwan (example Guruji) ; Which category are you in?
- Guru se maangna hai to teen cheeze mango - Aseem Bhakti (infinite devotion), atoot shraddha (Unbreakable Faith) and Moksha (Liberation)
- To keep mind in present moment 24 hrs, devote 10% of time in sadhana i.e. 2.5 hrs every day
- Mind's tendency is to keep accumulating (sangraha karna) - we keep accumulating objects, peoples and situations - this is a great fallacy
- We face exactly 10 negative emotions not more not less and these are the 10 heads of Ravana - Anger, Regret, Fear, Hatred, Jealousy, Greed, Lust, Lethargy, Moha and Ahankar; The first eight can be experienced within our body at different chakras; the last two are very subtle
- Anger is nothing but comparison of current event with past event
- Regret is nothing but comparison of our existing actions with our past actions
- Fear is nothing but comparison of current event with future event
- Hatred is nothing but comparison of someone's current actions with his/her past actions
- Jealousy is nothing but comparison of what we have with what another person has
- Greed is nothing but comparison of what we have currently and what we want in the future
That's why he is a Rishi - A river of knowledge!! Gyan Ganga!! A disciple in the truest sense - a thorough disciplinarian - lives by Guru's words - lives the knowledge!
Do take the first opportunity to be with him on an upcoming advance course!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Our Biggest Motivators!
Some wonderful things Guruji said that I loved and thought are really relevant to all of us. One is on changing habits and the other is on Seva. Enjoy!
Q. What is the secret to having a strong will power? Please tell me as I have so many bad habits that I would like to change about myself.
Sri Sri: Now, three things can help you to get over bad habits. 1. Love- If you love somebody or something, then promise them for their sake that you will continue the good habits. 2. Fear - When there is a fear that this bad habit is going to bring great problems to me, then you will get out of it. 3. Greed - If someone tells you that by leaving this bad habit, you will get a million dollars, you would not do that (the bad habit), you want a million dollars in your pocket. If someone tells you, don’t drink or smoke for the next one week, then you will be entitled to one million dollars. Will you smoke, will you drink? No ways! If someone tells you that you will get 10 million dollars or 10 million euros if you don’t smoke for one month or 30 days, they will say, ‘Why only 30 days? I will not smoke for 35 days. I am sure of the number of days, as I want to be sure. Not 29 days. Some months are only 30, some are 31, so let me do for the maximum of 35 days’. Because you know, when you value some thing much more than the habit and you know that you are going to get that, then the habit will drop out of it. So through love, fear or greed you will stop doing it. You know, promiscuity has reduced to a great extent because of the fear of AIDS. After the dreadful disease of AIDS started appearing, then promiscuity came down to a great extent. So similarly, commitment to a higher cause can help you get over small little attractions.
Q. Dearest Guruji, I am so fortunate to be on a path like this with you. I want more people to get this experience and be more happy by living in the knowledge and practicing the technique. But some people are not willing to be approached nor understand when I would like to share. So how to speed this to the people who are in need? Maybe their time has just not come.
Sri Sri: No, no don’t think their time has not come. You keep doing your work. You keep telling, you don’t have to push everybody but gently you have to facilitate people to get into the knowledge. Yes, this is necessary.
Of all things three are really the strongest motivators for any act that we do - Love, Fear and Greed! I looked at this answer from Guruji and looked back at myself and found it to be true. Either we something because we really love some person, situation or things; OR we do it out of fear of something we don't want to happen; OR because we are obsessed about Name, Fame, Money, etc and want to get there in a hurry (Greed)!
Funny part is this keeps happening hundreds of times every day - all we need to do is become aware of it!
For example, writing this blog could have been motivated by any of the following -
a. i want to add value to your life and bring you the latest knowledge from Guruji and latest insights from my experiences OR
b. i fear that you will stop following the blog hence put a post OR
c. i want more followers hence keep updating the blog regularly so that you keep coming back and invite your friends
It could also be combination of the three and one factor being more dominant than the others.
So, here's an exercise - for an entire day observe your actions and why you are motivated to do it - you'll find a great secret of how to change your bad habits!
Lots of Love!
P.S. I would love to see some of your comments on your learnings & implementations from the exercise
Friday, January 8, 2010
Guruji's message for 2010!
I simply loved Guruji's message for 2010 and showed the 11 min clip to everone I could get hold of! A superb clip on what Guruji expects from us in this year! Every time I watch this video I get inspired to do Seva! Here's the link -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP25u1nuMyQ
He said more satsang and seva are the ways to reduce misery. He also said that billions of people are out there who are like insomnia patients - who are tired and restless but don't know how to rest! We are fortunate to have this knowledge with us and all we need to do is close our eyes to become peaceful and happy!
This is where our intervention is needed - to reach out to as many people as we can! Let's commit to seva and satsang first and then to everything else in our life this year!
Jai Gurudev!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP25u1nuMyQ
He said more satsang and seva are the ways to reduce misery. He also said that billions of people are out there who are like insomnia patients - who are tired and restless but don't know how to rest! We are fortunate to have this knowledge with us and all we need to do is close our eyes to become peaceful and happy!
This is where our intervention is needed - to reach out to as many people as we can! Let's commit to seva and satsang first and then to everything else in our life this year!
Jai Gurudev!
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