GREAT QUOTES - From SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR - ART OF LIVING - Dt:11.Aug 2012

GREAT QUOTES

From

SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR

(The Art Of Living)

Dated : 11^th, Aug, 2012

On Janmashtami day, it is time again to digest the latest words of wisdom from Guruji, Sri Sri Ravishankar. All readers – especially Guruji’s disciples - will be very happy to read these quotes, which reflect eternal and contemporary wisdom both.

Here are some of his Great Quotes :

·         The most authentic way of celebrating Janmashtami is knowing that you have to play a dual role - of being a responsible human being and at the same time to realize that you are above all events, the untouched Brahman. Imbibing a bit of avadhoot and a bit of activism in your life is the real significance of celebrating Janmashtami. Awaken the Krishna in your consciousness – “Krishna is not separate from me, he is within me’, this feeling will fill your life with Krishna.

·         Tolerance and acceptance are the fruit of judgement and separation. We think these terms are positive, I tell you they are not!

Q: But aren't we supposed to accept people as they are?   Sri Sri: If you don't love them, then you have to accept them. Don't accept people as they are, just love them as they are.

·         The mistrust and fear in the people of Assam will take time to heal.
-- Sri Sri visiting refugee camps in Assam

·         When we get in touch with the source of life, then all other tensions and worries fall off; we can sing, dance and be happy. Life can become very intensely joyful.

·         Joy is the love of what is. Sadness is the love of what is not.

·         Q: We have heard abstract definitions for terms like enlightenment' so often. Would you please throw some light?    Sri Sri: You want me to add more confusion and give you one more definition! If I have a choice, I'd take away all definitions and leave you in confusion because from that confusion, something will flower up in you. My understanding is not going to help you. Don't make it a concept. If you don't know, say, "Thank God, I don't know what enlightenment is. Let me wait for it." It is the concepts that keep us from experiencing reality.

·         When in our life, personal needs disappear and desires no longer exist, an extraordinary, mystical ability is awakened within us that enables us to bless others. When we do not want anything for ourselves, we develop the strength to fulfill the desires of others.

·         Revolution is a necessary step to bring you close to the process of evolution. There is a clear distinction between revolution and rebellion. Evolution comprises neither revenge, rebellion nor reaction. It is a conscious and necessary move towards life, away from decay. A revolution that comes from inner revelation or intuition is long lasting.

·         Aug.2 : Sri Sri is currently engaged with over 300 ULFA surrendered militants and organising relief work for the riot affected in Assam.

·         Love will come to you as you become more conscious. You can only recognize something that you know. When love fills your being for the first time, you will be absolutely overwhelmed and mystified. You will know that your heart is dancing, that you are surrounded by celestial music and you will know fragrances that you've never known before.

·         Aug.2 : The Art of Living begins rehabilitation work in Assam by providing relief support and blessings.

·         This full moon is dedicated to the seers -- the Rishis. It is also called the Raksha Bandhan, which means a bond that protects you. Your bondage to the knowledge, to the master, to the truth, to the Self, all save you. Today the sister ties Rakhi on the brother's hand saying, 'I will protect you and you protect me'.

·         Q: How to conquer ego?  Sri Sri: Ego is just a feeling of having a wall between you and others. There is no wall. You belong to me and I belong to you. You are accepted the way you are. Naturalness is the antidote for ego. Be spontaneous! Ego cannot stand spontaneity. Children are so spontaneous. Be like a child.

·         Surrender often denotes a sense of weakness, failure or a sense of slavery. But there is another aspect of the word 'surrender' that denotes freedom. It simply means growing from limitation to limitlessness, merging into Divinity, the vast powerful ocean of existence. A weak person cannot surrender. When you let go of all tension, fear, anxiety and small mindedness, what dawns in you is freedom, real joy, real love - that is surrender.

·         Q: What is the difference between love and attachment?   Sri Sri: Attachment is that which gives you pain. Love is that without which you cannot live. If love becomes attachment, then the same love which was giving you joy, starts to inflict pain. Attachment is when you want something in return. If you love and don't want anything in return, then that love doesn't turn into attachment.

·         When love glows, it is bliss.

When it flows, it is compassion.

When it blows, it is anger.

When it ferments, it is jealousy.

When it is negative, it is hatred.

When it acts, it is perfection.

When love knows, it is Me!

·         Q: Guruji, what is faith?  Sri Sri: How do you know that I will give you an answer, that it will be the right answer? That is faith.

·         When you are full of love, sharing takes place. And then comes the great surprise - as you give love, you start receiving it from unknown sources, from unknown corners, from unknown people, from the trees, rivers, from the mountains. Love starts showering on you from all nooks and corners of existence. The more you give, the more you will get. Life becomes a sheer dance of love.

·         Just drop all that is bothering you. If you are not free today, you can never be free anytime. Don't expect freedom to come to you. "Today, I am free! Everything is going to happen the way it is going to happen."

·         The very joy of giving love is so much that it does not matter who is at the receiving end. When this space comes into your being, then you will go on giving love to everybody and everything - not only human beings but to animals, to trees, to distant stars. Love can be transferred to the farthest star by just your loving look, to a tree just by your touch. It can be conveyed in absolute silence, without a single word.

·         It is said the Divine dawns in you when you cry for It, when you sing for It. When you sing, Divine love comes to you, to one's experience. This is for sure! The Divine is only waiting for you to dig a little deeper into yourself, that's all, because then It can fill you with much more nectar. It is waiting to give you more. Cry from your heart, cry from your soul.

·         The world is as you see it. A hungry man looks at the moon, he sees it like a doughnut. Someone in love looks at the moon, it reminds him of his beloved's face. Having attained Divine love, one cannot but see only love everywhere. When you attain perfection, you see only perfection.

·         You cannot understand love through intellect. It needs to be felt. And anything that needs to be felt needs synthesis, not analysis. You have to become one with it to know it. Whatever you know through the head is at a distance. The subject-object relation will always remain. But love is not like that. The taste of the pudding is in tasting, music is in hearing it. In the same way, feeling.

·         A sense of offering comes up in you in a state of fullness, of gratitude. "You gave me this world and I offer it back to you. I have been given this body and every particle of this body, I'm offering back to you. I am yours." This intense feeling of total offering, merging, giving everything to the Divine, not saving anything for oneself, becoming the offering itself, is Pooja.

·         You can give people everything else but if you don't teach them how to come out of their own misery, they will still be in misery. There is no better service than helping someone uplift their state of mind.

·         Divine love is - "I have never seen your face but I have fallen in love with you. I have not heard your name but my heart beats by your name. I have never touched you but you are pulsating in every cell of my being. I have never met you but you are in me. All I want is to dissolve. All I want is to be one."

·         Always accept that you don't know what you can do. Ignorance of your capability can expand you. When you know what you can do, you can do things. When you don't know what you can do, you can do things even better!

·         The earth as a whole is a living organism. Don't think this earth which hosts so many varieties of life is just an object. It is conscious, it has life. Only life can bring up life.

·         Throughout the ages, man has tried to express love, but it has remained inexpressible. Love is so deep somewhere in you that you find all your expressions are just a shadow of it. If the feeling is superficial, it can be expressed. But the feeling that is so genuine, so deep, so authentic, is hard to express.

·         If you are saddened by another's sorrow, then sorrow will never come to you. If you are happy at another's joy, then joy will never leave you.

·         Normally, you offer your anger easily and your smile rarely. In knowledge, a smile is free like the sun, air and water and anger is extremely expensive, like a diamond. Make your smile cheap and anger expensive.

·         Don't think people who agree with your grievances are your friends. Those who make your negative feelings and frustration grow more and more in you may appear to be friends but they are bad company. Good company makes you feel the problem is nothing. "It's solvable, it's simple, don't worry." They pump enthusiasm in you.

·         Q: Why do people worship you so much?  Sri Sri: It is up to them. If they see God in me, it is their choice. I see God in them too. Wherever you begin, don't stop there - worship everybody, honour everything. Today, there is violence in the world because we have not taught people how to honour each other. Honour life, wherever it is - in the dog, donkey or cow. Society needs to flourish in love, worship is inevitable.

·         Should I do this? Should I not do that?' Divided mind is misery. One-pointed mind is joy. All those moments when you have been very happy, it is the mind becoming one whole. 

·         In order to do certain jobs, you need certain qualifications. If you want to lift 100kg, you need that much strength. So, if love is a question of ability, strength, not everyone can love. But love transcends all ability. Whether you are foolish or wise, rich or poor, sick or healthy, strong or weak, you can still be in love.

·         Q: How can I be always happy?  Sri Sri: Drop the 'always' and then you will be happy.

·         Our human body is made to bring heaven on this earth, meant to bring sweetness into this world, not spill venom. It is easy to put down anybody but it takes some guts, some intelligence and courage to uplift people, to bring out the divine quality in others around. By bringing out divine qualities in others, you will be able to see Divinity deep inside yourself.

·         Q: What is the quality you need to love everyone?   Sri Sri: Be at ease with yourself and everybody, a simplicity. When you are open from within, you can't but love everyone and everyone can't but love you. Neither you have a choice nor do they. You have done this as a baby. Then, you were natural, simple, innocent and free with everybody. And everybody loved you!

=With Pranams to Guruji

& BEST WISHES to his Disciples

= V.Vijayamohan

Dated 11-Aug-2012

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