artofliving

New domain for Art of Living blog

2009-12-14T13:49:00.000-08:00

Testing blog.artoflivingyoga.info

Art of Living Links

2009-12-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

These are the Art of Living Links from the recent Art of Living blog.

▼ 2009 (23)
- ▼ December (7)
- ▼ November (12)
- ▼ October (1)
  - Sri Sri receives 2009 Culture in Balance award
- ▼ September (1)
  - Happy Dussera!
- ▼ April (1)
  - Sri Sri Ravishankar: Power of your Vote
- ▼ March (1)
  - Sri Sri Ravishankar and SIMI's talk at KERALA

▼ 2008 (7)
- ▼ November (1)
  - Ganesh Festival in Mumbai
- ▼ July (2)
  - Happy Guru Purnima
  - Happy Guru Purnima Today is Guru Purnima.Wisdom from Sri Sri
- ▼ April (1)
  - Happy Ram Navami
- ▼ March (2)
  - Best v/s worst paradox!
  - Happy Maha Shiva Ratri
- ▼ February (1)
  - Divine Valentine!

▼ 2007 (1)
- ► March (1)
  - Who are You - 2!!

▼ 2006 (50)
- ▼ October (1)
  - Happy Diwali!
- ▼ August (2)
  - Krishna Janmashtami
  - Happy Independence Day! "We owe a lot to the India
- ▼ July (2)
  - Who are YOU???
  - Happy Guru Poornima!
- ▼ May (1)
  - Pakistanis and Indians together?
- ▼ April (3)
- ▼ March (19)
- ▼ February (22)

Art of Living Blog

2009-12-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

This blog has been shifted to artoflivinginfo.blogspot.com. Also the original popular Art of Living blog at artofliving.rediffiland.com is now blogs.rediff.com/artofliving since rediff has changed its blog url's. However all the content on this rediff blog has now been replicated to the new Art of Living blog.

Hari Sundara Nanda Mukunda! sung at Art of Living Silver Jubilee

2009-12-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

Enjoy this enthralling and high voltage Art of Living Bhajan "Hari Sundara Nanda Mukunda" bhajan sung at Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations day - 2 (February 18th 2006) at Jakkur Air field, Banagalore. This was sung by Sri Sri Ravishankar Himself as well as Art of Living teacher Rishi Nityapragya etc. Can somebody please post the lyrics and other related links in comments.

Enthralling Satsang in progress at Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

A review of Scientology

2009-12-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

Mankind knows the concept that we are not our bodies but spiritual beings for many millennia.
Hindu scriptures has been telling the same from time immemorial. Even most other religions like Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism tell the same thing. Hindu Seers have not only well-documented this philosophy through its numerous scriptures which give you deep knowledge about the Self (It is also called Spirit, Soul, Consciousness, Atma etc) but also provides lots of practical, well-established and time-tested tools and techniques like Yoga and meditation to realize your real nature i.e. that is your soul.

I don't see any need for a new "religion" for achieving self-realization (or enlightenment of Moksha or liberation or Nirvana etc). Moreover it seems that Scientology is a propaganda to achieve vested interests by some people. They are making it seem that it is their new "invention" for path to liberation and I seriously doubt whether it is any useful in the path towards enlightenment. Also the very name "Scientology" is a wrong word because it misleadingly suggests that it is a 'new "scientific" way of life "unlike" other religions or spiritual traditions'.
in reference to: Official Church of Scientology Online Videos: What is Scientology, Scientologist Beliefs, Spiritual Healing with Dianetics (view on Google Sidewiki)

Sri Sri Ravishankar on Mathematics, Science and Spirituality!

2009-12-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

Mathematics, Science and Spirituality!
Memorial Lecture given by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at S. M. Medical college, Jodhpur ( 23 February 2005)

(H H Sri Sri Ravishankar, Art of Living Founder spoke in both Hindi and English. Wherever spoken in Hindi has been translated in English here. By the way, Government of Maharashtra (an Indian state) wanted to make mathematics an optional subject from 8th standard! This was ridiculous! Such a move would have disastrous implications on the society in the long run. It would take us several centuries backwards in time. All those who are aware of this should oppose it. Read an interesting article on this by my ex-colleague Sai at: saisureshsivaswamy.rediffblogs.com. Originally posted on my other Art of Living blog in 2006. - Krishna)

Science And Spirituality

I know you all are waiting to hear me, while there are others who are simply waiting to see me, doesn't matter what I talk. Should I speak in Hindi or English? Some want in Hindi and others in English. I will speak in both and whenever I am speaking in the language other than that of your choice, just listen as if you are listening to some music, otherwise you will start feeling restless!

Listening is also an art - there is an art of listening. Are you all listening? It can be any speaker who may speak for ten minutes but we actually hear for about three minutes; this is a statistical figure! The remaining seven minutes, the body remains there but the mind goes out gallivanting and comes back after roaming for sometime. So if one speaks for thirty minutes say, then, in actual effect, you hear for about 9-10 minutes. That's why I said, whatever language I speak, if you do not understand, just hear it like a music otherwise restlessness starts building in the mind, right?

You always complain if someone speaks in the language you don't know. When you sit and gossip for 2-3 hours, you don't know how the time flies but when you are sitting and someone is speaking for a couple of minutes in a foreign language you don't know, even those couple of minutes seem to be very long, hasn't it been our experience? Whenever your mind is engaged, you do not feel the time but when the mind is not engaged, you feel the time is too long, correct? Study of time is both Spirituality and Science. Time is the junction.

Are you all here? What is happening now? Waiting- waiting for a phone call, waiting for someone to come, waiting for something. But you know what's interesting is that we don't know what waiting itself is! If you can experience the pure waiting- that becomes meditation. Suppose I am not going to speak for next 20-25 minutes, are you willing to be here? Yes! Waiting for infinity is meditation and if we don't understand what waiting is, we tend towards frustration.

See, waiting is the junction that either leads you to frustration on one side or, on another side, takes you to a meditative state. If you are a meditator then you know what dhyaan (meditation) is, then nothing can frustrate you because every moment that you are free and have to wait for something, you drop into meditation!

We become carefree when we realize that waiting can lead to either meditation or frustration. You can be free from frustration if you meditate and be happy and joyful. Many moments come in our lives, when we have to wait and with this waiting we are filled with frustration, anger, restlessness - all kinds of disorders of mind. So to become free from all such disorders it is very essential to know about meditation.

"What is this?"- is Science ; " Who am I?"- is Spirituality. It is only in India, in this country, that no conflict ever happened between Science and Spirituality. It is only in India that from ages the science and spirituality said the Earth and other planets are
moving round the Sun. We also teach our students but unfortunately in a wrong way. We teach today in our schools that Galileo discovered that the earth is round. We don't remember that it is India which has given the concept of earth being spherical 'khagoal' (kha means Earth and goal means round), 'bhoogoal' (geography- the study of earth ) etc. The earth was always considered spherical. In the 7- 8th century sculptures you see the Varah Murti carrying a globe on their tusks. That means our ancestors, the people in India in ancient days knew that the earth was spherical.

From the times of Vedic age itself, our ancient people knew the placing of the sun and the planets. In today's time too we worship the same way by placing the sun in the center and all planets around it. Long ago, from ancient times, we knew that the sun was the center of our solar system yet we teach wrong and give credit to Galileo for discovering it! We need to change such history now. Similarly the value of Pi and its formula were known long ago. They were well advanced in mathematics. All geometry, trigonometry etc was given in verses with not just formulas but also with detail and diagrams. So we were never ignorant but very advanced in Science from ancient time but unfortunately what is being taught is that our ancestors were ignorant and foolish. It is heard that a professor of History, in Delhi University, is teaching the children that the ancient man burnt incense to scare the God saying- "See the incense in my hand, fulfill my wish or I will burn you down." And if that was not sufficient to scare then he went with the lamp etc. According to his teaching the ancient man knew nothing else but to scare for fulfilling his wishes and because of such foolish ideas only he began doing worship! If we teach such things to the children then these children will become naxalites in future. It is the lack of spirituality in education in our country, that the youth are becoming naxalites. On one hand they commit suicide or on other hand they become violent and aggressive.

What is spiritualism? To understand this, ponder over this "Who am I? What am I made up of?" This body is made of food we eat etc but then consciousness, the spirit within it is made up of what? What are its ingredients?- to know this all is spiritualism. Our ancestors have given the beautiful explanations of it. Asti, Bhati, Preeti , Naam and Roop - these are the five ingredients/elements or aspects of self. Asti, Bhati, Priti- are the three forms of our consciousness, our mind. Asti meaning "I am", bhati is realizing that it is and preeti , the love with which it is made of “these are the three forms with which our consciousness is made of. If all the lights were put off in this room, even then you feel your presence, don't you still feel , I am here? - this feeling of I am is - asti.

Are you all listening? Still here? The mind has not gone out for a tea break na? Yes! So ,when you say you are listening to me you, you realize your presence that is bhati. And your nature is love- that is preeti. So these are the three aspects of our consciousness. And the body or matter has two aspects - naam or name and roop or the form. Every thing has a name and a form. With a form or property and a name different things exist in the world.

Science examines or studies on name and shape, while Spirituality on asti, bhati and preeti. What is this? - is Science ; Who am I?- is Spirituality. Can there be any conflict between the two? Never! Both are the two ends of the same thread of knowledge. People may say that spiritualism begins where science ends but I do not agree with that. Science and Spiritualism are not separate, they go together, they are always in oneness. And there can be no dispute after the theory of relativity which proved about matter and energy.

And what is happening now? As I am speaking you are also thinking in your mind - "Yes, yes, he is speaking right, or, No, no, how can that be right.. like that Yes, yes.., No, no" going on in the mind, isn't it? That faculty by which you perceive is Mind and that by which you agree/accept or disagree is Intellect. And the study of this inner, internal layers of consciousness is Spirituality.

Sri Krishna also said in Geeta - Gyaan vigyaan pratyaatma. One gains the Complete knowledge only if gets the knowledge of both science and spirituality. From our four Darshan shastras - the first three are of science only! Vaisheshik Darshan says - padartha gyaanatva mokshah. Sage Vaisheshik said that knowledge of one element contains the full knowledge of all other elements, knowing which you can attain pure bliss. If you understand and have full knowledge of one atom, you are liberated. Even if you don't believe in God but understand even one atom thoroughly, it gives you liberation- this is what the ancient scriptures have said.

How to achieve it? Put your attention to know one thing fully. Understand an atom. What is your body? - a heap of atoms. When all atoms embraced and combine with each other- a body is formed and when they become at daggers with each other and separate with each other- the body disintegrates and death takes place. This body is made up of so many atoms. What is an atom? What is the function of an atom? "So who am I? Am I the body? What is this body? Do you know this body is not solid but fluid like a river? 98% of our body is empty- space element. If you observe a small piece of your skin under the microscope, it looks like a mosquito net- so porous and full of holes! Likewise take any metal, it has lot of empty space also. And out of remaining 2% - 60% is water element and 15% air element in the body. You are like a water or a juice sachet! After you drink juice, how does the packet looks- pressed and bad similarly if all the water is removed from your body, you will become depressed! And if air is removed then, as the fish perishes if removed from water, you will perish too! We don't know fully about our body itself. So it is good to have full knowledge like this first. If you know about your own body, the mind becomes still and liberation happens. So where is the conflict? Science is a logical, sequential understanding of the reality and spirituality goes one step ahead from the aspects you know. You will see there are many types of logic - Whether the means of understanding itself is correct or not? The correct aspect is there or not? The subjective analysis- the aspect from which you learn, by which you know, whether your apparatus or analysis itself is correct or not- and this is spirituality. So unless you take both approaches, your knowledge will not be complete.

Belongingness is the sign of spiritualism. In today's life, man has become rigid like a stone living in a small world of his own. We convey more through our presence than through our words. We live whole of our life in a formal atmosphere and lose the naturalness and belongingness. One can have a simple, lovable nature or personality through spirituality only.

Truth is multidimensional. This is a gift given to the world by India. Knowledge or Truth is not linear but spherical. Isliye virodhaatmak batein sath sath hoti hein. That's why controversial things co-exist - and that's what we teach in the Art of Living course - that opposite values are complementary. Unless you take both approaches, knowledge will be incomplete. Any life devoid of Spiritualism is dry and lack of knowledge makes one sad, and sorrowful.

Some question/ answers

Q- What is God?
A-Bhoomi jaise sahansheel, Agni jaise prajvalit, vayu jeise halkaa, paani jeise vinamra aur nubh jeise sarva vyaapak- jismein yuh sub tutva hein , vuh bhagvaan hei. Patience like the Earth, Glow of the Fire, light like the Air, humble like the water(which flows downward) and present every where like space- the one having all these elements is God!

Q- How to realise faithfulness?
A- The same way you feel the pain. When there is a pain, you just know it!

Q- Guru se bada kaun? Who is above Guru?
A - Guru ka matlub hee hei - bahut bada toe jaan jao khud hee! Guru means Great so you know the answer yourself

Sri Sri Ravishankar's advice to married couples

2009-12-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

In this video lecture Sri Sri Ravishankar, advices married couple on how to nourish their relationships. He says the wife should "pump up" the husband's "ego" and the husband should value the wife's emotions.

Sri Sri Ravishankar's video lecture on how to improve wife and husband relationships.

Sri Sri Ravishankar to attend Parliament of Wolrd Religions

2009-12-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Dene elder joins religious leaders on world stage

Francois Paulette of Fort Fitzgerald (second from left) is in Australia this week, speaking at a world religion congress on indigenous spiritual and world beliefs. Paulette says indigenous spiritual leaders, like the Mayan priest (above left) he met in Mexico, have similar values and belief systems.

By SHAWN BELL, SRJ Reporter 01.DEC.09
A Dene elder from Fort Fitzgerald is part of a global indigenous delegation in Australia this week aiming to share spiritual beliefs and practices with religious leaders from around the world.
Francois Paulette, a former chief of Smith's Landing First Nation in Fort Fitzgerald, joins spiritual and religious leaders and over 10,000 followers in Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 1 to 7 for the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions.

Paulette will address two separate forums, one on 'Indigenous People and the Arctic' and another on 'Indigenous Land Rights: struggles and survival.' He will also take part in a round-table on indigenous spirituality.
"They are putting an emphasis on indigenous peoples' beliefs, spirituality and way of life," Paulette said. "When people come to big conferences like this, they are now looking towards indigenous people for answers to the dilemma of how to live within nature."
First held in Chicago in 1893, the Parliament of the World's Religions brings religious and spiritual leaders and their followers together every five years to address global concerns.
This year's conference features religious leaders from all faiths, including the Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, Hindu holy man Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Lally Lucretia M. Warren, from Botswana's Baha'i assembly, among its 10,000 participants.
The Melbourne Parliament is especially focused on indigenous rights, geographically pertinent considering the ongoing destruction of Australian Aborigines' culture and spirituality just outside Melbourne's city limits.
"Within Australia, Aboriginal reconciliation issues are pressing," states the Parliament's website. "The Parliament provides the opportunity to engage these issues within a larger context. Those gathered will have the opportunity to explore new approaches to Aboriginal reconciliation through dialogue with indigenous peoples from other countries."
For Paulette the Parliament's focus on indigenous reconciliation is an opportunity to interact and build networks with indigenous leaders from across the planet, many of whom face struggles similar to those of Canada's native peoples.
He cites his recent meeting in Mexico with a Mayan priest as an example of the similar beliefs expressed by indigenous spiritual people around the world.
"The Mayan priest said, 'If we are to survive, we must go back to our traditions, cultures and ceremonies,'" Paulette said. "This is a common theme between all indigenous people I've heard over the years."
While in Australia, Paulette will take time to visit an Aborigine community in the outback northwest of Melbourne, speaking of Dene efforts to protect land in Canada's North. The Aborigines are attempting to create protected areas in the outback, using Canadian Indians' efforts, specifically the ongoing push for an East Arm National Park east of Lutsel K'e, of which Paulette is an adviser, as examples.
Paulette promised to do his part to inform the Parliament of the efforts of all Northerners to protect water and the environment, including efforts to prevent a hydro dam on the Slave River near Fort Smith.
Source: Slave River Journal

Sai with Sri Sri Ravishankar at rediff chat!

2009-11-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

"God is love" - H. H. Sri Sri Ravishankar

Sai Suresh Siva Swami, managing editor from rediff was so excited about the whole experience of his meeting with Sri Sri Ravishankar as part of rediff's coverage of Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations, I told him to share it on his blog.

Sri Sri Ravishankar teaching Yoga and meditation to his disciples inside Visalakshi Mantap

Nikhil Lakshman (Vice President, editorial, rediff), Sai, Jewela and Shailesh (rediff journalists) were at Bangalore Ashram on Monday to facilitate rediff chat and an interview with our beloved Guruji. This chat was held in the Vishalakshi Mantap, (see the photo on my iland home.) while all the devotees were sitting in the auditorium. This is the place where I had done two of my advanced meditation courses including one with Guruji. The above picture shows the inside of the Auditorium.

The following article is from Sai's blog

Art of loving

February 13-14 has a significance in my life that goes beyond words. Years ago, the period represented an end of sorts. In a paradox, the same time also meant a revival. And this year, it found me on the threshold, literally, of a new experience.

In all my meanderings through life, even as I dipped my toe into many pools and some deeper waters, AoL was something I stayed off. This despite the many friends around who swore by the Art of Living mantra. Despite the visible presence the community had in publications.

My first, and till yesterday the only personal experience I had of AoL was attending a satsang by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar somewhere in New Jersey in the year 2001. Let me see what the whole fuss is about, was my attitude. If he can conquer the firangs, obviously he has made it in the spiritual guru sweepstakes, I thought.

So for the few hours I was there I kept an open mind. The session, if my memory serves me right, began with meditation, there was some chanting, and wound up with Sri Sri taking questions from the floor. I remember him emphasizing a lot on love and laughter, his quips keeping the gathering in good humour. The answers were not Theory of Relativity by any means; they were simple, down to earth, homespun wisdom.

A sample could be like this. Q: Where can I find god? A: Look within yourself, not outside. Q: Why am I unhappy? A: Because you have not learnt the art of being happy.

The crowd was mostly Indians, and I could see a few white skins, diehards for who India, anything about India, holds a mystical charm, I guess.

On Monday, I was at the AoL ashram outside Bangalore in connection with the Rediff @10 chat, my first foray into the world. Exactly a year ago I was at the gates of another retreat, but unspurred by professional interest. Was it pure happenstance that brought me to the gate of another one now?

The vision that greeted us as we entered the ashram was of Guruji emerging from his room. His mere sight is enough to reduce his followers to putty, or tears. Among the gurus I have seen or know about, he must easily be the most accessible. There is no barrier or gap between him and them, I could see. And through the most insistent request, he kept his child-like smile.

Through the day, we had a chance to interact in detail with him and his followers who have congregated outside Bangalore and who have converted the landscape into a carnival. And there are some vignettes that won’t go away. Here are my thoughts on why Sri Sri is so immensely popular.

KISS. Sri Sri keeps it really simple. Not for him high-falutin spiritual pap. This simplicity keeps him one among his followers, not above them.

The human touch. Everyone talks of their channel to him. I am unable to figure it out, but he is on a one-to-one with his followers.

Love. There is a transparent, simple love he radiates. Can there be a more positive energy than this four-letter word that must be the most misconstrued one in the world? Love heals, love cures, love sets right, is the mantra Sri Sri hands out. And, hey, if you believe the message too, it will work for you.

So have you converted, too, is a question I have been inundated with since I got back. And there has been no change in my answer for all time. I am perfectly all right with the concept of guru; I have no problem with people seeking solace from a guru. We all have a vacuum in us, the need to be tutored, guided, yes. But personally, for myself, I am unable to elevate another human being to the status of god. Saying this is not to imply I am oh-so-strong that I don’t need a steadying hand at my rudder. Perhaps I am one of those meant to go through life always seeking, never finding.

Sri Sri Ravishankar: Honor all religions - Rediff chat Part 1

2009-11-30T08:21:00.000-08:00

When His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the spiritual guru and founder of Art of Living, consented to be part of the Rediff@10 Chat on February 13, 2004 - the yearlong online event that was kicked off by the hugely successful online chat with President APJ Abdul Kalam - it was a special moment for us, at rediff.
For Sri Sri Ravi Shankar transcends boundaries and narrow limitations imposed by man-made thoughts and concepts - much like the Internet medium we work in. "I belong to the whole of humanity," he told us in a separate conversation.
With AoL, said to be the largest volunteer based NGO in the world, marking 25 years of its founding, lakhs of followers are expected to converge on Jakkur airfield outside Bangalore, venue of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee celebrations. For the throngs of his devotees nothing less than quality time - it could be just a glance, a smile, a wave of the hand - with Guruji will do.
Naturally, being confined in a room for an hour for the Chat at such a time would be depriving them of time, and His Holiness kindly suggested that while he was amenable for an interview in private, could the Chat please be done at the ashram's Visalakshmi Mandir, in the presence of his followers.
Over 6000 questions had poured in from our readers, and Francois Gautier, rediff.com columnist and a Sri Sri devotee suggested we forward a shortlist to His Holiness from which he would choose the questions to be answered. The questions ranged from job tensions to matrimony, and the future of religion and spirituality.

Kamatchi : Dear Guruji,Nameste, Should we follow certain religion or God is only one? Is it ok if we follow more than one religion?
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Adopt spirituality, be faithful to your religion, and honour all religions

Basanth Lalchand : Guruji, Even people who have progressed on the spiritual path ocasionally tend to be drawn back into materialism and small-mindedness. Why does this phenomenon happen? Can't the progress be like a flight?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar conducting the Rediff@10 Chat among his devotees

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : It totally depends on you. For some it may be a flight, for some it may be a crawl, or a walk. It depends on you entirely. The learning ability, adapting ability depends on the individual, and even that changes from time to time

Nilesh Parihar : Dear Sir, I have some very simple question. In India we see so many Gurus,Gods, faith etc. I am very much confused. Hence I want to know (1) Who is God (2) Who am I ? and (3)What is my relationship with God ? This will make things very clear to me. I will be very thankful if you can clear my confusion. Thank in advance. Nilesh
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar : Why don't you start with the second question first? This will take you to deep meditation, do pranayam, meditation, you will find the answers.

Courtesy: rediff

Smiling Petra from Croatia shares her Art of Living experience!

2009-11-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

I was sitting in the amphitheater in front of Vishalakshi Mantap. Then came this cute girl asking me whether she could recharge her IPod from my laptop. I said yes but if she shares her Art of Living experiences with me. She is a university student from Croatia. She was not very good in English, so she had to take her friend's help to choose the right words while typing this.
Over to this ever smiling face:
______________________________________________
My name is Petra. I come from Croatia and i am very happy I am a part of Art of Living. I start my first practice 8 years ago through my mother that is a teacher. First time when i did my Kriya i felt a release, i touch for the first time my freedom! At that time i still didn't know who is my teacher, the next step of my experience was a recognition of Him, of my beloved Guruji! He opened my heart, gave me an awareness that my only substitute that my heart is made of is LOVE! From that moment i feel more close to myself and to all people around me! i started to feel more and more that beautiful unity that i share with all amazing creatures in this world. He gave me freedom! Its such an amazing feeling! Thank you My ANGEL! Thank you GURUJI!

Art of Living Course experience of Dolat Desai from Mumbai

2009-11-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

Here is the Art of Living course experience of Dolat Desai, an international business consultant from Mumbai.
He has done the Art of Living course under the instructor Mrs Henna Solanki at Kandivali, Mumbai in the first week of February 2006, just before Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations, held at Jakkur airport, Bangalore from February 17th to 19th, 2006.
___________________________________________________________________

The Exeperience of Art of living Course was wonderful and amazing.

It has helped me to feel my body and mind very light and stress-free for all the twenty four hours. I feel that my digestation system has improved a lot and get very sound sleep. It has also helped me to remove any negative feelings and opinions to a great extent. I have started liking the environment and people around me. I have no doubt that Art of Living course can improve health of body and mind of individual but of society and India.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's wisdom to CEOs - Forbes India

2009-11-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

When every breath of your body is focused on creating wealth it takes an infinity to realise the expanse of the breath itself. Journeys across such an abstract expanse need a guide whose spiritual GPS is never offline. But then Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a man of God like no other. His powerful innovation of Sudarshan Kriya from the ancient system of Pranayam has calmed many a burdened mind. It is hard to combine the commanding heights of spirituality with the mundane lowlands of everyday practical living the way Sri Sri has managed to do.

So when a club of extremely wealthy men of practical world needed to understand how to go beyond all the wealth, Sri Sri was the obvious choice.

We seemed to have hit the hot button because questions from men of Mammon flowed freely. To make sure the answers had depth, Forbes India picked four questions that seemed to be most fundamental and intricate. But that was till Sri Sri answered them; after that they were blindingly obvious.

Harsh Mariwala, Chairman & MD, Marico Industries

We are realising more and more that society has a significant stake and role to play in the growth of every individual and organisation. It then follows that some part of the wealth built by the individual or organisation owes its origin to society. In a steady state scenario, this issue may not be difficult to sort out — one could follow the Islamic Zakat approach and give a fixed percentage to charity or to society. But when it comes to estate planning or leaving behind a legacy through a will, there would arise a question, where your guidance and views will be enlightening. What proportion of a rich person’s wealth should one bequeath

to society?”

A: The Dharmashastras advise a man to divide wealth in five portions:

One portion is used for spiritual and religious purposes.
One portion for charity and society.
One portion for the growth of the wealth.
One portion for oneself and one’s own comforts.
One portion for one’s family.
The most intelligent thing would be to undertake all the charitable works during one’s lifetime itself. However, when you write a will with the wealth that is left to you, definitely give a substantial portion for charitable work.

Venugopal Dhoot, Chairman & MD, Videocon

What is the best contribution one can make to a better society? Make billions, spend billions, or give away billions?

A: The best way is to do both: To make billions, spend a little less, save the rest and give away! Twenty per cent of your earnings should be earmarked for charity. However, charity should be self-sustainable. That is, it should create more wealth rather than perpetuating the cycle of poverty and dependence. In this sense, the best form of charity would be providing quality education for children and more importantly, building a good character in them.

In the 11th chapter of the Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna said, “Win the war with enemies and enjoy a prosperous empire.” How can a businessman be altruistic and yet follow this piece of advice? Is there a way to resolve this riddle?

Krishna’s advice was not for a recluse, but addressed to a prince. The Gita should not be dismissed as a text for people who are not in the world. In fact, the Gita is of no use for people who are retiring from the world.

The entire Bhagavad Gita is focused on the prince who had to shoulder a huge responsibility, encounter complex situations and solve complicated human relations to make the country productive. Any business empire has to perform all these functions: They have to manage human resources; resolve conflicts.

One cannot be emotional and say: “I don’t want to compete with anybody. The world of business is always a struggle — a fight. Your weapons are speculation, bidding, negotiation, branding, marketing, pricing, innovation etc. These are the weapons for you to fight the business wars and you should fight it to your complete satisfaction. If it does not turn out to be viable, naturally you lose your fight. (Non-viability, heavy competition, lack of HR, labour problems) You can’t do business with a charitable mindset. Charity and business should be kept separate altogether. However when it comes to enjoying the fruits of your business, you should have a charitable mind. You must keep aside a portion for charity.

Analjit Singh, Chairman & MD, Max India

If one has faith and believes God exists, how important is it to pray, meditate, etc.?

A: Prayer is asking God what you want for yourself or thanking Him for what you have received. Meditation is listening to God’s will. If you believe in God, then you will definitely want to connect and communicate with Him. The way to communicate with Him is through prayer and meditation.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Partner, RaRe Enterprises

“My principles in life are as follows:

All spirituality lies in our deeds and empathy towards others.
All deeds should be with practical integrity and means should be more important than the ends.
More than anything else in life, I work for a sense of achievement, which I judge and am not bothered about what
others think.
I have far lesser wealth than people think, but far more than I need. Wealth also has a purpose in life.
I realise that all things in life including wealth, success and beauty are transient and temporary. Therefore I never take them for granted, nor am I overwhelmed or over-influenced by them.
The divine is the giver of all wealth, and along with the wealth, has cast upon us a responsibility that as far as possible must be used for a good purpose.
I would seek your divine views and thoughts on my beliefs and principles of life.

A: What you have mentioned are some moral and ethical values. Spirituality is recognising that you are a part of the universal spirit and that there is no ‘Other’. Spirituality is recognising the truth that a Divine Power is managing the creation and your own life. No doubt integrity, charity, compassion etc. are all virtues which are essential by-products of spirituality. How calm and dynamic you are at the same time, how compassionate and shrewd you are at the same time indicates the depths of your spirituality.

Anand Utsav: Maha Sudarshan Kriya at Orissa by Art of Living in the presence of Sri Sri Ravishankar

2009-11-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

Explore and Experience the power of Silence and Celebration... Book yourself on a trip to this most beautiful place in the Universe with Sri Sri...

With H. H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji in Bhubaneswar, Orissa. from 29th Jan to 2nd Feb 2010
Advance Meditation Course (AMC) : 29th Jan to 1st Feb 2010
Divine Satsang & Anand Utsav: 31st Jan 2010
Sudarshan Kriya Part 1 Course: 31st Jan to 2nd 2010
Rudra Puja & MAHA SUDARSHAN KRIYA ( Live Sudarshan Kriya with Master) on 1st Feb 2010

Contact :09937293884,09238606791, 9437102136, 9437152227

Peace Within, Peace on Earth... Sri Sri...

Jai Gurudev!

Weekly Knowledge Sheet -1

2009-11-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

Weekly Knowledge #1 Big Sur, California
21 Jun 1995 USA

THIS BEGINS A NEW PRACTICE

This begins a new practice of weekly dispatches of Knowledge from Guruji. Every center around the world will receive the Knowledge so it can be read for people to copy down at weekly Satsang. Here is the first segment Guruji dictated at Big Sur, 21 June, 1995.

* * * *

Beyond an event is Knowledge.

Beyond a person is love.

Beyond an object is infinity.

Knowledge is not in an event; it is beyond an event.

If you take one event and infer anything from one event -- infer knowledge -- it will be erroneous knowledge. Say Nancy gets angry and shouts at someone. You attribute anger to Nancy, but actually it was carried from someone else to her. Someone else got angry first and someone else and someone else and on and on like that.

When you go beyond an event, only then the truth dawns. One particular event gives you a false notion. So you have to consider the totality of events, the totality of all events infinitely. Beyond the event is Knowledge.

What do we call a person? A person is a body, a mind, a complex of behaviors which is changing. Love is unchanging. Beyond the person is love.

When you lose your personality, you become love. If you cannot lose yourself, you cannot find yourself. So, lose your personality; you'll find yourself!!!

Behind every object is infinity. An object is limited. Take an object and reduce, reduce, reduce, and you have an atom. An atom is infinity. Each atom contains infinite space. Beyond the object is infinity.

The object behind the object is infinity. The person behind the person is love.

Maya is getting caught up in the event, personality, object. Knowledge, love, Brahman is seeing beyond the event, personality, or object. See? Just a little shift.

JAl GURU DEV

George Bush with Sri Sri Ravishankar

2009-11-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

George W. Bush receiving Sri Sri Ravishankar at White house in May 2004

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation and the International Association of Human Values, was on May 7 received by US President George W Bush in the Oval Office of the White House and implored to "please keep us in your prayers."

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the first Indian spiritual leader to be received in the Oval Office by a president of the United States. The seer was visiting the White House for discussions with senior officials of the Bush Administration's Faith-Based Initiative, when officials asked him if he would like to meet with Bush. Almost immediately they arranged for an Oval Office meeting between the two.

Bush embraced Sri Sri Ravi Shankar soon as he entered the Oval Office, and said, 'I am very glad you are here and please keep us in your prayers." He then asked the guru if he could take a picture with him, and called for the White House photographer to do the needful.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar later participated in a prayer meeting presided over by Bush, at the White House East, which was followed by a reception for several participants belonging to various faiths.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who as part of his world tour has just returned from Mexico and is scheduled to go to Brazil to address that country's Parliament, told rediff.com this was his first visit to the US Congress and the White House.

"My message to them has been the uplifting of human values," he said. He said he had briefed lawmakers and the White House about "our stress relief program with prisoners and the people in Iraq. The prison program is one of the main programs were are doing.

"I have already sent some doctors from India to Iraq, with ayurvedic medicines, and they are helping the people to overcome the trauma because the people there cannot sleep, are in constant anxiety and the conditions are terrible and women and children are suffering. So we are doing a big campaign for them."

"I am also working with Kashmiri migrants," Ravi Shankar told rediff.com. "We have about a three-and-a-half lakh Kashmir Pandits still in refugee camps for 14 years, and nobody has cared for them. Now, I am taking up their cause and trying to rehabilitate them, trying to put them back in Kashmir."

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was also feted on Capitol Hill at a reception hosted by influential Republican Representative David Dreier of California, who chairs the powerful House Rules Committee. Among lawmakers present were the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian American Representatives Joseph Crowley (New York Democrat) and Joe Wilson (South Carolina Republican); founder and former co-chair of the India Caucus Frank Pallone (New Jersey Democrat); unsuccessful Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio; Earl Blumenauer (Oregon Democrat); James Walsh (New York Republican); and Diane Watson (California Democrat), among others.

Dreier, who recently made his first visit to India along with Staff Director of the Rules Committee Billy Pitts, said, "He is obviously a great spiritual leader and we are all so pleased that we can welcome him. We've had some wonderful meetings, it's a great honor and privilege for me to be here and to welcome him to the US Capitol."

"This is something we need to pursue so that there is in this world that is shrinking, an understanding of differences that exist," he said.

Several influential Jewish Americans, including the hierarchy of the American Jewish Committee, were presented at the reception as were several Indian-American community leaders and senior Indian embassy officials.

Srilankan Cricket team learns Art of Living from Swami Sadyojathah

2009-11-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

The Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team was yet another reminder of the growing threat of terrorism in today's world. You could call it 'Munich Olympics attack re-visited', though in Lahore, fortunately, the Sri Lankan players escaped with just minor injuries.
Even weeks later the cricketers were still reeling from the aftermath of the attack. That's when Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa decided summon the expertise of Art of Living teacher Swami Sadyojathah.
Sadyojathah, who is at the Art of Living International Ashram in Bangalore under the tutelage of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, conducted a four-day trauma relief programme for the cricketers.
In a detailed conversation with Chief Sports Correspondent Harish Kotian, Swami Sadyojathah talks about the programme he undertook with the players and the secret to healthy living.
Can you describe the course you put the Sri Lankan cricket team through?
The Art of Living foundation got an invitation from the Institute of Sports Medicine Sri Lanka on behalf of his Excellency the President of Sri Lanka [Mahinda Rajapaksa] to conduct the trauma relief programme for the Sri Lankan cricketers, who went to Lahore. Based on that I went there and had an eight-hour workshop spread over four days; the entire Sri Lankan team, except the two players who were in hospital, underwent the programme. They all enjoyed it; they felt it was a good break for them to move ahead.
When you met the players, did you feel that they will still in a state of shock? Were they still suffering from that trauma?
In fact, many people and the media were asking me about the trauma that they were going through. But, interestingly, in our style of Art of Living we conduct the same programme. We don't sit and just make them talk about the trauma. That is because they have spoken a lot about the trauma in the media and that was happening for nearly two weeks.
So, the four days that we spent together, I didn't ask them anything about Lahore and they didn't tell me also. It was like past is past and finished. It was about how to bring your mind to the present and move ahead. They had the belief as well and they wanted to do something as a team.
They felt this course was a good break for them. For the first time after the Lahore attack the whole team was in the same room, sitting for two hours everyday and learning the breathing techniques.
Did anyone approach you personally during the four-day course asking for help to overcome the shock?
No. We didn't have that session. They all, as a team, underwent the process. Some people did come to me, but all of them wanted to learn more about the yoga and breathing techniques.
Would you say they have got over the episode and are ready for life and returning to playing cricket?
Yes, definitely! They had already started going to the ground and practicing cricket. They believe they don't want to get stuck in the past and want to move ahead in life.
Did you meet the two cricketers, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana, who were hospitalised after sustaining bullet injuries?
Yes, I did meet them. In fact, before the course started, the Institute of Sports Medicine wanted me to meet them, so I visited them in the hospital. Since they were not able to do the course they said they will do it as soon as they can.
Many of the cricketers have come out in the open and praised the Sudarshan Kriya breathing technique. Can you give us a brief on it?
The Sudarshan Kriya is a very beautiful breathing technique that his Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has given to this world. It is a very simple and, at the same time, very powerful breathing technique. In fact, by this breathing technique, what happens is that the toxins get released from each and every cell of the body in a short span of time. Once you learn the breathing technique in the Art of Living programme you will know how to practice it everyday just for 10-15 minutes.
So you just got to do it for say around 10 minutes of breathing in 24 hours any time of the day wherever you are as simple as that. It has a very deep profound effect on the body and mind and gives deep relaxation. So once body and mind gets totally relaxed you become more dynamic and you will be able to do much more in a short time in a more effective way.
This Sudarshan Kriya is so powerful that once they start doing it as part of their everyday follow up sessions, the past will not affect them at all.
So you mean to say breathing techniques can you help over come mental trauma?
Yes, most definitely. In our day-to-day life we are experiencing that our breath pattern and emotions are connected. For example, if you are very happy, inhalation is prominent; if you notice it is deep inhalation, like you are enjoying the fragrance of a flower. When you are sad, exhalation is prominent, like sometimes you say a deep sigh. And when you are angry you can notice fast breathing.
So it is very clear that breath pattern and our emotions are connected. But, as of now, it is one-way traffic or a one-way street, like when you have different emotions you have different breath patterns.
But you have to make it a two-way street where using different breath patterns you can handle the mind and emotions.
Will you go back again and help the Sri Lankan cricket team if needed?
In fact it came from them only that they would like to have Sudarshan Kriya as part of their recovery programme after every match. They have a recovery day after a game where they do other processes; so they want Sudarshan Kriya as a part of that and they are also keen to do follow-up sessions, whichever part of the world they are. The Art of Living is present throughout the world so it easy for them also.
Do you also follow cricket or some other sports?
Yes, if I get time I do watch.
Don't you think the Indian cricket team could also benefit using this breathing technique?
Yes; in fact everyone should do it. The quality of your action depends on the state of your mind. If your mind is calm, centred, balanced, happy or joyful your action will be like that; but if your mind is frustrated, irritated or stressed then your action will be according to that. So the whole theme is to make the mind calm or focused, because that what everyone needs, especially the players.
I am sure the Indian cricket team will also benefit from this programme and they are most welcome if they want to do it.
The Art of Living course is meant for mental conditioning, but can it also bring relief from physical pain?
You should see the full definition of health. His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has given this definition of health in which he says you have to see health in seven dimensions that is body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, ego and self.
These are the seven layers of existence. We all know health as disease-free body, but it is not just that. It is a combination of disease-free body, quiver-free breath, confusion-free mind, inhibition-free intellect, trauma-free memory, ego that includes all, and sorrow-free soul.
So only when all these seven layers of existence are taken into account only then you can say that you are healthy. So these breathing techniques and the other programmes that we do cater to each layer of existence; it is holistic.
You have also helped tragedy-struck people in other parts of Sri Lanka, mainly during the tsunami in 2005. Can you give details on that?
Wherever our help is required, our volunteers go there. We have done work is Kosovo also after the war, then in Lebanon and Iraq. In fact, in Iraq we have local Iraqis who conduct Sudarshan Kriya programmes and we also have Iraqi Art of Living teachers.
His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has also visited Iraq twice and we trained the youth there; it is a ongoing process.
And during the tsunami, immediately after the tragedy struck, I went to Sri Lanka. The first week after the tsunami I visited Jafna. Already it was affected by war for the past 20-25 years and on top of that the tsunami happened. It was in a very bad state. That is when I took the volunteers and teachers from India and other countries to start the work there.

Musical Symphony at Art of Living Silver Jubilee

2009-11-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

This is a video of the grand south Indian musical symphony of 3800 musicians on the majestic stage of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee celebrations held at Bangalore from 17th to 19th February 2006. This is the world's largest ever stage.

The symphony consisted of 650 Mridangams, 100 Ghatams, 100 Kanjeeras, 138 Tavils, 30 Morsings, 770 Veenas, 782 Violins, 10 Vichtra Veenas, 60 Tambaras, 10 Mandolins, 750 Flutes, 138 Nadaswarams, 92 Saxaphones, 20 Keyboards, 150 Guitars.

Video of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Symphony

Antarnaad

2009-11-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

'Antarnaad' - An enthralling symphony of 2000 Hindustani Classical Vocalists, conducted by Art of Living, Pune in the Divine presence of H H Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji

Date: 12 Jan 2010
Time: 6 pm onwards
Location: SP college ground, Pune

Highlights:

2000 Hindustani Classical Vocalists to perform on one stage - First time in the history of music!
A platform to showcase Hindustani classical music.
Celebrities from the music fraternity like Pt. Rajan & Sajan Misra, Shankar Mahadevan,
Chitra Roy and other Celebrity Singers to perform together on one stage.
Event coordinated by Shri Shashi Vyas.
An event slated to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.
Meditation by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji.
Estimated audience of about 1 lakh.

If you are a classical singer, you can be part of the 2000 Vocalist! Click here to Register!

SPIRITUAL ANALYSIS OF NAMASKAR

2009-11-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

SPIRITUAL ANALYSIS OF "NAMASKR "

What is the meaning and the benefits of 'Namaskar'?

Origin and the meaning of the word 'Namaskar'

The word 'Namaskar' is derived from the root 'namaha', which means paying obeisance (Namaskar) or salutation.

Frome Science of Justice - 'Namaha' is a physical action expressing that 'you are superior to me in all qualities and in every way'.
Worldly Benefits
- By doing Namaskar to a deity or a Saint, unknowingly their virtues and capabilities are impressed upon our minds. Consequently we start emulating them, thus changing ourselves for the better.

Spiritual Benefits
- Increase in humility and reduction of ego / Enhancement in the spiritual emotion of surrender and gratitude / Gaining the Sattva component and faster spiritual progress
We receive the highest amount of Sattva component from the posture (mudra) of Namaskar.
By doing Namaskar to Deities or Saints we receive subtle frequencies emitted by them, e.g. frequencies of Sattva or Bliss.

Why is it not appropriate to Shake Hands?

Avoid a Hand Shake: It tranfers undesirable raja-tama components! In short, in a handshake, the raja-tama components in one pers on will get transferred to the other person, thereby lowering his sattvikta (Purity levels). While practicing Spirituality, our objective is to perform acts which increase our sattvikta.
If at all they do Namaskar by joining their palms, it is done just as a formality. As the act is not based on faith, the benefit derived from it is minimal. Along with faith it is essential that every religious act be correctly performed according to the Science of Spirituality, so that it gives complete benefit. In this series, as with the others, along with information on various methods of doing Namaskar, the Science in them is also explained. Understanding the Science will help in strengthening faith in the act. Such an act correctly performed with faith, will yield corresponding benefits.

How does one do Namaskar to an individual of the same age group?

When meeting someone of the same age-groupdo Namaskar by joining the fingers and placing tips of the thumbs on the Anahat chakra (at the centre of the chest). This type of Namaskarincreases the spiritual emotion of humility in the embodied soul. Sattva frequencies from the universe are attracted by the fingers (which act as an antenna) and are then transmitted to the entire body through the thumbs which have awakened the Anahat chakra. This activates the soul energy of the embodied soul. In addition, by doing Namaskar in this manner to each other, frequencies of blessings are also transmitted.

What is correct method & science of doing Namaskar to God?

A. 'While paying obeisance to God, bring the palms together.
1. The fingers should be held loose (not straight and rigid) while joining the hands or palms..
2. The fingers should be20kept close to each other without leaving any space between them.
3. The fingers should be kept away from the thumbs.
4. The inner portion of the palms should not touch each other and there should be some space between them.

Note: The stage of awakening of spiritual emotion (Bhav) is important to the seeker at the primary level. Hence, for awakening spiritual emotion (Bhav), he should keep space in between the joined hands, whereas a seeker who is at the advanced level should refrain from leaving such space in between the palms to awaken the unexpressed spiritual emotion (Bhav).

B. After joining the hands one should bow and bring the head forward..

C. While tilting the headforward, one should place the thumbs at the mid-brow region, i.e. at the point between the eyebrows and try to concentrate on the feet of the Deity.

D. After that, instead of bringing the folded hands down immediately, they should be placed on the mid-chest region for a minute in such way that the wrists touch the chest; then only should the hands be brought down.

Underlying Science in this action

A. The fingers should not be stiff while bringing the palms together because this will lead to a decrease in Sattva component from the vital and mental sheaths and thus increase the raja component in them. By keeping the fingers relaxed, the subtlest Sattva component will get activated. With the strength of this energy, embodied souls are able to fight powerful distressing energies.

B.. In the Namaskar posture, the joined fingers act as an antenna to assimilate the Chaitanya (Divine consciousness) or the Energy transmitted by a Deity. While joining the palms, the fingers must touch each other beca use leaving space between the fingers will result in accumulation of energy in that space. This energy will be immediately transmitted in various directions; therefore the seeker's body will lose the benefit of this potent energy.

C. About the space to be maintained between the palms:
For a seeker at the primary level, it is advisable to leave space between the palms; it is not necessary for a seeker at an advanced level to leave space between the palms.

D. After joining the palms, bow a little. This posture puts pressure on the navel and activates the five vital energies situated there. Activation of these vital energies in the body makes it sensitive to accepting sattvik frequencies. This later awakens the 'Atma shakti' (i.e. soul energy of an embodied soul). And later, Bhav is=2 0awakened. This enables the body to accept in large measures the Chaitanya emitted by the Deity.

E. Touch the thumbs to the mid-brow region. (Please see images above..) This posture awakens the Bhav of surrender in an embodied soul, and in turn activates the appropriate subtle frequencies of Deities from the Universe. They enter through the ’Adnya chakra’ (Sixth of the 7 chakras in the Kundalini) of the embodied soul and settle in the space parallel to it at the back interior of the head. In this space the openings to all the three channels converge; namely, the Moon, the Central and the Sun channels. Due to the movement of these subtler frequencies in this space, the Central Channel is activated. Consequently it facilitates the speedy transmission of these frequencies throughout the body, leading to purification of both the gross and subtle bodies at the same time.

F. After doing Namaskar, to completely imbibe the Chaitanya of the Deity (that has entered the hands by now), instead of bringing the folded hands down immediately, place them on the mid-chest region in such a way that the wrists touch the chest.

The 'Anahat chakra' is located at the centre of the chest. Akin to the Adnya chakra, the activity of the Anahat chakra is also to absorb the Sattva frequencies. By touching the wrists to the chest, the Anahat chakra is activated and it helps in absorbing more of the Sattva component.

Effect of this Posture

By doing Namaskar in this manner, the Deity's Chaitanya is absorbed to a greater extent by the body, as compared to other methods of doing Namaskar. This gives maximum distress to negative energies. The negative energies that have manifested in a person are unable to touch their thumbs at the mid-brow region in Namaskar. (The negative energies are subtle. But at times they enter an individual's body and manifest it. - Editor)'

Q. What is the reason for not wrapping a cloth around the neck while performing circumambulation, doing Namaskar, ritualistic worship, sacrificial fires, chanting and while visiting Guru and deities?

A. When a cloth is wrapped around the neck, it does not activate the Vishuddha chakra (in the throat region) and hence an individual gets less benefit of the Sattva component.

Why should one always do Namaskar to elders?

Meaning: When an elderly person arrives, the vital energy of the young person starts rising and when he gets up and does Namaskar, it returns to normal. - Manusmruti 2.120; Mahabharat, Udhyog, Chapter (Section) 38.1, Sr. no. 104, 64-65

Explanation: 'As the sojourn of the elderly person is gradually towards the southern direction, that is, towards the region of Lord Yama (towards death), his body starts emitting raja and tama frequencies on a high scale. When such an elderly person comes in the vicinity of any younger individual, these frequencie s start affecting the younger person. A subtle magnetic field is created between the two. Consequently, the vital energy of the younger person is pulled upward. This way the younger person can suffer due to sudden momentum to his vital energy. When this younger person doesNamaskar to the elderly person, some amount of the Central channel of his Kundalini system is activated and the Sattva component in it starts increasing. Consequently the raja and tama components in him are influenced by the Sattva component and the vital energy comes back to normal state. Hence on arrival of an elderly person, it is customary for the younger individuals
to do Namaskar to them.'

D’oing Namaskar to Elders.

< /FONT>When travelling, prior to the commencement of a journey and upon returning, why should one do Namaskar to elders in the family?

'Namaskar to the elders in the family is one way of surrendering to the God principle in them. When an embodied soul bows in Namaskar to an elder by surrendering to the God principle in him, at that time a sense of compassion is created in his body. This compassion percolates right upto his subtle body. At that time, energy of his mind is activated and in turn activates the five vital energies, which are located at the seat of the Manipur chakra (situated in the Naval region). Transmission of these five vital energies all over the body then awakens the soul energy. With the strength of the soul energy, the Central channel gets activated and converts the expressed energy of spiritual emotion to the unexpressed energy of spiritual emotion. With the help of this unexpressed energy of spiritual emotion, the embodied soul, through the medium of elders, gains the required Deity's principle from the Universe. For this purpose, while leaving the house on a
journey, the embodied soul should do Namaskar to elders and with the strength of Sattva frequencies has to protect himself from distressing frequencies in the atmosphere. Similarly, returning from a journey, one should immediately do Namaskar to elders and awaken the God principle in them, which would disintegrate the raja-tama particles from the air around him, which might have been brought along.

What is the correct method of doing Namaskar to Saints?

1.. The portion of head, which should be placed at the feet :

We can imbibe maximum Chaitanya through the Brahmarandhra (the seventh chakra of the Kundalini system located in the crown of our head). Since it (Brahmarandhra) cannot be placed at a Saints's feet, the part of head beginning above the forehead is to be placed at the feet of Saints.. Due to this, maximum Chaitanya emanating from Their feet can enter into the one doing Namaskar.

2. The exact spot to place one's head on a Saint's feet:

The big toes of Saints emit maximum Chaitanya; hence we should place our head on the big toe, than on their foot. If we are in a position to touch both the20toes, then place the head on the right big toe.

3. The position of hands when placing the head on a Saint's feet:

a. Some interlock their hands behind their backs at the waist and do Namaskar. If we are in a position to touch both their toes, then we should place the hands one on each foot and the head should be placed on the big toe of the right foot. If we are in a position to touch one of Their toes, then place both the hands on it and keep the head on the big toe.

b. Some do Namaskar by placing hands on the ground. This is also wrong because if the hands are placed on the ground then the Chaitanya emanating from the Saint's feet are absorbed by one and then returns to the earth through the hands of the one doing Namaskar. Thus the person does not benefit from it.

c. Some cross their hands and place them on the feet of Saints, that is, their right hand on the right foot of the Saint and their left hand on the left foot of the Saint while doingNamaskar. This is a crude imitation of the manner in which Christians place their crossed hands on their chest. Instead, our right hand should be placed on the left foot of the Saint and our left hand on the right foot of the Saint. This is convenient also. However, if a Guru has started some procedure in a particular sect, then the hands are to be placed in that manner only.

d. The hands are to be positioned in such a way that the palms are placed on the feet..

How to do Namas kar to the wooden footwear (paduka) of Saints?

Namaskar to the wooden footwear (paduka) of Saints

'The left paduka symbolises Lord Shiva and the right symbolises Divine Energy. The left paduka is the unmanifest saviour energy and the right is the unmanifest destroyer energy of the Supreme God. The saviour or destroyer energy of the Supreme God emanates from the 'pegs' of the paduka as per the need. When we do Namaskar by placing our head on the 'pegs' of the paduka, some may experience distress due to the inability to tolerate the manifest energy emitting from it. Hence, while doing Namaskar to the paduka, instead of the pegs, place the head on the for emost part i.e. the place where the Saints place their toes.'

Should one do Namaskar to a dead body?

Q. If this be so, should we do Namaskar to the dead bodies in Kaliyuga only as a custom? If it is a custom, can we discontinue it?

A. One can maintain respect for the dead person by doing Namaskar and in addition set an ideal with regards to respecting elders. In Kaliyuga, from this one will benefit at an emotional level and not at a spiritual level. However, one should not discontinue this custom; instead one could learn how to get spiritual benefit from it. Due to the deterioration of the Sattva component in embodied souls, this practice has become a mere custom in Kaliyuga.

However, as per the saying, 'God exists where there is spiritual emotion', while doing Namaskar to a dead body if we have a spiritual emotion that we are doing Namaskar to the God principle in it, then the God principle in the dead body awakens and we receive God's blessings. This happens because the God principle is immortal and has no limit ations that a physical body has.

Q. It is said that one should not do Namaskar to a sleeping person. In Kaliyuga if one does Namaskar by touching the dead body, then are the chances of getting distress from negative energies not higher?

A. Yes it is; but while doing Namaskar it is important that the action be performed with correct spiritual emotion. Since Namaskar is done to the God principle in the dead body instead of activating raja, tama components, it activates the Godly principle in the dead body and bestows Sattva corresponding to the degree of spiritual emotion.'

'One hand' touch to the Temple Steps

Action: Touch the step with the fingers of the right hand and move the same hand over the head.

Science: 'The area around the temple is charged with20frequencies of Deities which leads to an increase in the Sattva component. The presence of Divine consciousness in the area charges even the stairs in a temple. 'Climbing' steps is one of the activities, which increases the raja component in the body. Hence, the raja component is already activated in the body of an embodied soul so by touching the steps with the fingers of the right hand, the Sattva component and peace from the charged premise, get transmitted to the body through the right hand. In addition, from this action, the activated raja component in the body can be controlled through the medium of the surya nadi (Sun channel). This means that, for a moment, the activities of the Sun channel can be stopped. From this process, the embodied soul learns to enhance the Sattva component through raja dominant actions. Therefore, it is very essential to perform the appropriate sattvik actions at
each corresponding level, hence the method of touching the steps with fingers of the right hand and then moving the fingers or palm over the head. Even the dust present on the steps is charged with Chaitanya and so we must respect it and derive spiritual benefit from it. If the embodied soul harbours the spiritual emotion that 'the Chaitanya from the steps be transmitted all over my body from the dust on my hand', then it will give increasing benefit to the embodied soul.. In addition if the ego of the embodied soul is less at that time then it gives even more benefit. When any action is performed devoid of ego or 'I'ness it is treated as a 'non-action' (akarma-karma) .'

Do's and Dont's while doing Namaskar

Q. Why should the eyes be closed while doing Namaskar?

'Joining hands while bowing the head amounts to saluting God or the divinity in the person in front. The eyes are closed while doing Namaskar to God or any respected person, to enable one to have the vision of God within us.'

Q. Why should the footwear be taken off while doing Namaskar?

While sitting, partaking meals, sleeping, wishing and doing Namaskar to Gurus and other elderly people, footwear should not be worn. - Gautamsmruti 9.

1. Footwear increases the raja-tama components in a person.

2. Paying obeisance (Namaskar) with high raja-tama components will not help in activating the Kundalini (centre in the spiritual energy system).

3. The ability to absorb the sattva component too is reduced, due to an increase in the raja-tama components, leading to little benefit from a Namaskar.

4. Doing Namaskar to a Deity, with footwear on, may also invite the wrath of the Deity.’

Q. Why is it not advisable to hold any object while doing Namaskar?

1. While doing Namaskar if an object is held in the hands, usually the fingers and their tips are in a curled position and not straight. As a result, the sattva component received is unable to enter the tips of the fingers.

2. The sattva component emitted towards the seeker, strikes the object held and bounces back. Also, at times, instead of the person absorbing the sattva component, the object may absorb it.

3. If the object in the hand is raja or tama predominant, and if it is touched to the forehead or chest while doing Namaskar, then the raja-tama components from it mayenter the body of the one who is doing Namaskar.

Q. While doing Namaskar, why are men not supposed to cover their head, whereas women are advised to cover their head?

One should not do Namaskar with footwear on, covering the head or holding any objects. (But women should cover their head with their saris and only then do Namaskar) - Apastamb Dharmasutra 1.4.14.19

While doing Namaskar the Kundalini gets activated at the chakra which is touched by the folded hands.. This leads to the absorption of the Sattva component in greater proportion in the body. Sometimes due to the activation of the Kundalini, Sattva component starts entering the body through the head. But at times the distressing energies try to take advantage of this and mix black energy with the Sattva component.. The potential to activate the Kundalini is higher in men as compared to women. Hence they are hardly affected by this negative energy.. Contrary to this, as women are more vulnerable, they get affected by distressing energies to a greater extent and thus they can experience distress. That is why, when doing Namaskar, women are advised to cover their head with the ends of their sari. This creates a barrier between the head and the distressing energies and prevents themfrom penetrating the body of the woman. However, to some extent this also blocks
benevolent frequencies from entering the women. (Benevolent frequencies are subtler than negative frequencies; hence they enter a woman to some extent even though the sari covers her head.) However, the proper posture of Namaskar gives maximum Sattva component to an individual and hence women too get required benefits. This shows how God takes care of every devotee. Doing Namaskar without these restrictions is equally effective if the devotee does it with spiritual emotion.

Sri Sri receives 2009 Culture in Balance award

2009-10-14T09:11:00.001-07:00

Source: Rediff Article

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar addresses the World Culture Forum in Dresden on Saturday

Spiritual leader and Art of Living Founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, was Saturday conferred with the 2009 Culture in Balance Award in Dresden, Germany, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to all the facets of culture, and for his commitment to global cultural balance.

In granting the award, the selection committee attached special importance to Sri Sri's efforts in promoting intercultural dialogue, peace and reconciliation in conflict zones, and ethics in business.

The award, instituted by the Forum Tiberius, was presented to Sri Sri by Dresden Mayor Helma Orosz, amidst a standing ovation. The award ceremony took place in a special session of the World Culture Forum, at Volkswagen's landmark transparent factory in Dresden.

Rich tributes were paid to Sri Sri by a number of prominent individuals, including Nirj Deva, British Member of European Parliament, Prof. Gesine Schwan, candidate for the 2009 German presidential elections and Dean of Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance, Berlin, and Prof. Bernd Guggenberger, Dean of Lessing University, Berlin.

Upon receiving the award, Sri Sri said, "I share this award with all those people who stand for a violence-free and stress-free society. This award is not for a person or personality, but for a principle that stands for the ideal of a 'one world family and cultural plurality."

Earlier in the day, Sri Sri spoke of the need to globalize compassion, wisdom and humanism in his keynote address at the World Culture Forum, besides answering a wide range of questions and conducting a meditation.

Happy Dussera!

2009-09-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Dussera to all!
H.H. Sri Sri Ravishankar's discourse on Navratri and Vijayadashmi

Here is a very special discourse (not verbatim)... enjoy ! 23rd.Oct.2004 - Vijaya Dashmi - Dussera

Q. Was this Navratri different?
A. Every day is different. Every moment is different... like every person is unique.

Q. Should reservation be there?
A. Reservation should not be there. All are equal.

Q. Whats the difference between truth and faith?
A. What you don't know as truth, but believe in it, is truth. If faith is not there then truth is not there. And its truth which creates faith. When mind is at peace then truth and faith both are there. When mind is feverish then problem occurs.

Q. During Chandi Homa why the coconuts were broken when the kalash was been taken?
A. In your house when you use a phone there is a transformer which converts the incoming high energy to low energy. Like that, energy in kalash is so much that you have to break a coconut to control it a bit.

Q. Guruji, we should follow our instinct or others advise?
A. Sometimes instincts, sometimes advise. When you are thirsty and want to drink water, and if somebody says don't drink water, then follow your instincts. If you are feeling sleepy and somebody says you don't sleep, then you follow your instincts. But if somebody says don't drink and drive, then you listen to their advise. Similarly, if you are driving and feeling sleepy then listen to the advise and not sleep.
In your life you have to take advise and opinions from people. Be an open book and not a closed mind.

Q. Guruji, whats your view about conversion?
A. Conversion from hardness to softness, rudeness to caring, selfishness to seva, is required! From small guage to broad guage and not narrow. This is necessary.

Q. Why are there so many mysteries in this world?
A. For you to wonder. Thats why this world is wonderfull, full of wonders.

Q. Why do people fear death?
A. They don't know what is love. Love becomes fear in them. Not everybody fears death - terrorists, suicide bombers don't fear death. Only selfish people fear death. People on path of service don't fear death. And, a little fear doesn't matter.

Q. Why knowingly we do something wrong? And, regret later.
A. You knowingly do something wrong because you get joy in it. You regret later because your consciousness doesn't like that act of yours.

Q. How was your Pakistan visit?
A. Very good. In Pakistan this knowledge is so much needed. After 55 years somebody made a spiritual visit there. They said, for the first time they felt that India has embraced them. Their text books don't talk about Buddha, Mahavir, Guru Nanak Dev. Many don't know who was Krishna. There are only a couple of lines about Mahatma Gandhi saying that he and Jinnah brought Pakistan. They don't know about Chandragupta and Ashoka, the famous Indian kings. They are good people. Some of them came here recently and participated in Advanced Meditation course. They really cried when satsangees said "we love you all!"

Q. Do you believe in aliens?
A. Believe? I am one.

Q. Guruji, whats the meaning of Navratri?
A. Ratri, "ra" means giving solace. Solace from 3 types of problems, that "tri" - physical, ethereal and causal. Ratri relieves you and puts you to sleep. No animal needs to worry at night. Whether happy or unhappy everybody goes to sleep. In sanskrit, words are connected to the meaning. This leaf (tied on the stage) is "parna". It absorbs sun rays and
photosynthesis happens. Similarly there is "aparna". That which doesn't absorb but radiates - like mirror. This white cloth (pointing his white robes) is "aparna". White color doesn't absorb, it reflects. Similarly green is "parna" as it absorbs.

Navratri has two meanings - New Night and Nine nights. It takes 9 months for a child to be born. Child rests in the womb during this period. Similarly in Navratri you get back to the self - self referral. Dip into yourself and then you come out with more creativity and be victorious. Negative forces - craving and aversion get relief from all these. Go to the source of energy.

Craving and Aversion are two asuras (demons) like "Madhu" and "Ketav". Then is "Raktabijasur", that which is in your genes. "Rakta" means blood, "bija" means seed. Raktabijasur is like gene in the blood. Sometimes your behavior is not in your control - its in your genes, Raktabijasur. Medication and meditation are required to tackle Raktabijasur. When such energy comes to you transformation happens, the genes change.

Then is "Mahishasura" - dullness. Dullness like buffalo. You need "shakti" (energy) to deal with this. When shakti comes inertia is lifted out. "Shumbh" "Nishumbha" - doubting on everything. "Shumbh" means doubting oneself and "Nishumbh" means doubting others. Doubting at every step. These days people are so busy. Mind is so clogged, so occupied, no time to think of oneself. If someone insults you don't think it as intentional.
"Chanda" and "Munda". Chanda means opposite head. Chanda will oppose anything you say. One who cannot agree with anything. "Munda" does not have a head at all. Whatever you tell them, it will all go in air. Then is "Dhumralochana", "Dhumra" means smoke and "lochana" means eyes - smoky eyes. They see everything hazy.
All this is due to lack of Shakti. When you are full of energy and enthusiasm none of these rakshasas (demons) can come in you.

Q. If these Rakshasas were killed then why do they still exist.
A. Creation happens everyday. Its happening in every atom in space. As a child you were Chandi. Chandi means stubborn. Stubborn without any reason.
They are all part of one divinity. All play and display of one consciousness. You would say if devi is so powerfull then why would she come with weapons to fight with rakshasas, why doesn't she kill them just like that. Its all to make it more playful. Through these weapons even these asuras become purified. Its all one consciousness that plays these roles and comes back.
Creation happens everyday and destruction happens everyday. Its not a one time activity. Its a cyclic phenomenon that makes the whole world so interesting.
Everything is cyclic and not linear - this is India's biggest contribution to the world. Truth is spherical. Time is spherical.

Q. We go deep in ourself when we are in sorrow. Isn't there the other way of going deep?
A. If sorrow takes you deep inside then you have not really gone deep inside. There is no sorrow in the deepest - the core. Wake up in knowledge and you will not find any sorrow. Whatever sorrow is there its because of foolishness. When you look with a broad vision there is no sorrow. There are two ways to get rid of sorrow. Either you kill the sorrow with knowledge or you go through it. In latter you cry and after sometime you will calm down.

Sri Sri Ravishankar: Power of your Vote

2009-04-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

India's problems are complex. And unfortunately these are compounded by vote-bank politics. Instead of uniting the different sections of society, many politicians divide it to keep their vote banks intact. If people are united, politicians won't be able to get votes through divisive politics.In such a situation, the only way for them to win votes would be through good performance.

As citizens, we must protect our country from those who manipulate issues for their personal gains and who lead by playing vote-bank politics. Those with vested interests support insensible decisions and oppose sensible ones. We have to steer clear of such leaders. We must encourage broad-minded politicians and leaders to come forward and take charge, and to educate and uplift the society - spiritually, morally and socially.

We need leaders who are satya-darshi (truthful), sam-darshi (equanimous), priya-darshi (pleasant), paar-darshi (transparent) and door-darshi (visionary). So, before we elect our leaders, we should examine their qualifications.

We must elect leaders who will do away with policies based on caste, creed, religion and region; who will ensure that every child gets a multi-cultural, multi-dimensional education.

We need leadership with a mission and a vision, leadership with a spirit of sacrifice, compassion and commitment. We must choose leaders who have a long-term vision and short-term plans to achieve it. They should have great personal integrity, and place the country before themselves.

Unfortunately, most of our politicians lack a sense of sacrifice and inclusiveness. Irrespective of the party they belong to, people perceive politicians as insincere. Today, people are fed up of them. This is when apathy sets in among people. They dismiss politics as a whole and withdraw from their basic duty of voting.

Our votes are an important tool to bring about a change in the system; they give us an opportunity to raise our voice against injustice. But many of us have developed a chalta hai attitude, because we fail to see the power of our votes. This attitude is dangerous for the country. By not voting we are encouraging the status quo. Each one of us must not only vote but also encourage others around us to vote.
When good, intelligent and well-educated people don't vote, they play into the hands of politicians, who use money and vote bank politics to seize power.

People should not lose hope. Good politicians exist. And they must be given a chance to do the best they can for the country, for its people.

We have seen the shortcomings of capitalism, communism and socialism. Now is the time for humanism and spiritualism. Politics without humanism and spiritualism is bound to be dirty. Many people believe that spiritualism is not for this world, that it is not a practical tool to bring about societal transformation. But that's a misconception. Mahatma Gandhi was spiritual. He conducted satsangs every day and played an important role in bringing freedom for our country.That is why today we need leaders who have a spirit of sacrifice, and who are spiritual in their outlook, to enter politics.

2009-03-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

Sri Sri Ravishankar and SIMI's talk at KERALA
This happened in Kerela.

Sri Sri gave an audience to the SIMI (Student Islamic Movement of
India) leaders. Four leaders from SIMI came to meet Sri Sri at the residence
of one of the organizers. Following their entry, an air of tension enveloped
the hall where hundreds were waiting to meet with Sri Sri. Naseeb, one of
the devotees, guided them to the room where Sri Sri was sitting with a few
of us. They (the SIMI leaders), were dashing youths in their mid 20's. One
of them was carrying the holy Koran. They were little stern and stiff. Their
eyes were fixed and seemed to reflect an inner fire. They looked prepared to
repulse anything that Sri Sri would tell them and most unlikely to listen to
reason.

Sri Sri was His usual smiling self.

The stage was set. It had all the signs of a classic confrontation. On one
side were the brash youth - intemperate, impatient, driven by ideology and
out to prove their superiority. On the other was a youthful, realized sage,
unperturbed, offering sane explanations that echoed an uncommon depth and
breadth of understanding. Those of us in the room, were eager to see how Sri
Sri would deal with these firebrands. Sri Sri embraced them and offered them
chairs to sit. There was not an iota of difference in His attitude. Any
casual onlooker could be forgiven for thinking that Sri Sri considered these
gentlemen as amongst His most ardent devotees. Perhaps the only difference
that we could see was that they were seated on chairs while the rest of us
were on the floor! For us, it was yet another opportunity to witness the
unconditional love that Sri Sri exemplifies.

The leader of the group spoke first. He asked

SIMI: You had wanted to meet with us.

SRI SRI: Yes. I wanted to understand why your organization was opposed to
the Anandotsavam.

SIMI: We thought that holding an Anandotsavam (celebration) on December 6th
was a deliberate move to insult our religious sentiments. Do you know about
our religion?. Do you believe in the Koran at all?

SRI SRI: Yes of course.

SIMI: (Not expecting this answer, pointing to the Koran, they shot the next
question) We believe that Koran is the only knowledge. What about you?

SRI SRI: This is one amongst the various knowledge revealed to man from time
to time.

SIMI: But God has said this is the only knowledge. The way of the Koran is
the only way. There is no other way.

SRI SRI: This message can be found in scriptures of all religions. In the
Vedas it is said "Naanyah Panthaah Ayanaaya Vidyate" meaning "There is no
other way but the way of Truth!" The same is said in the Bible, Jesus says,
"To go to my father, you have to go through me. I am the only way".

SIMI: But our scripture says worshipping any form or idol is evil, it is
blasphemy.

SRI SRI: What is Good and Evil after all? It is relative. Relative existence
is not the complete picture For example: Milk is good, but too much milk can
kill you. Poison is harmful, but a drop of poison can save your life. Most
lifesaving medicines have poison written on them! These are neither
absolutely good nor bad they are just there. Truth transcends duality, and
God is the Absolute and only Truth. So, where is the place for evil?

SIMI: Yet you Hindus worship many Gods, whereas our ideal is there is only
one God and His message is what is required to go to heaven.

SRI SRI: There is only one god in many forms.

SIMI: (Restless and unwilling to listen to any explanation, they interrupted
Sri Sri.) But the Koran says you should only worship Allah who is formless
whereas the Hindus worship idols which are only stones.

SRI SRI: At this, Sri Sri suddenly asked them: Do you honour the Koran?

SIMI: (They seemed a little taken aback at this question from Sri Sri and
with a righteous air answered). Yes, it is God's word!

SRI SRI: Do you honor the Mecca?

SIMI: Yes, of course! That is our sacred place.

SRI SRI: So also, Hindu's honour God's creation as God. Just like sound
(Koran), the crescent moon, Kaaba and the month of Ramadan are sacred for
you, Hindus consider the River Ganges, the Himalayas, Saints as sacred. See,
a picture of your daughter is not your daughter, but you still adore the
daughter's picture. When you see the picture aren't you reminded of your
daughter?
(They nodded a yes)

SRI SRI: So also, a symbol is not God but is honoured as God. This sense of
honouring and sacredness makes you awake and alive. That is why the ancient
Rishis said to feel the entire creation and your whole life as sacred. They
considered God as omnipresent, as inseparable from His creation; like the
dance and the dancer.

Sri Sri elaborated further - Spirit loves diversity. Is there only one type
of vegetable or fruit? God created many type of fruits and vegetables. There
is not just one type of tree, not just one type of snake, cloud,
mosquito..Even you change your dress for different occasions. So how could
this consciousness that manifested this whole creation be monotonous? There
is only one God in many forms. Only one God is advocated. When you accept
the variety of Divinity, you cease to be a fanatic and fundamentalist. A
pregnant silence filled the room as they looked at each other expecting the
other to speak. Then as a face saving measure, the SIMI leader replied, "I
will need to go and consult my higher scholars." With a compassionate
ex-pression on His face, Sri Sri said: Never mind, (with a wave of His hand)
forget about religion. We are all human beings. Let us have a peaceful
society. Let us focus on development.

SIMI: No No No! What are you saying? You are talking about this world. What
we do here is immaterial. The Koran tells us that what matters is what you
get in eternal life and not to worry about material life. By doing service
to the society you will simply remain here. You have to obey Allah. Allah is
the only God and Mohammed is the last prophet.

SRI SRI: At this Sri Sri stopped them and after a pause asked them: Do you
think the Sikh Gurus are not prophets. Isn't Mirabai a prophet? What about
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?
Once again, there was silence. Their ex-pressions had changed. The rigidity
had weakened and in its place was some confusion/uncertainty. Sri Sri seemed
totally at ease unmindful of the challenges posed at Him.

SIMI: No! You can go to heaven only if you believe in Allah and the Koran.

SRI SRI: No my dear - there was Buddha, Mahavira, Nanak, Jesus, Shankara. Do
you think they are not in heaven? If not, then I would rather be with them!

SIMI: You are such a nice person, but we pity you because you cannot get the
truth. You can't go to Allah. You can't be rewarded by Allah. God will never
show mercy on you.

SRI SRI: Never mind. (with a mischievous smile ) I will be with these people
(Shankara, Jesus, etc.)
(Even as we were admiring Sri Sri's patience and objectivity, we were
concerned at the wrong indoctrination that these youths had been subjected
to. We also observed a few others who were in the room were getting a little
restive, possibly wondering why Sri Sri was spending so much time with these
people who were obviously not at all receptive and that too when hundreds
were waiting outside just for a glimpse of Sri Sri.)

SIMI: Do you know, that over 1400 years ago, in the middle of the desert,
God revealed the secrets of creation. Even when there was no science, God
said that the Atom is the smallest particle!

SRI SRI smiled and said: Yes, the same is there in the shaastras too which
were known more than 10,000 years ago. In the shaastras it is said that the
Earth is over 19 billion years old! Truth is beyond time and space. It is
not confined to one time or one place One needs to have a scientific
spirituality.

As if to conclude the conversation Sri Sri gave them Ladoo as prasad. By now
there were traces of a smile on their faces. When they were about to leave
He gave them a hug. They definitely seemed to be less stern than earlier.
Could their attitude have changed? We wondered whether this ('changed
attitude') would persist or would they go back to their old fanatic ways.
But one thing was for sure, Sri Sri had made an impression that they would
not forget!
Later, while Sri Sri was having His lunch, someone asked Him, "Why is that
Islam is producing so many terrorists all over the world? No other religion
has given rise to so many terrorists in the world. What is the reason?"
SRI SRI: Look at the commitment and the fire in them. Take the good from
them and learn what you should not be doing. Don't label them as bad people.
They have not been imparted the knowledge of Vedanta. (Then as He was adding
ghee to the chili powder) He smiled and said "In this creation, there is a
place for everything."
Excerpted from an article written by Swami Sadhyojata and Harish Ramachandran

Ganesh Festival in Mumbai

2008-11-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

Ganesh immersion in Arabian sea at Girgaon Chowpatty beach, Marine Drive, Mumbai.

This was the first movie from my Sony handycam. Its a cool model with 40x optical zoom! (digital zoom is 2000x). It has a cool 30 GB hard disk, so no hassles of video cassette or DVD! I posted this video originally at my other blog

Happy Guru Purnima

2008-07-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Today is Guru Purnima.Wish you all a wonderful Guru Purnima.
See my earlier article on Guru Purnima.
Also see Guru Purnima at about.com

Happy Ram Navami

2008-04-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Ram Navmi!

Happy Ram Navmi to all!
Check out my previous post on my Art of Living blog on Ram Navmi
Also check out my post who are you ? - 2.

Check out my latest on my other blog too.

Best v/s worst paradox!

2008-03-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

Life is full of contradictions and ironies.
Truth is always self-contradictory!

I am the best and worst..
I am the most intelligent and most foolish at the same time!
I am good and bad at the same time!
I am a multi-dimensional guy but think linearly some times..

I am the best and worst..
I am full as well as empty at the same time.
I am "everybody" and "nobody" at the same time! [1]
I am vast like sky and deep like sea at the same time!

I am the best and worst..
I am the most perfect and a crackpot at the same time!
I am a dreamer as well as realist.
I am the world"s best Dal maker, yet worst cook [2]

I am the best and worst..
I am ignorant, yet most knowledgeable!
I am rich, yet the poor!!
I am a well-educated man and illiterate simultaneously!

I am the best and worst..
I am a good mathematician, still bad at calculations! [3]
I am an innovator but don"t know what to do at times!
I solve everybody"s problems but still I have some problems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am the best and worst..
There is no impossibility for me, still I can"t do some simplest! tasks!
George Bush is a stupid guy, yet he did some smart things!
Her "letting go" is her biggest strengh as well as her worst weakness many a times!

I am the best and worst..
Einstein: Most ever intelligent in the mankind history. But he was a slow thinker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Isaac Newton: Was the GREATEST ever scientist, but he did stupid things. [4]
Osama Bin Laden is the cruelest guy, yet he is kind [to his family and team-members (terrorists!)]

I am the best and worst..
I see/touch matter ONLY but I know I have a mind! [5]
I am a physicist and spiritualist! [6]
Light is waves yet it is particles (photons)! [7]

I am the best and worst..
History"s best computer science innovators/pioneers were NOT computer scientists, but they ARE physicists & mathematicians. [8]
What you see is NOT truth; Truth is beyond our knowledge/common sense. [9]
You practically "see" a mirage which never exists!

I am the best and worst..
Light travels in straight-lines ONLY, yet it BENDS too!!
I can"t "see" "myself" but I know I exist!
I will die in a few decades, still I am ETERNAL; I know I will never ever die! nor was I ever born!!

Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya..

Too much to digest?? Just take a cold water shower :)
My other blog: Krish Wonders Blog!

1 Watch Matrix movie or read Yoga Vasishta/Bhagavadgita to understand this!
2 Dal is the only thing I can cook! But my Dal tadka has a huuuuge fan following!!
3 I am slow at adding three 2-digit numbers! Solving a multivariable partial differential equation of 20th order is much easier!!
4 Newton made one big hole (in his door) for his large (pet) cat (to enter) and another small hole for his kitten. Eventually both the cats ended up using the big hole only!
5 And I have never "seen" your mind; BUT I KNOW for SURE... You HAVE a mind!!!!
6 A physicist is concerned with physical, "material"/"tangible"/"visible" matter and measurable energy. A spiritualist is concerned with mind and consciousness (spirit). By the way, mind and matter complement each other! there is no contradiction, they are different sides of the same coin!!
7 Same with matter - Schrodinger Equation
8 Pioneers in Artificial Intelligence, parallel processing etc etc were physicists; Internet was invented at CERN labs, its not Yahoo, Microsoft or Apple....
9 It is
technically/scientifically/theoretically&practically POSSIBLE to
travel into 1000 years future within just a few minutes!

Happy Maha Shiva Ratri

2008-03-06T00:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Mahashivratri to all

Shiva, the Peace within You

Ratri or night is that which gives comfort to the mind, body & soul.
Shivaratri is that which brings a deep sense of serenity & benevolence.
Any meditation you do on this day has a manifold effect, 100 times more
of an effect, for this is the day when spirit touches the earth.

Your Nature is Shiva

Peace is your nature, yet you remain restless.
Freedom is your nature, yet you remain in bondage.
Happiness is your nature, yet you become miserable for some reason or
another.
Contentment is your nature, yet you continue to reel in desires.
Benevolence is your nature, yet you don"t reach out.
Going towards your nature is Sadhana.
Sadhana is becoming what you truly Are!

Your true nature is Shiva.
And Shiva is peace, infinity, beauty and the non-dual One.
Ratri means "to take refuge." Shivaratri is taking refuge in Shiva.

- Sri Sri Ravishankar, founder, Art of Living

Also check out my latest on my other blog http://blog.krishna-reddy.com/

Divine Valentine!

2008-02-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day to all

Krishna, the Eternal Celebration

ABIDING IN THE SELF

Abiding in the self you become the Valentine for the whole world. Spirit is the Valentine of matter and matter is the Valentine of the spirit. They are made for each other. They uphold each other. If you hold onto matter and do not respect the spirit, then matter is not pleased. If you honor the spirit then you will care for the world, and when you care for the world, it will take care of you.

I am the Valentine of the whole world and I reside in every heart. If you are my Valentine, you will see me everywhere. Have the same love for everyone, with different flavors. You cannot behave the same way with everyone, but you can love all of them the same. Love transcends behavior and etiquette.

BE LOVED

You don’t need to worry to maintain knowledge. When knowledge is lodged in you as wisdom, it will never leave you. Wisdom lodges itself in your heart. Make the Divine your Valentine (your sweet Beloved). This is the last thing to do and the first thing to do.

Keep your heart in a safe place; it is too delicate. Events, small things make strong impressions on it. And you cannot find a better place than the Divine to keep your heart safe and your mind sane. When you keep your heart in the Divine, the moving time, the passing events, will not be able to touch it, will not create a scar. A precious stone needs a setting around it, gold or silver, to hold it and to wear it; so wisdom and knowledge are that setting around the heart which will hold it in the Divine.

See the Divine in your Valentine and make the Divinity your Valentine (your sweet beloved). Just BE... and know that you are LOVED...That is BELOVED.

Wisdom is to consider the earth as your Valentine. Whether it shakes or breaks, it is dear to you. You always see good coming from it.

- His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar, Art of Living founder

Radha Krishna, the Eternal, Divine Love

Check out my To my Valentine poem on my other blog too...

Who are You - 2!!

2007-03-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Wish you all a very Happy Sri Ram Navami!!
Check out my previous article (Who is God?) on Ram Navmi
I hope this serves as a sequel to my previous post Who Are You?
Also see my post on a similar topic Krishna
Thank You all for your overwhelming response for my post "Who are You?"

Happy Diwali!

2006-10-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

DIWALI

Time and space are infinite. Grains of sand are countless. Atoms in the universe are innumerable. So also the stars, the galaxies. The same is with the life on this planet. Neither is there a beginning nor is there an end, because it is all spherical. A sphere has neither a beginning nor an end, nor a goal, nor a direction. Truth has no direction, no goal. Truth itself is the goal and truth is infinite.

Feeling or experiencing the infinity within this finite body, living the timelessness within the time span of life, uncovering the bliss within the misery. This is what you are here for. Today is Diwali - the Festival of Lights. The streets and buildings are lit up with colorful lights. The four aspects of Diwali:

1. The lights: Symbolic of spreading the Knowledge.

2. Fire crackers: When the explosion happens outside, the explosion inside is diffused.

3. Gift exchange and distribution of sweets: Sweets dispel the bitterness and renew the friendship.

4. Feeling abundance: Brings awareness and gratefulness for what one has.

When true wisdom dawns, it gives rise to celebration, and in celebration you may lose focus or awareness. The ancient rishis knew this so to maintain awareness in the midst of gaiety of celebration, they brought sacredness and puja to every celebration.

Celebrate the Knowledge and feel the abundance, for "those who have will be given more"!
- H H Sri Sri Ravishankar

Krishna Janmashtami

2006-08-16T02:54:00.000-07:00

Wish you all a wonderful Sri Krishna Janmashtami!
Do you know what is Krishna?
Krishna is the consciousness, the field of all the wonderful possibilities!
And it is your very nature!
You are made up of the same consciousness.
You know this secret?
Consciousness, God, Life, You - all are synonymous!
This is the truth although it takes a calm mind to realize this simple, yet profound truth.
Here bookish knowledge or something that you have heard will not help.
You have to explore and experience it practically through meditation and an enlightened Masters"s guidance.
See my previous blog "Who are you?" and take the challenge.

Check out my To my Valentine poem on my other blog too...

Also Check out my Divine Valentine post on my Art of Living Blog

Enjoy the following article on Krishna by H H Sri Sri Ravishankar.

BIRTH OF THE CENTER OF ATTRACTION

Krishna means the most attractive . . . It is the divinity that is the most attractive; the energy that pulls everything to it. Krishna is the formless center which is everywhere. Any attraction from anywhere is coming only from Krishna. Often people fail to see the spirit behind the attraction and merely hold on to the outer shell. And the moment you try to possess the shell, you will see Krishna has played a trick and you will be left with an empty shell in your hands and tears in your eyes.

Be clever like Radha -- don"t be tricked by Krishna. 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 are Radha, you are in your center.

The mind moves towards beauty, joy and truth. Krishna tells Arjuna, "I am the beauty in the Beautiful, the strength in the Strong, the wisdom in the Wise." In this way he arrests the mind from moving away from him.

2006-08-14T04:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!

"We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without
which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made."
- Albert Einstein

Wish you a happy independence day!
I think we should introspect on what we have given back to mother India.
Its high time we all think and act, "How can I make a difference? How can I contribute towards enriching my country?".

An interesting article on India by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar

Also check out my previous blogs:

Pakistanis and Indians together? - Shift in the world consciousness: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

Mathematics, Science and Spirituality

Check out Francois Gautier's article: The truth about India's Independence

Who are YOU???

2006-07-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Have you ever wondered - Who You are?
I invite all you iLanders - the great thinkers! - to join the discussion on this interesting topic!!
Just look at Your Self and ask this simple question "Who am I?"
Your answers also will be very interesting!
And you will be simply amazed!!

There will be a big surprise for those who get the right answer for this question! So just take time for yourself, and ponder who you are!!
And share your insights/experiences.
Whhhhatever comes to your mind! just jot it down as a comment here.
More later!
Best wishes for now..

Krishna 22-July-2006
Email: krishnar[at]rediffmail.com

I want genuine answers only - from your personal experience! Tell me what you feel, rather than what you have read or heard!! 24-July-2006.

Well , it was a wonderful response! But the Many more questions too! Each of your answers is correct. But the truth is much much more than all these answers put together!! So keep pondering over this question. Every time you ask this question, it will open up a new dimension within you. You will reach greater depths. In fact this is the most basic, yet most profound and challenging question in your life! Watch out this space for answers of some of your queries. 26-July-2006.

Happy Guru Poornima!

2006-07-11T05:19:00.000-07:00

Wish you all a very happy Guru Purnima.

Pearls of Knowledge on Guru purnima.
Extract from the talks of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar and a few question and answers...

Guru purnima is the day to feel grateful for the great knowledge you have received from your master. It is time to review how much knowledge you could ingrain in your life in past one year. This may bring about a realization for scope of improvement which in turn will bring humility in you. Be grateful for the way this knowledge has transformed you. Just think how you could have been without this. There is a definite change inside you. If you cannot see any change, then you haven't had a good look in yourself. Gratitude and humility together blossom a genuine prayer inside you!

Guru is a tatva - an element, a quality; inside you. It is not limited to a body or a form.

Life is an ocean of love. Flow the lamp of knowledge in it. Even let the knowledge be flown away in the ocean of love. The ego that comes out of truth and knowledge is dangerous. Sense of righteousness makes you hard. So in the wave of devotion and love; you even let the knowledge get washed out.

Q. What is the story behind Gurupurnima?
A. Acharya (teacher) gives knowledge and Guru gives height of awareness and makes you alive. Acharya gives information, Guru gives intelligence, an awakened intelligence. Mind is connected with moon. Full moon is completion, the pinnacle. On Gurupurnima the devotee wakes up in full gratitude. Devotee becomes like an ocean moving in itself. It's the time to come in fullness. It's a time to celebrate. It's also called "Vyasa Purnima". Vyasa had given knowledge on each and every subject.
So in Gurupunima you remember all guru's of the past. It is the day when devotee arises in full gratitude, they turn back and see how they changed and developed in the last 1 year. They assess what lessons they have learned and how they are growing in knowledge. It's reviewing yourself in knowledge. Mind needs to be reminded again and again, so we review it.

Q. People blindly worship a Guru? Is it ok? Shouldn't they just worship the divine? A. Why does somebody adore someone else?

A. In college, rock star, movie stars, sports players are adored. This adulation is part of human nature. Deep inside it is your ability to appreciate and honor good qualities. This adulation of Gurus has come down the ages. In the East, people took pride in their Gurus. There was a lot of respect but it's missing in the students now. They throw tomatoes at their teachers. We have now gone to the other extreme.

When your life is full, you get a feeling of gratitude. You start with the Guru and end up adoring everything in life. Guru is just a beginning. In India there is a festival in October when people worship everything from cars, scooters etc. Everything is venerated. Divine dwells in every particle. In the East the tradition was that before cutting a tree, you have to plant 5 more. An innocent mind sees life everywhere. Life has to be honored, adored. If you cannot do this, then what else is left in life? It is so dry, just eat, drink and sleep. Whenever you praise, the praise goes to the divine. If you praise your Guru, the praise goes to the divine. When you praise someone, you own consciousness is expanding. So for your own sake, adore and venerate others.

Q. I feel like I want to be close to you and I don't know how. I love you.
A. It is good, heart breaks and love flows. In the world out there heart breaks and misery comes, but here when heart breaks, love flows and life blossoms. Good. Just assume you are already close to me and when you are smiling, when you do service, when you are in knowledge - you are so much close to me. And see more and more people get the benefit of this knowledge what you are having. Just turn back and see your life, how much it has changed as you did the practices, the meditations, your kriya and relate to yourself the person who was there before doing the kriya. What a big difference. Isn't it? How many of you feel you are not the same person. Almost everybody isn't it, so that benefit, that opening, we need to bring in others life as well, we need to do that.

Q.How to find a guru or choose a guru?
A.Guru is too big for you to make. If you make Guru you are bigger than the Guru. Guru comes in your life in spite of your refusing or rebelliousness. Don't struggle to make a Guru. Just relax. Life keeps changing. Wake up and see. Feel grateful. Give all your garbage to the Guru. Guru makes gold out of garbage. Guru makes a fool intelligent. It is easy to make that change because everyone is made up of that one thing.

Q. How to become a sincere devotee?
A. Just you have to assume that you are really sincere devotee. You give grade to yourself. I am number 1 devotee. Nobody's like me. But don't think so and so is number 1 devotee and I'm number 2. Each one of us should say I'm number 1 devotee. Nobody's like me. Then that is how the devotion grows. If you think you are number 2, number 3, number 10, then that much, you will be away from the knowledge. You know this problem is there with many - that after basic course, you continue for sometime then you drop. Then afterwards it becomes very difficult. If you do an advanced course, it will bring you back in the knowledge.

Q. Guruji, you are the best.
A. Only best can recognize the best.

Q. A devotee is very happy on getting a Guru, does the Guru feel the same happiness in getting a devotee?
A. Seeing your happiness he gets happiness.

Q. I want a Guru mantra from you.
A. That is there. Sudarshan kriya is there.

Q. Guruji, show me the path.

A. Why? Why shall I show you the path? I'm not so irresponsible. I'll take you to your goal. It's my habit. It's the age of aero planes and you are talking in terms of bullock carts. You have sat in plane and your flight has taken off. Now, this plane will take you to your destination, you don't need to ask for the path.

Q. What quality should an ideal disciple have? Do you differentiate
between disciples?
A. Don't worry so much, just be like a child, and take life with ease. Yes, I differentiate between disciples and you are very special. Each one of you is unique and each one is special, so everyone is different.

Q. You are so wonderful, when can I become like you?
A. First stop attempting to become like me. Second know that I'm you.

Read an interesting article on Guru Poornima: http://www.indiayogi.com/content/full_moon_festival/guru_purnima.asp

Pakistanis and Indians together?

2006-05-17T00:36:00.000-07:00

Pakistanis and Indians together? - Shift in the world consciousness: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

Here is an excerpt from my friend Vijay Simha's interview with His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar shortly after Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations in Bangalore. He is an Associate Editor with Sunday Indian (Then he was with Tehelka.)

http://www.artofliving.org/silverjubilee/interview.htm

Q: Coming back to the Silver Jubilee, I've not seen Chinese and Taiwanese dancing together ever before.

Yes. And Pakistanis and Indians.

Q: So is this the beginning of a shift in world consciousness?

Definitely.

(Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations were truely a One World Family Reunion. Blessed are those who were privileged to witness this historic event!)

Above photos anticlockwise from top:
1) Guruji and Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam on the stage on the last day of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee.
2) Enthusiastic Pakistani devotees waving their flags on the stage!
3) Jubilant crowd with their flags.

Watch out this space! I will upload many more of Art of Living Silver Jubilee Photos here.
Check the following link for more pictures: http://www.artoflivingsfba.org/sjphotoessay/sjphotoessay.html

Mathematics, Science and Spirituality!

2006-04-21T05:22:00.000-07:00

Mathematics, Science and Spirituality!
Memorial Lecture given by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
at S. M. Medical college, Jodhpur ( 23 February 2005)

(H H Sri Sri Ravishankar, Art of Living Founder spoke in both Hindi and English. Wherever spoken in Hindi has been translated in English here.
By the way, Government of Maharashtra (an Indian state) plans to make mathematics an optional subject from 8th standard! This ridiculous! It will have disastrous implications on the society in the long run. It will take us several centuries backwards in time. All those who are aware of this should oppose it. Read an interesting article on this by my colleague Sai at: http://saisureshsivaswamy.rediffblogs.com/2006_16_04_saisureshsivaswamy_archive.html#1145456911
- Krishna)

Science And Spirituality

I know you all are waiting to hear me, while there are others who are simply waiting to see me, doesn't matter what I talk. Should I speak in Hindi or English? Some want in Hindi and others in English. I will speak in both and whenever I am speaking in the language other than that of your choice, just listen as if you are listening to some music, otherwise you will start feeling restless!

Listening is also an art- there is an art of listening. Are you all listening? It can be any speaker who may speak for ten minutes but we actually hear for about three minutes; this is a statistical figure! The remaining seven minutes, the body remains there but the mind goes out gallivanting
and comes back after roaming for sometime. So if one speaks for thirty minutes say, then, in actual effect, you hear for about 9-10 minutes. Thatâ€™s why I said, whatever language I speak, if you
do not understand, just hear it like a music otherwise restlessness starts building in the mind, right?

You always complain if someone speaks in the language you donâ€™t know. When you sit and gossip for 2-3 hours, you donâ€™t know how the time flies but when you are sitting and someone is speaking for a couple of minutes in a foreign language you donâ€™t know, even those couple of minutes seem to be very long, hasnâ€™t it been our experience? Whenever your mind is engaged, you do not feel the time but when the mind is not engaged, you feel the time is too long, correct?
Study of time is both Spirituality and Science. Time is the junction.

Are you all here? What is happening now? Waiting- waiting for a phone call, waiting for someone to come, waiting for something. But you know whatâ€™s interesting is that we donâ€™t know what waiting itself is!

If you can experience the pure waiting- that becomes meditation. Suppose I am not going to speak for next 20-25 minutes, are you willing to be here? Yes! Waiting for infinity is meditation and if we donâ€™t understand what waiting is, we tend towards frustration.

See, waiting is the junction that either leads you to frustration on one side or, on another side, takes you to a meditative state. If you are a meditator then you know what â€˜dhyaanâ€™(meditation) is, then nothing can frustrate you because every moment that you are free and have to wait for something, you drop into meditation !

We become carefree when we realize that waiting can lead to either meditation or frustration. You can be free from frustration if you meditate and be happy and joyful. Many moments come in our lives, when we have to wait and with this waiting we are filled with frustration, anger, restlessness - all kinds of disorders of mind. So to become free from all such disorders it is very essential to know about meditation.

"What is this?"- is Science ; " Who am I?"- is Spirituality.
It is only in India, in this country, that no conflict ever happened between Science and Spirituality.

It is only in India that from ages the science and spirituality said the Earth and other planets are
moving round the Sun. We also teach our students but unfortunately in a wrong way. We teach today in our schools that Galileo discovered that the earth is round. We donâ€™t remember that it is India which has given the concept of earth being spherical â€˜khagoalâ€™ (kha means Earth and goal means round), â€˜bhoogoalâ€™ (geography- the study of earth ) etc. The earth was always considered spherical. In the 7- 8th century sculptures you see the â€˜Varah Murtiâ€™ carrying a globe on their tusks. That means our ancestors, the people in India in ancient days knew that the earth was
spherical.

From the times of Vedic age itself, our ancient people knew the placing of the sun and the planets. In todayâ€™s time too we worship the same way by placing the sun in the center and all planets around it. Long ago, from ancient times, we knew that the sun was the center of our solar system yet we teach wrong and give credit to Galileo for discovering it! We need to change such history now. Similarly the value of â€˜Piâ€™(p) and its formula were known long ago. They were well advanced in mathematics . All geometry, trigonometry etc was given in verses with not just formulas but also with detail and diagrams. So we were never ignorant but very advanced in Science from ancient time but unfortunately what is being taught is that our ancestors were ignorant and foolish. It is heard that a professor of History, in Delhi University, is teaching the children that the
ancient man burnt incense to scare the God saying- â€œSee the incense in my hand, fulfill my wish or I will burn you down.â€ And if that was not sufficient to scare then he went with the lamp etc. According to his teaching the ancient man knew nothing else but to scare for fulfilling his wishes and because of such foolish ideas only he began doing worship! If we teach such things to the children then these children will become naxalites in future. It is the lack of spirituality in education in our country, that the youth are becoming naxalites. On one hand they commit suicide or on other hand they become violent and aggressive.

What is spiritualism? To understand this, ponder over this â€“ Who am I? What am I made up of? This body is made of food we eat etc but then consciousness, the spirit within it is made up of what? What are its ingredients?- to know this all is spiritualism.

Our ancestors have given the beautiful explanations of it. Asti, Bhati, Preeti , Naam and Roop - these are the five ingredients/elements or aspects of self. Asti, Bhati, Priti- are the three forms of our consciousness, our mind . Asti meaning "I am", bhati is realizing that it is and preeti , the love with which it is made of â€“these are the three forms with which our consciousness is
made of. If all the lights were put off in this room, even then you feel your presence, donâ€™t you still feel , â€œI am â€œ here?-this feeling of â€œI amâ€ is- asti.

Are you all listening? Still here? The mind has not gone out for a tea break na? Yes! So ,when you say you are listening to me you , you realize your presence that is bhati.

And your nature is love- that is preeti. So these are the three aspects of our consciousness.

And the body or matter has two aspects- naam or name and roop or the form. Every thing has a name and a form. With a form or property and a name different things exist in the world.

Science examines or studies on name and shape, while Spirituality on asti, bhati and preeti.
What is this? - is Science ; Who am I?- is Spirituality. Can there be any conflict between the two? Never! Both are the two ends of the same thread of knowledge. People may say that spiritualism begins where science ends but I do not agree with that. Science and Spiritualism are not separate, they go together, they are always in oneness. And there can be no dispute after the theory of relativity which proved about matter and energy.

And what is happening now? As I am speaking you are also thinking in your mind-
â€œ Yes, yes, he is speaking rightâ€, or, â€œNo, no, how can that be rightâ€.. like that â€œYes, yesâ€.., â€œNo,
noâ€â€¦going on in the mind, isnâ€™t it? That faculty by which you perceive is Mind and that by
which you agree/accept or disagree is Intellect. And the study of this inner, internal layers of
consciousness is Spirituality.

Sri Krishna also said in Geeta- â€œ Gyaan vigyaan pratyaatmaâ€. One gains the Complete knowledge only if gets the knowledge of both science and spirituality. From our four â€œDarshan shastarsâ€- the first three are of science only!
Vaisheshik Darshan says - padartha gyaanatva mokshah. Sage Vaisheshik said that knowledge of one element contains the full knowledge of all other elements, knowing which you can attain pure bliss. If you understand and have full knowledge of one atom, you are liberated. Even if you donâ€™t believe in God but understand even one atom thoroughly, it gives you liberation- this is what the ancient scriptures have said.

How to achieve it? Put your attention to know one thing fully. Understand an atom. What is your body?-a heap of atoms. When all atoms embraced and combine with each other- a body is formed
and when they become at daggers with each other and separate with each other- the body disintegrates and death takes place. This body is made up of so many atoms. What is an atom? What is the function of an atom? â€“ So who am I? Am I the body? What is this body? Do you know this body is not solid but fluid like a river? 98% of our body is empty- space element. If you
observe a small piece of your skin under the microscope, it looks like a mosquito net- so porous
and full of holes! Likewise take any metal, it has lot of empty space also. And out of remaining 2% - 60% is water element and 15% air element in the body. You are like a water or a juice sachet! After you drink juice, how does the packet looks- pressed and bad similarly if all the water is removed from your body , you will become depressed! And if air is removed then, as the fish perishes if removed from water, you will perish too! We donâ€™t know fully about our body itself. So it is good to have full knowledge like this first. If you know about your own body, the mind becomes still and liberation happens. So where is the conflict? Science is a logical, sequential understanding of the reality and spirituality goes one step ahead from the aspects you know.
You will see there are many types of logic- Whether the means of understanding itself is correct or not? The correct aspect is there or not? The subjective analysis- the aspect from which you learn, by which you know, whether your apparatus or analysis itself is correct or not- and this is spirituality. So unless you take both approaches, your knowledge will not be complete.

Belongingness is the sign of spiritualism. In todayâ€™s life, man has become rigid like a stone living in a small world of his own. We convey more through our presence than through our words. We live whole of our life in a formal atmosphere and lose the naturalness and belongingness. One can have a simple, lovable nature or personality through spirituality only.

Truth is multidimensional. This is a gift given to the world by India. Knowledge or Truth is not linear but spherical. Isliye virodhaatmak batein sath sath hoti hein. That's why controversial things co-exist- and that's what we teach in the Art of Living course-that opposite values are complementary. Unless you take both approaches, knowledge will be incomplete. Any life devoid of Spiritualism is dry and lack of knowledge makes one sad, and sorrowful.

Some question/ answers â€“

Q- What is God?
A-Bhoomi jaise sahansheel, Agni jaise prajvalit, vayu jeise halkaa, paani jeise vinamra aur nubh jeise sarva vyaapak- jismein yuh sub tutva hein , vuh bhagvaan hei.

Patience like the Earth, Glow of the Fire, light like the Air, humble like the water(which flows downward) and present every where like space- the one having all these elements is God!

Q- How to realise faithfulness?
A- The same way you feel the pain. When there is a pain, you just know it!

Q- Guru se bada kaun? Who is above Guru?
A - Guru ka matlub hee hei - bahut bada toe jaan jao khud hee! Guru means Great so you know the answer yourself!

Who is God?

2006-04-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, wish you all Happy Ram Navami! The following is H H Sri Sri Ravishankar's message on Ram Navami.

RAM NAVAMI

"Ra" in Sanskrit means "That which is Radiant" and "Ma" stands for "Myself".
That which shines forth within me, is Rama.
That which is radiant in every particle of the Being is Rama.
Rama is born to Dasharatha and Kaushalya. Dasharatha (In Sanskrit this means "the ten charioted one") signifies the five organs of sense and the five organs of action. Kaushalya (Sanskrit for "skilled") stands for skill. The skillful reiner of the ten chariots can give birth to Ram. When the ten are used skillfully, radiance is born within.
Rama was born in Ayodhya (Sanskrit for "the place where no war can happen"). When there is no conflict in our mind, then the radiance can dawn.
Lakshmana, the brother of Rama, was born of Sumitra Ã– the good friend. When the ten are cooperating with you then Awareness is born.
Often we try to look for radiance within. Just realize that you are radiant. Once when Guruji was 5 or 6 years old, he closed his eyes and asked a visiting saint, "Swamiji, I do not see any light". The saint replied, "You are the light! How can you see the light?"

-- His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar

Sri Sri means that your Self, the Consciousness, or the Divinity or the Life in you is the pure light devoid of any distortions. Your mind is just one shade of this one consciousness. (This shade keeps changing with time! and with individuals!)
Here is a profound secret: God is nothing but your innermost Self in its purity and clarity!
This is what Patanjali says in his famous treatise "Patanjali Yoga Sutras".
But we don't really know what we are. It requires a certain amount of inner silence to know ourselves.. the Divinity within. The more You calm down Your mind, the more You will get closer to the Truth, the Self. This is where meditation, spiritual practices and guidance of an Enlightend Master will help you.

Well, Achieving no-mind - clear and thoughtless mind, at least for a few minutes or seconds, is a great experience! Believe me its a wonderful state.. Whole life is worth it if You are fortunate enough to taste the Self, the Divinity even for a few moments :) Its a glimpse of the highest possiblity in life - Enlightenment, the purpose of life!

- Krishna Reddy

Abundance

2006-04-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

Feel the plentitude---feel that there is plenty. The Divine has provided you a lot, and He will provide you much more. Why be tense about that? - Poojya Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Happy New Year (Ugadi / Gudi Padwa)!

2006-03-30T08:09:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, wish you happy Ugadi (Telugu New Year Day) and happy Gudi Padwa (Marathi New Year Day)! Hope this new year will bring the best things to everybody's life.

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.

- His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar

Just Happens!

2006-03-24T07:28:00.000-08:00

By Nisha Solanki.

I remember the day when Guruji was in Bombay for a satsang a few weeks before the Silver Jubilee Celebrations. My mother (Henna Solanki) insisted that my brother and me stand in the crowd (even though it meant being pushed, crushed, stamped over and walked over) to get Guruji's darshan. We refused to struggle through the crowd to meet him. But somehow we got to meet him conveniently after the satsang when he blessed us all and asked if we were coming to Bangalore. We simply said yes. Certain answers just come impulsively like girlfriend asks boyfriend-do I look good? Yes; am I fat? No. And that is why I was in Bangalore.

And if I still had any reservations about attending the celebration, they were taken care of when I jus made it in the nick of time to board the train. (That is another much-talked-about story in our local group) It was an experience worth cherishing and learning from. The obvious lesson besides existence of Guruji's grace is that traffic in Mumbai is pathetic. And thus began the journey to the Art of Living Silver Jubilee.

Everything was so larger-than-life - the stage, the celebrities and dignitaries, the number of people, the variety of people. I couldn't even gauge how many people were present because my eyes couldn't capture the magnitude. All people present there and working for this event months in advance were doing so only out of love and faith for their Guru. Watching this phenomenon is an experience I cannot comprehend. And meditation just happens. All you have to do is close your eyes and take a few deep breaths..

Significance of Holi

2006-03-16T04:34:00.000-08:00

Sri Sri Ravishankar on Holi

The word purana comes from the Sanskrit word `pure nava', which `that which is new in the city'. It is a new way of presenting things. Puranas are full of colourful illustrations and stories. On the surface they appear to be mere fantasy, but actually they contain subtle truths.

An asura king, Hiranyakashyap, wanted everyone to worship him. But his son Prahlad was a devotee of Lord Narayana, the king's sworn enemy. Angry king wanted Holika, his sister, to get rid of Prahlad. Empowered to withstand the fire, Holika sat on a burning pyre holding Prahlad in her lap. But it was Holika who was burnt, and Prahlad came out unharmed.

Hiranyakashyap symbolizes one who is gross. Prahlad embodies innocence, faith and bliss and joy. The spirit cannot be confined to love of material only. Hiranyakashyap wanted all joy to come from material world. It did not happen that way. The individual jivatma cannot be bound to the material forever. It's natural to eventually move towards Narayana, one's higher Self.

Holika stands for the past burdens that try to burn Prahlad's innocence. But Prahlad, so deeply rooted in Narayana Bhakti, could burn all past impressions (samskaras) and joy springs up with new colours.

Life becomes a celebration. Burning the past, you gear up for a new beginning. Your emotions, like fire, burn you. But when they are a fountain of colours, they add charm to your life. In ignorance, emotions are a bother; in knowledge, the same emotions add colour.

Each emotion is associated with a colour - anger with red, jealousy with green, vibrancy and happiness with yellow, love with pink, vastness with blue, peace with white,sacrifice with saffron and knowledge with violet.

So Holi should be colourful and not boring. When each colour is seen clearly, it is colourful. When all the colours get mixed, you end up with black.

So also in life, we play different roles. Each role and emotion needs to be clearly defined.

Emotional confusion creates problems. When you are a father, you have to play the part of a father. You can't be a father at office. When you mix the roles in your life, you start making mistakes. Whatever role you play in life, give yourself fully to it. Harmony in diversity makes life vibrant and more colourful.

One legend talks about the time when Parvati was in tapasya and Shiva was in samadhi. In facilitating the divine union of the Two, Kamadeva, the Lord of Love, gets burnt to ashes by Shiva. Shiva had to come out of samadhi to join Parvati, for celebration to take place. `Parva' is festival and `Parvati' means `born out of festival' - celebration! For samadhi to unite with celebration, the presence of desire was necessary.

So, desire (Kama) was invoked. But again, to celebrate, you need to overcome desire. So Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kama. When desire in the mind is burnt, celebration happens.

A state of vairagya is not devoid of 'ras'or colours- Vairagya is often misunderstood as 'neeras' or monotonous. No.no.. actually it is 'navras', it has all the colours!

~~ Sri Sri Ravishankar

Empowering Women

2006-03-08T07:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Womens Day!

2006-03-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

International Women's Conference - 2005 @ Vishalakshi Mantap, Art of Living Ashram, Bangalore.

Begining of a new era for the world!

2006-03-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

When the President of Indian Republic arrived we were all fresh and charged up with enthusiasm. The President Sri A P J Abdul Kalam along with Gurudev watered the Lakshmitharu plant (See the above picture) to mark the auspicious occasion. The President then presented an action-oriented three-dimensional solution for transforming the world into an enlightened society. He said value based education, religion with spiritual force and economic development to remove poverty would pave way for the enlightened society. The President made us repeat some paragraphs from his speech which touched our hearts. The musicians played .Enthronu Mahanu Baavalau. a fitting tribute to the dignitaries on stage. The pleasant evening continued with cultural programmes presented by the international participants and everyone captured our
hearts.

All the three days Gurudev with his captivating smile made all the distinguished guests and spiritual leaders do the talking and remained silent. Even in that silence he could effectively communicate his message of love and affection to all his devotees.
Even though I could watch him only in the large plasma screen I felt so close to him.

We are all really fortunate to have grasped this greatest opportunity and be part of this momentous occasion. Such a magnificent celebration happens once in many life times. .Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. the one world family, celebrated and shared the joy of Gurudev.s unconditional love and service to humanity.

(By M.Gopalakrishnan.)

Medical Conference Proceedings

2006-03-08T06:11:00.000-08:00

Medical Conference Proceedings
Proceedings of the World Conference on Science, Consciousness and Spirituality, held at AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), New Delhi, on 24-26 February 2006.

From my friend Dr Belinda

The following are the key findings of the latest research done on Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) presented at the Conference held as part of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

1. Dr Richard Brown from the USA discussed how the application
of newer technologies to basic research in Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY)
has thrown light on our understanding of how SKY works. He postulated
that SKY contributes to a state of alert calmness by its effect on
the vagus nerve which is the core of the parasympathetic system.
Recent studies have shown that the vagus nerve is crucial in social
bonding, empathy and love; it is the centre of our gut instincts and
is crucial to our ability to perceive, observe and make complex
decisions. Vagal activity is estimated from the respiratory sinus
arrhythmia as measured by heart rate variability.
Impaired vagal activity is found in people with depression, anxiety,
panic disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, violent adults,
fibromyalgia, post traumatic stress disorder, early Alzheimer's and
obesity. Nowadays, an instrument that artificially stimulates the
vagus nerve is being used to treat depression, epilepsy, early
Alzheimer's disease and is an experimental treatment for obesity.
Stephen Porges, the foremost expert on the activity of the vagus
nerve on reviewing the research done on SKY has suggested that the
different rhythms of breath in SKY may stimulate different diameter
fibers of the vagus nerve. This makes SKY unique and likely to have a
much wider range of effects than the currently available electronic
vagus nerve stimulator.
Dr Brown suggested that other mechanisms by which SKY works are by
calming of stress response systems, neuroendocrine release of
hormones, nitric oxide neurotransmission, fear conditioning circuits
(prefrontal cortex and limbic system), and thalamic generators. He
also discussed various knowledge points as articulated by Sri Sri
Ravi Shankar from a neuro scientific perspective for
e.g., `Enlightenment is innocence with intellect'. Interestingly,
brain wave rhythms during and after SKY are similar to those of
babies.

2. Dr Fahri Saatcioglu from Oslo did a controlled 6 week long
study of the effect of SKY on the relaxation response and feelings of
wellness on 109 subjects. 56 subjects went through the SKY course and
thereafter performed SKY yoga daily for 6 weeks. The control group of
53 subjects relaxed in an arm chair for 15 minutes daily for the same
period. Both groups were given questionnaires to assess changes in
depression, anxiety, dispositional optimism, stress, energy and
degree of altered states of consciousness before the instruction and
6 weeks later. Dr Fahri found a statistically significant increase in
the experience of wellness in the SKY group compared to the controls.
He found a significant decrease in degree of anxiety, depression and
stress and a significant increase in degree of optimism in the group
practicing SKY.

3. Dr Neeta Singh from New Delhi studied the effects of SKY on
the gene ex-pression levels of the genes that affect several stress
related pathways of the human body. She found an increase in
antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione
peroxidase and glutathione in the 26 SKY practitioners as compared
with 25 age and sex matched controls. The level of Glutathione was
three times higher in SKY practitioners as compared with controls. A
small increase was seen in hTERT in SKY practitioners which indicates
delayed senescence and perhaps a longer life span. The observed
decrease in bcl-2, C-Myc and C- Fos in SKY practitioners suggests
probable better protection against cancer. This study suggests that
subjects doing SKY regularly have a better antioxidant status and
better ability to cope with stress.

4. Dr Stephen Larsen from the USA studied neurophysiological
responses before, during and after SKY. The tests run were EEG
(recorded at 19 cortical sites), EKG, heart rate variability,
galvanic skin response, hand skin temperature, pulse plethysmography
and blood pressure. He found that SKY practices produced measurably
significant changes in ALL physiological measures. Beginning
practitioners of SKY had greater changes from their baselines
compared to more advanced practitioners.
He found that during the practice there is challenge, followed by
temporary disorganization leading to calming, regularization and
synchrony in such measures as heart rate variability and EEG. The
EEGs of beginners showed pockets of synchrony whereas in more
advanced practitioners the baseline pre- practice synchrony was
higher and a very high degree of "total brain synchrony" was observed
across all 19 channels during the breath practices and rest periods.
It appears that over a period of time, the practitioner's physiology
becomes more robust, flexible and able to deal with the challenges of
stressors and still is able to idle comfortably during quiescence.
This explains why regular practice of SKY is very important.
Dr Larsen also observed certain large waves in the EEGs during SKY
that resemble the ECT waves (electro convulsive therapy). Electro
convulsive therapy is an age old treatment that is very effective in
treating depression but is unpopular because of its side effects and
convulsions produced. He suggested that the effect of SKY on the
brain is like a subconvulsive dose of ECT without the side effects of
an ECT. This could explain why SKY is effective in patients with
depression.

5. Dr Lyulyakina from Russia studied the functional status of
the brain during and after the practice of SKY in 12 volunteers. She
found that all the participants showed statistically significant
improvement of EEG parameters proved by spectral, power and
topographic mapping and coherence analysis. She did not find any
statistically significant difference in the dynamics of
electrophysiological process between the long Sudarshan Kriya and the
shorter version of Sudarshan Kriya.
.
6. Dr Geetha from Bangalore studied the effect of SKY on
antioxidant enzyme activities in menopausal women. -There were 4
groups compared. One group of 40 women received hormone replacement
therapy, one group of 40 received 500mg of Vit E daily, a group of 60
women practiced SKY daily and 50 women served as controls. In all
groups, the plasma MDA levels (as an index of lipid peroxidation),
erythrocyte SOD (superoxide dismutase) and blood GSH (glutathione
peroxidase activity) were measured at the start and at the end of 30
days.
Dr Geetha found a significant decrease in the MDA levels and marked
elevation of GSH-px and SOD levels in the group that practiced SKY as
compared with the other groups. Hence the practice of SKY improves
the antioxidant power of menopausal women and is superior to the
beneficial effects seen with HRT or Vit E on anti oxidant levels.

7. Dr Vedamurthachar from Bangalore studied the effect of the
AOL Course on occupational stress and anxiety among 60 software
engineers in Bangalore. At the end of a month, the 30 engineers who
took the AOL course showed a statistically significant reduction in
anxiety and improvement in stress coping skills as compared with the
30 controls. However there were no significant changes seen in the
stress symptoms and stress producer variables.

8. The oral microflora of SKY practitioners was studied by E G
Lyulyakina from Russia. She found that the number of micro organisms
in lacto vegetarians were 2-3 times less than that in non strict
vegetarians. Oral fluid samples of strict vegetarians did not show
any growth of microorganisms after SKY practices. The bacteria found
in oral cavity of non vegetarians were Gram negative Proteus which is
evidence of putrefactive processes in the mouth of non vegetarians.
She concluded that practice of SKY and a vegetarian diet reduces the
microbial content of the mouth.

9. Dr Chiplonkar from Pune studied the lifestyle, behavioral and
health aspects of 105 adults before and after undergoing the part I
Art of Living Course. She found that majority of micronutrients
showed a positive correlation with sattvic foods. After the practice
of SKY for 2 months, she found a significant reduction in anxiety
score, marginal improvement in patience score and no change in stress
score. She also found a significant increase in antioxidant capacity
(measured as SOD), reduction in triglycerides, and a marginal
reduction in oxidative stress (as measured by plasma MDA levels).
Practicing SKY regularly resulted in greater reduction of anxiety
score than less frequent practice. Subjects also reported a sense of
well being, improvement in sleep quality and more enthusiasm at work.

10. The psychospiritual benefits of SKY were studied in women
diagnosed with breast cancer by Arielle Warner in USA. The subjects
were evaluated 2 weeks before the Art of Living Course, 8 days after
the Course and after 5 weeks of regular practice. A statistically
significant improvement in quality of life, spiritual well being,
positive states of mind and perceived stress was observed after the
AOL course and was maintained 5 weeks later.

11. Dr Janis Carter from Australia compared the effects of
different modalities like Iyengar and Desikachar yoga, Qi Gong,
Sudarshan Kriya Yoga and a multicomponent yoga intervention (MCYI) in
treating Australian Vietnam war veterans with long standing Post
traumatic Stress disorder. She found that the interventions that used
many tools of yoga viz. Sudarshan Kriya Yoga and MCYI, showed the
greatest efficacy.

12. Dr Patricia Gerberg from USA discussed the effects of doing
the SKY program in a patient undergoing psychoanalysis since a long
time. She found SKY useful in healing negative past impressions and
the `dissociation' that rendered the patient unable to connect with
others and with his own feelings.

13. Janis Apted from the USA studied the effects of SKY on 48
highly stressed faculty members of the Anderson Cancer Centre in
Houston, Texas. The participants reported improvement in their mood,
anxiety, stress, ability to stay calm and levels of anger and
frustration.

14. Dr A M Huang from Taiwan showed how the serum levels of BDNF
(Brain derived neurotrophic factor) were increased after practice of
Pranayam and SKY. BDNF is lower in patients with depression compared
to controls. A rise in serum BDNF levels could be an indicator of the
beneficial effects of SKY on depression.

15. An electrophysiological study on the effects of SKY was
presented by Shruti Baijal from Allahabad. An EEG study was done on
SKY practitioners and age matched controls. Mismatch negativity
paradigm that provides an indirect physiological measure of the way
sensory information is processed by the brain was used for the study.
Her conclusion was that there is a more efficient process of
inhibition of irrelevant information and maintenance of focused
internalized attention for the SKY practitioners.

Studies on Nav Chetana Shibir (Breath Water Sound Course)

1. Dr Theresa Descilo from the USA did a controlled study on
survivors of the tsunami disaster. One group was given the Nav
Chetana Shibir, one group the Nav Chetana Shibir and Traumatic
incident reduction programme (another interventional method for
treating post traumatic stress reduction), and another group with no
interventional programme served as controls. Those subjects
undergoing the Nav Chetana Shibir showed significantly reduced
symptoms of post traumatic stress and depression and better general
health compared to the control group. This study suggests that the
NCS is a safe and effective intervention for rapid relief of
psychological symptoms following mass disasters.

2. A study of the effect of Nav Chetana Shibir on heroin users
was done by Dr Anju Dhawan in Delhi. 15 heroin addicts were compared
with 14 controls and showed significantly more motivation and
positive changes in the quality of life within 2 weeks after a Nav
Chetana Shibir.

Guruji made all the doctors present at the Conference take a vow to
discourage sex determination tests and abortion of female fetuses. He
asked all the doctors to attend at least 3 free medical camps every
year. He also encouraged all the doctors to keep abreast with all the
latest developments in their fields.

Jai Gurudev,
Belinda Vaz

Melting Pot!

2006-03-08T03:42:00.000-08:00

"Life is sacred. Celebrate life. Care for others and share whatever you have with those less fortunate than you.
Deepen your roots and Broaden your vision for the whole world belongs to you." - His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri encourages people from all over the world to nurture their own culture while honoring others' cultures.

The Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations showcased Indian Culture as well as the Cultures of all the representing countries, their music, dance etc. Art of Living is truely a melting pot of world cultures! The above picture shows the Danish perofoming at the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

Magnificent!

2006-03-08T02:59:00.000-08:00

This was the magnificent Dias of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations!

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's speech at Art of Living Silver Jubilee!

2006-03-08T02:36:00.000-08:00

President Kalam gave an inspiring speech at the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations sharing his vision for the One World Family and happy, peaceful society.
Transcript of president's speech http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/sllatest1.jsp?id=738

Vaaaaaast!

2006-03-08T02:16:00.000-08:00

Photo: Karnatic music perfomance during the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations!)

By Dr. Pragati Mukhopadhyay
Dr. Pragati is a scientist at Advanced Centre Research in Electronics, IIT Bombay
and Professor at Dept of Materials Science & Metallurgical Engg, IIT Bombay

Back to my scientific world after the great event of
silver Jubilee and I am still fumbling with words to
express my thoughts
-it is difficult to express what it was to be a part
of this great event. It was not a feeling of
attending a big function but
more like being a witness to a vast happening which
was JUST HAPPENING!!

The word VAST became so clear with countless "Vah"s
from my lips.
'How' and 'Vow' kept recurring so many times that it
came as-
Oh! So, HE showed HIS Voh form!
what form? Vishal..Vast consciousness form!!

Ah! Sitting on that huge stage a small humble, caring,

loving, smiling figure showed his VAST form so
simply-it is amazing and there goes the mind again-
but HOW did it happen??

I don't know!!
Mind still questions, "Was it a dreaming or was it a
real play?"
He was monitoring all events in Ashram as well the
ones in the airfield and then attending them with
fullest care, love and honor! Greeting each guest and
being with all. He even walked down to meet the
musicians and the camera persons.
Unbelievable but it did happen-He made the ancient
sutra- 'Vasudhaiv kutumbakum'come live!
Making 25 lakh people come together from all corners
of the world !
1000 or more saints sat and shared the same stage
together smiling at each other!
3800 different musicians played together in harmony!
Scientists, politicians, policemen, artists - all sat
on one stage!
Different media officials, journalists, photographers
- all covering the great event side by side laughing
and joking ( even shared the seats with each other!)
People sat there silently with smiles in that dusty
field when He led the mass meditation, covering all in
one big soothing wave of love and peace.
All lost their identity and became one big happy wave
of love and devotion with the ocean of Love!
It would have been difficult for the small mind to
understand or visualize what is meant by- 'vishal
roop' or expanded consciousness so this was the live
demonstration!
Ah! I am still out of words.. just had this experience
of what i said-
Many can experience and be with their experiences-
and there are few chosen ones who come to make others
experience the inexpressible experience!

I have no words to express the gratefulness I feel
for the Master except to say-Oh Master! Thou art
THAT!!
luv
Jai Guru Dev
pragati
iit-bombay

Abdul Kalam @ Art of Living Silver Jubilee

2006-03-01T00:32:00.000-08:00

Predident of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was dazed to see 2.5 milion people in front of him at the Art of Living Silver Jubilee!
Abdul Kalam's speech: http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/sllatest1.jsp?id=738

Cultural Programs @ Art of Living Silver Jubilee

2006-03-01T00:30:00.000-08:00

A pianist @ Art of Living Silver Jubilee

2006-03-01T00:25:00.000-08:00

This was a noted pianist performing on the stage at Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

Ethnic Indian Dancers

2006-03-01T00:23:00.000-08:00

This was a group of ethnic dancers performing at the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations

Gayatri (of Anahata Fame)

2006-03-01T00:21:00.000-08:00

Gayatri and group Singing Satsang at the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

Gayatri and Rishi Nitya Pragya

2006-03-01T00:17:00.000-08:00

Gayatri and Rishi Nitya Pragya singing at the Art of Living Silver Jubilee celebrations.

Maha Kriya @ Jakkur air field

2006-03-01T00:16:00.000-08:00

This was the Maha Sudarshan Kriya led by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar on the last day of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations.

Jakkur Aerodrome before the Art of Living silver Jubilee aprogram

2006-03-01T00:12:00.000-08:00

Melting pot!

2006-02-27T23:26:00.000-08:00

"Life is sacred. Celebrate life. Care for others and share whatever you have with those less fortunate than you.

Deepen your roots and Broaden your vision for the whole world belongs to you."

- His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Bhanu Didi @ Silver Jubilee

2006-02-27T23:23:00.000-08:00

Bhanu Didi (Centre) - Guruji's sister - on the Art of Living Silver Jubilee stage.

Huge Stage!

2006-02-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

This is just the stage of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations!
Art of Living Silver Jubilee stage was 3.5 acres and,
at a time, it accommodated 10000 people including a South Indian Orchestra (Karnatic Music) of 3800 musicians!!
Others on the stage included 1000 saints, spiritual & religious leaders and dignitaries from India and around the world.
Dignitaries included Kings, (ex of present) presidents, prime ministers of various countries, governors, chief ministers of many states.

One World Family!

2006-02-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations - Spiritual Olympics

- were attended by people 2.5 million people from more than 140 countries. Translations into 42 languages were happening simultaneously during these splendid celebrations.

Watch out this space as I will be uploading more photos and interesting info regarding the Art of Living Silver Jubilee.
I have taken some of these photos with kind permission from my friend Matt Theilen.

http://www.nomadfoto.com/aol/index.htm

Earlier this was posted at http://artofliving.rediffiland.com/blogs/2006/02/28/One-World-Family-.html

Musical Symphony @ Art of Living Silver Jubilee!

2006-02-27T22:05:00.000-08:00

Every day there was a musical symphony of 3800 musicians at the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations held at Jakkur Airfield, Bangalore. Imagine 750+ Veenas, 700+ Tablas, 500+ Mrudangams, violins, 20 keyboards etc playing at a time!

Earlier this was posted at http://artofliving.rediffiland.com/blogs/2006/02/28/Musical-Symphony-Art-of-Living-Silver-Jubilee-.html

Vedic Boys @ Art of Living Silver Jubilee

2006-02-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

Art of Living Vedic School students on the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Stage.

Mystery!

2006-02-27T02:42:00.000-08:00

Following are the words from Ratna Swaroop, an Art of Living teacher from Andhra Pradesh, who taught a basic to my sister and brother-in-law in the first half of Feb 2006.

Dear Mr Krishna,
Jai Gurudev.
As soon as I came back from the Art of Living Silver Jubilee, one long pending technical
problem got solved on its own with in a week.
One of the Ammonia refrigiration compressor was not running properly for
the last 7 months. (ie since Aug 2005) I am working as Sr.
Manager-Instrumentation in Nagarjuna Fertilizers, Kakinada and I am held
responsible for ensuring smooth running of this compressor along with
Mechanical & Operations dept. How ever there was more pressure on me to
deliver results, as Eevery one felt it was an instrumentation problem.
Believe me, no one has diagnosed the problem properly and we did nothing
from Instrumentation, but compressor was running smoothly, giving relief to
me and the top management. It was a real mystery.

Regards
Swaroop

By Krishna Reddy | 16:12 | 27/Feb/2006

Permalink

Incredible India Trip!

2006-02-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

Experiences from India: Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebration - Barry Rosen

The India trip was incredible and challenging but in the end it was a wonderful life transforming event. It took about 42 hours door to door to get to India and we landed and stayed in a 4 star hotel to make the transition to rural country life. When we arrived at the ashram, we found that 2000-3000 extra people decided to attend the last minute and many of them from 145 countries around the world did not bother to confirm that they were coming. Sri Sri, immediately took them in creating an unexpected last minute housing shortage at the ashram despite months of planning . The international center has about 3500 beds and additional dormitory space on the floor and by the time we were registering, there was no space left at the Inn with over 7000 people. The housing team scrambled the last minute to find accommodations near by. This was a reminder of the Italy course in 2000 when 1500 people got housed in 50 hotels around the city--many of them getting put in the wron
g
places. It is part of the Divine play to shake us up, transform our expectations. Given that we are now doing disaster relief around the world, we need to know how to work with chaos and the US full-time teachers stood up to the challenge and did an amazing job. One could sense the humor of the whole thing even if it was not initially funny. But most importantly it is a reminder that we have to be flexible, move beyond our expectations and be solid to move with whatever is happening in our life. The relative world is always changing!

There were 5000 people on the Part 2 course in a huge amphitheatre tent that was quite comfortable despite the size and the course was nice although there were limitations on what we could do. One day the young children from the school, who were studying the Vedic rites, did a ceremony for us Satsang in the evening was magnificent an another outdoor amphitheatre overlooking Visha Mantap, a seven story round marble meeting hall which is the jewel of the ashram. Countries from around the world performed their own ethnic dances and the energy was quite high. Dining and food service were well organized and I never waited more than a few minutes to eat tasty south Indian meals. All in all, the ashram managed to handle the crowds and the feeling of love at the ashram and holiness was very deep and healing and soothed over whatever minor challenges there were. When it came time to get people into town, 200 buses lined up orderly and got people back. Traffic was never t
oo bad
and despite fears of very long round trip bus rides, many times it even took only an hour to get back to the ashram-- a true miracle!

The Silver Jubilee celebration was quite spectacular and beyond belief. Held on an unused India Airfield called, Jakar, there were 2-2.8 million people at times over the 3 days. Afternoons were spent at shopping stalls and watching ethnic dancers from around the world . The main program occurred about 6:30 pm each evening. Despite the enormous amount of people, we were always cared for. International attendees had a VIP entrance and parking lot so we did not have far to walk and there were less crowds.. We also had special seating near the front. When you looked back, it seems like there was a sea of people going back about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. There were 77 theatre sized TV screens and an excellent sound system and the 20,000 volunteers did an amazing jobs getting everyone in and out without and hassles. VIP food courts were also very well run and despite the crowds, there was never a sense of waiting or hassle or crowds.

The stage was specially built and had about 7500 VIPs on it including an orchestra of 3800 musicians--mostly playing Indian instruments. Over the three days great political and religious leaders spoke including the President of India, the Head of the Supreme Court of India, the former prime ministers from the Netherlands and France, the King of Ghana and a host of Indian governors. Rabbi's, Catholic priests, Buddhist and Muslim priests all gave glowing accolades to the Art of Living for their service work around the world. The theme of One World Family echoed in every speech and was indeed a reality with 145 countries represented speaking 44 languages.

The group kriya together ended up starting at 6 pm and ended up being a short kriya led live by Sri Sri. The effect was rather profound. For me, I felt my whole forehead and crown chakra vibrating and moving into a more solidified state. The man next to me felt that his whole being became this flame of light that merged into a huge ocean of flames Afterwards, Sri Sri said that we should make one realistic wish that night and it would come true. The final day was most magical ending with a video montage of all the world dance troupes performing with cuts to a live dance troupe on stage performing. The effect was indeed to create one world family. Many leaders remarked at the incredible leadership and dedication from the Art of Living to put such an orderly and beautiful performance together and to manage so many people with ease and order. Toward the end of each evening when 2 million people sang and danced , there was indeed an incredible melding and Oneness and Unity
that
filled the crowd.

For me it was a life-transforming experience. The new solidity and grace and joy that flowed through me and that has stayed with me suggests a more profound inner transformation that occurred. And I think it was also reminded of the profound organization that we really are. I also became aware that I really have family in all parts of the world and seeing them all there from courses over the past 15 years was a joyful reminder that I am connected to the One World family and that the world is much larger and more beautiful than the terrorism and violence we see on TV. For the first time, we had people there from Mainland China and Iraq and Iran and Taiwan and Lebanon and Mongolia and Sri Sri made a point of calling them all up to the stage to sing and dance together. One beautiful man from Iraq summarized the experience beautifully when he said, I do not know who I am or why I am here but the fullness of my heart does not need to know as it can experience this profo
und
love without having to analyze it.

It is really beyond words to intellectualize or express the feeling and love level of One World family but it was a very rich and real experience that suddenly expands one beyond the very small boundaries of ones race, religion and national identity and creates a bigger sense of belongingness.

One speaker noted, 60% of the people there were in there 20's and 30's and that does give us hope for the future and hope for creating a permanent sense of change in a troubled world and it was clear that the group kriya sent waves of coherence around the world broadcasting this once in a lifetime and once in many life times. .

It took me 53 hours to get home door to door, but it did not matter as I spent more and more time in the present moment with a new sense of the global humanity that we are. Symbolically, on the plane home, I watched a wonderful French film and Golden Globe Nominee called, Merry Christmas, which was about German, French and Scottish troops coming out of their opposing ditches to celebrate Christmas together in 1914 and that it was spurred by a German opera start/soldier singing Christmas songs. . The movie was based on a true story and was very moving as the troops realized that they were indeed brothers and had the same problems and they were wondering why they were fighting each other and ultimately, they realized that it did not make sense and that their war was dictated by some power mongers that could not get along. Indeed music can be a beautiful means of bridging cultural gaps and uniting people together in song and more than ever I appreciate this aspect of th
e Art
of Living and the 3800 member orchestra and the group singing certainly exemplified this at times.

When I arrived in Phoenix, it was seasonally cold in the 50's but refreshing and I felt like running, leapiing, laughing and dancing through the cool desert silence.

-- Barry Rosen
Sedona, AZ
By Krishna Reddy | 11:45 | 27/Feb/2006
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Where "I" dissolved!

2006-02-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations - where "I" dissolved.

From Preeti Prabhu
Subject:
He called me for the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations, so I went. (But my mind was chattering
constantly, trying to find "good" reasons etc) Envied my husband who
had no dilemmas whatsoever. Who did not wait to get opinions. Applied
for leave, got his flight tickets, just sat happily and waited. I am
back now and every cell filled with contentment and gratitude.

Since I hail from Bangalore I thought an event of this magnitude would
be a tough challenge for the city to say the least. If one VIP comes
there, traffic arrangements go haywire. There were millions yet I do
not recollect our bus ever getting delayed due to traffic congestion!
The traffic flowed smoothly - and all of it flowed to jakkur !

When I saw the rows and rows and endless rows of thousands of buses
lined up at the Jakkur airfield it really brought tears to my eyes.
How was it all happening ?!

The people - from the poorest of villages to the richest of countries.
From babies a few months old to people with walking sticks everyone
had gathered there for the love of one!

Heard "Jai Gurudev!" in many many accents and exchanged smiles in the
one universal language of love.

The stage was so huge you had to see it to believe it. If you stood
right opposite the stage, you still needed powerful binoculars to see
anybody on it ! And the venue was so stupendiously huge that when we
got off at first, this huge stage was not visible !

In Ashtavakra Gita Guruji tells a story of how once thousand people
were meditating in the presence of Bhuddha, and there was pin drop
silence. The king happened to pass by and he was so moved that he
became a disciple of Bhuddha. Everytime I heard that, I used to wonder
what it would be like to meditate like that. Now I know. Around
sunset, with cool breeze blowing all around came the divine voice of
Guruji, So Hum ! I felt I was alone. I felt the oneness and the peace.
I felt the infinite blessing of the Lord!

And it was a delight to watch him as usual, playful and smiling like
nothing was happening! What would be impossible to achieve for any
single body with a million trained armymen perhaps, he had achieved
with men of no formal training. With those who only had their hearts
filled with love. And this love brought forth the commitment and
everything else that was required!

A million thanks to all the volunteers of Bangalore and everywhere
else who made this event such a big success. Who let his love flow
through them and made his vision a reality.

A million zillion pranams to Guruji for doing only what his great love
for each and every one of us can do !

Some photos of the event by Sriram here
http://www.artofliving.org.sg/aol-sjc-photos/index.html

Jai Gurudev !
Preeti

Celebration Time!

2006-02-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

Celebration time for all of us on this planet By K.Balu Jai Gurudev. The whole world it appeared was waiting for the ART OF LIVING SILVER JUBILEE celebrations to happen at Bangalore from 17th to 19th February 2006.I am just giving a bird`s eye view of all that happened on those 3 wonderful days. I left from Chennai on 15th February to be one day ahead.The Bangalore mail left Chennai with lots of devotees.My compartment had a majority of Aolites from West Bengal.They were all wearing their ID cards and badges which made it easy to communicate to them that we are all of the same family. The music troupe from Chennai was also travelling by the same train.As the train reached Bangalore very early in the cold morning we had enough time to chat with some but every one was so eager to reach the site of the celebration,Jakkur airfield. The information counter volunteers at the city station informed that buses had been arranged from the 17th morning from all points of the city. On the 17th morning we left by the first bus from Baswehwaranagar where I stayed with my brother.All the first trip buses left at the same time by 10am.By the time we reached Jakkur airfield the Morning vedic ceremony was in full swing and we could just hear the chants since we could not enter the pandal due to the heavy crowd.We satisfied our appetite by other means,ice creams and so on. The afternoon food was almost like a working lunch and though there was a very heavy crowd it was managed with all the ease of the usual AOL volunteer,no fuss, no shouting no nothing.Wonderful and affectionate though under very heavy strain. The evening function was compered by Vikram Hazra.The crowd must have been several lakhs and I was satisfied sitting near a TV screen.There were several TV screens and it was possible to view every programme without hindrance. On the second day,the crowd was still more.I reached home only at 2 am or so.Anyway my energy level was so high and never felt tired .On an average we would have walked almost 10kms daily. On the grand MahaKriya day 19th February,Gurudev started with the usual Ujjai breathing,Bhastrica and finally the Kriya.His words were so affectionate , tears started flowing down my cheeks for no reason. The dance and music programme afterwards was all splendour.I am sure some one else will write about it. On the 20th February was the day of Rudra abisheka and we all reached the Ashram at 11 am.The Rudra abisheka was also performed at Jakkur but since we reached home very late on the previous day we prefered to go to the Ashram instead of Jakkur. After the rudraabisheka was over by 1.00pm the bhajans started.Many in the pandal swayed to the delightful music,Shiva Om and several other compositions.We all prayed that Guruji should come there and suddenly it was announced that Guruji was coming there and within a few moments it was announced again that Guruji was not coming there.Of course Guruji was at Jakkur in the evening in all his splendour and divinity.I know something inside me has changed after the great event.So it would have been for the several lakhs who congregated there on those eventful days.Thank you Guruji. Jai Gurudev. K.Balu.Chennai.

Scuba Diver from Egypt

2006-02-25T08:28:00.000-08:00

I met Mostafa Helal, who runs a Scuba diving school and resort while he was in the queue at the juice centre. Then he asked what is the meaning of "Jai Guru Dev". People asked him "Did you not do the basic course?" He said he had done but he didn't know its meaning. Some people gave him brief answers. Then I offered to answer. Then we went to amphitheatre(See the photo above) to discuss this. I gave him the following explanation.

"Gu,inSanskrit, means darkness, Ru means light. Guru means the one who dispels darkness by throwing light. Guru need not be a person. It is the consciousness, the Divinity, that is there in you. You need a Guru in physical form to show you the light that you are! Jai Guru Dev means Victory be to this Guru Tatva, your very nature. So when I say Jai Guru Dev to you I mean I bow down to the Divinity that is there in you. Similary when you say Jai Guru Dev, you bow down to the God in me."

Incidentally we use Jai Guru Dev to mean many things! - Hi, Good Morning, Bye, Good Night. Some times we use these magical words when nothing else works!!

Then Mostafa went on to share his experience with AoL.

Hi ..I am a singer and guitarist from Egypt and an Ex boxer...so that makes me very Passionate and Hi tempered when provocked.
With all the stress in busy Cairo..and the trafic I had a fight in the street every once and a while..I took the art of living 1..it didn't only help me calm down
but, it helped me fill in lots of blanks be more in control of my temper.
I took level 1 - 4 times and level 2 twice..there is a learning every time for those who want to learn.
AOL helps me also focus when praying, so, it is a great thing to be added into ones life..

Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam!

2006-02-25T07:41:00.000-08:00

From Sachin Nayak

I am Sachin Nayak from Mumbai, Maharashtra. I am in computer business for last seven years and during this I was introduced to the â€˜Art of Livingâ€™ by a friend who is indeed now a very best friend.

The first time I had seen the photo of Poojya Guruji on Internet on the web site www.aol.org I got attracted by Him. That day I decided to join the Art of Living. I did my basic course in the year 2003 and then my journey of Art of Living began. In coming years I had my Advance Course, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation and DSN course. During this courses I learnt the real essence of life, Art of meditation and reposing of self.

Then come the biggest mega event in my life that was the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Art of living. I was preparing for the function right from three months. I had to make all the arrangement well in advance I had applied to go to Bangalore Ashram fifteen days in advance for doing seva and luckily I was fortunate enough to come to Bangalore Ashram thanks to my beloved teacher who made all the arrangements right from tickets to Accommodation.

Doing seva in ashram was a wonderful experience to me. There was lot of seva activities going on for the Silver Jubilee Celebration and Gurujiâ€™s 50^th birthday. All the seva warriors were working day and night to make the function a grant success. Of course with the grace of Guruji all was very, very easy. At last the day arrived on 17^th Feb 2006 the day when silver jubilee celebrations started. I was up by 4:00 am had bath, did my kriya and rocketed myself to the venue at Jakkur Airfield. It was a huge ground with people all over. In the morning there was Homa, Yagya and Ganesh Pooja. There were lots of stalls with all varieties of foodstuff and other all items available. It was looking like a fair. In the evening there was the ground inauguration ceremony. 20 lac people witnessed the occasion. All the Sants, Mahatmas, Swamis from all around the world had come to grace the occasion. Sant Shri Asaramji Bapu, Ramdevji Maharaj and other prominent saints from Maharashtra and other places of the world made speeches, which were really uplifting the spirits of the people who were gathered there. The kings, presidents and other prominent dignitaries from the world had gathered to shower their feeling of love and oneness i.e. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. Some of them shared their feeling about Art of Living is doing round the clock for millions of people. It is indeed the Art of living, which has spread smiles on millions of people around the world in this 25 years.

Many prominent dignities from Bangalore had arrived for the function. Tshe governor of Karnataka had made a short but very amiable speech. Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri Chandrababu Naidu made an overwhelming speech and discussed about the work Art of Living foundation is doing and necessity of this course of Art of Living to be implemented. On 19^th of Feb, the Honourable President of India Dr Abdul Kalam attended the function. He was delighted to see more than a million people from around the globe, who were sitting in front of him. In his speech, he explained the necessity of implementing meditation with human values and uplifting of people from religion to spirituality and enormously affecting the life of people. He also took oath from all the people gathered there to follow the principle to make this world a real better place to live.

Last but not the least there was the beautiful song sung by participants from around the globe â€˜Vasudhaiv Kutumsakam, One world familyâ€™. It is indeed the one world family the belongingness, the love among all of us, which has brought us together. It is none other than POOJYA POOJYA SRI SRI RAVISHANKARJI, OUR BELOVED GURUJI, who has made it possible.

Lots of thanks and Pranams to my beloved Guruji.

Jai Gurudev.

By Krishna Reddy | 21:11 | 25/Feb/2006

Permalink

Connection

2006-02-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

From Jyoti Trivedi

I work with LIC as ABM sales and Jan, Feb & March are the heavy months for business and taking 8 days leave in feb is a totally impossible thing in our corporation. There was a wedding in the family exactly on 17^th 18^th 19^th of Feb coinciding with the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations. I was really caught in this dicey situation and didn't know what to do? How to open my mouth and tell my parents that I wished to go to Banglore then guruji came to Mumbai in Dec 2005 and I prayed to him and immediately booked my tickets and also enrolled for the accommodation in a resort close to Jakur. Slowly I told my mother that I had made all arrangement to go to Banglore. To my utter surprise my parents immediately agreed to allow me to go to Banglore. 1^st hurdle was crossed I had to get my leave sanctioned from my office. My boss was initially resisting the sanction of leave but on explaining to him the importance of AOL in my life he sanctioned my leave. I was amazed at the grace of guruji and really enjoyed the silver jubilee celebration, which was a mind-blowing experience, and I am fully established in myself and connection to guruji has achieved a new dimension. I am sure that I will do things, which I never imagined, and will be wholeheartedly involved in furthering bonds of love & affection of this Vasudev Kutumbakam.

As a witness!

2006-02-25T07:16:00.000-08:00

From Dipika Modi

I am fortunate to be very close to guruji physically as I stay in the ashram since last 4 years. Art of Living Silver Jubilee was the only celebration up till now where I was sitting much far of from guruji in the crowd and watching him sometimes on screen and of times on the stage. This made me realize that our family is so big and guruji being so far away to yet He was so close to me. I felt this because people all around me irrespective of caste or creed or age had the same love and respect for guruji as I have for him. There was many pairs of eyes in different forms but one consciousness.

I had always been a part of celebration as a sevak but this is the 1^st time I have seen a part of this celebration as a observer and I am grateful to Guruji to give me this opportunity of enjoying each and every moment and carry the message of love and belonging in my life whereever I go.

World Conference: Science, Consciousness and Spirituality

2006-02-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

From Dr. Vinod Kochupillai Head, Cancer Centre, All India Instiute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. This conference will be held at AIIMS New Delhi, as part of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations. Scientific quest for sprituality continues. It is a kind of journey, a long journey towards unknown. While on a journey, one needs to make stops every now and then to ensure the correct path for one's forwad journey. We had first stop in 2002 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where we discover the scientific studies related to Sudarhsan Kriya (SK) and Pranayam(P). SK is a rhythmic breathing, where 3 different rhythms are followed in a cyclical fashion. This process is a discovery made by H. H. Sri Sri Ravishankar. It is a powerful process, which eliminates stresses out of our body making our body and mind healthier. Many diseases are eliminated. Research studies done at AIIMS have confirmed that SK and P allow us to be relaxed and yet alert at the same time. These breathing processes improve our immune system and antioxidant defence. Thus those who regularly practice SK and P live a healthier and happier life. These research findings were discovered during international conference held at AIIMS in 2002. This research was highly inspiring. We are holding a world conference on Sciences, Consciousness and spirituality on 24th and 25th Feb 2006. More than 40 scientists from all over the world shall make their research presentations. This is going to be highly inspiring and thought provoking conference. Presentations will be on research being carried out at genetic level where changes have occured at DNA and RNA level after regular practice of SK and P. Also scientists will discuss how Art of Living (AOL) workshops have helped people recover from various illnesses. Conference will take place Siri Fort auditorium at New Delhi on 24th and 25th Feb 2006. For furher details please contact Dr. Vinod Kochupillai at 0091-11-26589821 or 0091-9811202944.

Art of Living Silver Jubilee: Mind blowing Celebrations!

2006-02-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

The Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations are simply mind blowing. There are so many exciting things happening. I am currently tied up with the International Conference on Human Values and other events. As soon as I get time, I will get back to you sharing some glimpses of this momentous occasion that is going to change the mankind forever.
Lots of love.

Guruji's Message on Silver Jubilee

2006-02-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

The following are the Direct words from GURU DEV!

"It is not just a celebration. Its the day world will change and embark on a new era.
Thousands of Gods and Goddesses will be there to bless eveyone present there and all the wishes will come true. There will be healing of diseases and relationships. Don't worry about money and about hurdles of coming as these days will look after liftetimes ahead. Its just not a celebraion of three days. It is a celebraion which will remain in your consciousness for liftetimes, for whoever will be physically present there. Nothing in the world is worth missing out Art of Living Silver Jubilee function."

For Art of Living Silver Jubilee Schedule, click on http://www.silverjubilee.org/Programs.asp

For those who can not be physically present, there is a live telecast on Sasnkar etc channels.

Bubbly Kiki from Los Angels!

2006-02-15T23:31:00.000-08:00

Bubbly Kiki from Los Angels!

A bunch of people from Los Angels were practising Hiphop dance, while I was sitting in the amphitheatre. They will be playing it in the Art of Living Silver Jubilee on Sunday.

They did not have any music player to play their music. So they were just practising like "one, two, three, four, one two three four...". Well the music does not mean anything much! Hiphop musich is more about rhythm and beat. It is an African music with an American twist.
One of them came to me asking whether they could use my laptop to play their DVD saying that they have practising for last three days without music!!
I agreed immediately if it is for only little time.

Kiki, who is teaching them dance is so excited about Silver Jubilee:

i am kiki from los angeles, where i sing, dance, teach spanish and play
with my beloved dog,Cassidy.
i have come to the Silver Jubilee with every ounce of enthusiasm i have
in order to celebrate our beloved Guruji and all of our family around
the whole wide world. HoW inCREdiBLE is THIS!!!! we are ALL here! we
will sing and dance and send love around the WHOLE WORLD. HURRAY!! i
am SOOOO HapPY to be here. everything is perfect and BeaUTiful!
Jai GuruDev! love Kiki

Enthu Heidi!

2006-02-15T11:55:00.000-08:00

Enthu Heidi! While I was sitting near the travel desk and working on my laptop, I met this enthusiastic lady who worked in drug deadiction and rehabilitation. Here she is coordinating travel and hotel accommodation for the devotees who have come for Silver Jubilee from her country. Following is what she has to share: ________________________________________ I'm from Norway,I am a PhD in Sociology and met Art of Living 10 years ago, and I loved it from the first day! The knowledge and practice are so well designed, that I felt the benefits immediately.If I feel tired, I have these beautiful techniques to rejuvenate myself. Also I feel more positive and giving towards other people. I've taken the Teacher Training Program and I that has made me a stronger person, physically, mentally, emotionally and professionally. I love the way AOL shapes the people into better humans with the commitment to seva (service) to make the world a better place to live. I am so happy having an Art of Living family all around the world, wherever I travel I meet these wonderful people who care and share.

Silver Jubilee Event

2006-02-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

It is a really really BIG one! Never before in History we had such a BIG event. 25 lakh people from 146 countries are going to attend! Going to take place on a Airdrome! 1 km Long stage! 3800 music artists going to perform simultaneously! All this organised by Volunteers Alone! wanna know who's the BIG Shot organising it.......Its none other than the 'Art Of Living Organisation'.the world largest NGO ...managed ONLY by volunteers celebrating it's Silver Jubilee...its 25 years in this World which created a difference in millions of Hearts around the world. Spread in 146 countries in just 25 Years...no one has done this before. Bringing a smile on Millions of faces. TAKING UP PROJECT TO IMPLEMENT IT'S 5H PROGRAMME IN 1.25 LAKH VILLAGES IN INDIA...20% OF INDIAN RURAL POPULATION!! THEY HAVE THE POWER AND THEY HAVE MOVED THE WORLD WITH LOVE! ALL ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THIS MEGA EVENT TAKING PLACE ON 17,18,19 FEB 2006 AT JAKKUR AIRDROME,BANGALORE! I am proud to say that i have done its amazingly beautiful courses! wanna know more visit www.artofliving.org if u still wanna know more about artof living and thier special techinque 'sudarshan kriya' see my postings in the Art of Living category.

Art of Living Silver Jubilee!

2006-02-09T03:44:00.000-08:00

Dear One World Family,

This is a space for sharing the Art of Living experiences/info photos especially related to Silver Jubilee Celebrations.
Keep visiting this Iland to read/contribute to the blogs.
You can create your own iland and add yourself as my friend!
Your blogs on your iland will be reflected in My Iland.
Alternavely you can email me your experiences and I will post them on my Iland.

Those who don't know the Art of Living click on the Art of Living category on this iland.
Art of Living is celebrating its Silver Jubilee on Feb 17th-19th 2006. To know about Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations, click on the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Label.

For more visit
http://www.silverjubilee.org/Programs.asp

Sri Sri Ravishankar's invitation to the Art of Living Silver Jubilee

2006-02-07T02:41:00.000-08:00

The whole world belongs to you. But man identifies himself with his profession, religion, culture, nationality, language, region or sex and, maybe, as a human being. People today are stuck in religious practices, symbols & customs, and have forgotten the spiritual core - human values of compassion, friendliness, co-operation, peace of mind, joyâ€¦ and a smile that is not fragile!

In a society plagued with domestic and communal violence, we need to globalize wisdom. Though we have advanced technologically, we have cared very little for the emotional and spiritual needs of people. A sense of belongingness with the whole world - rising above the narrow considerations of colour, culture or background, is the need of the hour. We are not living in isolated compartments - the world has become one family.

As a major initiative towards globalizing wisdom and fostering human values, we are hosting a three-day International Conference on Human Values from the 17 th -19 th of February, 2006.

This conference is a wonderful occasion for all leaders of society who are concerned about terrorism and fundamentalism. We need to look back and learn from the mistakes of the past; we need to understand what is lacking in society and how we can nurture the human values without which this earth cannot be sustained.

Knowledge and spiritual awareness should go hand in hand with social and political systems. I think religious leaders, political leaders, business establishments and social workers should get together and spread the message of unity. All religions and traditions have a common value system. These shared values have to reach every corner of the world. Even if one pocket of the world remains ignorant of these values, the world will not be a safe place. I often say religion is the banana skin and spirituality is the banana. The misery in the world is because we throw away the banana and are holding on to the skin.

I hope this conference will reinforce the vision of a one world family