Divine Valentine!

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!!

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!

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

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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.

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???

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!

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?

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