IN ADORATION OF TIME by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

When there is problem in life, what helps us to carry us through the problem?
First is knowing everything is going to change. Our body is changing, this is temporary. Mind changes, emotion changes, thought changes. Everything in the world is changing. People change, their emotions change, your feeling good or bad changes. So everything is changing. Knowing this what happens? You gain the strength to move through. You don’t worry, you just walk ahead. Hmmm? You kick the problem by your left food. (laughs) And keep your smile you know. Nothing! Its going to change, ok move on. Correct? Everything is changing. If there’s a problem we’re not going to be stuck with the problem for all our life.

You know some people they come to your with a problem, you council them, council them. Till they’re not convinced, they go with the same thing right? You might have had this experience in your home, or with your friends. You tell them, give them sense, but they’re not really listening. They go wah wah wah wah. Same thing, what? They’re not living the knowledge, they’re not in the knowledge. Correct? So make them aware. See everything changes. Ya?

Then next. If they are not listening. They’re not… you need certain intelligence to see. No one else can make you see that you have see it yourself. Everything is changing. So many people shouting at the air, their voice telling everything is changing cannot make you feel that but if you’re intellect is sharp, it will understand ‘oh everything is changing’. So everything is changing has to come from within you. Your and own understanding. Are you getting what I’m saying?

Suppose you don’t get it, the second option is saying ‘nothing is going to change’. This somebody else can tell you. (laughs) When someone tells you its not going to change, its going to be that way. A husband complains to wife that you are very slow, you are not doing what I want you to do (and/or vice versa). And if the wife says its not going to change I’m going to be like this for all the time. (Guruji laughs) Husband has no chance but to accept. See if you say your mother-in-law is all the time nagging, she’s already old she’s not going to change! (laughs) You better accept her.

Rather than complain all your life about your mother-in-law. Or your mother, if your mother is all the time complaining to you. Don’t expect a miracle to happen. (laughter) She’s already 65 or 85 and you go home one day, you expect her to change? If it changes well and good but ??? chances, you have to accept it the way? It is. If you see the way the children are crying and they are peeing all over the place and doing all that thing. (laughter) Children are not going to… that’s all they will be. Any kid in the world, they will pee on you. (Guruji laughs, mad laughter) Its not going to change! That’s why they are babies. If you expect a baby to behave like an adult, its not going to happen, mind you. Its not going to change.

So when someone else tells you its not going to change. That’s how its going to be. Then your mind going wah wah wah wah will shut up! (crazy laughter) Will say well, that’s how it is. You know when people have nothing to complain they start complaining about the weather. (laughter) Oh its so cold, oh its so hot, its so this much, oh so much snow. Its not going to change. Its going to snow, its going to snow here in the winter. That’s it, period. Why you are complaining? Its useless to complain. It so hot in Spain in the summer. Its going to be that way. For millenniums to come. Its going to be hot. Its going to be cold here, that’s it, period. So nothing is going to change. Either see everything is changing and accept and some other things see its not going to change and accept.

If neither of this works, the third is… come on! Roar like a lion! Wake up and say ‘HHHMMMMMMRRRRR’. I’m today, come what may I’m going to roar like a lion. So the third option you roar like a lion, that’s finished. This we did… and still if anything is left. That comes with prayer. My divine, my dear, you take this. This is my problem, I cant solve it, you solve, you better do it for me. Give it to anybody whom you love or anyone whom you trust or anything. Weather God or whatever Buddha, Allah, Jesus. You give it away. Then also you become relaxed.

So the ancient rishis said the four ways. Viveka – by discrimination by knowledge. Smriti – by remembering, knowing everything is changing. Shradha – by faith. Hmmm? Veerya – Valour or invoking the valour in you. Or through Samadhi, through meditation. Surrender, surrender and Samadhi. So these things, these options are open, 5 options. Including Samadhi… 5 options. Samadhi means meditation. And deep meditation. Where is the problem? (laughs)

When you just wake up and see what time is doing. Time is like the huge tidal wave and just coming and finishing off everything. Time does not leave anything untouched, anything left over. Time swallows everything. You went to school, you went to college, you did this, you did that, you fell in love, fell out of love, you broke somebody’s heart, you got your heart broken… everything happened. Then what happened? What happened with them all? The time came and just swept them all out. You don’t even find any trace, all the trace you find is only in your mind. Some memories, and its foolish to hang on to memories.

Memories of pleasant things create craving in you. When you have had some pleasure/enjoyment, those memories cling in your body and they create such a craving in you and that craving stops you from enjoying life, the moment. This is what is called sangadosha. The, how do you translate that into English, let me see. Its called sangadosha, means a dosha or a defect that has caught on you by your association. You are associating yourself with some thing for some time and after that, that sangadosha comes up on you and then that makes you miserable. And how to get over this, only way is becoming hollow and? Empty. And that’s what we will be doing tomorrow… hollow and empty (meditation). So realizing this, you see, the time sweeps under its, under it the whole/every event. Every event pleasant or unpleasant is swept away by the time. And you catch up with the time. Go with the time, that is joy. When you go against the time that is when you become miserable.

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This is very simple, that’s why when you are happy you don’t feel the time you feel time pass away like that. When you are miserable you feel the time is endless, it is not passing at all. The mind/time are so interconnected. So it is in the time that the world dissolves, in the time new world appears. New world appears if you’re hanging on to the old, the past all the time, the new never comes up. You never see the new. Never enjoy the new. So that time you know, there is an old proverb, old couplet in Sanskrit says… I adore the time, kalay tasmai namah (spelling). Ancient people said, this time is incredible, I adore the time. Have you ever heard someone really praising the time? Worshipping the time? And say I adore the time, coz it just sweeps away all the past.

The pleasant memories make you miserable by creating craving in you. Unpleasant memories make you miserable by creating fear and paranoia in you. Your paranoia is because of the unpleasant memories. And the pleasant memories make you sad and miserable in the present moment. Unpleasant memories doesn’t make you sad. (Guruji laughs) It is the pleasant memories that make you sad. So you have to get out of the clutches of memory. Its good to have memory, memory is needed. But not get caught up in the memory. That is no a healthy sign of the mind. That’s not the sign of a healthy mind. And that is why the pranayama and the meditation makes such a difference. Pranayama, meditation brings so much energy in you, just pushes you up from the debris of the time, of the memory. Debris of the mind is buried in the debris of the memory. That’s the age, that’s when it starts aging, that’s when it become old. You look so old you know why? Coz you are loaded with memories. Your mind is buried under memories. When you resurrect from these debris with a smile, with a childlike innocence. That’s when life has spring back to action. Springing back into action. And that is what is enlightenment.

Enlightenment is where, the flame or fire of your life can never be put off or put down by anybody, any situation, anything outside. Move on with that and that’s the highest goal. If at all there is one goal in human life, that is this goal. To attain a state of consciousness wherein you resurrect from your debris. The debris of memories. Hmmm? Refuse to be buried under the memories or pleasant or unpleasant. Because that pinches your stomach, pinches your heart, pinches your head, and then you cry to the world oh I feel bad, I feel… Who cares? (laughter) The world does not care how you feel, the world only ask you, what have you done to me? The world is not bothered about your feeling at all. The world demands from you, what have you done? This earth says I feed you, I made you stay here, I give you shelter, I give. What have you done/given back to me? Garbage only? (Guruji laughs) Or something different. The earth, the air, the world in general ask from you, asks what you are doing not how you are feeling. So don’t be football of your own feelings. Ya? Bundle them up all and throw it in the Atlantic ocean (laughs). Bundle all your feelings, throw them.

People say follow your feelings, I would not recommend you… say don’t follow your feelings. Follow your wisdom. What is such a big deal about your feelings? One day you feel good, next day you feel bad about the same thing. You don’t need to different excuse to feel good and bad. With any one particular thing you’ll feel good and then next day you’ll feel bad about it. And next day you feel good again, then again bad. Never follow your feelings. Feelings are unstable. Hmmm? Feelings are like moving clouds, wisdom is a solid rock. That is staying for millennium. Stand on the rock not on the clouds. Got it? Enjoy the clouds when they come, but they pass away. When your foot is firm on wisdom. As humans you all have the feelings, they come and go. But not get really drowned in it. Don’t be drowned in these feelings. Wake up and move ahead in life, see what you want to do. Your commitment, you know when you are busy, when you have strong commitments in your life you don’t care about your feelings. When there is direction, you keep moving.

That is what is called the ‘seva warriors’. The team of warriors who do service in the society. They just don’t mind, keep working. See 80 thousand people died in the tsunami, today’s news in the television is 80 thousand people. More than 80 thousand people. If people are sitting and standing in front of everybody and crying oh my dear you left me you left me, they would never be able to do any work. So how people deal with them, those workers, social workers were doing there. They just go, what is needed they agree to do all that work. They gain that inner strength. Always remember, anyone who has any problem, along with the problem comes the strength to solve the problem. That’s why if the problem is a dog which comes behind you, the solution is its tail. The dog’s tail is its solution. So if you don’t see the solution you have to wait for a while the dog is going to wag its tail. (Guruji laughs, crowd laughs) A solution is going to appear for every problem. Wait till the dog wags its tail. So that courage, courage to move through the feelings, you know, courage to wake up and keep ones enthusiasm. Taking everything in life as a challenge not a problem, is what is wisdom. Hmmm? And when you are stable and strong, you will be great use to people and the society.

If you yourself is like a beaten up dog and always crying and wailing and veining and worrying about how you feel today, how you feel tomorrow… you’re not a strong pillar, you are not a strong source of strength and solace to people around you, isn’t it so? What d’you say? Huh? (Crowd goes YES). Don’t feel shy to raise your hand raise your hand. (laughter) Let me see. You be a source of strength, I want every one of you be a lighthouse in this world where there is so much darkness. (Applause) And we’re creating light bulbs. I want every one of you to be a fountain of joy. Fountain of joy you know. That is something that is so beautiful. And courage and valour… people with courage and valour. Hmmm?

There are many many very interesting stories. I think someone should document. I remember there was an earthquake in India 2002 perhaps 2001, in Gujarat. And a lady had lost everything. Old lady, lady of about 70’s. So when our volunteers were working, she comes and opens up her little pocket and gives a 10 rupee note. 10 rupees equivalent to what… 20 cents. Little pocket, she opens up and gives, please keep this as my contribution. Our workers said, no we have come here to give, that lady said, I lost everything please don’t take away my dharma also. She says its my heart, my charity is the only thing I hold onto please don’t take away even this, I want to do at least this charity, everything else is gone. You know our volunteer was so shocked so surprised. They said we have come to give, she said no I want to contribute. This is my dharma I have to give. Giving is my nature, I shouldn’t, please don’t take away even this from me. You take it. I will take, when I need I will take also. But when I’m giving please take from me.