BY THE WAY by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

(1994 Washington DC)
(Everyone’s asked what they want to talk about). Need for change. Fear, enlightenment, success, disease and death, spirituality, health, truth, suffering, self-mastery, religion. So you want to discuss all these topics right. Well I say I don’t know anything about any of these topics then what shall we do now? (Crowd laughter). You know all these different topics that you requested, you already know something about them don’t you, and there are libraries full of them, anytime, any subject right? So what shall we do now? (Crowd laughter again).

Request – Why don’t you guide us in a meditation?

Ok now I’ll ask you a question. Do you know what is the first act of life that you did. Cry? No. First you inhaled isn’t it? First act we inhale, second is cry. And the last act is exhaling and making others cry (laughter). Between this first act and last act of life, the whole life somewhere or other we keep on crying and we do the same thing breath in and breath out isn’t it. Yet we have not attended to our breath fully. We’re not conscious that we are breathing. Though we experience several emotions, we do not notice that every emotion has a particular pattern of breath.

Have you observed this? When you’re angry, calm, serene, it all flows differently. And this has been referred from ages to control the mind, be stable. But we don’t get success until we look into the breath. We do some work with the breath. See now what is happening in the mind right now? As I’m saying a few sentences a mind goes saying yes yes or it says no no. Are you all aware of this phenomenon, it’s happening right now, as you’re listening, your mind is saying yes or no how could that be? Being aware of our own dialogue, this is awareness. It does not matter what you may agree or disagree with, but if we are aware of what our mind tells us. Then we have attained a very good, mature state of mind. What’s happening now? See information you can get in books, knowledge about our own mind, awareness, this needed to be pointed out to you. Do you see what I’m saying? Are you aware of your yes or your no? You see certain questions indicate the maturity of our mind, you know what those questions are? What is life? What is the purpose of life? Why am I here? What do I want? If these questions arise in our mind, that is a sign of the mind or the intellect getting matured. Then our intellect isn’t in the same routine, just doing the same thing again and again, not even introspective. Looking into the source of life. What is life? Who am I? Where am I? Consider 3 questions very vital and important.

One is the knowledge of where am I? We all know we are in Washington right? You know you’re all in this NIH building. Are you aware you’re on planet earth. Have you ever thought about it, I am on the planet earth and this planet earth is part of the solar system. I am in the solar system. The solar system is just a dot in the Milky Way, I am in the milky way.

This expansion of the awareness into the macrocosm. And being aware ‘where am I in the body’. Just sit with eyes closed… where am I in this body? Am I in the head, in the nose, the head, the heart? Then the sharpness of mind happens, awareness happens. You are able to perceive that you are nowhere and everywhere in the body. A shift in the quality of awareness happens immediately, instantaneously. And it is this awareness that can eliminate stresses and sorrow from life. This awareness is called wisdom. See every living being, everyone wants happiness, everyone wants to be in love, and wants love, wants to be loved and to give love. Not a single creature on this planet that does not like love or won’t love. Even a dog, a puppy in your home shows so much love. When you are away even half an hour and you come back home they jump all over the place and they show their love to you. And you know something? Love is the cause of all misery and sorry also. Love is the cause of anger, jealousy, fear, hatred, everything. The basis of all problems in the world is again love. Either you be indifferent or be in love and go through all the suffering. Is there any other 3rd hope for being in love and not facing misery? Yes, it is through awareness, when we raise our consciousness become more aware of the sensation that is happening in the body and we see these sensations change, an intense sensation that is pain, an intense sensation that is pleasure becomes both pleasurable. Love and pain are very closely related. I often take this as a symbol… Jesus on the cross. Means the cross is pain, Jesus is love. One is with the other.

The transformation of this pain into bliss, the love into bliss, is what happens with awareness, when you become aware of this phenomenon. Watch this. Same thing with doubts, you know sometimes you have lot of doubts in the mind, that time you do some breathing exercise, increase the energy in your body and you’ll see the doubts disappear. Mind clarity comes, confusion goes away from the mind. And have you noticed the doubt is always about something that is positive, you never doubt something that is negative in life. You never doubt someone else’s anger or your anger. You don’t say wait a minute am I really angry. You don’t wonder. You never doubt your depression. But when one is happy they doubt am I really happy? Is that what I want? If someone tells you I hate you, you never doubt but if someone tells you I love you, you ask really? (laughter) Are you sure? Or you try to see maybe they have some motive behind this. There is a doubt about love, but why don’t we doubt somebody’s negative mode? They’re not really negative, but out of some stresses out of some circumstances they’re acting like that. If we can doubt the negativity of people we can become close to the reality. Do you see what I’m saying?

We take it for granted that everybody is a hoax, everybody is a fraud and then we try to find somebody we can trust. Become so difficult in the world. See without this awareness in us the mind shrinks, when the mind shrinks joy gets reduced in life. The definition of joy in Sanskrit is the expansion of mind, I’m sure this is all our experiences whenever we are happy we feel that something in us is bloating is expanding. And expression of sadness is contraction of mind, that’s why whenever you feel sad or sorrowful you feel intensity. The mind contracts and meditation is a technique where mind expands, relaxes. And whenever we are relaxed we expand automatically. When we are joyful, in love, there is an expansion. And its worth knowing this expansion in life. That nothing can disturb or take the smile away from us. Otherwise see some small things can just throw us off the balance. A few words from somebody, someone’s lips moving in a particular direction, tongue rolling in a direction and the sound comes and hits our ears and the head starts boiling. Its not worth letting our mind our life undergo such suffering such misery. You see that?

So one is awareness of space that we considered, another is awareness of time. You know we plan our life, plan our business, plan our schedules but have we planned our life. Just take an estimation of how many hours we spend in what in life. It’s amazing, you’ll be stunned. Suppose we live for 80 years, you know 40 we spend in sleeping. About 8 years we spend in dining tables. And 8 years in bathrooms and toilets, 8 to 10 years. If we have constipation a little longer. (laughter). 10-15 years on the freeways. 15-20 years on the desk, in the working place. How much time we have spent in our lives in the whole span of 80 years with real joy, really being happy, relaxed. Hardly 2-3 years. And this is the time we have really lived our lives, rest is in preparation to leave. It’s like making the bed all night and having no time to sleep. Putting the sheets, putting the pillow cases, I want to be relaxed, want to sleep, be happy and by that time… it’s all finished. Isn’t it? In our thinking, in our signs, how to handle our life, how to handle our health, how to handle our circumstances situations its high time we learn to manage our mind too. It’s very basic. And this is spirituality. Spirituality is what? Not just sitting somewhere and thinking something, which is out of the world. It is recognizing this whole world is run by spirit. If my hand is moving up and down its because of the spirit.

All actions in the world happen by life, through life, for life. A plant grows because there is life inside and the life is the factor, is the catalyst which make a plant grow. The body grows because there is life in it. Everything that is growing, everything that is moving, everything that is, is life. We are in a ocean of life, all these bodies are just like shells in one body of water that is life. Recognizing this factor as ones experience is spirituality. Now one thing, just remember/imagine how many people are in this world. 5-6 billion people and 6 billion people have 6 billion minds and each mind has got a thought at this moment and next moment it’s a different thought. Even here we’re 4-5 hundred of us here. In each of our mind, our brain, some thoughts are coming and its vanishing. Next moment another thought, every second new thoughts come and they go. Just like the water in the ocean produce many waves. The life force produces many thoughts many ideas. Many waves are coming up in the consciousness, isn’t it? Can you open yourself up to this reality, this is anyway happening weather you notice it or not. If you notice it you’re happy if you don’t notice it you become miserable. Then you think, oh that person said this to me and he is having this opinion, she is having this opinion about me. Like that we go on, our mind goes on and on and on.

We see intension behind somebody else’s mistake. You see that. If we can understand the phenomenon of thought, somebody’s thinking negative or not in good terms with you, know that there is a lot of stresses and strain in them and that is making them come up with such funny idea or thought. And that’s finished then your mind remains undisturbed unperturbed about somebody else’s imperfection. Or we are bothered about some thought we got in ourselves. You know either we are angry at somebody else or ourselves. But with opening into this awareness, this will not happen, we laugh at all these phenomenon’s that happen. And then that smile, that joy in our life, nothing what so ever can take it away from us. And such a peace is worth attaining. Its not very difficult, simple thing, you attend to your breath. Just a little bit of attention on the breath, it removes all the toxins and all the stored emotions and every cell of the body gets released. Its very simple, 5-10 minutes some breathing techniques you do everyday. Have we covered all the topics? Anything left? (Laughter)

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People normally ask questions after the knowledge sessions and Guruji answers aptly.

Tell us about your wisdom?
– See… there is nothing like my wisdom your wisdom. Wisdom is wisdom that is truth. That’s why it is same. Somebody raised a question about religion. See in religion there are 3 aspects, one is values, another is practice, another is symbols. Now values are same in any religion. Practice and symbols are different and they ought to be different in different areas and times and that’s fine. They don’t have to be the same, but the fight among the religions is not because of the values, it’s because of the symbols. Values are the same and truth is the same, weather it is teachings of Buddha or Jesus or Krishna it is the same and each one has contributed in their own different way. Seemingly they may be contradictory but it is not, it is complete. Buddha had given something which is so valuable for humanity, about how a mind is nothing but a flow, thoughts are a flow, there is a current, life is like a current, its constant and changing at the same time. And Jesus’ teaching of love and service. What I say is that you own everything that is in this creation. Do not limit yourself, oh just this is mine and this is not. You know, all that is under the sun, all belongs to me. Upanishad might have come from India but it has such valuable knowledge that’s universal. Like the telephone was discovered on one place on earth but people all over the world use the telephone. So knowledge or wisdom is neither mine, nor anybodies, it belongs to all, its everybody’s wisdom. And when you are ready to see this then you will see the mentor everywhere. A tree, a bird and every human being will become your mentor, you’ll get something from them you’ll learn something from them. They are different, religion and spirituality. Spirituality is the essence, substance of religion. I often say religion is the banana skin and spirituality is the banana. (Laughter). People throw the banana and hold on to the skin that’s why the whole world is in problem. And spirituality makes you very simple, natural, childlike. Stupid people are innocent often. And when a person tends to become more and more intelligent he becomes more and more crooked. What is most valuable in the world is being intelligent and maintaining the innocence. The innocence of ignorant person has no value and the crookedness of an intelligent person has no value. But if we can develop these two things, it is possible, value of heart is developed and brain is also developed. I consider that as the perfect health.

Must I completely eliminate ego to love unconditionally?
– Who would eliminate the ego? If you eliminate the ego that is a bigger ego. Oh ‘I’ have eliminated my ego. (Laughter) Its like saying I’m the most humble person in the whole world. (More laughter) Take a look at ego what is ego? Ego is sense of non belongingness when you don’t feel a sense of belongingness a wall comes between you and somebody and you want to impress them show to somebody you are something which you may be or may not be. Then a stress or tension gets created in your nervous system… that is called ego. One of the definitions of ego, you can have many. But one of this main, what we consider as problematic ego is this feeling of separation, feeling of rejection, feeling of separate identity than the existence. A state of non-relaxation is ego. Feeling at home, being natural, easy, there is no ego. The antidote of ego is being at home, natural. So what, somebody thinks something about me let them have the freedom of thinking. You know we got the freedom of thought, by law everybody has freedom of speech and freedom of thinking, in our mind we keep questioning somebody else’s thought about us. Isn’t it? But when we see the reality, thoughts, ideas and opinions they come and go. And they change so often and so fast, what’s the big deal about it. Also we make a big fuss about how we feel. Its not a big deal about your feelings, you know feelings come and go. We feel good and little later we feel bad about the same thing. Hasn’t this happened to us all? And vice versa. They all change and change. Why base our life on such temporal things, so impermanent. There is no stability, all topsy-turvy. Of course its fun for someone else who watches them all. (Guruji laughs). So you be in unconditional love and ego automatically disappears, it’s the other way round.

What is friendship?
– There are two things, friendship and friendliness. A friendship has a motive, has some purpose. But if friendliness is in your nature, it doesn’t matter whoever it is, you are friendly. Friendship is manipulated, cultivated. Friendliness is being in your nature. Do you see what I’m saying? And really ask yourself what is it you want from your friend. Other than friendship? In fact really nothing just friendship. Isn’t it? If you’re friendly with somebody because of something else or some help they might do you sometime in the future or some expectation, then its not really friendship. What do you say? (Guruji laughs)

As I feel the true hollow and emptiness of everything (advance course meditation), I also feel a loss of joy. Does the spontaneous joyfulness return?
– Of course. When you feel sadness may come, its just a passing, it’ll go away. Put your attention on your breath and body. See every emotion has a corresponding sensation in the body. And this sensation in turn creates the same emotion. Do you understand what I’m saying? An event created an emotion inside you, and the emotion again created a similar atmosphere around you, so this cycle goes on. The only way to break this cycle is observe this sensation as sensation, de-link it with the emotions. It’s simple, very simple. Meditate a little while and you’ll understand it on an experiential level.

If life is infinite and I’m living eternally why is it I’m here and not a God and why did I forget my past lives?
– Don’t worry about eternity. Just experience the time. Don’t ever worry about God, leave god alone. He’s already bothered by centuries by so many people. God is the most tormented creature in the world. I really pity god. (Laughter) You understand yourself, understand the time, experience the moment. We sleep all our life but we have never met our sleep. Though we live right now here we have not experience the time. Those moments we experience the time, joyfully. When we’re happy we don’t feel the time, and when we’re unhappy time seems to be too long. Isn’t it? But if you can experience the time, the moment, this moment, it is so deep, its infinitely deep and you’ll understand God, you’ll see what is that which has been called God. It’s our very nature, the depth of our nature. That is something from which you can never be separated that is God. Right now better be here and now.

What is truth and how is it related to love?
– What is love? Forget about it! (Guruji laughs) If a blind man asked what is light how will you explain. It is rays coming, white rays. He asks what is white rays? It is energy coming. Any amount of explanation of what light is will not convey what light is. The same way if we have not known love all these years, forget about it. Love is something that has been in experience of everybody, not a single being in the world does not know what love is. You already know, sit and think about it, looking into it, be aware of it and more will be revealed to you. Its no good reading books about love. All these wrong concepts.

What do you think about taking vitamins to heal the body?
– Life is responsible for grown and it is responsible for healing also. Vitamins are not the only factor for healing. Your mind you recognize this fact. It’s the life force that plays a role in healing the body. Breathing, exercise, rest will help. Most of our healing happens in sleep. The more deep rest we take healing happens. Rest is a very vital factor and meditation is the best rest you can ever have. The effect of breathing on smoking and chronic illness, many people have found great improvement. There are so many cases around the world that people are able to heal many illnesses which were supposed to be very terminal and many people could not get cured by medicines have all benefited. We were not very serious about documenting but now some have come forward to document and do some research on it.

Explain kundalini yoga?
– Its simple you can do some practice. One energy moves in the body and create different emotions in different centres. They’re all related to different nerve centres. When you feel jealous where do you feel it? Something in the stomach. When you feel love you feel in the heart. When you feel grateful or sadness your throat chokes. When you feel angry your forehead throbs. So your emotions is also linked with the rise and fall of energy. When you do the Kriya, once you do, you’ll see how every cell of your body becomes so alive and fresh and lively. It’s an experience to be done, any amount of explanation only confuses more.

How can we know what is right to do when we feel confused or upset?
– When you’re confused whatever you do you feel it is wrong, whatever choice you make you feel the other would have been better. There is a proverb in Chinese when you feel confused you take a pillow and go to bed. What can you do? Any decision doesn’t feel right and there is always regret. It becomes a poison in the system, it reduces the strength of your immune system. Every moment your mind is vacillating to the past or future. You’re angry about the past and you’re anxious about the future. There is a story of Mullah Nasrudin he gave his son a beautiful jar and asked him to bring water and asked him don’t break it. As he was about to leave Mullah gave him a slap. An observer asked why did you slap him. Mullah said what is the use of giving punishment after he has done it. I slapped him so that he doesn’t break it. (Laughter) No use of getting angry about the past. Living the whole life in anxiety or anger is not a wise thing to do. Yoga is a technique to bring the mind to the present moment, releasing toxins from every cell of the body, releasing anger and regret. Should have done this, should have taken another road to get home early. Little by little, drop by drop, our regrets fill up and one day you blow up. If you do these practices everyday you take that stress of that day.

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