What is wisdom?

What is wisdom?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: What really is wisdom? Why should we be wise? Nobody wants to be in suffering. Nobody wants to be upset. That something which takes us away from suffering, which gives us a vision, which makes life vibrant, and which connects the individual you to the universal you that exists in the universe, is wisdom.

Wisdom brings immense satisfaction that small gratification does not bring. And it is available to everybody. It has nothing to do with education, I tell you. You will find wise people even amongst the illiterates in the villages. Perhaps even more. They know how to manage their homes, they know how to keep harmony in their neighborhood, they know how to bring people together, and how to bring celebration in life. Wisdom is that which brings celebration in life, which brings a smile on your face. That which keeps you healthy, and gives you the intuitive ability to see what is ahead of you in life.

Which cloths to wear?

Q: Guruji, you have spoken much about food and the breath. Would you like to say something about clothes as well? Should we only wear traditional clothes?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Wear comfortable clothes, but I do not prefer wearing those torn clothes and jeans for which you pay so much money. It looks so shabby. I have heard that if there are holes in the jeans, you have to pay more money for that! This you should not do.

Cotton is the best fabric. If it is mixed with a little bit of polyester, it is also okay, But only polyester should be avoided. I would prefer that people avoid leather. Do you know just for leather, so many animals are slaughtered? All this should be done away with. It is said, ‘Ahimsa paramo-dharma’, (Non-violence in all action is the supreme duty or Dharma). Everyone should walk the path of non-violence and be a vegetarian. This is very necessary. Only then will you be able to meditate well.

You Are Unique

By Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Just because a group of people do not accept you as you are, there is no necessity for you to strip yourself of your originality.

You need to think good of yourself, for the world takes you, at your own estimate.

Never stoop down in order to gain recognition.
Never let go of your true self to win a relationship.

In the long run, you will regret that you traded your greatest glory, i.e., your uniqueness for momentary validation.

Even Mahatma Gandhi was not accepted by many people.
The group that does not accept you as YOU is not your world.

There is a world for each one of you, where you shall reign as king or queen, by just being yourself. Find that world; in fact, that world will find you.

What water can do, gasoline cannot and what copper can do, gold cannot. The fragility of the ant enables it to move, and the rigidity of the tree enables it to stay rooted.

Everything and everybody has been designed with a proportion of uniqueness, to serve a purpose that can be fulfilled only by being our unique self.

You, as you alone, can serve your purpose, and I, as I alone, can serve my purpose. You are here to be you; JUST YOU.

There was a time in this world when a Krishna was required, and He was sent. A time when a Christ was required, and He was sent. A time when a Mahatma was required, and he was sent. There came a time when you were required on this
planet, and hence, you were sent.

Let us be the best we can be. In the history of the universe, there has been nobody like you and in the infinity of time to come, there will be no one like you.

Existence should have loved you so much that it broke the mold after making you, so that another of your kind will never get repeated.

You are original.
You are rare.
You are unique.
You are a wonder.
You are a masterpiece; your Master's piece!

Celebrate your Uniqueness!

Relevance of tapasya

Q: Guruji, what is the relevance of tapasya (penance or austerities) in Kali Yuga and how should we understand it?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Tapa helps to purify all the organs of the body and rid them of impurities. The entire body gets cleansed and all the sense organs become stronger with tapa. Tapasya is not done to please God, or to attain self-realization, but it is done to make the body and mind stronger.

You must have seen that so many saints do very austere penances (tapasya), especially among the Jains. The Jain saints are able to walk bare foot for long distances. They do not feel very cold in the winters or too hot during the summers. They develop a resistance towards extreme climatic conditions because of their tapasya. So this is one of the benefits of doing tapasya. But you should not stretch or overdo this at all. Doing too much tapasya and troubling your own body is not advisable at all. It is wrong to do that.

There are some people who sit with four fires burning all around them, and one on top of their head and do meditation. It is called Panchagni tapasya. All this is not necessary. Torturing the body like this is wrong and should not be done. But a little bit of tapasya is necessary. It is said, ‘Tapovai dwandva sahanam’, which means forbearing the opposites, is tapasya.
Suppose you are travelling somewhere in a bus, and it is a 12 hour long journey for which you have to sit. Then that also is a sort of tapasya. Being in a state of equanimity, and enduring whatever come, whether it is hot or cold, good or bad, praise or criticism, is tapasya.

Can you listen to an insult with the same equanimity as when you listen to compliments? That is tapasya. When someone praises you, you listen to it with a smile. When someone criticizes you, can you listen to it with the same smile and equanimity, and watch what is happening inside you? That is tapasya. When you do not like something but are able to undergo that, then that is tapasya.

If you can like something, can you be a witness to it and not be feverish about it, then that is tapasya. Forbearing from the opposites is called tapasya, and it is essential in life.
The extent to which we follow tapasya in life, to that extent we become stronger and stable.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar & Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)

A dialogue between H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and activists of the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)

By Swami Sadyojathah & Shri Harish Ramachandran

One wonders what is the psyche of a fundamentalist? What is it that spurs them on their mission of hatred? How should one deal with such a person? We were lucky to witness an interaction between a handful of SIMI activists and His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar a couple of years ago. We felt that the same would be of relevance and could serve as an eye-opener in the current scenario. The backdrop for this article is one of Sri Sri’s tours of Kerala in the first week of December 2000. A series of Anandotsavams had been planned in various cities of Kerala to coincide with Sri Sri’s visit to those cities. Sri Sri's visit was expected to attract huge crowds running into several hundred thousands and the local organizers spared no effort in ensuring the smooth conduct of such public meetings. The planning for these functions began several months before the actual event and drew upon the efforts of hundreds of enthusiastic Art of Living volunteers. A week before the tour commenced, towards the end of November there was a surprise in store. The newspapers announced that SIMI – Student Islamic Movement of India had called for a general strike (hartal) all over Kerala on December 6th, being the Babri Masjid demolition day. Coincidentally, an Anandotsavam had been planned on December 6th at Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala. The police also warned that they had received bomb threats. However, when contacted. Sri Sri assured Xavier, the president of the organizing committee that "Satsang will happen". On December 6th, though the newspapers had announced that the function was cancelled and the police had withdrawn their permission due to the bomb scare, more than a lakh of people attended the satsang. The following day, Sri Sri gave an audience to the SIMI 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 expression 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 expressions 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 chilli powder) He smiled and said "In this creation, there is a place for everything."