Wednesday, January 9, 2013

A New Beginning


December 12, 2012

Bangalore, India

1815
When an individual does meditation, it is called Tapasya (focused effort leading towards bodily purification and spiritual enlightenment). But when everyone joins together from all over the world and does meditation it is called aYagna and it is even more special because we create a field of sattva and a field of harmony which is most needed in the world today.
So, this is very beautiful and very sacred for a new beginning.

 
 
Every moment is a new
beginning. You wake up
and say, 'This is a new
beginning!' That is it!
There is no 'How', that
is how it is.

 
 
What we should remember is that, we are ancient and yet we are new.
Look at the sun, it is old, isn't it?! Yet it is so fresh today! The rays are so fresh, the air is so fresh, the trees are fresh - old tree fresh leaves! So, you are also - FRESH! This is how you should live - I am ancient and new; ageless and timeless!
So feel very fresh and new, and you will see how the complaints and regrets simply evaporate. Acceptance dawns from within, dynamism dawns in life and harmony at every level starts happening.

In life you need three things, Compassion, Passion and Dispassion.
When you are miserable, be dispassionate. When you are happy, be passionate. You should have some passion in life. And passion to do service is the most wonderful thing that one should aspire for.
So, be passionate to serve when you are happy. Have dispassion when you are miserable, and be compassionate all the time!

Q: Gurudev, how can we make utterly materialistic people realize the importance and urgency of meditation in today's gloomy economic situation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Here, memory of the past will help you. 
See in the past, after World War II or before that, the world was in such a big crisis. There was very little food and people had limited resources because everything was destroyed, but then people did survive. 
We have seen worse periods on this planet. Before independence, in India, there have been so many crises. We have undergone so many types of crisis - There was drought, floods, famine and a big plague. But people have survived all those hard times as well. 
It is not any harder than what it was in the past centuries, so, don’t worry, we have survived those tough times. 
Now is when we need to encourage more human values. We need to be of help to each other, share with each other and live together. We need to have good communication with people around us. This human touch is what will give us strength to overcome the crisis. 
When you know there are a bunch of people who are behind you, who are supporting you, why would you be afraid of anything? 
If you have faith in the consciousness, in the Divinity, it is bound to take care of you, why would you be gloomy? 
So, you should make every crisis into an opportunity to turn towards the Divinity, turn towards humanity and turn towards the inner light.

Q: Dear Gurudev in every situation, how to remain ever new and eternal? For example when we meet people, our impression from our previous associations linger in the mind.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yeah of course, that is why I say you are both ancient and new. You are new that doesn't mean that you don't remember somebody's name. Every time you meet someone, you don't ask them, ‘What is your name again?’ 
Being ever new does not mean amnesia, where you forget everything, no! The depth of memory will certainly be there, but with the memory there will be a freshness. There is an essence of a renewed spirit. 
It is difficult to explain but that's what it is. So, don't think that a new beginning or living in the moment means amnesia, okay!

 
 
What we should 
remember is that, we are 
ancient and yet we are 
new. Look at the sun, it is 
old, isn't it?! Yet it is so 
fresh today! The rays are 
so fresh, the air is so fresh, 
the trees are fresh - old tree 
fresh leaves! So, you are 
also - FRESH!

 
 
Q: Dear Gurudev, does meditation improve IQ? If yes, how can meditation improve intelligence?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Meditation brings the most needed rest to the brain; to the mind. Rest and silence is the mother of all creativity and intelligence. That is how it improves intelligence.
Q: It is said that, we can live our entire lives as meditation. How is this possible? How can my life become a meditation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Every moment is a new beginning. 
You wake up and say, 'This is a new beginning!' That is it!
There is no 'How', that is how it is. Just let go!

Q: Gurudev, please tell us how Vedic knowledge can benefit the whole world.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is obvious that it is benefiting – Yoga, Meditation, Breathing Exercises, Ayurveda, all this is Vedic knowledge.
Veda itself means knowledge; ancient and new. There is some value in the ancient knowledge and there is some value in the new knowledge. They go together bringing the much needed change in society today.

Q: Why does religion separate and divide people when it is supposed to bring people closer to God.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: When ego enters there, that is when the conflict in religion begins. A religion is great because it is ‘My’ religion, not because of what it is. 
It is 'My religion’ so it is great. It is the 'Me'; the ego which is the cause of conflict, and not really the religion; But we take religion as a pretext; as ones identity to create so many conflicts in the world, isn't it? 
If religion is used only for the purpose of one's connection with God and not for political reasons then religion become spirituality.

Q: Gurudev, what can I rely on that can never be shaken?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: The Self. Why you want to rely on anything? Just relax! 
Relax and you will find that everything is falling in the right place. 
Anything that bothers you, just drop it here. Send it to me. I am with you, yes!

Q: I worry too much about failure, especially when I am doing something important. It decreases my efficiency. How to overcome this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: A new beginning. 
That was the past – drop it. Have faith that there are many more new things to come into your life. 
One thing that you should know is that you don't know yourself. When you look at what you did in the past or your weaknesses, the first step to gain confidence is to know that you don't know yourself. 
When you think that you know yourself, only then do you attach yourself with all these negative events and qualities. But when you wake up and see that, ‘Hey, I don’t know myself’, then it is a new beginning. 
Then you will discover that there are so many strengths within you that you were not aware of.

Q: How can I love with freedom, without any expectations and restrictions?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You want security in love and at the same time you are scared of commitment. So you have many emotions all rolled-up into one thing, and this is called confusion. 
When there is confusion in love, I would say meditate more and just relax. Things will fall into place.

Q: Gurudev what is between New and Ancient?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Myself.

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