August 20, 2013
Bangalore, India
Today is the auspicious
day of Shravana Purnima (the full Moon day in the auspicious
month of Shravana as per the Hindu calendar). Usually it is
said that it is the brother who protects and looks after his sister. Today we
are celebrating a very special and unique tradition through the festival of
Rakshabandhan, in which it is the sister who (takes the vow and) protects her
brother! Women of our country are often called weak and powerless. So it is
worth wondering how a woman who is considered as weak and fragile can protect a
man and give him moral strength and support.
There is a growing
misconception since the ages that women are weak and powerless. It is not so at
all. Women possess a very unique power within themselves – the Sankalpa-Shakti
(the power of will and determination). So a woman too can protect and give support
to a man using her strong will power and inner strength. In India, we have
never regarded women as weak or inferior in any way at all. How can a woman be
weak? A woman has so much (inner) strength and power that she can stop the
mighty Sun also! You all must have heard the story of Satyavan and
his wife Savitri. She was so devoted to her husband that she fought
the very Lord of Death from taking her husband away and brought him back to
life. Similarly, you must have also heard the inspiring story of Devi
Anusuya.
So, women possess the
power of feelings and emotions, and have great inner strength within them. This
is the greatest strength that one can have. If one loses one’s inner strength
then outward physical strength is of no use. To be physically strong, one has
to be strong from within first (referring to strong will power and courage).
Inner strength here means both – the power of the intellect and also the
strength of inner will and emotions. A woman possesses the unique and beautiful
combination of both of these. So on the day of Rakshabandhan, it is the ladies
who take a vow to protect the men (by tying a sacred thread on the wrist of the
brother).
Gurudev, a lot of our international family members are asking, why
have they tied you up with threads?
Sri Sri: Yes, that is what I was saying. Most of these Rakhis (a
sacred thread or band tied by the sister on the right wrist of her brother as a
mark of love and assurance that he will protect her at all times) are made in
China. These days, all our festivals are so much connected to China. All Ganesh
idols are made in China. Lord Krishna has immigrated to China, He is coming
from there. So does the Rakhi.
Rakhi is a festival
where the women tie a sacred band to their brothers. You know, just like how
you have friendship day, and you tie a friendship band to your friend? In the
same way this is a protection band that ladies, especially the sisters tie to
the brothers and wishing protection and safety for him at all times.
So they do this with an intention to protect. The intention is very strong. You
know, the power of intention, the power of wish has a very unique place. And
that is what signifies this festival of Rakshabandhan. So it’s a festival for
brothers and sisters. And they exchange sweets and tie band and wish
protection. So there are many well-wishers here, which is why there are so many
knots and bands on my wrist also.
Gurudev, though customs and symbols are different among religions,
the core values are the same. Then why is there feverishness to convert people
to another religion? And also if they do convert, why should we be feverish
about it, if the core values are same?
Sri Sri: Yes; the core values are the same, but customs and traditions are
different. A change of demography and beliefs happens from place to place,
country to country. If the conversion is only religious, it is a different
issue. Unfortunately, it is political also. Religious conversions are happening
not just for the cause of religion, or saving somebody, but there is a sinister
design behind it of wanting some sort political dominance or power. This is not
good at all for survival of different civilizations or cultures on the planet.
All the wars are fought today in the name of religion or religious sects,
resulting in extremism. The extremists say – ‘Everyone should be like me!
Everyone should follow the same religion as I’. Their whole idea is to see that
nothing else exists other than their school of thought. This is dangerous for
the world. For the world is diverse. And it is our responsibility to protect
the diversity.
It
is like what the multinational companies do nowadays. Sometimes they come and
they burn all other seeds (meaning the existing local or indigenous craft and
trade unique to a country and culture). They only want their own seeds
(referring to products or traditions) to flourish and go on. For example the
Monsanto type of companies. So if this happens, then only one seed will exist.
They cannot tolerate the diversity. And this is because of their own ulterior
motives.
This
beautiful earth has so many diverse schools of thought, so many beautiful
philosophies, ways of life, various ways of worship and wonderful cultures.
These need to be protected. Whenever a person converts, he disregards one
religion and goes to another. He cannot convert to another religion without
denigrating or degrading his own religion. And this is what is not good. We
should not denigrate. If you are denigrating your own religion, then you have
not learnt about it in deep, it shows you have not known about it. That is why
we say we must resist this sort of proselytization (conversion). Such people or
parties convert people by giving them different sorts of allurement, such as
offering them seats in the good schools, or giving them food, money, job, or
motorbikes etc. and then trying to convert them. Do you know how much suffering
and problems it creates within a family? We really have no idea. So, suddenly
the children of the family don’t want to participate in the traditional
festivals the parents have been following and doing for a long time. They don’t
mix with their own relatives. They want everything to be different. These
issues come up and they create such disharmony within a family as well in the
societies and communities.
That’s
why I say that we should honour and respect all religions. But we must also
become more spiritual rather than fanatically religious.
Gurudev, can you please talk about Sanyasa (referring
to the act or intention of renouncing everything)? What does it mean to be a Sanyasi (a
renunciate)?
Sri Sri: Sanyasa means being
totally centered. It means to feel that ‘Everyone belongs to me, and I belong
to everybody. I want nothing for myself and I’m ready to give everything’.
Gurudev, I read somewhere that if a person commits the biggest of
the biggest crimes, but does not feel guilty about it or regret it, his karma
is not marked (meaning that the negative karma does not bind him). But if
someone makes a small mistake, and instantly regrets it, his karma gets marked.
Is that true?
Sri Sri: It is not just about regretting. There is something more to this.
It is being aware of the non-doer spirit within you. There are 2 things within
everyone. One is the doer, one is the non-doer. When your identity is
completely with the non-doing aspect within you, then it doesn’t stick. For
that you need to be hollow and empty.
Does the Guru choose the devotee or does the devotee choose the
Guru?
Sri Sri: It doesn’t matter! As long as they choose each other! (Laughter)
In Sanskrit, it is said that there are 2 ways for this: Whether the Divine
chooses you or you choose the Divine. They say it is like the monkey and the
kittens. The mother monkey just roams around and it is the young ones who are
watchful and follow the mother. But on the other hand the kittens don’t worry
about the mother, and they don’t even look at the mother. They simply play
around and it is the mother cat that takes care of the kitten, and holds the
kitten by its own jaw and takes them around.
Here
the cat is concerned about its kittens. There, it is the baby monkey which is
concerned about the mother. The mother monkey does not watch, the baby monkey
goes and clings on to the mother. So there are 2 things: One is the way of the
devotee. The devotee is like the kitten, allowing God to guide. And a
philosopher or a yogi is like the baby monkey which holds on to the mother,
which just latches on to the Divine. So one is a Karma Yogi (here
meaning to know that every action is anyway being guided by the Divine), the
other is a Bhakt-yogi (here meaning to be totally immersed in
the devotion to the Divine for everything). You can choose to be either one or
both also at times.
Gurudev, it is said that the one who knows (the Truth) never says
it and the one who speaks about it does not really know. Now that I know this,
if somebody asks me whether I’m enlightened or not, what should I say? Or not
say?
Sri Sri: It is easy to say ‘No’ rather than say ‘Yes’. So choose according
to your time availability. Because, if a person cannot feel it without your
saying yes or no, they are not going to feel it even after you say yes or no.
If someone says, ‘Are the lights switched on here?’ that means they have not
opened their eyes. So whether you say yes or no, it doesn’t make any difference
to them. Right? If they are blind then even if you say, ‘Yes, the lights are
on’, how does it matter to them? How does it make any impact on them? And if
you say ‘No’ even then it doesn’t make any sense. So, in all these
circumstances the golden principle is - Smile with Silence. Got it? If they can
feel it, then even if you say no, they are going to feel it.
Once
I was in Sweden and there was a meeting. There was a journalist in the audience
who asked me ‘Are you enlightened? Don’t beat around the bush. Tell me. I want
to ask you, are you enlightened?’ I just looked and smiled. I said to him, ‘I
know you are very clever’. Then he said, ‘But, are you enlightened?’ It is
better to say ‘No’. Then the whole conversation finishes. Why take the trouble
to prove anything by saying ‘yes’? It is even more headache. And everyone who
tried to prove this was in even more trouble. What is the point in saying
‘Yes’? So I said ‘No’. But then to this, the journalist said – ‘No, you are not
telling me the truth. I don’t believe you’. Then you believe in yourself and
believe what your heart is saying.
Gurudev, today, while changing the sacred threads (during the Upanayanam ceremony)
the pundits chanted the Rishi Vandana. Could you please explain the
significance of this mantra?
Sri Sri: Today we remember the Rishis - the ancient sages and seers who
have kept this knowledge alive and have brought this knowledge to you. They
have given the great mantras of the Vedas. So, today when people change sacred
thread they recite this Mantra. What does the sacred thread represent? It means
to take responsibility by thought, word and deed. To remind you that you are shouldering
the responsibility, they put a thread on. It is like saying, ‘I am shouldering
this responsibility’. And feeling grateful is a part of the process.
If ever a devotee has to ask something from the Divine or from the
Master, what is the best thing he can ask for?
Sri Sri: Come on! Now do I also need to tell you also what you should ask?
I don’t think there is any need of that. Your need is spontaneous. It just
comes from within. You can’t but ask. You cannot force yourself to ask for
something. Then, it will not be genuine.
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