Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji's words on how consciousness is stronger:
Well, in the pressure cooker, when youare cooking, when there is more pressure – how is it built up? Water vapor! Andis that more powerful than water or not? So, subtler you go, the more powerfulthe things are. Now, this thing (Guruji shows the small silver cymbals in thehands) has silver molecules. When you break the silver molecules down, you getinto atomic particles, and, when you break them you get sub-atomic molecules,which is minuter than the minutest. Are they not powerful? Which is powerful –this cymbal is powerful or the atom is powerful? Atom is powerful.
The subtler we go, it becomes more and more powerful.Though, everything is made up of consciousness. This entire universe is made upof consciousness, when you become subtler and subtler, they become morepowerful.
Today I was watching a research done with water in Japan bya gentleman. He kept a little water in a bottle and took a photograph. Later hehas used the same water for prayer and then after prayer he has took aphotograph. You can see the impact of prayer - the subtle thought vibration hasgone into the water. It’s obviously visible.
He took a bottle of water and kept blaming it and then tooka microscopic picture of it. With another bottle, he said some pleasing wordsand you can see the difference.
In India, this process is called Abhimantra. You takea pot of water, place your hand on top and then chant mantras. The mantras aresupposed to be absorbed into the water. It is an old tradition in India. Whenyou go to any holy man or saint, you take a pot of water and ask them to blessthe water. Among the sindhi community, they do this a lot.
This Abhimantra - mantra chanting on the water - hasa huge impact on the water, because 70% of our body is water. In the Rudrabhisheka,water is made to fall on a crystal lingam while a particular chanting is beingdone and then it flows down. That water is very charged and it helps to upliftthe atmosphere.
Now it is visible in the microscopic images, the changesthat happen by these practices.
Similarly a gentleman from Russia came and conducted anexperiment in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu when they were doing the Aarti.He took the pictures and found that all the negative ions in the atmospheresuddenly disappeared; they turned into positive ions. It is the positive ionswhich bring changes. All these things are meant to create the positive ions; tobring the required changes. The same is the case with the use of fire. Duringfire ceremonies, when they put the mantra with the intention, there is aqualitative change that happens in the atmosphere.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji speaks on why religion has been the reason for so many wars:
Even I wonder about it. There are 10 major religions in the world: four from the Middle East and six from the Far East. The six religions from the Far East never had any conflicts. There was no war between these six religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Shintoism and Taoism – they all coexisted.
When President Nixon went to Japan, he had a Shinto priest on one side and a Buddhist priest on the other side. He asked the Shinto priest: What is the percentage of Shintos in Japan? The priest said: 80 percent. Then he turned to the Buddhist priest and asked him: What is the percentage of Buddhists in Japan? He said: 80 percent. Nixon was perplexed as to how this was possible. Shintos go to Buddhist temples and Buddhists go to Shinto temples. Similarly, Hindus go to Sikh gurudwaras and Sikhs go to Hindu temples. The same may be said of Hindus and Buddhists in India. Similarly in China, there is no war between Taoists and Buddhists.
The four religions in the Middle East were always at war. I think they should learn how to co-exist from the other six. Judaism and Christianity are friendly. Judaism and Islam have an issue.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji's words on expectations or desires :
Life runs on desires. I'm not telling you that you shouldn`t have any desire. It is desire that has brought you here; you wanted to come to satsang and that is what has brought you here. It is desire which makes you eat food, it`s desire which makes you travel; it is desires that makes you do everything.
Since there are so many desires that arise, some get fulfilled, and some don`t. If you remain happy whether the desire is fulfilled or not, then it does not become a thorn.
For example, suppose you want to watch a movie and you go to the cinema hall, but there are no tickets available,will you get upset? If you get upset then that desire has gone into your heart. If it has not gone into your heart, you will say, 'Oh, I didnt`get the ticket, never mind. I’ll watch another movie, or go for shopping, or do some sightseeing'.
There are two types of desires:
1. The desire of the universe, by which everything runs. It is an instinct
2. The desire that you take into your heart and nurture
I am not classifying desires as good or bad. However, there are some superficial desires which come and go that do not achieve anything great.
When a desire gets into your heart, that can make some big thing happen. Mahatma Gandhi had the desire to free the country. That desire got into his heart and when that did not get fulfilled, he got upset.
Then, what did he do? He went into silence, prayer and fasting. He nurtured that desire in a very different way. He did not get cynical, sad, or frustrated because he had realized that it was a desire in his heart and so you would never find frustration in the face of that old man. The same with Nelson Mandela. So that desire did not turn into a thorn.
Environment protection and mitigating the effects of global warming is on top of Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar’s agenda who believes that the only way to check climate change is to spread awareness about pollution.
“The only way to check environmental pollution is to spread awareness. Many people in this world live without the knowledge of climate and their surrounding environs. They are immune to changes in the cycle of seasons and its variations. They have to be told before taking any remedial measures to save the ecology, measures to prevent environmental degradation range from planting more trees to saving water and using chemical free fertilizers on the fields. However, before putting any safeguard mechanism in place, people need to know about climate and the way it is changing.”
Asked if it is possible to bring awareness about environment and the looming crisis by using ancient Indian texts and scriptures?
Sri Sri said: Why not? Take the message to people through satsangs and religious discourses. It is easy for Indians to understand a concept or message conveyed through religion because they are spiritual beings by nature. They respond to the call of religion and greater good.
In the West, we have to go to the people through the media and talks. It is not just about the Indian philosophy, you have to give them the experiential feel to drive the message home”
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is at the forefront of several social campaigns, including environmental protection, disaster and trauma relief and poverty alleviation. He is also engaged in peace negotiations in conflict zones around the world.
Pollution, explains Sri Sri, is not just physical. There is pollution of stress. People just sit in a place and think negative. It can bring anger, frustration and even frenzy and all those who are vulnerable can catch the anger in their minds. The mind just goes crazy. It sends out negative vibes that harm the ambience, including the environment.
One of the best ways to prevent polluting oneself and the surrounding environment is to remain joyful and stress free. It brings less greed, less conflicts and ensures more cooperation between people and environment, there is no absolute good or evil. It is tendentious. One can have proclivity to evil but cannot be completely evil. All human beings are intrinsically good. They resort to evil deeds because of extraneous pressure and circumstances. Evil is a distortion of nature and ultimately good will triumph. If every man is left the way he or she was born, there would have been no evil on this earth
Sri Sri added: “Modern society puts a lot of demand on our time and resources while spirituality gives enthusiasm and a sense of confidence to face the pressures modern society poses. The two together makes life pleasant, better and comfortable.”
Asked what message he would like to convey to the youth of today, Sri Sri said: “Lead a happy, stress-free and violence-free life.” And of course, listen to good music.
A great believer in the healing power of music, the guru said: “It is integral to my life and a part of everything in my Art of Living ashram.”
“My cows milk more if there is music and the chikoos (sapodillas) in my garden grow bigger because of the music played in my ashram. The healing power of music is a mystery, but I guess it sets the harmony and rhythm in nature,” the seer with childlike eyes laughed pointing to a basket of fruits plucked fresh from the orchard of his ashram in the outskirts of Bangalore.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji said- To the men I would say, do not attack the emotions of women. Women are emotionally inclined, respect their emotions. Don’t sit like in olden times and dictate or lord over them; respect women.
To the women I would say, don’t attack a man’s ego. It’s possible that he may be stupid, but with your own mouth you should not call him stupid! If you call him useless he will actually become useless. Keep pumping his ego. Tell him, 'There is no one as intelligent like you in this world'.
He may not have used his brains as much as others have, but even though he may not have used his brain, doesn’t mean he does not have intelligence.
Many times in school, parents visit the principal and say that their child is very brilliant but is unable to write in the exam, something happens in the exam. The mother always feels her child is the most brilliant. You should feel the same, that your husband is the greatest. Never attack his ego. He should never have to prove his manhood, or talent, or competency to you. Don’t ever create such a situation. Don’t make him feel guilty, don’t blame him for everything.
If you blame a person all the time, that person will try to run away from you. Instead, with a sense of belongingness give him comfort. He works tirelessly for your sake, but when he comes home and you point a finger and start blaming and complaining about what he has or has not done then where will he go? Give him some comfort and relief.
These are two tips, and for both of them the common tip would be – don’t doubt each other’s love. Don’t compel the other to prove their love to you. Don’t ask, 'Do you really love me?' Is he supposed to bring a flower for you every day? If he brings flowers, then too it is a problem because then you will say, 'What’s the matter, there is something definitely wrong today'.
Sometimes women call their husband's office and find out what time he left work. Don’t do this, don’t be suspicious about him. If someone doubts your sincerity and love, and you have to prove your love again and again to them, isn’t that a big burden for you? It is so difficult to express love! In this world, nobody has been able to do it fully. But we ask the other if they truly love us, and then to prove it to us. Don’t ask for proof, take it for granted that the other person loves you.
If you feel that your partner or spouse does not love you as much as before or their attention has reduced, you should ask them, ‘Why do you love me so much?’ Demand destroys love. Even if the love has dried up inside them, it will be rekindled. They will see your magnanimity, your understanding and will start loving you more. Demand destroys love.
Quantum physics has discovered that matter does not exist. What exists is just wave function.
The table, floor, ceiling, all appear to be there, but they are all just wave functions. If you take one piece of matter and go deep into it, you will see that it is only space. Everything is just space. So what you see does not exist.
You know, one great quantum physicist, when he met me, he said a wonderful thing. He said, 'You know Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji, for forty years I studied matter only to realize that it simply doesn’t exist. Now if I talk on quantum physics, people think I am talking on Buddhism'.
I told him that in Yoga they talk about the five elements. He jumped out of his seat. He was shocked. He said, 'Greeks only knew four elements, Fire, Water, Air and Earth'. I said, 'Yoga talks about the fifth element which is Space'.
If you read Yoga Vashishtha, you feel you are reading quantum physics. Yoga is all about realizing the oneness of consciousness and that’s exactly what physics talks about.
So, one is a materialistic approach and the other is an approach from the level of consciousness, and they meet at the same point.
Spirituality is only an extension of science, it is not anti-science.
