The way out of sorrow
January 16 , 1996Ljubljana, Slovenia

SRI SRI :: If your are unhappy you better check if one or all of these are lacking: Tapa (penance), Vairagya (dispassion), Sharanagati (surrender).

• Tapas is agreeing with the moment, total acceptance of pleasant or unpleasant situations.
• Vairagya means I want nothing and I am nothing.
• Sharanagati is "I am here for You, for Your joy.

If you are grumbling then these are lacking, because

• when you accept the situation you cannot grumble.

when you take it as Tapa you will not grumble.
• when you come from a state dispassion ("I don't want anything") you don't grumble.
• if you are surrendered you will have no complaints.

. All these three (Tapas, Vairagya and Sharanagati) purify your mind and uplift you in joy.

If you don't do it willingly you will do it in desperation. First you say, "Nothing can be done." Then in anger and desperation you say, "I give up, I want nothing, I have no choice, to hell with it!"

How do you get rid of stress? How do you be tension free?
December 19, 1996Bangalore Ashram, India

SRI SRI :: Look at tension. Isn't it about what happened yesterday or the day before? Ten years ago? You're holding onto the past, which has gone! All your anger is about the past, isn't it? Can you get the past back? At any moment, see what your mind is doing. It is going into the past... It is angry about the past or anxious about the future, isn't it? Do you remember the 10 years ago? Just look back and see. Weren't you anxious? Five years ago, weren't you anxious? ... What will happen? .. But you have moved through life haven't you? By looking at your own life, you can see it was useless to be anxious about the future: "What will happen?" - its a waste of time, a waste of energy. When this oscillation of the mind stops, THAT is when you get in touch with the source of energy, which is YOU. Love is not an Emotion...Its your very Nature... ..SriSri.

Fear of Mistakes
January 11 , 1996Weggis, Switzerland

 

SRI SRI: There are many people who have no fear of making mistakes. Many students who have no fear, drop out of school and are involved in violence. Recent statistics reveal that as many as 30% of the children in North America are resorting to some sort of violence. This is a very big number. They resort to violence because they are not afraid of making mistakes. There must also be another 30% who are afraid to make mistakes, who are not interested in taking the risk and who shy away.

Ideally we need to keep a balance. We are afraid of making mistakes because of the consequences, because we think we will be punished or the consequences will be very bad. Often those who have been punished several times are no longer afraid about the consequences.

You cannot totally eliminate fear, nor should we. Fear is like salt in the food, it keeps one on his toes. Fear keeps one's feet on the ground, but fear is essential to some degree only. Like salt in the food, if there is too much salt, the food is not consumable, but you cannot eat the food without any salt. A little bit of fear is essential in the process of growth.

Nature has built you like that. You drive on the right side of the road (in US) because of the fear you would get in to an accident. You walk on the sidewalk, you drive only when there is a green light. These actions happen out of fear. If you are totally without fear, you could do anything and violate all the laws. Laws are always followed with a pinch of fear, and it is not a bad thing, but if there is too much fear, then it cannot be helpful. You have to keep a degree of fear like a little bit of salt in the food.

Vivek
October 31, 1996Hong Kong

SRI SRI: If you say that you have no one in this world, then you are disowning me. And if you disown me, then I cannot do anything for you. Vivek means discrimination - the knowledge that everything is changing. Time and again you have to reawaken to this - that the world, people, your body, your emotions, are all constantly changing. When you experience sorrow, understand that vivek has been overshadowed.

Question: What am I here for?

Sri Sri: Find out what you are not here for

• 1. You are not here to blame.
• 2. You are not here to cry.
• 3. You are not here to sleep.
• 4. You are not here to show off.
• 5. You are not here to fight.
• 6. You are not here to be miserable.
• 7. You are not here to be angry.
• 8. You are not here to worry.

When you follow fun, misery follows you... When you follow knowledge, fun follows you.

Celebrating the Silence
January 16 , 1996Ljubljana, Slovenia

SRI SRI:: One who has given you everything has also given you freedom. Honor the freedom and make good use of all things given to you.Your sankalpas (Intentions) and desires separate you from God. Offer them all to the Divine. Then you are divine... you are God...you are free, lacking nothing.Your mind does not belong to you. Don't blame it. Let the Big Self embrace it.

How to deal with rude behaviour?
December 5 , 1996Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), India

SRI SRI: What do you do when someone behaves very rudely towards you?

• Get upset
• React rudely back
• Get frustrated
• Run away and avoid the person or situation
• Blame the person
• Preach to the person

None of these will in any way strengthen you.

• It indicates the intensity of their commitment
• It indicates their stress and insensitivity
• It projects the upbringing of the person
• It shows a behavioural pattern
• It shows lack of observation of the mind and its sensations
• It shows you behaviour to avoid
• It is an opportunity for you to welcome and absorb the rudeness
• It strengthens your mind
• It reveals the love that you are as unconditional

The next time when someone is rude to you, just give back a broad smile. If you can digest their rudeness, nothing whatsoever can shake you.

Pleasure
December 12 , 1996Bangalore Ashram, India

  Sri Sri: The mind that seeks pleasure cannot be centered. When you are centered, all pleasures come to you anyway, but they cannot charm you any longer because you are the source of the charm.The mind that seeks pleasure can never achieve the highest. And if you enjoy drowning in your suffering, you cannot be centered; you are far away from the Path.If you are after pleasure, forget about Satsang. Why are you wasting your time? This is the Art of Leaving.You either seek pleasure or come to me.

Susannah: What should we do when people talk negatively?
Sri Sri: From your side, give license to everybody to talk about anything, about anybody, anywhere, at any time.

Self-Reliance and Surrender
December 25, 1996Lake Lucerne, Switzerland

SRI SRI Self-Reliance needs enormous courage. When there is nobody else or you want to depend on yourself for everything, you need a lot of courage.Surrender needs less courage.A person who cannot surrender cannot be self-reliant either. If you don't have enough courage to surrender, then it is not possible to be self-reliant; you simply fool yourself. If you don't have a hundred dollars, you cannot have a thousand dollars.

Even a little fear is detrimental to self-reliance.Self-reliance contains surrender. Fifty dollars contains ten dollars.Often people think that surrender is a way to escape from their responsibilities, then they end up blaming the Divine for all their problems. In fact, true surrender is taking total responsibility for everything.

The Most Beautiful place in the Universe
February 01 , 1996 Honolulu, Hawaii

SRI SRI: There is a place you can come where everything is beautiful.Tourists travel from place to place looking for beauty. With photos and souvenirs they try to take the beauty back home with them. They only get tired and tanned.Yet the most beautiful spot anywhere is right here.

When you come here, you find that everything is so beautiful wherever you are.Where is this place?Don't look here and there; come within you.When you are here, then any place becomes beautiful.Then wherever you go, you add beauty there.If you are unhappy, even the moon irritates you, sweet things nauseate, music disturbs. When you are calm and centered inside, noise is musical, clouds are magical, rain is liquid love.Book yourself on a trip to this most beautiful place in the universe. Then you will find that every day is a vacation and a celebration.