Tag Archives: Sri Sri

Significance of Janmashtami

Posted on 26th August 2016 | Comments Off on Significance of Janmashtami

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the significance of Janmashtami: 
“Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Ashtami is significant as it indicates a perfect balance between the seen and the unseen aspects of reality; the visible material world and the invisible spiritual realm.
Krishna’s birth on Ashtami signifies his mastery of both the spiritual and material worlds. He is a great teacher and a spiritual inspiration as well as the consummate politician. On one hand, he is Yogeshwara (the Lord of Yogas — the state to which every yogi aspires) while on the other, he is a mischievous thief.
The unique quality of Krishna is that he is at once more pious than the saints and yet a thorough mischief-monger! His behaviour is a perfect balance of the extremes — perhaps this is why the personality of Krishna is so difficult to fathom. The avdhoot is oblivious to the world outside and a materialistic person, a politician or a king is oblivious to the spiritual world. But Krishna is both Dwarkadheesh and Yogeshwar
Krishna’s teachings are most relevant to our times in the sense that they neither let you get lost in material pursuits nor make you completely withdrawn. They rekindle your life, from being a burnt-out and stressed personality to a more centred and dynamic one. Krishna teaches us devotion with skill. To celebrate Gokulashtami is to imbibe extremely opposite yet compatible qualities and manifest them in your own life.
Hence the most authentic way of celebrating Janamashtami is knowing that you have to play a dual role — of being a responsible human being on the planet and at the same time to realize that you are above all events, the untouched Brahman. Imbibing a bit of avadhoot and a bit of activism in your life is the real significance of celebrating Janmashtami.”

Comments Off on Significance of Janmashtami

Posted in Sri Sri Wisdom

Tagged , , ,

Gayatri Mantra explained !!

Posted on 13th August 2016 | Comments Off on Gayatri Mantra explained !!

What is the significance of Gayatri Mantra? Can women chant it ? Why do we chant 108 times?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar – Ga-ya-tri – there are three types of misery. We have three bodies, the gross body, the subtle and the causal body. And in all the three levels there is misery. The human life has to cross-over all the three, and that is what Gayatri means. One who sings it, sails over the ocean of misery to go to bliss.

The Gayatri mantra is one of the greatest prayers mankind has.

What does it say? Let me soak in the Divine, and let the Divine destroy all my sins.
The Divine light that burns all sin, let me adore and soak in that Divine light. And let the Divinity inspire my intellect.

See, all our actions happen through our intellect, right? Thoughts come and then you act.
So you pray to the Divine to bring good thoughts into your mind. You pray to the Divine, ‘Take over my intellect. Inspire my intellect’; dhiyo yonah prachodayat.

Dhi means intellect. May my intellect be guided by, kindled by, and inspired by you (Divinity).

When right thoughts come, your action will always be right. When intuitive thoughts come, your actions will be fruitful. So praying for the best thought. Let my mind, my whole life energy be soaked in Divinity. That is the significance of Gayatri Mantra.

Why 108 times?

Sri Sri – Because there are nine planets and twelve constellations. When nine planets revolve around the twelve constellations, it brings 108 kinds of changes. If there is anything wrong in these changes, it can be rectified with the positive energy of the mantras.

Can women chant The Gayatri Mantra?

Sri Sri – Yes. Nowhere it is said that women cannot chant.

It is unfortunate that somewhere in the middle ages, these rights of women were taken away. We have reinstated this in the Ashram. Many women are learning.

Comments Off on Gayatri Mantra explained !!

Posted in Sri Sri Wisdom

Tagged , ,

Knowing SHIVA !!!

Posted on 11th August 2016 | Comments Off on Knowing SHIVA !!!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar – I would ask the question ‘What is not Shiva?’ Is Shiva somebody? Is he a form? Is he someone sitting in some place? No! Shiva is the entire universe. He is in every atom of the universe.

Shiva doesn’t have a body, he was never a person at all. To symbolize the unfathomable, the infinite divinity, and to make it comprehensible for young people, for children and others, they made a form. In fact, there is no form to Shiva.

Shiva is a principle (Tattva) from where everything has come, everything is sustained in it, and everything dissolves into it. Shiva is the space, it is the consciousness.
There is no way that you can even step out of Shiva at anytime because Shiva is the summum bonum of the whole creation. That is why Shiva’s body is depicted in blue because blue signifies the sky; the all pervading infinity which has no limits, and no shape.

Watch the Video below to explore more about the Shiva principle:

Comments Off on Knowing SHIVA !!!

Posted in Sri Sri Wisdom

Tagged , ,

Every Culprit is a Victim !!

Posted on 5th August 2016 | Comments Off on Every Culprit is a Victim !!

When you are facing the light, you do not see your shadow; it is only when you move away from the light that you see it. Evil is just the shadow, and a shadow does not have an existence of its own!If you look inside each culprit, there is a victim crying for help. If you heal the victim, the culprit will disappear. If only we had educated the people who have gone into terrorism with a broad mind set, taught them human values, do you think they would be treading the path of violence? No way! I see them all as victims of ignorance. If you see from my eyes, inside every culprit there is a victim crying for help!

~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Comments Off on Every Culprit is a Victim !!

Posted in Sri Sri Wisdom

Tagged , , ,

Conquering EGO 

Posted on 1st August 2016 | Comments Off on Conquering EGO 

Q: How to conquer ego?
Sri Sri: Ego is just a feeling of having a wall between you and others. There is no wall. You belong to me and I belong to you. You are accepted the way you are. Naturalness is the antidote for ego. Be spontaneous! Ego cannot stand spontaneity. Children are so spontaneous. Be like a child.

Comments Off on Conquering EGO 

Posted in Sri Sri Wisdom

Tagged , , ,