Tag Archives: Spirituality

Why you should be in New Delhi this March!

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Art Of Living, General

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There I go – taking a hiatus again and this time it was only 6 months! I haven’t been into blogging for some time – maybe a writer’s block or something. But there is something that is to happen in New Delhi, INDIA this coming March which brings be to blog again. That is the World Culture Festival that is hosted by the Art of Living Foundation in New Delhi on March 11, 12 and 13th. I am going to be in New Delhi and I thought – wouldn’t it a good idea to let the know the world know why? And while doing that why not invite the whole world to it too?

| 3.5 Million people |

| Guinness Record for Largest stage ever |

| People from more than 15o countries |

| Former & Current Presidents of Countries |

| Business leaders from all over the World |

| Musicians and Dancers from across the Globe |

| Grandest Cultural Extravaganza in the WORLD |

| HISTORY to be MADE |

You getting the Picture?

Check out this Introduction to the World Culture Festival in New Delhi, INDIA this March 11- 13th.

The World Culture Festival is the largest interfaith gathering for peace! – Sri Sri

There have been many events which have changed the face of the earth through history. If you take a look at the last few decades, it has mostly been disasters, incidents of violence like gun shooting, political crisis, etc. There has not been any event on an international scale to celebrate peace, for love, for happiness. The World Culture Festival is JUST THAT.

This is a celebration of goodness. Good people from more than 15o countries are coming together to celebrate goodness, celebrate love, celebrate peace and celebrate humanity. In this time, where there are so much horror and violence are happening on our planet.

Good people, who are the majority in the world, do not make noise. This is a chance for good people to make noise. What better than all of us,good people, coming together to celebrate PEACE, LOVE, FREEDOM, HAPPINESS and LIFE. New Delhi in March 11-13th, 2016 is where meditation and celebration comes together to make a deafening noise for peace! An event to celebrate the diversity in cultures and unity in humanity.

What is the purpose of the World Culture Festival? In the words of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar himself-

1. To give a message to the world that the whole world is ONE Family.
2. That We can all co-exist with our differences together.
3. Opportunities for religious leaders, business leaders and many more to come together.
4. To let the world know that we care for the environment. We care for the rivers, mountains, plants, trees.
5. To encourage to traditional musicians and dancers. To give them a world platform to relish and enjoy that. This will be brought to the fore front.
6. That good people are there and are dynamic and active and care for LIFE.

Just Imagine 3.5 million chanting OM and meditating together. Regardless of whether you have learnt meditation or not, just being that space of so many meditating and chanting would be out of this world!

It is going to shift the consciousness of the whole world! Towards Peace and Love.

So what are you waiting for? The moment I heard that there is going a gathering of 3.5 million coming together to celebrate peace, I just knew that I cant miss this one! I booked my tickets straight away! More over, you might have an idea to visit INDIA some time in your life right?. What better time to visit INDIA than this March!

More information about the World Culture Festival here –  http://www.artofliving.org/us-en/world-culture-festival

All information for booking your travel to New Delhi this March can be done through this website – IwillBeThere.us

Now there might be some of us who really really wants to be there but genuinely can not make it for various reasons. Well, if you are one of these good people – you can still be a PART of this historical event by making a donation. Here is my crowdrise link where you can donate.

DONATE to be part of WCF – http://tiny.cc/wcffund

Whats more – March 7th is Maha Shivaratri! The day when universal divine energy comes closer to the earth. What better place to be than in the spiritual land of INDIA.

Please take this as a personal invitation from me to come to New Delhi this March! It is going to be historic, fun and an experience like you never had before! I want to end with saying this – Chalo Delhi! (meaning – Lets Go to Delhi!) See you there!

P.S. : – Share this with your family and friends and invite them too!

UPDATE : Just got the news that the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the WCF and President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, will be at the closing ceremony!

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3 levels of spiritual practice by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

10 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by in Knowledge

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I have this question time and again. Not only me but a lot of others too.

“There are so many spiritual practices. Some you have to do – pranayamas, breathing, kriya. Some you do not have to do anything – meditate, concentration. And some where the experience just comes to you. Are they all different?”

I came across this knowledge talk sheet given by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar which talks exactly about this. The different levels of spiritual practices. He clearly says how we start with one level and it takes us to the other levels. Really good read!

There are three levels of spiritual practices.

The first one is called Anva Upaya. The second is Shakta Upaya, . and the third one is Shambava Upaya. Shiva, Shakti and Anva. All practices in the world can be categorized into these three categories. So, Anva is the lowest; means the very beginning. All the japa, mantras, poojas, yogasanas, breath control, everything comes under Anva Upaya. They are called Upayas, which means remedies. Above this is Shakta. Shakta is only mental, i.e., inside. There is no outer thing, no mantras in it. It is the effect of the meditative state, that is Shakta Upaya.

When you sing, meditate,  do pranayam and Sudarshan Kriya (Kriya begins with Anva Upaya but then), it leads to Shakta Upaya, when you are just energy. Here there is no effort, there is no doing. Just a little bit effortless effort is there.

Then the Shambava or Shiv Upaya is just pure awareness. Just a state of awareness. Shambava Upaya means that there is no means (way) to do it, it is just a happening, it will just happen. Even then it is still called an Upaya.

So the purpose of Anva and Shakta Upaya is to go to Shambava Upaya wherein you become one with Shiva (the fourth state of consciousness). There is no two, there is no doer, you are Shiva, and that is Shambava Upaya.

Usually people who have experienced some degree of Shambava Upaya, they simply discard the other levels. If you read, some people have said that there is no point in doing pranayama, or, there is no point in chanting mantras, or there is no point in doing Pooja. They are all talking from the level of Shambava Upaya, but all these practices have their own place too. See, for example, if you go to the Prime Minister of a country, the Mayor doesn’t matter much. But suppose the Mayor has a say as well, then even if you go to the Prime Minister the mayor of this town can put some hurdles, isn’t it? The beaurocrats can put some hurdles.

So the ancient system is attending to everybody and giving everyone their rightful place. And that is how all this, Anva Upaya, Shakta Upaya, everything is maintained because they have some purpose.

The Mahabharata inside you – Part III

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Knowledge

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Even though the Mahabharata symbolism series of posts has generated a lot of interest from the readers, I promise this is the last post in it :). I have surely enjoyed researching and writing this series of posts and I hope you readers have to. I would love to write on all the major events in the epic and how they are related to each one of us but it would take too long and most of them would be abstract. We saw the symbolism of Kauravas and Pandavas. Now that you guys have the picture, I wanted to bring a closure by taking your attention to some of the major events in the Mahabharata. With these

The Game of Dice – represents the Game of Delusion. In childhood, the senses, and the development of the body, are governed by the soul’s powers of discrimination. As youth approaches, the strong sense desires are awakened, by temptations in this life and Samskaras (habit tendencies) of past lives. The game is very charming, and the princely faculties of discrimination are enticed into a deceitful game with the sense desires, and man stakes his entire bodily kingdom. He is overpowered by them, and the pure discriminative intelligence of the soul is ousted from the throne, and sent into exile. The Pandavas are lured into the game by Duryodhana which is how the mind deludes its own energies into playing this whole game which we call life. Yudhisthira and the Pandavas lose the game and are banished from the kingdom and sent into exile for 12 years, with a further 1 year in total anonymity.

12 years of exile – A spiritual aspirant, who is armed with the grace of his Guru, and the knowledge of Kriya Yoga, and with all faculties intact, can with perseverance, evolve spiritually within twelve years, to the point where he can wage a battle with the senses to reclaim this body kingdom. This is a known fact to Spiritual aspirants. It is written in many yogic texts that a aspirant has intensely practice for 12 years before he can completely win over this senses which in turn control the mind. In the 12 years that the Pandavas are banished, they had to go through various events where they grow spiritually.

The One Year in Anonymity –  refers to the period when the aspirant, having attained a lofty height of spiritual evolution, i.e., he has attained Yudhistira’s calmness, Bhima’s Pranayama, Arjuna’s nonattachment, Nakula’s adherence, and Sahadeva’s power to resist evil, he is now ready to immerse himself in states of Samadhi. In the state of Samadhi, the Sadhaka is withdrawn from the world, and all that is worldly, immersing him in states of consciousness. In the State of Samadhi, one’s consciousness is not in the material world, but in the supreme consciousness, hence, why the Pandavas were incognito, to the people around them.

Kurukshetra – the Land (field) of the Kurus, is the symbolic representation of the body. Kurukshetra is formed from the Sanskrit roots, kri meaning work, material action, and ksetra means field. So this Field of Action is the body, on which all activities of life, take place.

Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad gita – In our  inner conflict when we lose peace, it is the aspect of  knowledge in us that is confused needs clarity. This aspect in us that seeks teaching represents Arjuna. As we already discussed Arjuna represents bondage it seeks freedom to attain the kingdom of Peace. It seeks Krishna the manifestation of pure Consciousness. We seek for clarity a teacher, a Guru. What we seek outside is already in us. The external teacher helps us to seek our internal teacher Krishna, the pure consciousness. The dialogue between the Krishna and Arjuna is Bhagavad Gita.

KRISHNA – Lastly, who is Krishna? Krishna the manifestation of pure Consciousness. Consciousness is the “being” of every form and formless in this universe. The reflection of that Consciousness  is awareness. Krishna is the cousin and brother -in-law of Arjuna and interestingly Krishna is the father-in-law of Duryodhan’s daughter, that is , Krishna’s son married Duryodhan’s daughter Lakshmana. So Krishna is related to both the positive and negative groups of  brothers. This is why Indian God’s are represented with three faces. The two faces on the sides represents the pair of opposites of the same body. Explains that both positive and negatives qualities resides in us. I can go on writing about Krishna.

So here are the symbolisms of the characters and events in Mahabharata. It is not just another long story that happened long time ago. It is happening right now right her within you. If you believe in these allegoric events, then read the Mahabharata again. Only this time see if you can relate to these characters for they lived and died(mortally) to relate to us.

The Mahabharata within you! – Part 1

13 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by in Knowledge

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Two families. Five brothers against a Hundred. A story spanning four generations. Aerial attacks, Ufos, Aliens, Atomic bombs and many many more. That is just a part of the Mahabharata for you. If you have not had the chance the read it, here is the Mahabharata in 36 tweets for you.

The author of the epic used the real incident and weaved  symbolic images to reflect our own inner conflicts. Using these images if we dive deep into our inner self, we will be able to appreciate the mystery of our own mind and life. Recently, I had a chance to read many versions of it with their story changed. Even though there were good efforts with good intentions, I felt that a lot of people haven’t explored the inner essence and symbolism of the characters, events, their interactions, etc. It is imperative to know the inner symbolism of the characters and its representation to grasp the immensity of Mahabharata. I have been wanting to write on it but had to do some research on it to get it right. So here is a write up of what the characters meant and why is it important to know this. To deal with all the characters at once would be over whelming. We will take a group of characters and few events in a series of posts. Lets deal with the Kauravas first.

Cast of the Mahabharata series

Cast of the Mahabharata series

Dhritarashtra – The blind king of Hastinapura represents the our mind. More than that – our blind mind. Without the intellect’s discriminating power. Hence the blindness. His wife Gandhari represents the intellect power. The intellect can see. However, when the intellect gets smitten with emotion it gets blinded too. This is indicated by Gandhari blinding herself after being married to Dhritarashtra. The result is devastation and destruction. The blind mind has got many desires and tendencies in it and is the abode of emotions and feelings.

Five are senses of knowledge or perception the eyes, nose, ears, tongue and skin (Gnanendriyas). The other five are the senses of action-mouth, hands, feet, genital organ and anus (Karmendriyas). There are 10 directions north, south, west, east, north east, south east, south west and northwest and up and down. When the mind and intellect run blindly in all 10 directions and functions through 10 sense organs , give rise to hundred desires, thoughts, ambitions, expectations and dreams. These are the children of the mind and symbolized as the 100 sons in Mahabharata.

Duryodhana – the first son. The main thought of the mind is always ‘I, me, Mine’. This is called the ego. So he represents the first and fore most thought of the mind – the EGO. The mind cant control the ego very easily. That is why Dhritarashtra couldn’t control Duryodahana and always swayed by his son’s wishes. ‘Duh‘ means difficult and ‘yodhana‘ means to fight. Ego is something that was difficult to fight against. It is the Ego feeling or  “I” thought that craves and falls into addiction. All mental and physical problems stems from the “I” feeling.  The “I”  feeling instead of helping the body, ruthlessly rips off health of the body.  “I” want to experience  spicy taste no matter my stomach hurts and develop ulcers.  “I” want to experience to “refresh” with coffee no matter if it dehydrates my body  and make my body cells suffer in thirst. “I” want to experience dull-mindedness with alcohol  no matter if it hurts my liver and all other body organs. I want to do something even though my doctor has asked me not to because I already booked it! (targeted remark). 🙂

The moment the Ego gets the mind to dance to its whims and tunes, the body is completely forgotten. That is why Dhritarashtra was caught completely in the whims of Duryadhana and gave in to most of his wants. As a king, he didnt listen to his subjects which represent the body. The blind mind always tries to give importance to its ego – Dhritarashtra wants his son to be crowned as the prince of the kingdom. Like this you can find so many instances of how the mind empowers the ego and the ego runs rampage in our mind. This is so beautifully portrayed in the mahabharata with various events. The next time you read the mahabhrata, see if you can relate to the same happening with in you.

Dhritarashtra had a son named Yuyutsu with a vaishya(worker) clan woman. Yuyutsu was always on the path of dharma even though he was with the Kauravas. He does defect to the Pandavas just before the war. Kind of an equal to Vibhishana of Ramayana. He represents the desire to give psychological battle to the bad things the mind comes up with but is not as powerful as the ego and desires. This shows the mind is capable of producing good thoughts but these are not strong enough. In my next post, I will bring out the Pandavas and many other events within the mahabharata and its significance.

[COURTESY : Discourses on Bhagavad Gita by Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Eswaran and Symbolism of Mahabharata article]

Michael Fischman on Joys of Meditation

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Art Of Living

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Michael Fischman

Michael Fischman began his life as the son of an Orthodox Jewish Holocaust survivor in New York, and developed a successful career as a Madison Avenue advertising executive. Later through an unlikely turn of events, ended up as meditation student and teacher. He is also the author of a multi-award-winning memoir, “Stumbling Into Infinity: An Ordinary Man in the Sphere of Enlightenment”.

Here is an excerpt from his interview about the joys of meditation and why we need to meditate. Michael has been with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Art of Living Foundation since 1988 and has been teaching meditation and other courses since then. 

Tell us about your personal meditation journey?

I started to meditate when I was 26 years old. It was a rough patch in my life, and many of the social activities I was involved with at that time I have completely abandoned. I was living a very different lifestyle. A friend told me about meditation and it seemed to make sense. I gravitated to it very quickly. In 1988, after practicing for about a dozen years, I came to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living. It was a quantum leap forward in my practice. As opposed to spending a lot of time with a chattering mind in the first half of my meditation, the meditations were profoundly different. I would start my meditation in silence, and that was extremely valuable.

You are a long-time teacher of meditation. Tells us about meditation in the Art of Living?

Meditation is a key part of the Art of Living, and Sri Sri’s approach to meditation in the Art of Living is very unique. He takes a three-pronged approach. The first step is to help an individual quiet down their mind and their emotions with Sudarshan Kriya. This is the meditative rhythmic breathing practice that is taught on the Art of Living Part 1 course.

The second step is giving people instruction in the art of meditation through a course called Sahaj Samadhi Meditation. An individual is given a sound or mantra and taught how to use it,  this gives them a deep experience on the basis of regular meditation. It cultures their system to maintain an inner peace and bliss that continues to grow inside.

The third approach is to give people a deep experience of silent awareness in a retreat program called the Art of Silence course. It allows people to spend four or five days in a retreat setting, away from responsibilities. The effect is like polishing the system, expanding awareness, and going very deeply into the experience of meditation and the experience of silence.

How has your life changed since you learned meditation?

It is hard to say why my life has changed, whether it is due to meditation, to Sudarshan Kriya, the deep silence program, or due to interacting with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar as a guru and teacher. Or maybe all of it.

I can say that the deep experience of peace and serenity that I get to experience twice a day definitely sets the tone & mood of my mind for the entire day. And that effect has grown through the years. Sudarshan Kriya helped me feel the effect of meditation more during the day.

Do you think it is important to have teacher to learn meditation?

Yes, very much so. I don’t think you can learn it from book or from a seminar. People are blind to their own blind spots. You definitely need a teacher or a guru. The path of getting to the Self is a very interesting journey, and meditation is a key aspect of it. But unless you have the guidance & supervision of a Master, it would be difficult.

Prayer & Meditation

19 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in Inspirational Quotes

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Prayer is asking, Meditation is listening.

In prayer, you ask,‘Give me this, give me that’, giving instructions, demanding.In meditation, you say, ‘I am here to listen, what is it that you want to tell? Tell me, whenever you are free, I am here.’

Culmination of prayer is meditation.

Prayer goes to the peak and that is meditation.

~ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

From OUTER to INNER

08 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in General, Knowledge

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There was a kingdom which had a king and he was aided by a wise prime minister. The king ruled the kingdom with the help of a government which took care of all the administration. Most of the time the country was governed by the administrative body. Whenever something unusual needs to be decided, the king is advised by the prime minister and then makes a decision. But unfortunately, the king is always confused by the amount of information brought to him by the administration. His another problem was his attachement to and his identification to the kingdom. As a result, the king often does not properly listen to the wise prime minister and kingdom ends up in trouble due to the king’s bad decision. The kingdom had a GOD which kept on witnessing these events but did nothing!

The above story is not so different from what happens in everyone’s life every day. Do you find the inner meaning in this story? The kingdom is our BODY while EGO is the king. Our INTELLECT is the wise prime minister. The intellect is wise because it has access to memory and it knows which events in the past have been good or bad for the body. The governing administrative entity is our own MIND. The mind takes care of all the activities this body does. But when something unusual needs to be done, the Ego steps in and consults with the intellect on how to act. Though the ego gets the right answer, it is flooded with inputs from the mind through the five senses.

The ego can work in two ways from here – either agree with the intellect or surrender to the emotions stirred by the mind. Lets take a small deviation and see what are the inputs from the mind to the intellect. When we breath we take in Prana or Life force  and this prana when in contact with the state of mind, emotions or Rasas(in Sanskrit) are experienced in the mind. Emotions like Anger, Sadness, Joy, Wonder, etc. At this point the ego has to decide whether to accept this Rasa that is being experienced by the body.  If the ego, after consulting with the body, does not support the Rasa, then it will be changed by the act of will power. If the ego supports the Rasa, then the intellect can not do anything and is forced by the ego to accept the Rasa. At this time the ego thinks that it is enjoying the Rasa and then we exclaim “I am feeling great“! So far example, when you are eating an ice cream, the tongue send the signal to the mind that it likes it. So an emotion is triggered in the mind. The ego consults its intellect whether to accept it or not. Though the intellect keeps telling “The last time you had ice cream you had a cold. Do not eat it!”, the ego is flooded with a joyful feeling from the mind. Then the ego decides to overcome the intellect and starts to enjoy the ice cream thinking – “I really love eating ice cream!”.

The GOD who kept watching this entire event but did nothing is the SELF. It just witnesses.

This is the general flow of energy from the outside world into our inner world and how we think we are enjoying the world! Fascinating isn’t it? I will discuss about how to control this whole flow of energy and emotions from the outer to the inner by just using our own Breath in a next post. Keep watching!

9 days of the Devi – Navaratri

10 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Art Of Living, Knowledge

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Navaratri is composed of two words – “Nav” and “Ratri“. Nav means nine and ratri means nights. It is the festival dedicated to the worship of the Divine mother or Shakti. This is one of the biggest festivals celebrated in India. I came across this passage where Bhanumathi, Sri Sri ravi Shankar’s sister explains the Divine Mother.

We are all floating in the effulgence of one scintillating unseen cosmic energy called the ‘Devi’. The Devi or the Divine Mother is the womb of all creation. She is the seed of all dynamism, radiance, beauty, equanimity, peace and nourishment. She is the life force energy. A mother has total love for her child. The Divine Mother has unconditional and unquantifiable love for Her children which includes every being in this entire creation.

During the nine nights of the festival, the Devi is worshipped in all her nine name and forms. The name and form of each of the Devi have a specific quality or attribute and by chanting the name we enliven that particular quality in us. In her first three days, Divine mother is worshipped as Durga. In the next three days, she is worshipped as Lakshmi and in the last three days as Saraswati. 

Durga

Devi Durga Killing Mahisasura(Picture courtesy : google Image search)

Durga means “Invincible”. She is a fierce Hindu Godess seen riding a Lion which symbolizes as alluding the aspect of courage and valor. She gives courage and strength to her devotees and destroys all the negative forces with in us. In her presence, the negative forces can not exists. Especially in the case of people suffering from anxiety, doubting oneself, doubting one’s ability, ‘lack’ consciousness, feeling threatened by enmity and negativity – simply by chanting the names of the Devis, it is like mantras that elevate your consciousness and you can become more centered, courageous and composed. This is the significance of the aspect of the Divine as Devi Durga.

Devi Durga is mostly seen killing a demon by the name Mahisasura. Mahisasura means the “Buffalo demon”.  Buffalo is a symbol of laziness, lethargy or inertia. Devi Durga gives us the strength and energy to destroy the laziness in us.

Lakshmi

Godess Lakshmi

The second set of three days is for worshipping the Devi in the form of Lakshmi. Wealth is a vital ingredient bestowed upon us for the maintenance and progress in our life. It is much more than just having money. It means abundance in knowledge, skills and talents. Lakshmi is the energy that manifests as the complete spiritual and material well-being of a person. She is the consort of Lord Vishnu. She is said to bring in good luck and protect her devotees from all kind of miseries and finance related sorrows.

Lakshmi is depicted as a beautiful woman of golden complexion, with four hands, sitting or standing on a full-bloomed lotus and holding a lotus bud, which stands for beauty, purity and fertility. Her four hands represent the four ends of human life: dharma or righteousness, “kama” or desires, “artha” or wealth, and “moksha” or liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

Cascades of gold coins are seen flowing from her hands, suggesting that those who worship her gain wealth. She always wears gold embroidered red clothes. Red symbolizes activity and the golden lining indicates prosperity. Lakshmi is the active energy of Vishnu, and also appears as Lakshmi-Narayan – Lakshmi accompanying Vishnu.

Saraswati

Godess Saraswati

The final three days are dedicated to Saraswati. Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge- the one who gives the essence(sara) of the Self (swa). The name also means Saras – flow and wati – one who has got the flow. She is often depicted as being seated on a rock. Knowledge, like a rock, is a steadfast support. It stays with us at all times. She plays the veena, a musical instrument whose mellifluous notes bring harmony and peace to the mind. Similarly, spiritual knowledge brings relaxation and celebration into ones’ life.

Goddess Saraswati is the ocean of understanding and the consciousness which vibrates with different types of learning. She is the source of spiritual light, remover of all ignorance and the source of knowledge. Saraswati is strongly associated with flowing water in her role as a goddess of knowledge. She is depicted as a beautiful woman to embody the concept of knowledge as supremely alluring. She possesses four arms, and is usually shown wearing a spotless white saree and seated on a white lotus or riding a white swan.

Yagya during Navratri

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar during Navaratri yagya

When many people get together and do something collectively, that is called ‘yagya‘ or ‘yagna‘. There are many types of ‘yagya’.

  • 1. ‘Dravya Yagya’- In which a lot of substances are used. 108 types of different herbs, fruits etc are used.
  • 2. ‘Gyaan Yagya’ – Discussing the knowledge.
  • 3. ‘Japa Yagya’- Singing and chanting of mantras.

These bring purity, prosperity, peace and harmony to all. The whole environment becomes lively. There are three types of miseries: one from outside world, other one from deep inside you, due to karma and the third one is due to the subtle mind. So Navratri is that which gives you rest from all three types of miseries. Mind works in action. When you sleep, what happens? You get relief from the world, relief from the mind, and relief from everything. That is why Navratri is called, the nine nights of complete self-referral activity. Tenth day of the ‘yagya‘ is the Victory Day, also known as ‘Dussera’.

The navaratri for 2012 starts this October 16th and goes on for the next 9 days. During these 9 days, Tte seeker gets back to the true Source through fasting, prayer, silence and meditation. Night is also called ratri because it brings rejuvenation. It gives relief at the three levels of our existence – physical, subtle and causal. While fasting detoxifies the body, silence purifies the speech and brings rest to the chattering mind, and meditation takes one deep into one’s own being.

Let us all have an intention this navaratri to do good to all the people around us!

Jai Maa Durga! (Victory to the Divine Mother)

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Art of Living Foundation help to reduce discrimination against AIDS

06 Saturday Oct 2012

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Faith In Action

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar signing the Faith in Action Declaration along with other religious leaders.

Faith in Action 2010 is a high level religious leader’s summit on reducing stigma and discrimination about HIV and AIDS. Over 500 religious leaders will come together in a united campaign against AIDS.They will deliberate on the issue of HIV/AIDS and will delve into a specific action plan to address the problems across all states in India.

A Hindu Leaders Caucus on HIV AIDS was hosted in the Art of Living International Centre, Bangalore. A joint initiative of the Art of Living alongwith UNAIDS and AINA, the Caucus marked the presence of 72 Hindu leaders from all states across India. All the leaders unanimously pledged to work against stigma and create more awareness, especially amongst the youth.

You can see Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,founder of Art of Living Foundation, signing the declaration along with the Muslim leaders and Chidanand Muniji!

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Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in CNN with Richard Quest

04 Thursday Oct 2012

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CNN’s Richard Quest goes to Bangalore, INDIA to soak into the Spiritual bliss and vibes of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at his ashram. An interesting video from the program on the man they call “Guruji” and about the Art of Living Foundation. Here Sri Sri talks about the secrets of breath, how the breath is linked to the mind based on the rhythms and emotions. Richard Quest takes the Basic Art of Living course and I think he likes it 🙂 He says that he is positively sure that he was floating when he was taking the Ayurveda treatment! Ha ha!

I love the part where Sri Sri Ravi Shankar talks about how even though the knowledge in the Art of Living has got its roots in Hinduism but he has made it secular in a sense that people from all religions have no problem understanding or following it. He also says that only secular spiritualism can unite people from all over the world. This is awesome!

Richard takes part in the silver jubilee celebration of the Art of Living foundation. He sits with Sri Sri on the stage with 3800 more other dignitaries and enjoys the satsang – music and dance.

The last words of Richard is really touching. He says – “As human beings, we are driven to explore;explain the inexplicable. Our intelligence means that at times we are doomed to suffer in a turmoil, despair, disillusionment but answers are forth coming. Whatever our religious beliefs are, spirituality is rooted in ideals of human nature. Being a better person. Breathing exercises, meditation and breath – they all help us open our mind;take stock of who we are. Put Life back into perspective. And lets face it, most of us could do a little but of that! Between you and me, it has just begun!”

Related links

 TheArtofLivingTV Home

 The Art of Living Website