It is not Desire, It is Devotion Q: Dear Guruji, when I feel intense love or devotion I lose my awareness. When I am aware I lose the intensity of devotion. How do I retain both, intensity and awareness?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I think you have too much free time to think and see what is happening. Just

get busy, do Karma Yoga (the path of action). When you are engaged in seva, you don’t sit and

think ‘Oh, how am I feeling? How am I not feeling?’ Feelings are all part of life, just move on with

it!

We have 1,72,000 nadis in the body. Sometimes the knowledge nadi opens up; sometimes the

music nadi opens up. Different nadis open up and you experience different things. So, don’t be so

obsessed with your feelings. Got it?

Who cares how you feel? Everyone is looking forward to what you do. How you can contribute to

this Planet Earth?

What good can I do – focus on that. Don’t focus or concentrate on that which is happening. Focus

on what you can do and what you have to do.

Many times, we don’t concentrate on what we have to do but we sit and ponder over that which is

happening. We put so much attention on what is happening rather than on what we are doing.

Put attention on what you are doing and leave whatever is happening to Nature. Nature will

take you through whatever is happening.

I tell you, whether it is thoughts or emotions, it is not an isolated incidence. It is a global

phenomenon. Suppose you go to a place where there is an Independence Day celebration, or some

National Day Celebration and everybody is in a charged mood, singing patriotic songs, you suddenly

start feeling so patriotic. How many of you have experienced this? (Many raise their hands)

Tears start coming from your eyes.

Similarly if you are watching a show where some victim is talking about their story on how a

politician has victimized so many people; suddenly you feel angry. How many of you have had this

experience? (Many raise their hands)

You got so angry. Everybody suddenly feels a sort of patriotism, it wells up within you.

The movie directors and producers know how to invoke these emotions in you, and what music fits

in there. They will put the right kind of music that you will start crying or laughing. You know,

feelings are associated with music, and emotions can be evoked.

How do these big riots happen? Emotions are invoked. And the unstable ones just jump into it.

People with no awareness jump into it and just do it. They just indulge in it.

Today, I got a report that in Assam there are riots happening and nearly 2,00,000 people are in

camps. They had to run away from their homes. 500 villages were affected. But three villages were

not affected, in the midst of this. Do you know why? Those three villages had a very strong Art of

Living presence!

Savita and Ashish Bhutani (devotees working towards relief and upliftment in villages in Assam) are

here. Savita was mentioning the name of the village as well.

So, all the three villages got together and did not allow any violence to happen in those villages.

They did not allow anybody to burn anyone’s home. The entire village was safeguarded because

they all had the idea that we are a One World Family.

Muslims, Christians, Hindus, all stood together and did not let the Muslims torture Hindus or Hindus

torture Muslims. They did not allow violence to happen from any side.

Come on Savita; tell us the names of the villages. (Savita recounts the names of the three villages

in Assam).

Savita speaks, ’In one particular village all the three communities are there – Bodo, Assamese and

Muslims. Even then, all of them came together and took a stand to ensure that there will be no

violence in any of the villages. It was all because to the presence of The Art of Living, as many had

done the Part 1 and YLTP courses. So these three villages had no violence and nobody was killed.

Although neighboring villages in the vicinity of one to two kilometres of these villages were

completely burnt to the ground. But these three villages were completely safe because of The Art

of Living”.

Very good, very good! Jai Gurudev.

Do you see how important it is for us to spread this knowledge? How many of you think it is very

important for us to spread this, that too in areas that are very fragile? Where peace is fragile, we

must step in and do something!

Q: Jai Gurudev, I want to contest in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. There are still two more years to the elections. In these two years, what work must I do on the field to win?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Very good. First choose the field and the area and then do a lot of work

there. Conduct courses and bring up more volunteers there. Set up a Pre-TTC volunteer training

workshop there. Bring everyone together and make them realize how they can contribute towards

building a spiritual society, i.e., a law abiding and corruption free society.

Do this for sure.

Q: Guruji, they say that one cannot attain heaven without dying. Is it necessary to die to attain Moksha (liberation)?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Who said so? If while living you could not experience heaven then how will

you experience it after death? Even after death you will not experience it.

If while living you could not learn to smile, to be happy and joyful, then what will you learn after

death? No chance! Who said so?

In no scripture is it said that only after dying you will experience heaven; absolutely wrong. Then

why have you come here? You have come here to finish your Karmas so that you can experience

heaven right here.

Q: Guruji, Devotion and Surrender are said to be signs of intelligence. But both Devotion and Surrender are beyond the intellect. Then how can they be its identifying features?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: See, truth is not of one type alone. Truth has many facets. So you can both

prove and disprove any principle. Take any principle; you can prove it as both, correct and

incorrect also. Both are possible, okay!

Think about it! If you feel it is right then take it or else leave it. Discuss this with your own

intellect. When you do so, you will find that from one side it will appear to be right, and from the

other side it will appear to be wrong.

Q: Guruji, how does one become totally surrendered to God (Saranagati)? Please explain in detail.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Wake up and see that nothing is yours; nothing that you have belongs to you,

then you become totally surrendered (Saranagati).

Or, see all that you have received, even when you were not deserving of it then also you become

totally surrendered (Saranagati).

Thinking that, ‘I did not deserve so much, yet I have received so much’, makes you totally

surrendered, and gratefulness automatically wells up in you.

Q: Guruji, even after meeting you I do not feel satisfied. I still desire to meet you, again and again. How do I fill myself up with you so completely that I never have the desire to meet you again?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Oh! I don’t know how you can do this. Till today I have been seeing this

happen with everyone; it is a sign of devotion.

If you look at it in one way, there is no fulfillment in devotion, and if you look at it in another way,

nothing in this world can bring you as much fulfillment as devotion can bring you.

There is no end to it, because devotion itself means a love that never diminishes.

So, it is a thirst that is never quenched and it is a love that never ends!

Q: Dear Guruji, when there is One consciousness alone that exists, now and ever since we know, then how was Man created from it and why? There must be some reason.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Oh! It (consciousness) got bored of being by itself, all alone! So it thought, ‘I

will become many.’ That One consciousness had this thought and everything came into existence.

Now whether this is right or wrong, you decide!

Source : Sri Sri Talk

Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj87SrKe-ZU&feature=player_embedded