Want Blessings?

I remember : I was new to Art of Living and had gone to the Ashram.. perhaps the second visit..
And by chance (we all know there are no chances) caught myself face to face with Gurudev on VishalakshiMantap steps with almost noone around....

Completely zapped : The only words that stumbled frm my lips were "Guruji Blessings"
Gurudev replied.. "Blessings Blessings..."

An instant regret of having opened my mouth followed... Coz it seemed meaningless..  :) I have never asked him for Blessings after that... We all know they just flow...

Sharing a Talk by Sri Sri on Blessings..


"Everybody asks for blessings. Usually people say, “Guruji, please give me blessings”. Even if someone doesn’t want anything, they need blessings! Whichever Guru you go to, the only words which come out are, “Give me blessings”. And these are mere words tumbling out of your mouth. But how do we obtain blessings? We have not learnt this.

There is no dearth of blessings. You get more blessings than necessary. There is sunlight, a burning blaze of bright light all 12 hours of the day, but your doors and windows are tightly shut. Then,how is it possible for light to enter? If the sun’s light has to reach you, you cannot sit in a dark room and keep chanting on a microphone, “I want sunlight, I want sunlight!” This will not bring the sunlight in. You have to open the doors and windows, so that light may enter on its own.

When you ask for blessings, you should have an honest and clean mind. When you have a truthful mind, that mind becomes capable of receiving and absorbing blessings. When does the mind become truthful? When there is nothing to hide, no dirt in the mind and the mind is open. Blessings should only be asked with an open mind.

If somebody asks, “How are you?”, you answer saying “I am fine”. You,in reality, will not be fine at that point in time. In spite of that, you say, “I am fine, doing very well and on top of the world” and you are boiling inside! When you communicate without hiding anything inside you, with an open and innocent mind, only from this level will you acquire the capability of receiving blessings.

Now, why are we not honest in this way? That is because we are not communicating with ourselves. We are not living with the real truth in us. We are under the illusion that we may get something in this world of objects. The most common comment that people make often is that politicians are not honest. Why are not many politicians honest? That is because their mind is only outward bound. They are always calculating and keeping watch of how much and what they can loot. If they want to loot people then it is not possible to be honest. Why? This is because they are dependent on somebody else. 

If you have to depend on somebody, then depend only on the divine power. The powerful God is the strength of the powerless.

It is not that we always obtain whatever we wish. Many a times, our desires will not be fulfilled. There are many times when we regret our desires and wonder why we ever wished for them. Isn’t it? You desire something and then you regret as to why you desired it. We live under the illusion that we will live happily when we obtain all objects of our desire. You should keep observing your desires. Only then you will know whether you will really derive happiness from your desire or if
you will land in more trouble because of the desires.

It is said that, “Daivadheenam Jagat Sarvam, Mantradheenam tu
daivatam” which means that the whole creation is under the control of Gods and the Gods are under the spell of mantras. All that you are seeing in this gross world is just a reflection arising from the subtle world. The one who works in the subtle world is known as Devatha or God. Surrender to the Gods in the subtle plane. This is known as “Ishwara Pranidhaana”. God does not mean that you simply visit a temple and break the coconut and come back after offering a prayer.

There is one honest corner in our consciousness. Just go and sit there. The moment you sit in that silent, honest corner of your consciousness, that very moment, you are tapping divine energy. “All the forms in the world reside in my consciousness,” this experience will gradually begin to happen to you. You will realise that you are not only the body. You are that consciousness which is very vast and spread everywhere, on all sides. It is necessary to realise that you are not just the body. “

Who am I? This body is only a small window, that is all. I am really the Sun. When the Sun enters the window, does the window itself become the Sun? No. Sun only enters through the window. Moonlight is entering in, but the Moon is very far away. In the same way, I am far away from the body. In spite of being far away, I am still in the body”. This feeling should arise in you again and again. For that you need honesty. This requires practice.

Then, even if you don’t need, blessings will always be showered on you!"

- Sri Sri 

Karma Talk... :)

And the Master spoke on Karma --- Throughout the talk, I felt that all he wanted was to take the focus on what we can do "NOW" rather than digging out the Past and worrying about it!!
Meditation, Seva and Guru Grace (kripa) :)

A compilation of knowledge bytes on Karma by Guruji on Januray 29th, 2011.... :) Enjoy!!


What is Karma: "Karma simply means the strongest impression in the mind, the action it has propelled...
Every particle in the universe is filled with action and dynamism. The universe is filled with karma..getting rid of karma means -- getting rid of the impressions .. Negative impressions cause pain..Good karma means positive impressions, bad karma means negative impressions..
Breathing techniques, Meditation and Pranayama erase negative impressions ...not the positive ones :)
Attachment to positive impressions is also karma..Nirvana is freeing(not attached) yourself from postive impressions and negative impressions... "

"Latent impressions propel you into action again.. The skill is not to be affected by these..In every action there is some stillness.. recognizing this stillness, which is a witness to all the action'Seeing the inaction in action is seeing ...the consciousness.. freedom is not stopping action.. its doing the action but being a witness to it.. :)We have to keep acting yet not get attached to the actions.. everyday you do daily chores, but they don't become a big impression.."

"All habits are nothing but karma.. Induced karma...Erase those karmas from your consciousness..When you meditate, you clear the impressions.. mind becomes clear -- hollow and empty.. then you are in touch with your intuition..."

"Guruji says --Three types of karma
1)Prarabdha -- Impressions stored and which have started yielding results..Have to Experience!!!
2)Sanchit -- Accumulated from past.. can be erased
3)Agami -- Future.. can be erased
Prarabdha -- everyone has to experience...
...Gahana karmanogati -- Unfathomable are the ways of Karma..Which would sprout when, you don't know!!
Final-- Don't worrry !!! :)) Just do what you have to do.. Do your duty.. The most learned are also confused when it comes to karma..
Family Karma -- DNA.. our genes are part of Karma!!
By practice of meditation and pranayama -- certain genetic structure changes.. "

"Along with Karma is also remedy... Remedies are available..
Habits can be changed..One can come out of their impressions....with support, little help, with little suffering..."

What are the ways to come out of Karma except Meditation??
Guruji said: What are the ways to get out of hunger except eating ;) :D
"What are the ways to quench your thirst excpet thru drinking !!!"

"The grace (Kripa) Love and devotion..... can get you our of Karma..
Meditation is not an action.. its a state of pure love and devotion :)
If you are in love meditation happens..."

Can one person's karma be changed by another's blessing??
A : To some extent.. definitely :)

"Love fear and hatred are made of same energy.. If you have fear, there is love lacking..Fear is love upside down... Meditation, Seva can help Love stand on its feet rather than on head" ;) :))
"You have to do only that which you can do... God doesn't want you to do what you cannot do..:) But what you can do and are not doing -- means irresponsibilty...
Karma is that which we can do!! Swabhav main jo hai, wohi karma hai..What is in your nature is what we are expected to do" :)

Answering somone's query on being able to remember the Past!! Guruji said --
"If you remember all your past karma, you may not smile at all" ;) :))

Meditation.... :)

Gurudev's quotes on Meditation:

"The Art of Living is about enhancing that inner space of love in our life, and life around us; and that is meditation."

"Everyday you should meditate. You brush your teeth, you have a bath to keep your body clean. Similarly, you should listen to a little bit of knowledge and meditate. Cleansing of the intellect happens through knowledge - that knowledge which tells you that everything is impermanent. Music and harmony cleanses the emotions and enriches the heart. By giving, the heart becomes pure. With knowledge and meditation, everything becomes pure."

"When you’re meditating, we’re doing so much good to society, to the world around. It generates and releases positive ions in the environment and it is the positive ions that effect thinking, mind, spirit and body, the environment in the universe. It is very important, very precious - not only for us, but also for the world around."

"The busier you are, the lesser time you have, the more desires and ambitions you have - the more is the need to meditate. Meditation not only relieves you of stress and strain, it also enhances your abilities,strengthens your nervous system and mind. It also makes you more capable. What else do you want?
I would say if...... you want to be happy and healthy, you’ve got to meditate."
Meditation helps to change your perspective. It improves the way you perceive things. It brings clarity in the mind. It improves your interaction with people around –what you say, how you react and act in different situations, you become ...more aware. In general, from a stress-free society to peace and health in individuals and from a violence-free society to a sorrow-free soul – all are side effects of meditation."


"The knowledge which is born out of meditation is authentic knowledge. Even astrologers and astronomers experience good meditation. They think about stars, galaxies and about quantum physics and they go into deep meditation. From knowledge, meditation is born. Both – knowledge and meditation - give birth to bhakti (devotion). If you do meditation, a fountain of devotion flows in your heart. Bhakti also rises in the heart of the knowledgeable person. They all are one. They seem to be different only from the surface."


"Many believe meditation is concentration or a lot of effort. Meditation is not concentration. It is the opposite of concentration. If you want to drive anywhere, you need concentration. If you have to simply relax at home though, there needn’t be an effort. You don't need concentration. Meditation is deep relaxation and not concentration. So if thoughts come during meditation, we don't try to chase them. The more we chase them the more they come. If you want to get rid of a thought it won’t go easily. It will come back stronger. So we take another strategy. If bad thoughts come we give them a hug. We shake hands with them. Then they disappear. If good thoughts come we give them a hug, then they become quiet. Whatever thoughts are coming, we don't try to stop them. It's an effortless process."

"There are three golden rules for meditation. The first is you say “I want nothing.” If you say “I need to drink water or change my position,” then meditation cannot happen. When you want nothing, then you also do nothing. The second golden rule is “I do nothing.” You only breathe. Do not make an effort to think “I want nothing” and “I do nothing” - Just an effortless attention. Then the last one is even more important, “I am nothing.” While meditating we drop all notions about ourselves of being rich, poor, intelligent, stupid or any other. So what are you? Nothing. Just a little attention to - “I am nothing. I want nothing. I do nothing.” After meditation you can again be something. It is your choice, but during meditation if you think you are somebody great or somebody hopeless, there is no way you can settle down to that deepest core of the being. To settle into that consciousness of which all of us are made up of, this must be our initial step for meditation. It is the journey from sound to silence."


"We want to achieve success in professional life. Isn't it? That's why we take up an enterprise or profession. That provides you means to have comforts for the body. Yoga, meditation and spirituality are about giving comfort to your soul. When the room is very hot, you switch on the air conditioner to give some comfort to the body. AC (Air conditioner) for the mind is meditation – Absolute Comfort to your mind."


"The more sattva/purity rises in your life, the more easily your tasks get accomplished. The amount of sattva/ purity in us decides the productivity of our input. If you put in a lot of effort and the result turns out to be less or below your expectations, it means that there is a lack of sattva/ purity in life. When we meditate, then our work happens easily. How many of you have noticed this? (Audience raises their hands). People are unaware of this secret. They think why to spend 20 – 30 minutes meditating, when that time can be spent to earn them money. It is very important to meditate whenever we get time, so that you accomplish your tasks more efficiently and with ease."


"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."


Q: I see some images during meditation. Is that ok?
Sri Sri: There is no need to pay attention to that. It is just an experience. In Kriya or meditation you may hear something, see some images or visions but all these come and go. It is a form of stress release.

Q. During meditation, the mind wanders to so many places. Once you said, “Let the mind go wherever it wants to”. Does that mean me and my mind are two different entities? If yes, then what is the mind and who am I?
Sri Sri: When you try to keep hold of your mind, it runs here and there. When you become aware of the wandering mind, then you realize you are bigger than the mind. When you find you are not this mind, not this body, not anything else, whatever remains is the Self. Knowing your Self, recognize the Supreme Self. Then you find you are everything. You are the mind, the thoughts, you are the whole world. But that happens at the second level. When you know your Self, you know the Divine. Sarvam Kalvidam Brahma – Everything is One Divinity. Knowing this, become established in this knowledge.

Qualifications for Ashtavakra Gita: Discipline in Speech

Guruji speaks in the Introduction to Ashtavakra Gita -

"Discipline is required in words and speech. Do not say anything that creates turbulence and turmoil in the minds of others. Some people get agitated even if you don’t speak. You are not responsible for that. Do not hurt anyone with your speech, for the divine dwells in every heart.

A person, whose words and speech are cultured, is eligible for Ashtavakra Gita – a person, who does not or cannot utter unpleasant words even when he is very angry – words which will be like arrows.

This is the second discipline – discipline in speech. You will see that when you start with this in your life, you will not get a chance to speak harsh words. Just a little change in your tme will be sufficient when matters are not moving quickly. You don’t have to yell at people! We feel we must display some anger. Even in the display of anger there is no need to use any harsh words.

They say the tongue does not have a bone. That is true. This is how it goes in all directions – up and down, left and right. We slap people, left and right with our tongues. This is abusing the power of our speech. We have been endowed with the power of speech not to create turbulence, but to create silence. But our words go like stones, hitting the silent mind and creating turbulence all over. We have got to bear this in mind – cultured speech. The main purpose or one of the main objectives of silence is to make one aware of what he or she says.

Don’t think speech has less power; it has lot of power. The more and more we soak in the Being, the more any harsh words from us will become a curse. Our words are to bless people and bring peace to the world."

The Five Principles... the Song of Ashtavakra :)

Excerpts from the Ashtavakra Gita by Guruji H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji.

अष्टावक्र उवाच ।।मुक्तिम् इच्छसि चेत्तात विषयान् विषवत्त्यज ।क्षमार्जवदयातोषसत्यंपीयूषवद् भज ।। १-२।।

Ashtavakra spoke: muktim ichchasi chet taat vishayaan vishavat tyaja kshamaa aarjava dayaa tosha satyam piyushavad bhaja (1-2)

“The synonym for truth is existence. What exists is truth. The five important points are forgiveness, sincerity, compassion, contentment and truthfulness.

· Kshama (forgiveness)

Forgive yourself. Some vasanas, impressions were responsible for your actions. If you can’t forgive yourself you have tied yourself with the past. Then there is no freedom; no liberation. You have to free yourself from the past and how can you do it if you cannot forgive? Kshama, forgive yourself. Forgiveness, right now!

· Arjava (sincerity)

There are people who go on forgiving themselves but they are not sincere. So they can be where they are and continue doing the same thing. You may have done something wrong; you are also preparing to something wrong today and will continue with something tomorrow. There is no sincerity. Sincerity is a quality. Sincerity is there when you do anything with full awareness….. Kindle the sincerity within you….

· Daya (compassion)

Don’t be hard on yourself or on anyone else. If you are totally non-violent, violence ceases to exist in your presence. There is a maturity of compassion towards everyone and all beings. if you are not compassionate, you are bound to get angry. Daya is your very nature.

· Tosha (contentment)

Contentment follows compassion. A frustrated person cannot be compassionate. If you had only ten days to live on this planet, what would you want to do… we hang on to things as if though they will be forever…. A friend of yours behaved badly with you and hurt you. What actually hurts you is your own foolishness. The whole world needs to understand this; the entire world is burning out for nothing. Every moment put yourself in knowledge. Everybody should be immersed in two or three hours of SEVA.

· Satyam (truth)

Truth is what is right now! This is truth! What is the truth! You are not going to be here all the time! Atleast this body is not!

The body is always changing

The whole world is changing

People are changing; their minds are changing.

Wake up and see that everything is changing.

It makes you so firm, strong and solid inside.

These five principles exist in your life.

Did these five principles come up during the day. Did you forgive yourself or someone else for what happened. Were you sincere in what you were doing? Situations have been created for you to do this… Accepting that you have been insincere is sincerity, not judging, not giving any explanation, not justifying oneself; but acknowledging it.then you have become sincere. Were you compassionate towards yourself and others. Were you contented with what is and what was happenng around you. Did you remember that truth that all things are changing? What is truth? This will all go…..

Piyushavadbhaja..

Take these five principles as the nectar of your life and share them like nectar. Consider them as the essence or ambrosia of your life and nourish them.”

We don’t hold on to big things. We hold on to small things, little things around us. We hold on to straws here and there. But you are given something that is immensely valuable and very precious. In order to take something very precious, our mind has to know that the hands are full of straws, which are good-for-nothing. Letting go is the nectar, the ambrosia. Ambrosia is being offered to you but you are holding onto some poison ivy!

You don’t have to make any effort, just wake up!” ....... :)

Ashram times... Navratri and Guru Puja...:)

This is dedicated to you Sarthak.. thanks for inspiring me to write again after a long time ..

Guruji’s coming to Ahmedabad…excitement, joy, last minute Ashram trip for Navratri and Guru Puja Phase 1 …Mega YES!+ with Bau and Dinesh bhaiyya..there was hardly any time left to think..

Navratri trip was amazing.. The highlight as usual, after Gurudev offcourse, was the Ashtami Puja. Guruji described it as special because priests from all over South India and Dwarka performed it, turn by turn..

The chanting left me dissolved.. This was the first time my usually high pitta troubled stomach showed no signs of any unwanted acids rising to my head.. :) time from 6.30 am to almost 3.30 pm passed, with me opening my eyes for a few seconds every now and then, and back to the ‘---------’ State .. ;)

Rudra Pujas every day till Guruji was there… and Indrani ready to squeeze and hug Guruji after each of the Pujas.. ;)

And then time for Guru Puja Phase 1…. Called as ‘The Course’ by Girin bhaiyya…who came to take the long kriya on the first day..

Bhanu di’s presence glowed and bhakti flowed through the course.. :)

My favourite memory of the course was the shloka “Yaddvare nikhilanilimpa parishad” and Bhanu di’s amazing and yet so simple style of storytelling…Chanting and Dancing through the course and it was time to come back…

For a change the return back home was exciting as Gurudev’s visit to Gujarat lay right ahead.. Though I probably missed the heat of the seva action, the days ahead were just amazingly beautiful…. No words can describe the feeling.. ' Being with the Presence' and ‘Feeling the Presence’ :)

Part II follows…