Padma sadhana

Description of Padma Sadhana or Lotus Meditation: The ideal time to do Padmasadhana is between 4 and 6 o’clock in the morning. *  Always do Padmasadhana on a blanket or mat – not directly on the floor. If you wish to do additional yoga asanas, you can do them before you begin Padmasadhana. While combining with Home Sudarshan Kriya practice you need to finish padmasadhana practise and then do 3 stage pranayama , bhastrika, OM, and Sudarshan Kriya.  THE SEQUENCE  OF ASANA FOR PADMASADHANA  PRACTISE : Yoga asanas: 1. Body Rotation, 4 times clockwise, 4 times anti-clockwise, sitting in Lotus or half Lotus posture. 2. Crocodile Asana, Makarasan, lie down on stomach, left leg bended the to the left side 3. Half-Locust Asana, Ardh Sulbhasan, ie on the stomach, lift right leg one feet off the floor, then left leg 4. Full-Locust Asana, Purna Sulbhasan , lift both legs at the same time one feet off the floor (palms in fists(thumbs inside) under the pelvis). 5. Cobra Asana,Bhujangasan hands near the shoulders, bend back backwards, keep navel on the floor, look up 6. Superman Asana, Viprit Sulbhasan , lift arms (in front of the body) and legs, only stomach touches floor 7. Bow Asana, Dhanurasan, hands hold feet, only stomach touches floor 8. Rest in Crocodile Asana, Makarasan Turn from your right side and lie down on your back 9. Dead body Asana, Savasan…lie still with out moving 10. Boat Asana,Naukasan.  lift leg and upper body up off the floor, hands point towards the knees, hand palms facing each other 11. Alternate Knees Press, Ardh Pawan Mukt Asana: to chest, first right knee, then left knee, and touch your nose to your knees. 12. Full Knees Press, Purna Pawan Mukt Asana : Bring both knees to the chest and lock arms over the knees and touch nose to your knees. 13. Shoulder-stand Asana, Shulbhasan, Bend your knees and raise your body to the sky and support your waist with your hands. 14. Dancing Shiva Asana, Natraj Asan: right side: right knee on left knee, make right knee touch floor at the left side of the body, right arm stretched away and then do the left side. 15. Rest in Dead body Asana Turn to your right side and sit and go into the next asana 16. Spinal-twist Asana, Ardh Macchendra Asan : Right side: right foot is placed under the left hip, left foot is neear the right knees, right elbow touches outside of left knee, right hand holds left foot. and then the other side 17. Mountain Asana, Parvat Asan , Sit in Lotus or half Lotus, raise hands from the side to make palms join each other, clasp the thumbs, stretch palms away from floor. 18. Yoga-Mudra, Sitting in Lotus or half Lotus, right hand in adi mudra (fist with thumb touching root of the ringfinger finger), left hand holds right wrist, bend over with head touching the floor. PRANAYAMA. Do Alternate Nostril Pranayama, or Naadi Shodhan Pranamaya Breathing for 5 minutes. Sit in full lotus or half lotus position ie Ardh or Purna Padma Asan. Left hand placed on left knee in chin mudra (thumb touches index finger, three other fingers stays stretched).  Right hand: index finger and middle finger touch lightly between the eyebrows, thumb and ring finger alternately press the nostrils (the nostrils don’t close completely). Breathe in normal breath exhaling and inhaling at the count of 6. Meditate for 20 minutes. If you don’t know Sahaj Samadhi meditation you can do ujjayi-breathing with the different mudras or calmly observe your breath. End the meditation with 5 minutes Alternate Nostril Pranayama, or Naadi Shodhan Pranamaya Breathing. As descibed, one round of Padmasadhana is:  Yogasanas + Alternate Nostril Breathing (5 minutes) + Meditation (20 minutes) + Alternate Nostril Breathing (5 minutes) During menstruation DO NOT DO ANY ASANAS: Four principles during asana’s: 1.. Yoga is union of the : body -breath -mind 2.. With contraction: breathe out With expansion: breathe in 3.. Steady, joyfull, relaxed postures 4.. 4 long breaths in each pose (asana) Preferably avoid for better sadhana: a.. Cigarettes and tobacco in any form. b.. Alcohol (including beer and wine) c.. Non-Vegetarian  food of any kind ( including fish, meat, eggs) d.. Fermented cheese, Onion and Garlic

Art of living DSN course

Anandji's DSN Course Notes What is the DSN course? DSN, in the Art of Living world, is sometimes jocularly referred to as "door se namashkar" or "Don't say no!", and that is not without reason. The course is a 4 day, 16 hrs a day, hard core course to accelerate your growth as an individual, and hence help the society you live in, to grow. The course is tough, to say the least, and is intense hard-work. It challenges some of the very assumptions we come to the course with, and causes significant shifts in the thinking and perspectives of the participants. It brings you face-to-face with some of the unpleasant aspects of your life, your fears, your relationship-troubles that you had chosen to suppress. The course is not lectures! In fact, lectures are very small part of the course. The intense yoga and pranayama sessions are physically challenging, leading the way to mental and emotional awakening. And the real-world situations created and discussed in the course, the role-plays, the requirement to consider other better (but not necessarily comfortable) alternatives, takes your growth to a new trajectory. Most participants come out of the course physically and mentally rejuvenated, committed to their goals and the upliftment of the society they live in. The courage and motivation they have thus gained keeps them going full-throttle for months to come! They feel the "bliss of the Master" everywhere. One of the primary strengths of the DSN course is the social and networking element. I am surprised at how many of the DSN alumni continue to be in touch with each other years after the course is over and reminisce about the course and Anandji. I can recognize most of the participants I did my DSN with, and invariably comment about the great experiences we had during the course. Notes The following are some of the points that I could recollect from Anandji's DSN course that we attended in Dahisar, Mumbai (DSF, Anand Nagar), between 13 - 16th Nov 2008. They have been recorded here in a very concise form, at times intentionally cryptic, so as to be useful as a refresher for the participants of Anandji's DSN program. Care has been taken not to make this page a self-contained alternative to the DSN course, since the author firmly believes that you cannot get even minuscule benefit from a third person account of what the DSN course is all about - you have to undergo the course to be able to change your life! Dr Ching Pong Zak.zak..zak...zak....zakkaasss!!! Got it?!?! You can get down only before the plane takes off. Once the plane takes off, you can only get down at the destination. Extension of an individual is the family. Extension of the family is the society. Extension of the society is the Divine Society (the Divya Samaj) Rock Solid Share karo, sher bano Share with EAF Circle of comfort/courage Pressing the "buttons" and distributing "remote controls"! Label The simple question to be used when making any difficult decision - is it good for me in the long run? waain-waain waain-waain sochne ka nahi...bas karne ka. Munna Circuit example. Pappu log bas sochte hain...winner log karke dikhate hain. Pappu log excuse dete hain, winner log results dete hain Bhai ne bola hai na, toh dimaag nahi lagane ka! bina charge ka cellphone!!!??? :-) Smiling person - product complete. Non smiling person - work in progress. Sad person - manufacturing defect. andar YES hai to baahar bhi YES hai...andar NO hai to baahar bhi NO hai. Madan Mohan Malviya - Sharm to mujhe is baat ki aati hai ki woh marne wala bhi jaate jaate kuchh deke gaya...aur is jinda aadmi ne kuchh nahee diya! A question mark becomes a hook in your mind. Once you replace the question mark with an exclamation mark, it becomes a pillar, of strength! So the 6th Sutra of AOL is "Oho! Aise bhi log hote hain!!!!". Before DSN - Oh God, why me?? Why not my neighbour?? After DSN - Oh God! Try me!!!! 3 tips for losing weight Thinking of past brings tears, Thinking of future brings fears, That is why present is so dear Guruji's explanation on the reason for depression Importance of seva / service Sadhana gives energy, energy makes more seva, more seva makes deeper sadhana, which inturn gives more energy... A course that gives you Padma, Sadhana, and Shanti - what reason to not do this course!!! Importance of Ashtavakra Gita, and the right procedure for its study Take over a role, give 100% and let go LG = LG Engine or Bogie? Knowledge should be taken in the way it is conveyed; Not in the way it is convenient Results are 1% technique, and 99% grace of the Master If you respect the technique, the technique will respect you Case study of the person with Trigeminal Neuralgia Power of "Om Namah Shivay" - Ravan's throne was on a dias,  which could be reached by climbing 9 steps - each step indicating one of the navagraha. Padma Sadhana - password to the internal energy The concept of collective intelligence (which comes into play when you had made your 100% efforts, and then you surrender) Guru stories: - tujhe dekha to yeh jaana sanam - are those models more beautiful than me - 25th silver jubilee celebrations - awesome! - Guruji, will you sleep with me? - Guruji, will you marry me? - Oh ho! Now people are using me as a transport coordinator also! - India in 2016 Mahesh Giriji was Peethadheesh for 20 years, and his experience on the first day of Kriya! Mahesh Giriji's accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway - dekho, bacha liya na! The architect knows his design well! The story about the cruise The most amazing thing about Guruji is his level of consciousness! A devotee experienced this on his request and by Guruji's grace, and later explained the experience as that of being a very busy telephone exchange where all lights are constantly flickering and you are frantically busy patching the connections!   Having is one thing, realizing what we have is another!   Yeh dharti kisi ka rin naheen rakhti - tum ek daana doge, woh 100 dana waapis degi. Tun 100 dana doge, woh 10 hazaar dana waapis degi! Very innovative use of the Durga invocation prayer: Jaago jaago maa Jaago jaago maa Jaago jaago maa janani Jaago jaago maa janani Jai Durga devi, Ranchandi devi Jai Durga devi, Ranchandi devi Shiv-ramana jaago maa Shiv-ramana jaago maaaa...   Aska lakdi lakda lakda. Hupta lakdi

Art of living knowledge talk 2

AOL april 28, 2012 follow up. Long kriya and knowledge talk Every musical instrument is connect to one of the 7 energy centres of the body. The 7 chakras. The chakra on the top of the head is the "bliss" chakra. Tis is the only one that has only positive energy. Hence why blessings are given to the head. The conch resonates to the sound of the head.the conch is the closest to god. Second energy centre is in the middle of the forehead. It is responsible for anger and awareness. When your energy goes up you gain awareness. When your energy goes down you get angry. Also those most aware are also prone to get angry. The bells is the sound. For this chakra. The third chakra is in the throat. For gratitude and grief. Notice the throat choking during these 2 feelings. The flute is the instrument for this chakra. Or wind based instrument. When in grief listen to wind based instruments. The fourth chakra is the heart centre. Responsible for love, hatred, and fear. You never experience hatred when youre in love. String based instruments is the one to harmonise this area. Guitar is the sympolic expression of love. The fifth chakra is the naval. Responsible for joy, greed, and jealously.  The insrument is the piano. The sixth chakra is behind the genitals. 4 inches from the base of the spine. Responsible for sex vs creativity and procrastination. Part of the same energy. The instrument associated with this is the saxophone/ pipe instruments. The seventh chakra is the tip/ base od the spine. For activity or being inert. The instrument is drums.  So depends on how you feel then switch to the corrent instruments. Our life is nothing but controlling this energy.  Purpose of pranayam, meditation, kriya, yoga is all about creating this energy upwards. There are specific types of music for various types of people such as laid back, restless, or other types. He who spends time inwards will always be happy. The one whomlooks inwards will always be happy. Pain and suffering is due to lack of merit in life. Giving charity is not punya. (merit) Even praying and meditating is not merit. It is the most selfish act. Merit cannot be earned when you are doing it for yourself. Merit can only be earned thru seva (service) to somebody else. There is no other way. Depression is nothing but toomuch time for yourself. Giving service will take someone out of depression. Also dharma vs punya. As humans we have certain obligations to this earth. Whatever you can do in your comfort zone is dharma. That which you do outside your comfort zone is seva/merit. What are you doing to beautify the lives of those around you. That is punya. Try this: be consciously aware and do 5 random acts of kindness. Uncomfortable to you but will being comfort to others. Its not just about the action, its the quality of the mind. Be leaders of bringing joy in society. What have you done to uplift of others.  Om namah shivaya 5 syllables. Nothing to do with shiv. The 5 elements Na means earth Ma is fire Shi is water listen to waves crashing. Sound of shi will also vibrate water. Wa is space Ya is air. Om means peace. So let there be peace n all the 5 elements, there is prosperity.  We should cnat in everyday 108 times. 12 zodiacs and 9 planets. Putting everything into peace. Snake in the neck signifies awareness. Ganga flowing means knowledge. To allow mankind to connect with the formless, forms were created. All forms across all religions were created to Help understand the formless. There is an om namay shivaya pranayam on guruji's voice. The palms have millions of pours. So we bless from the palms. It absorbs energy. Also after each pranayam we face our palms upwards to absorb the energy flowing. Humans have abundance of energy for themselves and to give others. Blessings work when you want nothing in return. Are you god. Yes i am. The only difference is that youndont realize that you are god too- sri sri ravi shankar Enlightenment is not learning something new. It is using what you know.  Water has the ability to cleanse the aura. Communication skills: Talk less and observe more Dont impose your likes and dislikes on people Never ask for favours Never delare your assets and failures, Never ascert your position on someone else. 

Art of living health and happiness seminar info

Health and Happiness Seminar Agenda 1. Talk about the organisation. The art of living foundation.  A non religious, non profit humanitarian organisation. Over 153 countries. In 30 years over 300m people have done the course. 2.  Ask questions - how many of you want more energy in life. Lets first figure our what is depleting your energy.  What gives you stress in your life. A. Talk abt oscillating the mind in thr past and future. Have you noticed how your mind is in past and future. Where is life. In the present.  B. Second thing that deplets energy is doubt. Have you noticed how we doubt the positive. Doubts deplete energy. C.  Third thing is the mind clinging on the negative. Give the nose example. So how to energize ourself. 3. Ask them how they gain energy in life?  There are four sources of energy. Food. Sleep. Peace of mind (meditation). Breath.  Breath is thr speciality area. Speak on the first and last act of life. Life is in between the 2 breaths. Mention the 30%of lung capacity. Viruses cannot thrive in an oxygen rich environment. Aolresearch.org Speak on health. All the psycho scematic disorders.  Do brastika. Remember abt those with heart problems, don't let them do brastika. Then the 7 layers of existence. Factors that make up the quality of your life, Body Breath Mind (for perception) Intellect Memory Ego Consciousness - joy expansion, sadness contraction Pain is just the lack of energy in you. Stress causes a breakdown of these layers Then you talk about the part 1 course. Abt harmonising all these 7 layers. The whole course is about learning to live in the present, calming the mind, creating a better quality of life. Using spowerful breatjing exercises, yoga, meditation, and powerful wisdom. Alll the purpose of this is to live in the present. Language of the body is effort.  But the mind doesnt understand effort. Mind knows effortlessness. End it with my personal experiences.

Art of living -knowledge talks

Truth Truth is in the unseen not the seen. Being direct is not a virtue, being sensitive sin your directness is a virtue Truth is that which doesn't change with time Truth is in pleasantness. Kirtan means singing. Origin means earthen means when a child calls for its mother giving 100%. So kirtan means 100% calling to whatever divine. Purpose of satsang to move from sound to silence. 2 mandatory rules. One is to participate. Participants have a superiori complex in a satsang. And inferiroity complex. They hide so no one sees them. So we need to let go, and enjoy. Right brain is music, left brain is logic.  Purpose of knowledge? Is to become a potato. Not by its shape but by its nature. A potato is liked by 98% of the world's population.  To make you acceptable, accesbile, and likeable by all. So change your nature to become like a potato. Second nature of a potato. Chop it, boil it, roast it, fry it. It will still taste good. No matter what the world does to you you still taste sweet to people. The thrid nature of a potato it will blend in anything. A potato never holds on to its ego. Its loses its colour, blends into evrything snd everyone, everywhere. Likeable by the world Make you so strong that no matter what you still have a smile and love them You blend in no matterbwhat. Knowledge is to make you light. A potato is a poor man's food and a rich man's taste. If knowledge is making you stiff, grumpy then don't claim you have a guru. There are 3 principles in life.  1. Saralta - be simple. In society we trying to be superior, impress people.  2. Sahajta- be effortless. so you will have a smile, won't rob your peace of mind. .  The mind has 4 tendencies. Attention, recognition. appreciation, praise. 3. Sathyatha - Be truthful. Don't impress so you wont need to lie. When negative truth is spread it is no longer truth it is distorted. Never speak unpleasant truth. That creates karma for yourself. Unpleasant truth loses its truthfullness. Neither speak pleasant lies.  Everyone is affected by these 4 Things. Lokeshna - wanting attention, craving for appreciation Jivishna, craving for comfort. Too much comfort weakens the mind. Choose sometimes to be uncomfotrable. The day you embrace discomfort then no discomfort will affect you. Artheshna-feverish for money. Of possessions.  We already have enough. Hitler said that after you die the amount of money you leave in the bank is the proof of how much hard work you didn't have to do. What is death. That which comes and snatches all that you are holding on to. Those that are able to let go of all you are holding on to even death can take that away. Putreshna - attachment to relationship. To wife, kids, family. Overprotectiveness. Not good. Won't allow to go to beach cause they'll lose their colour. The love of an ignorant is more dangerous than the scolding of a wise. What is Karma? Means the impression of an action. We hold an impression of my self.  Either negative or positive both create karmas for yourself.  So do not old a judgement of yourself. We always doubt our incapability but we always doubt our capability. With richness comes lack of contentment.  Forgive others so you remain free of those impressions. Never hold on to opinions of others. You be free. What others are perceiving you with. It causes karma for me. Life is about others are perceiving you cause this determines karma. Let no one walk away from you having a negative impression of you. That is your responsibility. Bring harmony in everyone's mind. Difference between karma and punya. Karma is impression. Punya is merit. Punya is the ability to enjoy it. Will bring joy to everything. Without merit you cannot function on this planet. karma brings the money but the punya makes you enjoy it. The only way to get punya is thru service. The most selfish you do in your life is meditate and pray. Both done are for your benefit. Service is for others. Whatever you do in the comfort zone is your dharma (duty). Outside of the comfortn zone is your punya. If your comfort isnt making others comfortable then that is not comfort. There is 8 different wealth. Look at his blog. howto gain punya. The moment you claim any fame from your action the punya is gone. Do something for others that they can never repay you back, that is the highest punya. The main goal on art of living is to bring a smile on you which doesnt fade by events in live. A stress free,  Purpose of spiruality is to make you come to ease. With yourself and with others around you.  In the end of your life 3 things matter. How much have you loved everyone around you. How much knowledge have you gained, how gracefully have you let go of everything. Look back with gratitude, look up with confidence, look forward with hope and prayers. Laxmi is not money. It is comfort to find inner peace. Money just happens to access that comfort. The 8 laxmi's: ashta laxmi Adhe laxmi - the self. Dhan laxmi - money Dhane laxmi - food Santana  - family Dhaiyre - courage Vidya- knowledge Vijay - victory Raj- leading/command From rama to raheem: evolution of the human's essentials Rama from discipline, krishna from celebration, jesus brought love, buddha brought meditation, adishankara from knowledge, and raheen brought service (seva) Prophet Raheem - saint in Islam. Whenever he gave/ donated he would look away, and when asked why he answered, showing 2 drops of tears saying how can i look into the eyes of someone from whom i have received everything.Problem is nothing but lack of utilization of your mind to search for an idea. Praying makes us talk to god. Meditation makes us listen to god.

Art of living day 4

Day 4 - Art of Living Part One Course Stopping thoughts: shock, singing, meditation. Dreams and meditation are the 2 ways the mind releases its impressions. Whenever the body is stressed headaches occur. Its a defence mechanism. Healing the body.  Where are you? When you are aware, you are everywhere. You are here yet a part of something so huge. When our mind makes us aware of such a huge thing then the little things don't bother us. What are you? Energy. Inside the DNA is just energy. There should be a sense of urgency in life.   Who are you? To keep asking. We ran out of answers, repeating who we are. We run out of ways to explain who we are. Giving our first name is the most narrow answer we can give. We attach so much to our name. Brings so much misery. 2nd identity we give is our surname. 3rd identity is our nationality. 4th narrow identity we give is our religion. 5th identity is male/female These all were given/ forced after we are born. The higher identity we have is we are part of this infinite consciousness. Part of this divinity. That is who we are. Living in oneness. We know there is more but couldnt express it. That is who we are. 3rd highest identity. Your sex, then you are ahuman, then the highest is that you are art of the divinity, part of the infinite consciousness. Be human, be kind, be compassionate. Not to see intentions behind people's mistakes. All Regioions- symbols, rituals, values.  People hand on to sym and rit but the values are all the same.  Astrology was created to show us oneness in the world. These 4 identities is what distorts us in life. Impressing means we are using our ego in the wrong way. Wanting attention, appreciation, recognition, and praises is your biggest impediment in yourspiritual journey. I am happy with my sction, content, then you are free. When you want no attention, you are at peace. People getting jealous at you is negative energy for you. He more you are far from it, the more you are closer to people. Walk light. We've globalised music, and food, and technology. We need to globalize wisdom also.  If you want to grow, let go. What is Yoga? - 8000 years old. Yoga simply means union. Purpose to create an impact of deeper meditation. Means union of body, breath, and the mind. Body is in the present moment. So is the breath. In the present. The mind that's in the past and in the future. Yoga is like pringles. Everyone is selling it and available in every store. To make the mind stills yoga was invented. Sip water and drink. Slowly, little at a time. And don't stand and drink, or sit and fold legs and drink. Good for water retention.  Never put anything on your body that you cannot consume. Use ayurvedic stuff only. Or organic only. Home kriya: 20 large breath 40 medium breath 40 short breath 3 sets of it. He takes you from birth to the end. Via a meditation. And we realize we are the same. Nothing has changed. This is the nature of the consciousness.  We give so much attention to the scenery, but that will change. Our ideas, feelings, emotions change. Knowing that everything is changing is one of the highest knowledges on the earth. The seer is always constant, what is changing is the scenery. Knowing everything you are seeing is going to change. We set standards and we expect people to match those standards. Be like us.  People are either going to be above us or below us. We tend to avoid those above us, and ignore those below us. We avoid or ignore. We need to accept people as they are. If you don't accept people as they are you are the one in disharmony. Only 2 choices. React or accept. You follow your nature, let them follow theirs. He gives a storey of the scorption and the saint. Anger is non acceptance of what is. The unchanging reality. Acceptance doesn't mean you become passive. Acceptance is active. To measure anything you need a bigger scale that it is. To call someone egotistic means you are a bigger egotistic. Game: Each one tells a story.  Each speaks of each ones ups and downs to bring you to this point in time. We live life as though god has chosen us to punish. People strats to notice that everyones story is similar is to your own. You could visualize peoples lives, relate to it. Felt the connection to others, We live life as if god as given only us all the problems. After hearing others issues you hear that my problems is worse than mine. Everyone is rowing the same boat but on a different waves. People spent more parts of their lives. Why? Cause the mind is still holding onto those impressions. The trauma is still there. The purpose of knowledge is for belongingness. In life we compartmentaize our love. Love is not an emotion. It is an existence, what we are made up of. Everyone is suffering 4 things. Finances, health, relationships, misscellaneous. What distorts our love in life is conditional love. Unconditional love is divine love. Anger is also the offspring of love. The love for perfection. Greed is loe for something you ned more of. Jealously, etc. everything is love. Every negative emotion is the offspring of love. When you look beyond the emotion you wil only see love. What distorypts love in life is conditions, love people as they are. The greatest fortune in life to say i want nothing. I am here to help you. Prosperity doesnt bring happiness. It is happiness which brings prosperity. Everyone is waiting for someone to come and say i belong to you. It is the responsibility of the awakened to awaken the unawaken. Violence is there in the world cause good people are not doing anything. Nature doesn't discriminate. The breath passes thru the good and the bad. Don't just accept people for who they are, but love them for who they are: People below us you give your hand and lift them up. Those above us you reach out to them and lift yourself up. 5 points to keep you in check: 1. Opposite values are complimentary. Say yes to it. Thumbs up 2.Accept people in situations as they are and for who they are. Finger pointing 3. Don't see intentions behind other people's mistakes. At this point everyone is innocent. Gun pointing. 4. Don't be a football of other people's opinions. Cup hands like a ball 5. Live in the present moment. Put your 100% in everything. Palm straight. When you lie down then you turn to the right before you get up.  All major organs are on your left. And when you eat you sleep on your left. For metabolism. 2 ppl sit across each other. Meditative music. A reflection again from birth to growing up. The diff states of growth. Then they look into the partner's eyes. With innocence they drop all boundaries, notions, opinions. Look into the consciousness behinf those eyes. Feel the presence of the being behind those eyes. That soul, that spirit. Look beyond those eyes. Then close eyes again. Again open, and look into the parners eyes, and god came to you in the form of this partner. Can you accept it? Feel the divinity. Made of the same substance as you. Close eyes again. Breathe again. Now hold each hands and bless the partnrer. Bless with all your love. Love with all your heart. Then a dance music. soft sitar music. They all stand now. Music louder. Listen to the music eyes closed. Let the music become a part of your soul. Let your body loose. Let your body dance. Keep eyes closed. Become one with the music.  Let go. Then music changes to faster dancing. Let go. Dance. Then we say i belong to you again. Play the 30 years of art of living video. Speaks about what is a guru. Talk about the divine shop. The biggest misery is questioning the present moment. Saturn planet. When saturn is in your home is not good.. Astrologers starts with saturn. One of the most spiritual planet of the 9. Saturn comes to your home is to make your spiritual. As soon as you have pain you become spiritual. Saturn comes to your home is to maintain soiritual in your home. Being happy canjot make you spiritual. Pain brings you to spiritual. Vibrations from saturn creates problem for those not spiritaul. Planets exist because of our consciousness.

Art of living day 3

Day 3 - Art of Living Part One Sky video is played. Then kriya again. We automatically take responsibility for everything we feel we belong to. To grow in life we need belongingness. We need to take more responsibility to grow. With great power comes great responsibility. What is responsibily? Means your ability to respond to every moment to make things better than the way you find it. What can i do to make things better! What are you doing right now to bring harmony to the moment. That is responsibility.  Whether you take responsibility, everything around you is affecting you, action or inaction either way affects you. When we take responsibility either we succeed or fail. When we fail the mind blame others and situations. Blaming drains energy. You become weak. You empower yourself. Take responsibility of your action or inaction. Don't see intentions behind other people's mistakes. No one plans to make a mistake. Moon affects the human. Full moon affects the water balance in the human. Lunar/ lunatic. High water tide raises the emotions in the body, we are 70% water. Dont eat green veges onfull moon. Green veges are90% water. The biz of astrology thrives on fear.  Astrology is about the wonder of creation.  Truth is in the unseen, not in the seen. People don't know better, if they did they would have already done it. Before you forgive yourself, forgive others. Not for their sake, for your sake. Whatever is due to you is delivered by people when its due to you at that moment in time. Karma is always delivered on time. Whatever is due for you. You educate and then ignore. No expectations.  Be like buddha, the embodiment of compassion. When someone makes a mistake your reaction to that mistake takes away the learning from them. What thousand words cannot convey one glance will ;What thousand glances cannot convey one smile will. Forget the past, in this present moment everyone is innocent. Your primary respinsibilty is to protect your own mind. Shouting at some is showing you are shouting at ignorance. Doesn't matter how you get there. Just get there. Whenever you complain its you not taking resposnsibility Sign of enlightment is no complaints, no blames, and no excuses. No one wants disturbances but all wants peace. You cannot get one without the others. Head and tails are a coin. One cannot go without the other. If you were always peaceful you wouldn't know what peace is. Joy and sorrow complement each others existence. Life is moving from one perfection to another. All inperfections are perfected thru the opposites in life. All opposite values are complimentary. Wisdom is to see that every opposite is complimentary to you. All bad is gonna compliment you later in life. Life only progresses. Say yes to all the opposites. It can only lead you up! Its the opposites that makes your intelligence work Say yes to the opposite. You'll have something to do in life.  It is an essential element to your own growth. Let it be. Don't judge. EGO: what is EGO to you? "Self praise, personality, masking self, not accepting wrong, self respect, not taking responsibility, thinking you are somebody, wanting to impress others" - group thoughts. Saying i'm stupid, i'm fat, i'm dumb, this is also ego. Fools have bigger ego than the wise. They'll never say they have an ego.  Ego is simply a sense of separation from the other. Opposite of ego is being natural. Whereever you are, whoever you are be yourself. Be like a 4 year old. No ego. Stay in the present, natural state. No barriers. Be at ease. We never doubt the negative, but not the positive. Ego has 2 elements. Inferiority complex and superiority complex. We live an unnatural life cause of people's perception. We live life how others want us to live. Shyness, embarrasment, nervous - all ego. When you are not at ease that is ego. Be at ease. Always wherever you are, whenever you are. The opposite of ego is being natural.  We don't to be a football of other people's opinion. That is ego. People keeps pressing our buttons and make us behave how they want us to behave. Buttons are just praise and criticisms. When you become unaffected by both then you are centred, until then we are just a football of people's opinion. Every opinion is very temporary. The nature of opinion is short lived. There are too many opinions. Don't need it. Then you are living your own life. Homework: 1. Where are you? I am nowhere.  2. What are you? I am nothing.  3. Who are you? I am no one.

Art of living day 2

Day 2 -Art of Living Part One Sooner and later when nature is abused it retaliates. Too much materialismand too spiritual is not good. Alcohol compresses the perceptory nerves Open mind vs closed mind. I know itall. Vs  I know it, but there' s more to know. Be happy NOW. Not for something in the future.  Abundance flows to those in gratitude. When you give 10 compliments and 1 insult, you'll remember just the insult. Its the sign of a diseased mind.  Happiness comes with you put 100% in what you do.  No reason to be happy, but you need a reason to be unhappy. Putting your all its contentment, fulfilment, satisfaction.  When there is 100% there is fulfilment. Keep your hands 100% busy, heart 100% full of love, and mind 100 empty of thoughts. Trying is a half hearted action. Implies failure. Put 100% in whatever you do. Simple.  Every sound impacts your nervous system. Aum isthe first sound , oldeest recorded. Non religious.Earht rotating on its axis same sound as aum.  Immense purifing impact on the body A sound is creativity so you feel it in the med section. Chanting a a purifies that region. U sound is associated with the operating system, the chest region, lungs, heart, kidneys. Only sound and energy can pass thru the nerves. These purifies these regions.  M sound is associated with the head region.  Destruction.  God - generator, operator, destroyer One of these energies dominate the other 2, Hence imbalance Chanting AUM 70% is AU and balance 30% is M SKY sudhashan kriya yoga: Home work: 1. What do you take responsibility for: kids, wife, parents. My own actions. For my character and integrity 2. What do you not take responsibility for? Anything outside my circle of control.  To what i' m not committed to.  For the thoughts of others.  Prayanam: 3. 8 cycles of ujai breath with hands on hips, the 8 at armpit, then 6 at shoulder blades 4,4,6,2 4. Forceful breathing 3 sets of 20 (brastika) Then AUM after that.

Art of living day 1

Day 1 - Art of Living - Part One Course Ground rules: No caffeine, no alcohol, no sweets, no pastries. No meat for the course. I belong to you. Must listen: 3 types of listening- intellectual is a no no, emotional listening is also a no no, prayerful listening is intellectual and emotional and that is a yes. 'How are you' questioning is no good.  Questioning just for attention is no good. A good question is one that you really need an answer for; pertinent to your life. 3 questions he asks students: 1. What do you want in life?  2. What are the things that bother you?  3. What do you expect to gain from this course?  Our expectations reduce our happiness in life. Joy in life. Expectations fulfilled or unfulfilled both reduce joy in life.  Surprises bring more joy. Life is in the present. Live in the present is the art of living. 7 layers of existense:  Body Breath Mind (for perception) Intellect Memory Ego Consciousness Stress causes a breakdown of these layers. We all need life energy (prana). How to get energy? High energy is good for you. Low energy is bad for you. Pain is the absence of energy. Negative emotions comes in low energy 4 sources of energy: A. Food. ( will feel tired, negative). Not eating or over eating. Take only 1 plate.  3 qualities of food.  1. Tamsic food. Old and stale, leftovers. Once cooked but must eated within 4-6 hours.  For salad, its 1 hr. For fruits, once discolouration comes then prana is going. 2. Rajsic food. Oily and spicy food, bombards the mind with thoughts. Hyperactivates the mind. So not to eat at night. Will wake up lethargic in morning.  3. Satvic food. Non oily, non spicy, non stale. Wheat, fruits, salad, fresh. Peas, beans.  Gee (liquid butter) little, helps digestive process by 20%. Breakfast must be satvic food. Lunch you can have a little rajsic food. Dinner you can do tamsic food, as you gonna sleep.  Potato, tomato neutral energy. Mushroom, eggplant depletes energy. Pumpkin-mother of all vegetables, when it comes to energy. All green vegetables are high energy. Close mouth when eating. Air meets food and energy lost.  Dont drink water with food. Drink 30mins before and 30mins after. Never eat fruits after a meal. Room temp food. Not hot or cold. Not rice or wheat. Body cant digest. Ensymes are confused. Cant produce for so much different food groups.  Non veg food. One piece of meat takes 72 hours to digest. 135 diseases comes thru meat. Non thru green vegetables. B. Sleep. Not enough or too much sleep, both makes you deplete energy. 6-8 hrs is enough. C. Peace of mind. More you think the more you lose prana. 20mins of thinking is 6 hrs of physically labour.  Settle the mind. Meditation helps to settle the mind.  D. Breath. 1st act of life is breath. Last act of life is breath. We live between 1st and last breath. We need to skillfully control the breath to control the mind. Mind is like a kits, breath is like the string for the kite. Breath controls the mind. Every state of mind has a corresponding pattern of breath.  We breathe only 30 percent of our lung capacity. Breath releases the toxins from the body.  Ujjayi breath: breathing from throat.  Prana yama (direction):  palms on hips, palms on armpits, pats on shoulder blads over head. Breathe for 4, hold for 4, out for 6" hold for 2 seconds. Bhastrika breathing: hands up/ down.  Indtamd energy instead of coffee/tea Removes unused air. No ujjayi breath for this one. Hands fist forward by side. Forcefull in out breath in and hands up palm out. Breath out and hands back down fist closed. ( Bhastrika) Meditation is the art of doing nothing; deconcentration; effortlessness. I do nothing, I want nothing, I am nothing.  No attention, no appreciation, no praise, nothing.  Meditation is when all your voluntary actions stop. Homework: 1. What do you need to be happy? 2. When will you be happy?

A window to your soul

A window to your soul We lead life through three states of consciousness — waking, dreaming and sleeping. In the waking state of consciousness, we experience the world through the five senses, be it sight, smell, touch, hearing or taste. We seek elevation and joy from these senses. For instance, we only want to look at something that is a source of joy, not at something likely to sadden us. If any one of the senses is missing, the entire dimension of that sense is lost. One who can’t hear is bereft of the whole arena of sound. Similarly, he who can’t see is deprived of all the beautiful sights and colors. So the sense is more important and much bigger than the object of the sense. Each sense has a limited capacity to enjoy — after all, how much can one see or hear or touch? However beautiful a sight, one cannot keep looking at it. The senses get tired after a short period of time. The eyes close and we want to go back into ourselves because every experience is an expense of energy. Rated higher than the sense is the ‘mind’. The mind is infinite; its desires are many. But the capacity of the senses to enjoy is small. This imbalance in the system will remain. Greed is wanting more and more sensory objects — even though a person can eat only so much, he wants all the chocolates in the world; though the amount (of money) that can be spent by an individual during a lifetime is limited, he wants all the wealth in the world. This is greed. This is what is prevalent in the world today. Giving too much importance to sensory objects leads to greed, giving too much importance to the senses leads to lust and giving too much importance to the mind and its desires leads to delusion. We hold on to the concepts of the mind and want things to happen in a certain way. Thus, the concepts in our mind impede us from perceiving the infinite consciousness that’s a part of us. I’m not saying that the senses or the mind are bad. But we must learn to discriminate between things and be aware of what is happening at all times; that is when clarity dawns on us. This is the first step towards the higher state of consciousness. Then fourth (or the higher) state of consciousness is somewhere in between the waking, sleeping and dreaming states; wherein we know ‘‘we are’’ but we don’t know ‘‘where’’ we are. This knowledge that I ‘‘am’’ but I don’t know ‘‘where’’ I am or ‘‘what’’ I am is called ‘‘Shiva’’. This state gives the deepest possible rest that one can experience. The mind becomes fresh, delicate and beautiful. In the waking state, one is constantly engaged in looking, smelling, eating, etc. The other extreme is the sleeping state where one is completely cut off and dull. The dullness and heaviness linger even after waking up. The more one sleeps, the duller one feels since a lot of energy is expended in sleep. Hence, the fourth state, where we are awake and yet at complete rest, is worth knowing. And we enter this state only during meditation. By: His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

10 characters of dharma

10 characteristics of Dharma Those who follow the path of dharma should cultivate ten characteristics of dharma within. The first one is dharti or Patience. In the spiritual sphere, if someone expects immediate results after starting the practice of Tantra, that would not be realistic. Therefore, be patient. Thus, dhrti is the first characteristic of dharma. The second characteristic of dharma is kshama or forgiveness. Each and every action produces an equal and opposite reaction provided the three relative factors remain unchanged. But these three factors often change – because of transformation from one state to another. Suppose someone has started doing some mischief by hitting you: this action will certainly have a reaction. When the time comes for you to take revenge, you should not express any reaction yourself. In this way you will break the continuity of the chain. The point at which the cycle of action and reaction stops, due to your initiative, is called forgiveness. This is the second characteristic of dharma. The third aspect of dharma is damah or control. Damana is the state of achieving control over internal enemies – that is, debasing propensities.  The fourth is asteya. Asteya literally means not to steal anything physically or mentally.  The fifth characteristic of dharma is shaocha and this is of two types: external and internal cleanliness. External cleanliness refers to body, clothes and surroundings. Internal cleanliness is that of mind. The sixth feature of dharma is indriyanigraha. In Sanskrit Indra means ‘controller’, ‘headman’ or ‘patriarch’. There are ten indriyas or organs: five sensory and five motor. As they exercise control over the physical activities, they are called ‘indra’, meaning “dominating entity”. The subtler mind or atman is superior to these organs. The indriyas are to be kept in check with your mental and spiritual power. This is why in dharmic life the control of organs is considered imperative. In the spiritual sphere one will have to exercise control over the sensory and motor organs. The seventh characteristic of dharma is dhi which means ‘benevolent intellect’. If human intellect is not channelised well it becomes destructive; it corrupts and exploits society. It may even become a demonic force. Dhi means intellect that helps regenerate society, which can benefit not only human beings but all beings. The eighth characteristic of dharma is vidya meaning ’internal assimilation of external objectivities’. It is of two types: vidya and avidya. Avidya is mainly concerned with external life whereas vidya is concerned with internal life. According to Ananda Marga philosophy, we cannot afford to ignore the external world, and thus ours is a subjective approach through objective adjustment. Avidya means ‘modern science’. You should not ignore modern science because whle avidya helps us develop in the physical sphere, vidya, helps one strive to attain liberation. Vidya and avidya will help human beings achieve success in material and spiritual spheres. The ninth characteristic of dharma is satyam or truth and it is to be observed in your individual and collective lives.  The tenth and final characteristic is akrodha or non-anger, a very subtle propensity. You should not be misguided or swayed by krodha or anger. Anger means to remain under the influence of nerve cells and fibres instead of being influenced by subtler layers of mind. It is therefore very dangerous. You may show anger to stop unholy activities of sinful people in society. This is called “sentient anger”. These are the ten characteristics of dharma.

Art of self discovery

Art of Self Discovery Only those who have eyes can see and only those who have ears can hear. That which has to be seen cannot be heard; it has to be seen. Life has five dimensions or five senses – seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching. But there is one more dimension that has gone out of sight; that is feeling. Feeling the Presence. Light cannot be heard through the eyes; it has to be seen through the eyes. Sound cannot be seen through the eyes but heard through the ears. Likewise, the presence has to be felt by the heart. God is not an object of senses but the feeling of feelings, the presence of presence, the sound of silence, light of life, the essence of the world and the taste of bliss. And our human life is enriched only when we can live this sixth sense of existence, of feeling. If you are feeling depressed and continue to feel depressed, you create particles of depression around you. Those ions of depressions around you go and stick to the environment. If someone walks into that place, even after you have left, that person for no reason would start feeling depressed. Have you experienced this? You walk into a room and suddenly feel angry vibes. You were all right a few minutes ago but the moment you walk in, all the anger, stress and tension overtakes you. Today there is a lot of talk about the environment. Environmentalists are at work everywhere you see. There is talk about protecting the forest, bringing up more greenery, recycling of things, materials, plastics and use of more natural and organic substances. A few years ago, this was not an issue at all, wasn’t it? Now all nations are coming to an agreement to save planet earth. Like we pollute the earth, we pollute the water, we also pollute the subtle environment of feelings and emotions. Man has become a victim of his environment. He is not in control of his mind but a victim of the environment. He is not in control of his mind but a victim of the environment and the total stress in the environment. Is it not so? We pollute our environment in a very subtle way through our negative emotions. But it takes quite sometime to clear the environment of this. It is inevitable that sometimes you feel stressed, sometimes you feel negative, sometimes you feel doubt, sometimes you get into all sorts of moods – it is inevitable. It happens. Nobody wants it. But when it happens how do we handle them? We hear a lot about other things in life but we spend very little time to hear about ourselves; how to handle our mind? How to be in the present moment? How to be happy and grateful? This we have not learnt. This is the most unfortunate thing. Then what is the solution? This is where we miss a very fundamental principle that governs our environment, our mind our emotions and our life in general. Our body has the capacity to sustain much longer the vibrations of bliss and peace than it does negative emotions because positivity is in the centre of our existence. Just like in the structure of the atom, protons and neutrons are in the centre of the atom and electrons are only the periphery, same is with our lives; the centre core of our existence is bliss, positivity and joy but it is surrounded by a cloud of negative ions. Through the help of the breath we can easily get over our negative emotions in a short period of time. Through meditation and certain breathing techniques you can clear this negative cloud. In future, I think the rule will come – anybody who feels depressed, will be fined! Ten thousand rupees fine for getting depressed! Then you will be asked to go and breathe and meditate and get rid of all your depression without swallowing any tablets. What is there for you to get depressed? You are here for a few years anyway; just a few years on this planet. And as long as you are here, you can as well, be happy. This life has so much to offer to you. You can see this once you take sometime off, rejuvenating the soul. You soul is hungry for a smile from you. If you could give this, you feel energised the whole year and nothing whatsoever can take the smile from you. Everyone wants to be successful in life. But without knowing what is success, you want to be successful. What are the signs of success? Just having a lot of money, is that success? Why do you think money means success? Because money gives you freedom so that you can do whatever you want. You may have a big bank balance but, you have stomach aches, ulcers, you may have to go for bypass surgery; can’t eat this, can’t do this, can’t do that. We spend half our health to gain wealth and spend half our wealth to gain back the health. Isn’t that funny? Is this success? It is very bad mathematics. Look at all those who claim to be successful – are they successful? No, they are miserable. Then, what is the sign of success? The sign of success is overwhelming joy, right? It is confidence, compassion, generosity and a smile that none can snatch away, being really happy and being able to be more free. These are the signs of a successful person. Take some time off to look a little deep into oneself and calm the mind down. Thus erasing all the impressions that we are carrying in our minds and experience the presence, the divine that is the very core of our existence. This is FEELING THE PRESENCE!!!

The space within

The Space Within You cannot measure the amount of energy inside an atom. Similarly, you cannot measure the full potential of a human being. The nature of a human being is quite similar to that of an atom. The core of an atom is positive. The negatively charged particles are only on the periphery of the atom. Similarly, the negativity of a person is not their true nature; it is just on the periphery. One is said to be “centered” when he or she is calm, steady and pleasant. How do we know whether the knowledge that we have is correct or not? Even 10,000 years ago, people knew that Jupiter had 63 moons. They used the subjective way of knowing things – by intuition and quieting the mind. When the mind becomes calm (it is like being in a state of deep rest though one is totally alert), then an intention is taken. With that intention comes intuition, knowledge as well as inspiration. Using this method, ancient sages derived knowledge about the universe and developed mathematical techniques that are valid today. Age-old calendars can still tell exactly what time an eclipse will happen. Ancient societies in the East knew that the sun is at the center of the solar system and planets move around it. They used the method of intuitive awareness in which one feels that every cell in his body is fully alive now, and the mind is quiet. You call that Samadhi. If we take out some time – say two or three days in a year – to keep silence and simply observe our own thoughts and emotions, then we get a sense of what quietness means. Freedom from the jugglery of thoughts is the basis of intuition. And, intuition is part of innovation. In our normal lives, we are bombarded with so many thoughts and stimuli that attention and retention is simply not there. Today’s children have problems like attention deficiency disorder and so on. They seem to have lost the ability to focus on simple tasks. When you become quiet in your mind, it is not as if you lose your intellect. In fact, the intellect becomes very sharp and the attention span increases. The first outcome of mediation or any self-development technique should be to increase our perceptual ability, which in turn, should help us in expressing ourselves better. One aspect is getting rid of stress, the other is seeing that stress doesn’t enter our system. For the latter, we need a change in our attitude towards things happening around us. We can bear the heat – with a sense of humor, a sense of ease, and with confidence. One needs to create barricades so that tension does not enter the mind. But it’s impossible not to have tension; it might slip in through some other way. Just learn to take it easy. The ease with which you are able to handle your environment, or the situation around you, is what I would call being able to utilize your full potential. When you are in touch with your full potential, nothing or nobody can shake you. You will have the smile and the confidence. Attaining a spiritual mindset is simply recognizing that there is life everywhere, that there is spirit everywhere. I do not see a division between what’s spiritual, and what’s material. The finest aspect of matter is spirit. The gross aspect of spirit is matter. It is like body and mind. You see through the eyes, but actually the eyes are the means through which the mind sees. The mind is the spirit. The whole world is combination of spirit and matter. Therefore spiritual practices too are not something that are any different from you being spirited and being happy and compassionate and being in love. The way of prayer is to be in amazement – looking at the cosmos and saying wow, how many planets! How many stars! How big is this Universe! Your consciousness expands, and this is meditation. The creation and the creator are not separate. The creator and the creation are one and the same. The creation is formed out of the creator, just like dance comes out of the dancer. I usually say we must have the 3C’s in our lives – cosmology, commitment and compassion. These three things make life beautiful. Billions of years have passed since existence began on earth. Compared to it, the span of human life – 80 years or 100 years – is nothing! In this vast space, where are we? Seeing yourself in the context of the big creation shifts you to a different level of consciousness. As per one of the scriptures in the ancient Vedic tradition of India, there are almost 112 ways of realizing consciousness. One of them is to observe the sky on a clear day, and let go, and relax. Wherever the mind goes, it makes an assumption and becomes quieter, as it assumes that space. And in that quiet state of mind, an intention fructifies very fast. A calm and clear state of mind also has capacity to heal and to elevate itself. It is full of joy, ease and love. You can look at your entire past as a dream. Just remember all the activities you did in the morning after waking up. Isn’t it all like a dream? All of those activities are now an impression in your memory – and a dream is also just an impression. See your whole past as a dream. In future, in the next 10-20 years, you will be doing many things, they will all pass like a dream. Knowing this and being aware of it, the space within us starts to open up and we start experiencing heightened awareness. You start seeing another dimension of life. Just wake up! (H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the founder of the Art of Living)

Holding on to infinity

Holding on to infinity Every cell in the body has the capacity to hold infinity. While a worm also eats and sleeps and wakes and performs its daily activities, there is no point in living like that. We must tap the full potential that nature  has bestowed on us, the potential to hold infinity in every cell of the body. For that we must practice meditation regularly. It only takes few minutes every day. And once imbibed into the daily routine, meditation is no more a burden or a chore. Meditation is like a seed. The better a seed is cultivated, the more it flourishes. Similarly, the more we practice meditation, the better it cultures the entire nervous system and the body. Our physiology undergoes a change and every cell in the body is filled with ‘‘prana’’. And as the level of ‘‘prana’’ in the body rises, we bubble with joy. The culturing of meditation into our system is normal. Some people call it the higher state of consciousness; I call it the normal state of consciousness since we are endowed with the ability to live in that state. Meditation helps in two ways — it prevents stress from getting into the system and simultaneously helps release already accumulated stress. Regular meditation also leads to happiness and fulfillment; to sensitization of the sensory organs (thereby intensifying the experiences of seeing, tasting, feeling, etc.); and to greater intuitiveness. With the assimilation of meditation into daily life, the fifth state of consciousness, called cosmic consciousness, dawns. Cosmic consciousness perceives the whole cosmos as part of oneself. When we perceive the world as a part of us, love flows strongly between the world and us. (Love again is not an emotion but a state of being. It is not a melodrama expressed by endearments but our very existence.) This love empowers us to bear with the opposing forces and the disturbances in our lives. Anger and disappointments become fleeting emotions that occur momentarily and then vanish. Usually we tend to let go of pleasant emotions and cling to the unpleasant ones; 99 percent of the world population is prone to doing this. But when the consciousness becomes free and cultured with meditation, this tendency of holding onto negative emotions is the first thing to disappear. We start living in ‘‘the moment’’ and let go of ‘‘the past’’. This is important because no matter how good the people we interact with, there are bound to be misunderstandings in any relationship. Once a little misunderstanding crops up, our emotions get distorted and a host of negativities follow. But if we are able to let go and focus on the ability of consciousness to revel in the glory of every moment, we are shielded from all the above. The truth that every moment is supportive and complimentary to our growth dawns on us. Thus, attaining higher states of consciousness does not require any complicated strategisation; one just needs to learn to let go. A person in a higher state of consciousness is expected to know everything. But while the mind and the consciousness possess the ability to know everything, do they really need to know everything? ‘‘All knowing’’ simply means being conscious of the essence of all you know. In this state, both knowledge and ignorance co-exist and complement each other. For instance, while playing a game, it is not knowing the result beforehand that makes the game sincere and fun. If one knew the result even while playing, the players (and the game) would lose their intensity. Similarly, if you know that a friend is going to let you down in ten years’ time, it will affect your relationship with that person today. If everything in life progresses smoothly and as per plan, life won’t be fun. After all, the fun of a story is in its suspense. And anyway, what is the big deal about this one life? Just 60-80 years? It is nothing. You have had many such comings into this world, inhabited many bodies, done many things. One life is negligible. When you realize this, little things will cease to bother you. Every up and down in life makes this play of life more interesting. When you open yourself to the consciousness in any particular moment, you perceive the innumerable activities taking place in the universe in that very moment — people are waking, sleeping, preparing for bed, driving, working; chicken are hatching, frogs croaking, virus and bacteria are infecting people — zillions of things are happening in that one moment in this infinite creation and yet the consciousness knows everything. Deep inside, each person knows about everything in this world. This knowledge is present in every person. You are a part of this whole phenomenon. As your consciousness opens and the whole system gets physically, mentally and spiritually elevated, your life becomes worth living. A higher state of consciousness will not drop on your head from heaven one fine morning. The sapling of consciousness is within you — it needs to be nurtured with simple techniques of meditation. Some palm trees yield in three years, some in ten years. And those that are not nurtured never yield! They simply exist… The confluence of knowledge, understanding and practice makes life complete. When you grow into higher states of consciousness, you find that you are no longer thrown off balance by different situations and disturbances. You become beautiful yet strong — a soft, delicate and beautiful blossom capable of accommodating different values in life without any conditions. By: His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

3 types of Samadhi

Three Types of Samadhi (Deepest State of Meditation) There are various minor samadhis, and among the minor samadhis, savikalpa samadhi happens to be the highest. Right after savikalpa comes nirvikalpa samadhi, but there is a great yawning gulf between savikalpa and nirvikalpa. However, even though savikalpa samadhi is one step below nirvikalpa, we do not use the term ‘lower’. We do not call savikalpa samadhi lower than nirvikalpa; they are two radically different samadhis. Again, there is something even beyond nirvikalpa samadhi called sahaja samadhi. But savikalpa and nirvikalpa samadhi are the most well-known samadhis. In savikalpa samadhi, for a short period of time you lose all human consciousness. In this state the conception of time and space is altogether different. With the human time you cannot judge; with the human way of looking at space you cannot judge. In that samadhi, for an hour or two hours you are completely in another world. You see there that almost everything is done. Here in this world there are many desires still unfulfilled in yourself and in others. Millions of desires are not fulfilled, and millions of things remain to be done. But when you are in savikalpa samadhi, you see that practically everything is done; you have nothing to do. You are only an instrument. If you are used, well and good; otherwise, things are all done. But from savikalpa samadhi everybody has to return to ordinary consciousness. Even in savikalpa samadhi there are grades. Just as there are brilliant students and poor students in the same class in school, so also in savikalpa samadhi some aspirants reach the highest grade, while less aspiring seekers reach a lower or a middle rung of the ladder, where everything is not so clear and vivid as on the highest level. In savikalpa samadhi there are thoughts and ideas coming from various angles, but they do not affect you. While you are meditating, you remain unperturbed, and your inner being functions in a dynamic and confident manner. But when you are a little higher, when you have become one with the soul in nirvikalpa samadhi, there will be no ideas or thoughts at all. Here nature’s dance stops. There is no nature, only infinite Peace and Bliss. The Knower and the Known have become one. Everything is tranquil. Here you enjoy a supremely divine, all-pervading, self-amorous ecstasy. You become the object of enjoyment, you become the enjoyer and you become the enjoyment itself. Nirvikalpa samadhi is the highest samadhi that most spiritual Masters attain, and then only if they have achieved realisation. It lasts for a few hours or a few days, and then one has to come down. When one comes down, what happens? Very often one forgets his own name. One forgets his own age. He cannot speak properly. But through continued practice, gradually one becomes able to come down from nirvikalpa samadhi and immediately function in a normal way. There were spiritual Masters in the hoary past who attained nirvikalpa samadhi and did not come down. They maintained their highest samadhi and found it impossible to enter into the world atmosphere and work like human beings. One cannot operate in the world while in that state of consciousness; it is simply impossible. Generally, when one enters into nirvikalpa samadhi, one does not want to come back into the world again. If one stays there for eighteen or twenty-one days, there is every possibility that he will leave the body. But there is a divine dispensation. If the Supreme wants a particular soul to work here on earth, even after twenty-one or twenty-two days, the Supreme takes the individual into another channel of dynamic, divine consciousness and has him return to the earth-plane to act. Sahaja samadhi is by far the highest type of samadhi. In this samadhi one is in the highest consciousness, but at the same time he is working in the gross physical world. One maintains the experience of nirvikalpa samadhi while simultaneously entering into earthly activities. One has become the soul and at the same time is utilising the body as a perfect instrument. In sahaja samadhi one walks like an ordinary human being. One eats. One does the usual things that an ordinary human being does. But in the inmost recesses of his heart he is surcharged with divine illumination. When one has this sahaja samadhi, one becomes the Lord and Master of Reality. One can go at his sweet will to the Highest and then come down to the earth consciousness to manifest. After achieving the highest type of realisation, on very rare occasions one is blessed with sahaja samadhi. Very few spiritual Masters have achieved this state—only one or two. For sahaja samadhi, the Supreme’s infinite Grace is required, or one has to be very powerful and lucky. Sahaja samadhi comes only when one has established inseparable oneness with the Supreme, or when one wants to show, on rare occasions, that he is the Supreme. He who has achieved sahaja samadhi and remains in this samadhi, consciously and perfectly manifests God at every second, and is thus the greatest pride of the transcendental Supreme.