GURU means. . .

Who is a GURU ?
One who is an expert. . .one who acomodates everyone without judgements. . .towards knowledge.


What is the significance of a Guru?

When I express my understanding of the concept called GURU, I'll understand you shall also read my thoughts keeping all preconceived notions aside and with an open mind. . . .

A GURU is one in whom innocence and intelligence have blossomed together

A GURU is a mirror...GURU shows us what we really are, but a GURU doesnt judge. . .GURU makes us realise how far or how distorted (angered or depressed or tossed by waves of feverish desires easily) we have come from our true self (which is innocence, intelligence and love in harmony)...and with this realisation...dawns an awareness that we can become better, there is space for improvement, there is a need for unlearning, there is less time and more to do, and that we blossom in KNOWLEDGE. . .in spiritual knowledge. . .which is just as important as scientific knowledge (and complementary too). . .

GURU's love is like the cocoon in which washes away action-reaction karmas and protects the one who surrenders. . ."the innocence remains untouched, and the intelligence grows". . .and the GURU tattva dawns in him too...because where innocence and intelligence walk hand-in-hand, the Universe responds accordingly with knowledge and love.

Here dawns a thirst for knowledge and a thirst to take more responsibilites in life. The greater the repsonsibilities, the more freedom one experiences. Life becomes an expression of multi-dimensional fullness. . .enthusiasm. .and bliss. This bliss is 10000 times more than that through a pizza or sex or whichever other short sighted, short term means of bliss one searches in vain for. This is called samadhi.

The desires no longer manipulate the mind. . .the feverishness thins away, and every action is done with awareness. . .with wakefulness.
So says Sri Sri, "Strength is wakefulness, and in wakefulness there is no desire. Remember this. "

Here starts an experience of true freedom. . .freedom from instant gratification of senses, freedom from fear and guilt, freedom from stress and freedom from struggling for happiness, freedom from trying to please everyone. . .everything becomes effortless, every action arises out of an intention, not a desire. . .and an intention (sankalpa) is stronger than a feeble desire. We live 100% . . .without regrets. . .and this affects everyone around us. . .because happiness and love spread like fire. . .
this doesnt mean that one drops all in life...this means that one enjoys everything life offers more fully, more meaningfully, one experiences every moment 100% ...but with awareness...and then small events in life stop bothering one, because one is aware of a bigger existence that is bigger than small events that bring small joy or sadness.


The Universal understandfing of Guru is one who is mysterious and knowledgable...wise and benign. . .and mischievious and playful...full of innocence at the same time. . .this has deep significance.

So why dont we all stop greeting each other in terms of 'How are you?' which is superficial and sounds like a complement than a question really (hehehehe) and start greeting as "Jai Gurudev" ..Jai meaning Victory and Gurudev means the Divinity inside you, the Guru inside you, the wisdom and innocence inside us. . .

thus JAI GURUDEV means May the Divinity inside you shine forth . . .wouldnt you want that for every individual around you. . .every person you meet ? :-)

Life is utterly simple and yet most complex. You have to simultaneously attend to both facets of life. When life appears most complex, turn to the simplicity. Simplicity brings peace. When you are peaceful attend to the complexity within you. That will make you more skillful.

"Beyond an event is Knowledge.

Beyond a person is love.

Beyond an object is infinity.

Knowledge is not in an event; it is beyond an event."- Sri Sri

In SURRENDER, THE HEAD BENDS AND MEETS THE HEART.

In SURRENDER, THE HEAD BENDS AND MEETS THE HEART.

A head that does not bend has no value. The head that is stiff will
have to bend sometime, either in surrender or in shame. And the head
that bends in surrender will never have to bend in shame.

Shame accompanies arrogance. Shame is inflicted by society and is
acquired.

Shyness accompanies love. See how children are endowed with shyness; it
is natural to them.

Shame brings guilt;

Shyness adds to your beauty.

Retain your shyness and surrender your shame

JGD

"You clean your windows, you clean your tables, you wash your clothes , but you forget to wash your mind"

JAI GURUDEV

Realizing that many beautiful minds find my blog useful, let me start a more meaningful series on it...a series consolidating experiences of people who have undergone the Art Of Living healing-breath workshop , and have experienced very powerful and healing changes at the different levels of their existence:

the body , mind, emotions, memory, intellect, ego, ...and at the level of the "SELF"

Before that, I ought to give you a small but helpful explanation of how the SUDARSHAN KRIYA works....

The human mind is akin to a kite, the kite being one that always flies to the tune of the distracting wind, then one can associate the breath to the string that ties the kite...the relevance is very obvious if one noticed how closely our "breath" is linked to our emotions....observe how the pattern of breathing varies...from rough and heavy , to light and soft and breathless too, when we are angry or depressed or excited or shocked or very very happy. And the breath is our only most important connection to our immediate external environment, and also the source of life....Interestingly , we neglect that the most....now imagine if we were able to regulate our breathing pattern to the RHYTHM that we are born with (each individual is unique and responds accordingly to his wavelength of vibrations around) , then we would form our emotions, our thoughts, our mental outlook to life, on the basis of positive vibes, stress-agnostic thoughts, and a very very focussed-yet-aware mind... on such lines, the Kriya effortless tunes the mind into the present moment....

what does being "in" the present moment mean and do ? It means that the mind will not be swayed in the 'inertia' of glorifying the past..or regretting about the past...nor will it be stuck in apprehension of the future...this, my dear friends is the best explanation the fact that RIGHT NOW, as we are, with the people and situations around us, and in the state of mind as we ARE in, it is a translation of the thoughts(and actions in response) we have focussed on, in the past...means our state now is JUST A RESIDUE of the past actions.......and it is not easy to snap out of it , without a technique, because it just IS NOT possible to harness the mind using the mind... :-) got the point...

enter Sudarshan Kriya : it "effortlessly" (through the breath) lassoes the mind into present moment 100 percent! and in direct consequence , with regular practice, an individual becomes an I-POD >> Inner Peace Outer Dynamism ...more aware, *relaxed-and-focussed* at same time, and more action oriented....and it is very experiential ....to each individual his/her experience...over the last three years that I have practised Kriya, I have personally experienced it amazing effects...from becoming a much much happier person than in 20 years , to an individual who has balanced his cravings and aversions, and has balanced his life...in perfect synchronization with what I want...especially since Kriya has oriented what I 'need' in life into what I 'want' from life.....

someone once said "In education, one needs grades...but in life, one needs Grace"
.....and only an open mind or an open palm collects more grace than a closed fist...or a mind that is closeted in a paranoia of CONCEPTS...concepts about how things should be, or concepts about how people are, concepts about what works and what doesn't....and an INTELLIGENT person doesnot make concepts , he breaks them....the Sudarshan Kriya impacts mental barriers and emotional garbage directly, conceived 27 years ago by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (lovingly called The Guru Of Joy) and the ONE WORLD FAMILY social educational NGO founded by Him, has united more than 30 million people around this globe in the last 25 years....in complete ONENESS....in zero conflict in the "layers" we are surrounded by...castes, tribes, continents and countries, languages, ages, sexuality,religion, governments.....


so powerfully profound and IMMEDIATE are the changes that Kriya does, is...

...terrorists, prison inmates and naxalites turning socially responsible
...youth quitting years old alcohol,smoking and substance abuse habits in a matter of first 40 minutes of the Sudarshan Kriya!
...70% recovery of patients at mental hospitals,
...cases of cancer cells dying away in months, leaving an individual healed
...more productive, more enthusiastic (yes a paradox in happening...productive and enthusiastic) employees and equally focussed-yet-relaxed students...

...and the best, is Sudarshan Kriya has been found to slow down the ageing cycle by 12 years , if regularly practised for 4-5 years !

(Research studies on SK performed at some of the most reputed medical institutions in world, is available at www.aolresearch.org )

My greatest regards to Sri Sri who has transformed milions of lives into fuller, more meaningful and happier CELEBRATION of EXISTENCE ! Existence that acknowledges life and living as more important than losing oneself into smaller events...existence that is untouched by prejudice of religions, countries, violence, or economic and political dividing factors...an existence that acknowledges a person as a HUMAN BEING FIRST and not on nationality or religion or sex or sexuality...an existence that is based on sharing love (love once lit spreads like fire more powerfully than anger or greed or violence) and contributing 100% to ourselves and to this beautiful lonely planet !

The need of the hour is to gift ourselves 40 minutes everyday so that we live more than 24 hours every 24 hour of lives....disease-free, STRESS-FREE, violent-free, and more productive, happier life !

more information is available at www.artofliving.org Workshops have been fine tuned for all age groups:

• 7-14 ART EXCEL
• 14-18 YES (Youth Empowerment Seminar) www.yesplus.org
  
• 18-30 YES Plus (also part of curriculum at Harvard and Stanford, IITs and IIMs now)
• APEX Courses (for the segment of professionals in IT, finance and such industries)
• the general BASIC (or PART-1 course) for all age groups 18 and onwards.

...Courses are conducted all over the world in more than 155 nations.

"Charity cannot happen from an empty bowl"- Sri Sri

Weekly Knowledge New York City 02 Feb 2002 USA

Business and SpiritualityOften business is looked down upon by spiritualists and spirituality is put off as non-practical by businessmen. Spirituality is the heart, business is the legs, and that is what the ancient people conceived. An individual or a society is incomplete without both these aspects. Business brings material comfort and spirituality brings mental and emotional comfort. Spirituality brings ethics and fair practice to business. In the body/mind complex depriving any one comfort means depriving both the comforts.
You cannot talk spirituality to the poorest of the poor people without taking care of their basic needs. They need to be supported materially.
There is no spirituality in the world that is devoid of service and service cannot happen if material needs are ignored.
Service cannot happen only through the lips. For service to move you need legs. Every system has its flaws. As capitalism exploits the poor, socialism dampens individual creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Spirituality is the bridge between socialism and capitalism. Spirituality gives the heart to serve to the capitalists and the spirit to innovate to the socialist.~Jai Gurudev

SSRDP Bags...for the Young, Eco-Conscious, savvy gals and guys !

Email at sharmila@artofliving.org for purchase or franchise queries (we are going global!)

Uplifiting the Old Roots of Rural India for Greener Leaves - Sri Sri Rural Development Program

Sri Sri Rural Development Program

What we do ?

The primary products made by the SSRDP are bags and incense sticks. The program is aimed at empowering women by teaching them job skills and providing additional household income. Job skills include training in bag stitching, designing, bead work, embroidery, making incense sticks, banking, and business skills.

The SSRDP uplifts the entire family, and teaches women and children how to do for themselves. The women receive health insurance, regular check ups, and are educated on hygiene. They also benefit from breathing and meditation camps. The SSRDP provides free education to their children, who would otherwise have no access to school.

Environmental sustainability is a key initiative of the SSRDP and the Art Of Living. The fabrics and dyes used to make the bags are eco-friendly. Jute is the primary fiber used, because it is the cheapest, strongest natural fiber and is bio-degradable. SSRDP is promoting jute and other natural fibers to replace the use of plastic. The bag designs reflect the ‘artistic’ culture of a ‘green’ India.

The SSRDP has also been training rural youth (18-30 years age group) since over a year in core competencies like dairy and organic agriculture, post harvest management, food processing, computer skills, plumbing, electrical repairs, welding and fabrication, civil construction, motor mechanics, carpentry and fiber industry. These skills are essential for employment in rural areas and small towns.

Statistics:

SSRDP has trained more than 700 by 2007, of which 297 women have grown into entrepreneurs with their own businesses. The women can make 8 -15 jute bags or 5000 - 7000 incense sticks a day; their earnings are sufficient to sustain their household. Additional incentives are provided for improving quality and quantity.

Vision for the Future

— Reach into every corner of rural India

— Exploring options beyond Jute and Incense Sticks, because each area has unique artistic crafts, e.g. bamboo products in Kerala, mats and cotton from Tamil Nadu, Tassar painting of Orissa

— Proposed projects to recycle waste and provide employment

— Create a single platform to sell goods from around India where the revenues go directly to the craftsmen and sustain the SSRDP. This eliminates the need for middlemen who often pay very little to the craftsmen.

— Global distribution of bags and incense sticks.

How YOU CAN get involved

¨ Funding

¨ We invite businesses to sell the bags, or join SSRDP in partnership

¨ Professionals to donate expertise and time

¨ Buy the products…let people know!

We would love to hear from you:

sharmila@artofliving.org

Visit us at: www.artofliving.org/Initiatives/Community/RuralDevelopment/tabid/86/Default.aspx

HAPPY NEW YEAR....now not now but in every moment when we celebrate life...with every BREATH

A very Happy New Year to you all.....may Grace soak all from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes...in every moment of breath, regardless of time or space. . .

sorry for not having scrapped so long...partially cos so much has been happening in this existence with me..so much inside me that is graceful, so much love that is overflowing....and so so much GRACE.....and partially because I have been keeping busy too...I shall write back soonest I can....so you can taste the feel of what I feel, and how graceful this Universe is in its entirety. . .

Our Existence is bigger than our events. Events bring small joy and happiness, and sorrows too...existence brings infinite joy and endless grace. ~Sri Sri