Sr Sri - Knowledge & Wisdom

Once you cross the water, however nice the boat is, you get off the boat. After twelve years, the disciple completes his studies. The master does a ceremony called Samavartha, where he tells the disciple that he is ending the discipleship and asking him to behave at par with him, and let the Brahman dynamically manifest.

Sakha is a companion in life and death; it never ends. In the path of love there is neither beginning nor end. Sakha only wants the beloved. He doesn't care about the Knowledge or liberation. Love is incomplete because of longing. And so it is infinite, for infinity can never be complete.

Arjuna was a sakha to Krishna and although Krishna was the perfect Master he was a sakha, too. What are you, a shishya (disciple) or a sakha (companion)?

Q.Could you please explain the five elements?
Sri Sri: The whole world is made up of the five elements. Honoring theearth element means that we don't pollute the earth with plastic,poisonous fertilizers and chemicals. It means that we are environmentconscious.

Honoringwater does not mean putting flowers into water. There is a shortage ofclean drinking water. First, we pollute water and then water pollutesthe earth. In the last century, people did not know anything aboutsoaps. In this country (India), people used only charcoal ashes,soapnut powder to clean vessels. They would use turmeric and many otherherbal elements, which are bio-degradable.

Thereis a great tradition of honoring rivers. The river does not want you tooffer flowers or fruits. This is not the way to do pooja (worship).Also by putting sewage or garbage into rivers, how can you say that youare doing pooja? Pooja means honoring and you can only do full honouronce you stop dumping sewage, garbage, plastic into the rivers.

Nowherein the scriptures is it said that you have to put flowers or fruitsinto the river. Of course, one way of honoring is with flowers and theyare bio-degradable. However you have to stop dumping garbage.

Afew years ago you could directly drink from a river. Today, no river isfit for drinking even from a hundred kilometers away from its source.Earlier even thousand kilometers away from its source, the river waterwas fit for drinking. We are pouring so much industrial waste into therivers. This is not honoring the jaltatva (water element). The five elements are part of thecreation. You have to honor this beautiful creation and sustain it.

Thenthere is the air element. We need to have clean energy. We haveprovided smokeless stoves in the villages of Maharashtra, which havebeen very successful.

Thenthere is the space element. This is very abstract. You cannot catchspace. When you save your mind from negativity, you are filling thespace with joy. Then the air around becomes like that. You can create aspace of mistrust, anger, greed, jealousy and selfishness. Or you couldcreate a space of fun, joy, confidence, and coherence. You could createan accommodating space around you. If we always speak negatively aboutall mistakes, then there is nowhere on earth you can really survive.Everybody is imperfect. When we try to see perfection in others, thenwe forget to see our own imperfection. Protect the space, save the mindat any cost.

Q. There are many things in my life which I think are not ok. I don’tknow what to do about these things.
Sri Sri: When you say, ‘It’s not ok, its not ok’, the seed of ‘not ok’is un-abling your mind to relax. When do you go to bed? When everythingis ok, when there is comfort. When you are hanging on to thediscomfort, how can you ever be comfortable? You have to accept thingsas they are. ‘It’s not ok, it’s not ok’ keeps you all outside. Thoseimperfections are there for a cause or purpose. It is going to be ok,it will take some time.

Whenyou understand this, you relax and in that relaxation you can meditate.When you want to retire, its nivriti butwhen you want to come out (of rest) its pravritti. Then you can act. Whenyou are tired but you are hanging on to what is not ok - then youcannot retire. When you have to chill out, what do you say? ‘Everythingis perfect,’ otherwise you can’t chill, you can’t act! It is neither pravritti, nor nivriti.

Dhyanyoga is nivriti, Karma yogais pravritti. Most people arehanging onto the ‘not ok’ and are unable to relax, to enjoy life, tochill, to be creative. They are holding onto the seed of ‘not ok’. Thatperson, this situation, the government, the administration - everythingis not ok. Then it comes to you - I am not ok. Subtly, it reflects onyou that you are not OK. Then you don't like that feeling and to coverthat up, you make up many justifications and the mind is all confused.

Iftamogun is too much, you don'tknow the pravritti or the nivriti. When there is Satva, then we know what to act,when to act, whether to act or not.
When Rajogun prevails thenits half way through - you regret and act. Many of us act because weregret. Mother scolds her child, regrets it and then becomes nice.
In Satva, you don't regret,you retire and relax, there is clarity.

Q.How do we protect our mind?
Sri Sri: That is a big job. In the Geeta it is said, even the mostbrilliant people are confused about what to do and what not to and howto handle the mind. Protecting the mind is a very great task but do itwith knowledge. Upto this moment, see all that has happened so far.This Moment. It’s all gone! Finished.

Whenyou are full of energy, prana,you suddenly see it’s all gone. Now! All that happened is ok. Thinkabout what to do now. Sometimes 100 percent of what you do will besuccessful, sometimes not. A farmer knows that not every seed that hesows, will sprout. He takes the seeds and throws them in the field anddoes not worry that this seed will sprout, this won't.

Fromnow on, it’s a new chapter. Everyday is a new chapter. Bring up thisawareness again and again. The whole world is filled with my atma (soul) – it’s all Me. It’s onechetna (Consciousness). Thisone consciousness works through one person in one way, through anotherperson in another way. It is one ocean with many waves.
If this vision comes to you even for just five seconds then there willbe such a major transformation in your body and mind. Then arealization will spring in you ‘Aho!’

Allworries are washed off. Just for a second, recognize that it’s only Mein my enemy. I myself have started the Game. Understand this but don'tturn it into a mood making. Have this understanding only in the nivriti not in the pravritti mode. If we bring advaita (non-duality) in vyavahar (behavior), we onlycreate more bhrama(delusion). In pravritti, seeduality.

Takingup of the human form is impossible without pravritti. How much pravritti and nivriti one should have is a verysensitive matter. When there is more pravritti,then one becomes too negative and one is asked to be in nivriti.

In India, dand (punishment)is called shiksha(education).The word saja(punishment)comes from shiksha(education). Earlier, they would not punish someone out of anger butout of compassion. When there would be too much pravritti in someone they would puthim in a room (jail) providing food, sleep and rest. Like a doctor putspeople in hospital when the body is sick, when our kritya is sick thenthe karta (doer) is put injail.
Whenyou have both pravritti and nivriti you are successful.


				*Sr Sri - Knowledge & Wisdom*