Several years back on a cold winter day, Gururaja and I were perusing the treasure we have our hard drive saved over years – Gurudev’s talks, knowledge posts from esatsang, pictures and much more.

This blog was started with that intention to share all what we had so that all could benefit from that. The purpose found its fulfillment with the set up of
Art of Living Blog ~~ Wisdom from Sri Sri
and
Art of Living Channel on Youtube

This would be the last post on this blog. Thank You for all the support over the years. We pray more and more continue to get inspired by the Wisdom of our Beloved Pujya Gurudev – H.H.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Untill Then, Breathe and Smile. Jai Guru Dev

May This Diwali - The Festival of Lights, Bring more Peace,Light and Joy in our inner world and outer world

Diwali: Celebrating the light of wisdom

Diwali, the festival of lights as it is known the world over, celebrates the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. Lights are lit on this day not just to decorate homes, but also to communicate a profound truth about life. Light dispels darkness and when the darkness within you is dispelled through the light of wisdom, the good wins over the evil in you.

Though there are many legends about the festival, Diwali is essentially celebrated to lit the light of wisdom in every heart, the light of life in every home and bring a smile on every face. Diwali is the shortened form of Deepavali, which literally means rows of lights. Life has many facets and stages to it. It is important that you throw light on
all of them, for if one aspect of your life is in darkness, there can be no complete expression of life. That’s why rows of lights are lit on Diwali to remind you that every aspect of life needs your attention and the light of knowledge.

Every lamp that you light is symbolic of a good quality. There are good qualities in every human being. Some have forbearance, love, strength, generosity; others have the ability to unite people. The latent values in you are like a lamp. When they are lit, awakened, that is Diwali. Don’t be satisfied with lighting one lamp; light a thousand. If you have the value of service in you, don’t be satisfied only with that. Lit the lamp of wisdom in you, acquire knowledge. Awaken all the facets of your being.

Another profound symbolism is wrapped in the firecrackers that go off during Diwali. In life, you often become like a firecracker, waiting to explode with your pent-up emotions, frustration and anger. When you continue to suppress your emotions such as cravings, aversions and hatred, they are bound to reach a bursting point. Bursting crackers is like a psychological exercise created by ancient people to release bottled-up emotions. When you see an explosion outside, you feel similar sensations within you as well. Along with the explosion, there is so much light. So when you let go of the suppressed emotions, you become hollow and empty and the light of knowledge dawns.

Wisdom is needed everywhere. Even if one member of the family is shrouded in darkness, you cannot be happy. So, you need to lit the light of wisdom in every member of your family. Extend it to every member of society, every person on the planet. When true wisdom dawns, it gives rise to celebration. Often in celebrations, you tend
to lose focus or awareness. To maintain awareness in the midst of celebrations, the ancient rishis brought sacredness and puja (rituals) to every celebration. For the same reason, Diwali is also a time for pujas. The spiritual aspects of Diwali add depth to the celebrations. Any celebration has to be spiritual as a celebration without spirituality
has no depth.

Celebration is the nature of the spirit and every excuse to celebrate is good. In celebration, you should not only have a party; you must remind yourself of the wisdom. For the one who is not in knowledge, Diwali comes only once a year, but for the wise, Diwali is every moment and every day. Be wise and celebrate Diwali every moment
and everyday of your life.

Sri Sri in Switzerland, May 2009

Thanks to Shalin for sharing the wonderful picture

“Have a dream and keep going. I am with you.”

Everytime you believed in me
Everytime you trusted me
With every loving gesture of yours
You gave me life

You nurtured my being
You freed my soul
You gave purpose to my birth
You gave me life

The instances have been many
When I faltered & you lifted me
Your attention made me special
You gave me life

You know me more than i do myself
You make the world notice me
Without you, I am nothing,coz
You gave me life

Then the actual moment
When you stood between death and me
With all your compassion and love
You gave me a new life

I don’t know why
I don’t know how
For a bigger meaning & a higher goal ?
You have given me a grand new life

Rajita Kulkarni

Have you ever witnessed or experienced a religious festival in India?

Such festivals are, to say the least, frenzied events. I somehow procured an invitation to attend the Navaratri (literally means `nine nights’) celebrations, which honours the nine aspects of the Mother Divine, at the Bangalore ashram. There it was, and continues to be, a celebrations, which honours the nine aspects of the Mother Divine, at the Bangalore Ashram. There it was, and continues to be, a celebration of silence amidst chaos. The atmosphere was simply electrifying. In spite of huge crowds, there was this incredible energy and serenity that I had never felt before.

After the festivities, we were sitting in a group with Bhanudidi, when she remarked: `This is the first Navaratri without Amma.’ I suddenly realized it had been a year since she had passed away. Bhanudidi continued talking about Amma’s last days: `I found her behaviour odd. It was strange that a strong-willed woman like her, who had always been in charge of everything, seemed to be turning over all responsibility. Maybe she was preparing me to take care of the house,children and family. However, she performed all the yagnas fully.’ The day after Navaratri, she was hospitalized.

Rajshree continues:

When Amma (Guruji’s mom) breathed her last in 2000, Sri Sri was at Varanasi. There were about 8000 people whom he had to address the very day he lost the person dearest to him. I was with him that day and saw the depth of his silence, serenity and patience in attending to everybody in those difficult moments. Yet the smile did not fade. To the devotees who were with Guruji at the time, and knew of his attachment to Amma, it was
a lesson in equanimity.

Rajshree Patel recalls: `I always knew he loved his mother very dearly, but I did not realize the depth of his love until after she had passed away. At the International Millennium Course in Italy, a month or so after the death of his mother, I discovered yet another dimension to Sri Sri. One the one hand everyone is the same to him, his love is impersonal and yet, I was learning, it was deeply personal. We were sitting in an assembly of 1500 to 2000 people. Someone in the front row was holding a magazine with Amma’s photo it it. Sri Sri, with a certain depth in his voice, was speaking of the importance of gratitude in life.

After a brief pause Sri Sri  said:
“There was a woman in my life who loved me more than herself.: Everyone sat up. He gestured to the magazine and added: “She was my mother.” A tear of deep love and gratitude for her rolled down his face, and I suddenly felt a total connectedness to him and started crying uncontrollably. And for the first time in all the years that I knew him, I saw the deepest personal love possible, free of attachment and demands, yet full of gratitude.’

Thanks to Kekuji for sharing this