Spirituality and Celebration

Weekly Knowledge #224
Bangalore Ashram
20 Oct 1999
India

Celebration is the nature of the spirit.Any celebration has to be spiritual.A celebration without spirituality does not have any depth.And silence gives the depth to celebration.
Some people think being silent is spirituality.E.g. Many meditators feel that laughing, singing and dancing are not spiritual.
Some people think only celebration is spirituality.E.g. In some parts of the world, such as in rural India or Africa, celebration means loud music; there is no silence at all.
Spirituality is a harmonious blend of outer silence and inner celebration ; and also inner silence and other celebration!

Weather

After a long time, today was a bright sunny day uplifting the spirit (with a cool breeze too to further enhance the experience). But of course, how can Kharagpur do without rain , so we had a very heavy downpour in the evening which sort of compensated for the rest of the day's shortage of rainfall. It really feels like autumn now.

Why everybody can & should do Yoga ?

People from all religions have one thing in common-they are all human. The purpose of all genuine spiritual thought in the world has been & will continue to be the well being & happiness for all humanity in its own way. Due to this pure intention, many techniques of physical & mental well-being have been developed throughout the ages (& still continue to be developed). The Indian tradition has the unique system of Yoga which under its umbrella encompasses myriad traditions carried from millenia from one Guru tradition to the other. The aim & goal is one-to alleviate the human condition by providing solutions for physical health, mental comfort & spiritual growth. No matter which religion one belongs to-(though in the Indian/Sanatan Dharma context, the word religion is quite a misnomer as it is more of a way of life than a discipline to be passed on to subsequent generations in entirety without allowing any questioning) , the benefits accrued from the practice of Yoga are beneficial & that too without any need for a change in the belief system. If a Muslim or a Christian can learn Karate or Kung Fu (which in their deeper forms are methods to attain Buddhahood) for physical conditioning & self defence & derive its full benefits without foresaking the core beliefs & teachings of Prophet Mohammed & Jesus respectively, then they can surely practice Yoga for physical & mental well-being & gain better insights into their own spiritual traditions as an added bonus. For those who have no belief in any God, for them also there is no harm in a bit of breathing exercises & physical postures to tone the muscles & to release some stress from the system & improve the body's flexibility as well as resistance to common as well as lifestyle diseases. We as human beings have been endowed with a tendency that we can immediately recognise what is to our benefit & act accordingly. This comes naturally to us & is a part of our survival instinct. We have to apply our brains naturally as is our wont & take benefit from Yoga as much as we can-without any doubts. Yoga makes us a better human being than we were before. It cannot have any other effect.

WHAT ENHANCES YOUR BEAUTY?

Weekly Knowledge #99
Bangalore Ashram
30 Apr 1997
India


When your mind is not complaining, responsible, courageous, confident and hollow and empty you are inexplicably beautiful. A person who cannot correct or act has no right to complain. And when a person can correct or act, he will never complain. Complaining is a sign of weakness. Complaining is the nature of utter ignorance where one does not know the Self. Complaint takes away the Beauty that is inborn in you. And it shows up more on the one who is on this path.
Worldly mind is a complaining mind; Divine mind is a dancing mind. Just complaining without indicating the solution is irresponsibility. When the solutions are not workable, finding alternative solutions is Courage.
For external beauty, you put on things; for real Beauty, you have to drop all the things. For external beauty you have to have Make-up; for your real Beauty you only have to realise that you are MADE-UP!

Sri Sri

The eco friendly campus

One thing that one cannot help notice ( & experience) at IIT-Kgp is the lush greenery & almost pollution free air thanks to the extensive green cover here & also that the preferred mode of transport is the humble bicycle-by regulation for students (except defence/ married people who are exempt from this rule) & also for quite a lot of the Profs who despite the fact that they aren't bound by any regulation prefer this eco friendly mode of transport. Another two-wheeler which can be seen in wide use here is the battery run scooters which people use widely & are emission as well as noise free (they make even less sound than the average bicycle). All this contributes towards IIT-Kgp being one of the most green & fresh campuses I've seen. It's great to live here.

Movie after 4 weeks !

Today I saw a movie at the Netaji auditorium after nearly four weeks. The reason being that not many good movies got screened in between & also for the last two weeks I was busy in exam prep. Today I saw 'Mission Istanbul' at Netaji audi with sound troubles et al but it was fun & a nice experience. Nothing can beat watching movie in a theatre & that too for just Rs. 50 per semester !

Problems ?

Weekly Knowledge #267
European Ashram
24 Aug 2000
Germany

PROBLEMS? ONE MORE

The first solution to the problem is not to have the problem at all. (Laughter)
The second thing is to willingly accept the problem and see it as a challenge.
Third, know that the problem is a boogey man, it is not real.
Fourth, know that nature has provided you the solution even before giving you the problem. First you met me and then you had a problem (Laughter). When it snows, there are no bacteria since no herbs to heal you grow in that season. In the spring, the herbs come first and then the bugs. In the summer, the shade comes before the summer sun gets strong. So, nature takes good care of you.

Sabya: What if the longing is a problem?

Sri Sri: Longing ripens you. Do not solve all your problems. At least keep one of them. You need something to munch on - and life goes on...