Satyam Param Dhimahi

Guruji had said to chant "Satyam Param Dhimahi" in small groups.
(Satyam Param Dhimahi: May truth and divinity permeate my intellect /consciousness)

HE said by this chanting, Satyam eva Jayate (Truth alone will triumph) will then become more and more apparent.

For me, Guruji is a living breathing example of Truth.
I have heard HIM say several times during satsangs that "Truth is that which never changes" and Guruji's point of view is never ever changes.  It may not be immediately obvious sometimes, but with patience and faith - it will ..

It is therefore a matter of great concern when a land whose motto is Satyam Eva Jayate is rife with corruption. But as can be seen, all the various movements are just a sign of how Truth will triumph!!

Conflict Resolution 101

www.artofliving.org got a new look today.

I was intrigued by the rather novel menu headings -especially Action for Peace and while browsing through the same, it  triggered  this train of thought:

Q: What does it take to create a conflict?/ What are the reasons behind a conflict? ( I thought this was easy)
- Lack  of sattva
- Stress
-  Difference of opinion/religion/political views/upbringing/race/
- Huge egos
- nothing! A conflict can start out of absolutely nothing!

Answer: Any or all of the above and many more that i haven't listed here!!


Q: What is absolutely essential e to resolve a conflict?
- Great diplomatic skills
- Good Education
- Good people skills
- Lot of courage and patience

Answer: Something is missing..., can't say what.  Each answer only seems partially correct and at the same time quite capable of not making  even the slightest difference. There must be some X factor...

Thats when i stumbled upon the following:

-  'White one' unites two warring tribes in Ivory Coast:  About Dipali Patel, a wisp of a girl from Mumbai India, was instrumental in dissolving the mistrust and disharmony between the Deula and Guere tribes in Ivory Coast  (Click on    Sustainable peace in the Ivory Coast  to read more). She and The Art of Living Foundation were honoured by the Ivory Coast Government.

Really interesting,  what all can happen when people meditate together :).

San-gachhad-wam, A mantra for this age

The blog title  means " Let us move/progress together" marks the beginning of the last hymn  of the Rig Veda.


While I am no authority on the Vedas,  I am nevertheless captivated by the economy of expression in this phrase.  It seems to convey everything that is worth communicating to one another. It makes a call for progress to be achieved TOGETHER, not at the cost of the other, not by pulling down the other... truly revolutionary (although a very very very very ancient idea :)


One could brush it away as a utopian fantasy or on the other hand use it as a clarion call to inspire and to unite.


During the public meeting to kick-off the Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna campaign on March  16, 2010, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji gave another dimension to the 'clean-up' campaign. HE urged everyone present to see this as a campaign against pollution - not just in the river, but also against pollution in the form of hatred, greed, jealousy, lust, anger, depression,.. and with spirituality as the foundation, the success of this  campaign is guaranteed.


HE then invited Mahesh Giri ji to address the gathering. The dynamic Guru sevak who had been involved in the preparatory work with hundreds of volunteers of The Art of Living said in no uncertain terms that where Sri Sri was involved success was inevitable and then  made everyone present at the meeting, hold their neighbours hands and  repeat this phrase, several times...


San-gachhad-wam

San-gachhad-wam

San-gachhad-wam

......

I truly felt that this was a mantra for our age and time

Success with a smile

So many times, I have heard people ask Sri Sri Ravishankar ji,  HIS definition of Success. The setting could be different - in different countries,  but the answer has been consistent.

HE would say (not verbatim) - Usually success is seen as an outcome of a lot of stressful activity giving rise to the impression that stress is necessary and inescapable for success.  But if stress was indeed necessary for success, then Beirut would be the most successful city in the world, because people are really stressed out there! Look at all the so called successful people,  they may have lots of wealth, but they will also have stomach ulcers/diabetes/heart problem..... People spend half their health to earn their wealth and then spend half their wealth to recover their health!! This is not a sign of intelligence.  For me the sign of success is a smile that never fades  (This was a sattvic knockout punch, if ever there was one...).

The Forbes magazine launch interview

The first time i heard this (several years ago),  it left me thinking about what is needed  to achieve this success. I, somehow, never doubted what Guruji said,  but my personal experience had been different ...I had found it easier to 'not smile' while working towards an objective irrespective of whether I was successful or not!!

 The scientist in me took over.  I thought about  the obstacles to the smile and listed them as below:

-  Doubts and Resistance in the mind leading to half-hearted action
- Obsession with the end-result that creates pressure and clouds ones thoughts
- Getting bogged with  emotions :)

.... and these, i realised subsequently, were also the obstacles to successfully completing the task at hand !! Thus, one is free to focus on the smile or the 'success' - the tools are the same :)  regular Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya and meditation.

I realised that Guruji's definition of success was not merely referring to the state of mind at the end of some event, rather HE was emphasising an approach to be followed all through the journey - at the beginning, through the middle and of course at the end.

And don't we know the effectiveness of Sudarshan Kriya and meditation, millions have benefited !!! Visit...Sudarshan Kriya et al on www.artofliving.org. If you need one more reason, here it is - it will ensure success in the true holistic sense, a success that is not based on greed or fear, a success that is much needed in today's world that is slowly recovering from the economic crisis brought about by a rather shortsighted view of success.