Wisdom Card

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!

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Wisdom Card

There are some who are longing for change. Feeling that everything is stagnant in their lives, they want to change partners, careers, dwellings. And there are some who are scared of change. They feel secure the way they are. There are some who see the change, but don't acknowledge it out of fear. There are some who do not notice the change at all. There are some who do not think there is anything to change. And there are some who realize that everything is changing, yet see there is something that is non-changing. Those who recognize the non-changing amidst the change are the wisest of all.

Question: Must love as well always change?

Sri Sri: Love is your nature. What is your nature cannot change. But the expression of love changes. Because love is your nature, you cannot but love. The mother has total love for the child, but sometimes she feeds the child, sometimes she is strict with the child. "Come on, sit and write!"
Sometimes she slaps the child. She does this out of love, and these are all different modes of love. So, the expression of love changes but love itself does not change, because love is your nature.

There is nothing new. Everything is the same, meaning everything is changing, everything is re-cycled. Guruji this week has spoken beautifully on the four pillars of knowledge. CBC crews followed Guruji around for two days, and taped a high-energy satsang, complete with dancing.

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Religion and politics

Wisdom Card

The role of religion is to make one righteous and loving And politics means caring for people and their welfare. When religion and politics don't coexist then you have corrupt politicians and pseudo-religious leaders. A religious man who is righteous and loving will definitely care for the welfare of the whole population and hence becomes a true politician. And a true politician can only be righteous and loving. He cannot be anything but religious. All the Avatars and prophets have been caring for people and so were in politics. You can find many examples to this effect.

When religions restrict the freedom to worship and restrict modes of worship they become unsuitable for creating a harmonious society. When religion becomes all encompassing and gives full freedom to pray and worship in any manner -- that religion will bring righteousness and peace in people and will be suitable for any society. People think politics and religion have to be kept separate because many religions did not give freedom to worship and did not care for all people equally. History has shown that religion has created conflict. But irreligious societies (e.g. communism) have created chaos and corruption.

Today both religion and politics need reform. Religion has to become broader and more spiritual to allow freedom of worship and broader to encompass all the wisdom in the world. And politicians have to become more righteous and spiritual.

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Ego

Wisdom Card

When is there Ego?

• When you don't get attention.
• When you seem to be losing attention.
• When you get attention (Laughter).

Ego causes heaviness, discomfort. It doesn't let love flow. Ego can be transcended by knowing the Truth; by enquiring "Who am I?" Often, your attitude towards one who has ego is of contempt or jealousy. But rather you should have compassion, or even pity, isn't it?

There is also a positive aspect of ego. It drives one to do some work. A person will do a job either out of compassion or out of ego. Most of the work in the society is by boosting the ego. But in Satsang, work is done out of love. Ego is separateness; non-belongingness. It is wanting to prove and to possess.

And when you wake up and see, there is nothing to be proved and nothing to possess, ego dissolves.

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Raksha Bandhan

Wisdom Card

This full moon is dedicated to the seers -- the Rishis. It is also called the Raksha bandhan. Bandhan means bondage, Raksha means protection. A bondage that protects you - Your bondage to the knowledge, to the master, to the truth, to The Self, all Save You. A Rope Can Be Tied To Either Protect Or Strangle You. The Small Mind and Mundane things can strangle you. The big mind or knowledge saves you. Raksha Bandhan is that bondage that saves you.

You are bound by your bondage to the Satsang. Your bondage to the master, to the truth, to the ancient knowledge of the rishis, and that is your saviour.

Bandhan is bonding and bonding is essential in life. Let the bonding be divine in a life free from bondage.

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Enthusiasm and Dispassion

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What is enthusiasm? Enthusiasm means to be connected to God within. When you are with your source, you can only be enthusiastic. Apathy is when you are away from the source of life. You cannot be but enthusiastic when your mind is totally in the present moment.

You should know that dispassion is not apathy. It is simply a broader perspective of reality. Dispassion is moving towards the source. Dispassion simply means the way back home. It is the journey towards the source, which is a reservoir of enthusiasm.

When dispassion and enthusiasm co-exist, that is the secret of perennial enthusiasm and profound dispassion. Though they appear to be opposite, they are actually complementary.

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Form And Formless And Aggression And Intuition,

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A: Form and Formless

Life is a combination of form and formless. Feelings have no form but their expressions have form. The Self has no form but its abode has form. Similarly, wisdom and grace have no form but are expressed through form. Discarding the formless, you become inert, materialistic and paranoid. Discarding the form, you become a lost ascetic, a space cadet or an emotional junk!

B: Aggression and Intuition

Aggression and assertiveness overshadow intuition. Often, people who are sensitive tend to become aggressive in order to avoid being hurt. In this process, they lose sight of the fine intuition. Fine intuition needs sensitivity; sensitivity is often painful. In order to avoid pain one becomes aggressive and assertive, and in turn loses one's intuitive ability. Intuition is close to the truth. To be truthful, you don't need to be aggressive and assertive! Often, aggression and assertiveness thrive on the idea of truthfulness.

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Memory -- A Hindrance and a Blessing

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Memory -- A Hindrance and a Blessing The forgetfulness of the nature of man is the root cause of all problems and suffering in life. The very remembrance of one’s nature, which is godliness, brings freedom in life. Here, memory is your best friend. The purpose of knowledge is to remind you of your true nature.

In the Bhagvad Gita, Arjuna said to Krishna, "I got back my memory. Now I have realized and will do as you say." Memory is a blessing and your best friend when it comes to your true nature. Memory is a hindrance when it does not let you be free of events, pleasant or unpleasant.

Pleasant events create cravings and competition in the mind, and do not allow fresh experiences, whereas unpleasant events give a biased perception and create paranoia. So the memory is both a blessing and a hindrance, depending on whether you remember your nature or you are stuck with events in time and space.

Authenticity and Skillfulness

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Authenticity and skillfulness appear to be contradictory, but in fact they are complementary. Your intentions need to be authentic and your actions need to be skillful. The more authentic the intention, the more skillful the action will be. Authentic intention and skillful action make you unshakable.

Skill is required only when authenticity cannot have its way. Yet skill without authenticity makes you shallow. You cannot have an authentic action and a skillful intention. If you try to be authentic in your action but manipulative in your mind, that is when mistakes happen.

John: Is it possible to have a powerful intention, like greed, that is authentic?

Sri Sri: If your intention is colored by greed, over-ambition, etc. then your intention is not authentic. Whenever your intentions are impure, it pricks your consciousness, so it cannot be authentic. Authentic intentions are free from negative emotions. An action that is not skillful leads to negative emotions and an intention that is not authentic harbors negative emotions.

Gayatri: If our intention is authentic and yet our actions are not skillful, what should we do?

Sri Sri: Carry a handkerchief (laughter).

Question: What is the best skill to deal with intention?

Sri Sri: Do not keep any sankalpas (intentions) to yourself. Offer them to the Divine.

Actions can never be perfect but our intentions can be perfect. Actions always have room for improvement. Action means growth and movement, and that needs space. The depth in you and the freedom in you bring out all the skillfulness in you. Krishna was the most skillful because his silence was so deep.

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God is a thorough businessman

Wisdom Card

The Divine has given you all the small pleasures in the world, but has kept the bliss to Himself. To get the highest bliss you have to go to Him and Him alone.

Don't be too smart with the Divine and try to fool Him. Most of your prayers and rituals are just attempts to trick the Divine. You try to give the least and get the maximum out of the Divine and He knows. He's an astute businessman; He will trick you even more. If you go underneath the carpet, He will go underneath the floor.

Be sincere in your attempts. Do not try to outsmart the Divine. Once you get the bliss, then everything else is joyful. Without the bliss, joy in anything in the world will not stay.

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