You cannot measure the amount of energy inside an atom. Similarly, you cannot measure the full potential of a human being. The nature of a human being is quite similar to that of an atom. The core of an atom is positive. The negatively charged particles are only on the periphery of the atom. Similarly, the negativity of a person is not their true nature; it is just on the periphery. One is said to be “centered” when he or she is calm, steady and pleasant.

How do we know whether the knowledge that we have is correct or not? Even 10,000 years ago, people knew that Jupiter had 63 moons. They used the subjective way of knowing things — by intuition and quieting the mind. When the mind becomes calm (it is like being in a state of deep rest though one is totally alert), then an intention is taken. With that intention comes intuition, knowledge as well as inspiration. Using this method, ancient sages derived knowledge about the universe and developed mathematical techniques that are valid today. Age-old calendars can still tell exactly what time an eclipse will happen. Ancient societies in the East knew that the sun is at the center of the solar system and planets move around it. They used the method of intuitive awareness in which one feels that every cell in his body is fully alive now, and the mind is quiet. You call that Samadhi.

If we take out some time — say two or three days in a year — to keep silence and simply observe our own thoughts and emotions, then we get a sense of what quietness means. Freedom from the jugglery of thoughts is the basis of intuition. And, intuition is part of innovation.

In our normal lives, we are bombarded with so many thoughts and stimuli that attention and retention is simply not there. Today’s children have problems like attention deficiency disorder and so on. They seem to have lost the ability to focus on simple tasks. When you become quiet in your mind, it is not as if you lose your intellect. In fact, the intellect becomes very sharp and the attention span increases. The first outcome of meditation or any self-development technique should be to increase our perceptual ability, which in turn, should help us in expressing ourselves better.

One aspect is getting rid of stress, the other is seeing that stress doesn’t enter our system. For the latter, we need a change in our attitude towards things happening around us. We can bear the heat — with a sense of humor, a sense of ease, and with confidence. One needs to create barricades so that tension does not enter the mind. But it’s impossible not to have tension; it might slip in through some other way. Just learn to take it easy. The ease with which you are able to handle your environment, or the situation around you, is what I would call being able to utilize your full potential. When you are in touch with your full potential, nothing or nobody can shake you. You will have the smile and the confidence.

Attaining a spiritual mindset is simply recognizing that there is life everywhere, that there is spirit everywhere. I do not see a division between what’s spiritual, and what’s material. The finest aspect of matter is spirit. The gross aspect of spirit is matter. It is like body and mind. You see through the eyes, but actually the eyes are the means through which the mind sees. The mind is the spirit. The whole world is combination of spirit and matter. Therefore spiritual practices too are not something that are any different from you being spirited and being happy and compassionate and being in love.

The way of prayer is to be in amazement — looking at the cosmos and saying wow, how many planets! How many stars! How big is this Universe! Your consciousness expands, and this is meditation. The creation and the creator are not separate. The creator and the creation are one and the same. The creation is formed out of the creator, just like dance comes out of the dancer. I usually say we must have the 3C’s in our lives — cosmology, commitment and compassion. These three things make life beautiful.

Billions of years have passed since existence began on earth. Compared to it, the span of human life — 80 years or 100 years — is nothing! In this vast space, where are we?

Seeing yourself in the context of the big creation shifts you to a different level of consciousness. As per one of the scriptures in the ancient Vedic tradition of India, there are almost 112 ways of realizing consciousness. One of them is to observe the sky on a clear day, and let go, and relax. Wherever the mind goes, it makes an assumption and becomes quieter, as it assumes that space. And in that quiet state of mind, an intention fructifies very fast.

A calm and clear state of mind also has capacity to heal and to elevate itself. It is full of joy, ease and love. You can look at your entire past as a dream. Just remember all the activities you did in the morning after waking up. Isn’t it all like a dream? All of those activities are now an impression in your memory — and a dream is also just an impression. See your whole past as a dream. In future, in the next 10-20 years, you will be doing many things, they will all pass like a dream. Knowing this and being aware of it, the space within us starts to open up and we start experiencing heightened awareness. You start seeing another dimension of life. Just wake up!

Bliss cannot be understood. It is extremely difficult to get into bliss. After many lifetimes you get into bliss. It is even more difficult to get out of bliss. All that you seek in your life is bliss, that divine union with your source, and everything else in the world distracts you from that goal. There are a zillion things to distract you from that goal in so many ways. So many unexplainable, incomprehensible ways of not coming home.

The mind is kept alive by cravings and aversions – shoulds or should nots and wants. Only when the mind dies does the bliss dawn. Bliss is the abode of all divinity, all devas. It is possible only in this human body to comprehend, to uphold, and having had a human life and having known this path, if you still do not realize this – you are at the greatest loss. The cravings and aversions make your heart hard. There is no use in being polite in your behavior. You can be rude in your behavior but you cannot be rough in your heart. If you are rude in your behavior, it is acceptable, but not if you are rough in your heart. The world does not care how you are inside. It only looks to your behavior. The Divine does not care how you are outside – It only looks to your inside. Never let any tiny bit of dislike or craving house in your heart. Let it be fresh, soft and fragrant like a rose.

It is such an illusion – you dislike someone or something, and this only makes you hard and your hardness takes a long time to soften, to disappear. It is such a trap for keeping you away from the treasure. Nothing in this material world can give you contentment. An outer-looking mind seeking for contentment gets discontented and the discontentment grows, and complaints and negativity start hardening the brain, clouding the awareness (the aura), and forming a huge cloud of negative energy. When the negativity reaches its peak, like an overloaded balloon, it bursts and comes back to the Divinity. You can never escape the Divine, the long route of negativity, or the instantaneous positive approach. When the Divinity dawns, in no time the shift happens from the untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from the dull inert matter to the sparkling spirit. When the heart is hard, there is no fun. You cannot experience fun.

Beauty has many aspects. Gratefulness is one such aspect of beauty. When you don’t feel a sense of lack, then you feel grateful. You cannot be grateful and feel lack. The two cannot co-exist.

When you feel lack, grumbling begins from some corner. If you are grumbling, the negativity will increase. For those who do not have this knowledge, there is no way out of their grumblings, because once they start grumbling, they keep grumbling throughout their life. They feel some lack today and tomorrow they feel something else is lacking. There is no end to it. It is then that demand arises and when demand arises, your mind doesn’t think clearly, doesn’t focus clearly, doesn’t function properly; and naturally you tend to lose everything.

That is why Jesus said, “Those who have will be given more; as for those who do not have; even what they have will be taken from them.” If you are grateful, more things will flow to you. And when you complain and grumble, even what little joy, peace or love they have come into this world with, will be lost. This is the law of nature.

This explains why grandmothers in India have a habit of saying, “Everything is full.” If something is less than full, or empty, they never say, “This is empty, we don’t have this.” They will say, “We have a lot of this.”

Not having is just an attitude in you; it’s the direction you are moving in. You sow the seeds and they grow; they become plenty. If the seed itself is a seed of lack, only lack will grow. Open your eyes and see what you have been given! When you recognise through this knowledge what you have been given, then you become grateful. In that gratefulness, everything grows, life grows.

Similarly if you just concentrate on lack, lack will grow because you feel lack.

Love is at its peak when there is no demand, no craving for it. Whomsoever you love, first of all know that they love you very much. If you doubt in somebody’s love, then no matter however or whatever, you receive from him or her, your doubt grows. If you want to be close to someone, first begin to feel that they are already close to you. Whenever you ask people whether they trust you, you already doubt their trust. You grow in doubt. There is no limit to it – there is no end to being convinced of someone’s love for you, someone’s trust in you.

Gratefulness comes with knowledge. Knowledge that the divine loves and cares for you, that is why he created this beautiful universe. Feel grateful about whatever nature has bestowed upon you. Have faith that this entire creation loves you. When you have faith, life becomes full. And in that faith, there is knowledge, there is opening, there is joy, there is beauty.

Why did Communism flop? It was a great policy which said -‘those who do not have, give to them’. So, it gave them. But then what happened? Yet, the nation a whole became poorer and poorer, even on the material plane. Because the whole consciousness was flooded with a sense of lack. Without knowledge, without the wisdom, there is no progress; and even the most beautiful gifts in life, turn ugly.

Be grateful and see how everything flows to you.

Contradictions In The Gita Help One To Think  …Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Truth is contradictory; if it is not contradictory, then it is not truth! The Bhagavad Gita is full of contradictions. You can understand it only if you see it in totality. At one point, Krishna tells Arjuna that action is the most important thing
and without action one will be nowhere. But after that, He tells him that action is all right but knowledge is better! Then Krishna says, ‘‘You must become a yogi and drop everything around you.’’ Krishna tells Arjuna in Chapter Six that since he is confused, there is no use talking. He asks him to meditate. Finally, He says, ‘‘He is the greatest amongst yogis who keeps Me in his heart whether he meditates or not. He is the real yogi, because I am with him in whatever he is doing.’’ At one juncture, Krishna says, ‘‘Arjuna, there is nobody dear to me, nobody whom I love.’’ And then gives a whole list of qualifications for those He really loves!

In another instance, Krishna tells Arjuna to act without looking for the fruit of action. Later, He asks Arjuna to act properly, according to natural law. Then He tells him that he ought to fight if he wants to win the war. So, at this point He is bringing Arjuna’s attention to the fruit of action, but then He also tells him not to worry about the fruit of action. Krishna was like a dear friend to Arjuna. In the Bhagavatam, except for Vidura and Udhava, nobody even thought he was enlightened; they all thought that he was just very smart. The Pandavas and the gopis knew who Krishna was and how complete He was from all angles. But many of them, including Arjuna, did not see him that way. Krishna, however, shows him that He is infinite. Krishna tells Arjuna, ‘‘I will give you a special eye of knowledge, which I haven’t given anybody in ages. I am giving it to you now because it is time.’’ With that, He gives him a vision. For that one moment the universe appears as a manifestation of Krishna to Arjuna. Arjuna sees all of creation, everything – the mountains and the rivers, the past, the present and the future – dissolving in Krishna. For an instant, the whole of life, the universe, all memories play out like a movie and it frightens Arjuna. Then Arjuna pleads, ‘‘Oh! Please show me your simple, natural and friendly face. I like your simple smile and I want to see my friend. I don’t want to see anything beyond. It is too much for me.’’ This is called Vishva Roopa Darshana – the vision of the universal. Thereafter, Krishna tells Arjuna about the yagyas, principles and laws of the universe. Then He talks about sanyasa and how to be centred. Arjuna tells Krishna that what he says is not easy to follow. Krishna says, ‘‘I agree…It is difficult but not impossible. With practice, dispassion and by getting to the centre again, you will succeed.’’ Krishna tried everything. Finally, it was the display of the universal vision that worked on Arjuna. When Arjuna says, ‘‘I give up,’’ Krishna says, ‘‘Think and do whatever is best for you after pondering over what I have said.” And then Arjuna says his mind is now clear. Krishna had to speak through 18 chapters to get him to that point. He could have done it at the very first chapter. But the way this knowledge flows is really beautiful. Everything may appear to be all contradictory from all angles. But that is
reality!

We need to become ‘Sam-darshi’ (One whose vision is equanimous). At this Priyadarshini Park, let’s all pray for those who have departed, and let’s take a pledge to be ‘Sam-Darshi’, the equanimous one.

Today we are all angry with the politicians, or with our system. Our police lack the necessary arms and ammunition. We still find ourselves stuck with old outdated concepts. Entire Mumbai seems angry. I would say in one way this is good, that we at least have woken up. We are no longer ready to take the ‘Chalta Hain’ attitude. For so many years India has seen terrorist attacks in different places, but for the first- time the entire community, especially the youth, have woken up. But I would like to say that changing one person, trading one minister for another, is not the solution. A new minister swearing into some position would take 6 months just to understand the whole system. So we all need to think on how to make our system stronger. Just by reacting out of anger, and targeting one community in our anger is fruitless. We cannot blame an entire community for a wrong.

Firstly, we all need to come together and pledge that we shall work for protecting our country. And let’s also resolve to first examine the qualifications of those who we elect. We need social leaders who are ‘Satya-Darshi’ (Truthful), ‘Sam-Darshi’ (Equanimous), and ‘Door-Darshi’ (Visionary). We need to protect our country from those who manipulate issues for their personal gains and lead by playing ‘Vote-Bank’ politics. How did Mahatma Gandhi unite so many people? He used to do satsang twice a day, read second chapter of Bhagawat Geeta, people have forgotten his principles. Our flag’s saffron color symbolises sacrifice, White color symbolises peace, green color symbolises abundance. Politicians have forgotten these values- they are looking for their own abundance! And then the wheel in the middle symbolises progress in all fields.

Secondly, we will resolve to not act out of anger, but instead channelize our dynamic energy for the betterment of the society. We will also expose all those who are supporting violence, no matter what religion they belong to. We will get rid of the mentality which asks us to protect people from our own religion, or community, even if they are doing wrong. This is very important. Sometime we protect the faulty people in our families. We will not do this anymore.

I just returned from Arunachal Pradesh in the morning. We need to send this message to all our neighboring countries that India is ONE. China is asking for Arunachal Pradesh, I would like to tell them, “Why are you just asking for Arunachal Pradesh, ask for the whole of India! We consider the entire world ours, why are you stuck only with Arunachal Pradesh then?” We will never allow this separation to happen! We are not ready to cut one thumb out and give them, but we are ready to give our entire hand to shake! India is ONE and will remain ONE. We might have different religions, communities, languages and cultures, but underneath all this diversity, every Indian is ONE. We need to send this message to Pakistan, Bangladesh or any other nation. We will not allow them to play with us anymore.

Today when Mumbai is attacked we all have woken up, but you go to Assam and see the condition there. 5 districts there are suffering from continued violence. Lakhs of people had to flee from their houses and are living in camps. The situation in Assam is completely hand crafted by politicians. But we never get to see this in our news. Today, we shall pray for not just the victims of Mumbai alone, but for the victims of terror and extremism everywhere in India.

We are proponents of Peace, but we also are the descendants of Guru Gobind Singh. Today, we need ‘Sant-Sipahi’ (The Saint who is a Soldier). We don’t need just saints, we don’t need just soldiers, but people who are both. Every human here shall be a Peace Messenger, and a Peace Soldier. Peace Soldiers are those who have dynamism and a will to stop the wrong. Peace Soldiers are those who expose the wrong deeds and doers in the society, and stand in protest.

Today is Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s anniversary. We all must remember the good work done by him in starting the movement against ‘Un-touchability’. Even today, some villages of India are practicing Un-touchability. This should be immediately curbed. Nowhere in our scriptures has un-touchability been advocated. In India, we have a tradition of worshiping the feet (Paada-Pooja). In fact in the west the feet are considered low and un-holy. Washing the feet, worshiping the feet has always been a sign of reverence in our culture. Just like the body has different organs, the society has different castes philosophies and religions. But all of them ultimately represent that One Divinity. Remember this fact. Never think that our scriptures, our religion is superficial. There is immense depth in our ‘Shastras’. Sometimes we see that there is a huge gap between what is written in the scriptures and what is seen in our daily practice. Islam, what it actually says and the way it is practiced today is completely different. Same goes for the Vedic knowledge. Our Vedas say that all humans are one, and yet we see castes and un-touchability practiced in places. These practices have no religious significance whatsoever. This should be stopped.

So we need to bring a wave of social transformation, and each one of us here will need to take responsibility for the same. Can we all do it? Raise hands – all those who would like to join hands for this task. Yes, we all can do it. But one thing we need to remember again is that we should not act out of anger. When I went to Iraq and met some ministers there, and told them that by practicing meditation we can pacify our anger, they requested me to not pacify the anger of their people! They want their citizens to stay angry till they don’t take their revenge from America. I was shocked! Anger will always lead you to remorse.

Peace does not mean inaction. We want a revolution, but we want a Peace Revolution. Mahatma Gandhi advocated Peace, but he did not just sit back and let injustice happen. Out of peace, he took action. The essence of entire Geeta is this – Fight with equanimity. Today, this message of Geeta is applicable to Mumbai. Mahabharata, which happened 5200 years ago, is now repeating itself again. We are again seeing a ‘Dharam-Yudha’ (A Battle for Righteousness). And in this battle, all the nations of the world, except a few, are with us! And even those nations, which are not with us, it’s only select people from those nations who are not with us.

Their own missiles are now shooting back at them. Let’s not make this mistake ourselves. Whenever I have traveled to Israel, I have been told by the Jewish leaders there that India is the only nation in the world where a Jew has never been attacked! India is known for its tolerance and peace. India is the only nation on the planet, which has advocated peace and welcomed people from all religions and countries with arms wide open. But what has happened this time has left us hurt and wounded. However, we shall not let this stain our spirits – We shall overcome. Are you all with me?

We will not let go of our culture, our nature – which is peace, which is non-violence. But with this philosophy of non-violence and peace, we shall teach such a lesson to all the terrorists, that they will not even know what hit them!

And I would like to ask all the media and the journalists to pay some attention towards the North East provinces of India. There is a lot of violence happening there. Our media does not show these incidents at all. Each state there is gripped with violence. People are living in fear. We have completely forgotten those people. They only see Mahatma Gandhi’s name in the currency bills, otherwise there is no reflection of his principles there.

I would like to say to all the families who have lost their dear ones that the soul never dies. Those who have departed us have merged with the divine, and their souls are still with you, with us, with the entire nation. Hence we should not sit and shed tears for them, for they are martyrs. Everyone will die, including us. But they have sacrificed their lives to wake us up and make us realize that others should not need to suffer, that this should not happen again. Know that once you drop the body, there is no more suffering to the soul. However, people who are left behind on the planer suffer for their loss. Now this sorrow that you might feel should be channelized properly. Don’t go in depression. We are conducting Trauma Relief Workshops everywhere. All those who saw these attacks, and are suffering with the traumatic impressions it leaves in the mind, need to learn pranayams and meditation to flush this negativity out. So ensure all those who you know are feeling dejected and scared, even just by seeing these proceedings in TV, attend these Trauma Relief camps and learn meditation, so that they can once again be filled with hope, enthusiasm and happiness.

The festival of Navaratri is celebrated with prayers and gaiety in the beginning of autumn and spring. This period is a time for self-referral and getting back to the source. During this time of transformation, Nature sheds the old and gets rejuvenated.

Vedanta says, matter reverts to its original form to recreate itself again and again. The creation is cyclical, not linear; everything is recycled by nature in a continuous process of rejuvenation. The human mind, however, lags behind in this routine cycle of creation. Navaratri is a festival to enable us to take the mind back to its source.

The seeker finds the true source through fasting, prayer, silence and meditation. Night is called ratri because it brings rejuvenation.  It gives relief at the three levels of our existence physical, subtle and causal. While fasting detoxifies the body, silence purifies speech and brings rest to the chattering mind, and meditation takes you deep into your own being.

The inward journey nullifies our negative karmas. Navaratri is a celebration of the spirit or prana which alone can destroy Mahishasura, inertia; Shumbha-Nishumbha, pride and shame and Madhu-Kaitabh, extreme forms of craving and aversion. They are opposites, yet complementary. Inertia, deeply ingrained negativities and obsessions, Raktabeejasura; unreasonable logic, Chanda-Munda and blurred vision, Dhoomralochan can be overcome only by raising the level of prana and shakti, the life-force energy.

The nine days of Navaratri are also an opportunity to rejoice in the three primordial qualities that make up the universe. Though our life is governed by the three gunas, we seldom recognise and reflect on them. The first three days of Navaratri are tamo guna, the second three of rajo guna and the last three of sattva guna.

Our consciousness sails through the tamo and rajo gunas and blossoms in the sattva guna in the last three days. Whenever sattva dominates life, victory follows. The essence of this knowledge is honoured by celebrating the tenth day as Vijaya Dashami. The three primordial gunas are considered as the feminine force of the universe. By worshipping the Mother Divine during Navaratri, we harmonise the three gunas and elevate sattva in the atmosphere.

Navaratri is celebrated as the victory of good over evil. From the Vedantic point of view, the victory is of absolute reality over apparent duality. In the words of Ashtavakra, it is the poor wave which tries to keep its identity separate from the ocean, but to no avail.

Though the microcosm is well within the macrocosm, its perceived separateness is the cause of conflict. For a gyani or a wise person, entire creation comes alive and he recognises life in everything in the same way children see life in everything.

The Mother Divine or pure consciousness pervades all forms and has all names. Recognising the one divinity in every form and every name is the celebration of Navaratri. Hence, special pujas honouring all aspects of life and nature are performed during the last three days.

Kali is the most horrific manifestation of Nature. Nature symbolises beauty, yet it has a horrific form too. Acknowledging the duality brings a total acceptance in the mind and puts the mind at ease.

The Mother Divine is recognised not just as the brilliance of intellect buddhi, but also the confusion, bhranti; she is not just abundance, Lakshmi, she is also hunger, shudha and thirst, trishna. Realising this aspect of the Mother Divine in entire Creation leads one to a deep state of samadhi.

This gives an answer to the age-old theological struggle of the Occident. Through wisdom, devotion and nishkama karma, one can attain advaita siddhi or perfection in the non-dual consciousness.

Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated on the day on which Lord Ganesha is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is worshipped as the supreme god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. Though it is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the symbolism behind the festival is much deeper.

The essence of Ganeshji is brought out beautifully by Adi Shankara. Though Ganeshji is worshiped as the elephant-headed God, the form (swaroop) is just to bring out its parabrahma roopa. Ganeshji is described as Ajam Nirvikalpam Niraakaaramekam. This means that Ganeshji is never born.

He is Ajam (unborn), he is Niraakaar (formless) and he is Nirvikalpa (attributeless). Ganeshji symbolises the consciousness which is omnipresent. Ganeshji is the same energy which is the reason for this universe, from which everything is manifested and it’s the same energy in which the whole world will be dissolved. Ganeshji is not somewhere outside of us, but the very centre of our life. But this is very subtle knowledge. Not everybody can perceive the formless without the form. Our ancient Rishis and Munis knew this; so they created the form for the benefit and understanding of people at all levels.

Those who can’t experience the formless, over a period of sustained experience of manifested form reach the formless Brahman.

So in reality, Ganeshji is formless; yet there is a form to which Adi Shankara prayed and that form carries the message of the formlessness of Ganeshji. Thus, the form serves as the starting point and gradually the formless consciousness begins to manifest.

Ganesh Chaturthi marks a unique art of reaching formless Paramatma called Lord Ganesh by repeated worship of the manifest form of Ganesha.

Even the Ganesh Stotram, the prayers recited in the praise of Ganeshji, conveys the same. We pray to Ganeshji in our consciousness to come out and sit in the idol for us for a while so that we can play with him. And after the puja, we again pray asking him to go back to where he comes from; that’s our consciousness. While he is in the idol, we offer back whatever God has given us through the puja of the idol.

The ritual of immersing (visaran) the idols after few days of worship reinforces the understanding that God is not in the idol, it’s inside us. So experiencing the omnipresent in the form and deriving joy out of the form is the essence of the Ganesha Chaturthi festival. In a way such organized festivity and worships lead to an upsurge in enthusiasm and devotion.

Ganeshji is the lord of all the good qualities in us. So when we worship him, all the good qualities will blossom in us. He is also the lord of knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge dawns only when we become aware of the Self. When there is inertia, there is no knowledge, no wisdom, nor is there any liveliness (Chaitanya) or progress in life. So the consciousness has to be awakened and the presiding deity of consciousness is Ganeshji. That’s why before every puja, the Lord Ganesha is worshiped to awaken the consciousness.

Therefore, install the idol, worship it with infinite love, meditate and experience Lord Ganesha from within. This is the symbolic essence of Ganesh Chaturti festival, to awaken the Ganesha tatva which is masked inside us.

Source: http://www.artofliving.org/Founder/QA/tabid/231/Default.aspx

They are not actually worshiping the idols but worshiping the unmanifest
divinity which has all the divine qualities. So, the idol worshipers of the
East are not the same as the ones in the Middle East as described in the
Bible, because they are not just worshiping different gods and different
idols, they are worshiping the ONE divinity in many different forms.

Paganism, Satan and animal worship, without the knowledge of the one
divinity is very different from seeing the divine in every form of the
manifest universe. In the eastern tradition, gods and goddesses are part of
the one divinity like the different colors of white sunlight, whereas in the
Greek tradition, gods and goddesses are in themselves different entities.

Worshiping Satan and different entities is totally different from worshiping divinity in its various forms. Every form belongs to the divine.
When you adore the form, you are adoring the divine behind the form.

With this knowledge, the very act of worship, which is more an inner
phenomenon, assumes a more colorful and vibrant expression, indicating that
both the form and the formless are all divine.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, shares his insights into education:

Question: Do you think volunteering and community service by individuals can make a difference in education for children who have no access to formal schooling?

Sri Sri: Volunteerism is not an alternative to formal schooling. A formal school education is essential and we must focus on it. In this curriculum, we must have volunteerism for kids. We do have the National Service Scheme (NSS) system, but it comes much later, at the college level. There should be some service activity which must be introduced at the primary level itself, where children are asked to distribute things, etc.

Question: How can the problem of lack of education in rural areas, stemming from a lack of infrastructure, teachers and social conditioning, be countered?

Sri Sri: If all corporate houses adopt a few villages and a few districts in the country (this can be taken care of). There are 612 districts in the country and thousands of corporate houses. If NGOs, the government, and corporate houses can work together, I think the goal is not far away from being achieved.

Question: Do you think our education system’s methodologies need to be reviewed?

Sri Sri: Definitely. Children are asked to carry whole loads of books on their backs. So many children have a backache by 16, they can’t do anything else because their back hurts. We need to bring about a revolution in the education system, where a child learns with his own aptitude. We need to come up with innovative methods and not just learn byheart poems in a foreign language. When we were kids, we were taught Shakespeare’s verses. It is simply notnecessary. Memorizing is such a load. Instead, we must give them an education which uses the use right brain and left brain, like music and logic; relaxation, some yoga; give them proper food. All this will enable a child to learn better and learn more than you expect them to.

Question: How can attitudes be changed in rural areas towards education of the girl child?

Sri Sri: Through awareness campaigns. Kerala has 100% literacy. Karnataka is moving towards that. Tamil Nadu has high literacy. It needs to be a joint effort between religious institutions, NGOs and the government. Religion can help in a big way. People are religious, women are religious. If religious heads emphasize that every child should be educated, why wouldn’t a woman herself learn and send her daughter to school? If every priest in the village says the people must send the girl child to school, his word will be honoured.

Question: One of the primary problems in government schools is absenteeism, both among teachers as well as students. What is the solution to ensure attendance?

Sri Sri: Learning has to be made more fun. Then schools will be able to hold or draw the children to school. In some NGO schools, including Art of Living schools, the children want to come to school even during the holidays. That is because teachers have the attitude of caring for children, they take personal care of them. Teachers and principals must create such an atmosphere in schools.

Question: The Education Bill which will promise universal primary education is expected to be presented in Parliament. How important will this be in ensuring a fundamental right to education? What role should the government play in improving education infrastructure?

Sri Sri: Many a time, we see that policy makers in education have prejudices.Even among historians, there are left- and right-wing historians. A prejudice-free mind is absolutely essential for policy makers. We must have a balanced outlook.We also need to be contemporary. Some policy makers do not know how to operate a computer. They are two generations behind. They have lost touch with the mental state of the students in schools and colleges. A good teacher is one who can recognize where a child is and where he must reach. Only when a teacher understands the dfficulties or challenges of a student, can you become a good teacher, or a good policy maker. We need to have interaction, brain-storming. So often policymakers are not intouch with the ground reality. We need to keep having seminars, so that teachers and policy makers can update their knowledge. It is appalling to know that 40% of teachers are depressed. When teachers are depressed, what can they transmit to children? That’s why children don’t want to be in school, they want to run away from school. Policy makers must create learning systems for the teachers. One, through continuing education programmes. Two, by deleting unwanted things in the books that burden a child’s mind. A child who has studied high school and college, goes back home in the village and does not know how to repair a pump. They don’t know anything about agriculture. They don’t know how to fix a radio or a bulb. That is, students can’t earn a living with what they have studied. If education cannot help you earn your bread, we have to reframe education. After school, simple skills must be taught, specially in rural areas. Some knowledge of agriculture is a must.

Question: There has been talk of making education more inclusive by inviting public schools to open up their premises to accommodate second and third shifts after traditional school hours for the education of under privileged children.Do you think that can be an effective strategy?

Sri Sri: I think it’s good. It will go a long way in bridging the urban-rural divide, and the rich-poor divide. Quality education can be given to such children. Not just in cities. Even in semi-urban areas, buses must fetch the children from remote places. Taking a ride in a bus every day can motivate children to go to school. Adult literacy is also important. These institutions can play a major role in this.

Question: Broadly speaking, what measures do you think are required to achievethe Millennium Development Goal of education for all?

Sri Sri: Four institutions are needed to be able to achieve the MillenniumDevelopment Goals. The government’s role is essential. There must be a greater budget allocated to education. Not for just opening universities and having more unemployment, but for giving primary education at the lowest cost, or free of cost .Today, in India, 51% of postgraduates, 39% graduates and 0% of the illiterate are unemployed. This is appalling. Why would you want your son or daughter to spend so much time and so many years to become unemployed? When they are unemployed, crime increases.Therefore, a good primary education is a must. Religious and spiritual institutions must join hands in this. Those with a spiritual education will not get involved in criminal activities. So, spiritual institutions have a role.The third is NGOs as they have creative ideas, plans and proposals. If they implement these in their schools, such schools excel. The fourth is corporate houses. If all these four sectors come together, the MDG will not be a dream,but achieved in a couple of years.

Question: More than 90,000 people have responded to Teach India’s call for volunteers. What message would you like to give them and NGOs involved in education?

Sri Sri: Work together. Intellectuals often do not come together. Each one thinks he knows best. There is no team spirit. But they must come together with one goal — in bringing quality education for all. If this can be done, we can achieve it. For this, we need a violence-free environment, volunteers must be healthy, free from prejudices; with a little tinge of spirituality — it can bring about so much joy in those who want to work. If you are working as an expression of your joy, you will create that happiness all around. You will create that sort of education that you are aspiring for.