Dealing with Problems – Bhagavad Gita 3

Often people who are adamant, who are arrogant, who are  blind does not ask question.  There is no spirit of inquiry in them.  They think they know.

When you think you know without knowing, then you are in deeper trouble, nobody can help. 

But that state does not last too long.  Because when there is problem it does not stay outside.  Whatever problem you create for others, it comes back to you.  And so the problem came back to the king,  he wanted to know what’s happening. 

And there is a good end to everything.  Every conflict has a good end.

So the youngest of the sons called Sanjay.  Sanjay means the right victory.  The moment you want to get out of the problem, you are already one step into the victory.  Are you getting what Iam saying?  Realizing there is problem, we are out of the problem.  So Dhrtarastra  the king called the youngest of the sons, his last son and asked him:

” dharmaksetre kuruksetre

samaveta yuyutsavah mamakah andavascaiva

kimakurvata sanjaya”

Sanjay my dear son, please tell me what’s happening in this dharmaksetre, in this land of dharma, in this land of action.  This is a land of action.  This, our universe, our world,  is a place where law governs, dharma governs. 

And if our action serves in accordance with dharma, there is always harmony.  If our action serves against the law, against dharma, we are bound to face the music.

Knowing this, he asks his youngest son, tell me what is happening.  You see it, I don’t.  You tell me.  My children and Panavas.

It is mineness, mine, mine,  mine.  The limited “mine” blinds a person. 

This limited undestanding, what is mine, what is not mine makes a person miserable.

“come to me!” and more..

Wake up and realize this is all made up of thoughts, just thoughts. Your appreciation of beauty is a thought, your aversion to an object that is ugly is a thought. Your craving or aversion is nothing but a passing thought in mind. Realize this is just a thought and you will be free. Knowing thought as thought brings the freedom. When you know a thought as a reality, that is when you are stuck – Sri Sri

Life sometimes seems very complicated. There is pleasure, pain, happiness, suffering, generosity, greed, passion and dispassion. When our life is full of such opposing values, our mind sometimes becomes unable to handle these complications and just breaks down. It is then that you need wisdom to guide you through troubled times. Guru is that wisdom. – Sri Sri

Usually what happens when you talk to people? You get stooped into their level of problems. You get carried away into the problems. So just try this: one day let everybody come and complain 100 things to you, you simply keep your energy high, your sight inward, your mind inward as though nothing has happened. You will suddenly feel there is a freedom within you. – Sri Sri

All the equipment’s: mike, light they all run on electricity. They all look different but they run on the same thing. Similarly we all look different but we are all made of the same thing. The Sun and other things in the universe is made up of the same universal energy, even scientists agree with this. What we consider as an item is not really an item, it is energy. Krishna said the same thing in Gita: People think that I am a human being, I am in human form but I am shakti. ~ Sri Sri

“You know light never fights the darkness. The moment light comes, darkness disappears. So there is no real fight between light and darkness. If there is darkness, it is just mere absence of light. You bring light back and the conflict gets resolved!” – Sri Sri

SriSri’s discourse – Dec 24, 2007 Bangalore Ashram

24th December 2007

Bangalore Ashram

Guruji conducted moonlight meditation… followed by the question and answer session.

Question: Guruji logically there is no reason to be happy. But happy state of mind doesn’t follow any logic. Is happiness related to logic?
Guruji: (laughter) The whole exercise in life is to balance the head and the heart. When you are too much into head, you should just let go, and relax, sing and dance. You know your sleep is a gift to you. Do you know that? During sleep the mind gets so much of rest! But meditation is the ultimate rest to your mind.

Question: Guruji, life was becoming weaker and weaker everyday. Then one day you came. You charged up with so much of love and blessings. What is the guarantee that it is going to stay for ever?
Guruji: (laughter) It’s a life time guarantee. For many life times. Here you know, the charge never finishes. Its not a disposable cell, what you call it?!!? The sun the moon the starts don’t finish. Do they finish? When Lord Krishna said, “I am the sun the moon, the light in the sun… “, people did not understand! The mind is like the rays of the moon. The whole world is made up of one energy. I recently heard something; someone was telling that Einstein had said that, “If you have not studied physics you lose out something, but if you have not studied spirituality you loose out on everything”. I totally agree with that. Many are surprised to hear that, but I was not!

Question: Guruji, often I don’t realize how seva is happening and sometimes I think I am doing it. Who is it actually who does?
Guruji: Who is the one who is observing? When you focus on that you will know that. First the eyes are seeing, then the mind, then the intellect, go on with this … and you will see that there is nothing! That’s why Lord Buddha said “Anaatma”. He said, “I could not find the self anywhere, though I searched and searched”. Then Lord Shankaracharya came and said, “Its all Maya” temporary”. Then he said, “Who is the one who could not find? That is the one”!! He totally turned around the whole picture to a new dimension with a new sentence! You are the one and you are never away from the self! That’s why we do, “I am”.. Have you done the “I am” process today? Advance course… During the process you must had several pleasant and unpleasant experience. Its ok.. huh…they come and go, what remains is the self.

Question: Guruji how can I eliminate conflict with my wife. I want to make her happy at the same time cannot agree to everything she says. Can you help?
Guruji: Why do you want a bland life? (laughter) Life should be spicy, interesting. Its absolutely ok to fight! You just tell yourself, today let her scream, I am not going to get angry on her!! You stand like a rock and keep smiling!! See how things turn around! Just one day you do that, and you will see you are so potent to end a conflict or may be begin a new one!! (laughter)!!

Question: Guruji why are there so many spiritual institutions? Do we need so many? Why cannot people follow one institution?
Guruji: No come on… You never ask why are there so many cinema halls? You never
ask why are there so many shops, so many restaurants, so many parties?!!? Why do we wear so many different types of cloths!??!?! This question is not relevant at all. There are so many avenues to bring the knowledge. So many different methods to are there to get to the knowledge. Only the Zihadis say such things. We want only one thing! Only one way! Well things may not be the way you want it, but let me tell you they all have their own importance. Rig Veda said something beautiful. It said for those who don’t believe in him, he is there for them also!! Swami Vivekananda came, he found an institution. Then Rishi Aurobindo came he formed another institution…. We have take up a different way through yoga and meditation…There is no conflict withone another! There is one common thing I think in all and that is meditation.

Question: Guruji I got your blessings today, how long will the blessings last?
Guruji: (Laughter) depends on what you are going to use it for. I am ready to give you a blank cheque. But what will you use it for!??!

Question: Guruji give me bhahma gyan?
Guruji: I am ready to give you and that’s what is what you are doing here. Relax and let go. Become hollow and empty. And only when you are hollow and empty you are ready to take it.

Question: How different are you from mother and father?
Guruji: I don’t want to get into this conflict. How different am I or how similar am I! You find out all that! Some people find both… so you figure that out.

Question: Guruji what is the best way to serve the society as a future doctor?
Guruji: You know you should keep this question. This is a very good question. How best can I contribute to my society!! But don’t try to do something which is not required! (Laughter!!) Have you heard the story of the scout boys? I think I have told it to you before. Ok…ok I’ll repeat! There were three scout boys. One day they were given a task to do some service. So they went on the road and were wondering what seva to do?!?! Meantime one of them saw a old lady who was standing across the road. The scout boy came upto her ands asked “Would you like to cross the road?” The old lady said, “No thank you”. The scout boy insisted her that she should cross the road! Finally he forced her to cross the road. Meantime the other boy who saw that came running and said, “I am going to drop her back from where she came” which means the other side of the road. So he forced the old lady to cross the road again. The third boy came running and said “Well I cannot loose out of seva”. So he got the old lady to cross the road again!!! (Laughter!!) We have to bring people to knowledge and spirituality and meditation.

Question: Is there a way to handle success without conflict?
Guruji: Yes… yes. You can handle success without any conflict. Because the concept of conflict is there in your own mind. If your mind is free there is no conflict at all!! That’s why in Narada Bhakti Sutra it is said, “aatmarata virodhite”… Rejoice in the self without conflict, and that’s is real devotion.

In Service,

Smita Roy (From Ashram)