Quotes from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Your desire for pleasure or happiness makes you unhappy.

Your comparison with your own performance is better, is healthy, but if you start comparing with others, in all probability, you will feel jealous.

Young children, who have not yet accumulated a lot of stress, exhibit an abundance of energy, enthusiasm, profound joy, and unconditional love. These qualities that manifest spontaneously in an innocent child demonstrate the truest, unadulterated, essence of humanness. We are all born with a wellspring of love and joy. These qualities are not just emotions, they are the essence of our existence. The truth of our essence cannot change, it can only be covered over and hidden from us.

There are four sources of energy — food, sleep, breath and a calm mind.

You need to see your life in context of time and space — how vast creation is, how big the universe is and how small your life is, relative

discipline in words and speech. Do not speak any word (from your side) that would create turbulence and turmoil in the minds of others. Even if you don't speak, some people get turbulent. That you are not responsible for, but from your side, do not speak. This is an oath you will take to begin with, for the next five days. Do not speak any harsh word. Don't let any harsh word come out of your mouth to anyone. Do not hurt with your words, for the Divine dwells in every heart.

Someone who does not have any responsibility can feel very detached, 'Oh, I am doing nothing. I am free.' But that freedom has no value. If someone who is responsible for the whole of society, the whole kingdom can say, 'I am not doing anything' in spite of this responsible job; then that 'not doing' something is great. That is enlightenment.

I feel it is very important to teach our children and our people how they should handle their negative feelings and emotions such as anger, jealousy and hatred.

Dissolving the name is awareness. Dissolving the form is meditation. The world is name and form. Bliss transcends name and form. Bangalore Ashram, India September 24, 1997

There is some virtue to be learnt from every part of the world — teamwork from Japan, precision from Germany, marketing and negotiation skills from the United States, courtesy, decency and refinement from the British, and human values from the villages of India. You

This Truth has to be realized here and now, in this lifetime. Do not postpone it until the next lifetime. If you do not know it this lifetime, it is the greatest loss. There cannot be any greater loss than this. This is the greatest loss imaginable.

More tiring than the work itself is the memory of hard work, just thinking you have worked hard interferes with the quality of rest. Some people take pride in working hard without any results. And there are others who crave for a long rest without knowing that true rest is in non-doership. Thinking you need rest makes you restless. Thinking you have to work hard makes you tired. Thinking you have worked hard brings self-pity.

All that you can do is to raise the level of sattva. And then when sattva's level is high, we have to wait one moment, any moment knowledge can dawn there. All that you can do to have sunlight in this room, is to open the curtains and keep the windows open. And when dawn comes, it just dawns. You have the sunlight inside. If you close your curtains, even if it's midsummer afternoon, you will still find your room dark, because the gunas are cloudy.

If someone blames you directly, do not believe it. Just know that they are taking away your bad karma and let it

The fire of love or fire of knowledge creates unpleasantness or a sense of longing in the beginning, but it moves on to the blossoming of bliss, the blossoming of fullness.

If people are not inspired from within, it will not be possible to build a good work ethic. Work

Healthy breathing is the key to eliminating these toxins and harmonising emotions. Neither

Science is about learning 'what something is' and spirituality is about knowing 'who I am'. The

Arjava [sincerity] is the second thing. There are people who can go on forgiving themselves but they are not sincere. So they can be where they are and continue doing the same thing. Forget the past. 'Yes, I did something wrong, I am also preparing to do something wrong today and I'll continue with something tomorrow.' There's

Rejection itself means the finite.

Forgetfulness of the infinite is misery. Forgetfulness of the trivial is ecstasy.

Think about a world which never irritated you. You'd be stuck with it forever.

life is a ball we should play with it !

Even in moments of utter danger, a person like Mahatma Gandhi remained totally involved in his work.