i_am_a_sadhak

i_am_a_sadhak Fan Page for Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji, managed by Devotees.

Authorized by Sri Sri Publications Trust (SSPT) to reuse, monetize, and repurpose content in a dignified manner with full permissions from Art of Living Team.

Q - Gurudev, why does the mind get more attached to what we try to avoid, and how can we free ourselves from this cycle ...
10/10/2025

Q - Gurudev, why does the mind get more attached to what we try to avoid, and how can we free ourselves from this cycle of resistance?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - Let me tell you a story. Once, there was a farmer who went to a saint and said, “Give me something so that my life becomes wonderful. Give me a mantra, a japa and then I will do something great.” The saint agreed and gave him a mantra to chant. The farmer was very happy. He was about to leave when the saint said, “Just a minute, I forgot to tell you something. Whenever you want to chant the mantra or when you sit for meditation, take care not to think of a monkey. If you do, the mantra will become useless and impotent. It won’t be of any use to you.”

The farmer said, ‘Oh, this is so easy! I have never thought about monkeys in my life. There is no reason why I should think about them now. And I have just a wheat and paddy field. Monkeys don’t come there at all.’ So he went home and sat to meditate. The first thing that came to his mind was a monkey! He thought, ‘Oh, perhaps it is daytime now. Maybe they are here somewhere and those vibrations are striking my mind. It is not me. Maybe the monkeys want me to remember them. But at night they’ll be asleep. Let me meditate then.’ So he got up at 10 o'clock that night, and started to meditate.

The first thing that came to his mind was the monkey. He thought of monkeys not only during meditation, but at all other times too! While sitting, standing, eating, drinking, he even had nightmares of monkeys in his dreams! Within three days he was so bothered by the monkeys, he ran back to the saint on the fourth day and asked him to take his mantra and monkey back! ‘I don’t want it! Relieve me of this monkey business! I have gone crazy! I can’t do anything!’

What you resist persists. It is the nature of the mind! There is one golden rule by which the mind can be lifted up, and that is wonder.

Wonder is where there is no concept, no mind.

Whatever you resist in your mind will persist. And when you resist negativity, it will persist. You need a skill to get over them. And I tell you, the breath is a great friend to you here.

🌟 Follow 💞

Is a WORLD 🌎 without ANY VIOLENCE possible?Question - Gurudev, how can we create a world without violence? Sri Sri Ravi ...
07/10/2025

Is a WORLD 🌎 without ANY VIOLENCE possible?

Question - Gurudev, how can we create a world without violence?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - I have this crazy idea… a world without violence. This might appear to be utopian thinking, but we need to dream and we will get there! If we instill pride in being non-violent, in being compassionate, in being helpful to others, our lives will take a new direction. And that should be our unwavering commitment.⠀
⠀
It is saddening to see the impact of gun violence on our families and society. An ABC news report indicates that there are more gun retail stores than grocery stores in the U.S. When we have not provided education in non-violence, or equipped people with tools to control their aggressive tendencies, we cannot afford to have so many gun stores making it easy to pursue deadly acts of violence.⠀
⠀
Aggressive tendencies can occur in anybody; it is quite natural. But one should be taught how to handle that aggressive tendency in a healthy way. When conflict arises in the mind of an individual, perception, observation and expression are impacted. This in turn impacts communication with the other party.

In a conflict zone, the first thing that is needed for resolution is an improvement in the communication between the parties. This can happen only when the mind is calm and is able to respond, rather than react. In order for the mind to be calm, mental traumas need to be relieved. The rhythmic breathing and meditation techniques that the volunteers of The use have been quite effective with relieving mental and emotional distress.⠀
⠀
The ignorant are fanatically religious, the so-called intelligentsia are fashionably atheist, and the wise are genuinely spiritual. It is time that we encourage our young people, our children, to see beyond limited identities and to associate with the common humanity that we are all part of. It is time to tear down the walls between cultures and celebrate diversity. It is time to connect at the heart to heart level and let go of the negative emotions. This is how we can create a violence-free, stress-free society.

❤️ Follow for more such 's Wisdom 🪷

Can’t Forgive? Try This Perspective 💭Question - Gurudev, when someone hurts us deeply, how can we truly forgive and let ...
07/10/2025

Can’t Forgive? Try This Perspective 💭

Question - Gurudev, when someone hurts us deeply, how can we truly forgive and let go from the heart?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - Then just think about your death, that you are going to die.

Even if you hold on (to the situation), still you will be finished; you will go away from this world.

Now, do you want to carry that impression? Come on, wake up!
Life is so short and everybody is like a rag doll. They don’t have a mind of their own. Everyone is like a rag doll, and there is a particular force and energy that is working through everybody.
That one Paramakaranakarana is the cause of all causes. The Shiva Tattva is playing, putting different things in different people’s minds. Understand this Advaita knowledge; feel it.
We are all made up of the same substance.

All these little minds are there, but the mind is also influenced by a big mind, and according to karma. So, different people act in different ways.

Have you noticed that sometimes, you haven’t done anything wrong to anyone, and still they became your enemies? How many of you have had this experience?

Especially people to whom you have done a lot of good to, they become your enemies. You wonder, this person is my best friend, I did so much for him, and this person became my enemy! Isn’t it?

In the same way, there are some people to whom you have not done any special favors, yet they have become your friends, hasn’t this happened?

You met someone in the train and then they came out and helped you so much.

So both, friendship and enmity happens with some strange law of karma. That is why friends or enemies are all the same, because another power is working through them. Knowing this, relax.

Similarly, when you do good work, there are people who criticize you. There are people who do horrible work, and there are some people praising them as well. You find it so strange.

So, drop them all and relax.

🌟 Follow for more such wisdom by Gurudev Sri Sri

07/10/2025

Don’t ask people to treat you well.

How to Balance the Three Gunas? 🌿✨Question – Gurudev, the three gunas of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, we all have combinatio...
05/10/2025

How to Balance the Three Gunas? 🌿✨

Question – Gurudev, the three gunas of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, we all have combinations of all three. How do we use this combination responsibly and with purpose?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji – You don’t, you can’t use them, they use you. The gunas run your life.

So if you have Rajo Guna, you become jittery, you become anxious, you get excited very quickly and then you go down.

And Sattva Guna brings harmony, evenness, happiness, all that.

And Tamo Guna, you will fall asleep.

They are an essential part of everyone’s life. You can’t get rid of one guna, totally impossible. You can’t exist without them.

The three gunas are essential to exist, for any existence. But it all matters in what dominates.

If Sattva dominates, then success, harmony, happiness, love and all that increase.

If Rajas dominates, activity, competition and all that increase.

If Tamas dominates, then you can get into all negative tendencies or inertia.

So these gunas will remain. We only need to see how the level of Sattva is increased in the whole life.

The key is not to fight these gunas, but to raise Sattva through meditation, knowledge, seva (service), and right food, because the more Sattva you have, the more harmony and joy naturally flow in life.

Question - Gurudev, we have heard that Navratri is the triumph of Sattva over Rajas and Tamas. But are not all the three Gunas equally important for life to exist? How can we favour one over the other?

Sri Sri - No, it is always like that. One of the three will dominate. Sattva is always there in everybody, and so is Rajas and Tamas. All three Gunas always exist together. But what dominates is what makes the difference. If Tamas guna dominates, there is misery. When Rajoguna dominates, there are conflicts. When Sattva guna dominates, there is awareness, knowledge, and happiness. You should observe which is dominating, since that is what gives quality to that time.

The 3 Gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) are transcended by the worship of the three forms of mother divine during the nine days of Navratri.

Follow for more such Gurudev's Wisdom

Q - Gurudev, Which is the first step to take in a spiritual life? Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - First step of spiritual lif...
04/10/2025

Q - Gurudev, Which is the first step to take in a spiritual life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - First step of spiritual life is stop blaming yourself. The first step of spiritual life is stop blaming yourself. See, if you blame yourself, you can't go to yourself.

Would you like to be with someone whom you blame? Would you like to accompany a person whom you blame? If you blame yourself, how can you go deep within yourself? Is it possible? Not possible. So when you blame yourself, you are getting ready to blame the other. And vice versa, when you blame others, after a while you blame yourself.

You say, oh, I did wrong, I shouldn't blame others. And you blame yourself. You don't see things as such.

This is how they are. You know? So the first step in the spiritual path is what? Stop blaming yourself and stop blaming others. Then you are able to go within yourself.

In the spiritual path, self blame is the most dangerous thing to do. The first thing you need to drop is stop blaming yourself and others. Never mind praising yourself.

When you go within yourself, you find the other is also within. So there is no other. The formula of love is there is no other.

When you blame someone, you take on their bad karma. When you praise someone, you take on their good karma. Surrender both to the Divine and be free!

Stop blaming yourself - this is the first law of spirituality. The more you blame, the more you will be away from your own spirit.

Remember, If you throw blame, the blame will come back to you. If you give compliments, you will see it come back to you many folds. This is the law of attraction: whatever you throw bounces back onto you.

Do not blame the world or curse the people around you. They are all a part of God’s wonderful creation. Everything here has a purpose, and everything here is to make you stronger – be it, friends or enemies.

Question - Gurudev, How do we stop blaming ourselves for failures?

Sri Sri - First of all, don’t pay any attention at all to the mind. If we pay attention, that's it. Instead, pranayama, meditation and yoga are very good solutions.

🌟 Follow for more such wisdom by Gurudev Sri Sri

Address

Gurugram
122011

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when i_am_a_sadhak posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category