Meditate Everyday - Sri Sri

"Nothing can take away your inner bliss. This is the secret of life."

Maun (silence), yog and dhyan (meditation) awaken our potential. That is why it's important that everyone does dhyan for a while. There was a time, about 20 to 25 years ago, when people abroad thought dhyan was something like a UFO; some unidentified object. The respect that our ancestors had given this knowledge, in our country, was missing. Today, times have changed, the world over. Our traditions, culture, values are all disappearing. A lot of hard work was involved in creating these value systems. We have to explain everything in a scientific manner.

Yog and Vedanta have been referred to as the highest forms of knowledge and that is what they are. The inner space or your inner form can be experienced through them. All of you do a bit of dhyan everyday. Complete rest - not sitting and thinking. Just complete rest. Your brain benefits very much from this. Dhyan becomes a kind of shield against all illnesses.

There should be a concern in us for society we live in. What is happening? I ask those terrorists "Tell me what you want. Come, stand in front of me and we will see. Instead, you go and plant bombs at various places and harm so many innocent people. What do you get out of spreading terror?" Even animals don't kill without a reason. Here, without any reason, they go and kill people. And we seem to have got used to it. We have become numb. If we are spiritual, it must not be so. It is your work to awaken people.

It has been over six decades since the holocaust in Germany. Even today, demonstrations are held, the same topic is brought up again and again: perhaps, a bit too often. It is not necessary to talk about it so much. But they do it so that society does not forget what happened; they talk about it so that it does not happen again. So we also have to do this. India is one of the most tolerant countries in the world. The tolerance that we seen in India is not found anywhere else, not even in the most advanced nations. If someone starts spreading terror in such a country, that person should get some sort of punishment. They need to be taught a lesson. Tolerance does not mean weakness. We cannot use tolerance as an excuse to not raise our voices. It is important that we speak out. Isn't that so?

But only screaming will not help; we must use our minds to make the right strategy.We need strategy to solve any problem. The Mahabharata battle was won due to strategy. Only Shakti is not enough: we need bhakti (devotion), mukti (freedom), shakti (strength) and yukti (strategy). All four are needed. For success in life, we need bhakti and mukti. Without mukti, there's no bhakti. Mukti and bhakti make life fulfilling and beautiful. Shakti and yukti are necessary for surviving in society. If you are peaceful, yukti will awaken within you. This is the secret to a happy, healthy and meaningful life; given a very long title!

How many of you drive? Imagine you are sitting in a car and your foot is on the accelerator. You are holding the steering wheel and there is no brake or clutch. The car is moving. You see your home and say, "my home, my home," and keep pressing down on the accelerator. You have to go shopping, you've reached the shop, but your foot is on the accelerator. Your hands are on the steering wheel and your foot is on the accelerator: we are in the situation. We don't stop where we have to and when we reach the place we want to go to, we're still pressing down on the accelerator. A car needs both the brake and the accelerator. If a car has only a brake, it won't move. If it has only an accelerator, there will be an accident or you will go mad. Life needs a goal, an aim. This is the accelerator. That's fine, have wishes. You want mukti, that is also a wish. You want to give the children a good education, that is also a wish. These are all wishes; but sometimes the brake is also important.

Feverishness has to be controlled. You need to calm down. Feverishness has to be reduced in order to be able to discriminate; the brake will have to be used. Our ancestors understood that eating all through the month was not good. So one day was kept aside for fruits and water only: that was the brake.People used to be healthy: they did not fall ill as often as we do. Those who are hungry are not so ill. The ones who overeat are ill. So use the brake at times. When you have to get off at a shop, use the brake. Stop the car. We need to know how to stop the mind. Don't keep this doubt in your mind, "Will I be successful or not?" You will reap according to the type of seed you sow in the cosmos. They say there are some devtas around us, asthu devtas, who say "Tathastu" (So be it) to whatever we say or think. Don't doubt the good in your mind: good will happen.

Depending on the situation, we must accept whatever is happening around us. If we are sitting in dhyan and a phone is ringing somewhere, we must accept it instead of getting irritated. Take it as background music! As Shri Krishna says in the Bhagvad Gita, as long as something or the other is occupying our mind, we cannot go into dhyan. So surrender your sankalpa during dhyan. After dhyan, when you are working on something, put everything into it. We do the opposite: during dhyan, we keep thinking about all we have to do and while working we think that God will look after everything. As God wills: if terrorists come, that means it is God's will. This is stupidity. Put everything into any work you do. Spread that inner strength that you acquire through dhyan. Spread it everywhere. Spread it in the Dharmakshetra. This is the essence of the Gita.

People feel that our work is related to dhyan, then why are we getting involved with other things in society. There was a problem in Amarnath, why were we involved? I said, "When someone's house is burning, I'm not going to wait for an invitation to go and help." This is our duty. Won't you fulfill your duty? This is our nature, to help people in need. If you see someone has fallen, you won't think before helping that person. Compassion and love are programmed into us, we don't have to learn these things. So let us act according to our nature.

In Amarnath, at a height of 13,000 feet, 66 people died during the pilgrimage this year. We were told that all medical facilities, including doctors and hospitals, are available over there. When I went there, I saw a tiny tent with a table for medicines in one corner and seating space for a doctor. The tent could not even accommodate two extra people. If it rains, even the tablets will become syrup!
Such is the situation. Even a doctor will run away. There's no sign of any hospital. People there say it's been going on for so long, what is the need to improve now? The yatra has been going on for centuries. That is not the point; earlier very few people went for the Amarnath yatra. These days many people want to go. Nowadays there are toilets in every home; earlier people went to the fields. People don't object while making toilets, then why objections about a hospital? All the traders in Jammu stuck to this movement and that is why it gained momentum and was finally successful. Even their children stood up for this. But when you go to Srinagar, they say, "This is not our goal. We want the army removed. We want freedom." It is the common man who suffers in these political games; innocent people die. We, the citizens, should not be quiet. We must work for society; what do you say?

When you sit and think, "When will I get happiness," you won't get it. When you see your happiness in the happiness of others, that's when you will be truly happy. That is what 'Manushya' means: feeling pain when others are in pain and feeling happy when others are happy. We do the opposite: we are happy when others are in pain and sad when others are happy. This is the trait of a 'Danav' or devil. This is the mentality of a terrorist. They feel they have got everything when others are suffering because of them, whereas they have got nothing. Even you will become part of the dust one day. Then you will get the same punishment. These people will never attain 'Jannat' or heaven, never. Feeling pain when others are in pain feeling happy when others are happy, these are human traits. Someone who does not feel this way, has no heart. We should be sensitive, but not too sensitive either; if someone is wounded, you must not sit there and start crying, your hands and feet trembling. The method used to bring about the required balance is known as dhyan. Everyday, for some time, become an unidentified flying object. The flight of the spirit that you will feel within you is something that nobody else can understand. You must experience this flight.

For peace, just say Shiva, Shiva, Shiva. When you say "shhhh" it means silence. When you say "wah" it means wonder. You go anywhere, in any country, the meaning of these two expressions is the same. So when the ancient sages did dhyan, they felt silence and wonder from within. Shiva. There is nothing like the atman in this world. It is the Shiva tatva. Shivam, shantam, advaitam, chaturtam… these are the traits worth knowing. Once you are aware of these, nothing in the world can move you from your path. Nothing can take away your inner bliss. This is the secret of life.

While dying, two questions will come before you; how much love did you give and how much knowledge did you gain? How much knowledge did you gain about yourself? Who are you?