Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Shiva Sutras

SHIVA SUTRAS

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

SHIVA SUTRAS

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

1st Edition, September 2010

3rd Reprint, July 2013

Art of Living Foundation USA

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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-938059232-9

CONTENTS

The Mind Facing Inwards Is Always Happy

The Energy Centers

Bubbles on the Water

Honor Desire

Rest Within

Guru Is the Way

From Darkness to Light

Play of the Divine

Liberation from Lust

Life Is a Play

Complete Happiness

The Body Is a Temple

Embers Covered in Ash

Offering to Shiva

PREFACE

In this edition, below the sutras is a paraphrase of each sutra in English. This addition will be useful for readers wishing to review the sutras and their meaning without having to re-read the whole book.

True to the meaning of a sutra, the translations capture the essence of each sutra in few words full of meaning. The paraphrase in most cases has been taken directly from Gurujis commentary and, where necessary, slightly edited for conciseness.

Sanskrit words have been written in italics and spelled in a regular fashion. This will help those who may be unfamiliar with the sutras but still wish to read them with correct pronunciation. Proper names have been made an exception to this system and have been written according to common conventions.

It is our great pleasure to present to the English-speaking public a translation of Guruji's Kannada talks on the Shiva Sutras. We hope it faithfully delivers the timeless, yet ever new, message of the original commentary by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to all seekers on the path.

Jai Guru Dev

THE MIND FACING INWARDS IS ALWAYS HAPPY

Yasya niscasita veda yo vedebhyo akhila jagat

Nirmama tamaha vande vidyatirtha mahesvara

In order to fly a kite and guide it from the ground, we need a thin thread. While this thread stays on the ground, the kite soars in the air. That thread is a sutra . Likewise, for our life to soar higher and expand into the vastness of infinity, what is needed? We need a sutra that acts as a link between earth and sky, between humanity and Divinity.

Panini describes a sutra as:

Alpak aramasa digdha saravat visvato mukha

Astobhamanavadya ca sutra sutravido vidu

"Alpak ara asa digdha saravat visvato mukha" - A sutra is described as that which contains the essence and expresses the full meaning in a few words. The nature of the sutra we hold on to decides the direction and the quality of our life. In everyone's life there is some spark of goodness or auspiciousness. We should reflect whether we are holding on to the good and positive, or misfortune and negativity. Regardless of which part we tend to focus on, if we search, we can definitely find happiness, pleasure and fortune in some measure. Yet, if you look now, this is not the case. Actually, there is so much that is positive. Life is made up of eighty percent positivity and only twenty percent negativity, the part that causes problems. Yet we make this twenty percent into two thousand percent; usually, we cling to the negative.

In every life some good must have happened, but the nature of mind is that it ignores everything positive and clings only to the negative. Suppose someone approaches you and gives you ten compliments and one insult. What will you remember? The mind's nature is to cling to the negative. In order to change this mindset, we should hold on to the Shiva Sutras.

We should hold on to truth, beauty and sivatattva, auspiciousness or innocence, wherever they appear in our life. That is the reason for listening to the Shiva Sutras. If life does not have a sutra to guide it, it is not possible to find happiness, and the kite will fall to the ground. A kite may have everything, including a tail, but without a thread, how can it take off? The Shiva Sutras run through everybody's life. That is why it is said:

Namah sri sambhave svatmananda prakasa vapuse

I bow down to the wealth that brings peace and fills the body with joy.

How does auspiciousness begin? It happens when the mind turns inwards. When the mind goes more and more outside, it gets caught up in problems and confusion. Do you know what misery is? Misery comes when the mind gets caught up in the world and forgets itself. Happiness can be described as remembering yourself.

Suppose a close relative or friend visits after a long time. You prepare sweets, arrange everything nicely to welcome them and go to the railway station with a bouquet of flowers to greet them. You eagerly look for them, checking whether or not the train is running on time and whether they have arrived. How do you feel when you finally meet them? Thrilled! The mind instantly blossoms. Where there is no eagerness and anticipation, there is less love.

The mind naturally flows towards that which you love. When you are with a dear friend, your mind stays with you and does not wander elsewhere. Observe that when you are joyful, you become one with your self. Your nature is joy, and this is the reason you experience joy.

If you read the word mana, meaning mind, in reverse, it becomes "nama." When people visit various temples and pray, they say, "Namah." What does it mean? When the mind turns inward it is namah, but when the mind goes outward, it is manah.

What attracts the mind outward? It is prosperity, wealth, success and beauty. The sight of anything beautiful draws the mind towards it. Whether money or fame, the mind gravitates towards it. The whole world revolves around only one thing, and that is sri, or prosperity. Yearn for knowledge, yearn for happiness, yearn for beauty, wealth, success, advancement - whatever you long for, it is only for one desire, and that is sri. However, the more intensely people long for it, the more difficult it is to attain. That is why everybody wears such long faces, as if everything were shrouded in misery. This is why Buddha concisely said, "Desire is the root cause of misery." Go anywhere and look at what the people talk about, and you will find that it is all about sri. Go to any chamber of commerce or film industry meeting, and what do they discuss, but ways to become rich and famous. That is sri. Or go to any legislative body, and they talk about political power. Even that is sri.

The whole world revolves around sri, but how do we acquire it? Even if we do get it, it will turn out not to be satisfying. If one is to find sri, one's mind must turn inwards. When we are in a state of namah, when we are introspective, we find sri and true wealth is born. Real wealth is within us, and when we turn inwards, we can access real happiness and pleasure. Although the richest of the rich may smile outwardly, peep into their minds, and you will not find any cheerfulness or contentment. Without satisfaction, what is the use of such a life and such wealth? It is nothing but worry, worry, and to die with worries. What kind of sri is that?

Sometimes, people do gain wealth and fame, but even that is followed by problems. Once, when one of our ex-prime ministers met me, he confessed, "Before, in summer, I used to sleep outside the house on a cot. Now, you can see fifty people around me and security all over. Now I am a prisoner, more so than the actual prisoners in Tihar Jail."

"Shambhave" - Wealth and prosperity should bring peace. However, many times one acquires wealth and many problems follow it. Quarrels start between parents and children and between husband and wife. If you examine the pending court cases, you will find that 75 to 80 percent of the cases arise out of disputes over money! Most of the conflicts between people happen over money, is it not? Even if we were to gain so much wealth, what is the point? While we do need money, along with wealth we also get diseases like stomach pains, ulcers, diabetes, heart attack, etc.