Celebrating devotion

Gurupurnima is called the day of the Master, but it is actually the day of the devotee.

There are three types of people who come to the Master - the student, the disciple and the devotee. A student goes to a teacher and learns something, gets some information and walks out of the school. The student is the one, who collects information, but the information is not knowledge, it is not wisdom.

Then, there is the disciple; the disciple follows the example of the Master. But a disciple is with the Master for the sake of learning wisdom, for the sake of improving his life, for attaining enlightenment. He is trying to bring a transformation in his life.

And then there is a devotee. A devotee is not there even for wisdom. He is simply rejoicing in love. He has fallen in deep love with the Master, with Infinity, with God. Students are in abundance, disciples are a few, but the devotees are rare.

One of Buddha’s disciples named Sariputra achieved enlightenment. Soon thereafter, Buddha told him, “Now you go ahead, go into the world and preach, teach, and do the same work I do. Carry on my work.” As instructed, Sariputra left Buddha, but he was crying. People asked him, “Why are you crying when you are enlightened?” He replied, “Who cares about this enlightenment? It could have waited. I would have waited. I didn’t even bother about it or ask for it because the joy of being at the feet of Buddha was so great. Being a devotee was so great. I cry now because I miss it. I would have preferred that to this enlightenment.” He said.

Who is a Guru? A Guru is just like a window. Guru simply means one who brings more joy, more alertness, and more awareness into your life. A Guru is not one who holds any authority over you. A Guru is not one who dictates terms to you. Rather, a Guru encourages you to be in touch with yourself. A Guru reminds you to live in the present moment, and a Guru takes away the guilt, agitation, sorrow, and anguish, which allows you to be yourself. That in the true sense is the meaning of Guru. A Guru does not simply fill you with knowledge, but he kindles the life force in you. In the presence of the Guru, you become more alive. The Guru invokes not only intelligence but also the intellect in you. Knowledge may not invoke intelligence, but in a state of intelligence, knowledge is inherent.

In the Upanishads, five signs of sadguru are mentioned. In the presence of a sadguru knowledge flourishes (Gyana raksha), sorrow diminishes (dukha kshaya), joy wells up without any reason (sukha aavirbhava), abundance dawns (samriddhi) and all talent manifest (sarva samvardhan).

Once you have found a sadguru, remember that he or she is always there with you, watching and giving you wisdom. Spiritual path is not only a path of learning more; it is also a path of unlearning. Learning has no end; unlearning has an end. The true path is one that takes you home and kindles that deep love in you.

Love is not just an act. It is our very nature. It is what we are made up of. Love is something that even the Divine rejoices in. The infinity longs for you as much as you long for it. It is waiting to receive you. It is as anxious as you are to be near. So when a devotee flowers in this planet, infinity is very happy.

Understand that you are the number one devotee, and feel grateful for the great knowledge you have received from your Master. Turn back and see how they changed and developed in the last one year. Assess what you have learnt and how have you grown in knowledge. This Guru Purnima rise in devotion.

- His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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Numerous other crowded markets were also cleaned by the volunteers of the Art of Living NGO. Each drive lasted for around two hours with the timings varying between 9.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m.

'This is a follow up of the Yamuna campaign and our main motive is the 'Clean Delhi-NCR Drive' which will take place Sep 6-12,' Rajeev Dhall, Art of Living's area coordinator for central Delhi, told IANS.
The initiative was started with the 'Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna', a campaign to clean up the Yamuna river in March this year by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of Art of Living. Hundreds of NGOs, organisations and corporates were part of the initiative.
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In the ancient world these two forms of knowledge were not in conflict, but were understood to have a deep and subtle connection. Man’s knowledge of himself complemented his understanding of the universe and formed the basis for a strong and healthy relationship to the creation in which he lived. It is the disconnect between these two types of knowledge which is causing many of the challenges that we face as a global community today.
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Fortunately, some of the people who know how to teach use to slow down, focus on traditional relaxation methods and live a stress-free life are coming together right here in Hartford next weekend.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who Forbes Magazine deems one of the five most powerful people in India, is coming to Hartford.

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Superintendent, Central Jail, Amritsar G.S. Sidhu, called upon more and more jail inmates to join yoga and meditation courses which can help in de-addiction and remove sense of guilt for being in the jail.

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COIMBATORE: The present generation is stressed out in its pursuit of wealth.

In the process, it loses health, Chairman of Art of Living Arun Madhavan said here on Sunday.

In his acceptance speech after receiving the Dynamic Indian of the Millennium Award from K.G. Foundation, he said “the generation in a hurry” was looking for instant relief from all problems.

Stress

It was to be noted that even doctors and paramedics were nowadays being increasingly exposed to stressful working environment.

As for the healthcare delivery system, the cost of hardware, software and manpower to run healthcare units had risen exponentially, beyond the reach of common man.

Mr. Madhavan spoke on the relevance of time-tested techniques to keep the mind clear and calm.

These included simple breathing techniques, singing and phonetic vibrations through chanting of mantras.

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