i_am_a_sadhak

What did Sri Sri say about Lord Buddha?

"Buddha taught people to just drop everything (all that u know) and just be. What is the point of him debating with such knowledgeable people at that time when they already feel that they know everything, even when they do not know everything.

See, if someone is really sleeping, then u can wake them up. But can u wake up a person who is pretending to be asleep? So without knowing if they think they know, then they will never know because it is almost impossible to teach them. So Buddha said he won't talk about God. Like this he chose 11 topics that he said he won't talk about.

He then said, "There is suffering in life". All the intellectual scholars around him agreed to this, that at some point of time or the other, there is sorrow. Sorrow has come in life because of physical discomfort, or because of pride, or due to relationships.

You were supposed to get something, but someone else got it, and that brought you sorrow. You saw someone who is more capable than u, and ur feelings of jealousy brought u sorrow. If it is none of these, then old age brings people sorrow. So for some reason or the other, people experience sorrow, and so Buddha said, "There is suffering in life".

Then he said, "There is way to get out of suffering". By saying this he opened a new path for people, and gave them a new hope. If u are caught in a whirlpool and u see the boat, it gives hope that there is a way out, and that it is possible. So Buddha said that there is a way to be free from misery and attain nirvana (through meditation).

So Lord Buddha taught these things to all those scholars, and guided them into meditation and helped them experience peace.

500-700 years later, this knowledge became a concept again and people forgot the experience. Then Adi Shankaracharya came and said, "Shivoham". He corrected whatever distortions that came into Buddhism and brought people back to the path. That is why he is called Buddha in disguise. He not only revived Buddha's teachings but also added something new.

Buddha used to say everything is nothing, Adi Shankaracharya said everything is complete. He transformed emptiness into fullness."

Follow for more such amazing wisdom by Gurudev

Q: Gurudev, How come some of the divine forms in Hinduism are depicted in such a fearsome manner? For example, Kali wears a garland of skulls. Does it mean there is divinity is such forms too?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - If you can love the fearful, the fear disappears. Fear and love are not two different emotions. It is the same emotion standing upside down.

Since the last 10 years, if you see the toys, the figures and characters that children are using or are fond of, it is very different. It is fearsome. The fearsome characters either bring in valor in you or take away the fear from you. That is the reason that those days, such fearsome pictures were depicted and worshipped. When you worship that, there is no fear left inside you.

I have described the symbolism behind the garland of skulls. All that is to remove the fear. Skull is used either to create fear or remove fear. In modern days, to depict anything dangerous, there is a skull and two bones put in front of that. That is to warn you to be careful. In all the countries in the world, this is the symbol that is used to depict danger. In ancient days, people used that same depiction to get over fear. There is much deeper meaning to it. We will take that up some other time. Symbolism should be taken only as symbolism.

Shiva again is a symbolism of the inexpressible. It is not someone with a snake hanging around his neck as some people are propagating, "Oh, Adi Yogi lived some 10,000 years ago", This is all rubbish and has no scientific evidence. Nobody lived 10,000 years ago in the Himalayas like Shiva with a snake around his neck and water flowing from his head. Absolutely not! Shiva is a principle. Shiva is the fourth state of consciousness, which is neither waking, nor sleeping, nor dreaming. The fourth state of consciousness which is benevolent, which is absolute peace is Shiva.

Vedanta is the real essence of Indian philosophy. There you understand all these symbolisms and it comes to you as an experience. Meditating on it brings that experience.

Follow for more such amazing wisdom by Gurudev

Q: Gurudev, How can we make the mind our best friend?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - This universe is so beautiful. There are so many types of flowers, fruits, trees, animals, human beings; such variety has been created so that u can be happy. But the human mind is such that it does not allow you to be happy. Even in the best of places, the mind goes on with the memory of something that happened in the past; this is what is so amazing.

The mind is the biggest mystery. Your own mind can be ur best friend or ur worst enemy. The mind is responsible for our happiness as well as misery. When the mind is in the present moment, everything appears to be beautiful. However, when the mind is a mess; even in the best of places, it can find a thousand reasons to be miserable.

There are five modulations of the mind:

1) The mind wants proof for everything. How can u get proof for everything? Impossible!

2) The mind misinterprets reality through false concepts that eventually break down called as Viparyaya

3) The mind has its own imagination; when nothing of the sort actually exists

4) The mind falls asleep. If it is not thinking of anything, then it falls asleep

5) The mind is stuck in the memory of past, or worried about future

These five modulations prevent one from being alive in the present moment and enjoying it. Yoga brings the shift; it helps u to sail over the modulations of the mind. How is this possible?

First, is to know that u are going to leave everything here and go. You are not going to take anything with u when u leave this world. The cause of misery is holding onto things; mine, mine, mine!

People can have two types of attitudes:

1) Where we are all the time thinking, ‘What about me’, or ‘What is the use of this for me!’

2) Where we are thinking, ‘How I can be useful to the world’.

So, change the whole attitude from, ‘What I can take from the world; how much pleasure I can get’, to, ‘How much more can I contribute to the world; how much I can be of use to the world.’

Do you see the difference?

It is from being self-centered to selflessness. So, when we take the second stance, our own worries will simply disappear and abundance will flow.

Follow for more such amazing wisdom by Gurudev

If someone takes advantage of you, thank them because they will pay you back later with interest.

- Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

What if the solution to workplace stress isn’t more tools or policies… but something as simple as how we breathe?

We’ve normalized stress for too long, and it’s quietly impacting our clarity and well-being.

This Forbes article highlights how SKY Breath meditation is emerging as a simple, science-backed way to address the mental health crisis at work.

Worth a quick read.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/yolarobert1/2026/04/21/the-rise-of-sky-breath-is-taking-on-the-mental-health-crisis-at-work/

Q: Gurudev, What is the best way to deal wisely with mistakes I have made?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - In the ‘Srimad Bhagwatam, ‘there is a story of King Ajamila. The king had many vices. When he was on his deathbed, he called his son, who was named ‘Narayan’. And when he uttered the Divine’s name, he got liberated. This story assures people that, however their past has been, turning within and moving towards the Divine, even at the last moment, can bring them liberation. The story teaches u not to be guilty of the mistakes u have committed in ur past.

You realise a mistake when u are innocent in the present moment. When u are innocent in the present moment, then u are already out of the mistake. Instead of brooding over the past, just wake up and acknowledge it. Move forward and don’t get stuck in blaming yourself or others. It is like u are sitting with a garbage can, ready to throw the garbage at someone. But it all comes back to u, like a volleyball. This game goes on.

If you want to get out of this game, acknowledge the mistake. What we normally do is justify our mistakes so that we can avoid the guilt. It doesn’t work. Whatever justification u give, the guilt lingers beneath the surface. You resist the guilt, and it continues to exist, distorting ur behaviour from within. You have the right to feel miserable for the mistake u have made. Remain totally miserable for one whole moment, ten minutes, or twenty-five minutes, not more. And then, come out of it.

Acknowledge a mistake without justifying it. A justification does not remove the guilt, as it is superficial. It makes u feel even guiltier. Be one hundred percent with the guilt, and that pain will become like a meditation and relieve u from the guilt.

Do not lament over ur mistake. Just take the lesson from it. You will not be judged by ur mistakes, but by ur virtues. Mistakes are of the earth. Virtues are of the Divine.

Wise is the one who learns from other's mistakes.

Less wise is the one who learns from his own mistakes.

The fool keeps making the same mistakes again and again and never learns from them.

When the mind is established and centered, u cannot make mistakes even if u want.

Follow for more such amazing wisdom by Gurudev

Question - Gurudev, what is the deeper significance of Akshaya Tritiya and how are the stories of Lord Krishna connected to this auspicious day?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - Akshaya Tritiya is considered to be a very auspicious day in India.

It is related with many stories. One of the stories is that, on this day the Ganges (a holy river in India) came to Earth to purify mankind.

It is also associated with two instances of Lord Krishna.

What happened is, once the five Pandavas, (the five brothers from the Mahabharata epic) and their wife were in exile. At that time a saint called and said, ‘I am going to have food with you.’ When the message came, they had no food. They had already eaten and had kept their pots away. Draupadi (the wife of the 5 Pandavas) prayed to Lord Krishna. At the same time, Krishna came to their house and said, ‘Oh I am very hungry.’ When he came in, he saw that there was only one grain of rice stuck to the pot. He picked that one grain of rice and ate it, and turned the pot into an Akshaya Patra. Akshaya Patra means that which never diminishes. When the saint came with 400 people, Draupadi could feed all of them from the same pot. The more she took from the pot, the more would come from it. It would never go down.

So it is a common expression in India to say, ‘This is an akshaya patra‘, which means it always keeps giving.

If people are very generous and they are always doing seva and contributing to other, then you say, ‘This is an akshaya patra’, means it never goes down; a perennial source. A magical pot which keeps feeding millions.

The other story is, Krishna had a friend who was very poor. His name was Sudhama. Sudhama means a good place, or a very benevolent place.

So, one day his wife said, ‘We are living in such poverty and Krishna is so rich. Why don’t you go and get something from him. He is your close friend.’ Sudhama said, ‘Okay, I’ll go, but I can’t go to a friend empty handed. I have to take something’. So his wife packed three handful of puffed rice in a scarf and gave it to him. It is like rice crispies.

When Sudhama went to Krishna and Krishna welcomed him, and washed his feet. The story goes that they were such good friends and in the friendship there was so much love that Sudhama forgets to give the rice to Krishna and also forgets to ask him for anything. He came to ask him for a favor but he could not ask him anything because he was so overwhelmed with love. They were so close that he forgot to ask. He could not ask. He could not even speak.

When he was about to leave, Krishna asked, ‘Hey, you have brought me something? Give it to me. I know your wife has sent something. Why are you not giving it to me. Come on, give it.’ Krishna took the rice and he ate one handful, then he ate the second handful, by that time his wife Rukmini came and said, ‘I want to take the third one’.

While all this was happening, Sudhama left without asking him for anything. When he reached home, he found his house flooded with riches and gold. That’s the story.

So, people today buy gold and they gift each other. Today if you get anything, it will always grow. You gift, or you buy, it all grows. That is the belief.

Every day is a celebration! All that we need to know is that this world that we are in, all these things, are ultimately nothing! One day we will leave all this here only. Our body too will go back to this Earth. But you, the spirit will be alive. You will rise up because you are eternal.

Nothing is impossible. Not only spiritual upliftment, even material things can flow when the devotion is very strong. That is the essence of this story.

We are all here just for a few years, but the world remains for so many millions of years. The trees are there, the birds are there, the clouds are forming, rain comes, Sun is shining. This whole phenomenon is happening since billions of years. In another 40-50 years all of us will be gone, but this whole thing will continue. That is the Divinity.

Happy Akshaya Tritiya 🙌

Follow for more such precious wisdom by Gurudev ❤️

We have to study our own mind, our own Self. We spend so much time learning all things for living, but very little about our life itself.

We should trust in this fact that we are very dear to God.
That is it! The work is done.

Q: Gurudev, How to stop worrying?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji - Know one thing – one day you are going to go under the ground. You will be finished. Everybody else will also be finished. What are you worried about? You are worried about money? You are worried about somebody’s opinion? You are worried about prestige? You are worried about your health? There are four things that people worry about – Money, Relationship, Prestige and Health! All of them is going to go away one day. Then why worry.

See life from a bigger context. Ten years ago, didn’t you worry? You are still alive. Five years ago, didn’t you worry? You are still alive. Three years back you worried. This worrying did not do anything to you. You only created more toxins in your body. Life anyway goes on.

Life is a balance between free will and destiny. How many of you have this question about free will and destiny? (Many in the audience raise their hands). Is life all destined or is it all free will? I tell you, life is a combination of both free will and destiny. Your height is your destiny but your weight is your freewill.

You can’t say this my destiny is to weigh 100 kilos. I will tell you to get on to the treadmill. And don’t eat those burgers. So, your weight is your free will and your height is your destiny. Similarly, it’s raining is destiny, whether to get wet or not is your free will.

Question - Gurudev, how do I make my parents understand that my Guru, knowledge and my yearning for the truth is of utmost importance to me? They just don’t seem to want to understand this.

Sri Sri - Why do you want them to understand? Keep your secret in your heart and serve them and make them happy. You don’t need to convince everyone about what you believe and what you think is right. If they don’t understand, it is their choice and their freedom. Your trying to impose your ideas on them only causes more tension and their fear gets more exhilarated (elevated) which is not needed.

Follow for more such amazing wisdom by Gurudev

Q: Gurudev, Is enlightenment just a realization?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - Yes, that's why it’s called Pratya Bhigya which means Realizing.

See the elephant that is here does not know its power. With great love, he holds ur hand with his trunk and pulls u. He doesn’t know that he can break the person’s hand whom he is pulling. For him it’s a play. In the same way, we do not realize our inner potential. We think we are just this body mind complex with a few emotions, little thoughts, likes and dislikes. The truth is that we are much beyond these things, and that is why enlightenment is like the peeling of it.

The word enlightenment is used so many times, which makes it so confusing. Enlightenment is simply the peeling off layers and becoming hollow & empty. Get to that spot where u feel absolute comfort and absolute freedom. That is liberation or also called nirvana or self-realization or yoga or unity. And too much reading also confuses u about it. That’s why I say be natural, be simple.

Follow for more such wisdom by Gurudev

Q: Gurudev, Have u seen anyone in The get enlightenment?

Sri Sri - Yes, there are many who have this experience — they feel something and it starts happening. They have the ability to love everyone and be a nobody.

You don’t have to label yourself that ‘I am enlightened, I am enlightened’, not at all! If u want enlightenment, the first thing u need to remember is total detachment from all that u see, good or bad. Do u still want enlightenment? Are u ready for it? For enlightenment u need to have total detachment because it is ur desire which is the only thing that blocks u from enlightenment. The moment u drop all that and say, “I want nothing and I am nothing”, that moment u realize that all the forms and names are nothing, they are all like waves in the ocean; the wave is nothing but the ocean. This conviction is enlightenment.

Just like sea, sun and the moon like that I too am here, that is it. Going beyond time is enlightenment. Not being constrained by space is enlightenment. Realizing u are love, everything else is love, that is enlightenment. Being so natural and feeling at home with everyone because there is no other, is enlightenment.