‘Only through meditation can true knowledge dawn within you’

11.11.2009 Turkey

, 2009:

A Special advance course with 730 participants from all over Karnataka were in Satsang with a few hundred yuvacharyas (youth leaders) from rural Maharashtra and 280 Sri-Sri-yoga-teachers-to-be. Kannada and Hindi were the prevailing languages that were understood in mutual exclusivity!

A beautiful Kannada song with deep wisdom is sung in satsang. Guruji speaks on some of the verses of this song. He then says:

Music is not to be understood. It is to be enjoyed. So listen to the whole talk like music if you don’t understand (what is being said).

For all the youth from Maharashtra, I will speak a few words in Hindi. You all have done very good work.

In life, we like some things and not others. Likes and dislikes arise only when we know a little about it (the object of like/dislike). If we don’t know, then no craving or aversion can arise.

Moha (attachment), Raaga (craving) and desires arise only towards what we know. Disgust and hatred also arise only towards what we know.

In this world how much do we know? When compared to the size of this creation, what we know is less than the size of a mustard seed. Even in that, we like only a few things, and are caught up in them.

So now, let us discuss about the things we don’t know about- the unknown.

H.H Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How many times have you taken birth?
Audience: I don’t know

H.H Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How many times will you be born again?
Audience: I don’t know

H.H Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How many planets like the earth exist in this universe?
Audience: I don’t know

H.H Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How many stars are there in the universe?
Audience: I don’t know!!

H.H Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How many living beings are there on this planet?
Audience: I don’t know!

H.H Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How many atoms are there in every breath you take?
Audience: I don’t know!

H.H Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: How many atoms are there in a handful of this earth?
Audience: I don’t know!

We know nothing! (audience laughs)

Do you see how we are rejoicing in what we don’t know? In English, there is a proverb that says, “Ignorance is bliss”.

We know of one earth. They say there are 14 such worlds but we don’t know anything about them.

Love towards what we don’t know is called Shraddha or faith.

Do we know God? Does a child try to know the mother? It just loves her and has faith in her. Does it check which school she went to or what degree she achieved? The child does not even know the name of his mother till three to four years.
You are the child of this creation. You don’t know anything about Her. Yet you can have faith.

Sharanu Viswatmadali Mankutimma...(the first line of the Kannada bhajan)

Viswatma - vishwa is the world, atma is the consciousness. Viswatama is the universal consciousness. Do you know about your life? You don’t even know who you are? You don’t know about your sleep or dreams - why do dreams come? We don’t know!!!

Arrogance comes when you think you know something. You can be Nirahankari (free from arrogance) when your mind becomes calm and you realize that you know nothing.

When you go to the temple, you don’t know what the priest does or chants but you have faith that something good will happen. In the villages, the people have so much faith. You take the medicine from the doctor but you do not know how it works.

If you try to know how your food is digested, you will be surprised (devare)! How much work is required to just digest the food! From putting it into your mouth to chewing it, the saliva mixing in it, swallowing, then the food travels all the way to the stomach, the digestive fires and enzymes working on it, moving further into the large intestine for assimilation and so on. So much is happening!! All we know is to put the food in the mouth. After that we don’t know what happens.

There is the significance of what we know, but the significance of what we don’t know is much more.

It is just not possible to know everything about this entire creation. There is a story in the Puranas (ancient Indian epics). Brahma (the creator) and Vishnu (the protector) wanted to know about Shiva (the transformational energy). Shiva is the eternal principle without beginning or end. So Brahma begins the journey in search of Shiva’s head and Vishnu towards the feet. They go on for ages but find no beginning nor end. They decide to turn back. On his way back, Brahma sees a ketki flower falling and asks the flower where it is coming from. The flower replies that it was a decoration for Shiva’s head. Taking the flower’s words for the truth, Brahma assumes that he has seen Shiva’s head and tells Vishnu the same. Vishnu however says that he could not find Shiva’s feet.

This universe is Ananta vistara, of infinite expanse. The consciousness pervading this infinite universe is also infinite and is agneya – not knowable. It is only lovable.

Don’t wait to know the Divine. Just love the Divine who is not knowable. That is Shraddha.

When you meditate and you hear other people have such good experiences, you start thinking, “What about me?” Don’t get into this. Know that the Divine is not knowable. So sit knowing, “I don’t know anything”. This is the seed for meditation “I know nothing”.

Don’t use this knowledge wrongly. If someone asks you where you are coming from or where you are going or what is the time, don’t say “I don’t know!”. That is not right. Use this when you sit for meditation.
If we are caught up in craving or aversion then life becomes limited. There is no joy in limitedness.
Nalpe sukamasti - no joy in small things
Yovai bhooma sukam - joy is in expansion, in vastness.
When you are joyful, your consciousness expands and when you are in pain or sadness, your consciousness contracts.
Vrutti tan mayavahudu mankutimma.... (second line of the Kannada bhajan)

To sing this line, the poet has experienced the dissolution of the vruttis (distortions of the mind) in the Divine consciousness. In craving and aversion, in knowing, there is vrutti. Vrutti dissolves in the Vishwatma. The mind becomes calm and centered when you are in the space of the unknowable. You can’t have thoughts about that which you don’t know. So acceptance happens at the level of feelings.

To think, you need to know a little about it. Nirvichara (thoughtlessness) is seed for Self realization.

Shraddha or faith should not be blind. That is why we do Sadhana (Self – effort). Analysis and logical thinking are required for our day-today interactions. But they are not the raw materials for meditation.

Nada and Veda are both required. Vedas are the ancient wisdom. Nada is music that transcends knowing. Shraddha transcends both. It is the space of a silent consciousness.

Normally when we don’t know something or we don’t have the information, we get irritated or angry. But this ‘I don’t know’ is very beautiful. When this ‘I don’t know’ arises, the mind becomes peaceful and calm. This is the space for dhyana (meditation) and mauna (silence) is the way for it.

Questions & Answers

Expand all Q & A Collapse all Q & A

Read earlier posts

  • September 23, 2019

    September 23, 2019
  • September 23, 2019

    September 23, 2019
  • September 23, 2019

    September 23, 2019
  • September 23, 2019

    7 Steps to Cope with Frustration

    November 23, 2018
    • In life you will have 101 reasons to get frustrated. However it is up to you keep the enthusiasm alive without allowing the frustration to seep in. Here are some pointers to help you keep frustration at bay.
  • May 1, 2018

    The Best Form of Donation

    April 28, 2018
    • It is important to donate at least 3 percent of what we earn - says Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. In this article he further talks about the best form of donation
  • Is Buddhism a Part of Hinduism

    April 25, 2018
    • It is often asked - Is Buddhism a part of Hinduism? Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar sheds light on the origin and similarity between the two religions

    The 5 Types of People

    April 23, 2018
    • A must read: There are 5 types of people in society - find out which type are you in this knowledge sheet by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

SUBSCRIBE