Sri Sri Ravishankar quotes

Links sent to me this morning in e-mails:

http://www.milaadesign.com/wizardy.html
a cool mind game.. how can that work?


www.srisriyoga.info

& also quotes from His Holiness Sri Sri Ravishankar from http://www.artofliving.org/

Spirituality is a harmonious blend of outer silence and inner celebration and also inner silence and outer celebration. When attention is given to the spiritual aspect of one’s life, it brings responsibility, a sense of belongingness, and compassion and caring for the whole of humanity. Spirit upholds and sustains life. It makes you strong and solid. It breaks down the narrow boundaries of cast, creed, religion and nationality and gives you an awareness, this uplifting of consciousness, that wars can be eliminated and human rights restored in the world today.

You know we honour everything that is sacred and when we think the whole world is sacred, that is when our spiritual quest begins. In this country and around the whole world, ancient people always regarded the entire nature as sacred. Let us see what is the mechanism of Sacredness - when we think something is sacred there is a certain consciousness, awareness that comes. I can take this as a paper but if think this is the Bible of the Gita, or the Quran how would I take the same book? With attention... so a hundred percent sacredness brings a shift in our consciousness.

We are all made up of spirit and matter. To understand from one level, body is amino acids, proteins and minerals but the spirit is made up of what? So our ancient saints, scientist said spirit is made up of beauty, love, joy, enthusiasm, comfort this is what our spirit is made up of. Spirituality is all that enhances love in us, brings peace, makes us feel wow, makes us feel wonder, makes us feel truth, makes us feel wisdom.

Children ask so many questions to you, questions indicate the scientific temperament, and the eyes of the child that reflect the love indicates the spiritual being. For a child even objects come alive - animals are not just another creature, they are alive they have the emotions. Even the sun and the moon they all smile at the child. In the comic book children think the moon is laughing, sun is laughing. You know the entire creation is one organism - there is life in every particle of this universe.

You know there is one thing called linear thinking. That is to think everything begins somewhere and ends somewhere. Most of our thoughts and philosophies in the world have been going on in a linear fashion - but, there is another fashion to it, the spherical thinking. When the ancient Rishis were asked how this universe was formed, they said “first tell me which is the beginning point of a ball” what came first egg or the chicken, tree or seed. So the spherical thinking is - every point is the beginning and every point is the end or, there is no beginning and no end. All that cannot be measured, has no beginning and no end - that is what spirituality is, spirit is and the spirit loves diversity.

Breathing is the first act of our lives. Within the breath is the secret of life. Breath is linked to the vital life energy in us, or prana. We gain prana through air, fresh food and rest – and also through meditation. A lack of prana results in lethargy, dullness and poor enthusiasm. When our bodies are lively with prana, we feel alert ,energetic and full of good humor. Prana is the very basis of health and well being for both body and mind.

Prana is more abundant in fresh air than in stale air. (compare how you feel after an hour in stuffy, room versus an hour walking in a forest or near the ocean surf..) Yet whatever the air quality we live in our health can be dramatically enhanced with pranayama - deep breathing practices that open the lungs and maximize the absorption of prana.. The words prana + ayama mean to live from the dimension of prana - to live fullness of life. Pranayama techniques recharge the cells, keeping us young and vital with resilient health and brilliant clarity of mind.

"A few times of the healing breath fully relaxes you. Your life becomes more total. All the faces of your personality come together to make you one whole person. Do the healing breath and meditate. these practices completely transforms you and kindle the love deep inside."

~ His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

pic from http://z.about.com/d/healing/1/0/f/L/healinghands_mudra.jpg