Sri Sri Ravi Shanker
Disconnect
When you have the feeling of being completely disconnected then don’t struggle to get connected. Rest. It is like when you are sleeping, you are totally disconnected from the closest person also. When you sleep, you cannot take anybody else into the sleep state of consciousness. Sleep state of consciousness you go there alone. At that moment, see that with a smile, see the whole creation as a dream. It’s all like a dream. It’s all like bubbles of water. It’s all like the soap bubbles. They are there for a moment, and they are not there the next moment. Just turn back and see all those people whom you met and the events which were there ten years ago, they are not there now. They are all gone. And all this will go away also. So why do you want to get connected to what? Everything is temporary and only you are permanent. And so you will feel the disconnection. When you feel that don’t feel sad. Accept this with a smile. Meditate. You will be so centered, and strength from deep within will arise in you.
Another situation is, you will feel so totally connected with everything in the world, then ‘You’ are lost. Then there is no ‘You’ inside you. This “I, I” feeling is not there. It’s lost. Then also celebrate. Then you will automatically do it, like singing. When you are singing, where are you? You are not there. Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, Shiva, only Shiva, Shiva is existing everywhere and your mind and everything is dissolved. That is when you are connected with everything. So, one is witness, another is dissolving ‘Laya’. That is why it’s called ‘laya’ means dissolving. Both are fine.
Illness
Illness is violation of natural law or imposed by nature or it is a release of past impressions or karma. There are three causes for illness. One is due to the karma of the previous lives. Karma means impressions in the consciousness. They get released through some illness. Another is you violating the laws of nature. Like you know what you should not eat and you eat that. And you know you should not overwork your system you have overworked. Our senses have got limited capacity to experience its objects. When we over do it, then we get sick. When there is an imbalance between the food intake, exercise, rest. Proper exercise, proper rest and food intake, perfect balance of this will keep the health.
Suppose you eat and you don’t do the exercise for a month then tummy becomes bigger and you put on weight, and then a little problem here and there starts. Okay, you exercise lot and if you don’t rest then also system is shaken. If you only rest and don’t do the exercise the also the system is shaken. If you do exercise and you rest but don’t eat proper and right type of food then also system is shaken. So the system is shaken by these three things, and then the fourth one is inflicted by the nature. Like a flu comes and sweeps the whole area. You are living according to the laws of Nature, but suddenly there is cold in the air and everyone catches cold. Like in Ethiopia where everybody is suffering from some yellow fever or malaria or something like that. This is inflicted by Nature.
Three causes for illnesses happen. And then, the Nature itself provides the cure for it. What is it? Revert back to the Nature. If you have cancer, it’s because you have eaten things which are not supposed to be eaten. Something wrong with the food. And some conflicts in the consciousness, in the mind. So what do you do? Meditate well, let go the conflicts, do pranayams, have proper food. When it is timely detected all these things come to help. And many people get better after.
And notice one more thing that health and illness are part of the physical nature. So you should not worry too much about it. When you worry about illness, you are giving more power to the illness. So our attention should be on the health. Because you are a combination of health and illness. A little bit illness is there and there is health. So when you keep that in mind and have a positive state of mind, then illnesses, you know, they change. Because everything in the body is changing. Your body is changing and changing and changing. Every cell in your body changes in one year. Every DNA in the body changes in one year. So when change is happening there, we do not consciously encourage “Oh, I am sick, I am ill, I am ill”. Rather have an attitude: okay, some illness has come up, it will be over. So, move ahead.
And of course there are herbs and things like that. Taking all those things, proper food will all help. Just believing that consciousness has more power to heal and to cure. And it does. It does happen. Not just superficially thinking about it, but from a depth feeling it, believing it, knowing it. Consciousness has made this body can it not heal it? Will heal. That deep faith should come in one selves. That definitely makes a big difference.
Respect
How do you develop respect? Let us think (Laughter). We can say like this: Respect is an appreciation from the head. Love is that appreciation from the heart. Respect is, you look at something, you adore it, but from the head level. So, there is a little distance and respect needs that distance. Love is from the level of heart. Respect needs a logic. Love doesn’t need a logic. Respect comes with understanding. Love does not come with any understanding. Love is blind (Laughter). Isn’t it? Does it make sense?
You respect something, somebody, why? Because you know something. Knowledge is required for respect. But for love no knowledge is required. You just look at something oh you just fall in love with it. Or raise in love with it. So for love, it’s almost instantaneous. It can come and can come after respect also slowly. Two type. Respect is always from knowing. It’s little bit connected to the head. Head doesn’t like to merge, it likes to keep a little distance. So in respect there is a little distance. Heart does not like the distance. Distance is painful for the heart. It likes to just dissolve, merge.
So witness is of the head and laya is of the heart. And both are essential in life. Isn’t it? Respect! Wanting respect is a natural tendency of adults, even adolescent children. But how to give respect? Very few people know, you know? Everyone demands respect ‘Better you respect me’. But do we know how to respect others? It needs a little sensitivity.
If you are sensitive, you are able to respect others. And if you respect others you become also sensitive. I think that is the change, that is the transition. Because they are very close, respect and love, yet different. You cannot hate somebody and have respect for them. When you respect someone you start loving them. When you love someone, you start respecting them. It’s all very complicated (laughter) but still very simple and good. If you sit and think about it, it all appears to be very complicated. But when it just happens, it is very simple. Isn’t it?z
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