I took time out and attended a few events of the Art of Living foundation. One thing that nobody can miss is the overwhelming sense of joy that is present in the atmosphere. Its impossible to miss the smiling faces and the positive vibes.
As humans we are all endowed with intuition and its not so difficult to sense when something is seriously wrong. If you look at a corrupt politician you do not need a brain of a scientist to know that he is not a genuine human being. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says that ur presence speaks more than the words.
I have had and have also witnessed others having casual conversations with him and his care and concern for every individual seems obvious. Last year a construction worker in the ashram was caught stealing computers and all that Sri Sri did was to give her some money and clothes. He assured her that her needs will be taken care of so she does not need to steal.
Love, joy and enthusiasm permeates wherever He goes. Its obvious. The claims that the organizational imperfections stem form the founder of the organsiation are completely groundless and indicates a temporary distortion of perception.
Finally If a founder of such a huge volunteer based organisation is dishonest, selfish, lacks integrity and is abusive he would create a living hell for people who were associated with it.
But those smiles, that enthusiasm, endless stories of transformation, completely dispel all such doubts. In the next few posts I would Like to share some transformational stories of people who have met Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
"J"
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Trends of negative blogging
Pick up a newspaper, watch any news channel on TV, read any news article on the internet there are a few typical trends that are followed.
1. The title has to be sensational. Even if the content of the article has very little connection to the title, the title has to shock the reader. It has to be something unbelievable, it has to create a "what"? since the only aim is to attract as many readers as possible.
2. Such articles are never short and sweet. They contain long , never ending paragraphs often not making any point whatsoever. The point is just to create a negative impression about a person or an event.
3. Scandalous stories are an integral part of such blogs. These stories have no evidence.
4. Utter exaggeration. Anything negative is utterly exaggerated and through such exaggerations conclusions are made.
5. Multiple replies by the same group of people to anybody who disagrees or contradicts that shows utter intolerance to others point of views and experiences.
6. No purpose. Under the garb of objectivity such blogs fake a purpose that sounds quite noble and meaningful. In reality such a blog is just a result of a frustrated mind unable to handle itself.
Fortunately the impact of such ill intended actions is limited. Ultimately truth prevails.
"J"
1. The title has to be sensational. Even if the content of the article has very little connection to the title, the title has to shock the reader. It has to be something unbelievable, it has to create a "what"? since the only aim is to attract as many readers as possible.
2. Such articles are never short and sweet. They contain long , never ending paragraphs often not making any point whatsoever. The point is just to create a negative impression about a person or an event.
3. Scandalous stories are an integral part of such blogs. These stories have no evidence.
4. Utter exaggeration. Anything negative is utterly exaggerated and through such exaggerations conclusions are made.
5. Multiple replies by the same group of people to anybody who disagrees or contradicts that shows utter intolerance to others point of views and experiences.
6. No purpose. Under the garb of objectivity such blogs fake a purpose that sounds quite noble and meaningful. In reality such a blog is just a result of a frustrated mind unable to handle itself.
Fortunately the impact of such ill intended actions is limited. Ultimately truth prevails.
"J"
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Doubts create Doubts
One day one of my aunts could not find her purse. She really panicked and did not know what to do. She said she remembered getting it back home that day but did not remember anything after that. After a long search it was more or less concluded that the purse has been stolen.
She was really worried because she had a very important diary in it. She called a psychic who described the physical appearance of the thief which matched a few people. As per the description there were 3 prime suspects. The next two days it was really funny to see the way we analyzed every action of those three people. Whatever they did or said we would try to look beyond and keep doubting. "Oh look she is now saying this because she wants us to think this way and then look when I said that her expression changed and she left the room" It went on and on and on for three days. My aunt could not sleep well in the night.
The misery ended as soon as one of her friends called to tell that they had found her purse in their house. She had forgotten it and never got it home in the first place. Once we got the news it was interesting to see how we again started relating to the same people in a very different way.
When the mind is upset it creates doubts. Doubts create more doubts and more doubts and they just keep multiplying. Soon the doubts seem like absolute reality and we have no idea that we are far far away from the truth.
There are a handful who have become a victim of this and look through and scrutinize the Art of Living and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar without an iota of objectivity. In sanskrit there is a saying that says," sanshay atma vinashyati" ( consciousness filled with doubts leads to self destruction).
We need to first get our own mind in a pleasant state, free from doubts so that we can be constructive in our criticism and effectively contribute towards the betterment of society. Otherwise we are just adding to the already existing garbage.
"J"
She was really worried because she had a very important diary in it. She called a psychic who described the physical appearance of the thief which matched a few people. As per the description there were 3 prime suspects. The next two days it was really funny to see the way we analyzed every action of those three people. Whatever they did or said we would try to look beyond and keep doubting. "Oh look she is now saying this because she wants us to think this way and then look when I said that her expression changed and she left the room" It went on and on and on for three days. My aunt could not sleep well in the night.
The misery ended as soon as one of her friends called to tell that they had found her purse in their house. She had forgotten it and never got it home in the first place. Once we got the news it was interesting to see how we again started relating to the same people in a very different way.
When the mind is upset it creates doubts. Doubts create more doubts and more doubts and they just keep multiplying. Soon the doubts seem like absolute reality and we have no idea that we are far far away from the truth.
There are a handful who have become a victim of this and look through and scrutinize the Art of Living and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar without an iota of objectivity. In sanskrit there is a saying that says," sanshay atma vinashyati" ( consciousness filled with doubts leads to self destruction).
We need to first get our own mind in a pleasant state, free from doubts so that we can be constructive in our criticism and effectively contribute towards the betterment of society. Otherwise we are just adding to the already existing garbage.
"J"
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Straight Talk Part 3
Q: How do you explain that people who have been with the organisation for so long have quit and are doing negative propaganda?
A: In any school in a class of lets say 50 students not all would acquire the same grades. Each student has the same teacher, same syllabus, same exam and the same books to study. Yet someone would score 9 on 10 and there would be someone who fails miserably. People who fail generally end up blaming either themselves or everything around them or both. But that is also temporary.
I would just like to say that Truth can neither be confronted nor avoided. In the world how long does it take to expose anything that is fraudulent. You cannot fool all the people all the time. When we have hardcore evidences of the stories of transformation one cannot just discard it. I believe that its only the purity of intention that can withstand all obstacles and bring about a positive transformation. Lets get on the field and work together and help each other create a divine society.
Thank you.
"J".
A: In any school in a class of lets say 50 students not all would acquire the same grades. Each student has the same teacher, same syllabus, same exam and the same books to study. Yet someone would score 9 on 10 and there would be someone who fails miserably. People who fail generally end up blaming either themselves or everything around them or both. But that is also temporary.
I would just like to say that Truth can neither be confronted nor avoided. In the world how long does it take to expose anything that is fraudulent. You cannot fool all the people all the time. When we have hardcore evidences of the stories of transformation one cannot just discard it. I believe that its only the purity of intention that can withstand all obstacles and bring about a positive transformation. Lets get on the field and work together and help each other create a divine society.
Thank you.
"J".