Vivek Barun

Online Breath and Meditation Workshop - 14-17 May 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Mon, 11 May 2020 08:02:00 +0000

This 4 day online program that teaches you a powerful rhythmic breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya, Pranayamas, Yoga, Meditation, and Practical Wisdom for Everyday Living.Taught by two dynamic and experienced Teachers who have coached Youth of diverse backgrounds, the online program is a fun filled, extremely effective and proven to have long lasting effects on the mental and physical health of the participants.

About the teachers:

Vivek Barun
Vivek has been with the Art of Living Foundation from over 15 years and has been involved with diverse Social Projects. He has coached Youth leaders from diverse fields. Having completed his BE and MBA, he found his true calling in Music and Social Service. He is the founder and director of CREATIVE INSTITUTE OF MUSIC AND FINE ARTS.

Spoorti Pujar
Spoorti works as a Associate Professor at a reputed Engineering College in Bangalore. She has immense experience in dealing with issues which the Urban Youth faces. She has been working with the Art of Living foundation since 2010 and has facilitated numerous programs.

Who does the Program Benefit?

Millions of people around the world, including universities, dozens of Fortune companies, olympic athletes, top business schools and CEOs, entrepreneurs, and homemakers have discovered the power of Sudarshan Kriya.

Interested?

Know More by Whatsapp / Call to

9663160829 / 8861606511

https://www.artofliving.online/registration.php?event_id=465085

Types of Prana

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 07:49:00 +0000

Dear Gurudev, you said there are different types of prana, could you please talk a little bit more about that?
Sri Sri : There are ten types of Prana (the subtle life force energy). Of these, there are five major and five minor kinds of Prana. Today let me just talk about the five major types of Prana.

The first major type of Prana is called Prana which arises from your navel upwards to the top of the head.

Then there is another type of Prana that goes downwards from the navel, and it is called Apana.
When the Prana level is too high, you cannot sleep; you can get insomnia and you feel very jittery. However, if the Apana level is too high, you feel so dull that you do not even want to get off the bed.
Have you had this experience? Sometimes you feel so heavy, gross, and dull. This is due to the imbalance of Apana.

The third type of Prana is Samana which is present as the digestive fire in the digestive system, i.e., in the stomach. It is the agni or the fire that helps digest the food.
Samana is that which helps indigestion, and it also helps other bodily systems. It helps in balancing the system.

Then there is Udana Vayu or Udana Prana which is somewhere near the heart region and is responsible for emotions.
In Sudarshan Kriya, people cry or they laugh, and you find that all these emotions well up. This is due to the Udana Vayu. So this Udana Vayu is responsible for all the emotions.

Then the fifth type of Prana called Vyana which is responsible for all the movement in the body. It is spread all over the body.
In Sudarshan Kriya, you feel some tingling, some energy all over the body. Have you all experienced this?
What happens in Sudarshan Kriya is, all the five Pranas get balanced, and that is why you cry, or you laugh, and you feel a tingling all over the body. That is the specialty of Sudarshan Kriya.
You also tend to feel very hungry after the Kriya, is it not so?

So, these five Prana in the body run our lives.
If Samana is imbalanced, then it gives rise to digestive problems, and you cannot digest the food properly, or you may experience nausea. All this happens because of an imbalance of the Samana Prana.

When Udana Prana is stuck, you feel an emotional block that also affects your thinking and your mind.

When the Vyana which is all over the body is imbalanced, then you have joint pain, or movement trouble, and either you become too jittery and restless, or you may feel like you do not want to do anything.
Moving around anywhere in such a state gives discomfort and creates restlessness in the body. All this is caused by the Vyana imbalance.

Be passionate about knowledge, be passionate about doing service, be passionate about thinking; or about anything. Some passion definitely needs to be there in life. You can have a passion for wisdom as well.

After Sudarshan Kriya, you would have noticed that all these imbalances go away. Has this not happened to all of you?
All earlier discomfort in the movements of the body, or its circulation, or some pains due to Vyana imbalance, all disappeared after Sudarshan Kriya.

So these are the five different Pranas.
There are five other sub-ordinate Pranas as well, but that we will discuss that another time.

Miracles and Devotion

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 17:31:00 +0000

As told by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

You have heard of many Guru stories, isn't it? So now I am going to tell you a Devotee story.
In the last week of November, I was touring in some of the remote places in the state of Maharashtra. Some villages and districts that I have never been to. There were a lot of people who came to meet me.
In one village, I told my secretary, ‘Three people have lost their mobiles and they are very poor people. So put three new cell phones in my bag.'
When I went there, there were 2,000 to 2,500 volunteers and a crowd of around 200,000 people.
In the volunteers meet after the program, I said, ‘Three of you lost your mobile phones. I know about it. Those of you who have lost your mobile phones, please stand up’, and only three people stood up.
There was a lady who had stood up, and I told her, ‘Look, you were crying in front of my picture last Thursday. You did not know what to do, how to face your family because an expensive mobile phone was lost, which must have been worth two to three months of earnings. Here, take a new one.'

When I was doing this, one boy from the group came up to me and he shared his story. He was in an advanced course and his wife was at home, and he had to talk to her. There was no battery on his phone and he had forgotten the charger at home. So he put the phone in front of my picture and asked, ‘Gurudev, let the phone be charged.'
The next morning, when he woke up, the phone was fully charged.
This boy showed me his phone and said, ‘Look, for one and a half years I have thrown away my charger, and now I only keep my phone in front of your picture and it gets charged.’
He threw his charger away!
I said, 'This is really something. Even I need a charger for my phone, and my devotee charges his phone by keeping it in front of my picture.'
See how powerful devotees can be.

I thought this is a very exciting story. So I came back to Bangalore and there were about 150 people from Russia, Poland and all over Europe, and I shared this story with them, ‘Look I can’t charge my phone without a charger and see this devotee threw away his charger and he is charging his phone every day keeping it in front of my picture.'
So the 150 people there said, 'Yes, it happens for us also.'
My saying this did not surprise them at all.
One Russian said, ‘It happened to me also. One day, I too put my phone and prayed that it should get charged, and it indeed did get charged!’
Devotees from Poland and Scandinavia also shared the same experiences.
Another person shared their experience and said, ‘My car ran out of petrol and the fuel marker had come to zero showing me that the tank was empty. But I kept driving, and drove117 kilometers on an empty tank.'

How is it possible? This seems to break all apparent laws of nature.
I tell you, we should give miracles a chance to happen in life. Nobody’s life is devoid of miracles. Only we don’t believe in them.

All the cultures and philosophy in this world are based on miracles. In fact they thrive on miracles.
Just remove all the miracles from the Bible and you will feel as if the Bible does not exist.
Similarly, if you take any scripture in the world, it is full of miracles. But we think miracles are a thing of the past and not of the present. I tell you, it can happen even today, in the present.

Once, I was at Boston airport and a devotee bought food for me, and for the four others who were travelling with me. Do you know how many people were with me? A large number of around 60 to 70 people, and the food which was meant for four people was shared between 60 people. Everybody ate food.
It makes you wonder - how is this possible?!

There is a scientific explanation for this also.
The whole world is nothing but vibrations; everything is vibrations. Matter is nothing but vibrations. Matter and energy are the same, they are just vibrations.
See, when you go near an automatic glass door, immediately the glass door opens.
Just imagine if this was a phenomenon that would have happened 100 to 200 years ago. People at that time would have gone crazy. They would wonder as to how this is happening. You simply go and the door opens.
Today, we know that this is because of bio energy. There is energy emitting from our body.
Do you know, there are locks that can be opened only by one person.
You must have heard of biometric locks. If it is your energy that is embedded in that lock, then nobody else can open it. Only when you touch it, will it open.
That means that everyone is emitting energy.

When you are in a state of love and devotion, your energy is so strong, so big, that when you want a cell phone to get charged, it simply gets charged.
It is just like an intense energy of the biometric lock. When you move near the door, the door opens because of your energy is caught by that little box above the door.

Similarly, the entire universe is just made up of energy. It is all energy. So give a chance for miracles to happen.
When is all this possible? It can happen when you are hollow and empty.
When both, your heart and mind are pure and clear, then positive energy rises in you. But if your mind is full of negativity, and if you are stressed out; or if you are complaining about this and that, and grumbling and griping, then no miracle is possible. Even regular work which has to happen does not happen. Simple things do not happen because energy is low and negative.
When energy is high, what you think is impossible starts happening.

Guru Paduka Stotram - Adi Shankaracharya

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 18:34:00 +0000

What a mind one must have to come up with a work like this. I bow to thy holy sandals. Shri Adi Shankara.

अनंत संसार समुद्र तार नौकायिताभ्यां गुरुभक्तिदाभ्यां।

वैराग्य साम्राज्यद पूजनाभ्यां नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥१॥

The crossing of this Endless ocean of samsara is enabled
by the boat that is sincere devotion to Guru
Showing me the way to the valuable dominion of renunciation,
O dear Guru, I bow to thy holy sandals.

कवित्व वाराशि निशाकराभ्यां दौर्भाग्यदावांबुदमालिक्याभ्यां।

दूरीकृतानम्र विपत्तिताभ्यां नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥२॥

Like a full moon for the ocean of the Knowledge,
Like down pour of water to put out the fire of misfortunes,
Removing the various distresses of those who surrender to them,
O dear Gurudev, I bow to thy holy sandals.

नता ययोः श्रीपतितां समीयुः कदाचिदप्याशु दरिद्रवर्याः।

मूकाश्च वाचसपतितां हि ताभ्यां नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥३॥

Those who prostrate to the blessed padukas of their Guru
become possessors of great wealth
and overcome the curse of their poverty very quickly.
To such padukas my infinite prostrations.

नाली कनी काशपदाहृताभ्यां नानाविमोहादिनिवारिकाभ्यां।

नमज्जनाभीष्टततिब्रदाभ्यां नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥४॥

Attracting us to the Lotus-like feet of our Guru,
removing all kinds of desires borne out of ignorance,
fulfilling all the desires of the disciple who bows humbly
To such padukas I humbly offer my obeisance.

नृपालिमौलि ब्रज रत्न कांति सरिद्विराज्झषकन्यकाभ्यां।

नृपत्वदाभ्यां नतलोकपंक्ते: नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥५॥

Shining like a precious stone adorning the crown of a king
They stand out like a beautiful damsel in a river infested with crocodiles
They raise the devotees to the state of sovereign emperors,
To such padukas I humbly offer my obeisance.

पापांधकारार्क परंपराभ्यां पापत्रयाहीन्द्र खगेश्वराभ्यां।

जाड्याब्धि संशोषण वाड्वाभ्यां नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥६॥

Shining radiantly like the Sun, effacing the endless darkness of the disciples sins,
Like an eagle for the snake like three-fold pains of Samsara
like a conflagration of fire whose heat dries away the
ocean of ignorance
To such supreme padukas of my Gurudev, I humbly surrender.

शमादिषट्क प्रदवैभवाभ्यां समाधि दान व्रत दीक्षिताभ्यां।

रमाधवांघ्रि स्थिरभक्तिदाभ्यां नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥७॥

They endow us with the glorious six qualities like Shama,
They vow to bless the intiated ones with the ability to go into samadhi.
Blessing the devotees with permanent devotion for the feet of Lord Vishnu(Ramaadhava)
To such divine padukas I offer my prayers.

स्वार्चा पराणामखिलेष्टदाभ्यां स्वाहासहायाक्ष धुरंधराभ्यां।

स्वान्ताच्छ भावप्रदपूजनाभ्यां नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥८॥

Fulfilling all the wishes of the disciples,
Who are ever-available and dedicated for Sewa,
Awakening the sincere aspirants to the divine state of self realization,
Again and again prostrate to those Padukas of my Poojya Gurudev

कामादिसर्प व्रजगारुडाभ्यां विवेक वैराग्य निधि प्रदाभ्यां।

बोध प्रदाभ्यां दृत मोक्ष दाभ्यां नमो नमः श्री गुरु पादुकाभ्यां॥९॥

They are like an eagle for all the serpants of desires,
Blessing us with the valuable treasure of discrimination and renunciation,
Granting us the knowledge to get instant liberation from the shackles of the life,
My prostrations to those holy Padukas of my Guru.

Art of Living People on Twitter - Who to Follow

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 05:55:00 +0000

Well, if you are not on twitter yet. You should immediately start. You ask why?

1. Twitter is short and crisp, you get just the information you need, from just the people you like.

2. You can get immediate updates from your favorite Art of Living personalities and friends. You also get a chance to follow Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. (and get his thoughts and instructions in 1 second). What can be a better reason than that?

3. You feel like you are a close friend of Sachin Tendulkar. You can follow people who inspire you.

4. Almost all Art of Living Teachers post very frequently on Twitter. It can be a source of inspiration and a way to be in touch with the Guru. Also to be updated on the events happening.

5. There are also useless topics trending, rants of irrelevant people, hatred etc. So to spread more love and joy on the internet, it is not just a choice but a responsibility to use social network and internet to spread the knowledge. Just like talking to people face to face makes a difference, talking something worthwile on twitter also makes a difference.

In January 2009, I had written this post on the Future of Twitter. http://www.vivekbarunrai.blogspot.in/2009/01/blog-post.html . Fortunately, I am proven correct.

So, assuming now you have registered with Twitter.com , you can follow these Awesome people:

The list is just in a random order (except number 1 :) )

WHO TWITTER HANDLE

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar https://twitter.com/SriSriSpeaks
Bhanu Didi https://twitter.com/Bhanujgd
Khurshed Batliwala (Bawa) https://twitter.com/khurshed
Dinesh Godke https://twitter.com/DineshGhodke
Dr. Manikantan Menon https://twitter.com/sundaranana
Swami Sadyojathah https://twitter.com/AOLSwamiji
Swami Purnachaitanya https://twitter.com/purnachaitanya
Darshak Hathi https://twitter.com/DarshakHathi
Maheish Girri https://twitter.com/MaheishGirri
Rajesh Jagasia https://twitter.com/rajeshjagasia
Yezdi Batliwala https://twitter.com/BatliwalaYezdi
Rajesh Krishnamurthy https://twitter.com/rajeshmyla
Brijit Dighe https://twitter.com/Brijitdighe
Hetal Mehta https://twitter.com/hetal202
Swami Paramtej https://twitter.com/Swamiparamtej
Avinash Tiku https://twitter.com/avinashtikujgd
Kamlesh Barwal https://twitter.com/KamleshBarwal
Sahil Jagtiani https://twitter.com/sahiljagtiani
Anand Rajendran https://twitter.com/AOLAnand
Swami Vaishampayan https://twitter.com/swamianandv
Swami Vishnupad https://twitter.com/vishnupad
Akash Bhaiya https://twitter.com/aakashavani
Jaina Desai https://twitter.com/jainajgd
Arvind Varchaswi https://twitter.com/arvindvarchaswi
Swami Sukhchaitanya https://twitter.com/Swamijee108
Jigishji https://twitter.com/jigishji
Girin Govind https://twitter.com/GirinGovind
Vishwas Mulki https://twitter.com/VISHWASMULKI
Jayesh Daulatjada https://twitter.com/daulatjada
Dinesh kashikar https://twitter.com/dkashikar
Rashmin Pulekar https://twitter.com/rashminp
Saleel Pulekar https://twitter.com/saleelpu
Dushyant Savadia https://twitter.com/Dushyant108
Srividya https://twitter.com/AOLSrividya
Ramnik bansal https://twitter.com/ramnikbansal
Sri Sri Panchakarma https://twitter.com/SSpanchakarma
Swami Madhusudan https://twitter.com/SwamiMadhusudan
Prashan S Nair https://twitter.com/Nairsaab888
Ashok Prasad https://twitter.com/ashokaprasad
Shreya Chugh https://twitter.com/ShreyaChugh1
Harish Ramachandran https://twitter.com/Harishjgd
Tanuja Limaye https://twitter.com/tanujalimaye
Devang Vora https://twitter.com/Devang_Vora
VVKI India https://twitter.com/VVKIndia
Atika di https://twitter.com/privywitatika
Vasanti Iyer https://twitter.com/vasantiiyer108
Rishi NityaPragya https://twitter.com/Rishiji
Rishi Milind https://twitter.com/rishimilind
Rishimukh - Art of Living magazine https://twitter.com/Rishimukh
Francois Gautier https://twitter.com/fgautier26

You could also follow me at https://twitter.com/a1vivek

This list is not exhaustive and I know that I have missed many. But I wanted to get things started. If you know someone awesome who should be included in the list, please mention their name and twitter handle in the comments below. Make sure that their twitter handle is authentic.
Next week will publish another list ( 51 to 100 ).

Bhanu Didi shares her memories with Sri Sri

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:10:00 +0000

Bhanu Di sharing her experience.

Be Content : Guruji's talk on Ashtami (22 Oct 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:33:00 +0000

Sri Sri: We need to honor our guest and keep them comfortable!
The important thing is to be contented. The more content we are, the more we will receive.
The whole message of the message of Divine is that you are very special. You are so special to that Divine that you cannot imagine.
Just believe this and move on.
I am telling you. If you want, I can even write it on a bond paper for you.
The Divine loves you very very dearly.
Like for a mother, no matter what the child does, whether the child urinates, or gets itself dirty, the mother will clean the child and then adore the child, isn't that so!
So know that you are very very special to the Divine.
In the Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna tell Arjuna, that you are very precious to me.
We don't have to make any efforts. In Devotion, there is no effort.
How much ever sorrow we have, it is all related to the past.
Surrender all of that, and be peaceful. Know that you are very dear to the Divine.
All day we keep doing something or the other, and we loose our contentment.
Somewhere we are working towards anti-corruption, or wrong and right, and somewhere we loose our happiness and peace.
But we must not do that. Be peaceful! Be content.
So, what is important is do what you have to do but at the same time be contented.
Desire comes and it gets fulfilled and then another desire comes and that too get fulfilled and then another one comes. So where is the contentment.
So be content.
It is not only with Yagya can we achieve this, but with meditation only you can start to feel the contentment.
It is like a cake, and on top of the cake there is icing and that is what is sadhana and meditation.
So action is not enough, we need that devotion or connection to the Divine. That is also important. And that is already there.
So, you cannot attain God through effort, but through deep rest.
And I have already told you, that you belong to the Divine and you are very special to him and he is right here and right now!
Now don't just think Gurudev is with you when he is front of you. Gurudev is in your heart as well.
You see, today Indrani (elephant) can into the hall and she saw herself in the screen and she got so scared because she has never seen herself in the mirror.
I thought, the same thing is happening in the world. Someone comes to you and get so frightened because you don't know that they are YOU.
That is why the Guru is needed, so that he can make you see, that there is no difference between you and another. We are all the same.
So that is how it is in the world; the world seem exactly how we perceive it.
So, take the enthusiasm, the meditation and the knowledge and spread it all over.
The more you spread happiness the more it grows. The more it grows within you as well. So we need to work with this sankalpa.
SO what will we take from here. First one is CLEANLINESS.
Keep the mind clean.
This is what happens in the world, 'That person did this and that person did that', some complaint is going on in the mind all the time. When we complain, then we are stuck in the ego and we cannot transcend the ego.
I have spoke about this in Narad Bhakti Sutras. Anything that causes a ripple in your mind, take that away because the highest wealth is contentment. There can be nothing higher than contentment.
And if there is any other gain that you get, but you don't have contentment, then was is the use of that gain?
So be content!

A lot of circumstances may come to dispel your contentment, but at that time, use knowledge. Know that everything is going to end some day. I am going to die some day. This one thought, can take you back to contentment.
If you feel, Gurudev I cannot do this. I have tried. Then whatever troubles that you have, give it to someone dear to you. Then also you will find contentment.
Or, think that this is my Karma, I am going to go through it and finish it.
Or be soaked in devotion.
You know, in this yagya the consciousness is brought though the fire element, with the help of the herbs to the water element in the Kalash. So that is what is the whole process. It is very difficult to explain. It is just like eating a pudding, how much ever you explain it does not make any sense.
So the whole process of the yagya, when done in the right way, it has an impact in the subtle.
May times you wonder, in spite of all logic and all reason sometimes things work and sometimes they don't work.
Sometimes you had everything correct to your logic but things didn't work.
And sometimes, you didn't do much and still you got a lottery. That happens because of the subtle world. In simple terms we call it luck. So some unseen impact on the subtle is being created by the Yagyas.
What do the Yagya do? It brings you health, it bring you back into your consciousness, you true nature; you Self.
It enhances your intellect, softens the emotions, opens up your heart. It has many many benefits.
Yagya create that subtle ripple int he consciousness.
This works along with spiritual knowledge and meditation.
It is like the icing on the cake.
Simple yagya won't work. Along with it you need meditation. That inner connection.
So the message from the Divine is that, you are so dear to the Divine.
Just recognize it.
You simple have to recognize it. Just like how the mother loves the baby.
No matter what the child does.
Similarly you are most dear. THis is what we must keep in our mind.
"I am so dear to the Divine"
Divine is here and now!
When the I in us dissolves and remains only as energy, that is when the happiness dwells up.
I want to get enlightenment, that I makes you miserable.
When doubt enters the I, that is the worst thing.
It is said in the Bhagavad Gita, 'When the doubt enters in the heart of an individual, he becomes so miserable.' So make sure that you are most dear and most loved one to the Divine. That is it. Seal it! No more self-doubt. No more questioning.
A discontent mind, even if it gets everything in the planet it will still be miserable. Nothing in the world can bring you contentment.
Purity, Clarity, Contentment is the formula for happiness!
There is a saying in bible, those who have will be give more and those who don't have whatever they have will be taken away from them.
That is so true.When we have a complaining mind this is what happens. We must take responsibility for this.
Do everything happily. Walk, talk, sit, even if you complain about someone, do it happily.
Day before yesterday, the head of the kitchen called me at night and said that we need to buy a few things.
He said, we need 3000 kilos of sugar and 2000 kilos of moong dal.
So the purchasing department, woke up the wholesalers and got it delivered at 2:00am.
Even though, they woke up about a dozen of wholesaler, the buyer was happy, the sellers were all happy.
The makers of the halwa were also happy and those who are the sweet were also happy.
They didn't come back saying it didn't happen. We didn't get the things.
Where there is sattva, challenges are also sweet.
This is one little thing. In people's lives many things happen which we consider impossible.
We don't recognize our self.
Mother you are present in me as peace and as disturbance, as knowledge and as disillusion. Oh Mother, you are present is all the bring in the planet, to you I bow down.
You are present as knowledge, as intellect, I bow down to you.
Look at all the beings in the planet, they are so disturbed. What is that?
That is the consciousness which is present in the form of knowledge, form of dillusion, form of peace. So take it all together, don't choose.
That is the whole essence.
So freedom from misery. Attainment if peace,exuberating love and joy, devotion and freedom in the mind, these are the things that it brings up.
The whole universe is just one consciousness. It is like one beings, one body in the entire field. We are one!
That understanding comes up as a deep experience.
No don't ask, when that will come Guruji. I want that right now.
Just relax and do nothing.
Just know that you are dear to the Divine and the Divine is now and here, in you.

Jai Gurudeva :)!

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Interview Peru

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:26:00 +0000

Social Drinking. Is it okay? Sri Sri Answers

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 07:20:00 +0000

Alcohol addiction was aptly highlighted by Amir Khan's show "Satyamev Jayate". But how many of you thought that it can never happen to you. All the addicts thought the same. You never know when a "once in a while" thing becomes a habit and when a habit becomes an addiction. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar highlights the changing scenario around the world about drinking and non-veg food.

Q: Gurudev, how to discourage teenagers from social drinking?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Tell them it is the most dangerous thing, whether it is social drinking or private drinking, it doesn't matter. Just say no to that, that’s it, finished!
In fact you should take pride in saying, ‘No’ in a social circle.
If you attach pride to it, ‘I am a teetotaler, I never touch alcohol’, then you gain a certain dignity even amongst your friends.

You should emphasize your own values. Even when in a group, carry on with your individualness and your individual preferences.
We do that all the time. We go to all these big meetings, everywhere, we keep our individual preferences.

You know the world has started recognizing this. Whichever institution that gave me a doctorate, in several places, and wherever I go, just to honor me they keep only vegetarian food and no drinks.
Usually in the universities they keep drinks and non-vegetarian food. But wherever it was that I went, whether Cordoba, or Netherlands, or the Nyenrode University, when they gave me a doctorate, in the reception they served only vegetarian food and soft drinks.

Even in very big conferences in the world, like the UN conference on HIV-AIDS, they have started keeping a section for vegetarian food. This was never the case earlier.
Even in The World Economic Forum, if you are vegetarian, they honor it, and have a separate section for vegetarian food.
This was not there before. About 10 to 20 years back, this was unthinkable. Even 10 years ago you would not find this in international forums. But now it has changed and this is because we have always stood our ground that we will not touch alcohol and non-vegetarian food. And the world honors that. So your friends will also honor that.

Even in airlines they have started doing this in the last 10 years. Before it was not so. Now, they even have Jain food on airlines, i.e., with no potatoes, carrots, etc.
You can specify what kind of food you want.

So, you must keep your personal habits and emphasize on them. Otherwise, first you start with social drinking and then slowly it becomes a personal menace.
Share it with all . Jgd

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Argentina ( A historic moment - A historic movement )

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:52:00 +0000

Sri Sri created history in Argentina with 1.5 lakh people coming together to meditate. This is a record for the entire western world for the largest number of ppl coming together to do meditation. Swami Paramtej shares his experience with Sri Sri in South America.

Healing touch in Assam - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar visits the State torn with Violence

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:40:00 +0000

When leaders play petty politics risking the lives of people, when vote-bank politics causes even nationalism to take a back seat then we see what we saw in Assam. Being from the North East, my heart pains even more.

Any person who glances at a newspaper occasionally is not ignorant of the fact that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh has been slowly crossing the border and setting up camp in West Bengal and Assam. And it has been happening not since a few years but since decades. And no political leader did anything to curb it. Still they have not done anything substantial. Govt. at the centre and at the State should take very strict steps to curb this cross border infiltration. Otherwise these immigrant population will make the tribals and ethnic people minorities in their own land. But this is the political side.

What about the minds of the people? How to eliminate hatred and ill-feeling of one community to another? How to reach an understanding that we can all live peacefully helping each other? How to make people of different communities come to a point of dialogue with an open mind? This is the need of the hour and if this is achieved all other problems will sort themselves.

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been monitoring the situation in the North East very closely since many years. To put and end to militancy and violence, the volunteers of The Art of Living has been working tirelessly in villages and towns of all the North Eastern States to teach people the worth of human values and give them tools to handle their stress and negativity.

HE has been working tirelessly to bring together people of different religions, ethnicity and caste to an understanding that first of all we are all Human Beings.

This knowledge is the only thing that can save the North East from spiralling to a self destructing cascade of violence. For the people to imbibe this teaching, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY!

Shri Maheish Girri - Back to the Roots talk in Hindi

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Shri Maheish Girri Ji is currently International Director of the Art of Living Foundation. He left home at early age in search of spiritual enlightenment and at age of 25, became the Peethadheeshwar of Guru Shri Dattatreya Peetham at Girnar in Gujarat. Millions of devotees come to this holy place every year.

In 2002, he met Pujya Sri Sri Ravishankar who told him that he was here in this planet for a very special cause. From then, he has been associated with the Art of Living as a faculty.

Why go to a temple?

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:48:00 +0000

Rationalists and so called pseudo-scientific intellectuals ridicule one and all rituals existing in this country. Even spiritual people sometimes do not like to go to a temple simply because they never tried to understand the benefits and the science behind it.

There are thousands of temples all over India in different size, shape and locations but not all of them are considered to be built the Vedic way. Generally, a temple should be located at a place where earth's magnetic wave path passes through densely. It can be in the outskirts of a town/village or city, or in middle of the dwelling place, or on a hilltop. The essence of visiting a temple is discussed here. Now, these temples are located strategically at a place where the positive energy is abundantly available from the magnetic and electric wave distributions of north/south pole thrust. The main idol is placed in the core center of the temple, known as "*Garbhagriha*" or *Moolasthanam*. In fact, the temple structure is built after the idol has been placed. This *Moolasthanam* is where earth’s magnetic waves are found to be maximum. We know that there are some copper plates, inscribed with Vedic scripts, buried beneath the Main Idol. What are they really? No, they are not God’s / priests’ flash cards when they forget the *shlokas*. The copper plate absorbs earth’s magnetic waves and radiates it to the surroundings. Thus a person regularly visiting a temple and walking clockwise around the Main Idol receives the beamed magnetic waves and his body absorbs it. This is a very slow process and a regular visit will let him absorb more of this positive energy. Scientifically, it is the positive energy that we all require to have a healthy life. Further, the Sanctum is closed on three sides. This increases the effect of all energies. The lamp that is lit radiates heat energy and also provides light inside the sanctum to the priests or *poojaris* performing the pooja. The ringing of the bells and the chanting of prayers takes a worshipper into trance, thus not letting his mind waver. When done in groups, this helps people forget personal problems for a while and relieve their stress. The fragrance from the flowers, the burning of camphor give out the chemical energy further aiding in a different good aura. The effect of all these energies is supplemented by the positive energy from the idol, the copper plates and utensils in the *Moolasthan*am / *Garbagraham*. *Theertham*, the “holy” water used during the pooja to wash the idol is not plain water cleaning the dust off an idol. It is a concoction of Cardamom,*Karpura* (Benzoin), zaffron / saffron, *Tulsi* (Holy Basil), Clove, etc...Washing the idol is to charge the water with the magnetic radiations thus increasing its medicinal values. Three spoons of this holy water is distributed to devotees. Again, this water is mainly a source of magneto-therapy. Besides, the clove essence protects one from tooth decay, the saffron & *Tulsi* leafs protects one from common cold and cough, cardamom and *Pachha Karpuram* (benzoin), act as mouth fresheners. It is proved that *Theertham* is a very good blood purifier, as it is highly energized. Hence it is given as *prasadam* to the devotees. This way, one can claim to remain healthy by regularly visiting the Temples. This is why our elders used to suggest us to offer prayers at the temple so that you will be cured of many ailments. They were not always superstitious. Yes, in a few cases they did go overboard when due to ignorance they hoped many serious diseases could be cured at temples by deities. When people go to a temple for the *Deepaaraadhana*, and when the doors open up, the positive energy gushes out onto the persons who are there. The water that is sprinkled onto the assemblages passes on the energy to all. This also explains why men are not allowed to wear shirts at a few temples and women are requested to wear more ornaments during temple visits. It is through these jewels (metal) that positive energy is absorbed by the women. Also, it is a practice to leave newly purchased jewels at an idol’s feet and then wear them with the idol’s blessings. This act is now justified after reading this article. This act of “seeking divine blessings” before using any new article, like books or pens or automobiles may have stemmed from this through mere observation. Energy lost in a day’s work is regained through a temple visit and one is refreshed slightly. The positive energy that is spread out in the entire temple and especially around where the main idol is placed, are simply absorbed by one's body and mind. Did you know, every Vaishnava(Vishnu devotees), “must” visit a Vishnu temple twice every day in their location. Our practices are NOT some hard and fast rules framed by 1 man and his followers or God’s words in somebody’s dreams. All the rituals, all the practices are, in reality, well researched, studied and scientifically backed thesis which form the ways of nature to lead a good healthy life. The scientific and research part of the practices are well camouflaged as “elder’s instructions” or “granny’s teaching’s” which should be obeyed as a mark of respect so as to once again, avoid stress to the mediocre brains. P.s :This article is not written by me. I found it in the internet. I'm just sharing it here.

Interaction with Shri Saleel Pulekar (YES+, DSN and TTC Teacher)

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:49:00 +0000

We had a wonderful interaction with Saleel bhaiya here in Sanjaynagar, Bangalore a few days back.
Thanks to Arnab for recording this for posterity.

Do you want to commit suicide?

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:14:00 +0000

We all fell depressed some time or the other. Mood swings are common multiple times in a single day, or perhaps in a single hour. But have you contemplated suicide? Not just as a passing thought but actually thought/planned of doing so?

If you have then you need to read this answer of Guruji:

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on Suicide:

Q: Guruji, due to some worldly problems, I want to commit suicide.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Absolutely not! Before doing this, come to me, seek my permission, then do it! I will tell you from where to jump and how to commit suicide. Don't make this decision on your own. I need you! Why are you losing your life? What do you need, tell me? Bread (roti), clothing, and a home? I am willing to give all that to you for all your life. You can just sit around. Have no worries and do my work. You will get respect, honor, knowledge, everything that you want. What is the reason that you want to commit suicide? You couldn't get married, that is why? Or because you got married, that is why? In both the situations, I will help you.

Don't worry. If you are not married, I will get you married. If you are already married, I will talk to your husband or wife. If they don't understand, I will advise you to take sanyas. Move forward. What will you achieve by committing suicide? Suicide should absolutely not be committed. All those who feel the slightest doubt or have such a feeling, immediately show them my photograph and tell them, 'Look, don't go without his permission, otherwise you won't get entry up there as well!' You will be hanging in between, neither in this world, nor in the other. Why do you commit such an act? First take permission, get the visa !

Art of Living Presents "The Enlighten Tab"

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:46:00 +0000

The sheer amount of video, audio and print materials related to The Art of Living and the teachings of His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is staggering. If you are a volunteer or a teacher of the Art of Living then you must have surely dreamt of having all the knowledge tapes, albums , books etc in your collection. This is now possible through a tablet device which is not yet released but available for pre order.

Introducing "The Enlighten Tab":

Basically it is similar to other Tablets but comes pre loaded with 16 GB worth of knowledge talk videos, Bhajans Albums and E-books. So you can use it as any other tablet for browsing etc. The Operating System being Android 2.3 makes it even better to run all the apps available in the market. Also you can connect the tablet to the TV and watch videos etc.

Worth checking out!

Features -
Android 2.3
1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor
512 mb RAM
16 GB inbuilt memory
7" WVGA Wide Screen
Capacitive 5 Point Multi Touch Screen
Wifi & Bluetooth enabled
Mini HDMI port
USB port
Micro SD slot
Expandable Memory upto 32 GB
3G Using USB Dongle
Front Facing VGA Camera for Video calling

English Promo:

Hindi Promo:

Poems of Kabir I

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Saint Kabir was the original Rebel. At a time when Hindu Muslim unity and tolerance was at its lowest, Kabir spoke about the one true God and gave the wisdom of Advaita in his own way. He wrote poems which an ordinary villager could understand and yet today the same poems are the subject of study of the highest philosophers and thinkers. Was Kabir way ahead of his time? I think He was beyond time.

Living in this mundane existence when sooner or later we find nothing makes any sense and we are searching for a string to hold on to, the poems of Kabir provide that solace and guide us. His words are sharp like an axe which cuts religion, dogmas, rituals and all ideas that we have created about truth into pieces. When temples are destroyed Hindus get angry. When Muslim rituals are criticised, they don't like it. But Kabir doesn't care. He will state that which he experienced. The truth and truth alone.

Some time back I was fortunate to have attended the first ever Kabir Fest here in Bangalore. The organiser Shabnam Virmani and team had done a terrific job. A Festival entirely dedicated to the work of Kabir. So there were concerts and documentaries and it was marvellous. The atmosphere in the concerts were similar to an Art of Living Satsang. People dancing and singing and "MAST" in their own self..

Two of the best finds in the Fest were Folk singer Prahlad Tipanya and Pakistani Sufi Singer Farid Ayaz.

Prahlad Tipanya is one of the most compelling folk voices of Kabir in India today who combines singing and exposition of Kabir in the Malwi folk style from Madhya Pradesh. He has toured the US, and in Feb 2008 was felicitated with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

In 1978, at the age of 24, Prahladji first heard and was captivated by the sound of the tambura, a 5-string plucked instrument. He was a village schoolteacher, and singing was not a family tradition. But this became a defining moment for his life. Through the tambura, Prahladji encountered the world of Kabir. The words of this fifteenth-century saint-poet are sung in village after village by hundreds of bhajan mandalis, whose members have kept alive an unbroken oral tradition of singing Kabir’s poetry for 600 years. Prahladji entered this world of all-night bhajan sessions as a learner. Over three decades later he is a household name, his cassettes and CDs heard in countless public and private places. Many acknowledge him as having powerfully contributed to a resurgence of Kabir oral traditions and music in Malwa.

"Kahaan se Aaya". In this poem, Kabir speaks about awareness, breath, body and Guru.
Beautifully he puts the importance of being aware of the body and the breath.
Fearless as he is, Kabir tears apart Hipocrisy in spirituality. First he talks about the Kazi who talks about God but after sometime without showing any compassion goes and smashes the chicken's head on the rock. In another paragraph, he talks about the
Pundit who wears the garland , Tilak and does fasts and pilgrimages. But lost in the outer rituals he is not aware of his own body.

And how can I miss him saying "Satguru mile to Bhed Batave, Khul Jave Antar Khidki" ( When you get a Satguru, He will tell you the secret and the inner window opens up )

So has the inner window opened yet ? :)

About Ustad Farid Ayaz in the next post...

Candid interview with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Though the interviewer is a little irritating in the suit. Guruji shares some close tidbits. So worth it.

A talk on Ayurveda - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:05:00 +0000

Guruji has spoken in length about the different aspects of Ayurveda.

Sudarshan Kriya causes heart problems.

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:15:00 +0000

I have not been so active in this blog lately. But one comment in this blog forced me to write this. Recently someone wrote in the comments:

Dear Vivek bhayya, I am reading in many places on bad effects of sudarshan kriya. I am doing pratice for six months and nothing bad happened to me except some skin rash and heat boils. this is one post which is scaring me: https:/example.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/heart-problems-caused-by-sudarshan-kriya/ My mother and sister is also concerned about it. One person also told in the blog that sudarshan kriya will cause difficulty for child birth. i want to have child next year. will it affect me. In men does it cause impotence. my husband does not practice it but he is okay and we are planning child. can you please explain and clarify this in your blog, because lot of people are worried now. you are very experienced in sudarshan kriya naa....

I have edited the link above as I dont want to increase the traffic of that website which has already accumulated the maximum negative karma that any website can accumulate!

First things first. I am not doing to defend Sudarshan Kriya. There is nothing to defend. There is no need to defend the most precious gift that Humans have received since the time of the previous Purnavatar.

300 million people have done Sudarshan Kriya. More than 10 reputed medical institutes have conducted research on it. Some Indian Institutes include AIIMS, NIMHANS etc. The results are free for all to see:

http://www.artofliving.org/in-en/sudarshan-kriya-research
http://sudarshankriyaa.blogspot.com/2010/02/latest-research-on-sudarshan-kriya.html
http://www.aolresearch.org/pdf/other/EEG_M_Bhatia.pdf

If you fail in your exam, do you blame that your dog's bowel movement was not satisfactory ?
If you eat junk and get boils then you blame Sudarshan Kriya?
If you have a history of heart diseases and suddenly one day it worsens then what do you blame?
You read one article written by a crackpot and brush aside tons of research done on the subject by World's most reputed institutions?

There is a limit to ridiculous thought process. And this crosses all such boundaries.

As my personal experience goes, the only heart problems I got after the course is that of severe angina pectoris when Guruji leaves my city and a Myocardial Infarction when he looks at me.
And I cannot live without it.

A clear bias against Art of Living. With 60% vote, Ashram still not included in "Seven Wonders of Bangalore".

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:43:00 +0000

Well you would regard a prestigious paper such as the Times of India and its subsidiary Bangalore Mirror to be unbiased and free. There is proof that it is not so.
If you remember, Bangalore Mirror had sometime taken up the charge of identifying "Seven Wonders of Bangalore."
Out of the seven Wonders selected, it had conveniently left out the Most Beautiful and Peaceful Ashram, Sri Sri Ravi Shankas's abode out of the list.
Bangalore Mirror had asked people to vote through sms and online for their favorite wonders.
I just found this xls sheet of the total number of votes casted, names of people and their choices.

You can see the sheet in the link:
(Respecting the views of many readers, I have removed the link as the excel sheet contains a lot of phone numbers and email ids of Art of Living devotees. To prevent misuse of the contacts, I am not providing the link here. )

This is a snapshot of the excel sheet file:

You can see that out of the 3044 total entries, 1695 people have voted for the Art of Living Ashram.

An entry which gets more than 60% vote for a contest does not get a place in the top 7 ? Isn't that ridiculous ?

My question to Bangalore Mirror is simple : If you don't want to take public opinion in your judgements then why do you do the farce of telling people to go and vote for the nominations ?

The most popular Art of Living Singer : Poll Results

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:48:00 +0000

The undisputed king of Satsang Rock - Vikram Hazra

Well, the latest poll that concluded here received a tremendous amount of participation from the entusiastic readers. Thank you all for voting.

Well the question was simple enough.. Name your favorite Art of Living Singer!
A total of around 130 votes were cast and the results are here to see..

Looks like Vikram Hazra and Rishi Nityapragya are the favorites of devotees. Vikram Bhaiya is also my favorite singer. A gandharva born to be an instrument of spreading knowledge through music.

New Poll: Which is your favorite knowledge tape series?

Its on the sidebar. Do vote. Jai Gurudev.

The Art of Living Course Review

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:46:00 +0000

Its not an enviable job - Sri Sri speaks candidly..

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 03:40:00 +0000

One of the most busy humanitarian of our times. Meeting millions of people everyday. How does he manage to do this? Many of us must have thought about how his schedule would be. What would it be like to be Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. In one of the most candid talks, in the video Guruji talks about how he manages to look at everyone and smile at them. How some devotees do gimmicks to grab attention. And about the hyperactive Art of Living volunteer.

Some of the interesting things he says in the video are:

"Whenever I am with a person I'm with them 100%" - Sri Sri

"Do you think it is an easy job? I tell you it is not at all an enviable job." - Sri Sri

"And there are some others who just want to draw attention, they do all sorts of gimmicks." - Sri Sri

"Our volunteers are hyperactive sometimes. They do kind to everybody else other than me." - Sri Sri

"When people ask me 'Do you watch movies?' I say "I'm watching movies everyday! I can't find a better entertaintment!"

Satsang with Students at SSRVM Bangalore

noreply@blogger.com (Vivek Barun) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:23:00 +0000

We had the oppurtunity and good fortune to be invited by the principal of SSRVM in Vidyaranyapura, Bangalore to conduct a Satsang for the Children there. I knew from the beginning that it would be a rocking experience.

First Impression

First of all, having seen the Sri Sri Bal Mandirs, I did not expect SSRVM to be so huge and Majestic. The SSRVM compound and building was nothing short of an international school. It was one of the most professionally managed schools and yet the human touch could be felt in every nook and corner. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had inaugurated and blessed the school some time back and the Principal there Mamata ji told us a story about his visit.

When Guruji came

This is a story when Guruji had come to the school.

Guruji came to the school and entered the classroom which was in the ground floor and right near the entrance. As soon as he entered, he asked the Principal "This is classroom for which standard students ?"

" For Kindergarten ( K.G. ) Students "

"Oh, But the windows you have put are so high, how will the children see outside ? Do one thing, lower the windows height and put a slide from which they can slide outside to the playground."

The child who never grew up !

The Satsang

As soon as we entered the hall filled with a couple of hundred children, I could feel the vibrating and pulsating energy in the atmosphere. It was a feeling that makes you float in the air without any reason. The kids were super excited to see my Guitar and they were not shy to show their admiration openly. Sometimes with embarassing consequences :)

Right from the first line of "Ganesh Om.... Ganesh Om..." the kids joined in. And How ! They were all very familiar with the Bhajan and with all inhibitions shed (which they anyhow don't have any ) started singing and shouting at the top of their voices. The result was nothing short of what happens during Navaratri Homas in the Ashram.

We all floated in the Satva. Drifted into a wonderful land of devotion, joy and gratitude. With all the bubbles of joy all around us, the Satsang was clearly one of the best that I have attended.