A talk by Sri Sri Ravishankar – April 28, 1995, Florida
The whole world is made up of love and everyone is made up of love. You have heard this – all is God all is love – but then what is the purpose? Where is life heading to? Life is heading towards perfection. Why? Is it not already perfect?
Love has six types of distortions. What are these? Anger, lust, greed, arrogance, guilt and delusion/attachment. So six distortions are present. In animals also these six are present, but they have no way to come out of this as nature rules them. Spirit is pure love, matter is distortion. But human beings are endowed with discrimination, so that one moves from distortion to perfect love or back to the source.
Three kinds of perfection are there- in action, in speech and in feelings. It is rare to find all perfection in one place. Some may be very good in actions, but they feel grumpy and angry inside. Some may lie, but their actions are perfect and they feel good inside. If someone tells a lie with intention, then their speech and action are also imperfect. If someone does a mistake and you feel angry, then you are in the same boat, because your feeling becomes imperfect. If someone does a mistake and you feel angry, then you are in the same boat, because your feeling becomes imperfect and it stays for a long period and innermost peace is lost. Atleast protect your innermost perfection and perfection in speech, then you can deal with the imperfection outside. First most priority is inner perfection.
Usually what we do is we go from one imperfection to another imperfection. Someone is greedy and you are angry. Here you are just changing the flavour of the distortion and this is what we normally do.
Lust turns into anger, anger into jealousy,then greed and arrogance. We are roaming from from one imperfection to another. At all cost save the mind. For this see that every action is happening as per some law. Don't let these imperfections enter into your heart, into your being.
Anger is no better than lust. Jealousy is no better than anger and sadhana is to maintain that and not to be shaken by one small little incident here and there. Don't see intentions behind other people's mistakes. If you do so then the mind is again in impurity and it makes things worse.
Vikaara is distortions.Prakruti and vikruti – anger,jealousy etc. we call this distortion of nature. Why do we call this impure? They are all there in the nature isn't it? Lust is there in the nature. Everything comes out of lust. Then why do we call it impure? B'coz they do not allow the self to shine forth. Sin is that which does not bring the being to shine forth fully. Sin is not your nature, your not born out of sin. It is just a wrinkle on the cloth. It needs ironing.
Why is lust a sin? Lust is considered a sin b'coz in lust you do not consider the other person as life. You make them an object. You use them as an object of enjoyment. You don't see the self in the other person. Love is the reverse of it. Love is surrender. You see the other person as divine. You elevate matter into the level of spirit. You worship a stone idol. You have given life to it. You elevate to the level of God/ love moving towards perfection. Anger is again a sin b'coz you have lost the centeredness. Your focus is not on the divine, infinite self. You are again back to the object.
In guilt you are not recognizing the self as the world. You are limiting yourself. Be thankful if you are bestowed with the qualities you have because it is not your own making. In the same way it depends on the role you're being given to play. A villain always knows that it's a role that he is playing. First worship the bad person, because he is falling and is giving you a lesson of what not to do. He has been given that role. He is just performing that role. When you understand this basic truth, then nothing can change your inner perfection.
Perfection of speech – U have to look at the feelings beyond the speech. If you can understand the intention behind the imperfection in speech, then your inner perfection is safe guarded.
Psychiatrists have the greatest flaw. They say that deep inside you there is fear, anger. They know nothing. Deep inside you there is a fountain of joy, of bliss. Dig deeper enough. All these guilt, fear are distortion of prakriti. Jesus got angry twice. Krishna once broke his own promise.
Every emotion, every feeling, sensation leads you to the inner most perfection. In action don't see about perfection. Every action has a flaw.
So perfection in feelings is possible, perfection in speech is possible and perfection in action is possible to a great extent. Even if Vikaras come don't give them too much credential because wherever ur attention goes that thing in you grows more. If you give too much credential to someone's anger or lust it was there in them at some point of time and it takes a permanent room in ur mind all the time and stays for a long time.
See this is the difference. Animals have sex and finish it. It doesn't think about it the whole year till the season comes. But a man keeps this on and on in his mind. This is what Krishna says in the Gita. What has happened to ur mind Arjuna.If u nourish these vikaaras they keep changing from one vikara to another and keeps multiplying inside you. Relax! Know that I am the only doer and things are happening. In the world.See this whole thing as a drama. This is the only way u can remain in the world.
Humility is the perfection of the soul. Anger,rage is the distortion of the being and that is why it's a sin and they are superficial. They are not even skin deep. That's why it is said that when u take a dip in the Ganga its washed away. Sin is so superficial. One sincere prayer and the past is relieved of you. Your knowledge of the mistake dawns on you when you are out of the mistake. However the past has been, whatever mistake has happened, in the present don't consider yourself to be the maker of the mistake b'coz in the present moment you are again new and pure. The mistakes of the past is past, but when the knowledge has come, that moment you are again perfect and pure. Do u get this idea?
These are all part of life. Lack of awareness was there. It happened, finished…Now,now,now…do u see that?
That's what Krishna tells Arjuna – U think ur not going to do what ur supposed to do. I tell u u will do it. Even if u don't want to, u will do it. Drop everything and surrender to me and do as what I say. Then he says I have told u everything, do whatever u want to do. Then he says –remember u will do only what I want u to do.These r so contradictory.
We were talking about sattva, rajas and tamas. Once inertia is removed u r elevated and u know that things are happening. When u have accomplished something u feel u did something but as time goes by u realize it happened. U r not the doer.
I tell u the same is true for criminals too. They say it just happened. They r beautiful people and are amazed by what they did. They don't believe what they did. This knowledge is the only thing that can take u from imperfection to perfection and removes all the creases.
Question : How do I get rid of habits faster?
Ans : When ur pained by the habit so deeply, don't justify your habit, we usually justify our habits. Without justifying if u really feel the pinch of the habit and ur fed up – at that moment habit drops, it becomes a prayer. If u go to that extent of intensity of feeling the pain, habit drops away or more meditation, satsang, sadhana can change those habits. Proper company, restrictions in ur attitude or way towards life or keeping urself busy in some action changes these. Really feel the pinch of it, then the surrender, prayer wells up and it changes ur chemistry.
Jaigurudev!
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guruji rocks....JAIGURUDEV....
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