Never criticise a Saint 

I was looking for something and I stumbled on this site,  and I  know now that some people are deliberately writing against Sri Sri Ravishankar’s work  Only they know how, why,  by whom they have been motivated to do this? I have only one question to the people who are questioning the abilities of a Saint. What is their awareness level in the spiritual path? Have they  achieved enlightenment in religion and have reached  the highest echelon?  If so, only then will I listen to  their  comments .

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a spiritual and humanitarian leader. It was very disturbing to read people talking against  his teachings and against his organisation in a blog which has also been commented by others. This is highly inappropriate and people should desist from making irrational comments against any saint.

He was born on May 13, 1956 in Tamil Nadu, India. He is referred to as “Sri Sri”, Guruji or Gurudeva. He is the founder of the Art of Living Foundation which aims to relieve stress at an individual level, and to relieve disease and violence at a societal level. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is also a driving force behind the charitable organization, International Association for Human Values.

“Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwaraha,  Guru Saakshat Para Brahma, Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha”.

 ‘A Guru is respected as Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. He is revered. He is the source of all wisdom. He is honourable and I bow before him’.

According to his biographies, at the age of four he could recite verses from the Bhagavad Gita. He was said to be often found in deep meditation even at a young age. Sri Sri received an advanced degree in physics at the age of 17. He had studied in Bangalore.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a former disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.  At his early age Shankar joined Maharishi’s entourage, taught the Vedic pundits at Maharishi’s charities, and soon became the Maharishi’s favorite disciple. In the early 1990s, Shankar added the Sri Sri to his own name.

In an interview, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said  in 1982 that “Sudarshana Kriya”, a rhythmic breathing exercise, came to him “like a poem, an inspiration”. He added, “I learned it and started teaching it”.

In 1982, Sri Sri established the Art of Living Foundation,  an educational and humanitarian Non-Governmental Organisation that works in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. In 1997 he founded the International Association for Human Values.

Sri Sri emphasizes ‘breath’ as the link between body and mind and therefore a tool to relax the mind. He emphasizes both meditation and service to others. According to him, science and spirituality are inter-linked. His stated vision is to create a world which is free of stress and violence through acquisition of wisdom. Sudarshan Kriya is the core component of the Art of Living courses.

Despite his remarkable achievements in the spiritual field, it is  disturbing to read some of the comments against him written by people who are ignorant of the truth and have an absolute lack of spiritual knowledge.

As Kabir Dassji had said centuries  ago   –  “Sangat kariye saadh ki , ninda kabhi  na hoyi”. Meaning thereby that one should always try to be in the company of saints and sadhus, but never try to criticise them.  And another one – ‘guru bin gyan kahan te paavein’, meaning  that one cannot acquire knowledge without a teacher. Guru is the ultimate guide and should always be respected. I quote from ‘Gurubani’.

USTAT NINDA DOU TYAGE KHOJE PAD NIRBANA
JAN NANAK EH KHEL KATHIN HAI KINHU GURMUKH  JANA”

‘Though both Nindya and Ustat are prohibited in Gurmat, however, Nindya is a more dangerous and  a serious mental sickness. We should therefore not restore to Nindya of anyone, whether he or she is a common person  or a Sant, Sadh or a Braham Gyani, the consequences of Nindya are very serious and are sure to cause an irreparable damage to your spirituality as well as to your physical being. A Nindak – the person who is doing Nindya,  is a Manmukh and Maha Moorakh’.

And even if you have a personal grudge or an axe to grind,  please keep it to yourself and learn to ignore minor things.  Can you  make millions of people laugh or smile? Can you  give happiness to others? Can you mitigate the miseries of millions who are suffering on this earth for one reason or another?  If yes – then you  have a right to say a word or two about a Saint –  Sri Sri Ravi Krishna.

One person has commented in a blog that he paid Rs. 5000/- to attend the congregation at his Ashram – but the food was not good!!!  Wow,  did he go there to acquire knowledge from  the religious  ceremony or for the food?  Next time he should try  a restaurant.

If you do not know about the essence  of God Almighty,  then please for  your own benefit  listen to Sri Sri and his words. Learn a few good things in this life. Such useless comments are  equivalent to an act of incompetency, cowardice and result  of  lack of religious  knowledge.

People  have benefitted a lot from art of living  courses and  are also flocking  the ashrams just to get a glimpse of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Millions have benifited across the globe by his breathing technique. People like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar only can bring peace and smile on every face.  Instead of critisizing a noble soul why not listen to what he has to say and follow his teachings.

I never had a chance to have live darshan of Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji  but have seen his  telecast on TV almost every morning.

 Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is an extremely talented  saint.  Respect him for that, even if you are not into spirituality. There is no basis for such unfounded allegations.

Ravi  Matah

Tags: Art of Living, Art of living Foundation, Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, International Association for Human Values, Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji

This entry was posted on Monday, September 7th, 2009 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.