Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Your body is like a hard shell. And your mind, the inner self is like water. You are like water inside. Nature of water is cooling and flowing. But when the innermost, which is like water, is burning with jealousy, anger, frustration and all the fires you put inside, then the water boils and its cooling nature disappears. Then how does one cool the water? Just imagine a pot and underneath are all these burning sticks. To cool the water you have to remove these sticks. All emotions are linked with people, objects and events. Catching on to objects, people or relationships hinders freedom, liberation. You are hankering for some greater joy that is not there, not going to be there. I will have greater joy if I have a better companion or if I have lot of money or if I have lot of freedom. Money gives you a hallucination that you have better freedom. Your mind tells you that with more money one could have more freedom; could travel anywhere; do whatever you wanted; these illusory ideas come into the mind. And when this idea comes in the mind, it binds you. When you feel bound, you feel very stiff and there is no freedom. The moment you become soft and non-resisting inside, the stiffness drops, the feeling of being bound leaves you and everything else including wealth, comfort and prosperity follow. So, remove all this firewood and the water will become cooler. Because “cool” is the nature of water. When all these other negative stresses, burning sticks are removed, water will possess all its natural qualities — humility and naturalness — just like the nature of water which flows down. Don’t ever think deep inside you is any negativity, sorrow, anger or jealousy. In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna talks about all the good qualities. And then He adds that they are already in you. Just like in an atom, the core is positive and the negativity is peripheral. Your nature is calmness and coolness. If it wasn’t your nature, you would never feel at home in it!