Balance

European Ashram, Bad Antogast, Germany,

6th August 1997

Chapter 2 - The Path To The Goal That Is You

Day 74 - Balance

Life is utterly simple and yet most complex. You have to

simultaneously attend to both facets of life. When life appears most complex, turn to simplicity. Simplicity brings peace. When you are peaceful attend to the complexity. That will make you more skillful. If you are only with simplicity, it makes you lazy and dull, growth is not there. 

Being only with complexity makes you angry and frustrated, then there is no life at all. The intelligent ones skillfully balance these two and rejoice in both. When you recognize both the simplicity and the complexity of life, you will be skillfully peaceful. Colours are the complexity of life. White is the simplicity. 

When your heart is pure, your life becomes so colorful. Hygiene supports health but too much hygiene destroys health. In too hygienic a situation, the immune system in the body becomes like lazy, unequipped soldiers. 

People who live in slums often don’t get sick because their immune system becomes like a well trained soldier. Often people who are too fussy about hygiene have poor health. Sometimes unhygienic conditions create health. It keeps your immune system active, alive and strong, while knowledge keeps your mind fresh. Your life is a gift and you have come to unwrap the gift. 

In the process of unwrapping, remember to also save the wrapper. Your whole environment, situations, circumstances, body are the wrapping paper. When we unwrap, we often tear the wrapping paper. We are in such a hurry that at times we even destroy the gifts. 

With patience and endurance, open your gifts and save the wrappers. We play many roles in our lives. If all the roles get mixed up, it becomes dark, like when you mix all the colours. The wise play each role distinctively side by side, like the colours displayed side by side form a rainbow.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji 

Celebrating Silence