Gurudev consistently talks about the importance of human values and understanding that we’re all connected globally. He supports harmony among different faiths and believes that educating about different cultures can prevent fanaticism. These efforts are vital for his goal of creating lasting peace. Going beyond differences in race, nationality, and religion, he envisions a world without stress and violence – a united global family.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has made significant contributions to the field of yoga and meditation, revitalizing these ancient practices for contemporary living. As a spiritual teacher, he has not only preserved the traditional wisdom of yoga and meditation but also adapted them to address the challenges of the 21st century. One of his notable contributions is the development of the Sudarshan Kriya, a powerful breathing technique that has helped millions of people worldwide find relief from stress and discover inner peace.
Let’s read through a few of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s quotes on yoga, meditation and spirituality for some inspiration and wisdom.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Inspiring Quotes on Yoga
When mind controls man, it’s … Bhoga (bondage). But when man controls mind, it’s…Yoga. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Yoga is a study of life, study of your body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, and ego. Study of your inner faculties! – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The purpose of yoga is to put a smile on your face in spite of all the stress, tension, or situations that you are put through in your day-to-day life. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The wave uniting with its depth is yoga. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Peace is our very nature, and yoga leads you to inner peace. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
We all want happiness, and yoga is the way for that much needed happiness factor in life. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Caring, sharing, and responsibility are the characters that yoga simply nurtures inside of you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Yoga is not just an exercise, it is how skillfully you can communicate, and how skillfully you can act in any given situation. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Whether it is greed, jealousy, anger, hatred, or frustration, all these negative emotions can be healed or re-oriented through yoga. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Yoga empowers you to feel the way you want to feel at any time, instead of being a victim of your own feelings. It makes you independent. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Yoga takes you close to your true nature. Yoga with its techniques helps you to harmonize with nature. Peace is our very nature, and yoga leads you to inner peace. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
In the East, they say suffering is avoidable and not necessary. Life is bliss! You know why? This is because wisdom, yoga and meditation are ways to avoid suffering which has not yet come. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Peace is your very nature. Peace is your innate nature; it cannot go away from you. That’s why it means so much to be at peace with oneself. We feel that we want to be at peace with ourselves. You are peace. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Quotes on the Power of Meditation
Meditate. A few minutes of deep meditation will connect you with the ocean of intuition deep within you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Meditation means seeing God within you, and love is seeing God in the person next to you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Practice meditation. Become a seeker. Walk the path of the seeker. You will get the best of everything the world has to offer. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Meditation is the delicate art of doing nothing. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Meditation is not ‘going somewhere;’ it’s diving deep here, this moment. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
If we sit deep in meditation, the glow within the body will brighten, and will expand and spread outside. That is Devi Puja. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
In meditation, healing can happen. When the mind is calm, alert and totally contented, then it is like a laser beam – it is very powerful and healing can happen. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A mind in the present moment is meditation. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Service brings merit, merit allows you to go deeper in meditation, meditation brings back your smile. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
When you are happy time appears shorter, when you are sad time appears longer. And in meditation we transcend time! – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The power of spiritual knowledge gives you centeredness, which brings out passion in work & dispassion in meditation. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Meditation is the journey from sound to silence, from movement to stillness, from a limited identity to unlimited space. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Dissolving the name is awareness. Dissolving the form is meditation. The world is name and form. Bliss transcends name and form. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
In the beginning you may find meditation very boring, but later on you will find it so addictive. You will start enjoying it so much. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Meditation is the only way you can transcend the negative thoughts, and then positive thoughts will come spontaneously & automatically. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
What does meditation and spiritual practices do? They bring out the four ’I’s in you: Innovation, Intuition, Inspiration and Intelligence.
– Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Meditation makes you sharper, happier, and intuitive. Don’t you want intuition? Don’t you want the right thought to come to you at the right time? – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
If you are not having good experiences in meditation, then do more seva you will gain merit and your meditation will be deeper. When you bring some relief or freedom to someone through seva, good vibrations and blessings come to you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Mind without agitation is meditation. Mind in the present moment is meditation. Mind that has no hesitation, no anticipation is meditation. Mind that has come back home, to the source, is meditation. Mind that becomes no mind is meditation. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Timeless Spiritual Sayings by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
You are all that you are longing for. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Curiosity is the mother of science, wonder is the mother of spirituality. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Shiva is chidambaram, like the inner sky. Shiva is the inner sky of consciousness. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
When you are fully present, you are truly living; the rest of the time, you are merely existing. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A Guru is there to show you what you are. You are not different from Me. Whatever I am, that is what you are. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A fully blossomed human potential is enlightenment. It is becoming a child again, and coming back to your original nature. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Devi energy (shakti) is there within all of us. Devi is not somewhere else, not in some other world. It is within us – Devi Shakti – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Don’t try to analyze karma because you cannot fathom the depth of karma. Just do your duty and keep moving ahead with love and prayer in your heart. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A child does not try to know the mother, it simply has faith in her. In the same way, having faith in the Divine is the source of the greatest strength. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
For external beauty, you put on things; for real beauty, you have to drop all things. For external beauty, you have to have make-up; for real beauty you only have to realize that you are already made up. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Faith is giving the divine a chance to act. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Faith is realizing that you always get what you need. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The whole creation is the dance of one consciousness. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Religion keeps society divided. Spirituality unites it. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sadhana is the real currency that you can use anywhere. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Through knowledge and devotion, transcend all karma and be free. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Today is a gift from God – that is why it is called the present. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Faith is what? Faith is to love something you have no idea about. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
In life you can either have a guru or misery, you cannot have both. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Make your home God’s home and there will be light, love and abundance. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A sign of intelligence is to see the One in many and find the many in One. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A Presence is in control of the whole Universe. You just do your part and relax! – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
We do yoga to make life more beautiful.. to stop misery from entering our world. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Forgetfulness of the infinite is misery. Forgetfulness of the trivial is ecstasy. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Reaction and non-action both create karma, but conscious action transcends karma. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Spiritual knowledge improves intuitive ability, innovative ability and communication. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
When you are amazed by the creation, that means that the preface of Yoga has started. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Your life is infinite. You are as old as these mountains and you will remain for ever. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Keep wondering whether your waking reality is a dream and you will wake up to the real. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The goal of spirituality is to bring such happiness, which nobody can take away from you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Science is about learning ‘what something is’ and spirituality is about knowing ‘who I am’. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Technology has made the world into a Village. Spirituality has made it into a Global Family. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Your non attachment to the mundane is your charm. Your attachment to the divine is your beauty.
– Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Longing gives you the power to bless. Bless the entire creation. For, the longing in you is God. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The source of your mind is love and whatever you do to go to that source, is spiritual practice. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
What path you choose is not important. How intensely you pursue that path is much more important. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Spirituality is allowing compassion and love to flourish. When belongness begins, corruption ends. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
You will find the Divine in the last place, because once you find it, you will not go on searching. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Faith is the subject of the head. Devotion is the subject of the heart and meditation connects both. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The master is presence. The world is relativity and relativity has limitations. Presence is unlimited. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Worrying doesn’t make any difference, but working does and spirituality gives one the strength to work. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Yazidis are facing the worst genocide of our times. They have been reduced from 23 million to 1 million. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
If someone blames you directly, do not believe it. Just know that they are taking away your bad karma and let it. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
We should not exit from this world without finding out who we are and where we have come from. This is very important. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Spirituality is a harmonious blend of outer silence and inner celebration; and also inner silence and outer celebration! – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Just open your eyes, shake your head, and look at what is happening in the world. It is amazing! This universe is amazing! – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Truth is hidden by the golden veil of the mundane. Pierce through this thin glittering sheath and know that you are the Sun. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
A poor man celebrates the New Year once a year. A rich man celebrates each day. But the richest man celebrates every moment. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Look at the events come, pass and go. According to their own law of karma, both pleasant and unpleasant events come and pass through you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Spiritual blossoming simply means blossoming in life in all dimensions – being happy, at ease with yourself and with everybody around you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Feeling and experiencing infinity within this finite body, living timelessness within the time span of life – this is what you are here for. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
For those who do not have faith in God, fear is a way to protect them. But if faith is strong, there is no anxiety about something in danger. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
You are solidified silence, awareness. A thousand hours of speech cannot equal one glance: a hundred glances cannot equal a minute of silence. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Faith makes you stable and steady. It brings out the totality in you. Consolidation of your energy is faith. Dissemination of energy is doubt. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
To be free from ignorance you need knowledge. The mind should turn inward. Silence takes the mind inward and helps you to recognize who you are. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Wherever there is sincerity & talent, people do recognize them. It may take some time but we should have some patience and hold on to our passion. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
If you pray to God with all your heart, (dropping the sorrow which simply means hanging onto the past) then whatever you desire will be given to you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The entire universe is just an expression, projection, of the Being, of the Self. Within this small body, you are able to experience the infinite space. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Some people are not swayed by pleasures and are committed and one-pointed, but if they lack patience and perseverance, they become restless and dejected. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The knowledge that unites love and wisdom, that uplifts the spirit is spirituality. The knowledge which gives you a broad vision and a big heart is spirituality. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
When you are infinitely indebted for your body, for Knowledge, for things you have received, and for your own life, then you bask in the abundance of the Creator. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
When you judge others, look at yourself – You too have flaws and the divine nature has accepted you with all your flaws. It doesn’t judge you. Who are you to judge? – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
In Samadhi, that very deep state of meditation, you are given energy and long-lasting bliss. It carries you higher and higher until your very presence radiates love. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
In the presence of your Satguru, knowledge flourishes; sorrow diminishes; without any reason joy wells up; lack diminishes, abundance dawns and all talents manifest. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
When attention is given to the spiritual aspect of one’s life, it brings a sense of belongingness, and responsibility, compassion and caring for the whole of humanity. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
You walk until you come to the ocean. You don’t walk or run in the ocean – you float and swim. Like this once you come to the Master, seeking stops, blossoming begins. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
How do we get out of our small mind? When we enquire into the core of our existence. What is life? Who am I? This spirit of self-inquiry can awaken something inside you. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Deep inside you observe the intense sensation which creates pain. It flips over and that very sensation assumes a different dimension. Then you see that it’s just blissful.
– Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
If you are passionate, be passionate about the highest, the most wonderful, and the most beautiful. Be passionate about this entire creation for everything is so beautiful. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
This deep sense of feeling that, ‘I am’ blessed can help you overcome any obstacle in life. It gives you courage and confidence and it will open you up for grace to pour in. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Have eternal wait, infinite patience. When you have infinite patience, you will realize God belongs to you. Either through awareness or through practice you reach the same spot. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
When people lose faith in the natural goodness of the human character, the lack of trust in spiritual goodness, that is one reason why corruption has become so widespread today. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Where does one seek the do’s and don’ts on karma? Listen to your conscience; your inner gut feeling. Don’t do anything which you don’t want others to do to you. That is the criteria. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Silence is bringing you back home, and it gives you that much needed energy to realize ‘Who You Are’, to realize that there is bliss, there is beauty, there is joy, and that is ‘You’. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
When we look at the world through the eyes of the Master, the world will look so much more beautiful – not a nasty place, but a place filled with love, joy, compassion and all virtues. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
You should not delay the good things in life. Just do them. Whenever you get a chance to do spiritual practice or seva, don’t miss it. Those are the real precious moments of your life. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Prayer within breath is silence, love within infinity is silence, Wisdom without word is silence, compassion without aim is silence, action without doer is silence, smiling with all existence is silence. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
The overwhelming problem in the world today, everyone knows, is terrorism, where people in the name of religion kill each other, kill others just to go to heaven, and thinking only they will go to heaven. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
This ancient practice of the Rudrabhishekam, with the chanting of mantras, has been happening since thousands of years. It creates such a deep resonance in our consciousness, because our consciousness is very ancient. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
We need to do a cleansing process within ourselves. In sleep we get rid of fatigue, but the deeper stresses remain in our body. Sudarshan Kriya cleanses the system from the inside. The breath has a great secret to offer. All these seven colors are part of one rainbow, yet they are all different. They have their own quality, their own identity, their own flavor to it. So it is a rainbow. The Divine loves diversity, that is why he made us all different. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
