*Chapter 1 - The Mind Facing Inwards Is Always Happy*
*Day 3*
Today we have completely forgotten this tradition. However, there is one thing we did in the past and continue to do today.
When we celebrate weddings, religious ceremonies and other rituals, whether on happy or sad occasions, we invite guests for food and after food give them each one rupee as dakshina, or offering.
This practice is more prevalent in villages. Do you know the reason behind this? This is to express gratitude to the guests for attending the ceremony and eating the food.
The belief is that the guests have given them peace, and in this way, certain negative karma leaves and positive karma is restored. Wealth should be peaceful.
It is filled with bliss, having a cheerful state of mind. There are some people who do very good acts, but do not have peace and joy.
Instead, they are very serious and have long faces. If the world is serious, it cannot be enjovable, it will be dry and dull.
Look at children. They are not very serious. They are happy. What kind of happiness do they have? Happiness overflows from their bodies. They send out vibrations full of joy.
In life, happiness is the only attraction. You may have noticed that some people who are beautiful and have nice, fair skin are not attractive, while others who are not so pleasant to look at are still attractive.
This is because of the vibrations they spread around them. Wherever a child comes from, whether from China, Africa or North America, it is attractive.
Joy overflows from each and every cell of its body. A child's mind is innocent and calm, with a blossomed awareness. This is life's goal.
One characteristic of life is that it should end where it began, and life is a cycle that starts with happiness. Life happens in joy and finds completion in joy.
The soul should be filled with happiness - that is the goal of the Shiva Sutras. That happiness is not limited to us, but spreads to all who come near us.
Such happiness is the sign of real success. Some people who do sadhana, though they sit from morning till evening with their fingers on their nose doing pranayama, shout at anyone who comes close and disturbs them, even children.
It means that there has been no reduction in anger. What are you doing? Sadhana? Is this a sign of sadhana? If this is what sadhana means, then it's better to stay away from it.
Many youth have left sadhana because of this. In their homes they see their older siblings, parents, grandparents and relatives praying and applying chandan to their forehead and to others too.
Yet their anger has not lessened, even a bit. Seeing this, young people lose faith. They say, "If this is religious life, we don't need it." It is natural.
Many swamis who are in charge of mathas are like this. They show such uncontrollable anger. People come with devotion, but are revolted by the way they see some swamis treating people.
They think, "How arrogant" and become angry and afraid. There is a saying that people should have fear and devotion. This is not correct.
Where there is fear, it is impossible to have devotion, and with devotion, fear cannot exist. Both cannot be together. Someone must have compiled that saying sarcastically.
But the sarcasm in it has not been properly understood. Instead, people worry that a swami will curse them. Devotion vanishes, and only fear is left.
"Vapuse"- the body should radiate happiness. Life is complete when that happens. Then, we realise that the aim of life has been reached.
This is the goal of the Shiva Sutras. We should read the sutras so that this happens. Then hold on to the Shiva Sutras.
After we are asked to hold on to the Shiva Sutras, they are explained one by one. Each sutra is complete in itself.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
Shiva Sutras
