The Four Pillars of Knowledge by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Knowledge is very simple. Its the simplest. And so it’s not too easy. (giggles) Potentially it’s available, but dynamically it’s not available. Though you are that, yet to know that you are that, needs some preparation. God is the cheapest commodity available because outside Got there can be nothing. There is no outside at all. But then why is it not as an experiential reality in everyone? This is a fundamental question in everyone. If I am God why is it that I don’t know I am God? Why do have to go through all this? Why is it not my experience. And just listening to that does not do anything, does not ring a bell, just makes a concept.

So there are all these practices. Which are like sign boards. It’s just like saying look at the star above the sky. Which star? That star about the branch of the tree. So you show the branch in order to show the star and the star has nothing to do with the branch of a tree. So you find many enlightened people who simply discard the branch of the tree and say useless to do any practice, it’s not necessary. But they’ve missed a very important factor. Simply enunciating the truth does not help. You have to see from where the seeker is and take them from there to move onwards. Simply describing the destination, the house… is not sufficient. You have to be given the road map, the route, which exit to take. Otherwise you’d be in the freeway all the time, not knowing which way you have to exit. It could be ongoing never ending journey. Directions are essential. And there are 4 major qualification/points that one has to have in order to reach the self. These are called the 4 pillars or the 4 implements, the 4 tools.

1 – Viveka (Grossly translated as discrimination)
It’s not just discrimination. Viveka is the understanding or observation that everything is changing. Whatever you consider as stationery or solid is neither stationery nor solid… they are changing. Every changing nature, ever changing reality. And a thorough understanding of this is called viveka. Everything is changing. Our body is changing, every cell, every minute new cells are being generated and old cells are dying. Every time you breath out old energy goes out, new energy comes into the body when you breathe in. Our body is a bundle of atoms. And atoms are always disintegrating, changing. As body starts growing. Same with the whole world, Universe. The Earth is changing. Our thoughts are changing, emotions are changing. You’re not the same person you were yesterday and you will not be tomorrow. You’re changing. You cannot maintain the same degree of sadness everyday. (laughter) You will see it fluctuates. Higher or does down. Or you maybe unhappy for different reasons on different days. You can never be unhappy for the same reason all through, there will be variation in degree. Same way for joy also. Your moods, feelings, emotions… everything is changing. (Paras note: So what he’s trying to say is Everything is changing)

But there is something different from us that is not changing. This discrimination between something that is not changing and everything else is changing is Viveka. You do not know what is not changing, but you can feel and recognize what is changing. The moment you see things changing, simultaneously you start seeing that the one who is observing the change is not changing. Otherwise how can they say one is changing. The reference of change is non-change. Otherwise changes cannot be perceived at all. Viveka, recognizing the changes. Changing characteristics of our sounding, changing nature of our body, of our emotion, of life in general. This very thing would reduce 99% of the misery that you face. You have a fixed thought about your future and this will be like this and you foresee… all the fears, anxiety, unhappiness comes up in you. Because you’re foreseeing all that negativity come up in you. Who knows, how do you know that things are going to be bad. And in order to avoid that you try to affirm yourself… oh no no everything will be good. But deep inside you feel something is going to be bad. Or vice versa. You know all this positive thinking… it’s very… (laughter). It’s not a very intelligent thing to do you know, positive thinking is pulling you somewhere negative. Just see everything is changing. And changes happen. This is the nature of world, it is such. A great relief comes, unconditioning of the mind. This condition to fix things. Viveka.. the first pillar.

2 – Vairaghya (Grossly translated as dispassion)
Behind every misery there is a hope. The fuel for miserable people is hope. (giggles). There is a deep desire of some joy. Perhaps if I change my job, go to another town, change my partnership… then I’ll be happier. People who are single thing they’ll be happier if they get married, people who are married think I was better off all by myself. Or they think if I have a kid I’ll be happy, people who have children think if the children grow up and be on their on then I’ll be happy. Forseeing happiness sometime in the future makes one miserable right now. Desire for some pleasure in the future, either worldly or in the heaven. One misses the boat. If you cannot row one boat you cannot row any other boat. Changing the boat does not help you. But this hope in the mind, if I change the boat then I can row another boat. This is the very cause of misery. Do you see this in the world? Look in the life of an individual or look in a society. Various status… its the same story. A child thinks if he grows older then he has more power, control, freedom. He thinks the joy is in getting older and becoming a college student. Look at the college student, if I get a job and I do my own business, then I’ll be more indipendent, then I’ll be more happy. And see those who are on their own, I should get right partner for me. Somebody who matter, my soulmate. If i meet my soulmate then I’ll be happy. You have met your soulmate are you happy now? (laughter). If the soulmate is happy then only I can be happy. Then your eyes are all the time on the soulmate wether he/she is happy. (laughter) And small things they do hurt you. Small things, not intentionally, they were preoccupied they didn’t give a big smile to you. Fun finished! (laughter) They want an explanation that why didn’t you smile at me. And the whole soap opera begins. (mad laughter) One wants the baby, other doesn’t. What to do… ok compromise. (mad laughter) One way or another yo uhave to compromise. Both desires cannot be fulfilled at the same time.

And the children, then you have to make sure they go to a good school, right environment, are they behaving properly, are they alright, not sick, getting well. All your mind energies. Then you keep thinking when they grow older how will they settle, then you’ll be happy. You’ll have your own time. Same thing in society. Someone says I become a manager of a company, I’ll be happy. Managers think I should be a director. Directors thing I should be the international head. Ok you have an international chain of companies, what you have got? Blood pressure, heart ache, kidney failure, liver problems, travel sickness, insomnia. It is too big I cannot manage this. They are jealous about their employees. Employees just come and have their salary go home happily to sleep. And there are people who are ready to suffer here. You know why? They know they will get some better comfort up there in the heaven when they die. Let me suffer here so that when I die and go to heaven I’ll get all joy, pleasure will come to me. I can be in a royal suite there. So what? Every pleasure just leaves you where you are, it doesn’t carry you anywhere. Pleasure only tires you. Something very beautiful, how long can you go on looking at it. Your eyelids will fall, you will tire. A beautiful perfume, you want to put your nose in the bottle? People working in perfume factories are sick of perfumes. A great smell, what can you do? How long can you smell? You like doughnuts, how much can you stuff through you mouth. Icecream you like, how much can you swallow? How many have you had? How many chocolate fudge has gone through this hole called mouth? (laughter) So what? Do you see, how much food has gone through this hole called mouth? Just calculate? If one day you consume one kilo, in a whole year? 365 kilo. If you’re 45 years how many tons? Several tons of food grain stuffed through this hole. (laughter) Music, beautiful music, talk, everything you’ve heard. How long can you hear? How much can you hear? Sense of touch, how long can you go on touching? It drains you. You become like a wreck. Tried, exhausted. And the whole world is full of pleasure for these 5 senses. Objects of these 5 senses. It doesn’t take you any further, it doensn’t elevate you to great heights of bliss.

An attitude of so what, let it be. Takes away the feverishness in you. Takes away the passion in you. Takes you to that pillar of dispassion. Remember that dispassion is not apathy. Often we think dispassion is being totally unenthusiastic, depressed, not interested in anything. This is not dispassion. Dispassion is lack of feverishness. Same thing, ok if I do so many techniques, I’ll achieve some merit somewhere in the heaven. This feverishness is also not vairaghya. Dispassion towards enjoyments of this world or the other, the seen or unseen, external or inner. Is the second pillar that makes you very solid on your path. See what I’m saying?

3 – 6 Wealths (Shama, damha, uparati, titiksha, shraddha and samadhana.)
These are called wealth, it’s not something that you do to get you have them. Like wealth… your capital.
a) Shama
When the mind wants to do too many things it’s completely scattered. When there is vairaghya, the 3rd pillar automatically becomes stronger… you automatically start to have a focus. Your mind is more alert.

b) Damha
Having a say on our own senses. You know many times you don’t want to say and you say things. May times you don’t want to see but you see. Suppose you’re travelling on the plane and there is a movie going on. You see it and you say oh rubbish, let me go to sleep. And then after a little while you open your eyes and see again. And you become curious, you put your headphones also and see more. You have decided 3 times not to see but you kept on seeing the movie. Has this happened to you? Coz there’s some curiosity that comes to you, what has happened let me see. Same with food, ok I will not eat anything today and some nice food is served and it comes to your nose and you say ok let me have a bite. One bite and then one more bite and then one more… to your surprise you see you have stuffed more than your tummy can take. Damha, where you have a say on your senses. They don’t drag you and you’re not carried away by them but you’ll say yes or no. Most of the time it’s not you who says yes or no, it’s the senses that say yes or no to you.

c) Titiksha
Endurance. Forbearance. When opposite things come you are able to forebear it without being shaken and shattered. In life some pleasant some unpleasant events happen. So what? None of them stays forever. Health, sickness, moods, loss, gains, people, friends, foes come and go. Do you see even small children you can find that, small thing happens they cry for hours. Other children will cry for one minute and they change their mind. Even in adults you find the same thing. Relationship break and they’re broken for a long period of time. They are still chewing on the … chewing gum. There’s nothing in it, the flavor is gone. To all things… see what was unpleasant before became pleasant, what was pleasant became unpleasant. They all the time change. What one thought was to be very bad later on it did something good to you… it made you strong somewhere. Just understanding this, not holding on to what all good, bad, right, wrong. Choices in the mind. Not getting carried away by them is called titiksha. See a game is where you lose and win, where both is part of it. Isn’t it? Where there is more chance of losing the game it’s more charming. The game has value when it is tough. Isn’t it? So all little problems that come is life is part of the whole game and seeing that this is not going to shake me at all. Just turn back and look and see through all those different situations you’ve gone in life. In-spite of it all you’re still total and complete today. They cannot destroy you, you’re much more powerful than them, and significant than them. This very understanding, whatever events come in my life. All these events, pleasant, unpleasant, happy, unhappy… cannot do anything to me, with this forbearance that rises in you. Is the third wealth.

d) Uparati
Rejoicing in your nature. Being in your nature. Often you’re not in your nature you’re doing things because somebody else says or does. Often people do things, buy big homes so people can look and say something to them. For approval of others. If we do something like that then we are not in touch with our nature. Be in your nature. Being in the present moment, in the joy that you are. Rejoicing in anything that you do. That is uparati. Letting go of everything. And then taking everything focused and seriously is also uparati. Totally opposite values is but making together. Living them together. That is uparati. Being playful.

e) Shraddha
Faith. Faith is needed when you’re knowing has found it’s limit. When you have found the limit of your knowing. You know this far and you don’t know anything beyond that. Your willingness to know is faith. If your mind says this is it, nothing beyond. That fixation is fanaticism. That is ego, I know it all. But when you know the whole thing, there is beyond, and this entire creation is from beyond, the unknowable, recognition of the unknowable. Guruvedant vakyeshav (spelling). Vishvas itishraddha (spelling). Faith in the self, the master, the divine… in the infinite. Infinite order of things. Faith in that love of infinity. This is shraddha. We can understand this in a simpler manner. Your doubt has 3 divisions. 1 – Doubt the self, 2 – doubt the other, 3 – doubt the whole. 99.99999% of the people doubt the whole because they do not even believe that the whole that is functioning. People talk about god a lot. But go deep and you find that the faith is shaken. There is no faith. There exists an infinite organizing intelligent power which is in total control of everything. This faith is absent. If it is there, its just an outside decoration, like a badge on you. Your badges do not indicate you, so if your badges are gone nothing in you is gone. And then the doubt in people. When someone says I love you, you doubt them. Do you really love me? Prove it. But if somebody is angry you don’t doubt… are you really angry with me? Just notice your doubt is always about the positivity about other people. You take it for granted that other people are hopeless. Then you try to find the trust in this and that person. And you’re are unable to do it. Most of you suffer from this disease because from the basic understanding you take it for granted that everybody is a cheat. You cannot trust anybody then. And this pains you because it is connected to yourself, faith in your own self. Self doubt is the third doubt. You never doubt your anger, depression, sadness, sorrow, misery. But you doubt all the positive qualities you have. You doubt in your capabilities, you don’t doubt in your in-capabilities. You see what I’m saying? Doubt the incapability in you, doubt in your limitations! Who knows that you will become next moment. Who knows that molecules and atoms are inside you. What great personalities, beautiful noble characters are in you… and when it will blossom. How many Budhas, tathagaths, bhodhi satva, apostles, vivek ananandas. Doubt in your in-capabilities, in-capacities… then your capabilities grow. Then you will doubt in the negative of people and attribute it to their stress. Then the trust in everyone grows. And you (couldn’t hear) find that divine existence… there is only one mind, intelligence, one being… there are no two people, there is only one life. And a master is there to practically demonstrate to you, I am you , you are me. And when a master says this, seeing the master as he is, not through blocked vision. Suspicious eyes… that is shraddha. A master does not have to get anything from you, but if you see with the same suspicious eyes, what is he up to. Then you will go on reeling around in your own small little mind, you will be unable to peep to the divine existence. You’ll miss the whole joy, the essence which you’re longing for. Knowingly or unknowingly. See when we say, ok we’ll sing this and it will bring some soothing influence. And you start singing and you start feeling it… you do feel it. Isn’t it? After meditation, ok listen to some chanting, listen to some veda it brings some influence. Its this faith in it. Ok yes, let me do it, without faith you will not do it at all. It’s like someone saying, first let me learn swimming then let me get into the water. You have to get in the water in order to learn. To much preparedness, this is what it is. Being too cautious, I tell you these people miss the joy in life. Faith. You believe you have a coach then you get into the water and you learn swimming. Isn’t it? No activity can happen in this world without the element of faith. You have faith in your banks so you put your money there. You have faith in the law and order so you park your car. You wont be sitting here. Do you see that? You have faith in the airlines so you know you can go home after 4-5 days, the house will be there, electricity, what, what. Telephone company believes in you so they give you the line. That’s why you are given credit cards and all that. Take any system! Medicine, doctors have faith this medicine will have this effect. Thought they cannot guarantee. This very probability factor introduces the faith. If there is 0% probability then there is no faith. But if there is even 1% probability, that means it’s not knowledge, it is faith. And the faith is a beautiful quality of your consciousness, blossoming of your being. It’s one of the wealth.

f) Samadhana
Being at ease. Do you see how you feel when you’re at ease. Do you remember? How does it feel when you’re totally at east, serene, calm. Being at ease with yourself, with your environment, with people around you, with everything. The whole. This is samadhana. This is a wealth by itself. These 6 wealth together form the 3rd pillar.

4 Mumukshatva
The desire for the highest. A desire for freedom. Enlightenment. First of all you can desire it only when you feel it is possible for you. When you think it is not possible, you cannot even desire it. If you feel all the good qualities cannot come in you, and slowly when you eliminate, until you think you cannot do anything… a deep desire, a longing in your for the divine. A longing for infinity, bigger life. A longing to be a devotee, servant, beloved, to be part and parcel of the whole. These potentialities in you cannot be uncovered or woken up. If you don’t desire it. Unless someone wants to learn meditation you cannot force someone, it should come from within, the desire to learn. This is the fourth pillar. Mumukshatva. Which you already have, don’t think you have to attain this, that is why you are already here. To some extent you have all these 4 essential pillars for sadhana. You put some more attention on it, they become stronger and more solid. Build it a little higher. Hmmmm? That much for today.