1. FOUR PILLARS OF KNOWLEDGE Presented at Knowledge Sharing Forum Huntsville, Ala May 18, 2016
Prabhakar B.Rao

2. Four Pillars of Knowledge
Source: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Discourse on how to reach the inner self and seek permanent “Happiness”

3. Why is God not an experiential reality for you?
You have heard “Everything is God. There is nothing outside of God.” Then why is this not your experience?
How to reach the SELF?

4. The Four Pillars of Knowledge
There are four major qualities/strengths one has to develop, in order to reach the Self, and attain freedom and permanent happiness in this world we live in Today.
1. Discrimination (Viveka)
2. Dispassion(Vairagya )
3. Desire to be Free and Desire for the Highest
(Mumukshatva)
Continued-----

5. The Four PillarS of Knowledge Continued
4th Pillar consists of Six Wealths/Strengths or Qualities :
Shama (Control over mind)
Dama (Control over senses)
Titiksha (Endurance and forebearing)
Uparati (Rejoicing in your own nature)
Shraddha (Faith)
Samadhana (Being at ease)

6. Discrimination (Viveka)
First Pillar
Discrimination
(Viveka)

7. First Pillar Viveka (Discrimination)
What is Viveka?
Whatever you consider as stationary or solid is neither stationary nor solid.
Discriminating between that which is not changing, and everything else which is ever changing is “Viveka”.
Understanding that everything is changing would reduce 99% of the misery in this world.

8. First Pillar Discrimination (Viveka)
What is changing?
Our own bodies are changing. Every minute new cells are born and old cells are dying. Every time you breathe, old energy goes out and new energy comes in. Our body is a bundle of atoms and atoms are always disintegrating
Our thoughts and emotions are changing. You are not the same person you were yesterday. You cannot maintain the same degree of happiness or sadness all the time. It fluctuates. Emotions, feelings, view points are all changing.

9. Discrimination (Viveka)
First Pillar
Discrimination (Viveka)
Examples of Every thing is Changing Ocean Waves come and go- Nothing is Stationary

10. Discrimination (Viveka)
First Pillar
Discrimination (Viveka)
Examples of Every thing is Changing Ocean Waves come and go- Nothing is Stationary
Turbulent ocean waves
Calm ocean waves

11. First Pillar – Discrimination (Viveka)
What is not changing??
There is something different from all this that is not changing.
The one who is observing the change is non-changing, otherwise how can one recognize the change?
The reference point to recognize change has to be non-changing.

12. Dispassion (Vairagya)
Second Pillar
Dispassion
(Vairagya)

13. Second Pillar Dispassion (Vairagya)
What is Vairagya?
We think Vairagya/ dispassion means being unenthusiastic, depressed and not interested in anything-giving up every thing
Not being too feverish
Dispassion is NOT apathy
It does not mean give up every thing and be like Buddha ` ` `

14. Second Pillar Dispassion (Vairagya)
What is Vairagya?
Vairagya means Becoming at Ease with What Is
An attitude of “So what! Let it be, whatever” takes away the feverishness in you and brings you to that pillar of dispassion.
Dispassion towards the enjoyments of the five sense or the spiritual enjoyment, towards the seen and the unseen, the outer world or the inner world.

15. Second Pillar Vairagya (Dispassion)
When will you be happy?
If you change relationship??
If you change job??
If you change the company??
If you get married??
If you change your town??
When you grow older??
Postponing happiness to sometime in the future can make you miserable right now.

16. Second Pillar Dispassion (Vairagya)
How much Pleasure can you take?
Too much Pleasure can also tire you!!
How long can you look at something beautiful? Eventually you will get tired of it; your eyelids will fall off.
How long can you smell a beautiful fragrance? People working in the perfume factories are sick of perfumes.

17. Second Pillar – Dispassion (Vairagya)
How much pleasure can you take?
If you like donuts, how many can you stuff through your mouth?
How much ice-cream can you enjoy?
Music- how much can you hear?
Touching, and being touched, how long can you enjoy?
The world is full of pleasure for the five senses, but the senses have their limitations.

18. Third Pillar DESIRE FOR THE TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT (Mumukshatava)
Desire for highest total freedom for enlightenment
It should come from within you
First of all we need to trust that it is possible to achieve this goal then you can.
When you think it is not possible then you eliminate slowly all the possibilities presented to you in life . Don’t get into that trap
You have the desire that is why you are here

19. Third Pillar DESIRE FOR THE TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT (Mumukshatva)
Don’t think you have to attain it . Think that you already have it to some degree.
Strengthen your curiosity and burning desire to learn and seek the truth by paying a little more attention to your strengths.
Slowly work on making your four pillars of your knowledge stronger because you already have all of these to a some degree within. Make them stronger !!

20. Third Pillar – Desire to be Free (Mumukshatva) (Continued)
Mumukshatva is the desire for the highest!
A desire for total freedom!
Desire for enlightenment!
Mumukshatva is present when there is a deep desire for the highest, a burning desire, a longing for the Divine and know your own self.

21. Fourth Pillar Six Wealths/Strengths
1. Control over the mind (Shama)
2. Control over the senses (Dama)
3. Endurance and Forbearing
(Titiksha )
4. Rejoicing in your own nature (Uparathi)
5. Faith (Shraddha)
6. Being at Ease /Content(Samadhana)

22. Wealth# 1: Control Over the Mind (Shama)
What is Shama?
Shama is tranquility of the mind.
When the mind wants to do too many things, it gets completely scattered.
When shama is established, you are able to focus and your mind is more alert.
When dispassion is firmly established, shama automatically starts happening, the mind is tranquil.

23. CONTROL OVER SCATTERING
Wealth # 1
CONTROL OVER SCATTERING
MIND—(SHAMA)
Alchohol
WAVES IN THE OCEAN
Sex
Fun
Wealth
Luxurious bed
FANCY CARS
NICE VACATION
Travel

24. Wealth # 2– Dama What is Dama? Dama means control over senses.
Many times you don’t want to say something, yet you do.
Many times you don’t want to look at something, yet you look anyway.
You decided you are full and you will not eat anymore, yet you eat more.

25. Wealth # 2- Dama (Continued)
What is Dama?
Then some nice food is served, and it smells so good that you go ahead and take a bite, and another. Soon, to your surprise, you find that you have stuffed in more than your tummy can take
Having Dama, you
are not carried
away by our senses.

26. Wealth # 2: Dama (Continued)
Having the ability to have a say on over own senses
You are not carried away by senses

27. Wealth # 3: ENDURANCE AND FORBEARING (Titiksha )
What is Titiksha?
Titiksha means endurance or forbearing.
When difficult things come, forbearance
allows you to go on without getting
completely shaken.
In life, some pleasant events happen, some unpleasant events happen. So what! None of them stay forever.
Health comes and sickness comes. Moods come and go. Profits come and losses come. People come and go in life.
Titiksha is not getting shaken by what happens.
The ability to not get carried away by the events is Titiksha.

28. Wealth # 3: ENDURANCE AND FORBEARING (Titiksha )- Continued
Dealing with various moods bad and good moods
Don’t prejudge the event as good or bad. Take it as it comes –Life is full of ups and downs
Realize that you are more powerful than the events in life that change constantly

29. Wealth # 4: Rejoicing in your own nature - Uparati
What is Uparati?
Uparati means rejoicing in your own nature,
being with your nature.
Often you are not with
your nature, you are
doing things because
someone else says
or does something.
Being in the present moment, being the joy that you are, the ability to rejoice in anything that you do, that is Uparati.

30. Wealth # 4: REJOICING IN YOUR OWN NATURE (Uparathi)
Often we do things
We are all culprits of that . It is a reality .
We need to do things to please our own nature
Being playful and letting go at the same time
Being serious about being happy is true rejoicing
Need to cultivate by practicing this strength in order to be happy

31. Wealth # 5: Faith (Shraddha)
What is Shraddha
Shraddha means Faith.
Faith is needed when you have
found the limit of your
knowledge.
Your willingness to know the
unknown is Shraddha, the faith.
The more you know, the more will be the feeling that you don’t know. Faith in your self, faith in the Master, faith in the Divine, faith in the infinite order of things, faith in that love of infinity, is Shraddha.

32. Wealth # 5: FAITH (Shraddha)
Don’t be fixated in opinion . That I know it all attitude - That is the “EGO”
Don’t doubt in infinite order of things.
Doubt the negatives and be confident about the positives – Unfortunately we tend to doubt the positives often. Need to cultivate the habit of not doubting positives in others.

33. Wealth # 6: Being at Ease (Samadhana)
What is Samadhana?
Samadhana means being at ease, calm, serene and being content.
How do you feel when you are at ease?
How does it feel when you are totally at ease, calm and serene?
Being at ease with you, at ease with the people and situations around you, with the whole existence

34. Summary
Four Pillars of Knowledge to seek the Permanent Happiness and reach your own self
Discernment of the true and untrue - Viveka
Freedom from attachment – Viaragya
The desire to be free - Mumukshutva
The Six abilities/Strengths – Shama, Dama, Uparati, Titiksha, Shraddha, and Samadhana
The pillars are already there, you only have to make them stronger, build them a little higher!!

35. Acknowledgements
Thanks to KSF for allowing me to present what little I learned thru my Art of Living Organization's Guruji Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and his valuable discourses.
Special Thanks to Lakshmi Goli to make very large contribution by researching lots of good pictures and quotes to refine major portion of this presentation.
Valuable input from Srikanta Rao, Srinivas Mentreddy, Dan Naran and Lakshmi Goli

36. Any Questions !