SERVING  SOCIETY  BY  STRENGTHENING  THE  INDIVIDUAL

The Art of Living Foundation
25 YEARS   6 CONTINENTS   152 COUNTRIES

Privacy Policy | Site Map | Contact Us | Press Room | Bookstore | Donate
home |  art of living course  |  programs  |  meditation  |  service projects  |  founder | about us
© 2007 Art of Living Foundation. All Rights Reserved
Press Room | Centers | Course Schedules | Arizona Info
Creating the ultimate relationship
The complexity and difficulty of relationships make humans distinct from other
species.

The more advanced we are, the more we face the challenges of relationship.
Animals have no problem with relationships. They don't go for any counseling. Nor
do tribal societies have problems with relationships.There is a deep urge in every
human to get connected. This urge sets one to look for relationship. Once you have a
relationship, you want it to last forever. When you say, or hear someone say, "I love
you very much," the typical response is, "Will you love me forever?

" We want that love to be for all time. This moment someone is in love with you or you
are in love with someone, but that is not sufficient. Many also say, "I love you forever,
for lifetimes, till my last breath." The words may vary but we want the love to be
forever. We are not satisfied that we have the love only right now.Also, we would like
to know that the relationship is connected to the past. Often people say, "I'm sure we
had such a deep connection from the past, maybe you are my soul mate.

" We want the connection to be deep, and we aspire for it to last for eternity. This very
tendency in our relationship indicates something deeper. It shows the urge is
coming not from a mental level but from some unknown corner hat we have not
fathomed.

So what if someone was related to you in the past?
What is the need that they should be in your future? When things are nice and fine,
you think your relationship has always been that way, you have always been in love.
When things start to go wrong, even after many years, you think you must have been
mistaken and you were never together in a past life. Why then do so many stay
together for all those years? Just look at this. If our relationship is based on a
personal need, it is not going to last very long. Once the need is fulfilled, on a
physical level or emotional level, the mind looks for something else, somewhere
else. If the relationship comes from the level of sharing, then it can last longer.If you
know how to row a boat you can row any boat. If you don't know to row a boat,
changing the boat won't help. Changing the relationship does not solve the issue of
relationship. Sooner or later we will be in the same situation in any relationship. We
have to look somewhere else. We have to look somewhere deep within us from
where we start relating. First of all, what is our relationship to ourselves. Let us
ponder on that. Who are you to yourself?
Talks by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
More Talks by Sri Sri