Why do we ring the bell in a temple?

Why do we ring the bell in a temple?

You cannot think, ‘I am doing good work, but why are people criticizing me?’ It is their nature. The nature of a thorn is to prick and the nature of a flower is to spread fragrance. The world has both thorns and flowers. If the flower asks the thorn ‘Why do you prick?’ the thorn will answer ‘it is my nature’.

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Q: Is it love or surrender when I feel your presence in meditation?

Guruji: Surrender with love. And that which happens with surrender is love.

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Q: How to have strong will power?

Guruji: When you want to have strong will power, know that you already have it.
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Q: I want to be your best instrument. Will you make me?

Guruji: Yes. Good. Good.
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Q: Guruji, I feel I am stuck. I am unable to spread knowledge. What should I do?

Guruji: You don’t need to do that what you cannot do. Nobody expects you to do anything which you cannot do. But whatever you can do, you must do. This is because when we do service, it does good to other people, and that brings us immense satisfaction too.

Okay, before you leave, I want you to give me all your worries. I want you to go home with a big smile. And whenever you feel you are down, upset, not feeling happy or good, remember you are not alone! I am with you!

My dream is to see everyone with a big smile, and the whole world as one family. And I would like you all to join me in this dream to make a violence-free, stress-free, and happy society.

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Q: Why do we ring the bell in a temple?

Guruji: Because there are so many thoughts wandering in your mind, with the sound of the bells you come into the present. Your thoughts come to a halt.

The drummers beat large drums, play the Naadaswaram, shehnai, bells, and conch. All these sounds are made so that your mind becomes quieter.

Your mind is like a kid. When a kid is crying, you cry louder than the kid and the kid becomes quiet. Have you noticed that? In the same way, when there is so much noise in your mind and too many thoughts, they blow the conch, ring the
bell and with all the sounds, the mind comes to the present moment.

With so much noise around, the mind cannot think. It cannot wander. So it is used as a technique.

All outside sounds suppress the sound of the mind for a little while. This short-term suppression should lead the mind to silence. Once it goes into the depths of meditation, all words feel burdensome. But when the mind is full of words, and you are troubled by too many thoughts, these sounds bring relief. Have you seen in the Buddhist monastery, there is a big gong? They ring the gong and that vibration will keep you silent. So, from sound to silence, the journey is very important.

Om Namah Shivay