Shiva Sutras

His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a spiritual leader and humanitarian, was born in 1956 In southern India He was often found deep in meditation as a child At the age of four, he astonished his teachers by reciting the Bhagavad Gita.

To globalise the knowledge of leading a happy stress-free life, H. H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: established an international educational and humanitarian NGO - ‘The Art of Living, in 1982 Today, with a presence in over 151 countries, the Art of ‘Living is one of the largest voluntary, organizations in the world.

A kite needs a string in order to fly through the sky Iii a similar way the Shiva Sutras offers threads to uplift our mind and let it soar to new heights.’ The Shiva Sutras describes the goal of life as life radiating the light of inner joy The magic of the Shiva Sutras is that each sutra is complete, offering us a way to go deeper Into our own nature, which is joy. Step by step, with inimitable humor and wisdom, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar takes from everyday life to guide readers on this journey of Innocence and love. Originally given as1 a commentary in Kannada, this commentary is now available in English.

In this edition, below the sutras is a paraphrase of each sutra in English. This addition will be useful for readers wishing to review the sutras and their meaning without having to re-read the whole book True to the meaning of a sutra, the translations capture the essence of each sutra in few words full of meaning, The paraphrase in most cases has been taken directly from Guruji’s commentary, and where necessary, slightly edited for conciseness.

Sanskrit words have been written in italics and spelt in a regular fashion, this will help those who may be unfamiliar with the sutras but still wish to read them with correct pronunciation. An appendix explaining the spelling and pronunciation is located at the back. Proper names have been made an exception to this system, and have been written according to common conventions.

It is our great pleasure to present to the English-speaking public a translation of Guruji’ Kannada talks on the Shiva Sutras. We hope it faithfully delivers the timeless, yet ever new message of the original commentary by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to all seekers on the path.