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.