Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
What is the difference between being like a child and being responsible?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Take responsibility but with child-like simplicity. This saves your mind and helps you to fulfill your duties more effectively, and saves the trauma of worry.Q:
I worry a lot. How do I cope with it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are four ways to combat worrying:1. See your problem as small compared to other people. When a problem appears small, you are able to solve it. When a problem appears big, we don't even try to solve it.
Serving others who have bigger problems than ours makes it easier for us to solve our own problems.
2. Remember how you solved your past problems. It will bring strength and a smile to deal with problems. This invokes valor in you.
3. Have faith that whenever you are in trouble, you will always have a helping hand.
4. Remember that nature loves you, God loves you. You will overcome the problem.
Wherever there is a problem, all you need is prayerfulness, from a sincere heart.Think 'I can overcome’, and invoke the strength, the lion in you. And surrender to the Divine.
Wherever there is a problem, all you need is prayerfulness, from a sincere heart.Think 'I can overcome’, and invoke the strength, the lion in you. And surrender to the Divine.
Q:
Do our prayers reach the Divine? Many times they don’t get fulfilled. Why?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
ometimes, aren’t you happy that all your desires don’t get fulfilled? Your wants keep changing. When your mind is not steady, your desires keep changing. You want something today, and tomorrow you desire something else. See how many desires come up in your mind. If all of them are fulfilled, you would be miserable.Q:
Should one follow the heart or the head?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
A combination of both.Q:
Is winning in elections also karma?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sometimes, people win by wrong means, and think that they are enjoying the fruits of their actions. Whatever work is done by wrong means, the result will become momentary. Satyameva jayate- in the end truth will only triumph. If adharma (unrighteousness) has an upper hand for some time, we have to have patience. Fight with skill – not by burning buses, or vehicles. Fight adharma with awareness, not in the sway of emotions.Those who have won in the elections should be humble. They should not insult the ones who have lost. The ones who have lost should not lose their self-esteem. Read the Bhagvad Gita. The Gita says that winning and losing is the same. This is just a game. In life sometimes you win, other times you lose.
Don’t become sad if you lose. If you lost, so what! What’s the use of getting dejected? If someone has used wrong means to win, you must speak up, do whatever is possible by law, go to the higher authorities. Surrender your wins and losses to the Divine.
However, remember every position has been given to you for service only. Both are opportunities to do service. Remember, Mahatma Gandhi was not the head of the nation but he was called ‘The Father of the nation.’
There is no such thing as big seva (service) or small seva. The fruits of both are the same. Do service as much as you are capable of. Put all your energy into it. Whatever service you do within your capabilities will bear good result. The feeling, the intention behind every seva is important.
Q:
Is life governed by free-will or destiny?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Life is a combination of both. There are some things which are beyond your control. That is your destiny. Then there are things where you have a choice. That is free-will. If it’s raining outside, it’s your destiny as you have no control over the weather. However, to be wet or remain dry is your free-will.Past is your destiny, future is your free-will. And be happy in the present. A foolish person looks at the past as free-will with regret, future as destiny and is miserable in the present.
Q:
How can love move science?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When love for science is intense, it is already moving the world.The ultimate aim of a researcher is not to earn a livelihood. If the main aim of a researcher is to earn a livelihood, it is not a best quality research. It has to lead to a soul-search. Research is to know. The joy of knowing is itself the goal. Getting recognition is immaterial.
Q:
Some people have positive thoughts, while some have negative thoughts. How does one control this?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
By keeping a stress-free mind. If you have a stress-free mind, your thoughts will be positive.Q:
In spite of having so many great saints why is there so much of communal violence, cascades, conflicts. What is the problem with India? Are we going wrong somewhere?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
People who have been involved in these activities have never been in touch with any of these spiritual leaders.Q:
How to forgive and let go of things?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you see a culprit from a broader perspective, forgiveness becomes natural.
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Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress-management and service initiatives.
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