Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
I am a strong believer of family values. So under the circumstances that we are in now, some of the most tolerant societies are beginning to show intolerance. We are hearing bad news from all over the world. What values should we inculcate in our children from our home?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
As I said,- Non- violence
- Compassion
- Sense of belongingness
- To live with differences and to live with disagreements.
Q:
Where does will power come from?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Will power comes from ego.Q:
Jai Gurudev, today a lot of inter-cast marriages and marriages between religions are happening. It has become a way of life. Are we moving towards a universal religion? What is your opinion?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You have answered your own question; actually it is just a remark. Yes it is happening, inter-religions, inter-caste marriages are happening. As long as there is harmony and there is respect for religion and people don’t force one to convert to another religion there is no problem. But if they are forcing someone to convert then there is a problem.Q:
When we do Sadhana, do we connect with the soul or with God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Are they separate or one? Are waves and the ocean separate or one? The wave is soul and the ocean is God. When there is ‘I’consciousness, it is the soul, and when the ‘I’ness is at rest, it is God. So no one has ever gone or can go outside of God. Now look, can you live without oxygen? But sometimes, when it is extremely hot, you feel suffocated even though air is there. When you sit under the fan you can feel the air. Similarly, Satsang and meditation are like the fan. If you sit with the fan, you will feel the breeze. This is known as being in the ‘presence’ (Saanidhya). It is not that the ‘presence’ is not there, it is there but we begin to experience it, as we feel the breeze when we sit near the fan. Similarly in Sadhana, we begin to experience what is God. We experience Love.Q:
Guruji, sometimes I feel connected with you but sometimes there is link failure. How it happens and why it happens? My son got blessings from you and has become mad about you. And my wife says you are taking him on the same path on which you are going, it will ruin our family. What is the result for it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, we never take anybody or tell anyone not to listen to their parents. Our main thing is listening to your parents. Don’t worry about it, he won’t run away from the home. (Q: What about link failure?) – Charge your batteries! You know for a cell phone to work there should be charge in the cell and then a sim card and it should be within the range. Range is already there but if your battery has lost its charge, you have to plug in and charge your battery again, that is all you need to do.Q:
When everything happens through the law of karma, what is the role of God?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This law is God. The law by which everything is happening is God.Q:
Guruji, how to increase saatvic knowledge in life?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
By means of what you just did: going beyond the three gunas (Saatvic, Raajasic and Taamasic) through meditation. In meditation we get deep rest and freshness, purity, peace and joy arise spontaneously. How does joy arise - when you are at peace, at rest. That is why it is said, ‘nistraye gunyo nitya satvastu ’: as you rise above the three gunas, Sattva increases. Do not be attached even to good deeds. Drop everything. In deep rest none of these gunas exist. In sleep there is tamo guna, in work there is rajo guna, and when you are not working or engaged in thought, there is sato guna. When you sit in meditation, in that state of thoughtlessness, you transcend the three gunas; and when you come back, sattva rises. By the way, rajo guna is useful in getting rid of tamo guna through awakening frustration and anger. As sato guna increases, rajo guna quiets down. And when you get past sato guna also, sattva is enhanced.Q:
Guruji, at the time of death, does someone come to escort us? Two years ago, my father passed away. At the time of his passing, he appeared to be telling someone, ‘wait, I am coming’. When he was in pain, we would chant ‘Jai Guru Dev, Om Namah Shivaya’ into his ear and he would laugh like a baby. So what was it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
At the time of death, divine beings escort the soul with respect and honour. If someone has committed bad deeds in life, yama doot drags the soul away. Association with the enlightened brings honour and respect. Like a chief guest in a program is welcomed respectfully, and an uninvited guest is thrown out. The treatment we get in subtle world is same as the treatment we get in the earthly world. So if we leave with contentment, we are taken to other world respectfullyQ:
Can you give a comprehensive definition of mind? Is it soul or prana or nervous system – please explain.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You want to know? Why do you want to know? This wanting to know is mind. Are you listening? The listening faculty is mind. Through ear the consciousness hears, through eyes it sees, through nose it smells. That which experiences the world through the senses is mind. Got it?Q:
Guruji, yesterday you had said that among yantra, tantra and mantra, tantra is the technique. Chandraswami was a very well known taantrik, and once it had so happened that all over India, Lord Ganesh was drinking milk, and a dharma guru used to be known for his ability to cough up Shivalings. What king of tantra (technique) was that? In the villages there are individuals who by their mere speech can cause someone’s house to burn to ashes, or a catastrophe to happen. What kind of tantra is that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are several kinds of tantras. ‘Vaam tantra’ employs evil spirits, and ghosts to accomplish one’s ends. But that kind of tantra will not work wherever there is saatvikta, knowledge and devotion (bhakti). You all meditate, do pranayama and chant mantras. In your presence that kind of tantra will be ineffective. Incidents such as Lord Ganesh drinking milk are phenomena of the subtle world – some divine energy displaying its power and influence to arouse and awaken people. Some taantriks who perform small, little miracles go through a lot of suffering afterwards. They are unable to stay happy. These taantriks attain minor occult powers (siddhis) by subduing spirits of the netherworld (Karna pishaachi – ear demons) that allow them to impress gullible people with their ability to read their thoughts and concerns. However the advice that such taantriks give is highly inaccurate and unreliable. How many people have experienced this? (A few in the audience raise their hands.) Some tantric can describe your past accurately but are unable to predict the future correctly, and only 10-20% of what they say is true. My advice is that if you come across something like this, keep your distance (DSN, door se namaskaar!). Don’t get entangled in it. Twenty five or thirty years ago, there was a man in west Delhi who would tell people to blow on a blank sheet of paper, dip the paper in water, and pull it out with something written on it – usually questions and concerns in their minds. Someone from the satsang proposed that I also meet him. So I went. He asked me to blow on a sheet of blank paper which he then dipped in the water; but when he pulled it out, the paper was still blank!! The man was amazed, and fell at my feet, and began to perform aarti. I said to him, ‘Don’t exploit this siddhi (occult power) to deceive people. Instead inspire them to follow the path of goodness and virtue. Advise everyone to meditate, sing bhajans and perform seva. If your powers can benefit others, definitely use them.’ These powers can be labelled as neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad’. It is all divine play. Do not condemn anything – this is my policy. Do not get involved too deeply in these affairs. If there is some knowledge to be gained or any blessings, take it and move on.