Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Now I am not an expert on relationships. I would advise one thing for men and one for women. Women should never step on the ego of a man. The whole world may call him stupid but you must always say that he’s the most intelligent person. You shouldn’t question his abilities. Tell him, “You are the most intelligent person. Just because you don’t use it, doesn’t mean you don’t have it.” If you keep calling him stupid, then he will become that. Don’t ask for proof of his love for you. Take it for granted that they love you. If someone has to prove their love for you every day, he will be exhausted! We shouldn’t express our love too much. Very often the problem is that we express our love too much. If you keep the seed hanging on the surface, you’ll never see the roots. But if you bury it deep inside, then also it doesn’t sprout. Keep the seed planted. That should be how you express your love. Keep the dignity of love.

Now one suggestion for men is to never step on the emotions of a woman. If she complains about her mother, sister, family and so on, never join the band wagon. You will see she will suddenly switch side and You will be the target! Don’t stop her If she wants to do some meditation, go to a place of worship, do some spiritual practices. If she wants to go for shopping, give her your credit card. You will have peace at home.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

On the level of consciousness, there are certain experiences which you feel you have already experienced. Scientists say that life is only replay, shooting has already been done and we are only being projected on the screen. Also they say, according to string theory, that it is all vibrations. And this is coming from a scientist and not a philosopher.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Yes. Otherwise you could never sleep. If the desire haunts your head, you can’t sleep. You let go of the desire so you can sleep. At different times, different needs arise in your body and mind. So, you do not sit here and worry about what you are going to have for tomorrow’s dinner. You know that you have come here for a different purpose. An intention is different from the desire. An example of intention would be the thought that you want to go to New York, and you sit in the car and you drive. You go through Philadelphia and New Jersey. You take the turnpike or I-95 North until you get to New York. This is an intention. Desire is when you sit in the car and say, “I am going to New York, I am going to New York, I want to go to New York, I want to go to New York.” Continuously chanting like this may lead you ending up in the mental hospital. You won’t end up in New York. This is the difference with a sankalpa (an intention). An intention with attention and it will manifest. If the intention becomes a desire, it only brings grief whether it’s fulfilled or unfulfilled.
You know, in the 1960’s and 70’s we had the Hippie Movement. It was created out of abundance rather than lack. All of these people had everything in abundance. People who go to drug abuse or who are indulging in alcoholism are lacking in spiritual education or knowledge. They are seeking an experiential validation of their spirit. That is what leads to depression. There are large populations suffering from depression in the world today. According to statistics it will rise to as much as 50 percent in the coming decade, half the population will be depressed. We need to change this and Prozaic is not the solution. The solution is meditation and yoga.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Holding trishul signifies that Shiva is above three states – awake, dream and sleep. But who takes all these along with.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You don’t need to fit God in anywhere because He is everywhere! Please don’t try to find a place for Him. He is omnipresent. If you think you are going to find a place for Him, He will laugh at you. God is the sum of creation. God is that energy in which we all are. We cannot escape from that energy. God is not someone who is sitting up there in Heaven who punishes you when you do something wrong. He keeps quiet when you do a mistake and then comes with a stick. This idea of God may be there in books, yet to me, God is love. And love is permeating this whole creation in every way, everyone and everything. When you relax and take your mind inwards, you take this power. That is the basis of creation.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Whatever yoga you do should be done simply and naturally. You don’t have to give too much trouble to your body and make yourself uncomfortable. Just be normal and simple. To do hath yoga, one has to take a lot of precautions.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Don’t worry, you can have them. It is said usually but don’t just eat only those vegetables. Mix with beans, greens and lentils. You can have them but not in excess. Everything in excess is harmful. Just don’t eat them too much, and don’t make them a daily routine. Our system is strong. It can counter the ill affects of lower prana.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

If you recognize that you have ego, for God's sake don’t try to get rid of it. If you get rid of your ego, that itself will become the cause of a bigger ego trip. So if you find that there is ego, just keep it in your pocket. You know the only antidote for ego is being natural, or naturalness. Why do you want to get rid of your ego? Because it bothers you. More than others, your ego is bothering you. You are constrained, restrained and uncomfortable. You feel others don’t respect you or you are better than others. You compare yourself with others. So I would say, if you find that there is ego in you, let it be. We will not meddle with it. If it comes, let it come.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You are doubting your own experience. Thenit is surely true. We doubt the positive, and not the negative. We doubtsomebody’s honesty. Nobody has ever doubted dishonesty of a person. Same way, if somebody asks you if you arehappy, you say, “I don’t know whether I am happy or not”. But we are so sure ofour depression. We doubt in the existence of God. We never doubt in theexistence of this changeable and mortal world. Evolved scientists understand that there is a question mark on the apparently looking reality.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Confusion is a very good temporary state. Do you know when do you get confused? When you grow! When a particular concept in your mind just falls apart, breaks apart. You thought you were somebody, and that concept breaks so then there is confusion. So, it is a sign of growth. Is it shocking? Good. If you want to know who you are, you are in the right place and it is all right to be confused. In fact, we are all different yet we try to imitate others. That is where there is a problem. Just recognize the difference and celebrate the differences. To be yourself, you are in the right place. It’s all right to be different, your difference need not conflict with that of other people. People who are rebellious want to be different to compete. You can be different. You could be different, you don’t need to exhibit yourself as different. Got it?