Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
What is more important, ones upbringing or one’s cast? People who believe in cast system and religion are against intercast marriages. So what matters most-the values of that human or the cast and religion of that human?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
One should see the humanity the most.Q:
Why does a desire arise? Where does it come from? What is the purpose?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
All desires have got one goal, and that is happiness. If a desire brings unhappiness, it has not reached its goal. The goal of desires is to bring happiness. So, that is the purpose.Where does it come from? It comes when you are not aware of your Being, your Self. Desire is your wanting to stay in the moment. Desire is to experience joy. Joy is only in the moment. And when you are in the moment, there is no desire. When you are joyful, when you are satisfied, there is no burning desire at that time.
Q:
My husband practices Sudarshan Kriya but does wrong deeds. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
How can this be? Then he may be doing Sudarshan Kriya just as an excercise. Bring him for a follow up, or meditation camps. Or, may be what you see as a wrong deed is not perceived so by him. Talk to him.Q:
For doing any work, I think Guruji is asking me to do it. It works, but it has hampered my normal living.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You should have a balance - what your inner voice says, what your gut feeling is, and then use your inner strength rest of the time. The one hampering you-that’s called ‘yoga maya’. Sometimes ‘yoga maya’ comes in mind and says things which are not correct also. That’s why we shouldn’t lose our intellectual discrimination ability while ordering and understanding to inner dimensional consciousness. This state happened to Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa also, and to many enlightened people in the world that the inner vision comes, a voice comes. So, go with a balance. Go slow with both intellect and feelings. Got it? Your feelings are as important as your intellect. Many people survive only on intellect and some survive only on feelings. The best thing in life is to have a balance between emotions and intellect, between heart and the mind.Q:
What is Enlightenment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The book ‘Celebrating Silence’ contains little excerpts on many topics. You read that and then we will discuss about it.Q:
What is the difference between religion and spirituality?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Spirituality joins everything. Different beliefs are there like somebody may be Vaishnav, somebody may be Hindu, somebody may be Christian, but spirituality is experience. I often say, religion is like a banana peel and spirituality is the fruit inside.Q:
How to control desire?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Be in the now. Desire is wanting to be happy tomorrow. Be happy and joyful now. Like children, if you ask them what they want, they will say nothing. Because they are happy with 'now'.Q:
We read in some mythological stories that the yogis curse. Why do the yogis curse? On one hand they ask everybody to be happy, do meditation etc. then why curse?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When a yogi curses, even it helps one in some way. The anger of a learned one is also useful, and the love of an ignorant is harmful. For example, in a village when the children cry and say they don’t want to go to school, the mothers ignorantly tells them, instead of sending the child to school , to stay back and play at home, or take the herd to jungle. This may be harmful for the children in the long run. Likewise a yogi’s anger may be inspirational and may do good to others.Q:
I cannot think of moving away from ‘Art of Living’. Is it attachment or restlessness of soul?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Once you have learnt a language and started to converse in it, you cannot forget that language. Same way once you have acquired knowledge, there is no question of losing it. It gets solidified in you.Ancient people of India were so intelligent that they kept Laxmi(goddess of wealth) on lotus, and Saraswati(goddess of knowledge) on stone. Lotus does not remain stable on the surface of water and it moves as the water moves. But a stone is solid and stable. Once you get knowledge, it becomes part of you, not only for this lifetime but also for lifetimes to come.
Q:
My friends who have not done the course keep on asking me which meditation is best for them. What should I tell them?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are many CDs here. Any one will work.