Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Should we follow the character and play of Gods?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is a story in each character. One should follow the character of God like Sri Rama’s character but the play of Lord Krishna is notto be followed. Play of God is not comprehensible.
Do as what Sri Rama did but do as what Sri Krishna said and not did. If you follow Lord Krishna’s play and do all that He did, you will end up in a jail, then you reach your birth place. (Audience laughs) When you listen to Lord’s play, your heart becomes joyful. Everything is Lord’s play only.
Q:
For fifteen years I’ve been with the same job and my boss doesn’t respect me at all. Should Iquit and start my own business? Please give me some direction.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Choice is yours, blessings are mine.Q:
Is wanting to find a lot of love in your life considered to be feverishness?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you are aware of the feverishness, “Oh I want it”, then it is feverishness. Otherwise you just relax. Suppose you want to go to Jerusalem. You think about it and then you go. Your feverishness is ‘Oh I want to go to Jerusalem, Oh I want to go…’ Feverishness is ‘Oh I want a boyfriend, or I want a girlfriend’. Looking at every girl and every boy, running after them, annoying them, this is feverishness. Have you seen sometimes how people annoy you? Girls here may know better. A boy is in love with you and keeps running after you. How many of you find it irritating? So, only you can decide if it is feverishness or not.Q:
I have a habit of recalling the pleasant memories of life again and again, as it gives a glimpse of the same pleasure as I felt in the past. Is it something to be cautious of, can it hinder my growth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It’s alright, don’t make an effort to sit and go on remembering the past. I think you have too much free time. Get busy and start working. There are so many things to do in the world. Where is the time to live in the past, recollect all the past. Right? The world is new every moment. Go with it. Don’t turn back and keep looking back. Move forward.Q:
How can one be both friendly and centered?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you don’t expect anything from your friends then you will be centered. You know, when you are friendly some sort of expectation is there, you enjoy being friendly. Stop enjoying being friendly. But be friendly because it’s your very nature. Then you will be centered.Q:
What if I don’t reach my goal and experience misery instead?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you are doing good things in the world, you will never find yourself in a bad spot. Misery will never come to you when intentions and actions are benevolent.Q:
Dear Guruji, many of us who are on the spiritual path desire self-realization not only for ourselves but for society at large. Has such an enlightened human society ever existed on this planet, and is it utopian for one to desire this for our society in the future?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You should desire for utopia, you should have dream. You know, what you think impossible, you should really dream for it and make it possible. We did one village like that in India. There was a notorious village, notorious in the sense that nobody would go into the village after five or six o’ clock, because of robbers, thieves, full of crime and a lot of problems. This village was adopted by one of our teachers, and you know, what he turned that whole place into in three months? Unbelievable! He took this village and made everyone do the course. Now, everybody in the village, Young and old, sing and dance in the satsang everyday. They have made a rule that anybody, who smokes or drinks or any substance abuse, will be fined. So, the village is free of smoking and drinking, the entire village has become organic, and they have a shop without a shopkeeper. I have also brought a CD of this village.In my last trip, Swami Pragyapalji told me that we have such a village, and that there is a shop without any shopkeeper but the shop runs very well. People take the needed stuff and put the money in the basket there. People were all astonished that the village has been running like this since the last two and half years. A shop without a shopkeeper and nobody steals. And they have removed locks from all the doors. No door has any locks, no house has any locks and it has become the most self-sufficient village. It has pure drinking water and the entire village is painted in pink color. Everybody chose to have pink color on their walls as a symbol of unity. Both the government of India and government of Maharashtra gave this village cash awards calling it the most ideal village. So, one teacher, if you could imagine something that is thought of as utopia, made it possible.
After seeing this, 180 villages are on the way to become ideal villages.
In New Delhi, few volunteers thought to clean the Delhi for Asian games are coming. In India, there is lot of garbage here and there, and people don’t keep streets clean. They would take things out and dump those in streets. So, they started with this idea to clean Delhi.
They thought to forget about government for everyone keep blaming the government. You cannot imagine what a group of few ‘Art of Living’ volunteers have achieved? They inspired one million people to come up and take the brooms, take the plastic bags and segregate the garbage, and clean the whole city. They could gather one million volunteers in a city of 15 million people, and they are doing this from 12th of September. The Delhi government, who was never cooperative with the ‘Art of Living’, in the sense they never came to any of our functions, suddenly woke up and decided to help them. Now, the government is announcing the great job done by the ‘Art of Living’ volunteers.
So, you should think, plan and dream what you really want. It may not happen immediately but you can achieve that.
Q:
If a person feels emptiness inside in spite of having material prosperity and a good family, what should he do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
He should consider himself to be very lucky to feel that there is something more in life besides eating, drinking and sleeping. When you feel that emptiness within, then only the quest for the truth arises.Q:
I would like to bring some reformations and changes in my village. However, every time, I meet with so many obstacles and it is quite frustrating for me. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sanghe shakti kaliyuge. One or two people alone can't bring in a reform. A coming together is required. For that knowledge must dawn. So bring people to programs like this. Bring people together and do this work. What we do sometimes fails and if the failure repeats you can lose your courage. When we want to bring in reforms, even if we fail 10 times we should go ahead. We have to be so strong. Know that you will never be alone. Come together and work to increase awareness in society. Do satsangs. I will guide you constantly.Q:
Guruji, I am from Kerela. I want to ask – what does it mean to do puja (worship)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is a saying that talks about puja. Yen ten prakaren,Yatra kutrapi dehina,Santosham janaye pragyaTadaye vishva lochanCreate patience in people. When you bring a wave of happiness, wherever you go, that is puja. Whatever way when you create happiness and patience, that is puja, truly worshiping God. How beautiful it is!