Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Why do liars, sinful people progress more than honest people?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
People who practice unethical ways, cannot come up in life. This is the truth. It will not be sustained.You have patience. Don’t think that all honest people are suffering. Suffering is not because of honesty, but because of foolishness.
You have to have smartness, intelligence, dynamism, and creativity alongwith honesty.
Sudarshan Kriya* - a stress-elimination breath technique that is taught in Art of Living programs
Q:
You told that God can be experienced in a state of effortlessness. What does it mean to be effortless?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
: Being effortless does not mean stop eating, drinking or doing other work. This has a deeper meaning. Keep on doing all your work, and while doing your work, know inside you that you are doing nothing. In the beginning, you sit for some time and experience that you are doing nothing. Then you will start experiencing that even you are doing but there is a field in you which is not doing anything. Ancient sages had beautifully explained this. There are two birds sitting on the same tree. One is eating and the other is only witnessing this. In the above context, it is the free bird which is being discussed, the bird which is effortlessly witnessing. Pay attention to that also. The two birds are friends. They live together. One is always witnessing and other is involved in all the work. Effortlessness does not mean sitting idle. Lord Sri Krishna said in Geeta that you cannot be without doing any action even for a second. Keep on doing your karma and at the same time be the witness of your karma. This is very deep knowledge.After the session a book was released – Understanding Shiva. While launching the book Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told that the book also included a scientific perspective of all pervading Shiva tattva.Q:
How to have celebration when I feel tired with service?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That means you have not completed your service. And when service is done with the spirit of celebration, then it does not tire you or wear you off. See you have been so enthusiastic for two –three days, but I don’t see any of you tired. You gain so much silence with meditation, and you should take care of that. There should be moderation in activity, moderation in talk, moderation in everything. Do not over do in anything.Q:
How do I know I am progressing on the spiritual path?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Your doubt itself proves that you are progressing on the path. If there would have been no progress you would have said this with conviction- I have made no progress at all.Q:
Is memory a blessing or curse?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Forgetting bad things is a blessing. Forgetting good things can be a curse.Q:
How to increase the belonging-ness and Sattva in energy, to be able to bring more people into this path?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This question, I leave it with you. Keep asking this question. Time to time you get ideas and implement those ideas. And get people to be peaceful, happy, what we call sattvik. Sattvik means harmonious, the harmony within yourself and the harmony with your world.Q:
How old are you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I am a little over half a century but I still have a few more years.You know everybody wants peace. Peace is the innate need of people but they don’t know how to get rid of the negative emotions, tendencies, anger and frustrations. Education is needed in the world today to teach people how to let go of the negativity, let go of the past and move on to the future.
Q:
You said that violence ceases to exist around ones who are fully established in non – violence. Does that mean Lord Krishna was not fully established in violence for a huge war took place in his presence?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The secret behind this is existence of different circumstances. One is individual karma and one is collective karma. One is karma done for the sake of whole world. When sin and injustice reached its peak, He had to take a step. It is like different dosage of medicine is given under different circumstances. For a minor headache, the dose is different. And it is different for a severe headache.Gahana karmo gati – The movement of karma is very deep and not easily comprehensible.
Q:
I can’t think of more questions. Please tell me some question to ask?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That’s good. My job is not to tell you or give you questions but to take away your questions.Q:
Guru, you said being a perfectionist is a cause of stress. Yet everything about you is so perfect. You are perfect, your actions are perfect, your words are perfect, your understanding of God is so perfect, this Ashram is perfect and so many other things. What is the difference between your perfect thinking or, mine or ours?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Just that you have to look at yourself in the mirror. That’s it. You move from perfection to perfection. You move from one perfection to another higher perfection. That’s how you have to look at life. Otherwise you see this is not perfect, everything is imperfect, everything is hopeless. And we tend to get into negative framework. Isn’t it?