18 June 2014 - QA 7

How can we attain this altered state of consciousness (enlightenment)?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

This is why we say, 'Do meditation'.
Why do we sing? So that there is activity in the right brain. And why do we discuss knowledge and logical things? So that there is activity in the left brain as well. That is why we have kept both, logic and music in satsang, so that there is a balance between both sides of the brain. There is a complete science on this.

Now, if someone sitting somewhere says, 'It is not possible', then what can you say to them? You can only say, 'Well, that is your experience'.
What is important is that one should be open to experience. But if someone says, ‘This is it, I know everything’, then you can’t say anything to them. If people are fanatic and they think, 'This is it, I know everything', then it is not correct.

Lord Mahavira (spiritual master who propagated Jainism) gave the sayatva, which is one of the most scientific approaches of dealing with the intellect. It says, ‘Perhaps there is something that I do not know.’
If someone says, ‘This is it, I know everything', it is not correct.’
That is why he spoke of sayatva: perhaps it could be some other way also. All is possible. That is a sign of a mature intellect, otherwise it is an immature intellect.

One can use jargons and write lots of books. Some of these pseudo-intellectual people who claim to be enlightened, they are a big problem for the world. They call themselves as Gurus and all that, but they have big egos. They know the answer and they criticize everybody.

Someone said, being like a child is stupidity; innocence is stupidity. These people have no understanding of stupidity and of innocence, and they criticize! They piggyback on other’s popularity; catch hold of popular people and piggyback on them.
Someone who has confidence on them self will not piggyback on someone else’s popularity. They will just do what they know, and what they want to do.

So, there is no need to comment on what others are saying. The main thing is that everybody has a right to exhibit their knowledge or their ignorance. This is my contention. Everyone has their right to exhibit not only knowledge, they have the right to exhibit their ignorance also.