Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Once you see yourself acting in a pattern, you are already stepping out of it.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do not ask them “Do you really love me?” Ask them “why do you love me so much?” Tell them they love you too much and “I think I don’t deserve this.” You have to go on this trip and do everything with style. Any problem in life should be handled with style.The whole of life is a game to be played. It is not a struggle. Nothing can destroy you. You are a drop of immortality, a drop of something eternal. Your spirit is eternal. And it is alright if this does not ring a bell right now. I will just say what I know and some day you might authenticate it. Do not be afraid of anything. We have no choice.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You must study and keep doing little seva. It doesn’t matter how much seva you do. Do according to your capacity, with your heart in it. That would be equal to doing seva like anyone with great capabilities.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You tell me the answer. If you really want an answer then sit and think about it. If in your mind this question has arisen, the answer will also come. You have some notion of acceptance in your mind and some other notion of labeling. That’s why you are using two different words. You won’t ask the difference between ‘Kela’ (banana in Hindi) and ‘Banana’. When we ask the difference we already know what that difference is. You already know in your mind and a little introspection will give you the answer.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Let me remind you of 1999. There was a hue and cry in North America. The world is going to shut down. There was going to be a big disaster. But nothing happened. I think it will be the same in 2012 as well. Business as usual. But people will be more creative. Children will be more spiritual. People will imbibe human values more. The amount of violence, the sense of aggression and violence will decrease. We will make more sustainable choices. Naturally we will become more spiritual. There will be less addiction and sickness.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No way, you can’t increase your love. It is already there. You simply have to relax and realize it is there. Never question or doubt your love. You think, ‘Oh, others are having tears in their eyes and I am not having any’. Never mind, never look from at things that angle. Every child from the mother’s womb is complete. It is not that the first child is more complete than second and third is further less. Every mother knows that every child is full, complete. Same way your love is total, complete, at its height. Never doubt that and never compare it with others.If you feel your expression of love is less, it is because of your selfishness. All that you can do is be generous, be less selfish and you can’t do it overnight. Day by day, slowly be more generous, be more centered, and be more dispassionate. Then the love which is inside you, will start expressing itself.Even in the expression of love it should not be too much or too less. It should be the middle path. The problem in the world is that in the West, they express love too much. Husband and wife keeps on saying ‘honey’ and then they become diabetic (laughter), can’t touch honey any more. (laughter) It is just the opposite in the East, they never express love at all. Both ways are extreme. There should be a middle path. It’s like you want a seed to sprout, it neither sprouts when buried deep down in the soil nor when it is put on the top. It needs a little bit of soil and put in it and that’s it. Take the best of the orient and the best of the occidental. That is the middle path.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I will give this question back to you. And that is my mission - to put this question back to you. Who are you? When you ask yourself who you are, the journey has begun. The spiritual journey just begins with these two questions. Asking others is futile. You ask yourself ‘ who am I?’ and ‘what do I want to do in my life?’.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You should take ayurvedic medicines- brahmi, and shankhpushpi etc. as per your age. And the food habits that we have in our country is not good for memory power because we eat so much starch, so much of carbohydrate and so little vegetables. So, change your diet. Have more intake of proteins, vegetables and fruits, and some ayurvedic supplements like brahmi etc. This, along with your pranayama and yoga will improve memory.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you look back you will find that you are not the same as before. That person of the past is not there any longer.See how strong you have become!
Sometimes the thought arises that despite so many years of sadhana, I still get angry. But see now, the intensity is far less. Sometimes the past impressions (samskaras) come up.Still, on this path if you have taken ten steps ahead, you will not slip back completely. You may go back four steps, not completely ever.
There is a permanent transformation that happens within us.
We are just not that same person. Walking on this path even donkeys turn into God, what to say of men? (Is path par gadhe bhi chal chal kar khuda ho jaata hai to aadmi ki kya baat hai.)
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes. I say don’t see intention behind others’ mistakes. When somebody does something wrong often we say they intentionally did this wrong to me. So when we see from a broader perspective, every culprit is also a victim. Inside every culprit there is a victim crying for help. They may be a victim of lack of education or lack of information, stress, narrow-mindedness. All these would cause someone to become a culprit. And we are simply looking at the culprit part of them. We don’t see that the person is also a victim.Every child should study a little bit about different religions and cultures. If people knew just a little bit about what Jesus said, what the Upanishads say, what the Vedas say, what Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam say, there would not be a single terrorist in the world. Today’s terrorism is a result of Puritanism: i.e. when people say, “Only my religion is pure. I should keep away from other religious books or I should not be educated in those things. Only this is the way.” That type of religious indoctrination in children has given rise to Taliban sort of movements in the world. We have lost so many people to terrorism.
We have globalized Pepsi, Coke and potato chips but we have not globalized wisdom! It should be compulsory for every nation to give a multi-religious, multi-cultural education to all children. Then not one terrorist will be there in the world.