Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Could you please tell us what we could do to make you proud of us?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I have already said it. All the five points that you learn in the Art of Living course. Know them from an existential level, from your heart and being, not just the head. Opposite values are complementary. Accept people and situations as they are. Do not be a foot ball of other people’s opinions. Give your hundred percent. Forgive and forget the past. (You can make me proud) by being useful to the society, by not wasting your time. Keep yourself busy.Q:
What is the difference between ego and self-esteem?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No one can take away your self esteem from you. Ego cannot be sustained and so it troubles you. When there is satva (pure energy) and wisdom, ego does not trouble you. Ego needs the presence of the other. Self esteem does not.Q:
Enlightened masters and astrologers often predict the future. Does it mean that the future is fixed already?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If nature were a dead phenomenon, you could predict it, the way a machine is always predictable. But it is alive, so you can’t predict its behavior.If a car is moving, you can predict where it is going (right, left, or straight). But can you predict the movements of a cat? Can we predict which way it will turn, and where it will sit? It is the same with the mind.
Nature is not dead, it is alive. Yet, enlightened people can predict, but only to some extent.
That is called “maya” and the world is called the “maya of the mayavi” – it is the will of God, will of nature. God is also mischievous: if we plan to do something He often plans to do something else.
Nature is a lively, dynamic existence: “sat chit anand”. Because it is pure consciousness, chaitanya, it cannot be predicted 100 percent.
Q:
In whichever field we go, there is always someone who is better than us – this creates an inferiority complex. How do we cope with it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t look at others. Always look at yourself and stop comparing. If you compare then there is no end. At every level, this can go on. We should only compare with our own self. What was I two years ago, and what am I now?Q:
If mukti (liberation) is our nature then why are we in bondage?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Who says mukti is our nature? Our nature is bliss. Love and enjoyment can put you in bondage, if it is devoid of knowledge. With knowledge, the same love, the same enjoyment leads you to the experience of liberation.Liberation and bondage go together. If there is liberation, there will be bondage and vice-versa. Liberation is valued because of bondage. If there is no bondage, what is there to be liberated from?
Similarly we can be liberated, that is why we experience bondage. With the desire for liberation we come to know that we are in bondage. If the desire for liberation has not risen then you will not even come to know of bondage.
Q:
How to increase the seva bhav(intention to serve)?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Do not intend to increase the seva bhav. We assume that we lack the attitude of service and then try to increase it, so it doesn’t happen!That is why we assume we have seva bhav in abundance . What stops you from doing seva is laziness. You can get rid of laziness by giving importance to the right diet and some exercise. Doing seva by yourself might seem difficult, so do it in a group. That is why it is said,
“Ekastapasvi, dhwiradhyayi” -when you have to do adhyayan( Study), do it in a group. When you do tapas(penance), do it by yourself. Similarly, when you do seva, do it in a group. That leads to a rise in enthusiasm and is less tiring.
Q:
What is knowledge for? To earn money or social good? What should we do if someone uses knowledge to earn more money?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
That is wrong. If knowledge is used to earn money, it will give not benefits, either to the receiver or to the giver.Q:
I did the Basic course 4 days ago. Somehow I have gathered courage to ask this question. I haven’t ever heard you before. But this moment I am getting some vibrations. It’s different. I don’t know if I am able to express it or not. I want to ask what is the essence, the power in you?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I have no idea.Q:
Is it rightly said that if you have Guru in one life, you will have same Guru in all the lifetimes?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You want to leave the work of the Guru incomplete in this life time? You want to be stuck in this lifetime & leave the remaining knowledge to the next life? Then you don’t need a Guru in this lifetime!Q:
When love is our essence, why do we seek love from others?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Perhaps you don’t know that love is your essence – that’s why! If you knew, you wouldn’t ask.
Displaying 5531 - 5540 of 7916
Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress-management and service initiatives.
Mehr