Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Why chant the shanti mantra three times after meditation? Does it have a different significance each time?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, no. It means ‘Inner peace, peace in the world, peace in the soul.Q:
Dear Guruji, I can’t forget this guy. He is not good for me but still I am in love with him. Even though I haven't seen him in ten months and I hardly know him. Can you explain?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Wait till you find somebody else. Then you will forget all about that guy. Our mind is very strange. You know, the greatest, real stranger to us isnot somebody else but our own mind.Q:
Guruji, is it true you have some super power. You have stopped rain so many times just looking at sky, you can read thoughts.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know love is the most super power in this world and that power is with everybody, not only with me. When mind is free from lust, greed, possessiveness, arrogance etc., when the mind is in the pure form with which we were all born with, then nature listens to you. You are a child of nature and nature loves you. When that manifests, when you are clear then two things happen - your wishes get fulfilled and you can fulfill others’ wishes also. When you are content, that is when blessing happens, Don’t think only Guruji can do it. This is no achievement and no effort is required. That isnatural from our state of being, that state of innocence. Most of us have lost it but I still haven’t lost it.Q:
Even trees and plants are smiling here in the ashram! Please help me get rid of my anger!
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Have you done the course? No? Do the course yourself!Q:
Guruji I want to understand what it means when people say one should donate their eyes, organs after death. How can we, when this body itself does not belong to us?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
It is ok to give or donate your eyes or organs. After you are gone realize that it is not yours so let anyone take whatever he or she want.You know abroad people also plan what they should wear when they die, where they should be buried. They are so attached to those things, to their body.
Primitive thinking creates fear. It doesn’t matter, whatever you donate, as it is it is not yours so why worry and think so much about it.
Q:
What is difference between prayer and meditation?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Prayer is asking, meditation is listening. In prayer, you ask, ‘Give me this, give me that’, giving instructions, demanding. In meditation, you say, ‘I am here to listen, what is it that you want to tell? Tell me, whenever you are free, I am here. Culmination of prayer is meditation. Prayer goes to the peak and that is meditation.Q:
I am beginning to experience the futility of existence. Why am I here? There is confusion, what should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Good Luck! It is good luck when the small identity dissolves and the bigger is attained. Everybody seeks pleasure for the mind (mann), but having a pleasant consciousness is something else! Every single part of the body is soaked in pleasantness. There is a difference between entertainment and enjoyment. Entertainment brings you short term happiness. Meditation penetrates the whole body in the form of vibrations.We assume that our likes and thought patterns, desires and frustrations are our identity. When that dissolves, one begins to wonder “who am I?”. This is OK, it is the first step. However, you need to establish yourself in Sadhana(spiritual practices) and the knowledge. Satsang is very important. All the scriptures also explain the importance of Satsang, otherwise the mind tends to wander and get lost in other things.Q:
To break the cycle of birth and death we have to attain mukti/liberation, then why do enlightened masters reincarnate?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
With one goal - to help those who are in need and on the other hand just to play.Q:
Vairaghya(Dispassion), Moksha (Liberation) & Siddhi ( - Is this escapism or the path to enlightenment?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The path of enlightenment is freedom/liberation. Wanting freedom is not escapism. Freedom will allow you to complete your duty sincerely.Q:
Guruji, many times after satsang I find it difficult to sleep. Is there something that can help me to sleep?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, sometimes, the energy is high so you find it difficult to sleep. Tonight, try a cup of milk, maybe. Don’t drink tea before going to bed. Do you fall asleep in satsang? Find that out.
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