Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because you are so special. I pay attention to only ordinary people to make them extraordinary. You are already extraordinary.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I know there is a lot of work that needs to be done. There is work for the reformers, work for the doctors. The doctor’s job is to treat the patient but if the doctor falls sick there is no hope for patient! So if we lose our smile we cannot bring a smile onto the face of others. We need to be centered; we need to work hard to bring the smile back onto the faces of the people.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sitting close and listening is Upanishad. Upanishad is a collection of discourses of high knowledge, and the manner it was transmitted from a Master to students is very interesting.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The sound of ‘Om namah shivaya’ includes all the five elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether. Hinduism is not a religion as such. People have beenchanting this for thousands of years. Mantras are those sounds which you hear from deep within during meditation and the aim is to bring one back to the source. During later days, people started putting faces and drawings to these mantras. Mantras have got certain vibrations/ energy. They are universal.Even in churches in Latin America ‘Marnah nath’ is used. Its translation in Latin and Sanskrit is so close. For ‘Lord’ the word in Latin is nath and also in Sanskrit the word nath is used to mean ‘Lord’. So the word marnah nath meaning ‘My lord’ which is used in Christianity is actually a Sanskrit word.
Chanting in Sanskrit is beneficial because Sanskrit is the oldest language known to mankind. It has a deep impact on the consciousness. We welcome all songs – Japanese, Korean, Spanish. Any song you want to sing is welcome. We sing a lot of songs inSpanish and Portuguese in satsangs in South America. Of course, in India everybody easily connects with ancient mantras. Take any language you want but along with it take this also. How many of you feel singing and chanting these mantras creates some vibrations? (All raise hands in affirmation) It’s obvious. In Vedic chanting, many times you don’t know even the meaning but it has some effect.
In the morning we did Rudra Abhishek, this has been practiced for over thousands of years. We use crystal, milk, yoghurt and flowers etc. They all create a certain impact and send out positive vibrations.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
What you can fulfil, focus on that! Be happy you fulfilled two commitments, next time go on with three, four..., focus on that.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There is a lot of work to be done. There area lot of needs. 30% of the Europe is depressed and we have this beautiful knowledge that can help people overcome depression and suicidal thoughts. It would be very nice for us to work together towards a vision of a world with less suffering. I would like to have many youth to do Art of Living work full time. 3 - 4 days to go out and teach everybody. Once you become a teacher youcan teach, create a community for Art of Living here. You can have your own ashram here. Meditate here. Each one can do their job, and still contribute. It’s a common pool where everyone can contribute. You can start up a community kitchen. You don’t have to worry about grocery shopping. One person can go shopping, one person can cook, and everyone can take it in turns. A small community of 60 to 100 people can live like this. There can be celebration, meditation and yoga.The whole atmosphere will become so uplifting! In the Bangalore Ashram, we have 800 people living together. Before we were only 10 to 12 people. Now there are so many people who want to come and live here at the ashram that we don’t have place. It’s because nobody needs to worry about their electricity bills, house, tax, and food. It is all being taken care of and everybody can contribute in whichever way they want to. The same is happening in Germany, Canada, USA and has recently started in Argentina. Our life is too short to spend time on unnecessary and unwanted things. Half of life is anyway spent on sleeping. The Next 40 to 50 years or for however much longer you will live on this planet, do you need people to take care of you, do things for you, or do you want to do something for others and for the society? Helping others and serving society, wouldn’t that be a good idea? There should always be somebody to think about others, to care for them and to help them. I want you all to think about this. I don’t want to call it an old age home. These old age homes are very depressive. Ashram is a place where there are old people, young people, children, everyone lives together. So theyounger generation is enriched by the experiences of the older generation, and the older feel enthusiastic with the young. We can create this type of atmosphere. What do you think?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Ashwamedha means to purify. Shwa means that which is the past or future. Ashwa means that which is present and medha means cleansing. Ashwamedha is when the cleansing of the mind and buddhi (intellect) happens in the present moment. Keep the mind/buddhi (intellect) in the present moment.Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
If you feel you are becoming perfect by blaming then do it. Yet if you keep blaming yourself then that is not perfection. Also, make sure you don’t blame others! Don’t try to make others perfect.All of us have divine qualities. When you try to raise these qualities of others and they don’t want it, then what is the use? It is like forcibly helping an old lady to cross the road when she doesn’t want to. Whatever work we want to do, do it with good intentions. Nobody’s curse can affect you if your heart is pure. If your heart is impure then surely it will have an influence.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Pain is unavoidable, but suffering is optionalQ. Dear Guruji, what can you do when you doubt the Master? How to overcome the doubt? How to prevent it from happening?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You know, your doubt is always about something that is good. You only doubt the honest, you never doubt the dishonest. You doubt happiness, you never doubt depression. If you are depressed and someone asks you, ‘Are you depressed?’ Then you are very sure, you don't say, ‘Well, I am not very sure!’With happiness you say that, ‘Well, I am not sure whether I am happy or not.’ So we doubt love. Someone says, ‘I love you so much’, you say, ‘Really?’ If someone says, ‘I hate you’, you never ask, ‘Really?’ You doubt! So our doubt is always about something that is positive.And doubts - they come and they go. Doubt more. I won’t say, don't doubt. Doubt as much as you can. See I tell you, it will fall away by itself. It cannot stand. So doubt more. A Master only encourages the student to doubt more. He will not clear the doubts. In fact, the job of the master is to create more doubt so that you can bake well and become really solid. Because if not today, ten year later you may get the doubt, better get the doubt right away! Get asmuch as you can. Once they come, they don't come back again. Same doubts don't arise twice. Different doubts keep coming and when they come, don’t push themunder the carpet. Don’t shelve it under, go with it. And a time comes when you become solid. It only makes you stronger, powerful, focused and responsible.I would say, good! Doubts have come about the Master, let them come. Hmm? Cook with them. They are fuel by which the mind can really cook. Hmm! And you willsee that you are much stronger than your doubt! Your faith, your love, your beauty, your truth is a hundred times more powerful than the doubt. The faith islike the sun, the doubt is like a cloud. No amount of clouds can cover the sun for long. They just come and they disappear. Yes, there are some cloudy days and it can be there, let it be. The sun will eventually shine.