Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
In India, Nepal, how do all these sages work together for a one world family?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Everybody’s intention is there to unite the world as a family. The goal is the same. The methods are different, areas are different.Q:
Who decides what is wrong and what is right?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
What is right and what is wrong – your own consciousness will tell you. If you do something to get short term joy and long term misery, then that is wrong. If something is benefitting you in the long run, which may seem like it requires effort in the beginning, is right.Q:
In the Bhagwad Geeta, Lord Krishna says, ‘Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya ...Sambhavami Yuge Yuge.’ Please elaborate on that.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The atma shakti (power of the Self) that destroys the evil and preserves the satva (purity) appears again and again. When we say that God is compassionate, it is not just words but the truth. The expression of compassion has to happen. Creation showers compassion on society. At different times God comes in different names, forms and qualities.It is there in all religions - Jews are waiting for their messiah. Christ said that He will return again. So, Christians are still waiting. Prophet Mohammed came and left. People are still waiting for Buddha and Krishna to return.
I would say, don’t waste time waiting. Explore the depth of your Being and you will realize that the Supreme Consciousness is not someone coming in the future but is here, now. Faith in this knowledge is the sign of a seeker on the spiritual path.
People fight in the name of God and the messiah. Feeling the presence of the Divine is the art of living.
Q:
I just want to thank you for all the blessings. Why is that every time I see you I cry?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Oh my god, you are taking away my reputation! Every time people see me they smile. Yet tears of love and gratitude are also very precious. When the heart opens it brings tears to the eyes.Q:
Guru, I often see people bow down to you. Is doing all that necessary?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
No, no, not at all. These things are really insignificant. You know, these outer gestures are insignificant. Don’t give too much importance to them. All these gestures don’t matter. We all are connected from a deeper level, the level of the heart. That’s how we have met and we are all here.Q:
What is the purpose of dreams?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are five kinds of dreams:1. Dreams in which old experiences repeat in the consciousness.
2. The ones that display your desires and fears.
3. Intuitive dreams - that foretell what is going to happen.
4. The dreams which are not related to you but to the place where you are sleeping. For instance, if you are sleeping in China you may see dreams in Chinese.
5. This type is the mixture of all the other types.
99 percent of the dreams that you have belong to the fifth category, so it is wise not to give much importance to them. The wise believe this world itself to be a dream. Whatever we experience through the sense organs is the impression of the world on us. What you did a few hours ago is just like a dream in the present moment. It’s a memory. There is not much difference between a memory and a dream.
*Traditional colorful floor decorations
Q:
Your presence gives so much peace and joy. I want to always have the same joy. What should I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
When you remember your experiences here, you relive that joy wherever you may be. All other experiences of the world get dissolved with the impression of devotion.Q:
Can a relationship enhance or suppress your spiritual growth?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yes, both can happen. If your partner is also on the path and understands you, it can enhance you both. If one is in doubt, the partner will help you to get over the doubt. If one is not doing the practice, the other one will pull them to do the practice and give them encouragement. Make them move on the spiritual path, so that much help comes from that. I have seen many couples - when one is going astray from the path, the other will pull them back onto the path. Because of the sake of the wife or husband, they continue being on the path, on the knowledge, on the spiritual path. This I have seen happening in many, many families. Though, on the contrary, if both go in different directions and if one of them is not really on the path, it can be a hindrance for the other. It can be, though not necessarily.Q:
Guruji, is it difficult for a woman to organize something for she has to manage the home also. How does a woman do it effectively?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Don’t think of anything as difficult. Even if it is difficult, it becomes more difficult when you perceive it to be difficult in your mind. If you get a difficult task to do, however much difficult it seems to be, know that we have an even greater power within. It is available to us and according to that we get tasks to do.Q:
I have done many sins in my life. Am I a right candidate for this sacred path? I want to repent for my wrong deeds.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Your very wish to repent has solved the purpose. This wish to repent is an indication that your intellect is getting matured. Otherwise, you would not have been aware of your wrong actions. Something wrong has happened through you and you want to repent for that, this means you are out of it in the present. The wish to repent arises only in the matured intellect. You are innocent in the present moment. Don’t live in the past, but take this sankalpa (Resolution) that you don’t have to do this in future.One with deluded intellect supports even his/her wrong actions. Know that the one who does a mistake and supports it is lacking in maturity of intellect.
Some people do repentance with guilt. That also doesn’t solve the purpose. That is why Master/Disciple tradition exists. Master would guide the disciple to do something to be free from the guilt. Or if you simply tell the Master that some mistake has happened through you, then also you come out of the guilt. Even if you tell this to yourself in your mind that you have done some mistake, the mind calms down. Why does a mistake happen? Because of ignorance. When you have lighted the lamp of this knowledge inside you, you become free in the present.
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