Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Can I ask you something? I was also thinking about all that has happened in Pakistan and this was the region which was also most affected by terrorism. Is there any relation how the karma is of the people’s action and the nature’s response?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Yeah, at this time it is not wise to say, ‘it is because of your bad karma you are suffering’. It is not a wise thing to say, people are suffering from natural calamity. That is why they always categorize three types of calamities affecting people.Three categories, one is Adi Bhautik means natural calamities, nature’s response brings you into misery. And then Adi Daivik - a calamity that is manmade. You can say through one’s own wrong doings. And then the third calamity that comes in life Adhyatmik, What is it called in Christianity? Something like the dark age of the soul… what is it called? (Audience - The dark night of the soul). Yeah,that is you have everything but then depression sets in. You have money, all that you could have achieved in society you have achieved but you find there is darkness and you don’t know how to go in, how to cut the darkness. Your spirit is longing, missing something but it does not know what. There is type of inner vacuum. That inner vacuum where there is no joy, everything appears completely dead and meaningless.
This is called Taap Athreya. Taap means anguish, three types of anguish. Human life is faced with three types of anguish and how it can be overcome? Through Tapas!
Tapas means endurance, knowledge, wisdom, meditation, yoga, pranayama, all this comes under Tapas, from Tapas the three Taaps can be overcome, okay!
Q:
After some ‘Art of Living’ Courses, I have felt so happy. I thought I would explode. After a while, I realized that it was not only happiness, but also feverishness. Then I got depressed. It was like an emotional roller-coaster. How can I handle feverishness?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You have already become a witness to it. You have observed that you are on a roller-coaster. You observe these emotions are coming and going. Notice, earlier too the emotions were there. But now it is reducing. Before you were not aware, at least now you are aware of it. Just persistence on this path, in this knowledge makes you stronger, hmm!Q:
What do you say on the rumors of destruction of the world in the year 2012?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I want to tell you a story. In 1999, when I was in NorthAmerica, there was a rumor that everything will shut down in 2000. People soldhomes and stored food for six months - Milk powder, dry vegetables etc. Oh myGod! Then also I told that there would be no disaster and everything would beas usual. Now again, I am assuring you that it is only in the movie. The worldwill continue. In fact, transformation will be there from greedy materialism tohumanism. Children will be more aware of spirituality. There is a bright futurefor the world. Don’t think of any disaster. A disaster is already happening.This is because we have exploited the planet. We have put so many dynamites totake minerals, and hence earthquakes have become dominant. The weather! Russianever had such hot temperatures. So we have to care for the planet Earth. Planttrees and do all that is needed to reduce human greed. What do you think?Q:
Sometimes we feel disconnected with you how to overcome that?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Sometimes only na! So you got disconnected and then you feel the connection again, it will happen.Q:
I am into a field of research where I try to figure out the reasons of chaos in the world. In one of my researches when I was finding some conflicting threads in various religious prevalent beliefs, I found both Lord Budha and Lord Shankarya Charya had spoken of Soul. Can you throw some more light on seeming different statements of the Masters as per different times?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Lord buddha said that everything is nothing. Everything dissolves into nothing. He said, I meditated to see the soul and found no soul.Shakaracharya said: “Who searched? Who found that everything is nothing? Who said I did not find the Atma? That is Atma. That is what upanishads say. Buddha says the whole universe is empty like the space, Shankara Charya says the whole universe is full like space - everything is in space.
Q:
Can you talk about how one should be with mentally retarded people?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
They have come here to take service. Simply serve themQ:
How do you fan the fire of spirituality and not allow it to be inundated by day to day life. You don’t want to abdicate your responsibilities. What do you suggest, simple steps you as an enlightened person to keep spirituality alive in us. What I understood the way u expressed was very beautiful, to spread happiness, to be simple at the same time keep giving.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
I would give you 3 suggestions. One is spend 10-15 mins with yourself. What is it that you want? What is life all about? 50- 60 yrs ago, where I was and where I will be 50 years later? What is my origin? What is my definition? Just don’t look for an immediate answer. Even questioning yourself – ‘what is life all about?’ uplifts the spirit. This is what I would call as knowledge. Dwelling sometime with knowledge, you can read books like Yoga Vashista, Ashtavakra or even Geeta. Just few lines or any other uplifting knowledge books. And then 10-15 minutes of meditation. We will do a short meditation now. 10-15 minutes of meditation will give so much energy that it can refresh the brain, Refresh the spirit and energize the body. Fantastic! And the third thing is do some act of kindness, don’t have to be in the routine. Take some time out. Do some Random acts of kindness. Spend some time with music or art. These 3 things can bring you a lot of fulfillment and keep you away from stress.You would’ve seen in the last month, a month ago, there was a program in News 24 channel about a village Kathewadi in Maharashtra, near Nanded. One of our teachers went there. He stayed there for 3 months in the village. Transformed the entire village. 700 families. In this village, everyone removed the locks from the door. And they have a shop without a shopkeeper. People go and put the money in a box and take whatever goods they want to take. And the village is so self sufficient. The entire village went organic. All the farmers went organic. Everyday they come together and sing, they removed all the caste boards. Here now in the country, they are contemplating about reintroducing caste census. In this village first thing is they removed all the caste boards, Dalit, Kshatriya, Brahmin. All the caste boards were removed. Govt of India also gave them an award. It is a crime free village. This was the most notorious village which had so many cases. Today in 3 years time this village has stood up to be most self sufficient. Everybody has water. Roads are there. Every home has a toilet. And they have smokeless chullahs. Most honest village. This village inspired 118 villages to follow.
Not one person smokes or drinks in the village. Everybody abandoned the tobacco, tambaku, alcohol and drugs. So it gave a new energy and enthusiasm to all our teachers and workers. It is possible what Mahatma Gandhi had dreamt - Ram rajya. Where there is no dacoity, no crime. Today it is possible.
You can see in the youtube. They have done a beautiful program about that. I wish we can do many such, if all different corporate could take 10 villages each. It doesn’t cost much. It is just a matter of educating people on hygiene, educating them to keep their homes clean. Every home got painted in pink.
Q:
Dear Guruji, it is easy for me to shut my mouth, but it is difficult for me to shut my thoughts. How can I do it? Please help me.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You don’t need to do anything. Everything is done here for you. Hiren is giving all the courses, he will lead you at different times to different types of meditations and processes, and it’ll happen. That’s why you need to be here. If it’s your first Advanced Meditation Course, you may find it a little difficult but when you continue, you will definitely find it very useful.Q:
How to make someone dear to you understand that something is useful for themand they must go for it?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Keep pursuing gently and have patience, they will allunderstand. First you should have the conviction that this is good for them,and they will get it. How to get a thought or a desire manifested is verysimple. First intention and keep attention on it and then manifestation willfollow.Q:
How do I give more love to myself?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
You want to give more love to yourself, IMPOSSIBLE. If an ocean says how can I give more water to myself, what can be said? If sugarcane says how can I give more sweetness to myself, what would you say? It is like sun saying how can it give more light to itself? It is impossible for you to give more love to yourself.In fact you love yourself too much, and that is the problem, you’re only thinking about yourself. Start thinking about everybody else, and give love to others. You are ‘love’ my dear, just relax and reduce your wants. Your wants and your desires are eating you up; you simply relax.
You should have wants. There is no problem if you have your desires, but don’t let the desires have you. I don’t mind you having desires at the initial stages. Later you find, before the desire arises in you, it gets fulfilled.
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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.
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